“What kind of nonsense is that…? That’s not tradition, it’s abuse!”
Calling it a tradition when you had to kill someone you had lived with like a friend by your own hand.
It was too primitive to even call a bad custom.
“Why does that tradition even exist?”
“From what I’ve heard, it was supposed to be a process to teach them the cruelty of the world… and the fate of the weak.”
“And that’s been going on for a hundred and fifty years…? I can’t believe it.”
“That’s only a rough estimate. The prevailing theory is that other families envied House Vyuern’s loyal attendants and created their own versions from that example.”
The children all fell silent.
The hunting dog system had become popular among noble families around a hundred and fifty years ago.
If so, then just how long ago had House Vyuern begun raising hunting dogs?
“That’s information even I don’t know. But there is one thing I can say for certain.”
This had been going on for a length of time that made a mere hundred and fifty years seem laughably short.
Long enough to take root under the name of ‘tradition.’
And to die at the hands of the person you had believed was your master, no less.
Luna ground her teeth.
“What the hell is that? So they didn’t just say it—they really treated people like actual dogs?”
“…Back then, it was common enough that people considered it normal. That was the kind of era it was. The hunting dog system is only one of the remnants that age left behind.”
“So are you saying this is right, Teacher?”
“I simply leave such things to the flow of the world. It’s the sort of culture that will disappear on its own with time. To begin with, House Vyuern doesn’t have many heirs, so the number of victims has always been low… and the law of the world has always been survival of the strong, whether in the past or the present.”
“You sound exactly like someone else I know.”
Luna frowned.
Caron realized his mistake, but it was already too late.
“Ah…”
“Hmph!”
Luna sharply turned her head away.
While Caron fidgeted helplessly, unable to do anything about it, Victoria tilted her head.
“Wait, doesn’t something feel off? The tradition is supposed to take place when both children are ten. But Teron and Daike are fifteen now.”
She was right. Daike was fifteen at present. If Caron’s information was accurate, he should already have been dead.
“Couldn’t he have become Teron’s hunting dog after that tradition was already over? Meaning the one Teron killed was a different hunting dog.”
“No, that’s not it. The hunting dog five-year-old Teron received as a gift was definitely Daike.”
“Then what happened? There’s no way a tradition that old and established would suddenly be broken in Teron’s generation.”
Caron shrugged and continued.
“I don’t know how Daike survived either. Maybe he struck a deal with Teron. Or maybe Duke Zeppelin pitied him and let him live.”
“It’s more likely because he’s talented. Daike can’t use aura, but he’s still a five-star knight. He’ll become someone great with time, so maybe they exempted him from that insane tradition.”
“That’s what I think too.”
The children all let out sighs of relief.
At least, until Caron spoke again.
“That was what I thought too—until I received the report about what Duke Zeppelin did this time.”
The report about Duke Zeppelin ordering Teron to mercilessly beat Daike.
That didn’t look like someone who had been granted an exemption.
“Hmm…”
“Mm…”
“Uuuugh!”
The children sank into thought.
Normally I would have let them work it out on their own, but since I had already decided to push forward, I chose to move fast.
“The timing doesn’t add up in the first place.”
“The timing?”
“House Vyuern’s tradition takes place at age ten. Daike only reached the level of a five-star knight at fourteen.”
“So no matter how exceptional he may have seemed before then, he wouldn’t have been valuable enough to spare… is that what you mean?”
I nodded.
“Then what was the reason?”
“I don’t know either. But one thing is certain.”
I turned toward Caron.
“I’m not asking the teacher. I’m asking the Empire’s rat. If Teron fails to take first place this time, what do you think will happen to Daike?”
Caron didn’t take long to think.
But neither did he answer immediately.
He simply gave his conclusion in a flat voice, as though it were obvious.
“He’ll die.”
“…!”
“I don’t know the exact details. But whether it was a deal, mercy, or something else entirely… this will be the end of whatever chance he was given.”
Maybe it was the shock of hearing those words.
Or maybe they had all started calculating things in their own heads.
Either way, the children fell silent.
“As I said earlier, I intend to save Daike. I do have a plan… but it’ll be hard, and the odds of it working are low. Well, that might change if all of you help.”
I had laid out the ending awaiting Daike.
The reality.
Now all that remained was a choice.
But—
‘They probably won’t.’
Daike accounted for seventy percent of Teron’s side’s combat strength. There was no way Yuridia and Victoria would let an opportunity like this pass.
Help Teron and Daike, when a rival—one Duke Zeppelin was willing to eliminate himself—was about to disappear?
That was impossible.
‘Guess I’ll just have to do it alone.’
This was my first time clearing this hidden piece, so the puzzle was still full of holes, but maybe I could somehow force it through with my high specs.
I was just about to say I’d do it even if I had to do it alone.
“Okay. I’ll help.”
“As expected—…what?”
“I said I’ll help you.”
…Out of nowhere?
“How could I just ignore it when someone might die? Of course I’ll help.”
“Oh~ Hohoho! Caring for a pitiful little lamb is precisely how one repays the goddess’s grace. Naturally, I shall help as well!”
Yuridia and Victoria rushed forward as if each was trying to claim the lead.
As I watched the two of them, I noticed something strange.
Glance.
Glance glance.
Their mouths were moving as they spoke to me, but their eyes kept drifting toward Luna.
Don’t tell me these two…
“Hmph… better than certain people, at least.”
That was it.
The reason they were stepping in to save Daike.
They were trying to score points with Luna.
‘You’re willing to give up a chance to take control of the academy over something that trivial?’
I honestly could not understand that at all.
“Lady Yuridia, didn’t you say just yesterday that it was absolutely impossible…?”
“W-when did I ever say that! You must’ve misheard me! What should I do? I’ll give it everything I’ve got! For the position of godmother… no, for Daike’s sake!”
“Then I shall claim the position of godmother for myself.”
“Eek! Stop cutting in line!”
The weasel and the marten started bickering again.
I should just stop paying attention to these animals. It would probably be better for my mental health.
And it wasn’t just Yuridia and Victoria who had offered to help.
Alex, Raymon, even Adonis.
They were all nodding and smiling.
As though it were only natural.
“Why?”
I genuinely couldn’t understand.
In the game, these were kids too busy fighting one another.
Kids who pursued justice and morality, only to end up walking the path of corrupt adults.
As someone who had once lived that kind of life himself, I simply could not understand why they were offering to help.
The children looked at one another, then smiled.
“Because we’re comrades.”
The words came out in one voice.
I’d heard them somewhere before.
They were the words of someone full of pride, and of the person closest to me.
“What are you staring at?”
Luna narrowed her eyes at me.
“Because you’re too beautiful.”
“Took you long enough to notice. Well, as long as you get it now, that’s fine.”
Honestly, she made a fuss even when I complimented her.
Still, this time Luna really did seem beautiful to me.
Her heart, anyway.
“Pure love is the besttt!”
“To whisper words of love even in a moment like this. It truly is love.”
“Mm, romance indeed. Romance.”
Adonis started weeping tears of emotion.
It was such a warm, uplifting atmosphere just looking at them.
But it shattered in an instant.
“I recommend you think it over one more time.”
Caron.
He expanded his body and stepped in front of me.
“Keke, and why is that?”
“To challenge a family’s tradition is no different from challenging that family’s authority.”
Even if our intentions were good, it meant provoking House Vyuern’s wrath.
“It may be a tradition unsuited to the times, so you could pressure them by turning it into a battle of public opinion. If you’re lucky, you might even abolish the tradition and save Daike. But what then?”
Duke Zeppelin was known as the Golden King of the East.
He commanded a blood alliance rivaling the Lucid faction, and the people he cultivated were not only knights, but nobles, officials, merchants, and artists as well.
In other words, we wouldn’t just face restrictions in the eastern territories—we’d find our activities in the Empire itself obstructed.
Caron was saying this out of concern for us.
Though to be more precise—
Glance.
He was worried Luna would get hurt by being involved with me.
Tap, tap…
Luna stamped her foot once or twice in annoyance.
Caron flinched.
He had realized he had only made her dislike him even more.
Honestly… for all his brains, he understood women’s hearts far too little.
It couldn’t be helped.
I’d have to help him a little.
“That’s your opinion as the Empire’s rat, isn’t it?”
“Hmm?”
“What about your opinion as a teacher of Annwood Academy, and as an adult?”
Apparently he had never expected that question.
Caron stared at me.
At the same time, the corners of his lips twitched upward ever so slightly.
Was it a mocking smile, amused by my defiance?
A smile of approval?
Or—
Glance.
A smile of gratitude because I had just given him a chance to fix his mistake?
As if trying to hide it, Caron opened his mouth at once.
Naturally, his answer was—
“We’d have to smash it.”
“Mm-hmm! I knew that’s exactly what you’d say, Teacher.”
“Hmph… it’s nothing special. It’s only what any human being ought to do.”
“This is why I like you, Teacher.”
“You’ve got quite a bit of courage yourself. If this weren’t the exam, I’d have given you bonus points.”
Caron wiggled the hands clasped behind his back, unable to hide how pleased he was.
Shouldn’t he be grateful to me instead of Luna?
Damned lolicon.
I was seriously wondering whether I ought to report Caron to the Empire when—
“Hmm?”
“…!”
Adonis and Caron both turned their heads in the same direction.
“Hmm? Is something wrong?”
“…It’s nothing.”
Yeah, sure. Nothing.
‘Aside from the fact that a top-tier Demon just showed up.’
Benumael, the top-tier Demon who had offered Teron a contract.
Those two had sensed his presence.
For the record, this was a storyline that existed in the original work.
‘Well, it’s only natural, story-wise.’
Teron after making a contract with a Demon? Daike after going berserk?
With Adonis and Caron around, they were no more threatening than bandits popping up in the mountains.
“I’m sorry, but I need to step away for a moment.”
“Hmm? Where are you going?”
“There is no place for an old man in a sea where youth is crashing in waves.”
“Old man! This is dereliction of duty!”
“With you here, I have nothing to worry about. I’m off to have a little fun.”
Crackle!
“…Stay on your guard.”
Rustle…
Leaving me with that brief warning, the two of them vanished.
Left behind alone, Victoria muttered,
“It feels like something is going on…”
“We just need to focus on our own task.”
“That’s true enough. Nurturing Luna’s love—that is what matters most!”
The best response to nonsense was no response at all.
Ignoring Victoria, I gathered the others.
“So then, what’s the plan?”
“First, we need to persuade Teron and Daike.”
“I don’t think words are going to work. I snuck over and took a look earlier, and the atmosphere was pretty intense.”
Alex smacked his lips.
That made sense. Daike was currently acting under Teron’s orders.
Orders not to let anyone pass beyond this point except Alex.
‘Alex’s one-on-one with Teron is a problem too, but the biggest issue is still Daike’s berserk gimmick. We don’t have enough sandbags.’
Sandbags.
A necessary part of breaking Daike’s gimmick.
‘Each person can only take one of Daike’s attacks.’
If someone got hit twice, it counted as death.
That’s right. Not unconsciousness.
Death.
Death in-game—meaning they could no longer function as an ally.
The minimum number required for this gimmick was six.
Me, Luna, Rezé, Alex, Raymon, Yuridia, Victoria.
Out of those, Alex was occupied with his one-on-one against Teron, and I had to face the episode’s final boss, the copied Teron, so we were both out.
That left five people.
One short.
‘Well, a summon can fill one slot…’
But since the hidden piece had triggered, there was always the possibility that Daike’s gimmick had changed.
And if the others failed to respond to that altered gimmick while I was away?
Instant game over.
That went for Luna and Rezé, yes—but if one of the main cast died, the story itself would no longer be able to continue.
I was still worrying over it when the brush nearby started rustling.
“Hey, stop shoving!”
“Hiding just doesn’t suit me. More importantly, this shield weighs—”
“W-waaaah!”
Crash!!
A group of kids toppled over each other like a human sandwich.
“Oh my! You all are…”
Yuridia’s face lit up.
Because these were the kids she had saved.
That’s right. The ones piled up like a sandwich—
Steve, Selin, Lance, and Fran.
Yuridia’s self-proclaimed Four Pure-Love Warriors(?).
“H-hello…?”
“Uh… we weren’t trying to attack you. We were just taking a look, that’s all.”
“So please enjoy your time. We’ll just be on our way…”
Their numbers were lacking.
Their skill was lacking too.
The Four Pure-Love Warriors bowed politely and started backing away.
Of course, that didn’t last long.
Because I stepped right into the middle of them and threw an arm around their shoulders.
“Kekeke… you came at just the right time.”
“U-uh…?”
They had walked right in on their own.
The finest sandbags I could ask for.
–TL Notes–
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That the spirit! At this rate Luna going to end up as Student council president! With Zero as Vice president!