Chapter 159

Chapter 159. I Have No Doubt

Inside Gamo’s private reception room, an oppressive stillness filled the area as the gathered individuals took their seats.

Positioned in the seat of honor, Gamo kept her eyelids closed, making zero effort to mask her deep irritation. Flanking her immediate left and right were Aster and Paijin, while Ransi and the personal guard of House Tulk sat just beyond them, respectively.

It was only after the liquid in the teacup on the table had lost all its warmth that Bianca finally spoke.

“Ransi. Tell me exactly what the situation is at this moment…”

“Yes, Lady Gamo. Following the events I previously relayed, it concluded with Aster-nim forcing Young Lord Paijin to stand before the public and offer a full confession…”

“A confession, you say? A confession… ha!”

Bianca let out a breathy, incredulous laugh at the sheer absurdity of it.

Calling it a confession was a massive understatement—it was essentially a forced written apology.

To put it plainly, Aster had intimidated Paijin, the heir of House Tulk, dragged him in front of the clothing shop’s staff, and compelled him to recite an official declaration of regret.

And why did it turn into a written document? Because Aster found Paijin’s initial spoken apology unsatisfactory, handed him writing tools, and commanded him to properly structure his thoughts on paper.

“And you merely stood by and watched this occur… no, wait. There must have been some extenuating circumstances.”

“…I offer my deepest apologies.”

Ransi offered no defensive explanations, simply keeping her gaze lowered toward the floor.

Regardless of the justifications, bringing such anxiety to Lady Gamo was a failure grave enough that a hundred deaths could not atone for it.

Seeing this, Aster casually lifted his hand.

“Um… Lady Gamo. Would it be acceptable if I provided the explanation instead?”

“……”

Gamo pierced him with a razor-sharp glare, but Aster remained entirely unfazed and continued speaking.

“Ransi-ssi…? Ransi-nim? At any rate, she did attempt to hold me back, but I am simply not the type of person who can be easily restrained.”

“……”

“I used that brute’s physical well-being as leverage to threaten him. Because of that, Ransi-ssi? Ransi-nim? found herself completely powerless to intervene.”

“…Ha.”

Gamo felt a wave of dizziness wash over her.

Did this youth truly not comprehend the gravity of his actions?

He was standing there, openly admitting with his own mouth that he had taken the young lord of House Tulk as a captive!

In truth, moving past the minor details of the event, she was at a complete loss as to how to resolve this disaster.

A mere wanderer from the Black and White Zone, who happened to be a guest of Brando’s young master, had taken the heir of House Tulk hostage? And what did he do after securing his captive?

He thrashed him under the guise of an “unfortunate mishap,” then forced him to stand before common workers to apologize for every instance of arrogance and misbehavior he had displayed at the tailor shop.

The incident was far too severe to simply ignore, yet simultaneously too petty to elevate into a major political crisis.

How on earth was she supposed to handle a mess like this…?

“Whew.”

As she let out a heavy, suffocating sigh, Paijin, who was seated on the left, hesitantly raised his hand.

“Lady Gamo, I request permission to speak on my own behalf…”

“Proceed.”

“My personal dignity has been dragged through the mud. This is a matter that I believe compromises the integrity of House Tulk directly, and by extension, the very honor of Brando—”

“What did you just utter?”

Gamo’s voice, slicing through the air like a honed blade, instantly cut him off.

“Hic!”

An involuntary hiccup escaped Paijin’s throat at the abrupt drop in Gamo’s temperature. She hadn’t even exerted any palpable aura, yet his extremities began to shudder uncontrollably.

“Is the reputation of your lineage—and that of Brando—such a trivial matter to you?”

“Th-that is…”

“Furthermore.”

Gamo fixed her gaze on Paijin, her index finger tapping sharply against the armrest of her seat.

“Did you truly have the audacity to equate my being to a canine? You commit acts of insolence that your own sire would never dare attempt, and you do so with utter shamelessness, forgetting your proper place. Did you assume that because you are the young master of House Tulk, a member of the nobility, I would overlook your disrespectful speech and conduct?”

“L-Lady Gamo, that was merely—!”

“Had that been the case, I would have settled it right then and there. I would not have made a formal issue of this occurrence. Even so, it does not change the fact that my temperament is highly displeased.”

Sudde

At those words, all color drained from Paijin’s face.

There was no helping it.

Even if she chose not to air this grievance publicly, it signified that he had completely lost Gamo’s favor.

“L-Lady Gamo, I beg of you to show leniency….”

“Leniency? What sort of leniency should I grant? Are you suggesting I alter my genuine feelings merely to accommodate you?”

“……”

Paijin sealed his lips tightly.

There was nothing left to argue. There was no grounds for leniency to begin with.

Even pleading with her to soothe her anger was an act of presumption far above his station.

“You are dismissed from my presence. Regarding the degradation you experienced, I shall have a direct conversation with your father.”

“……”

Faced with that icy dismissal, Paijin executed a profound bow.

He possessed a multitude of grievances he wished to voice.

Why did he have to endure such degradation over a common merchant, and why should the young master of House Tulk be treated as inferior to a lowly woman of that caliber—

And yet.

“I… I shall take my leave.”

Ultimately, Paijin departed without uttering another syllable, stepping outside the chamber.

Once the door closed, Bianca shifted her attention toward Aster.

“Aster-gun.”

“…Yes?”

“I wish to know what your objective was. Did you fail to contemplate the repercussions of your actions? If you acted in this manner under the assumption that either I or Demian would shield you, I will be profoundly let down.”

Though her tone retained its sharpness, it was noticeably gentler than the way she had addressed Paijin.

Her gaze mirrored that of an elder genuinely concerned by Aster’s impulsive behavior, and beneath her stern reprimand, a subtle thread of care was buried.

That was, until Aster chose to respond.

“Lady Gamo, you needn’t worry about me.”

“What do you mean I needn’t worry? If this escalates, it has the potential to become an existential crisis. Are you unaware that the current sentiment within Brando is already highly critical of you, Aster-gun?”

“The soil hardens after a heavy rainfall.”

What soil was he talking about?

As Bianca’s brows knit together in confusion, Aster pressed on with unwavering certainty.

“Righteousness operates on the same principle. It gains strength and emerges more resilient when forged through severe opposition and tribulation. I have absolute faith that ultimate destiny will guide everything to its proper conclusion.”

What nonsense is this—

While Bianca found herself momentarily speechless, Aster squeezed his fist tightly, sporting an expression as fierce as a lone champion preparing to clash with the entire world.

“In fact, House Tulk might ultimately find themselves indebted to me.”

“What are you implying—”

“I took Tulk’s greatest disgrace, a creature devoid of any concept of honor, and successfully civilized him without relying on brute violence. Therefore, Tulk should naturally offer me their gratitude.”

“集”

“I am arguably the most exceptional social reformer across the entire eastern continent. Ah—granted, he does not yet appear entirely civilized, but there is no cause for anxiety. The follow-up treatment is already lined up.”

Confronted with that display of absolute self-assurance, Bianca could only stare in mute silence.

Ransi likewise stood frozen, her jaw slightly slack.

Then, Aster’s parting words rang clearly in both of their ears.

“I refuse to bend the knee to wicked forces.”

“……”

“……”

Bianca kept her eyes on Aster for a brief moment before turning her gaze toward Ransi.

“Get him out of my sight. This instant.”

“…As you wish.”

The degenerate—disciplined—mission accomplished.

The overall outcome wasn’t entirely terrible.

Simultaneously, Bianca pressed her fingers firmly against her temples, trying to soothe a rising, throbbing migraine.

‘Did I… completely misread this boy’s character?’

Perhaps Demian wasn’t the sole individual who underwent a transformation during their time at the Academy. Just as Demian had been swayed by Aster, the exact opposite could very well be true—

‘No. That is out of the question.’

There are attributes an individual can acquire through instruction, and there are inherent traits that no amount of learning can alter.

And that specific type of madness was undoubtedly the latter.

By the time my audience with Lady Gamo concluded and I stepped out into the open air, twilight had already surrendered to the evening.

Come to think of it, even during the period when I was “re-educating” that absolute fool and got intercepted by the servant Lady Gamo dispatched to fetch me, the sun was already dipping below the horizon.

In any case, before I could fully track the hours, the deep night had arrived with a radiant moon hanging high in the sky. Ransi escorted me to my designated quarters and then departed without a second glance.

“I shall dispatch a message to Young Master Demian first thing tomorrow morning.”

I watched her receding form with a hint of awkwardness before stepping through the threshold of my room.

‘Tsk. My stomach is completely empty.’

Reflecting on the day, I hadn’t even managed to secure a evening meal because I was entirely consumed with “rehabilitating” that absolute tool.

I contented myself with gnawing on some dried meat I had stored away inside my dimensional subspace, and the flavor turned out to be perfectly acceptable.

As I chewed on the dried meat, I spent a few moments organizing the details of the situation in my mind.

‘For the moment, I’ve cast out the line, but…’

Though I had used the banner of “dispensing righteousness” as my public justification, there were actually a handful of specific calculations behind my decision to “re-educate” that fool.

Or perhaps I should look at them as lingering doubts.

‘There were definitely elements that felt far too orchestrated.’

I had a few distinct hypotheses that required verification.

First.

‘An influential figure like that, showing up at that precise location at that exact moment? Inside that specific clothing shop?’

Granted, given that Lady Gamo was the one who selected the establishment, it was bound to be a prestigious boutique.

She had undoubtedly picked the premier establishment within the borders of Brando’s domain. Even taking that into account, crossing paths with that fool so cleanly felt entirely too coincidental.

Even if his presence was justified by the upcoming grand celebration, a subordinate noble house should easily possess multiple garments appropriate for such galas… moreover, from the look of things, he didn’t even appear to be there to browse the inventory.

‘Furthermore, it didn’t seem as though he arrived with a clear, independent motive either.’

Then what exactly compelled that fool to drop by the tailor shop at that precise hour?

By my estimation, it strongly mirrored a scenario where someone had intentionally directed his steps there.

Which brought me to the second point.

‘Who was the mastermind?’

The most prominent candidate would be a member of that “unorthodox” subordinate lineage that Ransi had cautioned me about.

Naturally, there was a chance it could be the Patriarch of House Tulk himself, but regardless—whoever was pulling the strings, they would inevitably reveal their hand down the line.

Yet, the query that intrigued me the most wasn’t either of those two points—it was the third enigma.

“What is the motive?”

Whosoever was maneuvering that puppet was undeniably a calculating actor.

‘If I failed to detect any overt tailing or espionage, it implies they possess information networks draped across the entire area without needing to physically follow my movements.’

Why would an entity of that caliber invest so much focus into a common wanderer from the Black and White Zone like myself?

“It defies logic. Completely bizarre. There is zero logical basis for it.”

To put it plainly, if the opposing faction truly belongs to that “unorthodox” subordinate family, their goal would likely be to leverage my existence to extract political concessions from Brando.

Even so, to grant me this level of scrutiny?

It felt entirely disproportionate.

Well, regardless.

‘No matter what their game is, now that I’ve escalated things to this degree, the next move is entirely in their hands.’

I had effectively demonstrated my posture: I am an unpredictable lunatic. If their designs regarding me weren’t of paramount importance, they would choose to withdraw on their own accord.

And if they chose to persist, I would simply have to devise an alternate countermeasure.

That was a bridge to cross when the time arrived.

Still, the ideal resolution would be for them to lose their nerve and pull back.

I was genuinely irritated, certainly, but the underlying reason I magnified the chaos beyond what was strictly required while “rehabilitating” that idiot was precisely to achieve this effect.

At any rate.

“Tsk. No matter how much I rationalize it, my stomach is still growling.”

I forced another substantial portion of dried meat into my mouth, muttering to myself.

Right at that second, a distinct tapping vibrated against the glasspane.

Thud, thud.

“…?”

When I pivoted toward the source of the noise, for a brief instant, my senses refused to register what my eyes were seeing.

“…Early Meal Number One?”

Silhouetted against the obsidian night, a deeply familiar shape was outlined against the glass. It bore an undeniable resemblance to Early Meal Number One, the creature I had left behind in the distant lands of Hazen.

Had it somehow sensed my current hunger and flown all this way to present itself as sustenance?

“But… it’s the middle of the night right now?”

However, that wishful thinking dissolved in a fraction of a second.

I swiftly discerned that the shape outside did not belong to Early Meal Number One.

Its proportions were far sleeker, and its overall size was notably greater.

One might question how an object could simultaneously be sleeker yet larger, but “sleeker” didn’t imply malnutrition—it signified that its physical contours were elongated and majestic.

As I stepped closer to verify its identity, my suspicions were confirmed; it was definitely not Early Meal Number One.

“…An apex avian? An eagle?”

Indeed. It was a massive eagle.

As I stood there observing the raptor—

Thump! Thump!

Late Meal Number One began striking the glass pane with enough force to suggest it intended to shatter the barrier entirely.

Left with no alternative, given the creature’s incredibly stubborn temperament, I unlatched the window to grant it entry. Fastened securely to the communication cylinder wrapped around its leg was a compact parchment.

And the message inscribed upon that parchment read—

I await your presence within the office of the vice-director inside the Hall of Arcane Studies.

Your companion, Henji von Brando

“Ah, bloody hell.”

The age gap between us is massive, and you have the audacity to address me as a companion? Companions, my foot.

Well, be that as it may.

Screee, screee, screeech.

I glared at Late Meal Number One as it let out a cry laced with profound majesty. While a powerful impulse to unleash a torrent of profanity welled up inside me, I actively suppressed it—no, I buried it deep within my core, and began to stride forward.

Flap-flap!

…With Late Meal Number One anchoring itself directly upon the crown of my head.