Chapter 106
A sudden ambush.
It was far too powerless.
Ruben, in that short span of ti, could not react at all.
‘……I’m going to die!’
The mont I instinctively sensed death.
Clang―!
Sparks scattered before my eyes as the sound of swords clashing rang out.
In that fleeting instant.
Soone appeared in front of and blocked the attack.
“……Hey, Lahan. What are you doing?”
The intruder who had launched the attack was revealed under the moonlight.
He was dressed in the Academy janitor’s uniform.
He wore a cap with the word ‘Cleaning’ written on it.
But he was by no ans an ordinary janitor.
He stared with eyes dyed black.
“If you don’t move, you’ll really die.”
“Janitor, please look closely at him.”
The man called ‘Lahan’ opened his mouth with difficulty.
“My assumption that the Black Knight and the Black Demon were the sa person was a misjudgnt. This man is not the Black Demon.”
“How do you know that?”
“If he were truly the Black Demon, he would not have been flustered and would have imdiately counterattacked your strike.”
“……Ha.”
The janitor seed convinced by Lahan’s words and withdrew his dagger.
He let out a sigh a mont later……
“Hey.”
He suddenly grabbed Lahan by the collar with great force.
“You bastard, you said he was the Black Demon. How dare you deceive ?”
“It was not intentional. I sincerely ask for your forgiveness.”
“Damn it!”
The janitor violently released his grip on Lahan’s collar.
“I’m letting it go because it’s you, Lahan. If it had been soone else, he’d already be dead.”
Saying so, the janitor vanished like a mirage.
“…….”
Ruben collapsed helplessly to the floor.
‘What in the world just happened…….’
I could not believe what had unfolded before my eyes.
I slowly lifted my head and looked up at ‘Lahan’ gazing down at .
“My, my. My companion was a bit too rough. My apologies, Black Knight.”
Thanks to the moonlight, I could recognize his face.
It was a face I rembered.
“Aren’t you…… Professor Ruber’s assistant……?”
“You rembered .”
Lahan smiled.
“Since we both live within the Academy, we occasionally crossed paths.”
We had never spoken before.
But I had seen his face at least.
“Allow to introduce myself properly. I am Lahan Arsene, a servant of the Porton Family.”
“Porton?”
Of course I knew.
It was one of the Four Great Families.
To think he was a servant of the Portons.
‘Was working as Ruber’s assistant just a cover?’
For years, even?
My mind grew increasingly tangled when Lahan extended his hand.
“For a great cause, I would like to recruit you.”
“……A great cause?”
I took his hand and stood up for the mont.
After hearing his explanation of that ‘great cause,’ my eyes widened in shock.
The great cause they spoke of…… carried a grave risk for all of humanity, but it was directly tied to ‘money’ and ‘fa.’
If it could truly be realized, the scale would be enormous.
Ruben had no reason to reject their offer.
But the decisive reason was sothing else entirely.
Looking into Lahan’s eyes, Ruben instinctively realized.
If he refused Lahan’s offer……
‘……He would try to kill on the spot.’
There was only one choice left to .
“I’ll consider it positively.”
When I answered, Lahan bead.
“Thank you for saying that! If the Black Knight joins us as an ally, nothing could bring us more joy.”
Cold sweat trickled down Ruben’s face.
‘……This man thinks I am the Black Knight.’
If I confessed that I was only a fake Black Knight, I risked being killed, so I held my tongue.
Lahan quietly observed Ruben, then walked toward the door.
“Then, I shall see you once you’ve co to a final decision.”
With a polite bow, he closed the door to the Vice President’s office.
Lahan strolled calmly down the corridor.
After walking so distance.
I noticed a female student leaning against the wall of the hallway with her arms crossed.
Her face was hidden in the shadows.
“Lahan. What are you playing at?”
At her question, Lahan offered a natural smile.
“What do you an?”
“Don’t play gas with .”
Though her voice was calm, it carried venom.
“You know well enough that the Vice President isn’t the Black Knight.”
“…….”
Hearing that, Lahan only smiled silently for a while.
“Whether he’s truly the Black Knight or not…… does that really matter?”
At his question, the female student only stared at him in silence.
“He has already revealed his existence to the public. Since he’s even finished the title confernt ceremony, no one will doubt that he is the Black Knight.”
Lahan looked as if he found the unfolding events unbearably amusing, almost itching inside.
“Just that alone makes him valuable enough to use.”
Lahan took a few steps and closed his eyes as though imagining sothing.
“Picture it. Sothing entertaining might happen. For example……”
When he opened his eyes, the moonlight revealed the blue glow in them as they fixed upon the female student.
“Like the real Black Knight appearing before him, the one who had committed evil deeds.”
The female student let out a sigh and spoke.
“……He must already realize he has beco a target. Let’s see if he dares to show up.”
Lahan shook his head.
“He doesn’t have to appear, but he will. Heroes never yield.”
“…….”
At that response, the female student said no more, while Lahan kept walking with a smile.
I blinked several tis as I looked into the mirror.
‘……What is this.’
I had only intended to test Shurk’s ability and check what Ruben was doing.
……And yet, Lahan and the janitor too.
I ended up overhearing the entire conversation of nad villain characters.
‘No, what the hell is this.’
My head throbbed.
What should have been a short side episode had expanded in scale after encountering the main villains.
‘It was supposed to be just a simple story ending with the Vice President’s impeachnt.’
According to the original story, Ruben and Lahan were never ant to be connected.
‘But now they’ve recruited Ruben to their side? This isn’t even in the ga.’
The plot had been twisted into sothing new.
……The only relief was that it was not part of the main episode.
‘Since it’s only a side episode, if I wrap it up well, I can contain the altered storyline.’
The goal of this episode was to topple the corrupt Vice President and the Student Council mbers who supported him, expose the corruption, and impeach him.
‘But now that Ruben is impersonating , the story has shifted.’
Lahan recruited him even while knowing he was a fake Black Knight.
‘In the end, Ruben will just be used and discarded by Lahan.’
Of course, his death would not co until much later, when his value was gone.
‘At this stage, if students start dying, the villains’ plan could collapse.’
They were preparing to unleash a great disaster upon the Academy in one strike.
For that, they would not want students dying off in small numbers already.
‘If multiple students were killed, the professors would realize enemies lurked within the Academy. The villains’ plan would soon fall apart.’
So Lahan, for now, wanted Ruben and the other students alive.
‘Anyway, I understand why they recruited the Vice President.’
Lahan’s objective was twofold.
First, he hoped the real Black Knight would appear through the Vice President.
‘He must think that if there’s one obstacle to their plan that can be eliminated, it’s the Black Knight.’
Knowing that, I had no reason to appear before them.
‘Honestly, I value my life.’
Lahan was after .
His ally, the janitor, was also among the highest-risk villains.
‘He’s only a few steps below Luga, the world’s number one powerhouse.’
One of the top ten strongest in the entire world.
Weaker than Luga, but stronger than Verdi.
Even with an exceptional shield, I judged it impossible to face the janitor now.
He was an opponent I could only take on after growing much stronger.
‘The second reason is…… paradoxically, he also wants not to show up anymore.’
Because I was soone who directly opposed their plan.
‘By using the fake they recruited as bait, he’s setting a trap for .’
He was practically declaring, ‘If you’re really the Black Knight, then co forth before the imposter.’
It was a strategy to make realize it was a trap and deliberately keep from appearing.
‘One way or another, it’s nothing but a headache.’
Whether I showed up or not, both were problems.
……How should I untangle this warped situation?
Crackle, crackle! I pondered as the sound of the campfire filled the night.
‘……Why did it have to be an impersonation.’
Why was it?
Suddenly, Lahan’s words—“he will appear”—echoed in my head.
‘……Wait, impersonation?’
From that single word, an idea flashed through my mind.
‘Of course. There was that thod.’
I stirred the campfire with a stick, smiling faintly.
That evening, at the Academy’s Knight Training Grounds.
“Thank you for your hard work!”
Eris bowed at a full ninety degrees, her green ponytail swaying vigorously.
As I stepped out of the training grounds, the chill of the night wind brushed against .
Training late into the night had left drenched in sweat.
I wiped my face with a towel and looked up at the night sky.
Every ti I sweated and then breathed in the cool air, it always felt refreshing.
It made feel truly alive.
‘……I can feel myself growing stronger.’
Even my once low grades had been improving day by day since the sumr final exams.
‘I can do this.’
Eris turned her gaze to the building beside the training grounds.
‘Blue Ivory Knights.’ That’s what was written on the building.
Eris had found a dream.
Once she beca a second-year, she dread of joining the Blue Ivory Knights and becoming a Magic Swordsman.
There was about one month left until the comprehensive exams.
‘I’ll train every day until the exams, and I’ll make sure to score high.’
If she could get above-average grades in the comprehensive exams, she could safely apply for and be accepted into the Blue Ivory Knights.
The senior knight who had been ntoring her also said that with Eris’s skills, she had more than enough chance of passing.
Perhaps it was thanks to Villed that she now had such a clear goal.
‘It all started after I received a sincere apology from Villed.’
After that, my confidence began to rise.
‘The rumors about Villed haven’t improved much yet.’
But Eris knew.
She knew that he had completely changed.
Because of his punishnt at the livestock shed, he had reford himself.
It was only that his infamy was so great, and interest in him had waned, that the truth had not spread widely.
‘Even Villed, who had once been a villain, could change.’
Even if they were heinous criminals, they had only been walking down the wrong path.
‘If guided in the right direction, no matter how bad soone is, perhaps they could beco a good person.’
It was after seeing Villed that Eris had found her goal.
She wanted to beco a knight who helped villains reform.
‘And like the Black Knight…… like Vice President Ruben.’
You could call him a role model.
Not only was he strong enough to defeat the Captain of the Imperial Knights, but the way he helped others without seeking credit was admirable.
She thought she wanted to follow that path exactly.
‘If I keep working hard…… I can do it!’
Eris clenched her fists tightly as she gazed at the knights’ building, then ran toward the dormitory.
When she arrived at the dormitory and went to the first floor’s shared locker to take out her slippers as usual, it happened.
‘……Huh?’
Sothing suddenly fell out of the locker.
When she picked it up, she realized it was a letter envelope.
‘A letter? Who put this here?’
There should have been a security spell preventing anyone from opening it……
As she turned the envelope back and forth in doubt, her heart sank.
「To the one who seeks justice.
From. Black Knight」
Reading that, Eris’s eyes opened wide.
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