Chapter 3: First Button Misaligned
A total of 72. Gerhard Goldenheim, who had collected all the magic lamps, moved forward.
A huge cavern revealed itself, and in its center was a small altar.
["Is that...?"
Aint Armian's gaze remained fixed on a single spot, unwavering.
It was an instinctual attraction.]
[At the end of the altar was a sword. A crude longsword that gave off no particular feeling. Yet strangely, it drew his gaze. His heart and soul were pulled toward it.
Aint slowly approached the sword.]
Unlike Aint, Gerhard felt no spiritual attraction.
And there was no sword either.
Of course. Aint must have already pulled it out.
Though the sword was gone, there was a mark on the altar suggesting a sword had once been embedded there.
[Aint grabbed the sword. At that moment, a brilliant light rescued the entire cavern from darkness.]
[When Aint closed his eyes and opened them again, he was no longer at the altar or in the cavern.
"...Where is this?"
It was a secluded alley at the Imperial Armian Academy.]
"...So it's true."
Traces of magic remained. Though faint and about to disappear, the fact that traces remained, that there was a mark in the center of the altar where a sword had been embedded, and that Aint was no longer here were important.
Gerhard had to acknowledge it.
"Damn it."
The prophecy book was indeed real.
"So..."
The legion of demons returns and tramples the continent...
"So the already declining imperial family will rise again, and I'll clash with them and fall. My father will have no choice but to excommunicate me to save our family, and I'll lose all my fame, honor, power, and money..."
Gerhard laughed. Haha, well.
"...What a terrible future."
Veins bulged in Gerhard's eyes.
"...Who dares to take money from me?"
Money is everything in this world. With money, anything is possible.
Losing that...
"I can never accept such a future."
That's what he would make sure of.
***
He returned to his lodgings. Gerhard, having reaffirmed that the prophecy book was true, organized his thoughts.
Among the contents of the prophecy book slumbering in his mind, three memories remained most vividly.
The key figure connecting all three was a single human.
The protagonist of this world, acknowledged by the prophecy book.
The one who would cause Gerhard's downfall.
The hero who would protect this world from demons.
"Aint Armian."
A first-year who had entered the knights' department at the Imperial Academy this year.
A descendant of the now declining former imperial family.
An aspiring knight whose primary goal was to become a Royal Knight.
Through various coincidences and efforts, he would eventually achieve his dream and ascend to emperor.
"This is a problem."
According to the prophecy, Aint was definitely a rising star. As a proper merchant, Gerhard should invest in him and stay close to collect the crumbs.
If only Aint's personality wasn't the exact opposite of Gerhard's, and if he didn't ultimately cause Gerhard's downfall, Gerhard might have rushed to him wagging his tail like a dog.
While he'd made a good first impression by giving him a top-grade potion, continued investment might backfire.
It would be foolish to dig his own grave.
"What is the problem, sir?"
Just then, his servant entered and asked.
"Hyde."
"Yes."
"There's a merchant company that will definitely thrive if I invest. What would you do?"
"I would definitely invest."
"But what if the head of that company doesn't get along with me?"
"Is that a concern? Money can make personalities compatible."
"...You're right. It was an unnecessary worry."
Gerhard's eyes widened. It was a surprisingly simple problem. Money can do anything. Personality incompatibility was a trivial issue in the face of vast wealth.
He had just been intimidated by the enormous issues of world destruction and demons, but the fundamental principle was the same.
Invest, and earn immense wealth as a reward for bearing the risk.
"I need to meet him right away."
"Pardon me?"
"There's nothing more foolish than missing the opportunity to invest because of hesitation."
Without waiting for his servant's reply, he grabbed his coat and went outside.
"...Um, a guest has arrived, sir."
One you invited.
The servant shook his head.
"I suppose I'll have to handle it myself."
He sighed deeply as he went outside.
***
Students who passed the entrance exam immediately entered their assigned dormitories according to their ranking.
"Whew."
Aint was no exception. He lay down on the bed. The plush mattress wasn't as good as the one at his family home, but it was quite decent.
Although he had passed, he hadn't ranked high enough to get into Lavidus Hall, which only the top students entered, or even Bless Hall, the next best. Instead, he was in de Base Hall, but Aint didn't feel bad about it.
There was a problem in the middle, but he had overcome it well and achieved his first purpose in coming to the academy.
His gaze turned to the sword placed beside him.
Once the sword of Sir Gardner Alpenfassen, the empire's first Royal Knight, and now to become Aint Armian's cherished sword.
A provision left by the first emperor and a treasure that would guide him to higher places.
With Gardner Alpenfassen's ego no less.
"...Why are demons suddenly mentioned?"
What is this? Some kind of elaborate insult?
"...It can't be helped. It's because I'm weak."
"In fairness, some blame lies with the first emperor who made it possible for anyone to become emperor."
No, that was the entirety of it.
The seven prince-electors who support the empire. The right in their golden decree was the right to elect an emperor.
When the existing emperor died, a forum would open for the election of a new emperor, and anyone who received more than half of the votes held by the prince-electors could become the emperor of this country.
"Or he could have just let the throne pass. Why donate most of Armian's territory to the empire..."
If they had only lost the throne, it would have been fortunate, but the first emperor dedicated most of Armian to the empire.
Of course, there was no problem while they maintained the throne.
But the moment they lost the throne, Armian had no choice but to donate most of what they had to the new imperial family.
In that process, Armian had to struggle to survive, and somehow even part of the arcane swordsmanship passed down from the first emperor was lost.
And so they walked the path of decline.
"That's why I honestly both respect and resent the first emperor. If he hadn't made such choices, Armian wouldn't have ended up like this."
"Not everyone can be as great as the first emperor."
Aint smiled bitterly. Who would want to lose their throne?
The imperial authority of the empire, which connected various kingdoms, was extremely weak, and maintaining it for nearly a thousand years was itself nothing short of a miracle.
<...Fine. Fortunately, you have talent, so I'll help you recreate that glory in every way.>
"Thank you."
It was a welcome thing. After all, the reason Aint endured humiliation to enter the academy was for Gardner Alpenfassen.
At that moment.
Knock knock-
"Aint Armian. Are you there?"
"Who is it?"
"Your senior."
"Pardon?"
No. After losing the throne, Armian had closed its doors and focused on internal affairs, so there were no noble acquaintances at all.
Yet someone claimed to be his senior and came to visit.
'Could it be?'
Aint cautiously opened the door. As he expected, a familiar man stood there.
A neat appearance like the epitome of nobility, with natural nobility flowing from him.
"Senior Gerhard?"
"It's been a while. Ah, or maybe not."
Gerhard shrugged.
"Are you busy?"
"No. I don't have anything to do right now, but..."
"Then I'd like you to spare me a little time. It's too conspicuous here, and I'd like to go somewhere quiet I know."
"...What, now?"
"Yes."
"...Five minutes. Please give me five minutes to prepare."
"Sure."
Gerhard took out a paper, scribbled something small, and handed it over.
"I'll go ahead, so come to this place."
"Yes, yes!"
Gerhard disappeared. Aint closed the door and took a deep breath.
"What's going on? He mentioned investment, but is he already asking for payment for the potion?"
"Or could he have seen me entering the dungeon?"
"No, that can't be. There was no one around... Could I have detected Senior Gerhard if he was deliberately hiding?"
Various thoughts made his head confused.
"He's quite an important person within the academy."
"He's a student, but you have to look at his status. His full name is Gerhard Goldenheim. He's the eldest son of the Goldenheim family."
"...Pardon?"
Aint tilted his head at the sudden slander.
***
Since their first meeting happened unexpectedly, there was no time to examine each other.
The proper first impression wasn't bad. He had an ordinary and gentle appearance, but his eyes sparkled with intelligence and ambition was occasionally visible.
'He's ambitious. If he had both talent and environment, he could have become great.'
There was no certainty. But Gerhard's intuition was telling him so.
One of the most important virtues of a merchant was the ability to judge people, and he was quite confident in that.
Even without the prophecy book, he would have given Aint Armian high marks.
However, he wouldn't have been able to openly become friends. Friendship with the former imperial family would inevitably lead to conflict with the current imperial family.
"Senior."
Having gathered his courage, Aint's eyes were less shaky.
"Sit down."
"Yes."
A private room in a tea house located in the academy town. It was a tea house managed by the Goldenheim family, where the privacy of private rooms was excellent, making it an ideal place for such conversations.
"What kind of tea would you like?"
"Anything is fine."
"Two coffees here."
"Yes."
Shortly after, a clerk brought coffee and left. A completely private room was established.
The nervous Aint swallowed. Gerhard's gaze turned to Aint's waist.
"You brought your sword."
"Ah... I feel more comfortable with the sword in hand... I absolutely have no intention of harming Senior Gerhard."
"I understand. Most knights don't like to part with their swords."
Gerhard nodded.
'So that's the sword. The one with the ego of Sir Gardner Alpenfassen, the first Royal Knight.'
It was relatively old and plain, which raised slight doubts, but when they first met in front of the dungeon, he was wearing a different sword, so it must be the one.
The prophecy book also mentioned that its appearance was somewhat weathered.
'The prophecy book is indeed correct.'
Repeatedly verifying it despite having verified it several times was a paranoid habit as a merchant.
Of course, the bigger reason was that he didn't want to believe in a future where he would fall.
"Is your injury okay?"
"Yes. Thanks to you... I'll arrange money as soon as possible to pay you back for the top-grade potion."
"It's fine. Didn't I say? That it was an investment."
"...Yes."
"By the way, have you eaten?"
After checking Aint's eyes, Gerhard didn't bring up the topic of sponsorship.
Such people didn't easily fall for temptation. Unless you dragged them to rock bottom or made an offer they couldn't refuse.
And at the moment, Gerhard had neither. Rather, a hasty proposal would damage the pride of an Armian and would be good for creating grudges.
"Not yet..."
"Then..."
The conversation that followed was just small talk. After a long time, Gerhard left.
"Then I'll see you next time. Ah, given the attention from others, let's not openly acknowledge each other."
"Yes."
Aint, left alone, tilted his head.
"What was that about?"
Did he really just come to chat?
"Checking?"
"So whether I'm useful or not?"
"...It's not a bad thing, is it?"
If he had talked about direct sponsorship as an extension of the potion investment, there would definitely have been a feeling that the family was being disrespected.
His view of Gerhard wouldn't have been favorable. But he kept an appropriate boundary. If it was simply about building a friendship, there was no reason to refuse.
"The money of Goldenheim can't be ignored."
Gardner laughed heartily.
***
"Hmm..."
Most of the conversation with Aint was just small talk. But in everyday conversation, one's true nature is revealed.
With the prophecy book as well, Gerhard completed a rough understanding of Aint Armian.
His will was firm, and he valued family honor. He had strong pride and a desire to restore his family and gain honor.
"Hasty actions would only create hostility. It's better to get close slowly, like seeping in."
Gerhard decided on his approach to Aint. Since their personalities didn't match, it didn't seem good to be too directly involved.
The best approach was to maintain a proper distance, maintain a moderate friendship, and extract what could be extracted.
At least, that was his judgment for now.
"Then..."
"Young master. Have you returned?"
"What's the matter?"
"Where have you been?"
"I had someone to meet briefly."
"That wouldn't be Luina Berchef, would it?"
"Luina Berchef? Why suddenly bring up Luina Berchef?"
Luina Berchef was his classmate and the second-highest ranked in the knights' department.
And she was a debtor who owed a debt from family to family.
"You called her to meet today."
"I did?"
"Yes, you did, young master."
"...Right, I did."
The Goldenheim family had lent money to the Berchef family with an eye on their arcane swordsmanship.
He remembered setting up the appointment with the intention of pressuring her and her family, who were starting to struggle with debt.
"...That was today?"
"Yes. I was about to tell you she was waiting, but you suddenly left."
"...Where is Luina now?"
"She waited for three hours expecting you to come soon, then left. She probably suspected you did it deliberately to intimidate her."
"...If she owes a debt, she should be willing to endure that much..."
Just then, along with a crushing headache, a fragment of the prophecy book suddenly came to mind.
[- It's clear. Her talent is good enough to reach the Royal Knights.
The soul residing in the sword, the great first Royal Knight, Sir Gardner Alpenfassen, declared.
If the shackles that constrain her were broken, she could spread her wings and soar high.]
A fragment of memory that emerged because it was related to Aint Armian.
'Royal Knight?'
One of the ten strongest knights in the continent, officially recognized by the emperor of the empire?
[Flowing brown hair, eyes of aquamarine blue were only part of what defined her.
Her sword was noble, beautiful, dignified, and alive.
Aint fell for her sword dance in the moonlight.]
[He wanted to free her from the shackles binding her, from the Goldenheim family.]
Even Aint Armian's first lover, and the first pretext that caused the relationship between Aint and Gerhard to sour?
"...Damn it."
Gerhard sensed it.
'Why is such an important thing coming to mind only now...!'
That he had misaligned the first button from the start.