I hid and watched the scene.
It was not because I was outraged by injustice. I was interested.
Marco was someone worth watching.
He led commoners, yet his origins and background were unknown.
Commoners naturally gathered with fellow commoners, but an excessive number of people gathered around Marco.
Above all, there were parts of Marco that Draco’s Eye could not discern.
[Status Window]
Name: Marco Prax
Knightly Path Lv. 9
Traits:
■■■■ ■■**
■■■*
Charisma*
Artful Rhetoric*
There were two of them.
Until I learned someone’s name, it remained unregistered, but Draco’s Eye could see real numerical values such as levels and traits. Perhaps it sensed lingering traces of mana that humans could not feel.
But in Marco’s case, two traits were displayed as blacked-out censored text.
Normally, this only happened when there was a great gap in rank, such as with Ivory Tower teachers.
I still did not know much about Draco’s Eye, so I did not know the exact reason.
Still, he was suspicious after all.
As I watched, Marco slapped the boy again.
The boy was not wearing a uniform, but I had seen his face at the Ivory Tower before.
“I.”
SLAP!
“Should have stepped in.”
SLAP!
“To stop it?”
SLAP!
The boy’s head jerked again and again. His cheeks had swollen bright red.
As Marco shook out his hand, a student standing beside him kicked the kneeling boy in the stomach and knocked him over.
“Urgh……”
“Did Obern really stop?”
An interesting name came up.
Amber eyes gleamed between Marco’s narrow eyelids.
“Obern should have ground him down a little more.”
“Sorry……”
“Getting the right amount is difficult. Get up.”
The boy who had been beaten rose as soon as Marco spoke.
“Does it hurt?”
“N-No. I am fine.”
“Let us do well.”
Marco stretched out his hand.
The boy flinched as though expecting another slap, but when Marco lightly patted the back of his neck, he let out a long breath.
“Observe more carefully from now on and report to me.”
“O-Okay.”
“It is for all of us. You know that, right?”
The group surrounding them nodded as though in agreement.
Marco stared into the boy’s eyes.
“Now, it is your turn.”
“Huh?”
“Slap me.”
“No……”
“Do it.”
Marco raised the boy’s hand.
“I gave the order. That means I bear responsibility too. Hurry.”
“I-I……”
“Hurry!”
“Still……”
Marco slapped the boy again. The boy’s head snapped to the side.
“Hit me.”
When the boy hesitated, Marco slapped him once more.
“Hit me. I will continue until you hit me.”
Marco swung his hand again.
Blood sprayed from the boy’s mouth.
As Marco pulled his arm back again, the boy gritted his teeth and swung his hand.
SLAP!
Marco’s head turned to the side.
Not only the boy who had slapped him, but the others flinched as well.
Blood ran from Marco’s lips.
“Yes. That is it.”
Marco wiped away the blood and raised the corners of his mouth.
He placed his hands on the boy’s trembling shoulders.
“If each person fails to do their job, it is not only that person who gets hurt. All of us get hurt. Understand?”
“Yeah……”
“If you hear anything about clubs, report all of it. You do not want to slap me again, right? I do not want to be hit either.”
The boy nodded repeatedly.
Marco grinned.
“Let us do well. With the same energy you used to slap me. Understood?”
“O-Okay.”
“Good.”
Marco began laughing.
Then the group around him laughed, and even the boy with the swollen face laughed along.
Laughter flowed out of the alley.
Watching them, they simply looked insane.
Was Marco making the people around him like that, or did people like that gather around Marco?
Suddenly, Marco’s gaze turned toward where I was.
I immediately hid myself.
“It seems like someone is there. Check.”
“Okay!”
I quickly left the area.
That bastard Marco really did seem to be plotting something behind the scenes.
Whatever it was, I only hoped it would not interfere with my graduating at the top of my class.
***
I checked the letter Gerald had left for me at the post office and went to the rendezvous point, where I found a pub.
When I went inside, a long bar table appeared beneath dim lighting.
While the bartender polished glasses, the only customer drank alcohol.
“Customer, you have an expression that says you do not like it.”
A splendid baritone voice flowed from the bartender’s mouth.
The customer nodded.
“I-I had some good alcohol a while ago.”
“Oh dear, it seems you enjoyed alcohol that was too fine. Sometimes, things that are too good make our everyday lives feel faded. You must have enjoyed something that wonderful.”
“Y-Yes. I do not know whether I will ever taste it again.”
“To comfort you, I will give you a drink. It may not be equal to the alcohol in your memories, but I am sure you will like it.”
“Thank you, Master.”
“Not at all.”
My thoughts stopped.
The sight was far too surreal.
“W-Wow, the aroma is wonderful. It must have been aged in oak barrels for a long time?”
“I thought you had an old-fashioned taste. This fellow is always a fine choice when serving customers such as yourself.”
“I-I really like it.”
I approached the two of them.
The bartender saw me and raised a brow.
“Oh, another customer has arrived. What shall I prepare for you? Shall I give you the usual?”
“Hot chocolate. Shaken, not stirred.”
“Oh my, a customer who still smells of milk.”
The customer sipping alcohol snickered at the bartender’s joke.
“H-He needs lots of milk. He has to grow big. Hehehe……”
Adding a word from the side, he was irritating as expected.
I moved closer and placed a hand on the customer’s shoulder.
The customer flinched and looked up, then widened his eyes upon seeing me.
It was Lumin.
“Armand?”
The bartender shrugged.
“Oh, you know each other. Now that I think about it, you are both wearing Ivory Tower uniforms.”
“W-We are roommates.”
“For two friends to encounter each other in my little salon, what a wonderful coincidence. As the owner of this salon, I am deeply moved!”
“W-We should toast!”
I took the glass in front of Lumin and had a sip.
It was strong.
“You are drinking something this strong in the middle of the day?”
“I-It is fine.”
Shaking his glass, Lumin spoke in a lonely voice.
“I-I am an aesthete.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I like beautiful and delicious things.”
“You just seem like someone with poor self-control.”
“T-That is not true!”
Lumin took back his glass and began sipping again.
I asked the bartender, “So when did you start working here?”
“Right after you entered the Ivory Tower, Young Master.”
And the bartender of this pub was none other than Gerald.
He mixed hot chocolate powder into milk and shook it in a shaker.
“As you know well, Young Master, there is nothing this Gerald cannot do. A bartending certificate is only one small part of my many secrets.”
“How did you get a job?”
“A good connection introduced me.”
Gerald winked.
“By chance, I became acquainted with a wealthy lady who dominates Ark’s real-estate business. She was so impressed by my eloquence and wit that she entrusted an entire shop to me. Unlike a certain master who fails to recognize this Gerald’s worth!”
The noblewoman who had struck Gerald’s shoulder on Ivory Bridge came to mind.
To settle down so easily in Ark, where everything was expensive—he really was an inscrutable man.
Lumin looked back and forth between Gerald and me.
“M-Master, you knew Armand?”
“That is right. There is nothing to hide from Young Master’s friend. Allow me to introduce myself.”
Gerald shook the shaker dazzlingly, tossed it into the air, and caught it behind his back.
“A loyal servant of the Draco family and Young Master Armand’s butler; an unfortunate worker who must personally procure living expenses because his employer has nothing; but now, the bartender of bartenders, always providing the finest service in this small and cozy salon.”
After performing with the shaker, Gerald placed the hot chocolate before me.
“I am Gerald.”
Lumin applauded his skill.
“W-What an amazing coincidence. The pub I discovered by chance is related to Armand! I will come often!”
“It would be my honor to serve Young Master’s friend.”
After taking a sip of hot chocolate, I handed Gerald two envelopes.
He raised one brow and naturally placed them inside his clothes.
“I will send them immediately.”
One was a letter to Mother.
Though our family had fallen, Mother lived comfortably with her maternal family.
Perhaps it was better than the barren North.
The other was a document organizing the information I needed.
I had researched things before entering the Ivory Tower, but I still lacked information about the Empire and the Ivory Tower. Gerald would investigate as far as his reach extended.
After taking another sip of alcohol, Lumin spoke.
“A-Armand. You are close with Chepin, right?”
“Not particularly.”
“G-Get close with him. Let us visit Chepin’s house next time.”
“I do not want to.”
“Why?”
“You only want to drink alcohol.”
“Hmm……”
As I drank hot chocolate and made pointless conversation with Lumin, Gerald, who had been polishing glasses, interrupted.
“Since this is also a connection, allow me to offer you both a small piece of advice. I hear that club activities are lively at the Ivory Tower. You two must be interested as well. However, when joining a club, make sure to carefully check its members.”
“What do you mean?”
“There are delinquent students at the Ivory Tower too. I saw students like that in an alley nearby. They were talking about clubs. They said they were placing their people inside and would soon take over.”
He shrugged.
“They were smoking and spitting while they spoke, so I nearly reprimanded them before holding myself back.”
If it was nearby, it was probably Marco’s group from earlier.
They might have a hideout around here.
I signaled with my eyes for Gerald to investigate those bastards.
Gerald winked as though he understood.
Lumin raised his hand.
“Master, one more drink……”
“Lumin, drink in moderation.”
“I-I can still drink more……”
If I left this guy alone, he would drink without end.
“Lumin, did you go to Milk Hall?”
“Milk Hall? R-Right.”
Earlier, he had talked about going with Karl, but it seemed he had come out separately.
“I-I had forgotten.”
“You cannot go to Milk Hall smelling of alcohol.”
“R-Right. I need to go to Milk Hall. Will you come with me?”
“Sure.”
“Thank you!”
Lumin did seem to be a strong drinker, but if he drank more, he might not return to the Ivory Tower in time.
“Let us go now.”
“Now? O-Okay. Master, the bill here.”
“I will only charge you for the first five glasses. The rest are on the house.”
“Thank you!”
Just how much had he drunk?
***
Ark was a large city, but because students poured out every weekend, you encountered similar uniforms wherever you went.
Milk Hall was no different.
“Lumin?”
“J-Jelly.”
We ran into Jelly from Lion Class.
Lumin shrank like a herbivore encountering its natural predator.
They were in the same class, but they did not seem close.
The gaze that had been on Lumin reached me.
“You……”
After trailing off, she spoke as though remembering me only belatedly.
“You are Flower Blooming?”
She was rude as expected.
Despite appearances, I had earned the highest Superior grade with that very Flower Blooming.
The Ivory Tower used the old five-tier grading system of Superior, Pass, Marginal, Poor, and Fail.
Superior was the highest grade, while Fail was the lowest.
“Yeah, Pass.”
Jelly’s eyes widened.
“Did you just call me Pass?”
“What did you call me?”
“I called you Flower Blooming because you did Flower Blooming!”
“I called you Pass because you received a Pass grade.”
“Y-You……”
Jelly’s pale fists trembled.
Then a student with a basket full of pastries approached.
She exchanged a greeting with Lumin and stood beside Jelly.
“Jelly, why are you angry again?”
“Do you know what this guy said to me?”
While Jelly complained, Lumin whispered to me.
“S-She is Ando, our class president. She is a Knightly Path major and close with Jelly.”
The girl named Ando was taller than most men. Her build was slender, but she carried a refined sharpness.
Jelly shook Ando’s arm.
“This guy is Draco! He must be acting like that because he holds a grudge against us!”
“Well……”
“What do you mean, well?”
“I saw you pick a fight first.”
“When? When did I?”
Ando sighed. Jelly pointed at me.
“You, you are Armand Draco, right?”
As expected, once I treated her the same way, she obediently called me by name.
“Yeah, Jelly.”
“Tell me honestly. You have a complaint against us, do you not?”
“I did think it was rude when you called me Flower Blooming.”
“Other than that.”
I looked down at Jelly’s prim face and searched my memories.
During my short time at the Ivory Tower, I had not had much contact with her.
“Other than that, what?”
“Do you not have a complaint against us?”
“Who is us?”
“You do not know who I am?”
“You are Jelly from Lion Class, who received a Pass grade in the Introduction to Practical Magic Performance Assessment.”
“Other than that!”
“What exactly is this other thing you have been talking about?”
Jelly opened her mouth as though she could not believe it.
“Do not tell me you do not know who I am?”
Draco’s Eye displayed information about the other person, but it did not reveal their surname.
So Jelly was currently [Name: Jelly (Surname Unregistered)].
“I do not know.”
Jelly’s mouth fell open.
“Are you serious?”
“You seem to be from a great family, but I do not know much about the Empire’s families.”
“No……”
Jelly moved her lips, looked around, then shouted as though whispering to me.
“I am Jelly Grand!”
Hearing that, I examined Jelly again.
Platinum-blond hair and blue eyes.
Ah……
“An Imperial Princess?”
I wondered what she was making such a fuss about.