C149: Reunion (1)
Sorry for the late release but I've been super busy this week.
Rudger quickly scanned the appearance of the old man who seemed to know him.
'White hair and beard, estimated to be in his 60s with sharp steps. Although he is wearing casual clothes, his clothes are clean and lint-free, and the shoes he is wearing shine like new ones. The occasional scars on his skin are irregular in size, but most of them are linear and looking closely the cut marks are obvious.'
At first glance, it can be seen that his hand has thick calluses. That means that he held an object with a suitable size for a long time, but it must be a baton rather than a knife.
'The emotion contained in the gaze toward me is delight. It's not just a reaction to the value of the name Rudger, but a genuine joy.'
Fragmentary information that could be obtained immediately was piled up one by one, and Rudger was able to draw one conclusion.
"I see, I haven't seen you in a long time. Nothing has changed since then."
"Haha! You've changed quite a bit, on the contrary! At that time, you still looked young, but now you've completely grown up!"
The opponent is a soldier, also a person related to the false status of Rudger Chelici.
'Yeah, I knew this would happen one day when I used Rudger's name.'
Although Rudger is a fake, his flashy track record was something that could not be made simply by manipulation. Submitting a dissertation to the Tower would only publicize the name and not the face, but the military is different.
The story of being in the military is not something that can simply be made up. Someone really served as a military officer as Rudger.
His thinking accelerates and his five senses expand. Rudger did not stop analyzing.
'He said I was young and it's been a while since we've met, so it's probably been more than 5 years at least. My opponent recognized me right away. He said that I have changed, but what are the elements that can be noticed?'
Since he talked to me on the assumption that my appearance changed a little as I got older, it would be right to look at it as an atmosphere. In fact, I thought that he was a Second Order of the Black Dawn Society when he approached me.
In other words, the attitude and image shown in the past are not much different from now. Fortunately, the opponent did not even question Rudger's current appearance.
People in this world often change in reverse with age, even if they are cute when they are young. Considering that, the opponent judged that Rudger did not change much from his military appearance.
'I don't know if the dead First Order played this role, or someone else built the achievements for me. But a situation where there is no immediate suspicion is welcome.'
Rudger found a medal on the opponent's left chest. It was no ordinary decoration. Rudger recalled from his memory where he could get that medal and the title of the person who can hold it.
"Have you been discharged, Brigadier General?"
Drawn as if a sword and a gun intersect around the shield, it is a medal of the Empire that only those who can wear a star can receive.
He would be a brigadier general at least, but it would not be higher if he could come freely in such casual clothes. The opponent laughed in vain as if Rudger's reasoning was right.
"What do you mean? I'm just taking a vacation after a long time. Of course, now I can't stand in line like I used to and hold a baton from behind. I'm too old."
"The brigadier general still looks fair."
"Thank you for saying that. Is the job of a teacher suitable for you?"
"It's my first time, but I'm trying hard."
"Haha. Your social skills have improved a little compared to the past, right? You didn't get close to anyone because you were really quiet at the time."
Was Rudger very quiet when he was a soldier?
Since he is a created identity, of course he would not have wanted to be close to anyone.
The brigadier general I'm talking to now approached me in a friendly manner because he was my immediate superior at the time.
"As I got older, I have developed my social skills."
"Hahaha! You know how to joke now? I'm glad to hear that. You were so hard that I felt like you were going to break without bending, but after seeing you now I guess you've grown up."
If a person like Hugo Burtag had heard this conversation, he would have jumped from his seat, asking what nonsense was this. But from the perspective of the brigadier general, who is a soldier, it was clear.
"Mr. Rudger, this is……."
Selina, who was just listening to the conversation between the two, carefully opened her mouth.
"Oops! Look at me. I forgot you were not alone."
"Brigadier General, this is Selina who joined Theon with me this year. She's in charge of spiritual studies."
"Hello."
Selina bowed politely.
In terms of age difference alone, Selina is close to the age of Brigadier General's granddaughter, so Brigadier General smiled and nodded.
"Teacher Selina. This is…."
Rudger naturally tried to introduce the brigadier general to Selina. Come to think of it, he didn't know his name.
"Should I introduce you or will you introduce yourself?"
"If you just do it, it'll get worse."
"Then I have no choice but to show the reputation of the Brigadier General. I'm going to exaggerate a little."
"You've become much more mischievous. I lost! I lost! I'll have to take care of my introduction before I get embarrassed. Nice to meet you, miss. My name is Brigadier General Frawler. I was his immediate superior when he was in the army."
"Oh, yes. Nice to meet you, too."
Brigadier General Frawler? Not revealing his last name would mean he was a commoner.
Usually, military officers are made up of aristocrats. Naturally, the difference in treatment between commoners and nobles would have been severe.
However, rising to the rank of brigadier general as a commoner meant that Frawler was not only a possessor of great abilities, but also a terrifying maverick.
"More than that, what brings you to Theon?"
"Didn't I say I was on vacation?"
"Even if you said that, you probably didn't just come to Theon without a goal."
This was Rudger's intuition.
Frawler looks like an old man with a nice smile, but inside, there was a hidden figure that led him to the rank of brigadier general.
These kind people have one thing in common. No matter what they do, they don't move in vain.
"Well, it's nothing. Didn't a cryptid appeared in Leathervelk recently?"
"It did."
The Beast of Gévaudan. Well it wasn't really a cryptid but Hans transformed by borrowing the power of the monster's teeth.
For those who did not know the truth, the nightmare of the Kingdom of Durman was as if it had been revived in the Exilion Empire.
"It's not just a cryptid, it's a monster that made a neighboring kingdom suffer greatly and of course I have no choice but to come here."
Is that so?
Rudger recalled that when he was a soldier, he had a record for hunting cryptids.
That being said, the place where he was employed as a soldier was a unit dedicated to hunting cryptids, so it was not unusual for his direct superior, Frawler, to come to Theon.
Perhaps he came to investigate the appearance of the Beast of Gévaudan, but saw that the festival was being held in advance and stopped by.
"Tsk. I don't know what's been going on in the Empire recently."
"It won't be a big deal."
"I wish it would, but I can't even dream of such complacency because of my position."
"I see."
"Look at me. I was so glad to see you that I held you for a long time. Did you have any plans?"
"I have to patrol during the festival."
"Oh! Why didn't you tell me? I'd like to reminisce, but I can't keep a busy person. I'll go."
"Yes, thank you."
After Frawler left, Rudger was barely able to relax. If they had talked more about the past here, he might have really been revealed at that time.
How nervous I was when they suddenly approached me as an acquaintance. I'm glad I dealt with it on the spot like putting a puzzle together. If I had been caught unaware of anything, I would have been found to be a fake.
'I can't let my guard down because of the festival.'
Rather, it may be more dangerous because of the festival. There might be more visitors who know the fake identity of Rudger in the past.
'However, considering that Brigadier General Frawler, a soldier, did not suspect anything, the other people would not doubt me.'
The military is inevitably a structure where he had no choice but to live together with people, so there are people who know him, but except them he doesn't have to worry about other people.
In fact, when he submitted his thesis to the Tower, he rarely appeared and was like a ghost.
According to Frawler, Rudger seems to have been blunt and unsocial even when he was in the military.
"Teacher Rudger was indeed a soldier."
Selina murmured curiously next to him. The way he shot, and he knew an actual military officer, so she must have realized it then.
"How was your life there?"
"There wasn't much."
Rudger had no choice but to answer so because he had never done that before; however after his answer, Selina gave Rudger a more respectful look.
"I heard the military is really hard! And yet, you speak casually, Mr. Rudger is amazing."
No, is this how it is? Rudger wanted to tell her that he didn't meant it that way, but he decided to just give up.
"Let's finish the patrol."
"Yes!"
Selina followed Rudger's side with a jolt. He felt it over and over again, but he thought she was a pure person, not like the other teachers.
Rudger was worried that there might be people pretending to know him again, but it didn't happen. Until the sun went down, Rudger and Selina went around various places on patrol and enjoyed the festival.
Of course, Rudger was a spectator, and Selina enjoyed it the most.
"This is delicious."
Selina chewed on the stick candy she had just bought. The sky was getting dim before he knew it. However, the heat of the festival did not fade with the arrival of the night.
"Did you enjoy the festival?"
"What do you mean enjoy it? I don't know what you're talking about!"
Selina pouted and avoided eye contact. Looking back, she must have realized that she was really excited and ran wild.
"Mr. Rudger. It's a secret to the other teachers, okay?
"I had no intention of talking."
"Really? Really?!"
"I'm sure everyone else is enjoying it as well anyway."
"Well, I guess so"
She was a very easy-to-understand person, seeing that her reaction was different every time she spoke.
"Time went by quickly. I can't believe the day is already over."
"There are still four more days left for the festival."
"Oh, yes. And Mr. Rudger tomorrow……."
"Yes. I will attend the duel."
Rudger nodded. Tomorrow afternoon, Rudger will participate in the magic duels, one of the events of the Magic Festival.
Previously, it was an event for students to show off their abilities, but this year, teachers were also invited to attend thanks to Hugo Burtag.
Of course, it is not a competition between teachers and students, but students versus students and teachers versus teachers.
Rudger didn't care much about it since it wasn't important to him anyway. Whether others misunderstand it or not, Rudger has only one interest in this festival, Esmeralda.
"Now we can finish our patrol……."
Rudger found a familiar person as soon as he tried to say so.
'Crollo Fabius?'
A blond man who looks tired hastily moving somewhere. He was Crollo Fabius, who should have been confined to his quarters and not come out.
Crollo was moving as if he were being chased by something, or something.
'What the hell is he doing?'
Rudger squinted his eyes. The last time they met, he warned him to stay still until the last day of the festival.
"Miss Selina, I will be away for a while."
"Oh! Mr. Rudger!"
Rudger rushed after Crollo Fabius. The place where Crollo was headed was a commercial area that existed in Theon.
As the sun went down there was no light entering the alley between buildings and Crollo was strangling a girl there.
"Die! Die!"
Seeing Crollo screaming full of madness, Rudger immediately activated source code. A lump of mana cut through the air and hit Crollo in the back.
"Who is it?"
Crollo glared bloodily at the uninvited guest who disturbed him. Then he saw Rudger standing at the entrance of the alley and froze.
Rudger gazing at him with his back to the faint light flowing from the festival site felt like something indescribable.
Crollo clapped his teeth without realizing it.
"Now."
Rudger's voice was very cold.
"What are you doing here?"