“...Are you alright?”
Esther asked, cautiously observing Azier's expression.
Truthfully, she should have protested against the violence inflicted upon the prisoner and the destruction of property. However, Azier's aura was so intimidating that the words wouldn't come out.
Moreover, Azier’s response was,
This made it incredibly awkward for Esther to bring up personal matters.
──My younger brother, because of mere emotions...
Azier scoffed at himself. He had told Frondier to manage his emotions, yet here he was, in this state.
In reality, it wasn't that he ‘couldn't manage them at all.’
“Don't worry too much about it. It's just the usual nonsense spouted by prisoners with nothing to lose.”
“It didn't seem that way.”
Azier looked at the unconscious Hagley.
“He deliberately provoked me. There must be a reason for that.”
Others might not know, but Hagley was the core of Manggot.
A strategist who had spent a long time researching the ancient language, assisting Belphegor, and maintaining balance between the Shepherds and the believers.
He had spoken those words even while being beaten by Azier, so there must be a reason.
‘Frondier can interpret the ancient language... .’
It was hard to believe. He had never even considered it.
It wasn't that he had assumed Frondier was incompetent, as Hagley had said, but rather that such a talent was inherently difficult to recognize. Who would know that someone possessed the ability to interpret a language lost to modern times?
‘...Right. If that's true.’
If Frondier truly had such a talent.
How did Hagley recognize his talent before his family did?
Displeasure spread across Azier’s face.
“Did you figure something out?”
“At least I know what Hagley wants from me.”
Hagley had subtly been emphasizing it all along.
That he had discovered Frondier’s talent before anyone else, even his family.
To confirm this, Azier would ultimately have to ask Frondier.
About his ability to interpret the ancient language.
‘He seems quite eager to have me confirm it.’
It felt like playing into Hagley's hands, but there was no other choice.
If Hagley truly knew how to discover other people's talents, then his value would likely increase in a way that had nothing to do with the ancient language. Ṙ𝐀ꞐǒꞖƐȘ
Frondier was the proof, and Hagley was aiming for that.
Azier muttered quietly.
“Those are crueler words than I thought.”
Along with the investigation into the windbreaker, I asked Elysia to look into a family called ‘Vanier.’
With Elysia currently holding power within the Shadow Unit, it should be possible.
In the meantime, I also asked Gregory to keep an eye on the situation within the Empire, as the windbreaker might change their actions if I started poking around everywhere.
My daily routine remained unchanged on the surface. I was just having slightly busy days, juggling training and classes.
‘It somehow reminds me of the old days.’
I recalled the past as I felt the gazes within Constel.
The character ‘Frondier de Roach’ always attracted considerable attention, no matter what happened. It was like that when I was acting like a human sloth, when I had the strange nickname ‘Sloth,’ and even now.
The only difference was that my public opinion within Constel was currently at its most favorable.
Unlike the past, when speculation and envy towards me were rampant, the current Constel was genuinely passionate about my story.
Perhaps the place where my public opinion was worsening was actually the Empire.
‘Maybe the stage has changed.’
As a third-year student at Constel, I had no choice but to spend most of my daily life there.
But perhaps the stage of the game had already shifted away from Constel.
The fact that the place with the worst public opinion of me was becoming the stage, it was truly a broken game.
The dull sounds of wooden weapons clashing repeatedly echoed.
I was currently undergoing Constel's combat training.
The third year was the period when the skill gap between students became most extreme. Constel was an educational institution that trained individuals to exterminate monsters. As such, there were virtually no measures in place for students who fell behind.
Therefore, during this time, many students failed to keep up with Constel's set curriculum, and the number of those who couldn't even use Aura yet increased.
However, on the other hand,
“What the? I can't even see that.”
There were also students who completely surpassed Constel's curriculum.
After the war, practically all of Constel's classes had become a bit of a waste of time for him.
Aster had no suitable sparring partners during practice time because there was no one who could defeat him.
Even with a skill difference, there was something to learn up to a certain point, but with someone at Aster's level, the person on the receiving end wouldn't understand anything.
So, he was currently checking his own skills alone, but.
‘...Even so, that idiot.’
Aster had just used a flash strike.
Right in front of everyone, as if he were test-driving it.
It was so typical of Aster that I unconsciously shook my head.
Aster didn't hide his cards or his skills. He didn't hold back against anyone.
He only had endless self-improvement and the contemplation that came with it.
Even now, he continued to mutter to himself, oblivious to my approach.
“Hmm, if I set the movements in advance, wouldn't I be able to twist the trajectory while using a flash strike?”
Don't say such scary things out loud. It seems like you'll actually do it.