Chapter 156

“Sss.”

Thud.

“Hhh.”

Thud.

“Hoo.”

Thud.

Luca—no, Luca Traverse—kept trying to perform the movements Kryphi had taught him.

But he failed every time.

‘Not so easy for you either, huh?’

Watching Luca Traverse fail, Luca let out a slight laugh.

Even Luca Traverse, who was better than Luca at manipulating the body, found it difficult to get into the proper stance.

“… It’s just that it’s been a while since I really controlled my body. Wait a moment.”

Luca Traverse spoke curtly and tried several more times.

Finally, he succeeded.

Whoosh! Thud!

With a light swing, Luca Traverse cut the air with his sword and landed.

He barely managed to exhale the breath he’d been holding.

“Hoo.”

‘Wow… So that’s how it’s done.’

Sharing senses with Luca Traverse, Luca finally understood how to get into the stance.

Luca Traverse spoke flatly.

“This sword style doesn’t really appeal to me, but it definitely engages muscles I don’t usually use. Not bad for physical training.”

‘Huh… is that so?’

“I saw what kind of person he was in your memories, but even so, he’s someone who’s reached the level of Grandmaster now. I shouldn’t underestimate him. I will learn all I can from him.”

Having said that, Luca Traverse returned to the mental space.

Regaining control of his body, Luca clenched and unclenched his fists several times to reacquaint himself with his senses, then imitated the movements Luca Traverse had just performed.

Whoosh! Thud!

Luca lightly cut through the air and landed.

He couldn’t hide his admiration.

“Amazing. You really do have remarkable talent, after all.”

-… It’s nothing compared to big brother.

“No, you can’t count that.”

Compared to Wylde Traverse, one of the strongest in the world, anyone would seem like nothing.

Luca gave a dry chuckle and resumed practicing the stance.

After a few repetitions, he became able to use it freely.

-… Can I really beat big brother with something like this?

Watching him, the Luca Traverse inside whispered.

Luca responded curtly.

“Didn’t you decide to acknowledge master?”

― I acknowledge him… but I don’t believe I’ll beat big brother with this.

“Well, that’s…”

He knew it wouldn’t be easy.

At first, Luca had thought things would work out somehow, but after seeing Wylde’s overwhelming power in the mining city of Bizen, he realized it would not be easy.

“Still, don’t worry too much. I keep my promises.”

-… Is that so.

After that, the Luca Traverse within him fell silent.

Luca shrugged his shoulders and dove back into sword practice.

* * *

“This weekend, I’ll be negotiating with Robentus Partigel.”

“Huh.”

Unable to have lunch together, Milia, Isella, and Ottbo gathered for dinner instead.

There, Milia brought up the story of her negotiation with Robentus.

“I’ve set up the appointment. Now that the trial run of Perfect Control was a success, there’s nothing for him to catch us on during the negotiation.”

“That’s the reason, huh.”

Thinking back on how annoying it was when she kept fussing about the trial run of Perfect Control, there at least appeared to be justification for her actions.

“This is something that requires a lot of caution. If we slip up, we could end up making the Partigel ducal family our enemy.”

“That’s true.”

“As they say—it’s high risk, high reward. This is a gamble: do we turn the ducal family into enemies, or do we win the power to counter them?”

Milia repeated herself several times.

Even she seemed quite nervous.

Luca commented flatly.

“Are you hoping I’ll go with you?”

“What? Ha. You’re kidding. Hmph. Me? Hah.”

As Luca spoke, Milia turned her head slightly, looking incredulous.

“… Although, I suppose it wouldn’t be a bad idea.”

“Tsk. Still as devious as ever.”

“Could you stop calling me devious? That really gets to me, you know!”

Ignoring her brusque protest, Luca looked at Ottbo.

“Ottbo. What about you?”

“Me?”

Ottbo scratched his cheek.

“I don’t think I can this time.”

“?”

It was Ottbo’s first refusal—the guy who’d always said yes.

Luca looked a bit disappointed.

“That’s unfortunate.”

“Sorry. They said Rivik will be finished this weekend, so I need to go check it out.”

“Rivik? Ah…”

Ottbo’s armored soldier Rivik.

It had been destroyed during practice, and the Academy had agreed to fix it, but just now finished the job.

“Professor Srettle Magus apparently did most of what I asked for, so it’s been upgraded a lot.”

“… Srettle Magus.”

Luca made a strange face.

Srettle Magus, the traitor of the Academy.

He needed to start talking with her soon, too.

‘This is actually perfect. Once Ottbo’s gotten close enough to her, it’ll be much easier to approach.’

Thinking as much, Luca spoke up.

“That’s good. If possible, try to build a rapport with her. It might come in handy.”

“Haha. Milia said that exact same thing…”

Ottbo gave a strained smile.

“I’ll do my best, anyway.”

It was not an easy request for someone like him, who didn’t have many friends.

* * *

The weekend arrived.

Luca, Milia, and Isella boarded the auto-carriage heading from the Academy to Havok.

“Hmm…”

Luca stared at the empty driver’s seat with a strange expression.

It had been a while since he’d ridden in an auto-carriage without Ottbo driving.

“What are you doing?”

“Nothing.”

When Milia shot him an odd glance, Luca replied flatly and stepped inside the auto-carriage.

The vehicle automatically rolled toward Havok.

Luca looked out the window and muttered,

“Slow.”

“This?”

The auto-carriage zipped along so quickly the scenery outside was changing in a blur.

But to Luca, it was far too slow.

“Slow.”

He wished the scenery would blur a little more, to really feel the speed.

After the short, vaguely disappointing trip, the three of them arrived in Havok.

“Let’s transfer to this one.”

“….”

They got off the carriage that traveled between the Academy and Havok, and transferred to another auto-carriage that ran inside the city.

But Luca’s expression didn’t change.

“Is it really so suffocating?”

“….”

Milia looked at him with a mystified expression.

He wasn’t showing his usual blank face, but seemed actually uncomfortable, which was surprising.

“How do you usually get around?”

“… You need to try riding in Ottbo’s auto-carriage.”

“I think I’ve ridden it before, but is it that different?”

She’d ridden it during the rescue operation, but that was before Ottbo had awakened.

Luca gazed wistfully out the window.

“I want to ride his car.”

“Heh…”

Milia just couldn’t understand.

Before long, the auto-carriage stopped in front of a restaurant.

As Milia opened the door, she said:

“Enough weird talk. Snap out of it.”

“… Alright.”

Luca soon composed himself and got out of the auto-carriage.

Looking at the restaurant before him, he let out a sigh.

“Hah.”

“This is ‘Ten Nights’, the most expensive, famous, and delicious restaurant in Havok.”

It was the best restaurant, rumored to require ten nights just to sample all the food.

It had been mentioned in the original story, but the protagonist never made it because something always went wrong.

‘To think I’d actually get to visit here.’

Luca was impressed as he followed Milia inside.

Rather than being dazzling, the interior was artistic.

From the corridors to the private rooms, everything was impeccably clean.

Vases placed at proper intervals added a further touch of luxury.

Strangely, there was not a hint of food aroma.

The smells must have been erased by magic.

“This way, please, guests.”

A staff member guided them to their reserved room.

No one else was there yet.

As soon as they entered, Milia sighed.

“This is my first time in a place like this, so my heart’s pounding.”

“Doesn’t seem to be a trap?”

“I activated Perfect Control as soon as we entered Havok, and nothing stands out.”

As expected, Milia was flawless.

Just as the three of them were wetting their lips with water, the promised time arrived.

And precisely one second before the appointed hour, someone entered the room.

“Pleasure to meet you, miss Milia Fille.”

“!”

An imposing, businesslike voice, accompanied by a bespectacled man.

It was Robentus Partigel.

He made a single impression:

‘A quiet version of Theodore…!’

Physically, he didn’t look much different from Theodore, who’d always given off an energetic vibe.

The only difference was, he seemed even more mature and composed.

Theodore Partigel had been a refreshing, casual pretty boy, his hair carelessly swept back.

But Robentus Partigel stood there now, clad in a suit, hair neatly parted, glasses framing his calm features.

Before the startled Milia could say a word, Robentus spoke.

“We have two hours. I’d like to finish both our meal and discussion within that time. So let’s get straight to the point.”

At his words, a staff member promptly brought out and set the food.

A selection of light bites,

Simple but elegantly arranged dishes that whetted the appetite were laid before each of them.

“Enjoy your meal!”

Moments after the server departed, Robentus spoke again.

“What do you want to discuss with me in secret from my father, miss Milia Fille?”

“Um… Maybe we should eat a bit first, Robentus?”

Milia gave him a gentle smile as she spoke.

But Robentus was adamant.

“I already have a general idea of what you want to say. I also know what happened. Isn’t it because Theodore and the third prince worked together?”

As he spoke, Milia began calculating furiously in her head, preparing to respond, but Robentus continued before she could.

“And I’ve heard you recently visited the imperial palace and came into contact with the third prince. At that time, you must have heard about how the third prince conspired with my father regarding Theodore.”

“….”

Milia wordlessly withdrew a letter and waved it in front of him.

“That’s right. My dear elder brother gave me this little gift.”

“Haaa. It was a mistake for my father to entrust Theodore with such an important mission. He should have just let him live his own life.”

Robentus sighed.

He seemed to grasp the whole situation.

Milia spoke in a light tone.

“If you know about it, does that mean Obrola does, too?”

“He probably knew before I did.”

“In that case, he must have already given instructions on how to handle me.”

At Milia’s words, Robentus paused a moment, then nodded.

“After giving generous support to the organizations allied with you, the order was to gradually cut them off and have them cease any cooperation with you.”

As expected, Obrola was already preparing to pressure Milia.

She nodded, not at all surprised.

“Then, what’s your reason for agreeing to meet me despite those orders?”

“….”

Robentus looked conflicted.

Clatter!

“?”

Everyone looked over at the sound of cutlery knocking together.

Luca had been eating alone and accidentally made a noise.

With all eyes on him, Luca spoke flatly.

“Don’t mind me. Go on with what you were doing.”

“… Why did you bring Luca Traverse with you?”

Finally noticing the boy next to her was Luca, Robentus looked puzzled.

Luca shrugged and replied,

“There are various reasons, but let’s just say I was one of the people present when your younger brother died.”

“Lu, Luca!”

Milia was flustered.

But that wasn’t the important thing.

The important thing was, Robentus’s expression had changed.

“You mean… at the place where Theodore died…?”

It seemed this was quite an intriguing topic for him.

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