Chapter 28: Yuria Euclid (1)

“……Ah.”

Passed.

When she heard those words, Laysis let out a short breath.

She inadvertently looked down at the sword in her hand.

Although she hadn’t left a single scratch on Instructor Frahan’s body, that was natural due to the difference in skill between them.

The mere fact that she had managed to touch that body at all was impressive.

“I imagine some of you may be dissatisfied. Since it was a joint attack, shouldn’t the merit be shared? However—”

Thud─.

As he stomped his foot, the ground trembled and an overwhelming force swept around the nearby cadets.

“Reality is cold. The winner takes everything. While the rest of you were down, Cadet Laysis stood up alone and seized the victory.”

If it had been another cadet who stood up instead of Laysis, they would have been the one to pass.

But among them, the only one who endured the pain and forced himself forward to attack Instructor Frahan was him.

“Congratulations, Miss Laysis.”

Carl approached with a smile, tidying up his disheveled appearance as he offered his congratulations.

“Ah, thank you……”

Just as Laysis was about to respond, she suddenly realized something.

The only reason she had been able to land a blow on Instructor Frahan was thanks to the opening Carl had created.

Looking back, Carl’s movements had clearly been a deliberate setup for someone to follow through.

And behind Carl, there had only been one person.

‘……Did he know I would attack?’

The others probably hadn’t noticed.

They would think she was just lucky to catch an opening.

But this was definitely no mere coincidence.

“This pass was earned through your own strength, Miss Laysis. Nothing more, nothing less.”

Before Laysis could say anything more, Carl spoke first.

He did so to avoid revealing his intentions to others and to appear humble at the same time.

Of course, underlying it all was a carefully calculated effort to win Laysis’s favor.

“……Carl.”

Judging by her touched expression, it seemed to have worked perfectly.

He could now say that he had established a good relationship with Laysis.

And with her as a starting point, he could begin building stronger connections with the others.

“……”

Though Nerian’s efforts had ultimately gone to waste, he sheathed his sword with an indifferent expression.

Laysis passing had always been within his expectations.

If anything, he was satisfied to have seen Carl’s abilities firsthand.

“Well then, since we have a successful cadet, let’s end the lecture here. I’m finishing a little early, so go get yourselves cleaned up. Walking around like that would disgrace Bayern’s name, after all.”

“……”

Everyone fell silent, looking dumbfounded.

Who had caused all this mess, anyway?

Still, the instructor had spoken, so they all suppressed their annoyance and walked off.

Inside the Academy, there were designated shower facilities.

They even had a spacious bathhouse, and perhaps because the building was old, it carried a fairly classic atmosphere.

Maybe it was common for cadets to get dirty during lectures, as the place was packed.

After washing up thoroughly, Carl brushed off the cadets trying to stick to him and wandered the Academy grounds alone.

“There’s no afternoon lecture, so maybe I’ll take the chance to explore.”

Today’s only class had been “Understanding of Combat,” led by Instructor Frahan.

That meant he had a fair amount of free time left.

He had always enjoyed spending time alone, even back in the Central Plains.

Sometimes he would quietly drink, sit at scenic spots and enjoy the view all day, or go out on solo boat rides.

There were some who mocked such refined tastes for an assassin, but why should being a killer restrict his hobbies?

‘Besides, I’ve already achieved today’s goal.’

Just gaining Laysis’s favor through the lecture was enough to meet his quota.

All he needed to do now was slowly embed himself in their daily lives.

He had done this many times before in the Central Plains, so it wasn’t difficult.

As he strolled without much thought, he arrived before a unique, spiral-shaped building.

[Bayern Library]

The Bayern Library was second to none.

Within the Empire, perhaps only the Imperial Palace archive or the Magic Tower’s library could compare.

It was said to house an enormous trove of books and information, having been established alongside the founding of the Empire.

He hadn’t had the chance to visit it before the entrance exam.

His attention had been tied up with the organization’s matters.

Click.

He pushed the door and entered to find several cadets already studying inside.

True to Bayern’s reputation, everyone seemed diligent despite it being so early in the semester.

Carl walked between the bookshelves, taking in the interior.

The library was five stories tall, designed like a lounge with an open center.

Thanks to the wide, open view all the way up to the fifth-floor ceiling, it didn’t feel enclosed.

‘From the sixth floor up, only authorized personnel are allowed, huh.’

Naturally, not all materials would be publicly available.

Of course, there would be internal Bayern data and research records.

On his way down, Carl picked up a random book from the fourth floor and settled into a quiet corner on the first floor.

He wasn’t particularly interested in reading.

He simply liked the atmosphere of the place and wanted to use the time to gather his thoughts.

‘Things are going well with both the Academy and NOX. Too smoothly—it’s actually a bit unsettling.’

From his experience, situations like this usually led to serious problems later on.

It was often better to have minor issues pop up along the way, so he could adjust course early.

“Sigh.”

Carl let out a short breath.

Still, good was good, so he decided not to dwell on pessimistic thoughts.

Just as he closed the book he was halfway through and stretched his neck, someone sat beside him and turned their gaze his way.

“……”

A woman with wavy, light green hair—judging from her uniform, she was a year ahead of him.

“You’re pretty studious for someone who just started. Is that how you got top marks in theory?”

Was she the type of senior who liked teasing juniors?

Carl didn’t feel like getting involved, so he was about to reply with a neutral answer and move on.

“……”

But then he narrowed his eyes at the strange sense of familiarity he felt from her.

The curious eyes, the lifted corners of her mouth, her fluttering hair, her tone, her breathing—none of it felt out of place.

What mattered most was that there was no sense of incongruity.

‘My instincts have never been wrong.’

There should have been something suspicious, but if there was nothing at all, it meant the other party had intentionally concealed it.

Then suddenly, Carl realized the source of the strange sense of familiarity he had felt and responded with a slight laugh.

“Nineteen, huh? That was flawless. I almost fell for it.”

“Nineteen? What’s that?”

“You set the mood quite well, but your approach was clumsy. If you were trying to act like a helpful senior, you should’ve been a bit more composed.”

“……Aww, you figured it out right away. I wanted to play the senior role a little longer.”

Though she pouted her lips, she soon smiled at Carl.

“Please call me Luna while we’re here.”

Nineteen.

As the name suggested, she was a direct subordinate of Nine.

Her specialties were intelligence gathering through infiltration and protecting key personnel.

For this mission, she was tasked with collecting information at the Academy and guarding Carl.

“We were told to make contact if the Master came to the library. I didn’t expect you to show up this early.”

“So that means there are others among the cadets too.”

“There’s one assigned to each of the second and third years. It’d be too conspicuous for us all to approach at once, so I’m the only one who moved.”

“I see.”

Carl had intentionally avoided looking into the details of how they infiltrated the Academy.

It was better that there were no links between him and operations involving protection or espionage.

The basic rule was to operate covertly so that even involved parties remained unaware.

And since these were people who had learned all of Killing Veil’s techniques directly from him, he trusted they would manage just fine.

‘Fussing over small details only hinders the growth of the organization.’

Everything had its time and place.

That was why he hired capable people—his role was to guide the overall direction and handle major decisions from behind the scenes.

At the very least, the fact that they had secured top-secret data like the entrance exam materials and cadet profiles meant they had passed the test.

“Your name’s been coming up among the senior cadets. They’re saying it’s a good thing you resemble Sir Carius.”

“I’m glad my brothers have a good reputation.”

Carl nodded with a smile.

Normally, children of noble houses were raised to compete with one another from birth.

That had been the case in the Central Plains, and in Artenia as well.

But perhaps due to the unique culture of the Leipzig Family, the sibling bond there was unusually strong.

“There’s nothing scheduled for the first month. After that, there’s a plan for practical training and missions that involve fieldwork.”

“Any changes?”

“No. Nothing major has changed from the report we gave before the entrance exam.”

Carl nodded.

As long as things went according to plan, he could fully embed himself among the cadets before the first year ended.

“Even when we’re alone, you’ll keep up the senior act. I’ll do the same.”

“……Alright. My cute little junior.”

Nineteen casually reached out and poked Carl’s cheek.

As if she had been waiting for that exact cue, Carl could only let out a quiet chuckle at her behavior.

“I should get going to my next lecture. Good luck, junior.”

“I’ll see you next time.”

Luna stood from her seat with a smile, then glanced over toward the bookshelves at the back, curling her lips upward.

“……”

Among them, Yuria, who had been spying on the situation, held her breath and quickly hid herself.

As soon as Luna left, she poked her head out slightly with a frown and looked over at Carl, who was still sitting.

‘……Seriously, how long has it been since the semester started, and he’s already friendly with a senior?’

While browsing the library for some research material, she had coincidentally spotted Carl.

Having already had lunch with Laysis and heard what happened during “Understanding of Combat,” she had grown a bit curious.

Had he really created that opportunity for Laysis?

For a mage, gaining insight into a swordmaster like Instructor Frahan’s technique was akin to receiving a secret arcane spell—an extraordinary fortune.

To give up something like that to someone else?

She had thought this might be a turning point in how she viewed Carl, but then a second-year senior suddenly approached and started chatting with him.

……And throughout the entire conversation, he never stopped smiling.

‘Now that I think about it, didn’t he say all his brothers went to the Academy?’

She had heard the eldest graduated this year.

The second brother was still in third year.

Was that someone he knew through them?

But it felt too familiar for that.

When the girl poked Carl on the cheek, Yuria reflexively flinched her shoulder.

After Luna left the area,

Yuria cleared her throat, then slowly approached from behind.

“You two looked pretty close, huh? You and the senior.”

Having completely forgotten her original purpose of researching material.

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