Chapter 39
Chapter 39
The Brightly Burning Sun (1)
Recently, the academic affairs office had grown chaotic. Countless people came and went each day. Not only the teachers, but even several members of the Imperial Knight Order stationed there were struggling.
“Vice-Commander. Here are the prepared materials.”
Vice-Commander Sheila. She, too, could not escape from it. Unable to withstand the intense petitions flooding into the Imperial Knight Order, she had taken charge of the investigation personally.
Ethan, who had been venting his anger in irritation, sent Sheila out with orders to find the culprit at all costs.
As a result, Sheila, now burdened with overtime and special duty shifts, wore a dejected expression.
As Sheila read through the materials handed to her by her subordinate, she let out a large yawn. The perceptive subordinate offered her a cup of tea, thoughtfully prepared.
“Thank you. I’ll drink it well.”
When not in battle, Sheila softened considerably. She expressed her gratitude to her subordinate and continued reading the documents.
They were the testimonies of the victims. Every single one was consistent. Though the contents of the nightmares differed, one thing remained unchanged: each depicted the moment in their lives when they had felt the most intense anger.
Looking at it that way, it was only natural for someone to lose their composure. A situation that provoked anger was, by definition, a negative circumstance severe enough to paralyze reason.
Simply dragging such a memory to the surface and showing it was enough to paralyze the target’s rationality. If such a technique could be applied in battle, it would produce tremendous effects—at least when facing humans.
That was enough of that useless line of thought.
“Chivalry Research Club.”
The reason the investigation had begun earlier than expected. The reason Sheila had no choice but to be mobilized for it. All of it stemmed from the Chivalry Research Club. Abbreviated as CRC.
Admiring chivalry was something to be encouraged, if anything. But to take such a foolish course of action. It seemed one could not easily find someone as capable as Davide.
“They confessed?”
“Yes. More precisely, they claim to have provided the cause.”
“Provided the cause, huh.”
Indeed. The student called Granvi of the CRC held a fairly high position within the club. Directly below the club president, Soloven.
Instead of Soloven, who was busy with his personal training, classes, and duties as top student, he effectively led the club. In practice, he could be seen as the acting club president.
And that very person had committed such a petty act, which ultimately led to this situation.
“Graffiti insulting a god on the chapel doors. There’s no way to resolve this easily.”
When it came to chapels, Sheila herself frequented one often. It was the chapel of the Anaye Order. And on the doors of that chapel, someone had written graffiti insulting the god in question.
On top of that, they had even insulted that god’s most precious child. At this point, there was no choice but to think they intended to stake their lives in a fight against that Order.
Did they truly not know? Even so, the severity of the offense was not light. Or had they been confident that even if they knew, they would not be caught? If that were the case, then they deserved an even harsher punishment.
Should this be seen as the wrath of a god? Of course, it could not truly be so. If a god had truly grown angry and cast down punishment, this building would not even be standing right now.
Was this Davide’s scheme? No matter how much I thought about it, there was no physical evidence—only circumstantial suspicion—but all arrows pointed in that direction.
Sheila pondered. If she went to Davide and asked for a favor as things were, it would be resolved. There was no way he would refuse, nor did he have grounds to refuse.
The Vice-Commander of the Imperial Knight Order making a personal request carried considerable weight. It was not something to be taken lightly. In exchange, however, all her efforts to curry favor with him until now would turn to nothing.
But any further chaos would be a problem. Even for Davide’s personal safety. That alone was something Sheila wanted to prevent, and so she hesitated.
“It can’t be helped.”
Then she would have no choice but to administer punishment in its place. Matters within the Academy ought to be handled fairly.
Teaching them that childish actions could bring about grave consequences was the duty of a senior.
As it happened, she had been dragged out amid her busy schedule, jostled from all sides, already in a foul mood.
She was not so immature an adult as to vent her anger on children far younger than herself, but in this case, giving them a stern reprimand would be acceptable.
“I can resolve the nightmare.”
“Ah! Is that so? That’s a relief.”
“But the ones who provided the cause… we cannot simply leave them be. Look up the regulations. The maximum penalty that can be imposed. Exclude expulsion or suspension.”
“Yes!”
The subordinate who answered energetically wore a bright expression. They had suffered greatly because of the nightmare incident. The mere fact that it would be resolved was enough to be grateful for.
“Then I suppose I have no choice but to meet them.”
After giving instructions to her subordinates, Sheila rose from her seat. There was someone who, though they had not laid a single hand on the matter, would suffer damage because of their position.
She had been keeping an eye on that one for quite some time. How had it come to this? Sheila’s steps grew heavy.
***
“Phew.”
Many incidents occurred at the Academy. It was the duty of the Imperial Knight Order to determine the gravity of those incidents and resolve them.
Standing before the interrogation room—a place meant to make such tasks easier—was Soloven Rahorakti, her purple hair tied back in a ponytail.
Perhaps she had not slept well; her face was filled with shadows. Using academics as an excuse, using her duties as top student as an excuse, she had neglected the club—and in the end, an incident had erupted.
Though she rarely participated in its actual activities, nominally she was the president of that club. That was why this meeting had come to be.
“Student Soloven.”
“…Have you been well?”
At Sheila’s bright smile and greeting as she approached, Soloven responded with a formal salute. The Vice-Commander of the Imperial Knight Order. As an aside, she was a formidable powerhouse rumored to have become a Quadra-class magic user.
Still stiff as ever.
Speaking in a gently lilting tone, Sheila led Soloven into the interrogation room. There was nothing special about it.
Gray walls, a white table. Two chairs. A single light that barely illuminated the table. Sitting in the chair offered to her, Soloven swallowed a sigh inwardly.
“Mm, even so, a place is a place. I can’t exactly serve tea here. I apologize for that.”
“It’s quite all right. I understand.”
“Thank you for saying so.”
With that, Sheila sat across from Soloven. Documents continued to spill out from her briefcase without end.
“First. You understand why this meeting has been arranged, yes?”
“…Yes.”
“That makes things quicker. Still, there is an order to these matters. I’ll explain.”
Sheila extended a document toward Soloven. It outlined the course of the incident.
“It’s simple. The Chivalry Research Club—abbreviated as CRC—of which you are the president, Student Soloven, caused an incident. According to the testimony of the student deeply involved, they could not agree with the perceived unfairness of the proposal to revoke Student Davide’s suspension, nor with the disciplinary action concerning you, Student Soloven. They intended to undermine Student Davide’s prestige in order to overturn it.”
“…I see.”
“It seems there were various plans in motion. Since the Imperial Knight Order is only involved in the nightmare incident, we didn’t listen to the rest separately. They all looked dangerous, but we cannot investigate crimes that have not even occurred.”
The stories she had heard during the investigation were rather interesting. For something conceived by students, they had quite a bit of potential.
There were even a few parts where she thought, This isn’t half bad. The problem, perhaps, was the target.
Sheila recalled Davide. That male student with the sharp eyes was exactly as others described—a beast.
A predator who latched onto those who coveted what was his, who tore into the back of their necks in a single strike. And he even possessed the shrewdness to conceal that ferocity well, only bringing it out when necessary.
Yet he also had the initiative and intellect to orchestrate something like this. A spell that even a Quadra-class magic user could not uncover. It piqued her interest.
As it happened, the Imperial family was in need of such talent. Sheila found herself unable to easily dismiss this male student, who in many ways resembled her superior.
“……”
“Anyway, for that reason, they drew graffiti insulting the god on the doors of the chapel of the Anaye Order. On top of that, they even wrote graffiti insulting Student Davide, who serves as its cult leader.”
“……”
“To be honest, even that alone is a significant incident. Do you understand what that means?”
“My knowledge is limited, so I am not well-versed in religious matters.”
“To put it simply, it is as if a country called CRC trespassed upon the territory of a country called the Anaye Order without permission.”
“!”
Soloven’s eyes widened. Perhaps because of her beautiful appearance, even her look of surprise seemed like a painting.
Having indulged in that idle thought, Sheila hardened her expression. Faith was such a thing. There were things that must never be touched. Especially for those who premised their lives on belief, such matters could easily provoke them.
Having grasped Davide’s nature to some extent, Sheila had honestly been anxious that several students might end up dead.
“And so the nightmare incident occurred. The cause remains only circumstantial, but it can be resolved. From the Imperial Knight Order’s perspective, we judged the nightmare to be the influence of the god worshipped by the Anaye Order, and we intend to make a direct request to Student Davide to appease the god’s wrath.”
“……”
Sheila studied Soloven. There was no sign of her spirit being crushed. She clearly felt deep guilt, but that was all. There was not a trace of servility.
As expected of a promising talent recognized as the top student. She did not seem like the leader of a group such as the CRC.
People tended to gather with their own kind. Her calm acceptance of her fault. Was that not the very model of a knight?
Failing to properly manage her subordinates was a demerit, but even so, this was more than sufficient.
“Do you understand up to this point?”
“Yes.”
“The rest is simple. A wrongdoing must be punished. Most of the CRC members were caught up in the nightmare incident. According to Student Davide, only those connected to the chapel were affected by the nightmare. As more than ninety percent experienced the nightmare, we have judged that it occurred under malicious intent. The club will be disbanded, and all members will receive severe disciplinary action: 40 hours of on-campus community service and 20 demerit points.”
“……”
“You are included in this as well, Student Soloven. Of course, you did not experience the nightmare, but as the club president, you cannot avoid responsibility.”
“Yes. I am aware. I have no intention of refusing.”
“A good attitude. However, I will offer you a choice.”
“……”
Soloven, who had been staring blankly at the documents, finally lifted her face toward Sheila.
Instead of her usual smile, Sheila wore a more solemn expression as she met Soloven’s still-sharp gaze.
“It must feel unfair. To be swept into something you were not even directly involved in and receive severe disciplinary action. And doesn’t something seem strange to you?”
“Pardon? ……What do you mean?”
“If you think about it, there are questionable aspects. They may have provided the cause, but was this truly the wrath of a god? Divine wrath is not so lukewarm. It literally brings about destruction.”
“……”
“There’s that, and above all, doesn’t it feel as though something was being targeted? I cannot shake the feeling that I have become someone’s chess piece.”
Only then did those intelligent eyes begin to waver. It was also at that moment that Sheila subtly arched one eyebrow.
“This.”
Sheila extended another document. With a puzzled expression, Soloven slowly read through it.
“The choice is yours, Student Soloven.”
“……I see. I understand.”
Soloven nodded heavily. Sheila could only place a faint, sympathetic smile upon her face.
Was this not clearly the attitude of someone operating from the shadows? Sheila, who did not particularly favor such things, felt conflicted.
To have to test talented children. And to force such a choice upon someone who possessed such a beautiful soul and carried herself with upright spirit.
As an adult, it was a failure. But as a public servant, she could not ignore the orders from above. That this harsh measure was cloaked in the name of a greater cause—and was, in fact, largely intertwined with it—was what made it all the more lamentable.