Chapter 199: Zetto is bad (1)
After a series of twists and turns, I was able to get my life back.
A first-year cadet in Class A at Innocence Academy, this was my normal life.
Contrary to Geppeti’s fears, Aizel, Yuri, and Kaen’s reactions were normal.
Aizel with a sullen face.
Yuri beamed at me.
Kaen acting like an idiot.
Nothing had changed much from before.
‘Either that, or they’re all wearing masks.’
But I didn’t have time to pay attention to them since my return had caused quite a stir in the classroom.
How was the Holy Land, did you really meet Ms. Heneryes, which craftsman made your prosthetic hand?
I was stumped by the barrage of questions directed at me, but Edward, who had just entered the classroom, clapped his hands to distract the students.
I hadn’t seen him in a long time, and he was still wearing a sly grin that made me wonder what he was thinking.
He then proceeded to explain the East, where we would be going soon.
The cadets’ anticipation was heightened by the fact that the trip had been long overdue.
He also explained that the trip was part vacation and part exchange trip to broaden their horizons.
“Exchange? Is that different from the regular exchange?”
Crank asked the cadets as he turned around to listen to Edward’s explanation.
At his question, the cadets’ eyes focused on me.
I was the only one with dark hair that looked like it could have come from the East, at least in class A.
“Does Zetto know what kind of exchange they’re talking about?”
Aizel tilted her head to look at me but the look in her round eyes told me she was genuinely curious.
I didn’t know what would happen to Aizel after she was no longer a regressor.
“From what I’ve heard, there’s an academy or something like that in the East as well, called the Celestial Academy, and I wonder if we’ll be able to interact and socialize with them…? I’ve never actually been there, so I don’t know.”
[It’s called the Celestial Academy. If they interact with the Innocence Academy, it must be there.]
Sierra, who, unlike me, was actually from the East, explained.
“It’s called the Celestial Academy.”
“The Celestial Academy… So this is a chance to meet with the cadets of the Eastern Academy?”
Amon nodded faintly.
‘The Celestial Academy.’
An academy said to have been founded by a divine being called the Heavenly Sun in the past.
Most of those who have made a name for themselves in the East have come from this academy, though Sierra doesn’t seem to have attended.
She seems to have sought out and dueled with the greatest swordsmen in the wider world, making her an outlier.
“I’m sure there’s plenty of food in the East that’s not readily available here. Zetto, would you like to come with me to get some food?”
“Yeah, well…”
I was about to answer Yuri’s question.
“Why don’t you eat alone?”
Aizel, who was on the other side of Yuri, interrupted.
“Because Zetto’s going to be busy running around with me, right?”
“……”
Aizel and Yuri’s gazes shot out at the same time, but I smiled and remained silent.
I felt like I shouldn’t answer either of them.
When faced with a thick wall in front of you, it’s one thing to jump over it or break it down, but not when it’s covered in countless thorns.
After a moment of silence, Edward’s explanation fortunately changed the subject.
“…Oh, and they say there’s going to be a festival in the middle of our stay in the East. It’s a huge festival of Eastern tradition that happens every sixty years or so, so we can’t miss it, and we’re going to take part in it.”
“A festival?”
“I guess it’s a real vacation, huh?”
“At least it’s better than the north or the desert, and the weather is supposed to be normal.”
The cadets cheered at the mention of a festival, but I couldn’t help but smile at the news.
‘So there was a festival.’
The future had changed. The delay in the schedule alone had changed a lot.
If we had stayed on schedule, the cadets wouldn’t have been able to experience that festival.
The cadets were the ones who got to enjoy the festival, so I could say something like, “Isn’t it because of the delayed schedule?” But as the one who caused the delay, I was stabbed in the heart.
It’s because the festival is going to be terrorized by the ‘Blood Brotherhood’.
In a nutshell, this evil force is a criminal organization composed entirely of blood mages.
Normally, I’d only hear about them on my way back from the East, but with the delay, I’ll be able to take part in the festivities myself.
‘It’s a bit of a challenge.’
I didn’t want anyone to get hurt.
The delay was purely due to me, so even if I couldn’t protect everyone at the festival, I had to at least protect the Academy’s cadets from harm.
I could have harbored negative thoughts at the thought of being an unintentional nuisance, but on the flip side, now that I was able to intervene, I had a chance to make things better.
‘The terror of the festival is a trick anyway.’
What the Blood Brotherhood is really aiming for is to use their rampage to scare away key troops from the gathering of the kings of the East to the festival grounds.
The festival is important enough to the East that they want to draw as much attention as possible to ensure the smooth running of the festival. Those who terrorize the festival are outcasts.
‘The goal is to keep the cadets safe and keep reinforcements away.’
Still, I know what will happen there, and I think I can do enough to stop it.
The future had already changed but I wasn’t going to lament it, I could only move forward.
“Hmm…”
I had a lot of work to do after my break.
I spontaneously shook my head and glanced at Yuri, who was glaring at Aizel with an uncomfortable glare.
‘If this is the case, then the affairs of the Kingdom of Terracia have changed since she could go to the East…’
But Yuri didn’t say anything else about it.
I remembered that when I was making preparations for the aftermath, Rei had said that she would take care of the Kingdom of Terracia affairs.
I don’t know what she did, but the First Prince is quieter than I expected.
Or it was possible that Yuri was in trouble and hiding it from me.
‘I don’t have enough information…’
I can’t help but feel frustrated by the pile of work I have to do and the lack of information I have.
If nothing else, I needed to get an informant to work for me before I leave for the East.
“Well, then, I’ll leave you to prepare for the next three days to travel to the East. It’s going to be a long journey, so you’d better be ready.”
With those words, Edward concluded his explanation of the schedule.
We have three days to prepare.
‘I’ll have to be on the move nonstop.’
***
And so, while Zetto was making preparations for his departure to the East, Aizel had her own business to attend to, and she sought out Blanc, the head of the Black Hand’s southern branch.
“You need information on Zetto, don’t you?”
Blanc hadn’t even asked her why she was here.
For Blanc, an unexpected visit from Aizel was not something she’d experienced many times, so as she went through her papers, she asked nonchalantly.
“Yes, I thought there was something annoying attached.”
“I think I can get the answers you want from Hakam.”
“Hakam?”
Aizel repeats, and Blanc puts down her papers for a moment.
“I’ve been noticing the figure called Zetto in the Black Hand as well. Hakam has been assigned to gather information on him.”
“Where is he?”
“…He’s just passing by. Hakam, come in for a minute.”
A moment later, Blanc calls out to a man passing in the hallway by the branch manager’s office.
At her call, the man turns and enters the room with a smile on his face.
“You called for me.”
“It’s nothing, but would you mind reciting the information she wants?”
Blanc jerks his chin toward Aizel.
“If it’s your order, of course.”
Hakam nodded in agreement.
Now that he was in charge of Zetto, he had made quite a name for himself, and he felt good about whatever she asked him to do.
“…Then you will follow me.”
Hakam, who already knew Aizel’s face, immediately led her to his room.
Hakam’s room was in the corner of the guild building.
Aizel wondered if she could trust a man in such a remote corner, but as soon as she entered his room, she realized why it was in the corner.
-Boom!
He opened the door and a bird flew across the room, sending feathers flying.
His room was filled with colorful birds of all kinds.
“Uh-huh…!”
Waving away the birds that tried to cling to him, Hakam walked into the room, brushed off the feathers on his desk, and sat down.
“…Have a seat there.”
Aizel, who seemed to have a vague idea of what the informant was like, took his lead and sat down.
“Allow me to formally introduce myself, I am Hakam, the new bird of the morning.”
“…”
Aizel nodded curtly, not having heard the name before.
Hakam coughed in response.
“Hmph, by the way… You must be Aizel Ludwig, I hear you have a connection to our branch manager.”
“It sounds like you’ve done your homework on me.”
“Well, Aizel, you’re one of her people, but if there’s any information you need to hear from me, it’s probably about Zetto, so what do you want to know?”
Hakam, who was feeding the birds, cut to the chase, and Aizel spoke up.
“I’d like to know the identity of those pesky leeches on him.”
“Pesky leeches…”
Hakam interrupted, scattering the birdseed in his hand roughly across the floor.
“…Fortunately, that’s something I’m aware of; he’s got a pretty big price on his head.”
“You didn’t give them his information, did you?”
“Of course not, you know we’re not the same, and if I had given them his information, it would have been much more detailed than that, and from what I’ve seen its stuff that anyone would know, and Mr. Zetto has become famous in more ways than one.”
“…”
“Well, the identity of the leech is the Dark Order.”
“The Dark Order…? There’s no way they have such a large sum of money…”
“It strikes me as odd, too, and we’re currently investigating, but we’re not sure where the money came from, but the important thing is that it was definitely paid into a bank.”
The Dark Order had the backbone to pay such a large sum but Helgenas demon worshippers weren’t exactly large organizations.
“I don’t have any more information than that, other than that, the other leech attached to him is… the leader of ‘Syncretism’.”
“Syncretism…?”
Syncretism was the continent’s leading criminal organization.
True to their name, they were a bunch of maniacs who liked to cause social chaos and disruption in various ways.
The leader of such a group is, of course, the ultimate ‘lunatic’.
“Yeah, unlike the Dark Order, he didn’t seem to have any intention of killing him, but maybe it was Zetto’s dramatic story that caught his attention…”
“He’s far more annoying, if I do say so myself.”
“…True, but a large bounty can never be ignored, and if you’ll excuse me, is Miss Aizel trying to prevent that?”
“……”
Aizel thought about Syncretism and the Dark Order.
There are many others who want Zetto and there will be many more.
Aizel’s desire to protect him had not changed. It was just a matter of how.
“It won’t be easy, but… The last thing I want is for Zetto to be in danger, so I, Hakam, will help you.”
“There’s a lot of information that will be useless if Zetto dies.”
Aizel glared at Hakam and muttered.
“Ahaha…”
Hakam smirked at her sharp point and scratched his head.
Knowing full well that it wouldn’t change the situation, Aizel decided to try and get Hakam to cooperate.
“I’d like to know how much you know about Zetto.”
“I’ve got a pretty good idea of his relationships with the people around him, this and that, and…”
Hakam trailed off, hastily changing the words he was about to spit out at Aizel’s fierce glare.
“….”
“Relationships with the people around him…?”
“Do you want me to recite the information I’ve gathered? It’s the most valuable information, but… Well, since it’s all thanks to you, I’m sure I can tell Aizel.”
“Please?”
Aizel wondered.
‘So Cadet Zetto must have been the kind of guy who could lock lips with someone he didn’t love.’
Precisely what Kaen had said this time bothered her.
Perhaps it was time for an objective eye.
Judging by Hakam’s words, Aizel thought that he had some idea of the relationship between her and Zetto.
“What do you want me to start with? His background or his family?”
Hakam tilted his head as he pulled a small notebook out of his pocket.
“…Relationships with women.”
Aizel’s voice was firm.
“Ah… I see, that’s what you might be wondering.”
Hakam sighs in response.
After flipping through his notebook a few times, Hakam begins to speak.
But his first words are out of character.
“Mr. Zetto must be a very attractive man.”
“…”
“…according to my research.”
“Please continue.”
“First, Ms. Aizel Ludwig is the alleged lover of Mr. Zetto.”
“You’ve done your research.”
At the mention of the word lover, Aizel’s face lit up for the first time since entering the room.
“…And then there is Miss Yuri Clementine, young lady of the Clementine family. Her relationship with Zetto is…”
An ordinary friend.
Aizel had expected that kind of answer.
“…A supposed lover.”
“…”
“Next is Ms. Kaen, a brilliant cadet with the unusual distinction of having entered class A before the exam. Zetto…presumed lover…”
“…”
The corner of Aizel’s mouth that had risen with Hakam’s words dropped in real time.
“And then there is Bernice, the Saint of Innocence, who is likewise…”
Aizel said nothing since she knew what was coming next.
“…We believe her to be Mr. Zetto’s lover. Well… It’s not definitive, it’s just my personal guess, but it’s one that has its own validity…”
Mr. Hakam swallowed hard and met Aizel’s gaze.
“…Mr. Hakam?”
“Yes…”
“How did it…happen?”
“…”
I don’t know about that.
What I do know is that Zetto is a sinful man.
Hakam, who smiled bitterly with his mouth closed, thought so.
“…”
Aizel, who had been quietly examining the cage in Hakam’s room, finally spoke up.
“…Do you happen to know where Zetto is now? I don’t think he’s in the Academy.”
“Well…”
Hakam had a general idea of Zetto’s location, but Aizel’s smile in front of him was somewhat broken, and the question of whether or not he should tell her kept crossing his mind.
“…Do you know?”
Aizel flashed another smile and tilted her head.
The pressure was too much for Hakam to bear.