Chapter 73: Demon’s Trap [2]
If it didn’t lead to Gerhard’s downfall.
That would be the case.
"So one can never be too prepared."
At Gerhard’s resolute expression, Hyde closed his mouth without a word.
"Understood."
"First, deliver this to the department. The Fridien side probably already spoke to them."
"Yes."
It was a field practice application form. After handing over the form, Gerhard put on his coat.
"Where are you going?"
"To meet Ariadne Florian."
"Didn’t you meet her yesterday?"
"I did."
But when the situation changes, plans also change.
Yesterday’s Gerhard and.
Today’s Gerhard were.
Clearly different.
***
"...What?"
Ariadne blinked with large, round eyes.
That innocent expression was quite popular among first-year students, he had heard.
"Are your elf ears not working?"
"No, I heard you properly. You’re saying you want to move up the schedule, right?"
"Yes."
Transporting a branch of the World Tree isn’t prepared in a day or two. The plan was probably conceived quite a long time ago.
Naturally, it would have reached the ears of evil ones, and so they might have made contact with the branch and caused problems.
"The scheduled departure date is two weeks later, but preparations should be almost complete, right?"
"That’s true, but it’s not just about preparation; there are many things to coordinate. Is there a reason to change it suddenly?"
That’s why. Trying to shorten the time by a few days, or at least one day.
Because the collapse of a massive dam begins with a tiny crack.
The plans of evil ones are the same.
"It’s one of my requirements. If you can’t fulfill it, I won’t participate."
"Duke Goldenheim has already accepted the request."
"I’m just an additional condition, right?"
"...Hmm, then how much?"
After a moment’s consideration, Ariadne asked.
"Ten days if possible. At least a week."
As much as he wanted to leave right away, he also had his own preparations to make.
"That’s too fast. If we completely twist it like that, there are so many things we’d have to bear."
"I’ll bear them all."
"This isn’t something I can decide alone."
"Then go and tell the Viscount."
Gerhard emphasized each word.
"Tell him that Gerhard said to move up the schedule."
If not.
"Tell him I said I would never accept it, even if I died and came back to life."
He knew it was an extreme demand, and that the likelihood of it being accepted was extremely low. Nevertheless, he had no choice.
It was one of two options.
Either face the wrath of the angered Fridien Viscount, withdraw, and then help Aint against the summoned demon after the vacation ends.
Or completely change the plan.
No other choices existed.
***
The city around the academy is not so dark even as the day wanes.
This was because students who had finished all their classes often tipped their glasses with friends.
The area where taverns were concentrated bustled with loud voices, and magic lamps installed everywhere brightly illuminated them.
But not all places were like that.
An item that didn’t fit with nighttime food or entertainment. The door of a bookstore selling books was firmly closed.
The bookstore owner lowered the curtains to cover all the windows and organized the books.
A shadow suddenly rose behind him.
"Your Excellency, the cause of the failure was Gerhard Goldenheim."
"Details."
"We succeeded in sinking the ship and pushing Aint to another place, but he wasn’t alone."
The content was simple.
Gerhard Goldenheim, Luina Berchef, and Bella Hoenne as well.
The three students were also pushed to that island and helped Aint who was under attack.
"..."
The bookstore owner silently continued organizing the books.
He didn’t have the ability to control waves. It was literally an unlucky incident.
"Was it really luck?"
But why did it feel so unsettling?
"We tried to finish him using two sea serpents, but the legacy of the cursed seed was hidden on that island. The awakened Aint Armian..."
Would Aint have died without the cursed seed’s legacy?
Probably not.
"Luina Berchef’s abilities are more impressive than expected."
"Yes. Since forming a pair with Gerhard Goldenheim, she’s suddenly standing out."
It was somewhat inappropriate to say that someone who originally held the second-ranked position was now suddenly standing out.
But it was undeniable that her achievements had risen to a new level.
"Goldenheim..."
A family once so obsessed with money that they even traded with demons.
But after falling for the first emperor’s sweet talk, they became enemies of demons.
As much as they supported the first emperor’s back with massive gold, they needed to be struck down first to avoid repeating the same mistake.
That’s why they used the Golden Turtle Company.
But because Gerhard Goldenheim happened to be pushed to that island together, there was not even a bit of achievement.
Instead.
"If they witnessed the evil energy together, some sort of rapport would have formed."
It ended up bringing them together. The most lethal sword against demons and the gold to overlay that sword.
"What about the captured prisoner?"
"He’ll die soon."
He was just a chess piece who didn’t know much, so that was sufficient.
"The priority is to separate those two. How’s the escort job going?"
Fortunately, the next step was planned to make Goldenheim and Armian regard each other as enemies while preparing for the summoning.
"Ariadne Florian and Gerhard Goldenheim have made contact. We don’t know yet if he accepted."
"Make sure Gerhard Goldenheim joins no matter what."
"Yes."
"Remember that our existence must not be revealed."
"Yes. I’ll keep that in mind."
The shadow disappeared at the bookstore owner’s nod.
He clicked his tongue as he began organizing books again.
"How annoying..."
He lightly flicked his finger.
Snap-
At that, the messily piled books left the warehouse on their own and placed themselves in their respective positions.
Snap-
The bookstore owner flicked his finger once more.
A shadow rose again. Its form was slightly different from before.
"You called?"
"Yes."
He asked, rubbing his thumb with his index finger.
"How’s the search for the legacies hidden by the cursed seed going?"