Chapter 213 – Actually a Genius (3)

The weekend has finally arrived.
As we prepared to leave for the north and were leaving, there was someone waiting for us at the academy’s main gate.
A woman with gray hair wearing a black coat.
It was Mareil Baltimore, an iron dog belonging to the Counterintelligence Battalion Goliath.

As soon as she saw me, she had a look of fear in her eyes, but she calmly took the leashes of the dogs that I held out to her.

“Ruler.”
“…”
“I raised you with so much care, so don’t lose it like last time.”
“That’s you… !”

Oh my, the hero who defeated the Demon King is you.
Even though it was her trophy that I had taken from her in the past, I was confident.
While she was gritting her teeth, she saw my new statue under construction next to Lehel’s statue and stopped arguing.
More than that, they didn’t even order that, so who’s building it?

“Ha, this is all the information Goliath has about Paris Greenwood.”
“I will accept it gratefully.”
“The meeting starts at 5pm the day after tomorrow. “We have to take the chariot to the north, so hurry up.”
“Marail, are you going with us too?”

Mareil made a subtle expression on her face, took her cigarette out of her front pocket and placed it in her mouth.

“Because I was not a member of Goliath during the Great War, I will not attend this investigation group meeting. However, there is a small problem with the alliance, so we have to return to the north. “We’re on our way anyway, so we’ll be together until the halfway point.”
“Is there a problem with the Federation?”
“Why do you care?”
“I heard that people from the federation are also coming to this meeting.”
“There will be no problems with the meeting. Rather, what is that bag?”

Mareil pointed to the large backpack I had packed.
Inside were various tools to heal Adela, who had been standing still without saying anything.

“There is such a thing.”
“… Since this is a place where royal officials are dispatched, there will be a body search. “I hope it’s not something strange.”

I thought it would be of no use as long as the holy sword was hanging from my waist, but I nodded roughly.
We traveled to the starting point of the chariot in Mareil’s carriage, and a little later we boarded the fastest and loudest vehicle on the continent.

***

The 2nd Battle of Ravier Hill.
It refers to an incident in which the troops of Greenwood Forest were annihilated due to the appearance of a large army of demons and an annihilating evil.
Paris Greenwood, who was the general commander of the Northern Front forces excluding the 12th League at the time, chose battle rather than retreat and was killed on the spot.
After his death, he was given the lowest rank of baron by the royal family, but he was not awarded any official decorations and was dishonorably erased from his records.

There are two main reasons.
His decision was an irrational act that cannot be explained unless it revealed to the world that we were a death-defying unit.
Even taking that into account, the sin of putting so many troops at risk was too great.

First, since the existence of the hero has already been officially revealed, just the testimony that I was on the Grand Canal at that time would be enough to give me strength.
But the second reason was even more difficult to explain.
Did those who followed him into the forest prepare for their own death just like Paris?
Or was he just a victim who lost his life after being deceived by the commander’s unilateral actions?

Having watched them in Baldur’s Nightmare with Liv, I knew of course that it was the former.
However, there is no way to prove that they had the same mindset in the real past.
At that time, the Federation had already withdrawn, and in the ten years since the Great War, Greenwood Forest, the northern front line, had been plowed several times.
The purpose of this investigation team meeting was also to reveal the truth.

“We’ll go to the restaurant car then, boss.”
“All right.”

Smart Liv knew that this was not something that could be solved just by raising his voice, so he discussed countermeasures with Mareil.
As I was left alone with Adela, I also had no time to idle around.

“Adella, come closer.”
“?”

It was finally time to return her to the smart, charming and loving Adela she was.

The first thing I took out of the bag was a hair roll.
As if I were a hairdresser, I started rolling the rolls around Adela’s straightened hair.
She let out a small laugh, as if laughing at my actions.

“Even if you do something like that, it won’t go back to the way it was before.”
“Do you remember?”
“Of course! A time when her friends made fun of her as an idiot and tarnished Rochear’s reputation… “Now I’m no longer a fool.”
“…”
“I’m not making any more of those stupid looking ice ducks.”

It’s shocking that people have changed this much.
In fact, as if to express her resolve, her tightly coiled hair fell straight again no matter how much she heated it with the magic stone.
I can’t believe her resolve is so firm.
I had no choice but to do my best.

“Then how about this?”
“What is it again?”

The next thing I took out was freshly baked, warm bread.
This is not the luxurious one sold at Café Gourmonde.
It was a pizza bread with an irregular brown color, probably because it was baked in an oven with an uneven temperature, but topped with generous tomato sauce and pepperoni.

“I have been getting the bread I sell at the store from only one place for over five years. “It’s a local bakery that was in a small alley even before the academy was built.”
“…”
“The store is closed on the weekends, so the lady doesn’t work either, but since she was leaving this morning, did you pack a few for her?”

The smell of freshly baked bread and warm heat spread throughout the room.
It’s a bit large for a woman, but it’s just the right size to look at.
Although it is a local bakery, the top-quality wheat harvested from Parencia Church and handmade sausages have a charm that cannot be found in high-end dessert cafes.
It may not be very attractive to students who are accustomed to aristocratic tastes, but it is by no means a low-quality snack bar bread.

“… Gulp.”

At that moment, the corners of Adela’s mouth loosened and her eyes seemed to return to how they were before.
So, what kind of student is Adela Sylvester?
Even if he is forced to steal by Iljin, isn’t he a bread thief who steals only the bread he wants to eat?

Baba baba bak——!!

— Ouch! What? Something just hit the window!!
— It looks like a monster. Electric carriages are like that.
— I guess it’s a new time? Huh!? They are coming endlessly!!

Even ice ducks, which are like her alter egos, appear from nowhere, and there is no way she can resist them.

“How is it? “Do you want to eat it?”
“… “No need for blood!”

But Adela shook her head with her superhuman patience.
I was at a loss for words at the feeling of being denied the universal truth that the Earth is round.
I quickly put the bread in before the chariot, which was shaking like crazy due to the ice ducks’ attack, overturned, and came to my senses again.
A good idea occurred to me when I saw the book on her lap.

“Then shall we study?”
“Studying?”
“Oh, it happens to be a soil science book? “You take turns saying words that end in ‘sheep.'”
“I don’t want it…”
“I’ll do it first. Let’s see… Dialysis culture.”

I took her book from her and spoke her words that were written inside.
After that, when Adela glared at her, she reluctantly opened her mouth.

“Calcareous soil…”
“Loss soil.”
“Hydroponic culture.”
“Isolated culture.”

.
.
.

“Saline soil.”
“Forest Recreation.”
“Overnutrition…”
“Want some?”
“Do you want to eat it?———… !”

As the bread was thrust in front of her eyes at lightning speed, Adela almost came back to her senses.
This time, she believed that her success was within reach, but at the last moment she came to her senses and jerked back.

“I said I wouldn’t eat it!!”
“Tsk.”

After that, she tried to put on a cape and put the most miserable ice duckling that had ever jumped into her hat, but Adela still remained prim.
A few hours later, Mareil returned with Liv and the flight attendant unfolded our chairs and turned them into beds.
A night of deep darkness.
Inside the rickety electric carriage, I felt someone opening the door and leaving.

***

Since our room accommodated 4 people, there were 2 beds.
Adela and Liv both tried to stay away from me, but the space for three people to sleep was limited and the bed was not very durable.
In the end, I had no intention of favoring one of the two, so I lay down on the second floor with Mareille.
She and I had a difficult relationship in many ways, but that wasn’t the reason I couldn’t sleep.

Rattling, rattling——

Every time the chariot rocked, a fragrant smell wafted from the cigarette in the front shirt pocket.
It was a similar feeling to when you lay down to sleep and feel the urge to urinate.
Just as I was contemplating whether to smoke just one thing before going to bed, Mareil quickly pulled up the blanket and got up.
Then she carefully climbed down the ladder and left the room.

Tuk.

At first glance, it appears to be a move to avoid waking up Adela and Liv who are sleeping below.
However, it seemed suspicious that the cigarette had been left behind while he was getting up.
Are you going to go to the bathroom at this time of night?
No, in my experience, if that were the case, I would definitely have brought cigarettes.

I followed her carefully.
As expected, Mareille passed by the bathroom and the smoking room without stopping by.
The place she arrived at was none other than the dark control room of the electric carriage.

“…”

Mareil took a look around her and then she entered the control room.
Through the open door, I could see the conductor, who was supposed to be driving the tram, lying in the corner.
After she closed the door, I held my breath and walked closer, hearing muffled sounds of conversation inside.

— The Federation… Heeul… The number…
— We already… I decided…

She is talking to someone.
I cautiously peered through the grating into the face of the person inside.
At that moment, a sharp metallic sound rang out and the inside of the control room became noisy.
The familiar howl of an animal reached my ears.

“Our situation is as bleak as it was 10 years ago or now. Is that Goliath’s choice?”
“It is the federation’s decision.”

The man who stood against Mareil was a member of the alliance that I met in the past, along with Liv, in Baldur’s nightmare.