Ivan narrowed his eyes and glanced sidelong at Julian. That was a classic line straight out of a con man's repertoire.
Deciding to at least hear why Julian thought so, Ivan asked him.
“What makes you so sure?”
“My gut.”
Julian answered without hesitation. That settled it for Ivan.
“Meirin, watch closely.”
“What......?”
“That's exactly what a typical con man says. You seem far too innocent, so be careful not to fall for anything like this.”
“O-Okay......!”
At Ivan's words, Meirin put on a serious expression and nodded as though committing the warning to heart.
“No... what would I even gain from scamming you here? I meant it. I sincerely meant it.”
Faced with one misunderstanding after another, Julian hurriedly waved his hands in an attempt to clear things up.
“My family is in commerce, so I'm confident in my eye for people.”
“A merchant family?”
“Yes. My family runs a fairly large trading company in the eastern part of the empire. I've watched all kinds of people under my father since I was young, so I get a vague sense of who will succeed and who will fail.”
“Hmm... is that so?”
The explanation was still dubious, but Ivan asked Julian a question for amusement.
“Then read my face.”
“Read your face?”
“Yes. Do I have the face of someone destined to strike it rich, live in leisure, and enjoy a long, healthy life?”
“Hmm.......”
At Ivan's question, Julian stared intently at his face for a while.
Ivan had only asked for fun, but seeing Julian take it this seriously made him strangely nervous.
Meirin also seemed interested. She subtly turned her eyes toward Ivan and waited for the answer.
At last, Julian opened his mouth.
“I don't know about that, but I get the feeling you'll cause one enormous incident someday.”
“I knew you were a con man. I'm an idiot for believing you.”
The moment he received an unfavorable result, Ivan branded Julian a con man.
“I'm telling you, I'm not a con man.......”
“Well, whether you're a con man or interested in men isn't any of my business. Since we're already here, let's try being friends.”
“Ha ha. I'm truly grateful.......”
The misunderstanding did not appear to have been cleared up at all, but Julian had resigned himself to it.
“I have one condition. Be friends with Meirin too. I don't know if she counts among those people you think will survive, but people ought to get along with all sorts.”
At Ivan's words, Meirin flinched and frantically waved her hands.
“I-Ivan......! Y-You don't have to do that for me......”
“All right. Let's get along from now on, Meirin.”
But Julian offered his hand to the flustered Meirin without a moment's hesitation.
“O-Okay.......”
After hesitating briefly, Meirin took Julian's outstretched hand.
“In that case, Julian.”
Ivan called to Julian with a mischievous smile.
“To celebrate becoming friends, read Meirin's face too. What do you think? How does she look to you?”
As if determined not to suffer alone, Ivan pressed Julian for an answer.
He immediately felt Meirin's resentful stare, but pretended not to notice and waited for Julian's response.
The answer came surprisingly quickly. Julian murmured lightly.
“She doesn't seem to have a bad fate, does she? Compared to you, Meirin will probably live a decent enough life, won't she?”
“R-Really?”
It was an utterly baseless claim Julian had made from a rough impression of Ivan's and Meirin's appearances, yet Meirin's eyes sparkled with delight upon hearing it.
Ivan, meanwhile, stared at Julian as though he had bitten into something foul.
“Meirin, you shouldn't put too much faith in a con man's words.”
“......”
Utter disbelief spread across Julian's face.
What in the world did he want me to do?
Julian had approached Ivan because the amusing situations he created on the very first day had piqued his interest, but for a moment, the thought ‘Is this really a good idea?’ crossed his mind.
***
They finished eating.
There was still some time before assembly, so Ivan, Meirin, and Julian leisurely headed back to the dormitory after their meal.
“Ivan, how did you end up coming here?”
To his credit, Julian was a sociable fellow.
Ivan was so easygoing that a lack of conversation did not bother him much, while Meirin was so timid that even saying a single word required tremendous courage.
Whenever the conversation threatened to run dry, Julian alone would naturally introduce another topic and guide its flow.
This time was no exception.
Julian asked Ivan without breaking stride.
“Oh, was that too sensitive a question?”
After speaking, Julian remembered that Ivan had been a slave, and his voice grew cautious. Ivan, however, answered in a tone that showed he did not particularly care.
“There's not much to it. It's exactly what I said during my introduction. I was scouted and brought here in exchange for being freed from slavery. Life as a slave was so fucking awful that anything was fine as long as I wasn't a slave anymore, and when they told me I'd receive a lifelong pension after retiring as a special investigator, I thanked them and came along.”
Most trainees had treated Ivan like a madman for saying such things, but Julian instead found him impressive.
He could speak so calmly about a bleak past without the slightest shame.
Julian considered himself a fairly positive person, but he doubted he could have carried himself with such confidence in Ivan's position.
“What about you? You said your family runs a successful trading company in the east. You could live comfortably by taking over the family business, so why come here and suffer? I hear special investigators have a high chance of dying.”
This time, Ivan questioned Julian.
“I might have inherited the business if I were the eldest son, but unfortunately, I was born third. My oldest brother will take over the company. My brothers and I get along well enough that I could have worked there and helped him, but I didn't want to.”
“Why not?”
When Ivan asked, Julian shrugged as though the reason were nothing remarkable.
“I've enjoyed swordsmanship and physical activity since I was young. My father said I had a talent for commerce and wanted me to work with my brother, but you only live once. I want to live without regrets. Just then, a notice went up in my region recruiting prospective civil-servant trainees. I applied, was fortunate enough to be selected, and ended up here.”
“You're an unusual fellow.”
“It's a dangerous profession that deals with criminals, but if you're good at it, advancement is guaranteed. The public also thinks highly of it because the work is devoted to the empire's safety. I hear that's why many nobles who won't inherit their family business but have confidence in their abilities come here.”
“Makes sense.”
Ruben had told Ivan about it on the journey here. A special investigator received not only a pension, but also a personal reward from the emperor for distinguished service on an important mission.
There were even cases of common-born special investigators receiving titles in recognition of their service after retirement, making it a true land of opportunity for anyone confident in their ability.
“Meirin, why did you come here?”
After hearing Julian's story, Ivan turned to Meirin, who had been quietly listening beside them.
“Hm? Me?”
“Yes, you.”
“My reason isn't anything impressive.......”
“Did you think the rest of us came here with some grand ambition to save the world? Don't worry and tell us.”
“Right. With Ivan here, nothing you say could possibly seem that strange.”
Julian backed Ivan up.
Encouraged by the two of them, Meirin gave a small laugh. She was so shy that she had never had anyone outside her family to talk to, and this atmosphere was unfamiliar yet somehow made her heart flutter.
“Well.......”
Embarrassed to speak about herself, Meirin hesitated before opening her mouth.
“My family isn't doing very well. My father died early, and my mother is ill. I also have four younger siblings, so we need money to live.”
Meirin continued, her earlobes turning red.
“Then an older man told me I had talent and that if I came here, my family would receive money every month until I graduated. I don't know if I can graduate, but I wanted to work hard so my mother and siblings could live comfortably.”
“......”
“......”
“Ha ha... It's embarrassing now that I've said it.......”
Meirin rubbed the back of her neck and smiled bashfully, while Ivan and Julian could only fall silent.
She had said her reason was nothing impressive, yet it was the most normal and deeply moving reason of anyone here.
The mood abruptly turned solemn.
“Well, you know. Meirin.”
At last, Ivan gently placed a hand on Meirin's shoulder and patted her.
“If anything gets difficult, tell me anytime. I'll help you.”
“O-Okay......?”
Meirin's eyes widened in confusion at the sudden consolation.
Even so, Ivan silently patted her as though he understood everything. A rough man with a surprisingly tender heart—that was Ivan.
“Eep!”
Contrary to Ivan's intentions, however, Meirin tensed at a man's hand touching her shoulder and went rigid as stone.
***
They returned to the residential hall.
Alia had been waiting there for the trainees, and once everyone returned, she spoke.
“We will now head to the classroom for your aura lesson. Follow me.”
As before, Alia took the lead, and the trainees followed behind her.
“We're finally going to learn aura.”
“Now I can finally show what I'm truly capable of.”
“Exactly. Aura is far more important than physical strength.”
“There are always morons who get full of themselves just because they're a little fit.”
The noble trainees whispered among themselves.
Alia seemed to notice their murmuring and glanced back, but apparently had no intention of calling them out, as she soon faced forward and continued walking.
At that, the noble trainees looked back and sent silent sneers behind them.
Commoners who had yet to awaken their aura were their prey, but Ivan received a particularly heavy concentration of scornful, contemptuous looks.
“What obnoxious looks they're giving me.”
Ivan murmured calmly as he watched them.
“Don't pay them too much attention. You avoid shit because it's filthy, not because you're afraid of it.”
Julian spoke quietly, but loud enough for the nobles to hear. They glared at him as if they wanted to devour him, but with Alia present, there was nothing they could do directly.
“True. They do look like shit.”
Not to be outdone, Ivan followed up on Julian's words.
Unable to bear the continued mockery, the noble trainees were about to speak.
“Silence!”
At Alia's shout, they had no choice but to shut their mouths.
‘Well, look at her helping me for once.’
After inwardly shouting ‘Nice timing’ to Alia, Ivan turned to Meirin.
“Why have you frozen up again?”
“I'm worried I won't do well.”
“Hey, don't worry. Even weaklings like them can use aura, so why couldn't we?”
“You think so......?”
“Confidence is everything in life. You have to approach it determined to crush everyone here if you want to climb high.”
“Ivan, shut your mouth.”
“My apologies.”
At Alia's icy rebuke, it was Ivan's turn to fall silent.
‘I thought she was taking my side.’
Apparently not.
“Thank you, Ivan.”
Meirin gave a timid smile to Ivan, who had been forcibly silenced.
Instead of answering, Ivan responded with a thumbs-up.
Not long afterward, they arrived at the building containing the classrooms. A man who looked like another instructor stood in front of it, apparently waiting for Alia.
They drew close enough to almost make out the man's face.
WHOOOOSH—!
An invisible force suddenly erupted from the man and violently swept over Alia's trainees.