“Suspicious guy… Hmm. I’m not sure.”
“In my opinion, the miners are the ones acting suspicious. You know how the iron ore supply is running low, right? Maybe they’re causing a commotion to raise the grade.”
The information-gathering resumed.
Tap, tap—
Was it dissatisfaction? Or anxiety?
Luna’s foot tapped against the ground somewhat roughly.
“Hey, are you really sure this is safe?”
Luna was asking about Dolores’s safety.
Since Ron was watching, this was the only way she could phrase it.
“Keke, of course. I thoroughly confirmed it last night, so don’t worry. As for tomorrow night, who knows?”Yesterday wasn’t the day Dolores was supposed to die. Their plan would likely be executed tomorrow night.
So, it meant there was nothing to worry about.
“We need to be sure. This is a matter of life and death.”
She was emphasizing caution since Dolores’s life was at stake.
To ease Luna’s anxiety, I patted her head.
Luna naturally leaned her head forward, as if enjoying the touch—just like a cat.
Then, from behind, Ron, who had been eavesdropping on our conversation, suddenly started trembling.
“H-Hey… What exactly are you two talking about? I must be misunderstanding, right? Right?”
Click, click, click!
He was so startled that he even started biting his nails.
No, what in that conversation was there to misunderstand?
It was just a casual discussion between friends.
“Stop bothering us and go away.”
“N-No! I have a duty to protect the students and this new life…”
“This guy, seriously!”
Luna growled, and Ron scurried off.
But he didn’t go far. His job was to keep an eye on us, after all.
‘I have no idea what he means by ‘new life,’ though.’
Once Luna confirmed that Ron had distanced himself, she leaned toward me again.
Not because she was infatuated with me—she just wanted to speak in secret.
“This really is meaningful, right?”
She was asking if gathering information was necessary when the priority was saving Dolores.
Of course, it was meaningful.
‘We have to be prepared for any situation.’
If I couldn’t find a way to save Dolores, I would have to proceed according to the original storyline I knew.
And for that, gathering information was essential.
I needed to prove that Baron Kelven was the mastermind behind everything.
“Keke, of course. Information gathering is crucial.”
“You’re only gathering information about completely different things…”
Thump!
I flinched without meaning to.
‘Our Luna can be pretty sharp sometimes…’
Hiding my surprise, I responded smoothly.
“Trust your friend.”
“It’s not that I don’t trust you. I’m just worried, that’s all. I didn’t mean I don’t believe in you.”
Luna muttered, sounding slightly sulky. But I understood her reaction.
With each passing day, Dolores’s death crept closer.
Of course, Luna was worried. She was a kind girl.
‘Unlike me.’
As I continued patting Luna’s head—
“Ah, the lovebirds are still going strong today.”
“They’re burning so hot it’s almost blinding.”
Two girls covered their faces with both hands while peeking at us.
It went without saying that they were Yuridia and Victoria.
I ignored them and went back to gathering information.
“The lord? Compared to before… well, no, he’s become much more docile.”
Despite rumors of a kidnapping, the villagers weren’t swayed.
That was partly because there had been no prior issues in the village, but also because Baron Kelven had managed things well.
“He personally worked hard for the territory’s development. Even your group being here now is part of that.”
“The knights are pretty bad, though… It’s not that I dislike them, they just don’t pay us any attention.”
“Well, except for Sir Pjol.”
“Ah, right. Sir Pjol is different. He actually cares about the village. A true knight among knights.”
Luna looked like she was about to protest at the mention of Pjol, but she calmed down when I firmly held her hand.
Unaware of the exchange, the villagers kept talking.
“Outsiders always say this place is a dying village, but I’m not too worried. As long as the lord has his senses, we can recover.”
“And there’s also Young Master Nade.”
“Yeah, this village will be fine for the next hundred years at least.”
After wandering the village for hours—
I finally found the information I was looking for.
“Keke, I saw him too. Quite the looker. Not as good as me, though.”
“…Have you ever looked in a mirror?”
Brushing off the comment, I continued my questioning.
“He seemed quite young. A late-born child, perhaps?”
“Definitely a late-born. The lord is already well past sixty.”
“He dotes on him so much it’s almost ridiculous.”
“He doesn’t even try to hide that he’s a concubine’s son… That much love says it all.”
“Even in the middle of fierce territorial disputes, he still found the time, huh? Must be nice.”
After exchanging a few more words with the villagers, I moved on to the next location.
If I remembered correctly, the building should be around here…
“What are you looking at?”
“Never seen an Annwood Academy instructor before? Ah, well, this is a rural place, so I guess that makes sense. Take a good look.”
Two instructors were provoking Pjol.
It wasn’t just provocation—it was straight-up picking a fight.
‘This isn’t in the original story.’
It might be part of the story related to Dolores’s rescue.
I stopped walking for a moment and started eavesdropping on their conversation.
It wasn’t hard to figure out why the instructors were picking a fight.
Pjol, who had easily subdued Ron.
They were deliberately provoking him to challenge him to a duel.
Looking closer, I noticed an old woman leaning on a cane beside Pjol.
In Pjol’s hand was a bundle, presumably the old woman’s belongings.
The instructors suddenly snatched the bundle from him.
“A knight carrying an old woman’s belongings? How ridiculous!”
“Kikikik! That’s more fitting for us instructors. A noble knight should stay out of it.”
A provocation so pathetic even third-rate villains would be embarrassed.
Of course, Pjol didn’t take the bait.
“…Pathetic.”
That just added fuel to the fire.
“How dare you insult us?!”
“Draw your sword immediately!”
“Hey! I was supposed to go first!”
“You go carry the old lady’s stuff first!”
“You bastard! You do it!”
Thud, thud—
The two instructors started arguing, trying to push the bundle onto each other.
Watching them pass the bundle back and forth, I could only sigh.
Pjol drawing his sword would have been troublesome, but—
‘That bundle is mine!’
That’s right. The old woman’s belongings.
My original purpose in coming here was to help carry that bundle to her home.
But instead, Pjol was carrying it in my place, and now the instructors had snatched it away?
Something had gone horribly wrong.
“Luna.”
“Huh? What?”
“Kick me. Hard.”
Luna leaned back in disgust, as if she had just seen a pervert.
I didn’t have time to explain.
“It’s urgent. Just do it.”
“…You’re lucky I’m a great friend who respects my friend’s tastes.”
Thwack!
Luna kicked me square in the backside.
Maybe she had some built-up stress because she put a lot of force into it.
It was strong enough that I didn’t even need to fake a dramatic fall.
Crash!
I tumbled right into the space between Pjol and the instructors.
“What the—?!”
“Keke, I’m just a peace-loving dove.”
I flapped my arms like a bird, making the two instructors instinctively step back.
Forcing even elites to back off—truly, doves were the symbol of peace.
“Wait a second. Zero? You’re that first-year student.”
“Can’t you see we’re working here? Stop interfering and get lost.”
The instructors advanced toward me again, pressing in.
They looked like they were about to twist my arms behind my back—
Until Ron came running, flailing his arms wildly.
“Kugh… Ron! You bastard—”
“I’m not Ron. I’m Peace-Loving Dove No. 2.”
“…”
“Dove! Loves peace! Beats up bad guys!”
Peace-Loving Dove No. 2 started pummeling the instructors.
They screamed in pain. In the meantime, I retrieved the bundle they had tossed aside and handed it back to the old woman.
The old woman rummaged through the bundle and pulled something out.
“Boy, do you want some?”
It was jerky.
It looked a bit rough but had a rich, savory scent.
I gratefully accepted it. This was the reason I had come here, proof that my favorability had increased.
A stepping stone for obtaining that in the future.
I immediately bit into the jerky and started chewing.
“Boy, you eat some too.”
“Huh?”
“You too, you too.”
The old woman handed jerky to Luna, Rezé, Ron, and even the instructors before leaving with Pjol.
Holding jerky in their hands, the instructors watched her walk away and grumbled.
“Ugh, the mood’s ruined.”
“Getting in a proper spar is so damn hard. Oh well, there’ll be plenty more chances. See you next time.”
“Where are you going? You’re just leaving the doves behind?”
“…Ron, I really wish you’d just disappear.”
Munching on their jerky, the instructors walked away.
‘That wraps up today’s tasks.’
The method was different, but the goal was achieved.
The only unexpected factor was the new incident I had just experienced.
As I chewed on the jerky, recalling what had happened—
“That was an excellent flap of your wings.”
Someone clapped and cheered.
A childlike old man. The Empire’s hero, Adonis.
“You looked just like a demon with only its arms left, desperately struggling to survive. Was that a technique meant to instill fear in your opponents?”
…No, it was the graceful flutter of a dove spreading peace.
Judging by his amused expression, Adonis seemed to be enjoying my reaction.
“I heard something interesting happened.”
He was referring to yesterday’s spar between the instructors and knights.
Since Adonis had a hobby of training the next generation, this incident must have piqued his interest.
“Keke, I didn’t find it interesting at all.”
“If I had been there, I would have joined in… A shame I missed it.”
“There wasn’t much to see. If anything, Sir Pjol stood out the most.”
“Pjol, huh… You mean that knight from earlier? A shame indeed. His condition…”
Just from a glance, Adonis had already figured out Pjol’s secret.
As expected, this old man was a monster.
That’s right. Pjol wasn’t refusing to fight.
He couldn’t fight.
“…”
I found myself narrowing my eyes.
A conversation with Adonis out of nowhere.
This was another event I had never encountered before.
“Hey.”
“Hm?”
Suddenly, Luna spoke to Adonis.
Adonis, who had been glancing around, pointed at himself with his index finger.
“You talking to me?”
“…Who else is here besides you?”
Luna’s tone was oddly reserved.
I immediately understood why Luna had spoken to Adonis.
‘Did she pick him as an ally?’
Among the first-years, the main factions were currently divided between Teron’s group, Yuridia’s group, Victoria’s group, and Luna’s… group(?), all vying for dominance.
And within this chaos, the students recognized four powerhouses.
Myself, Daike, Alex, and Adonis.
Luna couldn’t ask Daike for help since their relationship wasn’t great.
But Adonis, standing right in front of her, was a different story.
His strength was undeniable, but more importantly, he was Victoria’s subordinate, making it much easier to request his assistance.
It was only natural that Luna would set her sights on him.
‘I thought there was no way we could get Adonis’s help… Was I wrong?’
Even in the game, there were clear boundaries.
At this early stage, Adonis’s strength was essentially a cheat code.
If a character like him intervened, it could break the game’s balance, so the developers had put in various measures to prevent that.
‘Of course, if we actually manage to get his help, that would be the best possible outcome.’
If this was some kind of hidden event triggered by regularly attending Yuridia and Victoria’s tea parties…
Then Luna might be an even more impressive strategist than I thought.
Luna pointed at Adonis and confidently declared,
“You! Be my ally for a day!”
“Alright.”
“I knew it wouldn’t work… Wait, what did you just say?”
“I said alright.”
Luna and I looked at each other. She was so shocked her eyes went wide like a rabbit’s.
I probably had the same expression on my face.
For him to accept so easily… Something was off.
As if to prove that point, Adonis let out an unsettling grin and spoke.
“But only if you give me that guy.”
He pointed his finger directly at me.
–TL Notes–
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