Chapter 130. You Still Haven’t Saved the Wyvern Yet
The morning at Zenion Academy, now on vacation, was peaceful.
Beeeeep—! Beep!
The loud cry of Breakfast No. 1, who was watching over me, echoed through the air, while the greenery surrounding the hideout was lush and full.
“Mountains are mountains, and water is water.”
That was the small enlightenment I had gained last night.
A mountain is simply a mountain, and water is simply water. The meaning I attach to them comes from my own heart. The anger that boils when I see Parun and Shine isn’t because those two actually provoke me, but because of the confusion within my own heart.
‘Parun is Parun, and Shine is Shine.’
Whoo—!
I let out a long, slow breath and opened my eyes.
Right now, I was occupying the clearing in front of the hideout.
Well, “occupying” might be an exaggeration.
After all, the only people who ever came looking for this place were the headmaster-senpai and Shine. And perched boldly atop my head was none other than Breakfast No. 1.
Beep! Beeeep!
“You brat, I told you there’s no studying today.”
I scolded the flapping Breakfast No. 1, but the little tyrant refused to stop. Even getting angry at such a creature was, no doubt, due to my own lack of inner discipline.
Anyway, it was true that there was no studying today.
As soon as dawn broke, I ran to Lafiter and explained the situation to Teheman-senpai.
I didn’t go into detail, just said I had some personal matters and wanted to take a few days off from lessons.
I wanted to focus for a few days on the Infinite Chain case, and Teheman-senpai readily accepted my request.
But then…
‘This damn brat.’
Why the hell won’t he get off my head?
“Whoo.”
Ignoring Breakfast No. 1, I crouched down like a beggar and picked up a twig.
It was time to review the plan once again.
In the end, persuading Shine and Parun hadn’t been all that difficult. Those two still had brains, after all, they eventually realized there was no other way. However, there were still a few problems that remained unsolved.
‘First off… I have to go to Lorutel and directly point out the Third Sword to challenge him.’
That was far too obvious a move. Even if the Lorutel people didn’t know the full story, they’d surely have noticed that something was off about Dekulan.
And if I stormed in there and said, “I challenge the Third Sword”?
That’d be like putting up a big sign that says, ‘Hey, we’re the ones Dekulan’s after!’
So then, what should I do?
“Hmm.”
As I jabbed idly at the word ‘Lorutel’ I’d written in the dirt, an unwelcome face emerged from the hideout.
“Still brooding over it?”
“Click, what would Shine know of Aster’s intentions.”
“Why wouldn’t I? Didn’t I tell you yesterday? Just barge in boldly and point out the Third Sword, that’s the best way. But that sly mind of yours won’t allow such honesty.”
I looked up at Shine with a sullen glare.
“Well, you’re not wrong, but…”
“So you admit I’m right?”
She stole the initiative.
Now that it had come to this, I shut my mouth. Once you lose the upper hand, the battle’s already lost.
As I clammed up like a shell, Shine snickered and threw out a bait.
“What if I told you this lady has a plan?”
“A plan?”
“Fufu, yes. In fact, I’ve already looked into Lorutel myself.”
That wasn’t something I could just let slide.
It was no great secret that Shine had some kind of connection to Lorutel, something both she and I knew, though not even the heavens bothered to care. But Shine had gone and looked into Lorutel on her own?
‘Smells fishy. Really fishy.’
Beep?
“You pooped, didn’t you.”
“You little sh—!”
I shook off Breakfast No. 1 from my head and brushed myself clean.
A quick cleansing spell later, and it didn’t take long to wipe off the mess.
“That boiled-for-dinner bastard…”
It was definitely on purpose. No way a creature that understands human speech can’t even control its own bowels.
As I glared up at Breakfast No. 1, no, too long. Let’s shorten it. From now on, he’s just Bri. No, wait, Brichi sounds better. Yeah.
Anyway, though my heart was brimming with the predatory focus of a hawk eyeing Brichi, my eyes themselves were as innocent as could be.
“So, what’s the plan?”
“Your eyes just now…”
“What about them?”
“They’re annoying, that’s what. Anyway, as I was saying, inside Lorutel there’s a two-hundred-year-old tradition called the Hall of Challenge.”
“The Hall of Challenge?”
A knock-off of the Hall of Trials, maybe?
“Well, ‘Hall of Challenge’ is just the popular name. The official one is Tomb of the Sword God.”
“The Tomb of the Sword God?”
“Yes. It’s said to be where a former head of the Lorutel family was buried, and that he arranged for something to be hidden there.”
Hearing that much, the rest was predictable.
“So… if one passes through it, they can claim what was arranged there?”
“Precisely.”
Shine nodded with smug satisfaction. Which made her even more irritating.
At this point, I couldn’t help but ask.
“And the Lorutel folks just left that alone?”
“They had to. It was the former head’s dying will.”
Then, putting on the tone of that very head, Shine recited the will herself.
* * *
— “A rightful heir shall come in due time. Until then, none of the bloodline shall enter the Tomb of the Sword God.”
Good grief, what kind of blockheads are these?
If something’s good, you first share it among family, then with your hometown friends, and if there’s still some left, split it with your old classmates. That’s the natural order of things.
Sure, the question of whether hometown friends come before classmates is debatable, but sharing among the three is the accepted rule.
And yet they just left it there because of some will?
“Anyway, according to that will, the Lorutel bloodline has kept the Tomb open all these years, waiting for the rightful heir. Using that place would make getting into Lorutel much easier.”
“Hmm, that does make sense, but…”
Hold on a sec.
“…Two hundred years of tradition?”
“Fufu, yes. Well, not exactly two hundred, roughly that long.”
“Don’t tell me…”
“Oh, please. Denying it would be a lie. Fufu, hu. You know what kind of lady I am.”
“A vampire’s lady, that’s what.”
“Yes, a vampire’s la—wait, no, that’s not—! You damn brat! Anyway, what do you think? Isn’t this an excellent plan?”
“Well… I’ll admit, it’s not bad.”
Indeed, using that route would draw far less suspicion than directly calling out the Third Sword.
‘Of course… the problem of how to draw him out once we’re there still remains.’
But at least, for now, it was one thing off my mind.
