Chapter 14 – #013 Cecil

“Well, it’s nothing special, I have something to ask.”

She let the three people who came with her into the building.

“So what do you want to ask, Baron Cale Cranberry?”

Did you know about me?

-Your hair and eye color are a bit unique.

That’s right.

Black hair and black eyes.

It is a very rare combination for a noble.

“I’m looking for a student, but I don’t know who he is.”

“Wouldn’t you just ask a faculty member about that?”

“I want to avoid their eyes.”

With that, I approached her with great strides.
As I get closer to her, her already creepy eyes become even fiercer and my heart starts pounding.

‘It’s like a soldier who has been on the battlefield for more than 10 years.’

Eyes full of hostility.

I didn’t know because I never showed eyes like this when I was in Aslan’s body, but I think I now know why my opponent flinches every time we spar.

“He’s a man with brown hair and hair about that length.”

“… Please give me more accurate information.”

“You know this kid named Rin who died not long ago?”

Flash. Sarah’s eyes opened fiercely like a wild beast.

If I weren’t a noble, they would have grabbed me by the collar right away.

“I saw her often. Before she committed suicide.”

“That means…”

“I’m trying to find out more than just one or two things that bother me.”

Then, when I smiled brightly, the woman glared at me and her expression softened.
If that’s the reason, they probably decided it was worth helping.

“Jeffrey is a 4th year student from Class C. Have you been ordered to investigate from above?”

“It can’t be.”

I answered with a slightly bitter expression.

“The higher up doesn’t care whether the commoner dies or not. This is just my personal deviant act. So sh*t to anyone that I asked about that child. You know what I mean, right?”

The woman nodded slightly.

“Then I’m leaving~”

“If.”

“?”

“If you find out the whole story, please let me know. I really want to hear it.”

I just turned my head, smiled brightly, and started walking again.

“Okay.”

Since I found Ban, finding him was no problem.

I quietly hid and watched his every move.

And I was able to discover one peculiar thing.

Usually, it is difficult for commoners to even say a word to nobles, but this guy got along quite well with those nobles.

‘There’s only one thing that can do that.’

– What? Are you going to give me some butt? Or is it at least sucking the butt?

‘Sister… There’s a problem with that being possible, but look at that face. Is that a face worthy of being a male prostitute?’

– But. Looks a bit lacking.

‘I don’t know about other countries, but this is absolutely impossible because the nobles of this empire judge male prostitutes by their faces.’

– Then what is it?

There are few ways for commoners to get along with nobles.

‘Paying bribes on a regular basis or acting as a broker for some corrupt business.’

And I was able to catch an important clue to infer that.

After class, he met a woman.

But that woman looks quite familiar.

– Oh, them? This girl named Lin used to go around with a kid… Who is she? Cecil!

If my reasoning is correct, that guy, Jeffrey, is currently acting as a pimp with the commoners in the academy.

‘Then shall we see your true self in detail?’

Use magic to strengthen your hearing.

And then I listen to their conversation.

“… I don’t think that’s true.”

“Come to your senses. I’m thinking of you all. If you just close your eyes, you can spend the rest of your life at the Academy comfortably.”

He spread his arms to the left and right and continued his speech.

“You get a lot of money, but honestly, it’s hard because of tuition. Huh? Are you going to cause any more trouble to your family than this?”

“But… That’s not true either.”

The woman turned her body and ran away.
The man shouts at her.

“Come to your senses! If things get cold like this anyway, your house will be destroyed before you graduate!”

But she didn’t give any answer and disappeared around the corner of the building.

The man grumbled and cursed at that sight.

“You idiot. What’s the point in making fun of that lowly pussy? Fuck… Should I find another bitch again?”

He moved.

He must have lost his temper so much that he punched a stone wall once on the way.

– What do you plan to do, Aslan?

‘Well…’

Now that this has happened, I need to check what kind of people are involved.

Starting from the 4th grade, the number of compulsory classes decreases.

Instead, autonomy increases.

Therefore, there are quite a few people who go out on special missions starting from the fourth year.

Also, this guy named Jeffrey was like any other 4th grader, so he kept the classes he took to a minimum and walked around constantly, and most of the people he met were either commoner girls or noble men.

And around evening, he walked out of the academy.

– Where are we going?

‘Based on the conversation we had earlier, it seemed like he was thinking of having a party.’

– Party?

‘Uh. I think that was the reason why I walked around so hard today.’

The guy walked steadily and entered a building.

I also follow him and stand in front of the door.

It is a shabby building.

The sign above says it is a public bathhouse.

– What are you doing when you’re not going in?

‘Wouldn’t it be okay to just wait outside?’

– But. What are you going to do when you see a man taking a bath?

‘Oh, I forgot about you. How can we go inside, sister? Would you like to take a look at the men’s bodies?’

– Hmm. It’s okay. I just turn a blind eye when I see guys with bellies after going in.

For that reason, I sat in the tea shop across the street from the bathhouse, quietly sipped my tea and waited for him to come out.

But what is it?

Even if I wait and wait, it doesn’t come out.

‘It’s already been two hours… Can’t it be…?’

Take a step straight away.

No, it runs.

Then he opens the door and goes inside.

The owner looked at me in surprise at my appearance, but he didn’t say anything.
This may be because there were a variety of customers as it was used by common people.

– Why did you come in? Are you waiting outside? Aha. Are you trying to sneak into the women’s bathhouse?

‘Pharez. Look for that guy from earlier. It doesn’t register with my senses?’

– Just sleep. … Reel? Me too.

‘Did he even notice that he was being chased?!’

Even after looking around for a while, there was no sign of him.

In the end, I missed it.

I had no choice but to leave the building due to the owner’s glare.

Darkness falls completely over the city.

Streetlights here and there emit yellow light.

‘I’ll go back in and try to hit on the owner.’

– Arthur. Take your time, Aslan. Another opportunity will come.

‘Still… I’m quite nervous about the party. For some reason, I feel like I can find out everything about this incident if I go there.’

Then Perez sighed deeply.

As a result, a moment of silence passes between us, and Perez asks me in a serious voice.

– Gerendiya Aslan. Do you want to catch the culprit and find out the truth about all of this, or… Do you want to save at least one more person?

‘If I had to choose between the two… Of course, I would want to save them.’

– Then, while you’re like this, why don’t you watch the rooftop? Is there a guarantee that there will be no suicides today?

“!!!”

It was like that.

Currently, suicides are happening in real time.

And although it was delayed only briefly, the cycle is also accelerating.

I ran toward the academy at full speed.

‘Shit. I hope nothing happens…!’

– Anyway, what are wizards?

***

Our house was an ordinary family.

A meal that’s not fancy but not too shabby, just like everyone else’s.

Parents who work from morning until late at night.

My two younger siblings who are always begging me to play and me who works and studies in my spare time.

I never once thought that I wasn’t good enough, but now that I think about it, I think I was poor.

Still, every day was a happy day.

Then I got older and matured,

‘Where is my life headed?’ When you ask yourself that question.

I was told that my body had considerable magical power, and I was able to enter the Imperial Academy, which only blessed people can enter.

A place that everyone envies.

Actually, I had high expectations when I first started school.

I dreamed of meeting and making good friends, learning magic, and walking the same path as the great wizard Carlos.

But the reality was very different from what I thought.

‘Hey, are you a bit fair?’

I had no idea that one word would be the beginning of misfortune.

A variety of accidents occurred at my parents’ store, which had never had any problems until now.

Some juniors came up to me and harassed me from time to time.

At the same time, he consistently asked for one thing.

‘You mean I just have to close my eyes and accept it? Then, the rest of my life at the academy will be easy. How great is it to get money on top of that?’

Originally there were five.

There are five people who laughed together and endured difficult times together.

But one by one they left…

Even the last remaining Rin left my side.

Now there is no one left around me.

I’m alone… I’m scared.

There were still two years left, but it felt so far away.

It seems like just yesterday that I had a sleepless night at the entrance ceremony, dreaming about various things, but the next two years felt so long and terrible.

If this was going to happen, I shouldn’t have come here.

I should have done that.

‘It’s not too late.’

All you have to do is follow the other children and die.

If you die within the academy, your surviving family will be compensated in addition to the tuition you have paid so far… With that money, your family will have no problem starting a new life.

Put your feet on the railing.

A cool breeze blows and tickles my skin.

If I jump from here, all this pain will end, and I will finally be free.

It’s freedom.

Freedom from pain.

Freedom from all the things that bind and harass me.

‘Kids, wait. I’ll go now too.’

The body gradually intensifies.

A cool breeze welcomes me.

Then I spread my arms wide.

I want to feel this coolness with my whole body.

I look up at the sky.

The starlight in the night sky is shining brightly on me.

‘Hello, my dream. Dad, Mom, Jacob, and Janine. I’m sorry everyone.’

I will go up to the sky first.

However, when I realized that I was going to die soon, I immediately regretted it.

If I was going to die like this, I would struggle a little harder.

I should somehow live longer.

But suddenly something strange happened.

Since I fell towards the ground, there should be an impact, but why does it feel soft?

As if I fell into a giant marshmallow…

At that moment, I turn my head to the solid feeling surrounding me.

A man is smiling.

For a moment, I looked down to find my body, thinking it was an angel who had come to pick me up after I died, but interestingly, there was nothing on the floor.

The angel laughs.

With a warm smile on your face.

“Suicide is not the answer, girl. I’ll give you one more chance, so just live a little longer, okay?”

“Huh. Huh. W-what is it… A dream?”

Raise your head.

Then, when I looked around, I found myself on the roof of a building.

I move hurriedly and look down at the bottom of the building.

There is nothing.

Where I fell, there is only darkness.

‘Really… A dream?’

Try hitting the ball.

Pair.

It hurts…

‘Try living a little longer…’

Surely he told me that.

Is that why?

I felt like I wanted to live more.

The negative thoughts that had filled my mind until now disappeared, and the desire to live somehow welled up from deep within my heart.

At that time, a breeze comes from somewhere and tickles my ears.

– Cecil. I know you want to meet us, but not yet. Try a little more. You can do it.

I somehow feel like I can hear my friends cheering.

He closed his eyes and quietly mourned his friends.

Each one of my friends who died here.

***

– It’s not too late.

‘Thanks to you, Veres. Thanks to you, I was able to save my life.’

– Don’t praise me for something like that. Because to us, it’s no different from swearing.

‘Then why did you help me?’

– For some reason, I felt like if I could save one victim who was on the verge of death, I would be able to catch the real culprits in this case. If that happens…

‘What if that happens?’

– You can spot weaknesses, right? From my point of view, it is better for you to achieve your dream as soon as possible.

At the same time, she asked me to be careful so that she would not engage in such dirty work in the future.
I said with a smile.

‘Thank you, though. For saving my student.’

Whatever the reason, it is true that I survived thanks to her.

– But why did you save my life and leave me alone? If this is the case, there is no reason to save it.

‘If I’m there when you open your eyes, you’ll be grateful and be able to easily get information like you said. But you will rely on me again.’

– What’s the problem with that?

‘If things get hard, you’ll always try to commit suicide again. That’s why. Only without me, only by making up my own mind and standing up can I truly stand firm.’

– Shit. Then why on earth did I help?

I comforted the grumbling Beres and walked out of the academy again.

Then, she calmly walked over and sat down next to her bathhouse.

-Why are you suddenly here again?

‘Uh. For some reason, I felt like I could catch him if I just stayed here.’

– Who?

‘That bastard from earlier.’

And indeed… After a while, the locked door of the inn opened and a figure appeared.

This is Jeffrey, a man with brown hair growing all the way to his chin.