Chapter 38

Chapter 38

Naturally, Sarkegar and Eleris were not there; only Loyar was.

Upon entering, the club members I encountered asked me how I was finding life at the Temple, to which I responded appropriately.

Of course, I didn’t mention anything about me pummeling the kids over there.

“I’ve heard that a prince and princess of the empire have enrolled at the Temple as well.”

“Yeah.”

“How are they? Isn’t it dangerous?”

Loyar seemed worried about me. Enrolling at the Temple was, in a way, embarking on a quite risky adventure, and now my peers included two members of the imperial family.

“For now, nothing much has happened, but the prince seems to be trying to pull me to his side.”

“Hmm... that does sound dangerous.”

“If things really start to look bad, I’ll manage to escape somehow with my ring.”

I tried my best to reassure her. It seemed that Loyar was contemplating the possibility that my life at the Temple might ultimately lead me into danger.

In any case, reporting to her wasn’t the only reason I’d come.

“There’s something else I need you to look into, if possible.”

“What might that be?”

“It’s actually something that Sarkegar should take care of.”

I wasn’t sure how much of a noble Count Argon Pontius was, but with Sarkegar’s shape-shifting ability, gathering the information I sought would be relatively easy.

“The princess seems to possess some sort of supernatural power, but it’s being treated as a state secret.”

“... Did you just say that the princess has a supernatural power?”

“Yes. I would like you to look into that. It’s not urgent, but just the fact that there’s something I don’t know about her makes me feel uneasy.”

It seemed necessary to find out what Charlotte’s power was.

Loyar, who might not have thought of this, frowned.

I wanted to know about this confidential supernatural ability that the princess possessed, and whether it was a genuine power, or a lie made up in order to facilitate her enrollment in the Royal Class.

If it were a dangerous power, I would need to be cautious.

“I’ll pass the message on to Sarkegar.”

“And how’s the subway business scheme going?”

At my question, a smile spread across Loyar’s face.

The Rotary Club had shifted their strategy from begging and selling candies to becoming subway peddlers.

“It’s going very well.”

“Oh? How well?”

Loyar explained that sales had increased to much higher levels. Along with candy, they were also selling simple snacks, and it seemed that the response from the consumers was good.

Whatever the case, managing subway peddlers felt strange.

“We are considering which toys to sell now, but even as it is, it seems quite satisfactory.”

“Make sure to instruct everyone not to fight with the passengers or cause any trouble. Tell them to leave the car or move to another one if there’s a dispute, and that if they start causing harm to the passengers, there will be sanctions from the imperial capital. And that would mean closing down the business.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

This was an unlicensed business. If the peddlers started becoming an inconvenience and a source of displeasure, the city guards could be called in to intervene and drive them out, or there would be a chance that guards would be permanently stationed in the trains.

The ideal case would be for the income to stabilize enough that we could cut ties with the Thieves’ Guild. The idea that the group I belonged to was under the thumb of some other group didn’t sit well with me.

As I was about to leave, Loyar called out to me.

“Your Highness.”

“Yeah?”

“Do not go visit Eleris or Sarkegar directly.”

‘Speaking of which, I was just about to stop by Eleris’s place.’

“Why not?”

“While it may be acceptable for you to come and go out of our club since you are a native of this place, visiting Eleris’s shop or Count Pontius’s house could be seen as unexpected and suspicious.”

“Ah... Yes, that does make sense. But do we really have to be that cautious already?”

“Yes. You were already being followed just now.”

‘What? When? And moreover, you detected that?’

“I didn’t take any action since they appeared to be your classmates. But from now on, you will need to be careful in your movements.”

I hadn’t even considered the possibility that there might be people tracking me for any reason. That was careless of me.

Stopping by the Rotary Club was within reason, since this place was a part of my cover story. However, it would have been risky to make the unusual move of going to Eleris’s shop or Count Pontius’ household.

I couldn’t believe that I was being tailed.

I was not a superhero, so suddenly stopping in an alleyway and saying stuff like “Alright, come on out, I know you’re there” was never an option.

I had a rough idea as to why I was being followed and wasn’t too concerned about it. Whoever it was was probably curious about what kind of person I was.

From now on, I would have to refrain from going to the Rotary Club as well. Loyar also said that, if necessary, she would convey messages from her side.

Was it time for me to “show” something again? Had someone come to provoke another confrontation so soon? Was this deja vu?

“... Hmm?”

When I opened the door, I was greeted by an utterly unexpected figure.

A beautiful girl in training attire, an apprentice who loved cheongukjang, stood there.

It was Ellen Artorius.

“You’re being summoned to the training grounds.”

She said that I was being “summoned.” What did she mean by that? Who had sent her to fetch me to the training grounds?

“Who is summoning me?”

“I don’t know. It seems like a senior.”

‘A senior?’

This was sudden and unexpected.

“The others are all there already.”

What did she mean when she said that the others were already there?

***

It seemed that someone had to come and get me, and nobody had been willing to, so Ellen had been the one to do so. But this episode of being summoned by a senior was perplexing.

The training ground was in the form of a very large gymnasium. All the first-year Class A students, excluding those who were away for the weekend, were already gathered there.

Everyone was there except for Vertus and Riana de Granz, who had a large mansion within the imperial capital. So there were a total of nine people gathered... But what were they doing?

“Is this kid the last one?”

Ellen nodded, and I could see my classmates maintaining a push-up position, and a child trying her best to look as menacing as possible standing in front of them.

The child spoke up.

“What are you doing? Don’t you see the others? Get down, now.”

“...”

“You’re not getting down?”

The child wasn’t in uniform, but she definitely looked younger than me. I was young, but she looked even younger, perhaps about middle-school age.

But... she was a senior?

Ellen took her place and adopted the push-up position next to where the others were lined up.

The child looked at the line of students that were face-down, and said, “Guys, it seems your friend is a bit slow on the uptake, don’t you think?”

My classmates were all looking at me, glaring venomously, signaling me to hurry up and get down.

Why on earth were these dignified young nobles obeying the words of this little child?

“A senior’s word is not to be taken lightly!” the child shouted angrily.

“A small child like you is supposed to be a senior?”

“What did... you say?”

My sudden, loud retort colored her expression with bewilderment.

“Senior my ass! A runt like you, making a scene here. One slap looks like it’d be enough to twist your neck, you puny thing. What are you so proud of, squawking like that?”

The expressions of my classmates, who were still in push-up position, turned bizarre.

“Y-you... do you even know who I am...?”

“I don’t care who you are, now get lost before I give you a flick on the forehead. Shoo!”

“Ahh!”

My hand came up swiftly, and the child panicked and backed away. Her face turned ashen blue with fear.

Her expression reflected both bewilderment and shock.

“You, you... you better brace yourself.”

“Yeah, good luck with that.”

The little brat, her face turning a shade of frosty blue, glared at me, grinding her teeth before striding out of the training ground.

Everyone else was looking at me with disbelief, as if they’d just witnessed another episode of my madness.

This time, however, my madness seemed to be met with a sort of welcome relief.

“What are you guys doing still down there? Get up.”

With uncertain expressions, the others hesitantly began to rise. I turned my gaze not towards the others, but specifically towards Kaier.

“Hey, what’s all this about?”

He was the easiest target now.

“Uh... well, it’s just that... That was... um...”

Kaier hesitated, as if obeying my command and explaining the situation was a blow to his pride.

“Hey, speak up!”

My menacing demand finally prompted him to stutter.