How to Survive at the Academy
chapter-180

Ed’s Subjugation War (3)

I’ve often agreed with the saying that trials make a person stronger.

However, a life filled with nothing but trials locks a person in darkness instead. Moderation is key in everything.

I had similar thoughts while observing the life of Taely McLore.

It’s commendable, but I wouldn’t want to live like that.

It seemed like not just me, but everyone else felt similarly.

The life of a hero who overcomes countless trials and ultimately proves the worth of their life glimmers with allure, but…

At least, I do not desire to live that way.

Who would genuinely welcome trials with open arms?

Even if the ending always resulted in victory, what I long for is just a peaceful life.

It was perhaps inevitable to feel this way.

Taely’s life had been that fraught with adversity.

*Periodically, the sound of an owl’s hoot would scatter among the bushes.

I was running through the forest, firmly pulling along Lortelle by the wrist.

The only source of light was the faint glow of a magic spell conjured up by Lortelle. But I had the path etched in my mind; that’s why I could navigate swiftly through the darkness.

With confident strides, I advanced, and Lortelle, trusting my lead, stooped low to avoid tripping over roots and twigs.

“We’re heading to my camp where Belle should be waiting.”

“At this hour?”

“I gave her a heads up in advance.”

“When does that maid-manager ever sleep?”

I heard that she typically manages with three hours of sleep per day and naps for about an hour whenever she can during her duties.

Anyhow, bell is something of a superhuman to inspire such amazement. Perhaps that’s what it takes to reach the position of maid-manager at her age.

“Since Belle is one of the few who have keys to your cottage at the camp, I asked her to open it up in advance.”

“Then I’ll wait at the cottage. I can’t quite grasp the situation yet, but…”

“The Elte Merchants’ building is probably in chaos right now. We need to get back to the camp first and check on something.”

Saying this, I helped Lortelle over a large tree root by tugging her wrist upwards.

She must be physically exhausted, but Lortelle moved along without complaint, following my lead.

“Can we trust Belle Mayar?”

Lortelle’s sudden question made me pause and look in her direction.

“Belle Mayar, you mean?”

“Is there no chance she might have sided with Durin…?”

“You suspect Belle as well.”

“Senior. I tend to be suspicious of everyone except for you.”

Leaves rustled in the dark breeze as if we were the only two floating in cosmic space in the midst of the northern woods at this late hour.

“It’s something I can’t help.”

“…”

“I don’t entirely trust a person named Belle Mayar to the bone. I know she’s a good person, but that’s when I am an employer.”

Beneath her cloak, Lortelle’s expression was not exactly cheerful.

Could it be because of the string of tense situations that her typically sly and playful character isn’t showing?

Even under duress, Lortelle Keheln always managed to maintain composure with a smile.

However, when it’s just the two of us, does she drop such a façade this easily?

“People’s hearts are like reeds that sway, and even the longest-standing business associates are easily discarded with a better contract offer. I’ve seen too many examples of that.”

“By that logic, wouldn’t I be no different?”

“That’s right. But… I’m tired of doubting and doubting again.”

As urgent as it was to keep moving, Lortelle stood her ground, gripping my sleeve tightly.

When I turned to face her, she spoke softly under the soft light of the magic.

“Since I came of age, I’ve lived as a merchant. I’ve seen magnates who wield tremendous power and dominate others. And I know what’s common among those who have managed to survive atop the towers of gold for so long.”

“I don’t know.”

“They take immense care of their own. Once they’re convinced someone is theirs, they’ll cling to them until they enter the grave.”

Lortelle’s childhood began in the harsh commercial city of Oldec.

From wandering the slums to bouncing around orphanages to starting at the bottom of a company and becoming the heir to a magnate, and finally controlling vast wealth as a magnate herself.

From the bottom to the top.

The many human figures observed while climbing the steep path, grinding her teeth all the way.

Since her life was that of a merchant, most of those she encountered were consumed by the madness of calculus.

Always wide-eyed, Lortelle must have tried to judge cautiously.

“I realized too late after ascending to the position of proxy director that I don’t have…

‘my people.’”

Whether becoming the CEO of a large corporation, a famous politician, or a military commander, those who reach the top of their groups always search for their own.

Beyond calculations, the presence of one’s own people, always there at one’s side, is more precious than gold to those inevitably lonely leaders.

Now I think back to a story Lortelle once told me while we were walking through the halls of Sylvania Academy at night.

She said the bustling daytime streets of the professors’ district felt no different to her than the quiet of the midnight landscape.

She must have always felt the same while sitting in the office at Elte Merchants.

The sensation of loneliness in a crowd stems from the absence of meaningful connections.

Looking at Lortelle’s face, I see it.

The deputy chief, Lortelle Keheln, who wore layers upon layers of sly and playfully cunning fox masks, eventually showed her true face stripped of cold-heartedness.

In a forest darkened by shadows, where it seemed we two were alone, perhaps that led to her true visage emerging.

A young girl seemingly alone at that age—Lortelle Keheln grabbed my sleeve forcibly, then clutched the collar near my neck, bringing her face closer to mine.

Her luminous eyes were now up close.

Her typically stalwart demeanor softened, and though her vulnerability surprised me, she persisted.

“Please… become my person.”

As if reassured that we were truly unobserved,

“I will, in turn, become yours.”

Thus… she eventually laid bare the depths of her heart.

“In this world, there’s no such thing as a free lunch. This is a mutual dependency contract.”

“That’s quite an absurd proposal, Lortelle.”

At my reaction, her lips dropped as if her spine was set aflame—a sight that made me question my eyes. Lortelle Keheln looked as if she would cry.

Not someone else, but Lortelle Keheln.

Not particularly pleased by such a response, I quickly continued.

“… I’ve been your person from the start.”

The importance of looking out for one’s own… I’m not unaware of it, either.

I’m the same.

Once convinced someone is mine, I might suffer a loss in the relationship, but I stick with them to the end.

There are relationships that cannot simply be replaced with monetary transactions, understood empirically by most.

And I’m someone who already declined Durin’s offer.

“So weren’t you, already, my person?”

As such, I questioned Lortelle in return.

There is no difference between them and the stars.

Lortelle came into my arms, and then had to stand still for a while.

Elvira and Taely’s fight was turning into a protracted battle.

Elvira, who had the entire battlefield in her grip, did not have a direct way to harm Taely.

Taely had not only natural physical strength but was also honed through continuous training.

It was absurd to try to beat him with physical strength, and Elvira was not skilled enough in combat magic to deal a blow to him that way.

The fight inevitably became one of whittling down his stamina with alchemical knowledge and magical engineering devices.

“Kaak! Hwaak!”

Taely swung his greatsword horizontally to attack Elvira, but was repelled by the “Impact Enhancement Wave Device” from the magical engineering.

Elvira, attempting to create a smokescreen with her smoke potion to distance herself again from Taely, had to confront him once more as he braced against the blast and closed the gap.

“No light tricks will stop me…!”

“You seem to be right!”

Elvira made a decision that surpassed Taely’s expectations—she plunged straight into Taely’s embrace.

If Taely closed the distance, he could subdue her in an instant.

Briefly caught off guard, Taely refused to waste the opportunity and changed the trajectory of his greatsword towards Elvira. She ignored the scrape of the blade on her shoulder and pulled a vial from her bosom.

‘Red Flame Blossom Elixir’

With a quiet incantation from Elvira, a massive flame burst forth from within her garments.

The elixir, which caught both Taely and Elvira within its influence, was then poured over the hand clutching Taely’s greatsword.

“Kuak!”

Taely, surprised and reflexively dropping the hilt, watched Elvira kick the sword away.

Temporarily disarmed, Taely wasn’t defeated in close combat. Before wielding a sword, he was a boy who favored unarmed combat.

At that moment, as Taely readied his fists, Elvira shook off the flames from her hair and clutched her bleeding shoulder tightly.

Blood streaked down Elvira’s left arm, the wound not deep but bleeding still.

Taely struggled to contain his breath, momentarily overwhelmed by the fact that he had hurt Elvira with his own hand, blood rushing to his head again.

“Elvira.”

Instead of throwing a punch, Taely spoke up.

“There’s no need for this. Just… step aside…”

But Elvira, pulling out two vials of blue elixir, replied,

“Quiet, and bring it, Taely.”

“Whatever did Ed Rothtaylor say to you… to make you go this far…!”

Taely bowed his head, deep in thought.

“I don’t want to fight you. I just… want to save Aila.”

“Such long-winded words, Taely.”

Elvira shattered the two vials on the ground, and mana began to suffuse around her in a blue glimmer.

She then removed a pair of rabbit-shaped hairpins from her hair.

Her hair loosened and fluttered in the night breeze.

“A verbal fight? Come at me seriously.”

Taely silently observed Elvira, sitting on the earthbound.

He lacked the will to fight, but if Elvira charged, he’d have no choice but to respond.

As much as Taely valued her as a fellow student, Aila was more important than Elvira.

And so… Taely began to gather mana within himself.

The rabbit hairpins expanded, revealing two giant servitors with ferocious fangs and chilling red eyes—a blending of wolf and rabbit natures.

Elvira began to draw forth elemental magic.

The events that followed happened in an instant.

Taely McLore was a boy who lived each moment earnestly, even in training.

His swordsmanship had grown notably, making him a formidable name within the school.

Even Elvira was aware of this and awaited his sincere challenge.

To what extent a serious Taely could go was unknown, but she was sure that she was no match for him.

Elvira’s role was simply to provoke Taely’s earnestness.

Thus, she put her heart into it to bring out Taely’s true spirit.

But Taely’s earnest sword strike was too fast for Elvira’s eyes to trace.

In the blink of an eye, both rabbit servitors were cleaved in two.

There was something odd. Taely held no sword.

Taely’s greatsword lay rolling on the ground, still in sight, yet the servitors looked as if they had been cut cleanly by a blade.

Then came the third strike.

Only then did Elvira realize.

Swordsmanship devised by the original Sword Saint, Luden, passed down through McLore blood—the mythical technique, Sword Saint Arts.

Among those ancient techniques was the ‘Swordless Sword Technique’.

A magic sword technique that forged mana to slash through foes.

The realization came too late to make any difference.

Taely’s third strike, his eyes wide in the darkness, was already aimed at Elvira.

With a clenched decision in his expression, Taely was prepared to cut down even Elvira if she threatened Aila’s life, a noble resolve firm in his stand.

However, Elvira did not receive that sword strike.

Another man’s blade intercepted it, halting its reach.

The scent of blood lingered bitterly.

In the shadows of the night, a beast with red eyes took its place.

Elvira, with eyes squeezed shut, turned her gaze forward once more.

From her collapsed position, she could only see the back of the man standing over her.

Following the bleeding edge of the sword upwards, she saw a grim swordsman come into view.

“Is this… what are you doing, Taely?”

The man, bleeding from his shoulder, expelled the night’s cold air with a breath and glared at Taely.

Elvira swallowed her breath quickly and raised her voice.

“Clevius, this is…!”

“Shut up. Stay quiet, Elvira.”

Despite typically being at the mercy of Elvira’s whim, the man suppressed her voice with a single sharp word, his aura completely transformed.

Taely slowly grasped his greatsword to face Clevius directly—half-dragging his torso, absorbing mana from the blood that dripped down his sword.

Taely McLore had heard rumors of such happenings. They were rather infamous in the area.

The Nortondale family is haunted by a Sword Ghost.

Few had direct confirmation of the horrific rumors.

*

“The lodge doors have been left open.”

Upon returning to camp, bell had set up a fire and arranged everything in the lodge.

When Lortelle and I arrived, she was warming herself by the fire.

It was as if she had come camping, listlessly warming her palms by the fire.

“…somehow, this camp has a way of making people feel lazy.”

Having finished her tasks and aimlessly gazing at the fire, a surprisingly relaxed sight for Belle who seemed slightly embarrassed by being seen that way.

“If you stay inside the lodge, I’ll report to you if anyone comes looking or if anything unusual happens.”

“Thank you, bell.”

With that, I took Lortelle’s hand and headed into the lodge.

Leaving Belle outside, I decided to wait for any changes in the situation inside the lodge, exchanging information with Lortelle and deducing what tricks Durin had been up to.

Durin would already have his hands full just dealing with the commotion Taely had caused at the merchant guild. We would have plenty of time.

It was safe to assume Taely wouldn’t make it here. The challenges prepared for him were too severe for him to face alone.

The life of a hero is supposed to overcome any ordeal, but even that has its limits.

With that in mind, I led Lortelle into the lodge.

We will take back the Elte Merchant Guild.

That was the primary objective.