<h4>Chapter 250</h4>


    <i>‘Meet Oscar de Gradias alone...</i>


    <i>‘Let’s think about the conclusion first.’</i>


    If this advice led to both good and bad results, then meeting Oscar was both the right answer and a risk I had to take.


    It seemed inevitable that he would have some connection to the assassin.


    During the disciplinarymittee hearing, that guy had looked more amused than startled by Lilka Aaron’s whistleblowing. He had noted that both me and Lilka might face assassination threats or even actually die.


    Was Oscar the one who had directly orchestrated the assassination?


    I didn’t think so.


    Was he a character connected to the mastermind behind the assassination?


    There was a high probability that he was.


    Did Oscar know at the time of the disciplinarymittee hearing that the Orbis ss would be shut down?


    That was unknown.


    However, it seemed clear that to resolve this situation, I had to meet Oscar.


    We had never been on good terms, and if we were to meet again, it would not be for a pleasant conversation. Yet, to resolve this assassination threat somehow, I had to meet him.


    Objectively, he was much stronger than I was. If he came at me with all he had, he could kill me with his bare hands.


    Even without experiencing it firsthand, I could see the risks inherent in following this advice.


    The Clear Scribe’s Advice had even added the condition that I had to meet him alone.


    It meant that if I brought Ellen, Riana, or anyone else, I wouldn’t be able to have a proper conversation with Oscar.


    If this advice only resulted in a bad oue, it meant I would die the moment I faced Oscar.


    This advice from the scribe was more a test of courage than anything else.


    It was telling me to walk into what could possibly be my doom because I couldn’t tell how Oscar would respond.


    I had no choice but to consider the ambiguous advice.


    The closure of the Orbis ss...


    I had to find out the real reason behind it.


    ***


    It was the next day, and since I had gotten advice from Vertus once already, I sought out Charlotte this time.


    Charlotte would be exercising with Scarlett in the early morning.


    There would be some spare time after that, so I went looking for Scarlett in a park in the Temple.


    “Oh, hello Reinhart,” Scarlett said formally as she saw me and bowed her head slightly.


    “Oh, hey. Where’s Charlotte?”


    I wasn’t particrly close to Scarlett even though we went to the same Swordsmanship sses, but I had gotten somewhat used to her politenguage.


    Strangely, though, Charlotte wasn’t by Scarlett’s side.


    <i>‘Didn’t they always exercise together in the early morning? I thought I saw them asionally, if not always.’</i>


    “Oh. Her Highness... She isn’t here.”


    “Really? Did she give up?”


    Even though her stamina was poor, she seemed to be trying hard. Then again, it didn’t seem like she was improving at all. It was clear Charlotte had an intrinsic weakness concerning her stamina, and not dealing with anything rted to the aftermath of her imprisonment within the Demon King’s Castle.


    “No. She’s been staying at the imperial castle andmuting over for sses, so she can’t join me for early morning workouts anymore.”


    Commuting from the imperial castle? This was news to me. It had been a while since I’dst seen Charlotte at the dormitory, though it was rare for us to run into each other in the dorms because we were in different sses.


    “Why this all of a sudden?”


    “It’s only been a few days. She has a lot of matters to handle...”


    “Hmm... I see. That makes sense.”


    Both Vertus and Charlotte oftenmuted from the imperial castle instead of staying at the dorm when royal matters arose. Given the massive implications of the Orbis ss closure, this wasn’t particrly strange.


    Charlotte was still at the imperial castle, but thankfully, we hadmon sses that day, so I could still speak with her after ss.


    It was Thursday, the day reserved formon sses, and Charlotte was attending a ss next to mine.


    After ss, I caught Charlotte as she was about to head out of the Temple instead of back to the dormitory.


    “Charlotte,” I called out.


    “Oh hey, Reinhart.”


    Charlotte stopped as I called out her name.


    However, she looked like she was in a hurry.


    Was she very busy? Even so, when I asked if she could spare a moment, Charlotte nodded and said it was no problem at all.


    “I don’t have time to sit for tea, but we can talk briefly.”


    Charlotte and I sat side by side on a nearby park bench.


    When I asked about the Orbis ss, Charlotte tilted her head.


    “You want to know the reason for the Orbis ss shutdown?”


    “Yeah.”


    “Why?”


    “Well, I didn’t think it woulde to a shutdown. I was wondering if there was another reason besides this recent incident.”


    Charlotte stared at me intently.


    “No. I see that look in your eyes. You’re trying to dig up something again, aren’t you?”


    The sorrow of the boy who cried wolf...


    Even though I was connected to this issue, she seemed adamant that she wasn’t going to tell me anything.


    “Just stay quietly in the dormitory. You know it’s a dangerous time to go about causing trouble, right?”


    Charlotte was saying the same thing as Vertus.


    Those two, if you looked closely, were incredibly simr, despite pretending otherwise. Sometimes I even wondered if they might be twins.


    Of course, they were actually half-siblings.


    “It’s nothing major. I’m just really curious. After all, I’m involved in this, too.”


    “Hmm...”


    Charlotte looked at me quietly and then crossed her arms as if conceding that maybe I had a point.


    “It’s notplicated. It’s because they overstepped their bounds.”


    “Overstepped their bounds?”


    “Arge number of the teachers submitted resignations. Many senior students also submitted withdrawal letters. They ran away from the Temple before any punishments could be handed down. More than half of the teachers and students are gone.”


    “That sounds like a protest.”


    “Correct,” Charlotte said with a faint smile. “It was a collective action to demonstrate that, if meddled with, the Orbis ss mightpletely copse. It was as if they wanted the Temple to say, ‘We’ll pretend it didn’t happen, so pleasee back.’”


    “...”


    The senior students and teachers of the Orbis ss, driven to the extreme, had acted collectively, threatening to cause the whole Orbis ss to copse beyond repair if further action was taken. It had to have been a bluff.


    Charlotte’s gaze was icy cold. “It was basically a challenge to the imperial family.”


    “...”


    “How dare they demonstrate such insolence against the empire, after receiving support, food, lodging, and education from the empire?”


    Apparently, the collective action of the Orbis ss staff and seniors had offended not just the Temple authorities but the imperial family as well.


    “That’s why the decision was made to shut them down entirely. Because they were insolent. The Orbis ss is now gone. It won’t exist in the future either.”


    A cornered rat had bitten the cat, but the cat tore the rat apart.


    They had gambled the existence of the entire Orbis ss to try to make a deal, and the imperial family had taken it as a challenge.


    Thus, the Orbis ss had been obliterated by imperial decree.


    Had their desperation led them to act irrationally? The Orbis ss had messed with the wrong entity.


    “However, they won’t be punished for the act itself because it didn’t constitute a crime. But there will be no leniency for the many acts of coercion or violence that urred within the Orbis ss that coulde to light in the future.”


    Indeed, if you don’t want to work, quit, and if you don’t want to learn, leave.


    The eradication of the Orbis ss was ultimately a result of them fighting an unwinnable battle.


    Originally, the Temple hadn’t considered shutting them down, but they had crossed the line with the imperial family, which triggered this extreme measure.


    I now knew why the Orbis ss was shut down.


    But, so what? How did this rte to uncovering the mastermind behind the assassination?


    <i>p!</i>


    Just then, Charlotte suddenly pped me on the back.


    “Ouch!”


    “You, you’re making that face again. You’re thinking of stirring up some trouble, huh?”


    “No! I didn’t even say anything.”


    “When I see you thinking so hard, it means you’re nning something. It’s obvious. I told you to stay quietly in the Temple. Better yet, don’t even leave the dormitory.”


    “B-But, I still need to attend sses!”


    “Who asked you not to go to ss? I mean don’t wander around weird ces outside of ss! You understand me perfectly, but you’re just nitpicking! Ugh<i>.</i>”


    Despite saying she was short on time, Charlotte held onto me andunched into what was nearly a full-fledged nagging speech.


    Getting nagged at by a princess... In its own way, wasn’t that a unique position to be in?


    I stared at her with that thought in my head, which could possibly earn me another p if she knew about it, as she continued her tirade.


    After firing off a long string of words, Charlotte sighed deeply.


    “Reinhart.”


    “... I feel like I’ve already been scolded enough. Is there more?”


    Her expression was subtly different from the one she’d shown while nagging at me.


    “Don’t cause trouble,” she said. “I’m telling you this because I genuinely care. Now, and always.”


    Charlotte somehow looked sad.


    Did she have some other issue, aside from whatever was keeping her so busy?


    “Got it?” Charlotte asked, pressing for an answer.


    “... Got it.”


    “I’m leaving. Sorry, I’d like to talk more, but I’m busy.”


    “... When will youe back to the dormitory?”


    In this life-and-death situation, my question was rather pathetic.


    “Hmm... If you don’t cause any trouble, I mighte back soon,” Charlotte said, narrowing her eyes.


    For some reason, I couldn’t take my eyes off Charlotte’s retreating figure for a long while as she delicately exited the campus.


    ***


    In the end, I couldn’t make heads or tails of the ambiguous advice from the scribe. What kind of conclusion could I deduce from knowing that the Orbis ss had been dismantled because they had challenged the imperial family?


    This wasn’t a democracy; the imperial family was the ruler of everything under the empire. It was impossible for anyone to seed after throwing a tantrum at the imperial family, especially within the Temple, which operated under royal patronage.


    That left me with only the clear advice to follow.


    I had to meet Oscar alone.


    No matter how I thought about it, though, that course of action was too dangerous. Meeting Oscar could offer me a clue, but it could just as likely lead to disaster.


    The risk was too high. Even if I used the Protection Bracelet and the me of Fire to counter him, could I truly win in a real fight against Oscar, who could use Mana Reinforcement?


    Lilka Aaron’s issue was urgent. I couldn’t remain hidden any longer.


    I couldn’t stay cooped up in the Temple forever, but for the moment,I decided to wait for more information. There were still things I didn’t know.


    ***


    A few dayster, Sarkegar visited.


    “I’ve obtained a list of organizations involved in the assassination business, Your Highness.”


    To get information about the underworld, going through the Thieves’ Guild was the only way. Sarkegar wrote down the names of several organizations in my notebook. They were all names I had never heard of before.


    “Of course, this list isn’t exhaustive, and there are other hidden organizations as well. However, we’ve infiltrated all the organizations within the capital and confirmed that there are no orders targeting you, Your Highness.”


    I was dumbfounded by his words.


    There were five organizations within the capital that offered assassins-for-hire, and in that short time, Sarkegar had already infiltrated all of them and gathered the information.


    I hadn’t realized it until that moment, but just how capable was this guy?


    Well, he <i>had</i> managed to kidnap a princess from the imperial castle. Loyar and Eleris were exceptionally skilled, and so Sarkegar had to be outstanding in his field too.


    Still, the fact that there were five assassin organizations within the capital was chilling.


    “So that means none of these groups are involved in an assassination attempt against me. Is that it?”


    “Yes, Your Highness.”


    It seemed that the ones targeting me were not going through any organization, or some individual with a grudge was trying to strike me.


    I would have been grateful if the Preview had shown me a glimpse of the assassin’s face, but I was already very thankful to the candy vendor for saving me on the brink of death.


    The next step had to be mine to take.


    The contract killers and assassin organizations were clean.


    Ultimately, it seemed increasingly like I had no choice but to meet Oscar...


    It was dangerous to go alone, but what could I do...?


    “Your Highness, I shall take my leave now.”


    “Oh, sure. Good job.”


    Sarkegar transformed from his maid appearance into a sparrow, just as he had when entering.


    “Hey, wait, wait!” I shouted as I motioned toward Sarkegar, who was about to flutter away.


    <i>Cheep, cheep?</i>


    Sarkegar, in sparrow form, tilted his head as if to ask what was going on.


    “Come with me somewhere for a bit.”


    <i>Cheep!</i>


    Sarkegar could transform into non-human forms at will. So, it was possible to meet Oscar alone, but notpletely alone.


    The little sparrow expressed its joy, hopping about in tiny leaps. Was he that thrilled just because I needed him?


    No one couldpare to him in terms of loyalty. The mission didn’t matter at all.


    <i>‘Why’s he so loyal? I haven’t even done anything for him.’</i>


    I suddenly felt a bit sorry.