The academy at dawn was quiet.
Students at the academy each had their own personal training schedules. Naturally, it was rare to find anyone still asleep at such an early hour.
No matter how extraordinary one’s talent might be, this place was the academy.
It was a gathering place for brilliant minds from various regions, where only those who used their time most efficiently could survive. Hence, the scenery of the academy greeting the tranquil morning felt quite unfamiliar to me.
It was evidence that students were starting to head home in greater numbers.
Taking a stroll along the deserted main road was a rare experience. I had spent approximately two years and six months at the academy, yet I had never seen the front of the student council building devoid of people.
That was because I was one of the first to head home when vacation began.
If it hadn’t been for the imperial princess, the monster attacks, and the love letters from the future, this year would have been no different. Of course, that assumption had long since lost its relevance.
Something was lurking in Perkus Manor.
Knowing this, there was no way I could withdraw. How could I stand idly by when my precious hometown, where my family lived, was on the brink of being destroyed by the Dark Cult?
I needed to gather more information.
Of course, there was a priority in the information to be collected. The rumors that I needed to investigate first were about my actions over the past two days.
The ‘me’ from the future knew about numerous incidents.
Even if he was not from the exact same timeline as me, that was the case.
In other words, the future ‘me’ existed in a future separate from the one I was currently walking towards. The information he knew was bound to be somewhat limited.
If I were to call the ideal future I wanted to walk towards a ‘successful future,’ then the time that my future self experienced was known as the ‘failed future.’
And the future where love letters were sent was a ‘successful future,’ not a ‘failed future.’
Even though it was ‘me’ from the future, I could not be certain that he knew about the events occurring in that ‘successful future.’
The events he knew were confined to the ‘failed future’ after all.
Nevertheless, the actions of my persona from the future still provided valuable clues.
It was clear that he knew more information than my current self did. After all, he was a person from a future that could be years away, so there was no way around that.
The advice left on the back of the letter made this clear.
‘Discard what needs to be discarded.’
That blunt advice hinted that the man had already caught wind of something.
It was time to find out what kind of mad things I had been up to over the past two days.
I felt a bit anxious, but I decided to steel myself.
After all, I had already meddled with the imperial court.
There couldn’t be any crazier actions than that. With that faint hope in mind, I headed towards the sword training grounds.
By now, there were already a dozen or so students training there.
No matter how much the resident population of the academy had decreased, the training ground was bound to always have an aura of activity.
Most nobles had returned to their hometowns, but commoners had no suitable place to return to. The academy was far more convenient for living than a shabby house.
Though the number of people was less than half of its peak, it was still enough to hear rumors.
However, the results from inquiring among the students training were shocking.
“…Nothing happened?”
“Uh, you weren’t doing anything? Were you still at the academy?”
It was hard to believe what I heard from a familiar classmate, so I bravely continued to pry into a few more students.
The conclusions were consistent.
“No, I haven’t heard anything.”
“Eh, if you go somewhere, the story will spread, right? But there was no rumor at all.”
“Eh, weren’t you going back to your hometown? Last time, Celin was looking for you.”
Both my classmates and even the juniors and seniors had similar replies. In that case, there was no room for doubt.
The ‘me’ from the future hadn’t caused any incidents over the past two days.
It was an astounding fact.
Given the blood-stained imperial seal, it seemed I had done something, but at least it hadn’t affected my reputation, which was moving.
I felt like tears were about to come out.
To put it metaphorically, it was like witnessing a brother, who I thought was a lunatic obsessed with axe chopping, adapt normally to society.
Yeah, if you want to, you can do it.
Muttering words I didn’t even know who I was saying them to, I took lighter steps. Today felt particularly cool.
It wasn’t long before I paused, humming a tune.
Just then, a sharp slap to my back almost made me scream.
My body, whose extraordinary patience had endured, jumped up involuntarily. I quickly guessed the cause of that familiar sensation.
As my resentful gaze turned to look behind me, there stood Celin, arms crossed.
She had a very dissatisfied expression.
“…Where have you been, Ian Oppa?”
The form of her crossing her arms was already grave.
Thinking back, one of the stories I had just heard was that Celin had been looking for me. For a full two days.
Despite the twinge of pain tingling in my back, I had to clear my throat without uttering a word.
“Well, I’m trying to find that out now…”
“…What nonsense is that!”
The sharp shout revealed Celin’s ire. For me, Celin was particularly gentle, but when truly angry, that consideration vanished.
After all, I had disappeared for two whole days without a word, so it was not surprising.
While I believed I had given a truthful answer, Celin seemed to think I was joking, and her anger flared even more.
“Ian Oppa… Don’t you remember we decided to depart for Perkus Manor the day after tomorrow?! We need to buy gifts for our parents before heading down, and gifts for Aron Oppa and Liya too!”
“No, usually when we go down, we don’t buy gifts…”
“Well, that may be true for you, but I’m going too, aren’t I?”
At Celin’s piercing glare, I immediately clamped my mouth shut.
It would be quite rude to arrive empty-handed when relying on someone else’s hospitality. Back in our childhood, it might have been acceptable, but now, both Celin and I were adults.
However, I felt wronged and had no choice but to protest.
“No, can’t we just go shopping with Reto?”
“Are you crazy?! Why should I go out with that jerk alone?!”
Faced with Celin’s chilling rebuttal, I stroked my chin in silence.
For Celin, it seemed like going out with her own brother. So, I figured this would feel like me and Liya going shopping alone.
After a good deal of contemplation, the conclusion I derived was simple.
“…What’s wrong with that?”
“Incestuous desire.”
A look of disdain had begun to flicker in Celin’s hazel eyes.
Faced with that gaze, my frustration only intensified. I spoke to persuade Celin in an exasperated tone.
“No, Celin… There are various forms of sibling relationships in this world. Some, like you and Reto, keep their distance, while others, like me and Liya, are particularly affectionate, right?”
“…You and Liya are a bit excessive.”
With a huff, Celin made it sound as if she had heard something ridiculous.
“Especially Liya, that girl is a bit dangerous. She really likes Ian Oppa! When I’m picking out gifts alone, she’ll just sarcastically tease me in that polite tone…”
“Liya is not like that.”
At my firm voice, Celin pouted her lips.
Then, she exhaled and directed a somewhat sullen gaze my way. It was an expression of resignation.
“So, where on earth have you been? You disappeared for two days without a trace, do you know how worried I was?”
I wanted to scream that I didn’t know!
However, I had just realized that sometimes telling the truth wasn’t the answer. Instead, I decided to listen to Celin.
If she had been looking for me for two days, then she must have had the most sightings of me.
“…Did no one see me for two days?”
“Exactly!”
Celin, seemingly frustrated, began to stomp her feet. She looked very upset and wronged.
“Do you know how worried I was?! At first, there was just no news, but after looking for two days, no one even saw your face…”
Celin’s voice gradually grew watery.
It seemed she had been desperately searching for me. I had vanished without a trace, so Celin must have been anxious.
Had Celin gone missing like that, I would have felt the same.
Realizing that feeling, I gently stroked Celin’s head in silence. Then, Celin leaned her head against my chest, sobbing.
“I’m sorry, Celin.”
“…Yeah.”
So, I was able to move only after comforting Celin for a while.
Celin mentioned that she had only heard one sighting regarding me.
“I heard a rumor that Ian Oppa bought whiskey and returned to the dorm last night.”
That was the only moment I had been spotted in the academy over the past two days of my disappearance.
Something felt off.
If my future persona had been holed up in my room all day, there must have been some purpose to it. Yet, there was no trace left in my room.
And if I had been in my room, Celin wouldn’t have gone searching for me for two days.
Therefore, the answer was clear.
The imperial court.
I didn’t know what had happened, but there had undoubtedly been some contact with them.
The seal I carried felt unusually heavy.
In the end, I had to seek out Neoris to obtain information.
However, as I stepped towards the news department, a shadow fell upon me in an empty lot where people were sparse.
It was a swift reaction, as if it had been waiting for me all along.
Someone had clearly been tracking my movements. My eyes turned towards Neoris, whom I hadn’t seen in a while.
With her neatly styled brown bob covering the nape of her neck and an impressive pin in her bangs, she was a striking woman. Her dark green eyes were clouded with melancholy.
Above all, the most noticeable change was the bandages wrapped around her body.
The bandages covering her neck to shoulders, and from her fingers to wrists hinted at injuries. It didn’t look like just light wounds.
When my perplexed gaze fixed on her sudden appearance, Neoris immediately lowered her head.
Her body trembled like quaking aspen leaves.
“I… I’ve gathered the information you requested. The status of the missing population around Perkus Manor and neighboring territories…”
“…Are you okay?”
That was a question everyone would naturally ask if they had normal sensibilities.
Isn’t it common sense to check on someone who clearly looked in pain?
However, Neoris looked up at me with wide eyes, as if she couldn’t hear the words. My gaze remained filled with questions as I looked down at her.
The moment she seemed momentarily absent, Neoris’s complexion turned pale.
“Of course! Of course it’s fine. Thanks to Ian’s kind actions…”
As I became more baffled by what she was saying, Neoris began to plead, mixing in faint weeping.
“I… I won’t doubt you… I won’t doubt you again…”
Finally, my hand slapped my face with a sound.
Of course, it couldn’t have gone smoothly.
What on earth had I done?
Only after listening to Neoris’s story did I grasp the general situation.
