Chapter 249
I didn’t want things to boil over, so I kept my mouth shut at Temple.
Ellen was the only one aware that my life was being threatened by assassins, and she didn't even believe me.
I had no other choice but to continue my Temple life with my nerves constantly on edge.
“Aren't you acting quite strange these days?"
Liana spoke up as she looked at me on our way back from supernatural power classes.
On days I had classes related to supernatural powers, I tended to go back with Liana. Heinrich was also part of our classes, but Lana seemed to avoid him after they had some conflict.
“What?"
“It's true that you have a really dirty personality, but it's even worse than usual lately. Is there something going on? Did you have a fight with Ellen? No, that doesn’t seem to be it."
“It's nothing like that."
I had been on edge those past few days, so it seemed the phrase 'something serious happened' was etched on my face.
…My life was being threatened, but I couldn't tell her that.
I tried to think of a different explanation.
“I feel like I’ve made too many enemies recently."
I tried to just vaguely approximate my troubles because she wouldn't believe me if I told her the truth.
“What are you saying all of a sudden?"
“There are more people than I could have imagined holding a grudge against me due to the incident with the Orbis Class, but there are just as many such people inside of Temple as outside, which is why I've been a bit on edge—I'm worried that something may happen."
“Wow, you actually care about those things? I'm amazed that you even consider those kinds of things."
Liana’s eyes widened and she shook her head.
Girl… I’m really not in the mood to deal with your antics right now.
Wait, wouldn't that electric girl be able to perform near-instant auto-self-defense if she were threatened?
‘Should I just stick around Liana for a while?’
…No, if I tried to stick to her, I'd just get rejected with her saying I was being rude. Liana smiled softly and poked my side.
“What? Do you think someone wants to kill you?"
“Perhaps…"
"…Huh?"
“No, I'm not saying it's true, but there is a possibility. I don't know how those people might act."
"…Aren't you taking this too seriously?"
Lana's reaction wasn't any different from Ellen's.
“More than just one or two people will be affected if this incident causes the Orbis Class to permanently close. Taking that into consideration, more than just one or two people would hold a grudge against me.
“Well… that's true."
However, Liana tilted her head at my words.
“By the way, I don't think that the Orbis Class would actually get closed down because of something like this."
Liana seemed to be absolutely convinced of that.
“On what grounds?"
“The special classes were created to nurture exceptionally talented individuals. As long as the results are good, it doesn't really matter if the class has some internal problems. As long as their goal of producing amazing talents is achieved, everything else can be overlooked."
It was exactly what Mr. Epinhajser said during the disciplinary committee meeting.
Mr. Epinhauser said that, regardless of whether I had a good personality or not, they had to let me off because I was an excellent talent that should be further nurtured because that was Temple's goal.
So, in that context, it was also true that the Orbis Class managed to produce a lot of exceptional individuals as well, even if there was a great deal of violence between seniors and juniors that even got encouraged by the teachers.
That was why the Orbis Class couldn't be closed down.
They might not even weed out any of its members or teachers.
Temple's vice chancellor, Assyrian Walken, also seemed to have already figured out the Orbis Class’s problems.
Contrary to my expectations, they might take no special actions against the Orbis Class. Investigations were going on even at that moment, but after some time passed, they might just gloss over the incident as if everything had been resolved already.
Of course, there would be students who'd get punished, and some faculty members might be replaced, but Liana seemed to think that they wouldn't come to the decision to close the Orbis Class.
The more I listened, the more I felt that she was right.
“So don't think of useless things and pull those kinds of faces, you punk. It's uncomfortable."
She only could talk like that because she didn't know my circumstances, but seeing Liana grin like that felt reassuring for some reason.
She felt somewhat reliable in a different way from Ellen.
As soon as I returned to the Royal Class dormitory, I started to wonder whether Liana's clumsiness was some kind of curse.
“Orbis Class will be closed down!"
Harriet delivered that huge news to me and Liana as soon as we got back.
We looked at each other blankly.
"…"
“Huh, well… Is that how it turned out…?"
Liana scratched her cheek with her index finger, wearing quite a stupid expression.
Didn't that go far beyond clumsiness? Didn't she actually have some kind of curse that made the opposite of what she said happen?
***
Class closure…
Orbis Class was one of Temple's flagships and one of two special classes, and even though it was deliberately created to motivate the Royal Class students to improve, it had also produced a great number of excellent individuals.
As Liana said, they were a group that flawlessly carried out their purpose even though they had some internal problems.
No matter how serious their internal problems were, I was convinced that they wouldn't close down the Orbis Class.
"They’re closing it down? Are you sure?"
Harriet nodded her head wildly with a blank expression on her face at Lana's words. She looked really flustered as if she never expected things to turn out like that.
"That seemed to be the decision they came to during the meeting presided over by the chancellor. I don't know the details, but Orbis will be completely closed down for now."
While it didn't seem like it at first, in the end, those results were to be expected.
An inflection point in history had occurred. In a way, it was only natural that the Orbis Class would get closed down. Did so many problems come up after they dug into the Orbis Class’s problems that they had no other choice but to close it?
Was it even to the point that they had to deny their overall goal of nurturing talented individuals?
The Orbis Class was an annex to the Royal Class, to put it bluntly.
Its disappearance was bound to affect the Royal Class as well.
“Then what will happen to the students who attended it?"
"I don't really know, but… won't they just go to other schools?"
The details weren't clear yet.
The Orbis Class had been closed.
What I had done caused such extreme change.
“Hey… aren't you in really big trouble?"
* * *
Reaper Scans
Translator – KonnoAren
Proofreader – ilafy
* * *
Liana, who had just told me to relax because the Orbis Class wouldn't be closed down, seemed to realize the seriousness of the situation.
Since the situation had reached that point, there could be a lot of people holding a grudge against me that would do whatever it took to get revenge.
"You… just tell me when you need to go somewhere."
Liana looked at me anxiously.
As things had turned out like that, she seemed to take the idea that my life could be in danger seriously.
-Bzzt!
Liana let an electric spark fly from the tip of her finger.
“I can fry quite a few people with this."
It seemed like Liana intended to escort me whenever I needed it.
A Duke's daughter became my bodyguard.
Regardless of everything else, it did feel kind of good.
***
The fact that the Orbis Class actually closed down meant that I inevitably made a lot of enemies—they could be the seniors of the Orbis Class or the teachers.
Since I ended up destroying the whole hive by simply poking at it, the bees who had lost their nest would focus their hatred on me and try to sting me however they could.
…So I acted a bit more cautiously.
I didn't go anywhere alone.
I didn't even step a foot out of the dormitory after classes. Either Ellen or Liana were always by my side because they both knew that I was in danger.
Ellen's abilities were reassuring, but the sense of security I got from Liana was greater.
Liana, who could let out an electric shock in a radius as big as her ability allowed her to at any time and place, was able to react to any unexpected surprises within her range.
No matter what happened, the class closure was an unexpected event.
“Let's talk for a second, Reinhardt."
Bertus suddenly wanted to talk to me.
***
“Don't mess around for a while starting now."
Bertus, who had called me, spoke calmly as he drank his black tea.
It seemed like Saviolin Turner was right in saying that I had made too many enemies. Bertis brought that up even though I didn't say anything.
"Since the class actually ended up being closed down, there are many people who have suffered great damages from your actions, groups and individuals both. And even if they know that you aren't the real cause of all this, they most certainly know that the trigger was you. So, if you jump around anymore, this won't just end up with you tripping on a stone. Rather, it’ll be more like falling off a cliff."
"…"
Things just blew up while I was trying to prevent the case of Ender Wilton and solve the problems of the Orbis Class.
“You'll be fine as long as you stay in the Royal Class's dormitory and don't do anything special."
His words meant that I shouldn't cause any more trouble. Of course, I didn't intend to just wander around all over the place in that situation.
However, what Bertus said seemed a little strange.
I'd be fine?
I felt a sense of incongruity emanating from those words.
So did that mean others could also be in danger? Bertus smiled, seeming as if he had noticed my thoughts.
“I mean, people generally tend to dislike enemies from within more than ones from without."
Whistleblowers.
“Lilka Aaron…?”
"Even if she doesn't get killed right now, don't you think she might get expelled and then killed?"
I shot the first shot at the Orbis Class, leading to its collapse, however, Lilka Aaron's whistleblowing was the decisive blow.
I was able to be put under the Imperial Prince's, Princess's, and countless other people's protection, Lilka, on the other hand, wasn't in such a position.
She was in a much more dangerous spot.
She risked becoming a whistleblower just to eliminate all those absurdities.
As a result, many problems had been uncovered, however, rather than fixing them, the Orbis Class sank with them.
Therefore, someone had to be blamed for all the damages caused as well as shoulder all the resulting anger. Those people would undoubtedly be after me, but they certainly wouldn't let Lilka, who had betrayed the Orbis Class, go unnoticed.
“What's going to happen…?"
“Temple is protecting them at the moment, but that can't go on forever. They might get assigned to different classes as the Orbis Class is torn apart. By the way, a gap is bound to appear and they can’t be kept safe forever, either."
"…"
"I mean, there was also a case of an Imperial Princess getting kidnapped from Emperatos, right?"
There was no such thing as an absolutely safe place.
—Just like how Sarkegaar managed to kidnap the princess.
However, if they wanted to kill Lilka Aaron, they could do that whenever they wanted.
Bertus's cold expression seemed especially cold that day.
***
It wasn't enough to worry about my own life, I also had to worry about Lilka's. I didn't even know who was after my life at the moment.
While it was Lilka Aaron who acted as a whistleblower first, in the end, all of the first-year Orbis Class students decided to take collective action.
So if one looked at the bigger picture, all those students' lives were in immediate danger.
As long as they went through with the class closure, the damage dealt would be irreversible, and the students of the Orbis Class would be scattered. Temple couldn't protect all of them forever.
Bertus helped me, but he didn't intend to do the same for Lilka Aaron nor did he have any reason to.
I sat at my desk after I returned to my private room.
It was past our bedtime, but I couldn't sleep.
Not everything would just turn out like I thought it would.
Even if they weren't able to get rid of those absurdities, I told them to at least call them out.
They were simply fed up with the bullshit, so they revealed Orbis Class's absurdities to the world.
As such, the school got shut down.
However, I wasn't able to predict the amount of anger that would arise from that.
I didn't think that it would lead to people trying to kill me and others.
It was my failure for not realizing just how rotten a place the Orbis Class actually was.
If I stayed low and held my breath inside the Royal Class's dormitory, I would be safe.
…But until when?
I didn’t think those who were after me would have their attentions wane just because of one or two days passing.
Would Lilka be in danger in the near future?
If she died, while I wouldn't have killed her directly, my actions would’ve led to her death.
I thought the matter would end just by identifying the assassin who was after me. While that was also a serious problem, I didn't think it was one that I couldn't solve.
However, in my situation, there were just too many suspects.
With no idea just who the hell was trying to kill me, it was clear that there were several people like that.
Just what was I supposed to do?
I didn't know. I felt like my head was clogged up.
[Writer's Advice] – 150 Points
It was a skill I had forgotten about for a while.
The Preview that suddenly heralded my death made me able to avoid it.
Writer's Advice had also completely changed my life.
Didn't everything start after I met Eleris due to Writer's Advice?
When I didn't know what to do, Writer's Advice would give me unpredictable but somewhat clear instructions.
Clear and vague advice…
Clear advice dictated concrete actions…
Vague advice would throw some abstract words at you.
Vague advice was hard to understand, but it was likely safe if understood correctly.
Clear advice would often involve taking bigger risks…
And both had the potential to have absolutely good outcomes but also very bad ones. Usually, both good and bad outcomes would appear simultaneously.
The last time I used it, I couldn't make heads or tails of the vague advice. It wasn't until after the situation blew up in my face that I understood what it meant.
However, I could still use the Writer's Advice with 150 points.
Since I still had a lot of achievement points, I could listen to both the clear and vague advice.
[Vague Writer's Advice]
[Why was the Orbis Class shut down?]
I knew it…
I was again not sure what that meant.
The shutdown of the Orbis Class was decided in a meeting presided over by the president. There was a good chance that the Imperial Family also had some influence on the decision.
It was shut down because the problems the Orbis Class had were bigger than Temple's main purpose—to nurture talented students. That had to mean that there was more to it than that.
I couldn't know at that point.
Bertus or Charlotte would probably know the details.
I was going to look at the clear advice as well anyway.
[Clear Writer's Advice]
[Meet Oscar de Gardias alone.]
Oscar de Gardias…
I had a hunch that his name would pop up.
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