Chapter 20: Entrance Ceremony (1)

“……That is what was said.”

NOX’s Polfoardel branch.

Carl, having heard what Second had brought, let out a faint smile.

“You have quite remarkable insight.”

“It seems so. Despite her dull appearance, I think his intuition is surprisingly sharp.”

“I never expected that having earned dislike would lead to that kind of suspicion. I should be cautious.”

For now, with only Yuria present, it wasn’t of great consequence.

Thanks to Laysis, things seemed to have gone smoothly, and it might even help in closing the distance.

“You did well. Let’s keep that in mind.”

“Yes, sir. Then I will be off.”

Second returned the military salute and left his station with light steps.

He seemed elated by the thought that he had been helpful to the Master.

Thunk.

Carl leaned back in his chair and lightly stretched his neck.

With the new semester starting soon.

His older brothers had already entered the Academy ahead of time.

Carius was preparing for graduation, and Darius had gone to attend lectures to supplement his lacking theoretical subjects.

Of course, it wasn’t without reluctance.

“Why should I have to attend those archaic theory classes!”

“Then would you just flunk as is?”

“Since I’m in the top tier for practicals, I’ll be fine. And even blindfolded I won’t flunk.”

“The professor did it for your sake; take it nicely. He specifically summoned you. And if the youngest admitted this time tops the written exam, and you’re scraping the bottom, do you think you’d hear good things?”

“I don’t care about that kind of reputation. Even if you threw a full sack at them, they’d still not be my opponent…”

“It’s because of Carl, not you.”

“…chuckle.”

Carius’s comment that he would harm Carl struck deep into his core.

In the end, Darius grumbled but returned to the Academy to attend the lectures.

Truly brothers who loved their younger sibling deeply.

“So that means the original plan is completely carried out. Is the only thing left the entrance ceremony?”

“Yes. That is correct.”

Nineteen, who had been organizing materials, nodded.

With this, NOX could be said to have successfully entered the institutional Polfoardel.

They absorbed all the powers they had conquered, solidifying their base here, and formed amicable relations with surrounding organizations.

In particular, embedding their influence in one of Flick’s underground cities was an unexpected gain.

After all, the real shadow of the empire extended from Flick.

‘That part was entrusted to the Queen, so there ought to be no problem.’

If she was capable, she would deal with most issues without noise.

In case of emergency, he had ordered her to withdraw without hesitation.

They had no need to risk themselves further while they still hadn’t identified what sort of monster lurked in the empire’s shadows.

What remained was to safely enroll in the Academy.

“…….”

Carl leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes.

Unlike his previous life, he had ample time allotted to him.

‘At least four years.’

This time he intended to savor that life truly slowly, unlike when he moved to blend among the Late Indicators.

‘Because the current me was no longer an assassin.’

He resolved to live a different life from the past in which he had been consumed by the role of assassin and ultimately met a miserable end.

Not as the Unkillable Mu‑ak, but as Carlos Leipzig.

The stirrings of spring had begun.

The traces of winter that had piled up on the archipelago gradually faded, and the colors woven between the city streets grew increasingly warm.

If one walked straight from the city’s center, Beatrice Street, the Bayern Academy appeared.

Originally, the entrance ceremony that marked the true start of the year was held on such a grand scale that it was regarded as one of the empire’s representative events.

But this year was different.

Maybe because of the terror that occurred during the entrance exam, the festival that used to be held annually had been almost entirely scaled down.

Flutter.

Black banners were hung everywhere.

They were empire flags of mourning, commemorating the cadet candidates who had been sacrificed in the terror.

With Bayern’s courtesy, the bereaved families who had been invited placed a single white lily beneath them, reddening their eyes.

“…….”

In the great auditorium where the entrance ceremony was being held, many cadets had already gathered.

From first‐year freshmen up to fourth years, everyone sat in their respective seats, waiting for the soon‑to‑begin event.

Of course, the only place where nervous looks were felt was where the first‑year cadets had gathered.

‘Because I was 50th, I got the 50th seat, huh.’

Carl tilted his head and glanced quietly around the interior of the auditorium.

Bayern was thorough meritocracy.

In accordance with its founding ideology, inside it, treatment was administered based on academic performance regardless of status.

His entrance exam score had been fiftieth.

Considering that the total number of first‑year cadets was five hundred, he had narrowly landed in the top ten percent.

Footsteps.

When the time came, an elderly man with a dignified atmosphere slowly walked up onto the podium.

He was Chairman Luphern of Bayern.

He came from a long‐established family of educators and was a renowned scholar of the empire.

He paused for a moment of silent prayer.

It was an act to honor those who had lost their lives in the terror.

“As you all know, much has happened. The tragedy that occurred during the entrance exam was truly heartbreaking……”

With a dull voice the ceremony began, and Carl leaned back in his seat.

One pointless topic after another followed—about the academy’s educational policy, the cadets’ mindset, and other things hardly worth worrying about.

“Next will be the award ceremony for those cadets who achieved excellent results on the entrance exam. …The award will be personally presented by His Majesty the Emperor, the most honorable figure of the Ribera Empire.”

“……!”

At the chairman’s sudden announcement, everyone opened their eyes wide.

At the same time, a group of people quickly entered the auditorium and took positions inside at uniform intervals, as if forming a protective circle.

“Royal Knights!”

“Did the real Emperor personally come?”

The interior instantly burst into commotion.

The cadets, drawn by the name Emperor, each mentioned it out loud.

But before long the chatter disappeared, and a serene silence settled.

‘Is that Silence magic?’

Carl touched his own neck and squinted his eyes.

Footsteps─.

And in that calm where no noise could be heard, only the sound of someone stepping echoed purely.

A red cloak billowed.

A handsome man with a robust build and bold features strode across the cadets with confident steps.

“Brantley von Ribera”

He was the highest and most noble presence in the entire empire.

The Emperor of the Ribera Empire had appeared here in person.

“…….”

Nerian, who had already been preparing on the podium for the award ceremony, felt his eyes tremble slightly.

He had not anticipated that the Emperor himself would come, so he did not react immediately.

But when the Emperor climbed onto the podium and their eyes met, he hastily kneeled on one knee and offered the utmost respect.

“Hmm.”

When Emperor Brantley nodded, a Royal Knight approached and lifted a small case.

Inside it was a six‑spoked hexagram medal.

A design commonly known as the Medal of Dawn.

“Rise. A knight does not receive honor while kneeling.”

“……I humbly accept.”

Nerian bowed deeply and slowly rose to his feet.

“I heard you did not yield under their pressure and fulfilled your duties as a noble. That was truly admirable.”

“I merely did what I had to do.”

“Not everyone could do that. That is why you are receiving this medal.”

Emperor Brantley offered faint praise for his merit and pinned the medal on his chest.

“…….”

Watching that scene from afar, Carl wore an intrigued expression.

‘I never expected the Emperor would come himself.’

In the central plains, it would be as if the Son of Heaven had descended in person.

Of course, considering the prestige and weight of that title, the shock of the Son of Heaven’s arrival would have been much greater.

Swish.

Carl stroked his chin and assessed the magnitude.

Once, when he had operated as the Unkillable, he had received a commission to kill the Son of Heaven.

Of course, Killing Veil had gone into an uproar.

Who was that lunatic plotting rebellion and commissioning an assassination on the Son of Heaven through us?

‘I should have refused with a single blow.’

The clan head had been blinded by the price offered and wanted the best assassin in Killing Veil—namely him—to even submit an estimate.

Three experts in the realm of ultimate cultivation were at his constant side.

Under them, countless masters hid in the shadows, forming an impermeable protection network.

Everyone and all food passing through were thoroughly inspected, and if even the slightest odd sign appeared, everything in the imperial palace was brought under control.

Of course, even so, killing the Son of Heaven was not an impossible task.

After all, as the one who appeared to be the Unkillable, there was no one he could not kill.

The problem lay afterward.

‘No matter what escape plan I devised, I would surely die.’

Even leaving aside everything else, he had no confidence in escaping safely from three masters of ultimate cultivation.

Therefore he gave an unofficial refusal, and the situation finally ended with news that a member of the imperial family was executed for treason inside the palace.

“…….”

Carl, who had been lost in thought while staring at Emperor Brantley, naturally lowered his head, pretending to clear his throat.

It was because one of the Royal Knights guarding nearby had shifted his gaze toward the area where he was sitting.

It seemed a bit of his presence had leaked out unintentionally while lost in old thoughts.

It wasn’t as if he had released killing intent.

Perhaps it had simply been a gaze slightly more intense than others, but it seemed that was enough to be noticed sensitively.

‘At minimum, he appears to be a master in the realm of transcendence—makes sense.’

At that level, it wouldn’t be difficult to pick out one person among hundreds.

But since it was only for a brief moment, the knight couldn’t locate Carl and only looked around before turning his head back.

‘Interesting.’

The faint smile on Carl’s lips showed no signs of fading.

Tap. Tap.

In a silent space drenched in darkness, a repetitive sound echoed.

Someone sitting in front of a table was tapping it with their fingers.

The arm supporting their chin remained completely still, as if deep in thought.

…Once the noise from the entrance ceremony outside had died down to a certain extent, he slowly opened his mouth.

“The Emperor came to the event, huh.”

No matter how much he revisited his memories, it wasn’t something that had been planned.

Which meant that some twist had occurred within a major flow.

Of course, it wasn’t impossible.

When a transitional period arrives, ripples tend to form on the surface of the lake like tremors erupting from all directions.

However, this wasn’t even close to a transitional period, not even at its beginning, so this unexpected variable could only be viewed as a nuisance.

“The main cause lies with these two.”

Nerian Hopenheim.

Yuria Euclid.

They were individuals who should have already died during the entrance exam but instead had survived and now shone even brighter.

If left alone like this, wouldn’t a massive deviation occur from the future he knew?

Clutching the platinum medal that had been set to one side of the table, he stood up with a sharp expression.

“……I can’t just let that happen.”

Since they hadn’t even reached the starting point yet, there was still plenty of time to correct it.

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