At 8 PM, Leo headed to the school infirmary to find Elias, who hadn't shown up in class all day.
He already knew the room number from the note Elias had tied to a bird's leg.
After getting permission from the front desk to enter, Leo opened the door at the end of the hallway.
Creak—
"Long time no see, Leo."
A relaxed greeting met him as soon as the door opened.
Elias, leaning back on the bed, raised the wine glass he'd been holding to his lips in a slight salute.
Leo looked down at him and let out a small sigh.
"Why did you do it?"
"Which part? The broken leg? Or the first-year?"
"I want to ask about both, but the latter first."
"Would you have just stood there if you'd heard what I heard?"
"...You would have listened and then reported it to the professor."
"Ah, so like you. Feels like home. Sadly, I'm not that much of a saint."
Elias grinned and took a sip of wine.
"More importantly, scolding me right away? We haven't seen each other in months, you should be happy to see me!"
"I am happy. You've been sending letters every other day, so I felt like you were right beside me all along."
Even at Leo's sarcastic reply, Elias just chuckled. Leo nudged an empty wine crate on the floor with the tip of his shoe.
"And this alcohol is?"
"Call it 7% water. I can't possibly call this wine."
"Ugh..."
"Want a glass? It's the same strength as the aperitif from the cafeteria, so it's fine."
"I have a lot to do. You drink up."
Elias flicked his finger as if to say 'good point' and took another swig of wine.
Leo shook his head and sat in the chair beside the bed.
"Any disciplinary action?"
"None. Can't you tell by me being here? I threw a bit of a fit, saying I was too traumatized and needed to be hospitalized. They let me go without a fuss."
"That's not true."
At Leo's simple statement, Elias closed his mouth.
"Quick on the uptake. But it's true I didn't get disciplined. What I heard was just at the usual level. I came here thinking I'd get some magical medical treatment."
"At least it's good you weren't disciplined. How long until you recover?"
"It's at a level where I might never use it properly again, so even with magical medicine, it'll take over two months. If the caster had been someone like Wittelsbach, it might be different."
"...When did you get hurt...?"
Elias took a gulp of wine and pointed his chin at Leo.
"The day you went to Mephin without me, with your Royal Army mage. Does saying that make you feel a little guilty and want to stick with me from now on?"
Leo frowned and pressed his lips together tightly.
As Elias giggled and poured more wine, Leo asked.
"Don't lie. Answer me seriously."
"It's true. I went to a restricted zone yesterday. A high-level one."
"..."
Leo made an expression as if looking at a hopeless case.
Elias, who had been half-lying down, pointed his wine glass like a spear and sat up.
"Hey, don't you trust my skills~? My evaluation scores might be worse than yours, but my magical power is way better!"
"Then why did you come back injured?! Make some sense!"
"There was a contaminated boar there. It was incredibly fast too. I fell while trying to dodge it."
"A wild boar, you mean."
"I know."
Leo grabbed his forehead, made an expression like he was carving the character for 'patience', stood up, and turned his back.
Then he let out a deep sigh and sat back down.
"Why didn't you use magic on the boar?"
"I was intoxicated by the contaminated air. I was pretty drowsy."
"You managed to use it just fine when you fell."
"I had to survive. Still, breaking one leg to save my life is a pretty cheap price."
Leo looked at Elias's left leg and the crutches beside the bed, closed his mouth as if troubled, then bowed his head and spoke in a sighing voice.
"Yeah, it's still good you came back alive."
"Wow, speaking your mind for once."
Elias grinned.
"You know this makes me want to take it back, right? Anyway, why didn't you use magical medicine sooner and only come now?"
"No money."
"What do you mean a member of the Imperial Family has no money? Are you joking?!"
Leo, holding his increasingly throbbing forehead, continued.
"I'll contact Mother. She was asking when you'd come anyway."
"Nice. She must be busy, so schedule it for a month later."
"With your injury, she could make time whenever?"
Elias shook his head.
"No, there are children who need to see me in this state. So, how helpful was the mage you hired that you left me for him?"
"Helpful... well, I never really thought about it that way. That mage was the one who suggested going."
"What?"
"He said we should go."
"...You're the type to go just because someone else says let's go?"
Elias asked, his voice filled with disbelief.
Leo, in turn looking bewildered, shrugged his shoulders.
"What do you take me for? Anyway, since we're on the topic, I should get going now."
"Leaving already? Stay and play a bit longer."
At that, Leo shook his head.
"No, you have to go too. Can you warp in that condition?"
* * *
"Impressive. A strategy meeting room?"
"Correct."
"Wow."
Elias, who had warped to the meeting place, let out a low whistle as he scanned the numerous maps and memos pinned to the walls. He was still holding a glass filled to the brim with wine.
"Good analysis. Looks better than the Imperial data."
Then he turned to look at me, tilting his head.
"And... Lucas, right? Hello."
"Hello. We met this morning."
"Right. Thanks to you, I wasn't late today. Appreciate it."
Elias, seated with Leo's support, counted the large table and its accompanying chairs as he spoke.
"Seems like a lot of people? Underground, with magical locks, and looking at all that analysis material, it seems like a secret meeting. Are you letting me join~?"
This way of speaking is just Elias's style; it doesn't mean he'll readily join just because he's invited.
Even if he says that, he won't come over until he weighs the pros and cons, until his heart moves.
I smiled softly.
"I'm asking you to. How much did Leo tell you?"
"Up to the point that you two have become shockingly, rapidly, intimately close."
Before I could even reply, Leo screwed up his eyes as if he couldn't understand at all.
"When did I ever say that? I said after class we train together and run a group that studies Pleroma in the early mornings. Be precise."
"You don't have many people you seriously take on as training partners."
Leo waved his hand dismissively with a resigned face.
"Lucas, just let it go. You'll get used to understanding what he's saying."
"No, it's fine. I like his way of speaking."
I liked it, which is why I kept reading until the later parts.
It was a rather long story, as it contained nearly ten years' worth of content without major omissions.
Anyway, now is not the time to reminisce about that.
"No need for long explanations, I suppose. I'll get straight to the point. As you heard, this is a secret group to eliminate Pleroma. And, I want you to join us here."
"Hmm~?"
Elias uncrossed his legs and tilted his head to the side.
"That's a bit surprising. A Pleroma saying it will handle Pleroma."
"I'm the one who's surprised. Do you seriously think I'm a Pleroma?"
Elias smiled crookedly and answered.
"No."
He gestured towards Leo with his chin and continued.
"Honestly, it doesn't make logical sense, but you're Leo's friend. Leo doesn't keep just anyone by his side."
"Simple and clear."
"That's how much Leo is a trustworthy friend. You've spent time with him, so you know. Part of me wants to offer you some Sangue e Dolce right now... but let's hold back the curiosity for a bit."
Leo clicked his tongue with a look of utter disbelief.
And rightfully so. The food Elias mentioned is a pudding made of blood.
Leo probably thought it was rude, but I laughed first at the very in-character answer I'd seen throughout the novel.
Elias seemed to be trying to comprehend the situation on his own, lost in thought as he gazed into the distance.
"If it's certain you're not a Pleroma, then how did such rumors start? Ah, this is fun. Shall we deduce? The start is obviously those famous incidents you caused as a child."
He rested his chin on his hand and tapped his temple.
"Let's set aside their truth. None of them were ever properly investigated. Ah, I should rephrase the question. More precisely, what strengthened the claim that you are a Pleroma? You have the shining name of Ascanian, and the power to suppress scandals and manipulate public opinion, so how did things escalate to this point?"
Sharp. Very protagonist-like.
Facing this side of him, which I'd only read about in the novel, felt refreshingly new.
He immediately held up two fingers.
"I have two hypotheses."
"I said you two were similar."
Leo tossed out the comment without even looking my way.
Before coming here, I stopped by the training ground briefly to ask Leo to bring Elias, and I definitely heard then that Elias was the one who sent that letter.
At those words, Elias clapped his hands.
"What, similar to me even? I'm starting to get an idea of your taste in friends, Leo."
"Nothing like that. Just tell me what you're thinking."
"Impatient. Either the rumors spiraled uncontrollably out of control due to the incidents from your childhood combined with an 'utterly unapproachable demeanor,' or Adrian Ascanian and his supporters actively pushed those rumors."
Leo's lips parted as if he was about to let out a hollow laugh any second. I felt the same.
He doesn't even have insight abilities, and he hits the answer this simply?
Leo asked quietly.
"Why do you think that?"
"There's a guy in class who supposedly killed someone without knowing it as a kid. Even if he were actively image-making and explaining the incidents, it wouldn't be enough, yet he goes around with a dark face looking like death? Ah, that's it."
Leo was asking about the latter reason, but Elias, having no way of knowing the truth, explained the former reason.
Anyway, he phrased it rather mildly.
Given Elias's personality, it wouldn't be strange for him to say, 'Walking around with that kind of look, did you think strange rumors wouldn't start in your opinion?'
Of course, it's the personality from when he was attacked by the villain... but having read that personality so deeply in the novel, his current ordinary speech and actions felt oddly unfamiliar.
"Of course, you're unrecognizably different now. If not for the rumors, you probably could have lived like your older brother. You look alike too... though your attitude is unexpectedly more high-handed and sharp on your side, but that much would be settled with just the Ascanian name."
"And the reason for the second claim?"
At my words, Elias smiled at the corner of his mouth, slowly got up, and clasped his hands together.
"That one must be the correct answer, I see."
"..."
There was no need to ask why he thought so.
He's the type to seize even the smallest clue from his opponent to lead to victory, so this time too he must have discerned that fact from my tone or the type of question.
Actually, we haven't known each other long, so he has no way of knowing my personality in such detail. Rather than asking for the reason behind a much earlier statement, it's more common to resolve questions about personality right away.
"Because that's my situation. You know, you see what you want to see, everyone inevitably views the world based on their own life. Primarily, that is. So... I could guess because I'm the same kind of person as you."
Elias took a gulp of wine and grinned.
"Is that why they always say to watch your mouth? In the end, trying to figure out your situation led to my own being exposed. You're Leo's friend too, so it's fine, I guess. Lucas, do you know much about the Emperor?"
"Well."
"He's my uncle."
I nodded silently.
"You probably wanted to ask how I figured out your situation? Wrong question. 'How did you come up with such shameless, impious ideas?' would be more fitting. To answer, it's just that what I learned from my uncle was exactly that. My uncle's love for his nephew is terrifying.
Beneath the relaxed sneer, a sharp edge seeped into the end of his tone. Elias, still wearing a smile on the surface, continued as if it were nothing.
"Literally, terrifying to death."
—-----------
T/N:
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