I Became the Second-in-Command in a Romance Fantasy Novel - Chapter 28

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Mordor

◈ I Became the Second-in-Command in a Romance Fantasy Novel ◈

Chapter 28: The Academy Is Shutting Down (6)

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“Ghk!”

Inside the warehouse where the academy’s shadows gathered.

I kicked open the door, ignored the people discussing whether to create a fake club for this group, and immediately launched a flying side kick at Uncle Aryn.

Bursting in and kicking an agent from another country was extremely rude.

“What? Did somewhere get breached again?”

“Where this time?”

“I’m ashamed to be from the Empire.”

The others blamed Uncle Aryn, not me, the person who had suddenly barged in and caused a scene.

That was the power of trust.

Though rather than people trusting me so much, it was probably that the Empire’s reputation had hit rock bottom.

We had only made it past the midterm event. I had no idea how we were supposed to survive finals and summer break.

“W-What is it?!”

Even Uncle Aryn looked up at me anxiously.

His expression asked if something else had gone wrong.

What had gone wrong?

Something had.

“This man leaked personal information.”

It was an internal data leak.

Senior Lorellia had just doxxed me.

I had been horrified to learn that she had dug up enough information about me to make my skin crawl, but when I thought about it calmly, there were plenty of strange points.

My personal information had been thoroughly uncovered?

That could happen.

The Imperial Academy had been breached so often lately that the Empire looked like a joke, but it was still the strongest nation on the continent.

Even if Leon and Dale joined forces, they would still be far more likely to lose against the Empire.

The strength of House Jeyka, the Empire’s greatest ducal house, was enough to rival a small nation’s military power.

If they truly set out to investigate me, getting my personal information would be easy enough.

House Jeyka might be capable of that.

But Senior Lorellia was not the sort of person to do it.

If she had been, she would not have asked me to become a spy and gather information on Daisy.

Daisy might have become Dai/sy before she ever awakened as the Saintess.

So I asked her directly.

She knew far too much. How had she learned it all?

Senior Lorellia revealed the truth as though it were nothing.

“Aryn told me.”

That was why I had stormed in here to beat up Uncle Aryn.

“Wait!”

Once he learned what had happened, Uncle Aryn put on a wronged expression and asked for a chance to explain himself.

“What is it?”

I listened to hear what nonsense he would come up with.

“Do you know where I was born?”

He suddenly asked about his hometown.

“Why would I know that?”

“The Jeyka territory.”

“What does that have to do with anything?”

“My roots are in House Jeyka.”

His explanation went on for a while, but the summary was simple.

“Is Prince Essid actually insane?”

It seemed every romance-fantasy male lead was out of their mind.

“…He is still an imperial prince. Watch what you say.”

I had just insulted an imperial prince right in front of Uncle Aryn, yet even the man assigned to him could not argue back.

Even the agents from other countries looked baffled.

“No, seriously. Most of his subordinates are from House Jeyka, and he’s interested in another woman?”

“Did he give up on competing for the throne?”

“More importantly, Aryn, you’re playing both sides.”

In short, the prince supported by the current Duke Jeyka was Prince Essid.

That much was obvious.

That was why he had arranged an engagement between Prince Essid and his daughter.

But Duke Jeyka supported Prince Essid far more strongly than we had realized.

Most of Prince Essid’s hands and feet, including Uncle Aryn, had been dispatched by House Jeyka.

In effect, Prince Essid’s power came from House Jeyka.

Yet he had turned his attention to another woman. What an incredible bastard.

“So if the young lady makes a request, we need to help her.”

Prince Essid was their official direct superior, but their real superior was arguably Lady Lorellia.

That was why, if Senior Lorellia made a request unrelated to the imperial family, Uncle Aryn had no choice but to grant it.

“But we don’t know anything about Daisy.”

It was not because Daisy or her family had incredible information-gathering abilities.

They had not needed information on her before she entered the academy, so they had not collected any.

And even when they looked into her, most of what they found was information readily available to the public.

“So I did tell her that you probably knew the most about Daisy. I didn’t expect the young lady to seek you out herself.”

In other words, he had sold me out.

“Why me?”

“You’re the only person who knows about academy attacks that even the Imperial Intelligence Bureau doesn’t know about, knows the location of the Dark Mages’ base, is closest to the person you serve, and is also close to the people around Daisy.”

I casually ignored the implication that the Imperial Intelligence Bureau might kidnap me over that.

Come to think of it, I would have done the same.

“Especially since you’ve been getting close to Lady Violet lately.”

I could not say that I had gone beyond being close and was practically using Violet as one of my own hands and feet.

If I said the wrong thing, Violet would be dragged into an imperial basement.

“It’s for information gathering.”

That was not wrong, so I could answer shamelessly.

How could people like us leave alone a vending machine that dispensed high-level information whenever we tapped it?

“Please take good care of her.”

“For free?”

“…Didn’t I give you plenty last time?”

“That was payment for cooperating with the terrorist incident and the arrest of the Dark Mages. Care expenses related to the young lady should be paid separately. Doesn’t House Jeyka have a separate budget for that?”

“That’s a different department…”

He sounded a little troubled, but he did not say they would not pay.

As expected of the Empire. At this rate, I would earn more from the Empire than the kingdom this year.

* * *

In exchange for regularly reporting on my dealings with Senior Lorellia, I was able to make a simple contract with Aryn, House Jeyka’s temporary liaison.

Ha. Even after leaving the kingdom, I was still bringing in foreign currency.

Where else could they find such a loyal subject?

As I continued living so diligently that twenty-four hours a day were not enough...

“The time has finally come.”

Finals were right around the corner.

“At least Violet said nothing would happen.”

According to Violet, these finals were an internal academy arc.

There would be no terrorist attack inside the academy. The focus was on the students’ romances and rivalries.

In other words, it was a wholesome event where the romance-fantasy male leads clung to Daisy and competed with each other in the exams.

The conflict with outsiders would happen in the Holy Kingdom during summer break, so this was supposed to be a breather.

That was why I let my guard down.

“In this examination, you must have a fine match against Prince Ellen.”

The Sword Emperor suddenly appeared, said that, and dragged me away.

No, spend this time looking after your grandson.

That Little Sword Emperor bastard got absolutely destroyed by me yesterday too!

“Come now. Let us have a light spar today as well.”

“…”

I tried to resist the tyranny of an exploitative professor, but it was pointless.

The Swordsmanship Department was already filled with the Sword Emperor’s followers, and even the academy was cautious around him.

The balance between the Swordsmanship Department and the Magic Department had also shifted somewhat, thanks to the Magic Department’s Head Professor getting beaten black and blue in the previous terrorist incident despite every unfair disadvantage.

In other words, my exploits had increased the Sword Emperor’s influence.

And I had to pay the price.

“Hahahaha!”

The Sword Emperor laughed happily as he pounded on a punching bag.

That punching bag was named Adam Smith.

It was me.

It was fucking unfair.

On top of that...

“I will prove myself in these finals.”

The Sword Emperor was not the only final-exam event.

Senior Lorellia looked at me with a burning gaze that did not suit her cold expression.

Please direct that heated gaze at the prince bastard, not me.

Wouldn’t that make some progress in your relationship?

When I honestly told her that...

“…It’s a little embarrassing.”

Apparently, unlike doing it to an unrelated third party like me, she found it embarrassing to do so to her fiancé.

“This year, the Magic Department’s exam will be held across two grades at once.”

It was information announced today, but Violet had spoiled it for me a month ago.

The first-years would fight the second-years, while the third-years fought the fourth-years, in mock battles.

Normally, seniors defeated juniors.

But among the first- and second-years, the first-years would win more often.

It was meant to show off the talent of this year’s new students while announcing that a new era had opened at the Imperial Academy.

“I intend to face Daisy there.”

It appeared that the part involving Prince Essid, the academy’s main male lead, and Lorellia, the villainess(?), would proceed as it had in the original story.

Daisy defeated Senior Lorellia here using pure magical ability, not the Saintess’s power.

Then Senior Lorellia continued losing until she became a fourth-year before finally acknowledging Daisy during the fourth-year midterms.

“I want to win.”

Seeing Senior Lorellia speak with such earnestness, I could not refuse to help.

House Jeyka was paying me far more generously than I had expected. How could I pretend not to see it?

“First, Daisy…”

I recalled Daisy’s specs.

Violet had told me that Daisy was a cheat character with talent for every elemental affinity.

She had so much talent that she even had incredible potential for dark magic, enough for the Demon King to abduct her as a consort.

“She has talent for every element.”

“…”

Was it just my imagination, or did Senior Lorellia look a little depressed?

Her affinities were water and wind, right?

“Uh, and…”

I slowly recalled everything else.

Holy magic was prohibited in the exam, but the Saintess’s passive abilities were said to activate automatically.

“First, lower-level magic is automatically nullified by divine protection. She also has some resistance against stronger magic.”

She could sever the links of sorcery and naturally weaken it. She was immune to various curses, had an area-effect ability that purified curses, and possessed such high natural healing ability that minor injuries healed in an instant.

What the fuck?

I did not think even Prince Ellen was this much of a cheat.

And on top of that...

“She is strong.”

“…I can tell she’s strong just from everything you’ve said so far.”

“No, I mean…”

What came to mind was what happened after the battle against Silence.

The day I woke up to the sound of Daisy slapping Violet across the face like an alarm.

“Her basic hand-to-hand combat skills... are no joke.”

The sight of Daisy mercilessly beating Violet after Violet had thrown the first punch was still vivid in my mind.

“Honestly, she should transfer to the Knight Department.”

“…Is she really that good?”