"If he'd poured even a tenth of the attention he gives me into state affairs, this country would already be a much better place to live."
"Elias."
Leo quietly admonished him.
In the novel, the protagonist's greatest enemy wasn't the Pleuroma or anything else. It was the imperial family itself.
The 'uncle' he referred to was the current emperor.
He had one younger brother, but the brother was sickly and possessed magic power even weaker than a low-ranking noble, so he was never once considered a successor. Thus, his uncle ascended to the throne quite naturally.
However, the emperor's peace began to crack when that younger brother had a child.
A mage stronger than the current emperor was born from a brother too frail to even be considered a proper mage.
For the emperor, who had grown up smoothly as the pillar of the imperial family since birth, it was a bolt from the blue.
Because it made it difficult to pass the throne to his own children.
Of course, normally, even if a branch family child is a bit stronger than the main family heir, you don't replace the main family successor. The branch family simply gains the greatest honor and wealth.
But Elias was born with unprecedented magic power, enough to sufficiently threaten the current emperor's throne itself.
So from the moment his magic manifested, Elias became the enemy of the current emperor and his children.
Elias calmed his emotions at Leo's words and smiled.
"Anyway, you're in the same situation. I definitely heard you couldn't use magic, but if Adrian Ascanien is wary of you, I'm curious just how much magic power you're hiding. No, how have you even been hiding it in the first place?"
"My older brother has been feeding me poison since I was little."
"Ah."
Elias frowned and stroked his chin.
I took out the poison I always carried from my jacket pocket and handed it to him.
He held the vial up to the light and burst out laughing.
"Well now... that's surprising. Hard to believe. That a man who acts so concerned for the people would poison his own brother. And pin strange accusations on him too?"
"Yeah, that's right. That's why I need to deal with the Pleuroma."
"To shatter the rumors your brother created head-on, I suppose. Ah, this is thrilling."
Elias snapped his fingers.
"You know me well. You might be disappointed my intentions aren't pure, but I'd rather you focus on the fact that I have a stronger driving force than anything else."
"Don't worry about that. If you told people to do righteous deeds with only spotless, pure intentions, seven out of ten would fail."
Elias moved his glass forward as if toasting with his wine.
Then he wrinkled his brow and laughed.
"I should keep my mouth shut, but I slipped up. Yeah, that's just me projecting."
I answered with a smile.
In my opinion, he was one of the three he mentioned.
Even if not, regardless of intent, having watched his ten years, I know he is more righteous than anyone.
After a suitable pause, I continued.
"I'm going to break the rumors my brother created and, ultimately, escape from his grasp. To do that, I need to eliminate the Pleuroma. So, I want you to join our group. You'd be a great asset to our strength."
"What do you think I can accomplish? You saw this morning, right? I'm just a student who causes trouble. Would I be helpful?"
"Don't you know your own potential and capabilities better? I think you're extraordinary, starting from how you judged the magical beast issue—which the imperial family hasn't even acknowledged—as a Pleuroma crime and went around investigating."
At my smile, Elias, who had been wearing his characteristic relaxed smile the whole time, momentarily wiped his expression, then wore a different, resolute smile.
"...Right. I should be paid handsomely."
"Of course, I can also provide you with equivalent help."
"You're overflowing with confidence. Good. Do you know what I want?"
"You're also chasing the Pleuroma right now. No, let's be direct. Your goal right now is to fulfill the imperial family's duties in your own way."
Elias seemed speechless, opening his mouth, narrowing his eyes, and slowly tilting his head. Then he laughed.
"Are you serious? Don't you know what kind of reputation I have among people? I'll believe you misspoke about disgracing the imperial family."
"Some of it is intentional."
The laughter gradually faded from Elias's face. It wasn't a cornered expression. It was just a face that seemed to wonder how far I'd go. He stared at me intently.
"There's no other way if you don't want public support. Of course, that image is also perfect for achieving your goals. The current imperial family neglects state affairs, and as a result, many vulnerabilities have appeared. I know you're running around in all directions under that image to fulfill responsibilities on behalf of the imperial family."
Elias still watched me silently.
"Why do you do it? Doesn't the desire to act contrary to the imperial family that insults and rejects you serve as some degree of motivation? Anyway, if that process is your way of disgracing the imperial family, even if our intentions differ, I want to say I'm walking the same path as you."
"..."
It's not 'doesn't it serve as motivation'; it's a fact.
Because it's the inner Elias I read.
But I can't reveal that now.
"I can help you achieve what you want, Elias."
Elias stared at me without blinking, then took a sip of wine and grinned brightly.
"Lucas, right?"
"Yeah."
"Cool name. Come to think of it, we both have names ending with that damned 's'. So... Lucas, Lucas, Luca. Hmm, I like this."
Elias tapped the rim of his glass to the rhythm of his words. Then he leisurely raised his head and met my eyes.
"Alright, I'll cooperate with you, Luca."
"..."
I was momentarily speechless.
The only characters who call Lucas 'Luca' are my brother and the protagonist.
In Luca's chapter, the protagonist, due to strange affinity and some reason, called a classmate from ten years ago by a nickname—the name of someone already dead.
Putting that story aside, hearing it directly made me hesitate to speak.
Whether ten years later or now, the protagonist is the same.
A sense of relief that the world I knew still existed here, the feeling I often got from Leo, washed over me.
That would have been fine, but for some reason, the fact that no one recognized the original me, that everyone truly perceived me as Luca, surfaced again.
Elias waved his hand at my silent self.
"Umm, isn't this a moment to be happy? Was I a bit rude for a first meeting?"
"Yeah, what do you think you're doing calling him that without asking first?"
Leo glanced at my expression and scolded Elias. Leo knows my brother calls me by that name. So he must feel even more awkward intervening.
"No."
I looked into Elias's earnest eyes and spoke.
"Welcome, Eli."
Ding—!
〈 Chapter 4. Constant Drops Wear Away the Stone (2) 〉
Proposal 1: Make 'Elias Hohenzollern' your ally. (1/1) (11h 53m 17s)
* Route 1 ― 〈 Proposal 2 〉
* Route 2 ― 〈 Chapter 5. Don't Praise the Day Before Evening 〉
Congratulations!
'Proposal 1: Make 'Elias Hohenzollern' your ally.' Successful!
'Route 1 — 〈 Proposal 2 〉' is confirmed.
With this, I've made two characters from the novel into allies.
Might as well check the status window.
Elias Hohenzollern
[Favorability +2]
Title: ?
Stamina: +9 [+7]
Mental Power: +8
Magic Power: +9
Skill: +6
Impression: +3
Luck: +8
Traits: Eternal Protagonist (Lv.2), Charm (Lv.3)
Favorability is 2.
Considering he probably believed I was with the Pleuroma until yesterday, that's not bad.
If I had met him at the start, I would have undoubtedly faced a negative number. Meeting him after raising it to positive felt pretty good.
'...'
I've adapted to a life where I'm happy with a 2 out of 10.
The title is a question mark like with Leo, and below that, stats appear that are hard to see among peers, just like with Leo or Narke.
More importantly...
'Eternal Protagonist?'
My gaze quickly went to the trait at the very bottom.
A truly protagonist-like name.
I tried to check what effect it had, but no other window opened.
'There must be a reason it's in the trait slot, not the title.'
As I was admiring the text before my eyes, Leo asked with a baffled face.
"Eli...?"
Unlike Leo's question, Elias clapped his hands with a satisfied look.
"I like that! Learn from Lucas, Leo."
"No."
"I call you Leo, don't I?"
"You can call me Leonard, Elias."
"Umm, I'm starting to wonder who really belongs here."
Elias lightly brushed off Leo's words and tapped the table.
Checking the clock, it was almost time for the others to gather.
"Wait a bit. They'll be here soon."
* * *
"Thirteen including me? That's a lot."
Elias said, counting the chairs where students were seated.
Last time there were ten; two more had been brought in since.
It should have been noisier than usual since Leo was the only one from the group who went to hunt the magical beast yesterday, but because Elias was sitting there, it was extremely quiet.
The students made eye gestures at me and Leo, pointing at Elias. Their faces showed they had no idea how Elias ended up here.
Then, someone warped in from the entrance.
Narke, who entered last, cleaned his muddy boots at the doorway and scanned the students.
"Hmm, everyone's here. I'm not late, but why's the atmosphere so... Ah."
Narke smiled, then, spotting Elias, approached him and extended his hand.
"I'm Narke. Looking forward to working with you."
"Heard about you. An exchange student, right? I just transferred to Class 2 and it's almost my first time attending too, so it's unfamiliar, but having a comrade is reassuring~"
At that, Leo chided him.
"You're the one who skipped school without permission, so you've only been in our class for a day. Narke's been attending for a month already."
"The heart is what matters. In terms of period, I've been at this school for two years now."
"Haha, I know the feeling. Let's do our best together."
"Good friend."
Narke said with a laugh, winking, and returned to his seat.
Perhaps emboldened by Narke's greeting, Melvin, whose face had become excessively pale, managed to force a smile.
"S-so, Elias joined us too... Since when?"
"Starting today. Seemed like you guys were having all the fun. So, what activities have you been doing? I'd like to see some materials too."
I took out my file and handed it to him.
Elias flipped through the pages one by one and whistled.
"You've had four meetings so far? The quality is good. Who did this?"
"Everyone. We each gathered materials and compiled them."
At my answer, someone at the table spoke up.
"Lucas drew most of the conclusions, though."
"Right."
At that answer, Elias, who had been buried in the file, looked up with a smile and looked at me.
"I thought so earlier too, but this isn't much different from the data the imperial family has. Some parts are even better. They have more quantity, but with this, you could probably figure it out here too?"
"That's surprising in itself..."
At Elias's laughter, Leo held his forehead and muttered.
That's a comment on whether the imperial family should be seen as being at the level of a high school club.
Then, Leo suddenly had a thought and jerked his head up.
"Wait, but how do you know about the imperial family's data?"
"I broke in once before. Couldn't make copies, though."
"..."
Seems we really gained a reliable person.
Amidst the dazed students, I smiled, feeling satisfied.
—-----------
T/N:
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