Bastatin charged at the mutated Ban, drawing up translucent yellow venom and thick green poison.
“Ban.”
I couldn’t understand why the slightly mischievous but kind child had turned out like this.
I wanted to live a normal life.
No, in fact, I wanted to live an extraordinary one.
I wanted to burn my unique talents to live my one life spectacularly.
I dreamed of presenting at conferences, writing papers, and interacting with magicians and pharmacologists.
That was the normality I desired.
Was it arrogance, or was it a wish?
‘I don’t know.’
Grrrrr!
The headless giant octopus that had become Ban was now about to fill the street horizontally.
“Ban!”
I’m sorry for not recognizing you.
While you were nurturing such a monster.
Grrrrr!
The long-reaching tentacle of Ban wrapped around Bastatin and quickly swallowed him.
“What happens now?”
Jin, who was sitting down, unconsciously asked Valenciaunos with honorifics.
Valenciaunos stepped back a little and shrugged his shoulders slightly.
In situations that were originally bewildering and absurd, one had to act calmly, and if they couldn’t do that, at least pretend to be calm.
He couldn’t let Bastatin’s sacrifice be in vain.
“I don’t know. We’ll have to wait until the poison circulates. If we’re lucky, we’ll survive; if unlucky, we’ll all die.”
Jin looked horrified and glanced at Sererassie.
She shot him a sidelong glance, as if she didn’t like Valenciaunos’s irresponsible words, and replied.
“Isn’t it likely to succeed or fail with similar odds?”
“Do you think that rephrasing changes the content?”
Valenciaunos ignored him and dragged Jin out.
By the time they got more than thirty steps away from the mutated Ban, his yellow eyes gleamed sadistically.
“Sister.”
“Right. It’s a success.”
The writhing tentacle’s movements had slowed considerably.
Small tentacles drooped or became stiff.
Sererassie enchanted her lightning magic once again, and Valenciaunos sprinted like he was flying.
“Ugh.”
First-level Imperial Swordsmanship—All-Embracing Cut.
His body, enhanced by mana, surged with power.
Taut muscles exploded like a volcano.
Ztskaak-!
The mana blade, shimmering softly, cut diagonally through the monster’s body.
Blue lightning flowed through the wound, widening it even further.
“Valen, thrust the sword in! I, the splendid one, shall make up for your shortcomings!”
This was a tactic he often used when hunting giant monsters even before his return.
Thwokk!
As soon as Valenciaunos heard Sererassie’s shout, he shoved the sword into the gaping wound.
Sererassie gripped her staff tightly with her left hand while holding a piece of a blue drake’s horn like a pen in her right, drawing sigils, and began to chant.
“Follow and follow, my lightning, a single line at this moment…!”
Hearing that, Jin gasped in awe, mouth agape.
It was a level of spellwork so advanced that even the top of the magic department couldn’t fathom it.
That’s what talent is, he murmured to himself, feeling foolish for believing he was special until now.
“Shine brightly in this moment. Lightning Spear!”
Flash!
A spear-like jolt of lightning shot out from her staff after she finished the lengthy incantation.
It was a lightning spell several times stronger than one that had once turned the first floor of a casino into a wreck.
The lightning riding Valenciaunos’s sword penetrated deep into the mutated Ban’s body, piercing through tough skin.
“Kiiiik!”
The gigantic monster trembled in agony.
A red core peeked through the gaping wound.
At that moment, Valenciaunos gestured to Jin.
“Finish it. You have the right to do so, and the obligation.”
His voice was firm and impossible to refuse.
Jin gritted his teeth and dashed toward his old friend.
“This is all your doing, isn’t it?”
Having never ranked below second in the swordsmanship department, his thrust was on par with Valenciaunos’s.
Valenciaunos swatted away and blocked the sluggish tentacle with his forearm, clearing the path for Jin.
The white-haired duke and the ashen-hued illegitimate child crossed paths, and the illegitimate child plunged his sword into the monster’s core.
The sound of a loud clang resonated.
“Have you heard the rumor?”
“What rumor?”
The campus of the academy was tranquil and peaceful after the exams.
After the exams, some never left the tavern, others caught up on sleep, and some professors were seen around the Street of Learning, enjoying picnics disguised as outdoor classes.
“Recently, another infiltrator appeared over there. A mage from the Imperial Palace’s Magic Guild solved it. They say Duke Valencius caused the incident?”
One student’s eyes sparkled with excitement.
“What are you talking about?”
“You know about the rumors that royal illegitimate children are lurking around the Street of Learning, right?”
“Who doesn’t know about that? Those damned bastards. Acting like they’re working hard when they’re all naturally gifted…!”
“I heard they triggered the corruption to justify killing them. But they messed up the control, and that monster came out.”
The listening student frowned.
“That sounds a bit far-fetched, doesn’t it? No way the Emperor would let them go if they were involved with the infiltrators.”
“Listen. The Emperor intends to kill all the illegitimate children, right? Since they’re all slated for death anyway, nobody would complain if they go all out.”
Clap, another student applauded.
“That sounds reasonable. Truly a tyrant, a bandit to the core. Planning to kill off all relatives and creating opinions that justify their extermination by encouraging corruption.”
“But is corruption really that easy to obtain?”
“I don’t know. At this point, isn’t it something pertaining to royal blood?”
“Ah, did you hear? Jin is receiving an honorary award from the dean tonight. Want to go see?”
“Yeah. Let’s go. But afterward, we’re going to Bastatin’s Magic Apothecary together.”
“That place is closed for a while. The owner got injured.”
“Really?”
It was just the right time for a walk after dinner, and although it wasn’t an official event, many students gathered beneath the outdoor podium.
In the beautifully sunset-lit campus, an honor was pinned to Jin’s chest.
The sharp-looking boy with ash-gray hair and blue eyes, dressed in a navy uniform, matched perfectly with the golden medal that adorned him.
As applause resounded, a platinum-armored knight presented him with a splendid scabbard.
“Congratulations!”
“Congratulations.”
“Of course, it’s you! Our court noble’s exemplar!”
Responding to each congratulation and politely declining requests for drinks, he headed for his dorm room.
As soon as he opened the door, a dark and musty air greeted him.
“Here.”
There was a visitor who didn’t belong there.
A duke with white hair and golden eyes, dressed in a splendid uniform, was waiting for him with a smug smile.
“Thank you.”
Without hesitation, Jin drank the potion Valenciaunos offered.
His shaking pupils turned blue once more.
“Fortunately, you seem to have aroused no suspicion, despite the rampant rumors of royal illegitimate children lurking around the Street of Learning.”
“We’ve been well hidden so far. No one has known about our gatherings. The students think different students have suddenly died.”
“Indeed. You’re doing well.”
Valenciaunos smiled lightly and handed over a leather pouch.
Jin was startled by its unexpected weight.
“Are you giving me more than last time?”
“This money is not just for you. It’s the budget. There aren’t many of the remaining kids, so take good care of it. Make sure the poverty doesn’t push anyone towards dark magic. Even after graduation, keep pretending to be friendly.”
“Yes, I understand.”
Days passed, and a few days later, Valenciaunos appeared before Jin, his head wrapped in bandages, proposing to hire him as a secret administrative officer belonging to the Imperial Guard, to manage royal illegitimate children around the Street of Learning.
Knowing there was no room for refusal, Jin had to accept.
“If any further infiltrators come out among the royal illegitimate children, it’s your job to kill them. Understood?”
Valenciaunos’s voice was playful, but his eyes weren’t smiling.
Jin struggled not to be intimidated and put the purse away.
“Yes.”
“Good. Let’s do well moving forward.”
As he turned his body toward the window, Jin hesitated before asking a question.
“May I ask one question?”
“Sure.”
“Weren’t you reluctant about us wanting to lead an easy life with our innate talents? Why did you give me this opportunity?”
Valenciaunos leaned against the window frame, about to leave, and chuckled lightly.
“Talent?”
The sunlight of the day cast a glow on his bright hair, making it appear to blush red.
His contrasting shadowed lips moved quickly.
“You’re nowhere near having talent. The children of noble families in this country are all of heterogeneous races. If they come from wealthy families that can afford to attend the academy, even commoners would have a few drops of heterogeneous blood mixed in.”
“Ah.”
“This might sound strange, but since you’re an illegitimate child, your maternal side would likely be very close to a regular human. You’re not particularly of a remarkably impressive bloodline compared to the children of court nobles.”
Corruption was an issue of royal blood, not mixed blood.
“The court noble sons and daughters who fall behind you are all lazy. Or perhaps you’re just diligent.”
“Then did you really come just to kill the infiltrators?”
Valenciaunos shook his head.
“Originally, the plan was to bring everyone to the Imperial Palace for management. But on the day after we fought, the Platinum Knights pointed out that bringing in outsiders to the palace, where assassination attempts happen three times a day, wasn’t good for security. So the plan changed to let them live as they were, using local collaborators with a few gold coins.”
The collaborator, who could be manipulated with a few gold coins, bowed deeply.
“Thank you for giving me this opportunity.”
“Right. His Majesty is also pleased with your attitude. Good superiors tend to want to protect subordinates willing to take responsibility.”
“This is the opportunity given by Duke Valencius.”
Recalling the gaping wound, the red core, the final strike he was granted, Jin bowed his head even more deeply.
Yet the answer he received was unexpected.
“There’s no need for such gratitude. Many of the infiltrators go into a frenzy when their cores are attacked, so I didn’t strike.”
“Yes?!”
Jin’s blue eyes widened in surprise.
“Did you really think I was graciously allowing you the chance to defeat the infiltrators for your sake? I was doing it to save myself.”
Valenciaunos grinned wickedly as he hopped out from beneath the window frame.
Even taking on too large a debt would only burden his heart.
The best scenario was a relationship where a suitable blend of fear, surprise, and resentment coexisted.
He needed to appear as something incomprehensible.
Jin cursed angrily and dashed to the window, but Valenciaunos had already vanished.
Sererassie sipped tea with Valenciaunos in the reception room, waiting for Jeilliris’s evening meeting to conclude.
“Thank goodness everything you did turned out well. After all, the street hasn’t collapsed.”
She said casually.
Sererassie had ambitions, while the illegitimate children were trying to conceal theirs.
In needing to pretend to be ordinary, she found a commonality with the illegitimate children, so she quite appreciated that they survived this outcome.
Watching Valenciaunos’s eyes calm as he noticed her flickering gaze, he asked innocently.
“Is it really resolved?”
Sererassie replied, feeling disgust.
“As long as even one more survives, without venturing into the past, avoiding overindulgent thoughts about bloodlines and normalcy, isn’t that a resolution?”
He made a malicious joke.
“I’m worried that it might have been better to kill them all.”
Sererassie rolled her eyes.
“Do you have any idea how hard I worked to convey the difficulties of the guard through Lady Trentia and the Platinum Knights? It wasn’t a request for someone I met just once! And you agreed, didn’t you? Surely you haven’t forgotten already?”
While he had indeed agreed, Valenciaunos brazenly maintained a shameless façade.
He subconsciously hoped that as countless “what ifs” approached, Sererassie would unhesitatingly abandon him.
Should he die while fighting an infiltrator, or fall out of favor with Jeilliris and flee, he wanted Sererassie and Tenitia to remain in the palace, serving Jeilliris.
“I heard some of those who didn’t show up that day or are still hiding, and I figured it’d take too long to find and kill them all. I thought if I caused a scene again later, we’d use Jin to sweep through it quickly.”
Sererassie narrowed her eyes.
“Then do that when the time comes. You reckless brother. Don’t stir up what has already concluded.”
“Understood.”
Hearing her playful tone, she muttered quietly.
“Still, I’m grateful.”
“For what?”
“For giving me the opportunity.”
For giving those like me on that day the chance to fulfill their duties and responsibilities and gain honor.
This time, Valenciaunos did not make any strange remarks.
Seeing him silently wear an ambiguous expression, Sererassie sighed deeply.
‘Didn’t he say he held back because he might get attacked after striking the core?’
Though he seemed to be reckless, such a look rendered him utterly unpredictable.
Suddenly, the door to the reception room swung open.
“Let’s go collect the money!”
The unusually lively voice of the Emperor echoed through the room.
