Chapter 42
The atmosphere of the inn became grim along with Rodwell’s laughter.
Bang! Carius slammed his palm down onto the table.
The impact caused the water glass on the table to tumble to the floor.
One of the legs supporting the table from below snapped.
The other survivors wandering nearby all held their breath.
It was a bloodlust that seemed to pierce the skin.
Unless one possessed significant courage, not many people would be free from this heavy pressure.
“What on earth is the meaning of that vulgar laughter?”
“I apologize. I did not have any ill intentions, so please don't misunderstand.”
Carius ground his teeth.
He turned his gaze and glared at the culprit of the situation.
“Even if a bastard like you doesn't greet me, there are plenty of humans who are loyal to me.”
“That truly is enviable.”
“Are you mocking me?”
“You can figure that out for yourself.”
“You bastard, to the very end!”
Carius rose from his seat as if he could no longer endure it.
He placed his hand on the sword fastened to his waist.
The situation became increasingly serious as if oil had been poured on a fire.
However, it only made those watching feel anxious.
Rodwell and Joshua did not make any response.
The gazes of the two men crossed.
In a flow that seemed to decide who would step forward, Joshua opened his mouth.
“This summit venue is a neutral zone. I attended this place as a survivor belonging to the Starlight Knights. Cutting me down is no different from spitting on Sir Rodwell. Furthermore, it will cause problems for the reputation of the Sunlight Knights.”
“Mhm, mhm.”
Rodwell added interjections as if he were performing a comedy skit.
“Please endure it. Today is not the day you will kill me.”
Carius knitted his brows.
The boy’s words weren't wrong.
If he were confident that he could solve everything with power alone.
He wouldn't have appeared in a place like this where politics and schemes are rampant.
He suppressed the anger boiling inside him.
“I apologize for committing a discourtesy, Sir Rodwell.”
Joshua was not included in Carius’s apology.
While it didn't matter for Rodwell, who was a fellow Captain.
He couldn't bring himself to speak to a boy who wasn't even a noble anymore.
He believed it was an act that would lower his own value.
“It seems there is someone else you should apologize to before me.”
Rodwell glanced toward Joshua.
“That seems impossible.”
“And why is that.”
“There is no case where a Knight Captain apologizes to a mere commoner.”
“That is also an absurdity created by the nobles.”
“Don't think of lecturing me.”
Rodwell also took a step back at this point.
Just by making Carius, who was the stiffest among the Knight Captains, bow his head.
This argument was Joshua’s victory.
He glanced at the boy.
He also seemed to have no complaints about the result as he looked satisfied.
It was unexpected.
He had imagined that Joshua would somehow demand an apology.
While passing through the hall and heading toward the counter.
Rodwell couldn't overcome his curiosity and questioned him.
“You, are you satisfied with just this?”
Joshua looked at Rodwell with a somewhat pathetic gaze.
He had a pouting face that didn't suit the position of a Captain.
“The opponent is a Knight Captain, after all.”
“You acted like you were going to extort even a single bean from me.”
“That is because the opponent is you, Rodwell.”
“...Listen, if I truly get angry, it won't end with just the level of bloodlust Carius emitted earlier.”
“I am aware.”
Joshua wore a quite serious expression.
He knew the skill of the man walking alongside him very well.
Unlike the wicked nobles, his attitude had a somewhat nonchalant aspect.
A feeling as if a screw was missing.
Those behaviors were easy for others to despise.
But no one pointed a finger at Rodwell.
It was for a simple reason.
It was because he was strong, and he had proven that strength.
“You might think I yielded, but I simply thought that now isn't the opportunity.”
“Not the opportunity?”
“There is a place that is perfect as a stage to bring that human down.”
“Oho~”
Rodwell’s smile deepened.
He didn't seem to know that he was also included as an actor on that stage.
“Welcome.”
When they arrived at the counter, a bartender was standing there.
He pushed three glasses filled with fruit juice forward onto the table.
“This is a welcome drink.”
“Can I really drink this!”
“Of course, young lady.”
Tania grabbed a glass with a happy face.
It was chilled.
Inside, a drink the color of a yellow ginkgo leaf drew gentle ripples.
Ignoring even the basic etiquette that the superior comes first.
She went straight to her mouth with the hand holding the glass.
“You didn't put poison in it, did you?”
“Pffft!”
At Joshua’s question, Tania spat out the juice she was holding in her mouth.
Why does this person say that at such a timing...
The bartender also couldn't hide his bewilderment.
“Would I dare to do such a crazy thing!”
“One never knows. People do anything depending on the situation.”
Several people misunderstand about assassination.
That it must proceed secretly.
But it isn't always like that.
Assassination, at times, happened regardless of the surrounding environment.
He himself had died that way several times while playing the game.
“You eat first.”
“That young lady is perfectly fine, though?”
“It might not have been put in everyone's glass.”
Rodwell spoke to the bartender.
The bartender took out a spoon and ate a little bit from each of the two remaining glasses of fruit juice.
There was no problem.
He let out a sigh with an unusually tense expression.
“I'm sorry for doubting you.”
“N-No, it's fine.”
As it was revealed there was no poison, Tania’s regret became stronger.
Because she had gulped down too much at once.
She ended up wasting half of the fruit juice in the glass on the floor.
“Drink.”
Joshua gave his portion to her.
“Then what about yours, Senior?”
“It's fine. I didn't feel like having any.”
Tania fell into thought for a moment.
If she accepted the glass, her charm as a member of the opposite sex would drop.
She thought the image of a younger sister would be emphasized.
She didn't like that.
However, she also didn't want that fruit juice to go back to the bartender’s hand.
The girl chose the path of being seized by appetite.
* * *
The rooms to stay in at the inn were one person per room.
Whether the innkeeper's goal was to accept as many guests as possible.
The size of the room was so narrow that a bed and a desk could barely fit.
Tania threw off her uniform coat and enjoyed a sense of liberation.
“I see why everyone is out in the hall.”
It's stifling.
Unless she intended to fall asleep, she didn't want to stay as long as possible.
She also left the room for the same reason as the others.
She set foot on the stairs she had climbed and went down.
Joshua and Rodwell weren't seen.
It seemed they hadn't finished unpacking their luggage yet.
She didn't wait for the two and went out to the terrace of the inn.
“I was right. It's been a long time, Tania.”
On the terrace, three people were in the middle of taking a rest.
They were all people she knew.
These three, including herself, had taken elite course classes at the Academy.
The name of the person who greeted her was Adela Grace.
She was a senior three years above her, and at nineteen years old this year, she was a sixth-year student.
Sharp features that made her a bit envious.
Blue hair was braided into one and flowed behind her back.
Her body, which looked mature somewhere, gave off a strong feeling of being an older person.
“Hello.”
“I'm glad you're alive. I'm happy to see you again.”
“I'm also glad to see you again, Senior.”
Regardless of what her inner thoughts might be.
Tania sincerely thought so.
Just as not everyone is close even if they take classes at the same school.
For the girl, the people she could call alumni were those she took classes with.
“How did you survive?”
“That is... it's a long story to explain.”
Tania shook her head.
She didn't think she could summarize the things she had experienced until now in a few words.
It was hell.
And we were still wandering through hell.
“Then changing the subject, what happened with that person earlier?”
Even with the vague expression 'that person'.
Tania, for some reason, could tell that it referred to Joshua.
“He is a comrade I survived with before meeting Sir Rodwell.”
“...Comrade?”
“Yes.”
“Hmm, I can't imagine it. I mean, he's a Novice. I don't get the feeling he'd be helpful.”
Tania was inwardly displeased but didn't show any particular sign.
She herself had once harbored doubts about him.
Though it was at most for a few hours…
She didn't deny the fact that she had doubted.
“That person is more amazing than you think, Senior.”
“Hmm?”
Adela was flustered.
She knew about the girl in front of her.
Unlike her somewhat innocent behavior.
When evaluating an opponent, she looks with truthful eyes.
Whether that was the bloodline of the Rainwood family, her older sister Lucille was the same.
“...Well, certainly.”
She recalled what happened in the hall a moment ago.
When the anger of the Sunlight Knight Captain pressed down on the room.
Only two people moved freely from his anger.
“He probably has no thoughts. If you can't think, there's nothing to fear.”
One of the two people sitting on the terrace chairs opened his mouth.
Leonard Conrad.
A skilled individual counted among the top three of the apprentice knights.
The most frightening point was that he received such an evaluation at eighteen years old.
“I'm sorry, but my Senior is so smart that you can't even compare him with you, older brother Leo.”
She had been acquainted with him since childhood, led by the hands of their parents.
The arrangement of titles with him had been finished even before entering the Academy.
The word 'older brother' wasn't awkward.
However, regardless of that familiarity, his words from a moment ago must be withdrawn.
“Smart? Are you saying that in your right mind.”
“Whether skill is long or short must be determined by facing each other, but at least in terms of brains, the comparison itself is discourteous to my Senior.”
“It seems you're going to point out that I'm weak in writing compared to practical skills, but even if that's the case, do you think I'd lose to a mere Novice.”
Leo was a noble.
He could read text and could write characters.
With just that, he had a level of knowledge that would place him in the middle in this world.
His arrogant eyes burned as if it were hard to admit.
“He solved a Triple Formula in thirty seconds!”
Tania shouted.
Since Leo was ignorant of magic, he didn't know how amazing that was.
But Adela was different.
As a mage, she couldn't let the sound Tania uttered pass by.
“You're joking right now, aren't you?”
“I'm not joking! It's true.”
A tearful voice like a child throwing a tantrum.
It felt like stubbornness to keep the words she had first uttered until the end.
Adela was flustered.
The girl defended Joshua to the point that her emotions were overwhelmed.
“So, as for what happened.”
Tania was planning to disclose the things that happened at the research center in detail.
At that time, when she only had to put strength in her throat while even completing the shape of her mouth,
Someone hit her on the head from behind.
“Ouch!”
“Take it easy.”
Tania’s body froze just like that.
His silver eyes were heightened unlike usual.
“I apologize. My comrade said something useless.”
Joshua nodded his head lightly.
“It seems it's dinner time now, so let's go inside.”
“Hey!”
Leo called out to stop him as he was about to go inside.
“I don't know how you came to be in this position, but the fact that you're a failing student hasn't changed. It means no one here recognizes you.”
Joshua turned his head and used [Analysis] on him.
[Leonard Conrad]
Current LV 32 (Apprentice Knight)
7th rank Mithios.
Potential Ability - A++
Unique Skills - Sword Qi. Enhanced Reflexes. Superhuman. Aura Sensing.
Joshua knitted his brows.
It wasn't a growth worthy of boasting.
Several months had passed since this world began.
If it's a [Named], and especially if it's a playable character.
He should have raised his level at least double what it is now.
‘When I played as Leonard, I would have surpassed 70 around this time.’
Irritation rose up.
At this rate, he will die without lasting half a year.
That wasn't the situation he hoped for.
Joshua spoke while looking with a pathetic gaze.
“If I were you, I would have been much stronger than now.”
“What?”
“You haven't grown at all.”
Leo’s body froze.
For a single moment.
He received a feeling as if the bastard had seen through him.