Chapter 268 : Chapter 268
Chapter 268. From Pulling Weeds to an Herb Garden (1)
‘Those weaklings…’
Leon clenched his teeth.
The surging anger washed his mind completely white.
There was not a single follower who did not know how much he despised Radel.
That was precisely what infuriated him even more.
“So you know everything, and yet you still act like that…”
A suppressed sound escaped through Leon’s tightly clenched teeth.
He had already begun to doubt his followers recently.
That suspicion had started with a single letter he received not long ago.
‘Your Highness, this was sent by Duke Silvert.’
When he received the letter from his maternal grandfather, Leon felt an inexplicable sense of unease.
A premonition that nothing good would come of opening the envelope.
Even so, he could not leave it unopened.
When he slowly opened it, there was a single sheet of paper inside.
Do not forget your mother’s death.
The moment Leon read the first line written on the white paper, his eyes filled with bloodshot veins.
I hear you have been associating with an incompetent fool.
If you know what you have done wrong, then prove yourself accordingly.
‘How…?’
Leon stared intently at the paper.
Every line carried his grandfather’s unmistakable intent.
Leon was not someone who would fail to recognize it.
His grandfather was the one who had raised him and his greatest patron.
A letter from someone who wielded such overwhelming power as both guardian and benefactor was never just a letter.
This was an order.
Do not grow any closer to Radel.
Raise your academy grades by any means necessary.
However, the shock Leon felt did not come from receiving those orders.
‘I became close to that guy?’
Close enough for his grandfather to write about it so openly… him?
Leon reflected on his own actions.
He had thought he was keeping his distance, but it seemed others saw it differently.
‘…There was a rat.’
Whoosh.
As he burned the letter with magic, Leon thought.
Whoever had passed information to his grandfather had to be one of his followers.
He did not know who the informant was, nor how many there were.
In the first place, Leon had never personally chosen his followers.
It was his grandfather who had selected talented youths of Leon’s age from among those who supported the Silvert ducal family or admired Leon’s magical prowess.
Until now, Leon had not cared.
Who his followers were did not matter, as long as they were useful in the competition for the throne.
But now, they were beginning to irritate him.
He could trust no one.
Leon did not apply for major practical training.
Instead, from that day on, he shut himself away in the library.
He needed time to organize his thoughts.
During that time, news reached him that Radel had resolved the issue with the Lizardmen in the Carmine Desert and earned merit for it.
Leon’s mood plummeted straight to the bottom.
While he had been doing nothing, that dim-witted fellow had conspicuously earned recognition from the Imperial Family.
There was no longer any need to hesitate.
He had realized what he needed to do.
Leon’s goal was to become the Emperor of the Empire.
Radel was nothing more than an obstacle.
To eliminate him, Leon would have to use his followers as stepping stones, rats or otherwise.
Even if they fraternized with that fool, even if they watched him and reported every detail to his grandfather.
It did not matter how they behaved.
‘Do not be swayed. I need to keep my head clear.’
He only needed to use what could be used.
With a cold expression, Leon left the dormitory.
***
“Oh? Senior.”
Radel ran into Shartea in the main building corridor.
On his way to the grade representative meeting, he felt genuinely glad to see her.
“Are you heading to the grade representative meeting?”
“Yes. Naturally, you are as well.”
“Yes. Let us go together.”
It was their first time seeing each other since returning from the Imperial Capital.
As they walked silently down the corridor, Shartea spoke.
“Come to think of it, I was curious what you asked His Majesty for as a gift.”
“It was nothing grand. I asked for permission to access the Imperial Archives for a few days.”
At Radel’s answer, Shartea raised an eyebrow slightly.
It was an unexpected reward to request after earning such significant merit.
He could have asked for a treasured magic tome passed down in the Imperial Family, or even a rare artifact, and it would have been granted.
‘And yet he only asked for access to the Imperial Archives…?’
In principle, the Imperial Archives were accessible only to the Emperor.
It was unusual for even a member of the Imperial Family to enter.
Although they contained nothing more than records of past imperial family members…
‘If it is this child, he might discover something.’
Shartea smiled faintly.
“I am more curious about the gift you received, Senior.”
“This one.”
Shartea pointed to the sword at her waist.
It was clearly a treasured blade at a glance.
“I had been using a sword my elder brother gave me when I was young. He said it was made from a metal that would never break.”
“A metal that never breaks? Do you mean orichalcum, which only the dwarves can forge?”
“Of course not. It was an excellent sword, but not to that extent.”
Shartea recalled her memories.
She had learned later, after having it appraised, that the sword her brother gave her was not truly unbreakable.
But perhaps because young Shartea had firmly believed her brother’s words, the sword had endured no matter how fiercely she swung it.
For Shartea, who possessed an Ability of monstrous strength, that fact had been a great comfort.
‘So the 2nd Prince once gave Senior Shartea a sword.’
Radel was a little surprised by her story.
It seemed the 2nd Prince had not always been as rigid as he was now.
And he could not help but admire Shartea’s spirit in deliberately choosing a treasured blade in defiance of him.
It was practically an open declaration that she would not follow his will.
With admiration, Radel entered the Grade Representative Office alongside Shartea.
Bang!
“You heard the news, Radel! They say you accomplished something incredible!”
“Congratulations to you as well, Senior Shartea!”
Anesha and Fation set off party poppers as if they had been waiting.
They showered Radel and Shartea with sparkling confetti.
“This deserves a big celebration! Do you not think so, Senior Fation?”
“Of course. It is a joyous occasion for our grade representative meeting.”
They had moved beyond surprise celebrations and were now openly congratulating them.
A large banner prepared by the two of them was even hanging in the Grade Representative Office.
‘The Empire’s leading figures produced by the Academy Grade Representative Meeting!’
‘Well done, Radel! Wonderful, Senior Shartea!’
Radel grinned as he accepted their congratulations.
Shartea also seemed to be in good spirits.
“Radel, hurry up and tell us about what happened in the desert! You too, Senior Shartea.”
“I read the articles, but I would like to hear more details.”
Anesha was curious whether any new materials had been discovered in the desert, while Fation was interested in the exploits of ‘that spirit.’
The story of the Horizon Knights, the Lizardmen, and the desert water source seemed to perfectly suit the seniors’ taste for intriguing events.
“Thanks to you seniors, I was able to go on major practical training with the Horizon Knights.
I became interested after hearing that Senior Shartea was going to the desert.”
Fation and Anesha thought to themselves at Radel’s modest words.
‘It is because it was you, Radel…!’
No matter how interesting the desert story was, neither of them would have considered going that far.
“Well then, now that we have heard something entertaining, shall we start discussing the academy autumn festival?”
As the second semester reached its midpoint, the biggest topic for the grade representative meeting was the autumn festival.
Since the autumn festival would be organized around major booths, there was not much to do beyond selecting which general booths to approve.
“This time it is different from the spring festival. Participation by major is mandatory, so the professors have a strong influence.”
“That is right. The professors even compete subtly over how popular their major’s booth is.”
The seniors shared information that professors would frequently bring up the festival during major classes.
“Radel, which major are you going to participate with this time?”
“What? Do I have to choose just one?”
“In my case, since I am a double major, I rotate each semester and read the room. Otherwise, it is hard to survive between professors.”
Radel, who had naturally assumed he would set up an Integrated Major booth, was taken aback by Fation’s words.
He had not anticipated the professors’ reactions at all.
“It is important not to lean too heavily in one direction. If you upset the professors, it can become troublesome. Haha.”
The political acumen of Senior Fation, who served two professors while majoring in both Summoning Magic and Transmutation Magic, was astonishing the more Radel heard.
Anesha added,
“They might soon casually ask you which booth you plan to choose, Radel.”
Radel thought that could not be the case, but her words reminded him of something.
It was the moment Professor Marianne had casually asked him while explaining the autumn festival.
‘You have a booth in mind, do you not?’
‘Not yet.’
‘I trust that you know which booth you should choose.’
At the time, he had been too shocked by the requirement to participate strictly by major to think much of it…
‘Looking back, it does seem like there was some intent behind it.’
Radel’s expression grew subtle.
“Ahahaha! Think about it carefully. And this is just between us, Radel. You remember the potion you bought from me before, right? It would be good to bring it to the next alchemy class.”
Anesha gave him a playful smile as she offered a small hint to the junior who was receiving overwhelming attention from the professors.
***
Alchemy major class.
As Anesha had suggested, Radel brought the potions with him.
They were his secret items purchased from the academy black market.
A potion made by Anesha that granted invisibility for five seconds.
And just in case, he also brought firecrackers that could obstruct the vision of flying golems.
‘There must be a reason.’
The seniors’ advice was always right.
Radel also handed one of the five-second invisibility potions to Tunia, who had just returned from major practical training.
“…What is this?”
Tunia had gone to a large-scale potion workshop in Marcellent for her training.
She had gone to learn techniques for mass-producing hangover cures.
Radel felt grateful to Tunia, who was working hard for the future of the Dice Shop.
“For now, just take it.”
At that moment, the door opened and Professor Cailin entered.
“You all completed your major practical training without issues, yes? And my special charm potion worked well?”
It was spoken in a tone that made it clear he knew most of the first-years had used charm potions for their practical training interviews.
“Now then, I have good news for you today. The herb garden where the ingredients for that special charm potion are grown. I am going to give you an incredible opportunity to take care of it.”
An herb garden?
The eyes of the first-year alchemy students sparkled.
At last, they could move beyond pulling weeds and start cultivating herbs.
Professor Cailin pointed to the herb garden spread out beyond the window and called out to the first-years.
“Starting today, you can pull weeds and even fertilize that vast herb garden!”
“Woooah!”
Among the excited first-years, only one person, Leon, looked completely baffled.
What was there to be so happy about?
Pulling weeds and fertilizing?
Was it not simply more work…?
‘Is that really something to celebrate?’
In that moment, the insurmountable gap between him and the alchemy majors became painfully clear.