Chapter 19: Interest

Swish! Swish!

Nerian Hopenheim was swinging his sword alone in the training hall of a mansion located at the heart of the capital.

Unlike his usual neat image, his entire body was drenched in sweat.

Some called Nerian a living testament to lineage and talent.

But behind that, there was an enormous amount of effort.

‘I don’t deny my bloodline and talent.’

The Hopenheim bloodline, and his talent.

It was true that he had inherited abilities superior to others.

Just the Power of Ice alone had no equal, apart from others of the same class.

However, not everyone with outstanding lineage and talent displayed such excellence.

Nerian had constantly refined himself without a moment’s rest to reach this point.

Even among all the candidate students who took the entrance exam, he would easily rank within the top five.

“……Phew.”

Nerian, having finished a grueling training session that left his arms trembling, slowly exhaled a deep breath.

Even in his exhaustion, he maintained the elegance of a noble.

—Hopenheim is a meritorious noble family of the Ribera Empire. Therefore, prioritize honor above all else.

Words he had heard countless times since childhood.

Back then, he had followed them without much thought, but this recent terror incident had changed his perspective.

‘The honor of Hopenheim.’

That moment when he stood his ground instead of fleeing from the flames of the incoming Drake.

He had felt a flower bloom in his heart.

Its petals were made of ice crystals.

“……Was this what Father meant?”

Something was stirring inside him.

Even he didn’t know what form it would eventually take.

—Flaash!

As he slowly closed his eyes, the events of the underground labyrinth came to mind.

The flames spewed by the Drake were of no concern.

What Nerian had focused on was the overwhelming strike that swept away all the enemies above it.

……An indescribable thrill surged from head to toe.

Even after several days had passed, he still hadn’t escaped that scene.

Clench.

He tightened his fist.

That overwhelming power he had longed for and yearned after.

In terms of martial strength, there were countless people in this world who could be called powerful.

But what Nerian desired was not mere strength.

It was strength as a presence.

There had been few moments in his life when he had felt that way.

‘The Sword Saint of the Empire, the Gray Sage, the Supreme Intellect Greskyle…….’

From those who possessed tremendous martial power enough to represent the Empire, to frail scholars who had never wielded a sword in their life.

All of them were famous figures in their own right.

Nerian had trained himself while looking at them.

Of course, they were never his goal.

There was a gap between what he aspired to and their forms.

‘But he was different.’

That abstract goal he longed for.

It had appeared before him, as if it had descended into reality.

Though the Imperial Family labeled him a terrorist, Nerian thought differently.

‘He definitely saved us.’

Was he someone’s bodyguard?

Or perhaps a figure moving behind the scenes?

After the entrance exam, he used his family’s influence to search for the man’s identity.

Of course, there were many others seeking him, but all failed.

“…….”

Sensing a familiar presence at the entrance of the training hall, Nerian opened his eyes.

Grayish hair, wrinkled skin, and in contrast, a solid, muscular body.

“Young Master. A public notice has arrived from the Academy. It seems to concern the entrance ceremony.”

It was Antinus, a retainer of the Hopenheim family and Nerian’s personal butler.

Nerian checked the official letter from Bayern that Antinus had brought.

It contained congratulations for achieving the top rank and details about the entrance ceremony.

“……What about the others?”

“Following you, Miss Laysis and Miss Yuria also ranked at the top.”

“Hmm.”

Nerian nodded.

It was the expected outcome.

With their abilities, it wouldn’t have been difficult for them to follow right behind him.

……Then, another thought suddenly came to mind.

“Do you know someone named Carlos? He was a candidate student who was in a party with me.”

“I believe he placed 50th. Shall I look into it if you’re curious?”

“……No need. I’ll see him at the Academy anyway.”

Nerian handed the letter from Bayern back to him.

It was enough to know that he had passed.

Logically speaking, placing first in the written exam made failing the entrance test even harder.

Even in terms of martial ability, though it fell behind compared to themselves, he would still rank above average among candidate students.

‘Carlos Leipzig.’

Just as he was turning his body to resume training, Nerian murmured the name and touched his lips.

The Leipzig family was a prestigious household that guarded the borders of the Ribera Empire.

His older brothers were already well-known at Bayern.

The eldest, Carius, was scheduled to join one of the Empire’s renowned knight orders, the Raging Flame, and it was widely expected that the second, Darius, would follow a similar path.

‘In other words, the lordship inheritance doesn’t reach Carlos.’

It was clear he would either become a knight like his brothers or pursue a different profession, such as an adventurer.

Given his top score in the written exam, it was also possible he might apply to become an imperial administrator.

“…No, I want information. About Cadet Carlos.”

“How broad should the scope be?”

“Everything. From birth until now.”

“Understood.”

Antinus bowed his head and left the training hall.

Clatter.

Picking up the training sword once again, Nerian exhaled a quiet breath and narrowed his eyes.

‘Carlos Leipzig.’

He was a talent that couldn’t be overlooked.

Once he entered Bayern, he would slowly begin to stand out.

So, it seemed better to claim him early.

***

“Laysis, don’t you think it’s strange?”

“Strange?”

With the entrance ceremony just around the corner.

While leisurely enjoying tea time at a café in the capital, Yuria spoke up casually, and Laysis tilted her head in confusion.

After a whole day of excited shopping, what nonsense was she on about now?

‘Did she eat something bad earlier?’

Of course, Yuria saying odd things wasn’t exactly a rare occurrence.

But since she was a little bored anyway, she decided to play along.

“The strange thing is probably your stomach, after eating three desserts.”

“That’s—! It couldn’t be helped because they were delicious. Besides, you had two too, Laysis.”

“I ate a smaller meal instead. Don’t you know desserts like this are a girl’s enemy? You’ll gain weight in one go if you let your guard down.”

“More importantly, Carlos. I’m talking about Carlos.”

“Carl?”

“…Yeah, Carl or whatever. That guy.”

“What about Carl?”

“You’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you?”

“……”

Yuria narrowed her eyes.

She knew Laysis was emphasizing that nickname just to annoy her, knowing how much she disliked it—what a twisted sense of humor.

“What? I got along with Carl. Isn’t it you who’s acting weird? Or maybe petty?”

“P—Petty?”

“You’ve been sulking ever since you lost the top spot in the written exam.”

Thud!

“That ‘just’!”

It wasn’t “just” the top spot in the written exam.

Yuria wanted to shout that but held herself back.

‘Sigh.’

A short sigh escaped her lips.

To Laysis, who didn’t know any better, it must have looked like that.

She had no idea how many years, how much desperate effort Yuria had poured in to maintain her top ranking.

Moreover, Yuria hadn’t worked that hard just for some shallow sense of honor.

She’d heard enough of people calling her the Gray Lily or the genius successor of the Magic Tower Lord.

If she’d been obsessed with things like that, she would have taken a much easier path, but empty honor wasn’t what she truly desired.

‘Earning real achievements is so damn hard.’

Yuria grumbled inwardly.

Laysis wouldn’t understand any of this anyway.

Not that she ever expected her to.

“…We got a bit off topic.”

Clearing her throat, Yuria steered the conversation back.

“I’m not watching Carlos just because he stole the top spot in the written exam. Of course, that’s part of it, but there are several suspicious points.”

“Suspicious points?”

“Think about it. Up until the entrance exam, there was nothing particularly special.”

The third son of the Leipzig family.

It was quite surprising that he took the top score in the written exam, but he had shown somewhat lacking performance in the practical part.

It was the same during the practical exam.

He had received help when passing through the swamp.

Then what about the underground labyrinth?

“Did you see Carlos at that time?”

“No. I didn’t have the time to pay attention.”

“Me neither. According to him, he joined in the middle and fought together with us. At first, I just accepted it as it was. But starting from the Flick incident, I started to get suspicious.”

The alley.

The way he killed the attacker who appeared suddenly without hesitation.

And even the fight with the pursuers chasing them.

“He held back his strength during the entrance exam on purpose. That’s undeniable.”

“…That’s true. The way he acted during the practical and the mood during the Flick incident were completely different.”

“Right?!”

Smack!

With Laysis agreeing with her, Yuria struck the table again and lifted her head.

“He must have approached us with some ulterior motive!”

“……”

Seeing her reciting a conclusion as if it were fact, Laysis gave a wry smile.

“Even if that were true, there’s a flaw in your argument.”

“A flaw? Where?”

“Do you really not know?”

She pointed at Yuria with a dumbfounded look.

“We were placed in the same party during the practical through a random draw. It was just luck. Even if he had some ulterior motive, how could he manipulate a real-time draw?”

“…By bribing the examiner?”

“You said it yourself—that’s absurd. And don’t forget, you were the one who asked him to come to Flick.”

“Ugh.”

Yuria faltered.

Now that she thought about it, that was true.

Carlos had been with Laysis to begin with.

It was she herself who had come later and asked him to accompany her to Flick.

“…M-Maybe he knew I’d come find him and stayed with you on purpose.”

“Sigh.”

Laysis exaggerated a sigh.

“I told you, meeting Carl was a coincidence. He was having a meal with his family when I ran into him by chance and asked if he wanted to come with me. …And surely you don’t think…”

Laysis narrowed her eyes at Yuria.

“You’re not going to say he even predicted you’d ditch me, right?”

“…Ugh.”

Yuria was at a loss for words.

She had no excuse there—it had been her fault.

Laysis folded her arms with a “See? I knew it” expression.

“So stop jumping to wild conclusions and be nice when you see him at the Academy. Even when you kept grumbling, Carl didn’t show a hint of annoyance. That alone proves he’s got a good heart.”

“…Ugh.”

Yuria sat down and pouted her lips.

In the end, didn’t that mean she was in the wrong?

…No, thinking back, she had been a bit—no, very—cold toward him.

Even though losing the top score in the written exam was her own lack of ability.

“And you know what?”

“…What now?”

“Such suspicion builds into curiosity, curiosity into interest, interest into excitement, and excitement eventually…”

Laysis gently touched her lips with a shy smile.

“Turns into affection.”

“You’re saying I’ll end up liking that guy?”

“It’s just a hypothetical. Though if you ask me, you’ve already taken the first step.”

“What the…”

Yuria let out a hollow laugh.

Since entering the Magic Tower, she had never once shown interest in the opposite sex.

She simply hadn’t had the time or space for such things.

…And Yuria wasn’t the only one who let out a hollow laugh.

“…What a bold young lady.”

Just a building away from where Yuria and Laysis were sitting.

From the rooftop above, Second was sitting on the ledge, kicking her legs and watching the scene unfold.

“So curiosity turns into affection, huh.”

It was quite an amusing story.

She herself had been walking a similar path.

Tap tap.

Soon, she brushed herself off and stood up, stretching lightly.

“Hmmmmm.”

Ever since the Flick incident, she had been following the two in case they developed strange thoughts about Carl.

After all, one of Master’s objectives was to close the distance with them.

“This much should be fine.”

A conversation of this level could be considered harmless flirting.

With no more need to monitor them, Second leapt from the rooftop and vanished.

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