31. Stella Knights (2)
After the failure of his mission, Senior Knight Beido was wound tight with discipline.
Since he had brought it on himself, he had no complaints. The fact that he had not been demoted was reason enough to be grateful to the General Commander.
In any case, after that day, Beido took on one task after another that was, for a senior knight, little more than grunt work.
Thankfully, the manpower of senior knights was valuable enough that he was not made to do things like cleaning or laundry, but if it was a job the other knights disliked, he ended up handling it all.
Managing the cadets of the Cadet Academy was, likewise, one of those countless menial tasks.
Normally, the job of whipping into shape those who would soon become his juniors was handled by knights anywhere from junior knights to, at most, newly promoted mid-ranking knights.
But because none other than Senior Knight Beido had ended up teaching the cadets, not only the Cadet Academy students but even the instructors themselves could not help feeling uncomfortable around him.
However, contrary to their concerns, Beido managed the cadets more dutifully and by the book than expected, and he did not particularly interfere even with the instructors, whose pure official standing was far below his own.
After spending the past few days on a rather busy schedule alongside the cadets, Beido, too, was finally given some free time.
Perhaps it was only natural for Cadet Academy students who had just turned twenty and were in the full bloom of youth, but apparently they had started some kind of competition among themselves and wanted to hold a small athletic meet.
It was not scheduled in the middle of training, and if they wanted to relax by playing among themselves, there was no need for him to interfere, so Beido readily granted permission.
'Still… why are these idiots holding an athletic meet in a place like that?'
The place the knight cadets had agreed to use was the Academy's first-year gymnasium.
Being Stella, it was not as though they had only one or two gymnasiums, but he still had doubts about whether it was really acceptable to take one that belonged to the Academy students.
'Well, whatever.'
Right now, he did not particularly want to go around checking every little detail. A large part of him also thought the cadets would sort it out themselves.
…However, given that the last time he had thought that way he had ended up being chewed out thoroughly, the anxiety made his hands tremble. In the end, Beido had no choice but to head toward the first-year gymnasium where the cadets were supposedly holding their athletic meet.
"No, this is the first-year-only gym."
"That doesn't matter. We decided to use it."
And sure enough, the atmosphere was strange.
Just as Beido had expected, the cadets had come into conflict with Stella Academy's first-year students.
Unless the other side was from Class S or a noble, there was no way the cadets from the Cadet Academy would back down that easily.
'Well… I suppose it can't be helped.'
It would not be right to interfere with the cadets that far. He was not an instructor, after all, but merely in a position to protect and manage them.
So Beido intended to stand some distance away and simply watch.
"Is that little brat your friend too?"
"Take him and go back. Just think of it as bad luck today."
'Hm?'
That was, until he spotted one particular boy who stood out.
How could he possibly forget that face?
It was a youthful, gentle-looking, almost cute face—but it belonged to Baek Yuseol, the genius mage boy of the age who dragged one turbulent incident after another behind him wherever he went.
And that very boy—the one who was also the reason Beido had ended up in this sorry state—was currently being pushed around by the cadets under his supervision.
"W-wait a second…"
Beido's complexion turned pale.
He held no ill feelings toward Baek Yuseol. If anything, he felt more gratitude than resentment. It was only because Baek Yuseol had survived by his own efforts that Beido had at least escaped with a lighter share of the blame.
That alone was more than enough reason to help him, but there was an even more important issue.
Lately, for some reason, General Commander Arain had started taking a deep interest in Baek Yuseol.
It was not being talked about openly yet, but Beido had found out after this failed mission, since he had been meeting with Arain frequently.
In other words, Baek Yuseol was a talent worth the personal attention of Arain himself…
And cadets—mere cadets—were power-tripping against someone like that?
Impossible.
Whether it affected him or not, the future of those cadets standing there right now might someday be decided by a single word that future Baek Yuseol chose to utter.
A scene straight out of a novel flashed through his head.
A commoner boy, mistreated by vicious cadets, one day catches the eye of the commander of the knights and rises all at once to become a candidate for the next General Commander!
'What was it you said to me back then?'
'I-I'm sorry, Sir Knight!'
'Hey, I said do it again exactly like you did back then.'
Beido imagined Baek Yuseol turning the tables and power-tripping over them in return. He could even picture the miserable expressions on the cadets' faces as they suffered punishments under him.
"Stop."
So in the end, this was for their sake.
Thinking that inwardly, Beido had no choice but to spit out those harsh words.
"S-Senior Knight Beido, sir!"
"Attention!"
The Cadet Academy students instinctively snapped into a salute without even their wands in hand.
Passing through the Academy students, Beido deliberately looked around with a heavy expression. There was no actual need for it, but he dragged it out to make them feel the pressure.
"…What exactly do you think you're doing?"
"Ah, well. As we reported earlier, through sports activities we intended to foster healthy minds and bodies, and furthermore to train everyone's spirit of cooperation—"
The words sounded polished enough.
Then again, that was the military for you.
As if there were no need to hear any more, Beido lifted a hand sharply, and the cadet hastily shut his mouth.
"And why, exactly, are you conducting that wholesome activity in the Academy's gymnasium?"
"That's…"
"Because if you used the Cadet Academy gym, you'd be too conscious of your upperclassmen?"
Flinch.
Judging by the way the cadets' heads dropped all at once, he had guessed right.
Just as the Cadet Academy students power-tripped over the Academy cadets, they too were being power-tripped over by their seniors.
An endless food chain of people biting and being bitten.
It was a truly distasteful and absurd structure, but he had no intention of digging that far into it.
"How ridiculous. And you still think you're qualified to become knights of Stella?"
"NO, SIR!!"
"Too quiet. I see your resolve clearly."
"WE'RE SORRY, SIR!!"
There was one more exclamation point now. Proof that their voices had gotten a little louder.
But even that was not enough.
"With that kind of mindset, I can only imagine what wonderful knights protecting Stella you'll turn into. Your day off is canceled. Assemble at the drill grounds immediately. Today is hell training."
"YES, SIR!!"
"Don't drag out your voices."
"YES!!"
As the Cadet Academy students rushed out in a crowd, the Academy students left behind simply stared after them in bewilderment.
Beido paid them no mind. He strode right up to Baek Yuseol and patted him on the shoulder.
"I'll make sure those idiots are properly educated, so don't worry too much about it—just enjoy your time with your friends."
Whatever else the future held, this was someone who might one day become the next General Commander, after all. After saying as many pleasant things to him as possible, Beido hurriedly withdrew.
"What was that?"
Baek Yuseol, who had never seen a person named Beido once in his life, wore an utterly baffled expression.
The other students, too, had gone silent, clearly curious what kind of relationship Baek Yuseol had with that senior knight.
"…Anyway, this means we can play basketball now, right?"
Trying to lift the mood that had sunk straight to the floor, Flame flashed a grin and bounced the basketball hard against the ground.
"You guys are dead."
And just like that, the wagered basketball game began.
'Ah, damn it…'
For Baek Yuseol, who had only been hoping to take a nap, it was truly like a bolt from the blue.
—Read only on MugenCodex.—
Monday came, and Aizel—who had barely managed to submit her thesis on time—walked out of the faculty office with her shoulders drooping low.
'This is amazing! This is seriously amazing!'
The professor's cry from a moment ago—not a scream, but an exclamation of admiration—still rang vividly in her ears. She felt like she could die from exhaustion, but hearing praise still made her feel good.
'So I was the last one…'
As befitted Stella Academy's status as the finest institution, there were quite a lot of students attending the Aslan Seminar. While all of them had submitted their theses long ago, Aizel had been the very last.
And even then, if Baek Yuseol had not helped her, she did not know whether she would have been able to finish in time at all.
'…No, I definitely wouldn't have.'
At best, she probably would have cobbled together an incomplete thesis and managed to stumble through the presentation somehow.
And if that had happened… the other students would probably have ripped her apart with an endless stream of nitpicks.
The Aslan Seminar.
On the surface, it looked like a thesis discussion forum where geniuses gathered to present papers and exchange opinions on a single subject—but in truth, it was practically a kind of arena for verbal combat.
At least, that was how Aizel thought of it.
A place where, in order to attend again next year and the year after that, everyone struggled desperately to tear one another down and devour one another whole.
The regular participants fought to keep their seats, and the rising newcomers fought to seize those seats and become permanent participants themselves.
If she had gone there with a weak mindset, she might have become nothing more than easy prey.
She truly was grateful to Baek Yuseol.
He had helped her before, and this time too she owed him another debt.
At this point, she no longer entertained the petty question of why he helped her.
He genuinely wanted to help her, and in truth he had been a great help, so all she could do in return was be genuine with him as well.
…Besides, now that he had declared things over with Flame, for some reason her heart felt lighter too.
'That has nothing to do with anything!'
The instant that useless stray thought almost took root in her mind, Aizel hurriedly shook her head to drive it away.
Maybe it was because she finally had some breathing room now, but distracting thoughts kept drifting through her mind.
At some point, Aizel had started thinking that she genuinely wanted to help Baek Yuseol.
But until now, she had never once had the chance. Had she not even declined when he invited her to the dungeon this time, saying she was too busy?
No—actually, even if she had helped with the dungeon, that still would not have been the real help he needed.
More than just lending a hand in things Baek Yuseol could already do himself, she wanted to give him help he truly could not do on his own, but that she could do for him.
'Is there even such a thing?'
How could someone like her possibly solve something that even Baek Yuseol, who seemed capable of doing everything, could not?
That negative thought weighed on her enough that sighs kept slipping out—
"…Are you Aizel Morf?"
"Eek!"
As she turned around the corner of the building, someone suddenly addressed her, and she nearly fell backward on the spot. Aizel stumbled back and stared at the speaker in fright.
Thankfully, it was not an enemy.
And yet even so, Aizel's face only turned paler and paler.
One of the most representative figures upholding Stella's name.
And one of the strongest mage knights alive.
'Commander Arain…?'
Why in the world was he here, all the way in the Academy district? Before the question could even fully form, Arain—standing half-hidden in shadow—stepped closer to her.
"I know your concern."
"Y-yes…?"
"You left too many traces. If you read books like this in the library, it would be wise to tidy up a little afterward."
Arain flicked the book Aizel had been reading. The title was [The Fate of the Cursed Body: Mana Leakage Constitution].
"Th-that…"
Not just that book—Aizel had wandered all around outside Stella, searching through an enormous number of texts concerning Mana Leakage Constitution.
But there had been no answer.
To begin with, it was a curse so brutally rare—something that appeared with odds in the hundreds of millions to one—that proper research had hardly been conducted at all.
And yet—
'Why does he have that…?'
It was already shocking enough that the General Commander of Stella's knights had personally come all this way to speak to her, but she had never once imagined he would take an interest in Mana Leakage Constitution.
"Do you want to save your friend?"
She did not know.
Or rather, she did not know anything for certain—but the person before her was Commander Arain.
At the very least… he ought to possess far superior knowledge and information than she did, in every field.
Aizel silently nodded, and Arain spoke as though satisfied.
"There is a way."
"Th-that really…?"
"However, I need your name. Not the name 'Aizel,' but the name 'Morf.'"
At those words, Aizel's expression instantly stiffened. Ever since stepping out into society, she had never once used the name Morf officially.
"Can you accept that?"
To her, "Morf" had become a kind of shackle. It ought to have been a name she took pride in above all else, yet it had become a cursed name she could not openly speak anywhere.
But if it meant saving Baek Yuseol…
"As much as you need."
Not only her name.
If necessary, she was prepared to stake everything.