Chapter 51
A month had passed since then.
I had expected the investigation bureau to come knocking regarding the incident where I assaulted the guards in the underground waterway, but no news had reached me in all that time.
Come to think of it, it was the same when I topped the midterm exams. After the disciplinary committee fell apart thanks to Hectia and Hailey’s support, the academy had informed me they would hold a verification period after the field experience training. But it never actually happened.
Looking at this incident, I could only conclude that the protagonist’s party had pulled some strings back then as well.
In any case, it was a good outcome. Getting tangled in such matters while expanding my business would’ve been bad luck.
The coffee cart that Lilac had been running alone had been upgraded significantly, thanks to Nerjin’s advice.
It cost a bit of money, but the coffee cart had evolved into a coffee wagon.
I had taken inspiration from food trucks back on Earth.
“Wow! It’s really spacious!”
Lilac’s eyes sparkled with excitement. Horses were too expensive to maintain, so Sebastian ended up pulling the wagon instead.
[Woof?]
With his gigantification ability, he could exert even more strength than a horse.
Nerjin’s business advice didn’t stop there.
“Let’s decide on a concept for the café.”
It was about choosing a theme for the coffee wagon. The decision was made in an instant: maids and butlers. Since Lilac had already been doing business in a maid outfit, there was no need to change it.
Bianca was thrilled to wear a maid outfit, and Nerjin looked refined in a butler uniform.
The business had expanded, and life at the academy had improved compared to before.
‘It’s about time to turn my eyes beyond the capital.’
In truth, most disasters within the capital were handled by the protagonist’s party. Even if something happened, Nerjin would protect Lilac, and in the worst-case scenario, they could at least contact me.
With the foundation of my inner circle solidified, it was time to look outward. Something came to mind immediately.
‘It’d be nice to obtain the Nature Five.’
It was one of the common settings in The Fallen Crown Prince of the Cosmos Empire.
There were five treasures created from the forces of nature. In the original story, their owners were formidable artifacts, surviving until the very brink of the apocalypse. But, naturally, they were difficult to obtain.
‘They’re not something I can handle with my current strength.’
I needed to level up a bit more. That was fine. Even if not perfectly, I had the original story’s contents in my head.
‘Something deadly that the protagonist’s party doesn’t touch in the original.’
If I could preemptively stop things that would lead to major disasters in the original story, wouldn’t that yield some satisfying rewards?
Just like how I obtained the Rosary of Grace, the Flash (Blink) spell, and the possibility of another ending from the Time Chaos Dungeon in the capital’s underground waterway.
‘There was another of the worst Time Chaos Dungeons in the Petrak Kingdom’s Ecological Park, wasn’t there?’
The Petrak Kingdom was known as the Kingdom of Peace. In other words, it had the weakest combat strength. According to the original story, a hidden Time Chaos Dungeon went out of control, turning the capital into ruins in an instant.
‘Alright, let’s do this.’
But the ecological park wasn’t somewhere you could just waltz into. Over 80% of its area was closed to the public, it was vast, and it was filled with ferocious beasts and poisonous creatures.
The Animas family, who had the ability to commune with animals, managed it, so permission was also required.
‘The strategy for the Time Chaos Dungeon itself isn’t a problem.’
I had amassed a large number of points, enough to boost my combat strength several times over in an emergency.
More importantly, I had a trump card.
Cosmos Empire’s Finest Holy Diamond Bullet Charge Rate: 87%
***
“Hmm.”
Elisha glanced at a man with narrowed eyes. He was the hot topic at the academy. Once a trash extra villain, he was now repeatedly drawing attention as the center of intrigue.
“How did he manage to charm Lady Elidore?”
“No matter how many times I see it, I can’t get used to it…”
The only daughter of Marquis Arnold, the general manager of Imperium Bank. The sole heir of the Elidore Marquisate. A specialist in psychology with sharp intelligence, wisdom, and the ability to read people’s hearts.
…And yet, Lady Luri was now giggling by Martin’s side.
‘They say Lady Helaine, who was sponsored by the Elidore Marquisate, returned to her hometown due to illness.’
But the information obtained by the Harmadun Ducal Family told a different story. Missing.
‘I can’t believe it.’
The demon summoner was likely Helaine. The fact that she was wearing an academy cadet uniform matched up.
‘I hate to admit it.’
Martin had killed the demon summoner and saved Luri.
“Hey, Cadet Martin. Is there anything you like?”
“Nothing.”
“Anything you dislike?”
“Plenty.”
What a peculiar combination. I glanced over and noticed that Gilbert, the de facto leader of the group, was also watching Martin. So was Lina, who adored Gilbert, the stoic and bulky Bord, and the timid Mary.
As if enchanted, Class A’s daily routine had become ‘Martin observation.’
‘It’s like he’s detached from everything.’
It was embarrassing to admit, but I had always thought I was, if not at the center of the world, at least close to it. But whenever I saw Martin, that confidence wavered.
As class time approached, Cadet Luri returned to her own class. But then—
‘Ugh, what now?’
This time, Martin stood up and walked over to Cadet Matthew.
“Cadet Matthew, could we… talk for a moment?”
“Oh! Cadet Martin! Of course!”
What was he up to, talking so quietly?!
“Actually… that’s why… I’d like to… is it possible?”
Huh? What? What did he say?
As I strained to listen, I noticed the rest of the group also leaning in, their eyes wide and ears perked. It was proof they were all focused on Martin’s mosquito-like whispers.
Thankfully, Matthew’s voice was loud and cheerful.
“Of course! I’ll formally invite you this weekend!”
And so, the protagonist party’s weekend stalking trip to the Petrak Kingdom’s Ecological Park was decided.
***
“The ecological park is a collection of all the ecosystems in the world. Well, except for deserts and oceans, of course.”
Following Matthew’s explanation, I ventured deep into the ecological park. This area was practically an uncharted zone.
I brushed off a caterpillar clinging to my head.
“Oh! That’s a dark purple caterpillar! It’s a highly venomous insect!”
“….”
Did I just narrowly escape death? I needed to get out of here fast.
Know-It-All (Lv 2) is mapping the ecological park.
Wild Instinct (Lv 2) is slowly heading toward the destination.
Matthew had also asked me to check if there was anything unusual about the creatures in the park.
“By the way, Cadet Martin, what are you really looking for in the ecological park? You insisted on coming, so I brought you, but…”
I couldn’t exactly say ‘Time Chaos Dungeon.’ As I scrambled for an excuse—
“Huh?!”
Matthew suddenly whipped his head around. A wary expression crossed his innocent face, like a meerkat furious at a predator invading its territory.
“Intruders, Cadet Martin. Someone broke through the barrier magic at the park’s entrance. They’re probably poachers targeting the park’s rare creatures. Hold on, I’ll go deal with them. In this ecological park, our Animas family is invincible.”
“…No. No need to go. Is there a high hill nearby?”
I had a hunch who it was. When I was talking to Matthew in the classroom, Wild Instinct had warned me we were being eavesdropped on. It was obvious. But this time, I wasn’t going to let it slide.
“Of course. Are you going to snipe?”
“Yeah.”
For once, I could give a genuine smile.
***
Meanwhile, the protagonist party, who believed they had secretly breached the park’s barrier, began moving while following the traces left behind. The tracking skills they learned at the academy proved useful.
At the back, Mary was anxious.
“U-Um, is, is this really okay?”
Having broken through the barrier magic, Mary was arguably the biggest contributor.
“No matter how I think about it, this is stalking…”
At Mary’s question, the protagonist party, already uneasy, paused for a moment.
“No. It’s suspicious. Isn’t it suspicious? There’s definitely something about Martin!”
Elisha declared.
“The Time Chaos Dungeon in the underground waterway, Dr. Keren in the Petrak Kingdom, the demon summoner Helaine incident! What is it? Is Martin really just the scoundrel of the Ulvhadin County? I think there’s something even our Four Great Ducal Families don’t know about! Right?!”
Mary crumbled under the storm of questions. It was indeed full of mysteries.
The suspicions about Martin didn’t end there.
“Or could it be… that thing? That Peacemaker or whatever, the secret group from the Cosmos Empire? But the empire fell over a hundred years ago. And why would he need to be labeled a trash extra?”
Bord tried to calm the spiraling Elisha.
“Stop, stop, Elisha. We all have the same questions. That’s why we took the risk and followed, right?”
Mary, now completely deflated, hid behind Gilbert’s back.
“Elisha’s scary.”
Gilbert patted Mary’s head and muttered.
“What is Martin trying to do here?”
That was the conclusion. To find out that one thing, they were undertaking this dangerous stalking mission.
“Lord Gilbert!”
His escort knight, Lina, drew her sword like lightning and deflected something. A clear metallic sound reverberated through the forest. Gilbert, reacting late, reached out and caught the metal object that was about to fly away.
“Tch, I can’t see them!”
Mary pulled out a telescope crafted with the Deminiyan family’s magical engineering from her pocket. Luckily, it was high-quality. Through it, Martin was aiming a gun, his eyes radiating killing intent, reflected in timid Mary’s blue eyes.
Martin’s sharp gaze seemed to shift. Mary felt the absurd sensation of their eyes meeting.
“C-Cadet Martin has spotted us!”
At that moment, another bullet came flying. Bord stepped in front of Mary and Elisha. It was an instinctive move to protect, but the bullet stubbornly targeted only Gilbert.
“Ugh? Why just me?!”
Gilbert swung his sword and sliced the bullet. The skill of sniping from a distance invisible to the eye and imperceptible to senses was astounding, but the power in the bullet was negligible.
Five bullets aimed at Gilbert’s head finally stopped.
“Is it over?”
It was a terrifying skill.
Gilbert gritted his teeth.
‘He’s holding back!’
Gilbert knew Martin’s true strength better than anyone. The glimpses of his real abilities shown in Dr. Keren’s lab and during academy life were astonishing.
‘A skill like Martin’s wouldn’t make such weak attacks!’
If he had put real power into the bullets, if he had attacked with the intent to kill them all, at least two of the five would be dead, wouldn’t they?
The fact that he targeted only one person and the bullets’ power wasn’t that great—there was no way these clever people wouldn’t understand the reason.
“A warning. To not follow.”
Honestly, they shouldn’t follow. They had eavesdropped on someone’s conversation and were stalking without permission.
But the human heart doesn’t always follow warnings.
***
‘Ugh, they’re ridiculously strong.’
To think they could so easily deflect my all-out attack, even without using the Holy Diamond Bullets or magic bullets.
“Was it really Cadet Gilbert and the heirs of the Four Great Ducal Families?”
“Yeah. You don’t have to believe me.”
“I believe you. It’s your word, Cadet Martin.”
Matthew was smart enough to guess why they had followed.
“You’re being watched… But if you get to know him, Cadet Martin is really a good person…”
“I’m not a good person.”
“You are…”
“….”
After searching for a while longer, we finally found it.
“Huh, huh?!”
The moment I saw Matthew’s face turn to panic and shock after receiving information from a small woodpecker, I knew we’d found it.
“C-C-Cadet Martin! Over there, we…”
“Where’s the Time Chaos Dungeon?”
“O-Over there, wait, you knew?!”
“That’s why I came here in the first place.”