‘I feel like I’m going to die.’

I couldn’t check the time, but it seemed like about three hours had passed.

I’ve been training for three hours straight, without a single break, and sweat was pouring down like water. Because of that, my eyes couldn’t even stay open properly.

Usually, I’d train for about three hours, but today’s training was on a different level of intensity.

I was too busy blocking the barrage of attacks being thrown at me to even find an opening to counterattack properly.

‘…Is this bastard taking out his frustrations on me…?’

Of course not, but the thought crossed my mind naturally because the intensity of the training was so ridiculous.

“Get up.”

“…….”

Leo clapped his hands, signaling me to get up.

He, too, looked worn out from today’s insane pace, but unlike me, he hadn’t completely exhausted his stamina.

As I tried to get up, I ended up collapsing back onto the ground, lying flat. Leo asked in a tone that was anything but sincere.

“Do you need a little break?”

“…….”

Only four days had passed since the day Strauch caused that damage, so I hadn’t fully recovered my stamina.

Pushing myself to the limit like this, it felt like I was dying.

‘…But this isn’t the time to be complaining.’

Pleroma’s warning was directed at Nicolaus, and Bavaria was suffering the consequences of supporting me.

When I thought about that, this was nothing to endure.

I braced myself on my knees and stood up, gripping my wand again.

“No, let’s keep going.”

* * *

“You need to rest for the weekend. I’ll inform your homeroom teacher, so let’s have you admitted for two days.”

That evening, I went to the school hospital.

Starting the next day, Thursday, we had classes again, so I needed to get legitimate permission to skip class.

But I didn’t have to fake an illness to get a recommendation to rest. After training for 11 hours straight from 6 AM to 6 PM, excluding one hour for meals, I was already a walking zombie.

‘But zombies do walk….’

Look at this. My brain isn’t even functioning right.

I wandered in my thoughts, then remembered I was in front of someone, so I composed myself and responded calmly.

“I’d prefer to rest in my dorm, if possible.”

“Given your condition, it would be better to rest in the hospital.”

“I’m most comfortable in my room.”

“Hmm, alright. Then come back on Friday, and we’ll check your condition again.”

Good. Now I had time to reach that skill score of 4.

I left the hospital and looked around.

The fog was thick, almost as if rain was imminent, filling the path ahead. Due to the recent incidents, there were no students wandering around the campus, and not a sound came from any buildings.

It was hard to believe that just yesterday, there had been a festival. It was eerily quiet.

Recalling what happened yesterday left a bitter taste in my mouth.

I quickened my pace, trying to shake off the thoughts.

‘Might as well check my status while I walk.’

Lucas Rene Askanian

Title: Sir Nicolaus

Stamina: +1.4 (+0.1) [+4.4]

Mental Strength: -0.9 (+0.2)

Magic Power: ?

Skill: +2.85 (+0.15) [+5.85]

Impression: -9.9 [-6.8] [+6.61517849]

Luck: +1.25 (+0.1)

Traits: Dawn 777, Divine Power, Charisma (Lv.2), Retry (Lv.1)

It was 2.7 when I started.

Now, after 12 hours, it’s increased by 0.15.

Given it’s a positive stat, I was even considering every 0.001 point. Thanks to reviving my dead stamina with medicine and training hard, it increased relatively quickly.

When I returned to the training ground after having dinner at the dormitory, Leo, who was sitting with a bag placed beside him, handed me an envelope.

“The investigation results came in. You asked for the list of orphanage sponsors, right?”

“That was fast. Thanks.”

“No problem. Let’s start training again at 30 minutes past the hour.”

At my request, the Wittelsbach side contacted the Prussian investigation bureau.

I thought it would take a bit more time this round, but the results came in at a speed similar to when I had entrusted it to Bavaria.

I flipped through the file and read through the names.

‘Hmm…. There’s a name that rings a bell, but I’m not certain since they were just a minor character in the early chapters.’

If I want to remember for sure, I’d need to do a bit of review, but it’s already been over two months since I got here.

There were around 20 names of sponsors on the list.

I’d asked them to find only those who had made regular donations within the past year, so the list was already narrowed down.

‘But it’ll still take some time to track down all 20 people.’

Fortunately, I clearly remembered that both Pleroma members were family and had been donating quite a large sum each time.

With that in mind, the list narrowed down to 4 candidates.

‘Since they’re family, I can treat it as investigating two teams.’

If it’s only two teams, it’s worth meeting them personally.

Now, I just need to figure out how to disguise myself and Narce to approach them, and if things go smoothly, I can move forward with Elias.

As I was reading through the list, Leo picked up his bag and asked.

“What did the hospital say?”

“Of course, they told me to rest.”

“For how many days?”

“That doesn’t matter. We’re going to train anyway, right?”

“…….”

Leo couldn’t quite bring himself to say “that’s true” and just kept silent. He seemed deep in thought, then asked cautiously.

“Did I push you too hard, not giving you time to recover?”

“Are you kidding? Just keep doing what you were doing.”

“No… I was actually concerned, so I had some medicine prepared.”

“I already got some from the school hospital.”

“This one works better.”

Leo pulled out a leather pouch from his bag.

He was pretty confident. But with Wittelsbach, that’s understandable. I didn’t say much and just took the medicine he had sorted out and swallowed it.

As Leo rummaged through his bag and pulled out a box, he spoke to me.

“Oh, these are from the others too.”

“Huh?”

He kept pulling things out of that bag.

When I opened it, I found a bunch of miscellaneous school supplies with the school’s emblem on them.

They looked just like the kind of prizes you’d get at school events, so I wasn’t surprised.

Along with them, there was a transparent box filled with Krapfen and Blancmange, neatly arranged.

“They’re from the people who were in the play. The snacks were probably packed by the students. They said thanks for stepping in.”

I wasn’t in the mood to eat snacks, but I appreciated the sentiment. They must have had a hard time considering the chaos of the past few days. I should thank them on Monday.

Then Leo pointed at the file I was holding.

“So, you think there’s a Pleroma member on that list?”

“I’m just looking into it, nothing to lose. Narce likes to go undercover, so we’ll check out everyone who looks suspicious.”

Yeah, we’d have to go in disguise for this.

But not as Nicolaus.

With everything riding on Nicolaus’ every move, he has to be kept out of sight until the most decisive moment.

Before that, it’s best to show up as someone who’s neither Lucas nor Nicolaus.

Leo nodded at my words without further questioning.

“Hm, yeah…. Narce is perfect for this. What will you disguise yourself as?”

“I’ll figure that out now.”

Beep—

The stopwatch rang as soon as I finished speaking.

Leo put away the watch, got up from his seat, and smiled.

“Time for training. Think you can manage that while you train?”

* * *

Ding—!

Congratulations!

“‘Skill’ score 4 achieved” completed!

‘Route 1 — 〈 Proposal 2 〉’ confirmed.

“Hey, the guy’s about to drop dead. He wouldn’t look out of place in a coffin right now.”

“…….”

Elias, who had come to watch, clicked his tongue.

He then shouted at Leo.

“He faced Strauch just last week. You know that, right?”

“I know. I’m already feeling a bit… sorry.”

Leo grimaced, covering his ears against Elias’s shouting.

Leo’s excuse was actually true.

Ever since Bavaria joined hands with the Papal State and declared war on Pleroma, forming a three-way alliance by quickly accepting the Empire, Leo had been considerate of my stamina.

But it was me who undid all that thoughtful behavior.

‘The quicker I raise it, the better.’

If I’m going to do it, I should raise it as much as possible while the situation allows. Otherwise, with my focus on political matters more than battle magic, my skill development would be continuously delayed.

‘Let’s check the stats since I achieved it a day early.’

Lucas Rene Askanian

Title: Sir Nicolaus

Stamina: +2.2 (+0.8) [+5.2]

Mental Strength: -0.1 (+0.8)

Magic Power: ?

Skill: +4.0 (+1.15) [+7.0]

Impression: -9.9 [-6.9] [+6.61523261]

Luck: +1.75 (+0.5)

Traits: Dawn 777, Divine Power, Charisma (Lv.2), Retry (Lv.1)

‘Skill is up, but stamina is still a concern.’

After ten years of neglecting my health, there’s no way it would fully recover in just two months.

It’s a relief that my final stamina score is 5.2, enough to use magic without issue.

‘Anyway, my raw skill score has now reached the average level of students here.’

Even though these guys seem childish—well, they are—their skill levels are among the best for their age in the Empire.

Until now, I’ve been compensating for my lack of technique with magic power, but now I’ve finally caught up to their level.

As Elias continued to glare daggers at Leo, Leo tried to change the subject.

“So, did you bring the materials?”

“Of course.”

A few days ago, I asked Elias to prepare materials for a disguise.

Because he always prepared thoroughly to cause trouble, he had plenty of good materials.

I knew this from the novel, but bringing it up naturally made him excited to show me various disguise materials.

Elias opened his bag with a dramatic flair.

“Tada~”

“What’s that?”

“Glasses.”

Elias held a pair of glasses in front of me.

“They’re perfect for a scholar’s image. Try them on!”

The glasses Elias brought were thin, silver-framed ones.

Unlike the glasses I was familiar with, these didn’t have bent arms and seemed like something you’d see in a museum.

Naturally, the lenses had no prescription, but the surface was so worn that my reflection in the mirror looked quite blurry.

‘It’s acceptable.’

“Here, try on these clothes too!”

I draped the coat Elias handed me over my shirt.

It was a fashion disaster, completely out of touch with trends and heavy with an overwhelming seasonal vibe. Even though it was November, the fur coat was too much, weighing down my shoulders.

Moreover, despite Elias and I being about the same height, the coat was quite large. It seemed he had prepared this oversized, outdated coat specifically for an uptight look.

“Wow….”

“What?”

Elias didn’t answer my question and just shook his head.

Leo, who had been watching from the side, commented.

“You still look like Lucas. Though now you look like you’re about to hand out some illegal pamphlets.”

“Now we just need to change the color~”

“What do you mean I look like I’m about to hand out illegal pamphlets?”

I’ll take that to mean I look like someone promoting a cult or something.

I snapped my fingers as Elias instructed.

The strands of hair falling into my vision turned a bright color. My eyes had probably turned blue as well.

“Hmm, that’s not it.”

“Suddenly, everything’s too bright. This looks a bit like Adrian Askanian.”

With both of them reacting this way, it seemed I couldn’t go with this look.

I’d have to memorize a new formula.

I took out the color chart I had brought and seated Leo and Elias.

“If none of these work, pick a color.”

* * *

After some trial and error, Narce and I disguised ourselves as local newspaper reporters.

Any other viable occupation would have been out of reach due to age constraints.

If we were to be taken seriously while freely moving around at a young age, we’d have to be at least noble or a mage, but those two statuses could be burdensome for the commoner sponsors.

At least, with the right styling, a second-year high school student could pass for someone in their twenties, making us look reasonably adult.

‘Also, even if it turns out not to be them, we should hide our mage status to prepare for any unexpected situations.’

On Monday, I took the strangely excited Narce with me and caught a carriage heading north of the capital.

I had already arranged interviews with the sponsors through an intermediary.

I pulled the curtain separating us from the coachman and spoke to Narce.

—“Narce.”

—“Oh, it feels different hearing you speak like this, too~?”

—“Yeah…. Later, while I steer the conversation, use your ability. I’ll bring up some sensitive topics, so don’t be surprised.”

What’s the point of having a 30% persuasion boost if I don’t use it?

It could be useful to keep the conversation from abruptly ending when I broach a topic that might offend or unsettle them, so I’ll make the most of it.

—“Alright, got it. By the way, that red hair is new, Lucas.”

—“Does it look weird?”

—“No. How should I put it? It’s not the color, but the whole look—it screams young intellectual revolutionary.”

—“…….”

Well, as long as it’s different, that’s good.

Narce had dressed more neatly than I had expected, but with his hair slicked back and wearing glasses like me, his usual image didn’t immediately come to mind.

Narce, gazing out the window, commented.

—“I wonder which of the two is Pleroma. Your hunch seems pretty reliable.”

I hadn’t told him how I narrowed it down to two, but he must have figured it out with his Insight ability.

—“Got any leads?”

—“Not yet. We haven’t met them, right? I’m good at predicting once I’m in the situation.”

That’s true.

In any case, we’d find out soon enough after meeting them, so there’s no need to rely on luck.

After about 30 minutes, the carriage stopped on a road at the outskirts of the capital.

We approached the building at the address we had been given and knocked on the door.

“Is anyone home?”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep