We approached the innermost iron bars where the professors had emerged from. On the iron bars, dried and oxidized black bloodstains remained here and there.
“Oh.”
And inside those iron bars, a male student was collapsed. As if he’d been exposed to violence defenseless, the white Connubium uniform he wore was a mess with footprints and dust. His thoroughly trampled appearance was pitiable beyond words.
I checked the nameplate attached next to the iron bars.
[Sayed Murad]
“Huh? Isn’t that the Mar (royalty) from Chatis Kingdom?”
The largest nation in the east is Garan Kingdom. It’s Jin Chung’s homeland and a massive nation ruled by an emperor. With vast territory, a large population, and even fertile land, it holds a powerful position.
In the north is the former hegemon, Varno Kingdom. In the past, it was the largest nation that commanded the Ritsa Continent, but now it has lost its luster due to corruption. The once-vast territory has been gradually nibbled away and shrunk over a long time. Jack was predicting it would soon collapse unless someone overthrew it.
And in the west, occupying most of the desert continent, is Chatis Kingdom. Though it’s a nation full of golden sand, it’s a prosperous nation with many embedded resources. However, because it’s mostly desert, despite having territory vast enough to rival Garan Kingdom, it has many difficulties.
The younger brother of Chatis Kingdom’s current Sultan. The beloved fourth son of the previous Sultan. The Mar who in the past was predicted to have the highest possibility of ascending to the Sultan’s position. The fallen loser who actually sat in the position of Sulurta (successor). Sayed Murad. He was the identity of the fallen man.
“You know him well, Master.”
“Of course. Even if I only skimmed through it, it wasn’t that long ago.”
Jack squatted down and observed the unconscious prince.
His brown skin was dark enough to resemble chocolate, and though his eyes were closed so their color couldn’t be seen, his sharply upturned eye corners looked fierce. Between the old and loose turban intricately engraved with Chatis Kingdom’s emblem, his right eye area was noticeably bumpy with burn scars.
“Oh dear. He was the child of a favored concubine, so everyone had high expectations. His old man loved him a lot too. Seeing this, I can figure out the situation! I had quite high expectations too. What a shame.”
“Is that so?”
“Yeah. How much of a fighter his mom was. She was a character I liked.”
The more I thought about it, the more regretful it was. Most people don’t like it when a character they like meets a bad end. I too belonged to those ordinary people, so my heart went out to Sayed lying there pathetically.
“Phew. Love naturally flows downward, after all.”
Though it would sound like bullshit, I was serious. Since he was the child of a character I cherished, I felt affection for him.
I rummaged through Belly’s pockets. Then I grabbed the potions and medicine bundles he always carried around. These were emergency supplies Belly always prepared for me, who had no interest in my surroundings and was careless.
What appeared on the outside was just a small pouch, but I knew he had cast expansion magic on that pouch. I didn’t know well either, but probably vast contents were inside it.
When I took out the medicine myself, Belly stepped forward.
“I’ll do the treatment.”
“No. When else would I get to treat my favorite character’s child?”
Lightly refusing, I hummed as I treated Sayed. Though it was a bit clumsy, for Sayed now, even this level of treatment was appreciated. For a D-rank student trapped in a prison-like underground, even treatment was excessive.
Certainly if Belly had treated him, it would have been more perfect than now. But for some reason, a corner of my heart wasn’t into it. I felt Belly’s sullen gaze, but I ignored it.
After finishing to some degree, I stood up and dusted myself off without lingering regrets.
“Good. This should be enough, right?”
“It’s sufficient, Master.”
Belly acted cutely while wiping off the medicine on my hands. At that cute appearance, my gaze that had lingered on Sayed fixed on Belly. As my gaze touched him, he grinned widely. Then he rubbed his large body against me and acted cute. Thanks to that, Sayed’s pitifully twitching fingers didn’t enter my sight.
* * *
“Let’s go back, Master. It’s time to sleep.”
“Ah, is it already that time?”
Thanks to someone’s clumsy touch, my body improved and I opened my eyes narrowly to look around. Eyes clouded by drugs obscured my vision. But fortunately, because it was a body that had trained in martial arts in the past, the drug’s effect was lessened.
I pulled up all the mana scattered throughout my body.
When you wrap mana around your body, your senses increase, allowing you to see or feel things you normally can’t, like the flow of the atmosphere. However, perhaps because my body’s condition was bad now, I couldn’t get that level of effect. I had to be satisfied with securing my vision a bit.
What I could confirm with my clouded pupils was the colors possessed by those beside me and the strange wheat-colored pupils of one man who looked joyful.
“……”
I wanted to call those who definitely didn’t seem to be professors, but I couldn’t even open my mouth. Though I had received treatment, my body was still in tatters. I was truly a rag.
In the end, I could only helplessly watch their backs. I clenched my teeth and struggled not to lose sight of them, but through my blurry vision, the two people only moved further away. I struggled desperately not to miss even a few clues about them, but my consciousness only sank deeper and deeper.
* * *
“But it is a bit regrettable.”
“What is?”
I recalled the character I liked most from the novel.
As a concubine, he was in the weakest position, situated in a poor location. His life should have ended as the Sultan’s one-night partner, but he used every means he had to sit in the position of chief concubine.
His natural beauty and talent. On top of that, he bore an exceptionally talented son, so the Sultan’s favor never ceased. To the point where no one thought it strange that his son Sayed ascended to the position of Sulurta.
However, the Sultana—that is, the Sultan’s legitimate wife—didn’t welcome such a situation and cultivated poison. The Sultana thought that her son, of legitimate bloodline, should claim his rightful position.
Thus, an endless arduous power struggle continued. Countless lives perished, and blood soaked the earth. The one who ultimately seized victory was the Sultana.
All crimes committed by the chief concubine were revealed and punished. The Sultana’s noble child ascended to the Sulurta position and soon was enthroned as Sultan. The faces of those who finally reclaimed their rightful place were bright as the sun in the sky.
The loser. At that, a loser in a concubine power struggle—their end was utterly tragic. Cruelly tortured as if crushed by the light of brilliant glory, they ultimately couldn’t endure the torture and lost their life. Since even the corpse couldn’t be buried properly, it was a horrific end.
Compared to that, Sayed, the son of the chief concubine, at least saved his life, so it was fortunate. But he too couldn’t avoid the iron hammer. On his precious body that shouldn’t have a single scar, burn marks remained. Right on his face, no less. It must have been a mark to make an example of him.
They didn’t forget the days when they felt humiliation from a mere concubine. And the fact that Sayed came to this school is proof that retaliation still continues.
“This kind of character with such a past usually makes novels the most thrilling.”
“Is that so?”
“Yeah. You know, sharpening their sword for family revenge to fight for the throne or start a rebellion or something. I like revenge stories.”
I smacked my lips in regret. Because if he had at least been outside this Connubium rather than inside, I could have hoped for a story of him growing up and going for revenge.
To me, Sayed’s existence was a character that evoked that kind of regret. It would have been nice if the chief concubine had won…….
“If he were the protagonist, it would be interesting. A bit cliché, but that kind of thing is usually popular.”
I recalled protagonists who achieved throne usurpation and brought about an era of peace. They generally gained the power to navigate life through the existence of supporters.
But I had no intention of being in that position. I’m merely a reader enjoying the story. I’m not a character suitable for a supporting or leading role, nor am I an author writing the story. The same goes for Jay Doe. A supporter was too large a position for a character like Jay to obtain.
“Phew, I’m really sleepy. Let’s hurry and go.”
“Yes, Master.”
“Huk, Belly-ya, we’re in trouble.”
At my sudden fuss, Belly’s face turned serious. I smiled playfully at Belly and continued speaking.
“I don’t know the way. Hurry and guide me.”
Belly smiled back and lifted me up in his arms to move. With my arms around his neck, I could easily return to my room. Belly’s spacious and cool embrace was comfortable, and a laugh burst out of me without realizing it.
* * *
“Huuuu……”
Jay sighed and rubbed his tired eyes. Even though he always went to bed early, his fatigue didn’t dissipate, which was irritating. But there was no proper solution. Because I, spending personal time at night, was the reason for the fatigue.
“Belly-ya…… Hyung is tired…… Should I quit everything?”
Belly stuck to Jay’s face with a smack and licked his eyes. At that lovely action, Jay’s mouth loosened stupidly into a silly grin.
“Right. Hyung needs to buy our Belly’s food, so quitting is out of the question.”
Jay encouraged himself like that and got up from his seat. In the first place, he couldn’t quit due to the setting that he was short on money.
Though he set out energetically, after washing, changing clothes, gathering his belongings, and heading to the guidance room, his mind was complicated and disorganized. It was because of Vittorio’s matter.
But no matter how much he wracked his brain, no suitable method came to mind. As someone who was merely an ordinary person, what he knew best was literature. However, in the classical novels he liked, there was nothing written about good actions to take in times like this. Jay sighed deeply as if the ground would cave in.
