[As you said, unprecedented rain has been falling for days in the plains of Hopen and in the north of Alprosen.
I will believe you. For now, I will follow your words, but someday you will have to explain it clearly.]
Fernan clenched his fist.
“We did it! We did it!”
His father had believed him. Not only that it was raining in the Hopen plains, but that he really had a book of prophecies—and that it was genuine.
That difference changed everything. Fernan felt it immediately—from now on, everything would be different.
“Now I can truly carry the family on my shoulders.”
He no longer needed to invent cheap excuses or live with anxiety.
Fernan savored his coffee calmly. That day, it even tasted sweet.
“Young master, there’s still another letter.”
“Another one? My father sent two?”
And the first had already been quite brief.
“It’s from the crown prince of Alprosen.”
Fernan’s movements froze instantly.
“Give it to me now.”
Reading the letter, the corner of his lips curled.
“It worked too. I was right.”
“What did he say?”
“It’s an invitation. The prince wants to meet me in person in Alprosen.”
“Really? May I know what you wrote to him?”
“That I can’t tell you. It’s the prince’s private matter.”
He wasn’t about to tell just anyone the story of a potential secret romance.
“Then we must prepare to depart for Alprosen. It’s already raining—there’s no time to waste.”
“…Have you forgotten that you’re still a student?”
“Hyde, after more than twenty years by my side, you still don’t understand the most important thing.”
Fernan clicked his tongue and carefully folded the prince’s letter, tucking it into his chest.
“The Academy, at most, can expel me. But if Alprosen plunges into civil war and demons are summoned…”
The entire continent would perish. The priority was obvious to anyone.
“Remember this well, Hyde. The Academy is not the entire world.”
And besides.
“Expulsion? That’s easily solved with money.”
With the firm backing of his father, Fernan feared nothing. He put on his coat.
“Prepare the carriage immediately.”
“Do you think you’ll be able to see the rector at this hour?”
Hyde knew him too well after twenty years. Although Fernan spoke of expulsion, it was a last resort, something to use only after exhausting all options.
The most reasonable option now was clear.
“I’ll see him, for sure. With how irritated he’s been lately about the corrupt, he hasn’t stepped away from the Academy even once.”
His goal was to get the rector’s official permission, so there would be no consequences for his absence.
“And if he doesn’t approve?”
“I’ll make him approve. And if not, I can always request a special leave.”
Although officially the Academy did not allow leaves except for war or illness, Fernan would not be stopped by that.
He and Hyde headed to the rector’s office.
***
“Corrupts, huh? So they intend to attack Alprosen.”
“I don’t think you’d make up a lie so easy to expose. Was it information from the Golden Turtle Company?”
“If you want to go, you can go. Just remember—if you return empty-handed, it will count as an absence. If you bring proof, it’ll be as if you never missed a day.”
The conversation with the rector went better than expected.
After so many attacks from the corrupt within the Academy, he was very inclined to authorize the mission.
“Aint too? Excellent. And with a direct letter from the first prince of Esrin, the motive is solid.”
“Since you’re going, I might even authorize the third prince to travel as well. Don’t you want to bring more companions? Maybe the same ones who fought Andromalius with you.”
Not only did he agree, he was surprisingly generous.
“Isn’t this problematic?”
No matter how much of a rector he was, manipulating the attendance records of so many students was a risk.
“Aren’t there limits even to your prerogatives?”
“That’s not my problem. I’ll handle it.”
The rector hadn’t reached that position by chance. Clearly, he had a plan.
“…That’s how it all turned out.”
After sealing the agreement with the rector, Fernan summoned his companions to a private room in a teahouse.
Luina Bercheff, Aria Fridian, Verian Kalburdern, Gismond Ert, and Aint Armian.
He decided not to include Ahgrot for now, who still needed more time to adapt to the Academy.
“The places where the corrupt move in the shadows are two—Alprosen and Esrin. And I won’t allow anything to happen in either of them.”
They had split forces before—it was in Bercheff and Frazia—and they managed to stop everything. It had to be the same this time.
If both kingdoms fell into civil war, the bloodshed would be brutal, and the corrupt would take advantage to summon demons.
That couldn’t be allowed.
“…I figured as much. We just returned from Fridian, and here we go again.”
Gismond, who had also seen the prophecies, sighed in resignation.
“I support the idea, senior. How do you plan to divide us?”
“You’ll go to Esrin, Aint. The letter was addressed to you, it’s only logical.”
Fernan, for his part, would go to Alprosen.
“Isn’t that too risky? It could be seen as interference.”
“It would be best if your involvement remains secret as much as possible.”
But if discovered, the rival princes would use it as a political weapon to attack Armian through Schwaben.
“If that happens, my father will protect Armian as much as he can.”
“Duke Yvon?”
“Exactly. He’ll do everything possible. And we have the letter as proof that the first prince himself asked for your help.”
Even so, nothing was perfect. The prince himself might feel uncomfortable with that dependence.
“Then your mission is to prove he had no choice but to call on you. So that everyone acknowledges it.”
“I’ll find and eliminate all corrupt and monsters.”
“And weaken the voices of the rebellious princes.”
“That sounds like direct interference in the succession.”
“No. Just focus on sweeping away the corrupt and monsters. That’s enough.”
Fernan already knew how the board was set in Esrin—without the intervention of the corrupt, the other princes would never surpass the first, who already had the majority support of the nobility.
“…I’ll do my best. Who will go with me?”
“Your friends.”
He assigned Aria and Verian to go with Aint, and Luina and Gismond to go with himself.
“Let’s go, Luina.”
“Yes. These corrupt are scattered all over the continent like cockroaches.”
“That’s exactly what they are—cockroaches.”
“Wait a second, I’m going too!”
At dawn, as the ship sailed away from the Academy toward the continent of Lutar, Fernan remembered something.
“By the way, the corrupt never came. I expected him to show up.”
“Me too. I thought he’d come back to cast another suggestion.”
“If he didn’t come now, he’ll come later.”
Sooner or later, they would come after him again. They wouldn’t let go of a wildcard like him who had already fallen under suggestion once.
“Better this way. Keeping up the act of still being under their control was a pain. His arrival now would’ve only complicated things.”
“True.”
Fernan smirked as the ship cut through the waves toward Lutar.
***
The same day Fernan and Aint departed for the Kingdom of Alprosen and the Kingdom of Esrin, respectively, late in the afternoon—
Five ships docked at the Academy. They were medium-sized vessels from a merchant company supplying the institution.
“They finally arrived.”
Roderick Fisher, escort mercenary of the company, stretched as he disembarked.
“I was sick of it.”
He couldn’t believe how pleasant it was to walk on solid ground after two days. He scratched his completely bald head hard—the blazing sun burned his scalp.
“Thanks! It’s thanks to you we arrived safe and sound.”
“It was a job, so it’s normal. We’re off now.”
Roderick led the mercenaries of the Blue Wolf Company to a lodging.
“Good work. We’ll rest here for about three days.”
“Thanks, boss!”
“They say the nightlife at the Academy is excellent, huh?”
“Don’t even mention it. With so many important people gathered here, there are all kinds of entertainments. The problem is the cost…”
“Ha. With how well they paid us for this job, and you’re worried about money?”
After a few drinks with his men, Roderick went up to his room first. He tossed aside his weapons and armor carelessly, muttering.
“Where’s Fernan Pellenberg?”
A shadow emerged behind him.
“…Well, you see.”
At the hesitation in the tone, Roderick’s brow furrowed.
“Spit it out.”
“…He left the Academy.”
“…What?”
The motion of removing his military boots froze mid-action.
“…I didn’t quite catch that. What did you say?”
“Fernan Pellenberg left the Academy on the first ship at dawn.”
“…And why am I just now hearing this?”
Roderick furiously threw his smelly boots; the crash made the shadow tremble.
“…The rector is too focused on Aint Armian, so our movements within the Academy have been very limited. I only just found out myself.”
“What a pathetic excuse.”
Roderick grabbed him by the neck with force.
“I came all the way from Frazia just to meet Fernan Pellenberg. If he’s not here, why the hell did I come?”
“I-I’m sorry… I should’ve found out sooner!”
“Of course you should’ve! That would’ve saved me the damn boat ride all the way here!”
He growled in fury. He had wanted a convincing excuse to approach Fernan without raising suspicion, since that guy was paranoid to the extreme. That’s why he chose to infiltrate through a merchant company heading to the Academy—and now he had wasted valuable time, enough to lose his chance.
“Was it only Fernan Pellenberg who disappeared?”
“No, Aint Armian too…”
“Shit!”
Roderick threw the shadow to the floor.
“Where did they go?”
“We’re still investigating.”
“What’s there to investigate? Obviously to Esrin!”
The first prince had sent a letter to Aint, and Aint had surely shared it with Fernan.
“I thought I had more time…”
He had trusted that, being the school term, Aint wouldn’t dare get involved in Esrin’s succession out of fear of criticism.
“Did the rector allow them to leave?”
“I told you, with all the attention he gives Aint, we couldn’t confirm it for sure…”
“Useless. Absolutely useless.”
Roderick ground his teeth.
“This is a problem—a big problem.”
If Aint got involved in Esrin’s affairs, it was very likely the whole plan would fall apart. And the worst part—if Count Daniel lost the third prince’s trust, all the invested effort would be wasted.
Roderick got dressed again, gathered his gear, and stormed downstairs shouting.
“Vacation’s over! We’ve got a new mission!”
“What?! But we just got our beer!”
“Chug it down!”
The mercenaries groaned in protest, but they had no choice but to obey.
____
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