Chapter 14
The name Depor itself had never been mentioned before.
Depor—whose face was unfamiliar and whose name I was hearing for the first time—looked around the compartment and then spoke.
“I am here under His Grace’s orders to protect you, young master. You are aware of what’s happening on this train, aren’t you?”
“It already happened.”
Irix pointed at the paper birds flying outside the window.
“And you came very late. I’m quite curious why you didn’t show up from the start.”
“If I’d known the compartment was this nice, I would’ve come sooner.”
Depor picked up a red apple from the basket.
“This really is an excellent compartment. So luxurious. You could sell just one chair and live on the rent for a year.”
“If you tried to sell it, you’d probably get arrested for theft and enjoy a free year of lodging.”
Depor’s face stiffened.
“Just do your job properly. Protect me.”
“Of course. I’ll do it very well—together with my colleague here, Anerica.”
Depor gestured to the woman behind him. Unlike him, she bowed politely.
“Anerica Lering.”
“Nice to meet you.”
She and Irix seemed to be strangers. Unlike with Depor, their exchange was courteous on both sides. Depor then pointed at the boy beside Anerica.
“This child will also be assisting us. He’s not an official member and has no experience, but His Grace personally ordered us to bring him along. His name is—”
Irix spoke first.
“Hey, Meimon. Long time no see.”
The boy immediately bowed his head.
“Good to see you.”
When I looked at the boy, Irix introduced him.
“Meimon Azla. He’s from the same school as us. Same age as me, but he graduated early two years ago.”
Meimon Azla.
I knew that name.
How did I know it?
Because he was the protagonist of the story that took place during the two months of Irix’s disappearance.
Every story ended with its protagonist dying or being ruined—so Meimon’s story ended that way too. Meimon died at the end of his.
“Why don’t you introduce your companions as well, young master?”
Depor said.
“I didn’t expect you to be with a friend. In fact, I didn’t even know you had friends. It’s hard to call those frail top students you hung around with at school ‘friends.’”
They are friends, though.
Startled, I asked,
“You had friends?”
Irix frowned.
“Be quiet. They were just people from the same research study group. We weren’t close.”
That surprised me even more.
A research study group?
A study club, in other words.
A perfectly ordinary school life—one that didn’t suit a future mastermind at all.
How much more exemplary behavior was he planning to show me to keep shocking me?
“I attended the same school as the young master and have already graduated, so that makes your friend my junior. He’s not a military cadet, is he? Just a general student like you?”
The phrase general student carried a subtle arrogance, a sense of looking down on the other. I understood it. Unlike knights or mages, who required special talents, general students just had to study.
“Please introduce him. You must have been startled by our sudden arrival.”
“I don’t know why you think that, but Senior wasn’t startled at all, so there’s nothing to worry about.”
No, I was startled—but not by Depor. I was startled by the implication that Irix had something resembling friends.
The snake hiding inside Irix’s clothes poked its head out and shook it toward Depor. On guard. It had noticed that Depor was making us uncomfortable.
“What is that? A new pet?”
Depor bent down to look at the snake. The snake’s head began moving even faster.
“No. It belongs to Senior.”
“Irix—”
“Be quiet. It does belong to Senior.”
The snake continued swaying its head, measuring the distance for a bite. Even though he clearly knew what would happen if the snake bit someone, Irix didn’t warn it to stop.
“I once saw a snake less colorful than this sell for a full ten thousand calans. This one must be worth at least twenty.”
No. It’s a free snake.
“What species is it, young master? As the academy’s top student who’s always buried in books, you must be well-versed in snakes as well.”
“Venomous snake.”
“Venomous snake?”
“I wasn’t talking to you. Venomous snake—bite.”
The snake opened its mouth, and I grabbed its wings and yanked it back. It snapped at empty air.
“From now on, you’re not allowed to call it ‘venomous snake.’”
“Why? That’s what it is.”
“If you keep calling it that, it’ll think that’s its name.”
“Why do you even care when you’re not the one raising it? And you call it ‘snake’ too. If you don’t like me calling it venomous snake, then give it a proper name.”
Unbelievable.
The future mastermind—I mean, the future mass murderer—was scolding me right now for being cold toward a snake.
“I think you’re being cruel. If you’ve been together that long, you should at least give it a name.”
“….”
At this very moment, the future villain, the mass slaughterer, was criticizing me for lacking affection.
Just how does this guy end up becoming a mastermind?
Someone who feels hurt on a snake’s behalf because it doesn’t have a name is supposed to go on to calmly torment and kill countless people?
I was convinced.
It was a case of mistaken identity.
There must be two Berkhardt ducal families, both with sons named Irix. I needed to find the other one.
Once Irix explained it to me, Depor’s profile became clear quickly.
Depor Mahik, a second lieutenant of the Red Camellia Unit.
As expected, he was a member of a corps that had long received the support of Duke Berkhardt.
He was a military cadet from the same school as Irix and did have noble blood—though it had been diluted to the point of being little more than water, passed down through the third son of the fourth son of the second son.
Anerica was a graduate of a fairly prestigious regional magic academy. Since she was from a different school, this was her first time meeting Irix, and she wasn’t particularly close to Depor either.
And lastly—Meimon.
There was no need to explain him. I already knew.
He was a graduate of the Special Combat Techniques Division at the same school as Irix.
That division was a sub-department beneath the military cadets, meant for students with supernatural abilities.
They entered through special admissions and graduated through a different curriculum from regular students.
The program was shorter—four years instead of longer—and the number of subjects and required credits was lower.
Meimon had even graduated early in just three years. Despite being an alumnus, he was the same age as Irix—seventeen. He looked so young that I’d believe it if someone told me he was fourteen. Knowing his fate, my chest ached with pity.
“But young master, are you really staying with your friend despite knowing what’s happening here?”
“No. I don’t know anything.”
Irix replied casually.
“You truly don’t know?”
“Yeah. I don’t.”
No—you know.
You know better than anyone here.
“There are members of the Church on this train who are aware that you are aboard, young master.”
“Oh dear. And?”
Irix was still indifferent.
“They will come here soon.”
“Aren’t they busy? It looked like there were plenty of cultists to arrest.”
“Even so, there will be those who can spare the time. People who want to line their pockets while the other officers handle the arrests.”
“Oh dear. What a shame.”
Depor clenched his jaw, then continued.
“Which is why you should send your senior away. We cannot afford to worry about your companions as well.”
“I don’t want to.”
“If your friend gets hurt, the responsibility will fall on you.”
“Sure. My responsibility. That’s why, if Senior is in danger, I’ll step in.”
What did he mean by that?
Still, one thing was clear—I wasn’t part of the corps. If I were, Depor would have recognized me.
But then…
Why was Irix talking like that?
When we first met, he’d accused me of being from the corps.
Now he was speaking as if I were truly just an ordinary school friend, not part of the military at all.
Neither he nor Depor found it strange that we didn’t recognize each other, nor did they seem particularly curious about why.
Wait—did Irix know from the beginning that I wasn’t part of the corps?
I looked at Irix suspiciously.
Depor snickered.
“Don’t overdo it. A weakling who’s done nothing but study. With that scrawny body, you’d be lucky to catch a rabbit.”
Weakling?
To me, Irix was tall and well-built.
If you didn’t know he was a general student, anyone would assume he was a military cadet.
And it wasn’t just appearances. Later, during his life as a mastermind, he was quite good in close combat. His swordsmanship was solid, and his marksmanship was exceptional.
Was he hiding all that?
Irix smiled gently.
“Yeah, that’s right. I’m very weak. Extremely weak.”
Yes—those are the words of a future mastermind.
“But I do have loyalty.”
This, too, is something the future mastermind is saying… wait, loyalty?
Since when did we build that kind of bond?
When exactly did we become people bound by loyalty?
