I feel like I'm going to die.
I can't see a clock, but roughly three hours seem to have passed.
Three hours of non-stop training has me sweating like a waterfall now. I can barely keep my eyes open.
I usually train for about three hours, but the intensity this time was different from normal.
I was too busy blocking the insane barrage of attacks he was throwing at me to find a single opening to land a clean hit of my own.
...Is this bastard taking his anger out on me...?
Of course not, but the training intensity was so absurd the thought came naturally.
"Get up."
"..."
Leo clapped his hands, urging me to get up.
He rarely went this hard himself, so he looked tired too, but he didn't seem as completely drained as I was.
As I tried to get up from my spot and accidentally face-planted back down, Leo asked in a tone utterly devoid of sincerity.
"Want to rest a bit?"
"..."
Only four days had passed since the damage from Strauch, so my stamina wasn't fully recovered.
On top of that, being pushed to the limit like this was torture.
...Still, now's not the time to dwell on that.
The warning from Pleroma was for Nikolaus, and Bavaria suffered damage for supporting me.
Thinking of that, I have to endure this much.
I pushed myself up on my knees, stood, and picked up my wand again.
"No, let's continue."
* * *
"You should rest fully until the weekend. I'll contact your homeroom professor, so let's have you hospitalized for a couple of days."
That evening, I went to the school infirmary.
Since there were classes from Thursday, the next day, for two days, I needed to get permission to skip them legally somehow.
I didn't need to fake an illness to get a rest recommendation, though. Having trained solidly from 6 AM to 6 PM, with only an hour for meals—11 hours total—I was already a walking zombie.
Zombies do walk, though...
Look at this. My brain's not in great shape either.
I let my gaze wander, then remembered there was a person in front of me and answered calmly.
"I'd like to rest in my dorm, is that possible?"
"At this point, it would be better to just rest here at the infirmary."
"My own room is most comfortable for me."
"Hmm, well then, come back on Friday. Let's check your condition again then."
Done. That secured me time to get my Technique to 4.
I left the infirmary and looked around.
A thick fog, as if rain was imminent, filled the paths. Due to the incident's aftermath, there were no students wandering the school grounds, no voices coming from the buildings.
It was quiet enough to make it hard to believe yesterday had been a festival.
Remembering yesterday's events, a bitter feeling began to settle in a corner of my heart.
I walked quickly, shaking off the thoughts.
Should I check my status window during the commute?
Lucas René Ascanien
Title: Sir Nikolaus
Stamina: +1.4 (+0.1) [+4.4]
Willpower: -0.9 (+0.2)
Magic Power: ?
Technique: +2.85 (+0.15) [+5.85]
Impression: -9.9 [-6.8] [+6.61517849]
Luck: +1.25 (+0.1)
Traits: Dawn 777, Divine Power, Charm (Lv.2), Retry (Lv.1)
It was 2.7 when I started.
Now, 12 hours later, it's gone up by 0.15.
Since it's a positive number, I was keeping track of every 0.001. Thanks to training while recovering my nearly-dead stamina with medicine, I could raise it relatively quickly.
After eating dinner at the dorm and moving to the training ground again, Leo, who was sitting with his bag in a corner, handed me an envelope.
"The investigation results are here. You were looking for the orphanage sponsor list, right?"
"That was fast. Thanks."
"Don't mention it. I set a timer, so let's train from 6:30."
At my request, the Wittelsbach side had contacted the Prussian investigation bureau for me.
Given that, I thought it would take a bit longer this time, but the results arrived at a speed similar to when I'd entrusted it to Bavaria.
I skimmed through the file of names.
Hmm... Is it because they were extras from the very beginning? There are names that ring a bell, but nothing certain.
To remember something from that long ago, I'd need to review it a bit, and it's already been over two months since I arrived here anyway.
The number of sponsors on the list was about twenty.
I'd asked them to only find people who had made regular donations within the last year, so the field was already narrowed.
Still, tracking down all twenty would take time.
Fortunately, I clearly remember that the two Pleromas were family and that they donated quite a lot of money each cycle.
Considering that, the candidates narrow down to four.
If they're family, we can think of it as investigating two teams.
Two teams is manageable to meet in person.
Now, I just need to think about what profession Narce and I will disguise ourselves as to approach them.
If things go smoothly, I'll move with Elias after that.
As I was reading the list, Leo picked up his bag and asked.
"What did they say at the infirmary?"
"What do you think they'd say at the infirmary? Rest, of course."
"For how many days?"
"Don't know. I'm going to train anyway."
"..."
Leo couldn't bring himself to say 'that's true' and closed his mouth. He seemed to ponder something, then cautiously asked.
"Was teaching you this fast without giving you time to recover too much?"
"Are you joking now? Just do as you were doing."
"No... I was worried about that, so I asked home to prepare some medicine."
"I already got some from the school infirmary?"
"This will be more effective."
Leo pulled a leather pouch from his bag.
Quite confident. But for a Wittelsbach, that's plausible. Without much comment, I took out and swallowed the medicine Leo had sorted.
Rummaging in his bag, Leo pulled out a box and spoke to me.
"Ah, my friends asked me to pass this on too."
"Huh?"
Stuff just keeps coming out of this guy's bag.
Opening it, I found miscellaneous stationery stamped with the school emblem.
It looked exactly like the sort of thing the school would give out as prizes, so it wasn't surprising.
In a transparent box included with it were neatly lined chouquettes and blancmange.
"They give these to the kids who participated in the play. The food was probably added by the kids. They said thanks for helping out."
I'm not really in the mood for snacks, but given the chaotic situation, it must have been hard to prepare these, so I appreciate the thought.
I should give my thanks on Monday.
Then Leo pointed at the file I was holding.
"So, you think the Pleromas are among this list?"
"It's a long shot, but I'm going to look into it. Narce likes going out in disguise anyway, so we'll check all the suspicious ones."
Right, I need a disguise for this job too.
But, not in the Nikolaus state.
Nikolaus, with every move scrutinized, should only come out at the most critical moment.
Before that, it's best to present a face that is neither Lucas nor Nikolaus.
Leo didn't ask further and just nodded at my words.
"Hmm, alright... Narce is perfect for finding them. What are you going to disguise yourself as?"
"I need to start thinking about that now."
Beep—
The timer went off the moment I finished speaking.
Leo took out his watch, snapped the lid shut, stood up, and smiled.
"We're about to train. Think you'll be able to think?"
* * *
Ding—!
Congratulations!
Successfully achieved 'Technique score of 4'!
'Route 1 — 〈 Suggestion 2 〉' has been confirmed.
"Hey, this kid looks half-dead. It wouldn't be strange if he climbed into a coffin right now."
"..."
Elias, who had come to watch, clicked his tongue.
Then he shouted at Leo.
"Meeting Strauch was last week. Don't you know?"
"I know. Actually, I feel a bit... sorry."
Leo frowned, covering the ear facing Elias.
Leo's excuse was actually fair.
From the moment Bavaria declared war on Pleroma by joining hands with the Papacy and hastily accepted the intervening Imperial family, forming a tripartite alliance, Leo had also been mindful of my stamina and adjusted accordingly.
I'm the one who pushed him to revert to his original intensity.
The sooner I raise it, the better.
If I'm going to do this, I should raise it high while the board is set. Otherwise, since I'm stepping more into the political sphere than the combat magic sphere, improving my actual skills will keep getting delayed.
I achieved it a day early. Should I check the numbers?
Lucas René Ascanien
Title: Sir Nikolaus
Stamina: +2.2 (+0.8) [+5.2]
Willpower: -0.1 (+0.8)
Magic Power: ?
Technique: +4.0 (+1.15) [+7.0]
Impression: -9.9 [-6.9] [+6.61523261]
Luck: +1.75 (+0.5)
Traits: Dawn 777, Divine Power, Charm (Lv.2), Retry (Lv.1)
Even though Technique went up, Stamina is still a concern.
How could a health that went to the other world over ten years be perfectly restored in just two months?
At least the final 5.2 means there's no hindrance to using magic, so that's a relief.
Anyway, my pure Technique score has now reached the average for the students here.
No matter how childish these guys are—which is true—in terms of skill, they are the empire's top tier for their age.
Until now, I covered my lacking technique by pushing through with magic power, but now I've reached a similar level as them.
As Elias continued to shoot accusatory glances at Leo, Leo changed the subject.
"So, did you bring the materials?"
"Of course."
A few days ago, I'd asked Elias for disguise materials.
Thanks to his thorough preparations for always causing trouble, he had a lot of useful stuff.
I knew that information from the novel, but when I naturally brought it up, he got even more excited and showed me various disguise materials himself.
Elias noisily opened the bag he'd brought.
"Ta-da~"
"What's this?"
"Glasses."
Elias thrust a pair of glasses in front of my eyes.
"Perfect for the intellectual image. Try them on!"
The glasses Elias brought were thin, silver-framed spectacles.
Unlike the glasses I knew, the temples weren't curved and were connected, a design you might see in a museum.
Of course, there was no prescription in the lenses, but the surface was quite scratched, making my reflection look suitably fuzzy and vague in the mirror.
Satisfactory.
"I brought clothes too, try them on!"
I put on the coat he handed me over my shirt.
It was a garment that cleverly avoided any sense of fashion, looking excessively heavy for the season. Even for November, a fur coat that weighed down the shoulders felt a bit much.
Moreover, even though Elias and I are similar in height, the clothes were quite large. It seemed Elias had prepared these clothes specifically for a stuffy-looking image.
"Wow..."
"What."
Elias didn't answer my question, just shook his head.
Leo, who was watching from the side, spoke up.
"It's still Lucas, though. He looks like he's about to distribute illegal propaganda, but."
"Now we change the color~"
"What do you mean 'looks like he's about to distribute illegal propaganda'?"
I'll interpret it as giving off a 'trust in the Way' kind of vibe.
I flicked my fingers as Elias instructed.
The hair falling into my view lightened in color. My eyes probably turned blue too.
"Hmm, no good."
"Suddenly everything got bright, it's a bit much. This looks a bit like Adrian Ascanien."
If both their reactions are like this, I can't go with this.
I need to memorize a new formula.
I pulled out the Divine Power color booklet I'd brought and sat Leo and Elias down.
"If you don't like any of them, help me pick a color."
* * *
After various twists and turns, Narce and I disguised ourselves as local newspaper reporters.
Any usable profession I could think of was hindered by my age.
For a young person to be roaming around freely and have it be easily believable, they needed to be at least a noble or a mage, but both could be seen as a significant burden to the commoner sponsors.
Still, a high school sophomore can pass for their twenties with the right styling, so I managed to look reasonably adult now.
And even if this wasn't the case, I needed to hide being a mage in preparation for any unforeseen situations.
Monday came, and I hailed a carriage heading north of the capital with Narce, who seemed to be in an oddly good mood.
We had already sent people externally to get interview permission from the sponsors in advance.
I closed the curtain on the window facing the driver and spoke to Narce.
—"Narce."
—"Oh, you sound different talking like this too, feels fresh~?"
—"Yeah... Later, while I steer the conversation, use your ability for me. I might bring up topics that could be a bit sensitive, so don't be flustered."
What's the point of having 30% Persuasion if I don't use it?
I can use it to prevent them from storming out mid-conversation if I say something that sounds rude or provocative, so I should make good use of it.
—"Okay, got it. But the red hair is new, Lucas."
—"Weird?"
—"No. How should I put it? It's not the color, but the whole getup makes you look exactly like a twenty-something intellectual who wants a revolution."
—"..."
Well, as long as it's different, that's welcome.
Narce dressed more neatly than I expected, and with his hair slicked back and wearing glasses like me, the image of the Narce I knew didn't immediately come to mind.
Narce looked outside and said.
—"I wonder which of the two is Pleroma. Your deduction does seem pretty reliable."
I hadn't told him how I narrowed it down to two; he probably figured it out with his insight ability.
—"Nothing concrete?"
—"Nope, we haven't met them yet. Even if I try to predict, I need to be in the situation for it to work well."
That makes sense.
Anyway, we'll find out soon enough when we meet them in person, so no need to hope for a lucky break.
After about thirty minutes, the carriage stopped on a road on the outskirts of the capital.
We knocked on the door of the building at the address we'd obtained in advance.
"Anyone home?"
—-----------
T/N:
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