Ch. 4: Chapter 4 - The Noise Isn't Always Bad
“Master.”
“Hm?”
Kazuki stood near the desk, holding a picture book. He pointed at an illustration of a small child going to school, his expression looking puzzled.
“Why don’t you go to school?”
“Well… I have a lot to take care of. Even though time keeps repeating, it’s still better to record important events so the future can be more organized.”
“Just give me the list. Like that fat man’s corruption case.”
Yuma smiled faintly.
“Hm… And you dragged him out of his house by the hair.”
“It was his own fault for ignoring the Empire’s summons. Four times.”
“You would have caused a mess if Rue hadn’t brought that evidence to court.”
Kazuki frowned.
“I could have—”
“Don’t you want to become human?”
“…”
Yuma smiled.
“Follow the rules of humans.”
“… Yes.”
Kazuki watched as Yuma returned to examining the documents. His gaze then shifted back to the picture book in his hands.
“Do you have any friends, Master?”
“No.”
“Have you never gone to school before?”
“My body was very weak when I was young. And when I became strong enough…”
Yuma fell silent for a moment, then smiled at Kazuki.
“That’s how it was.”
Kazuki sat down on the nearest sofa and stared listlessly at the ceiling.
“After everything is over, I want to see you have friends and laugh at school.”
“School?”
“Yes. When I was investigating the neighboring countries, I saw some children. And they… Seemed happy.”
“… Hm.”
“You’ve been laughing less lately.”
“…”
“Don’t cry.”
“…”
“We’ll find whoever is behind all this and put an end to everything.”
“…”
“And you can stop swallowing that death power.”
“…”
“I don’t want to keep seeing you in pain.”
Yuma only smiled faintly.
“How is the report from the Altair Kingdom?”
Kazuki let out a small sigh. He knew it was a diversion.
“There’s been no major movement. The country itself seems empty. But about three kilometers past its border, there are two villages close to each other. I detected a dark aura there several times.”
“We’ll check tomorrow.”
“In this timeline… You haven’t swallowed it yet, have you?”
Yuma looked toward the window.
“My brother is fine this time.”
His smile softened.
“I’m glad.”
Before that genuine smile could fully form, an urgent knock sounded. The door was pushed open.
A dark-blue-haired man entered with a pale face.
“Suicide—”
Yuma woke with one hand clutching his stomach.
His face was pale. His expression remained blank as he remembered the dream.
… Back then, I stabbed myself in the stomach when no one was looking.
Only his death could make the cycle begin again.
When he returned to the beginning, his body was already back to normal.
But Kazuki always panicked.
He would tightly cover Yuma’s stomach, as if he could still see a wound that was already gone.
No matter how many times it happened, Kazuki was always terrified, to the point of tears.
While he…
Felt nothing.
But I’m fine…
… Right?
Yuma himself no longer knew.
Maybe he was simply too tired to feel anything.
Or maybe…
He had already become a monster without emotions.
Without realizing it, Yuma’s gaze drifted toward the vase on the table.
His eyes remained empty. Too empty to reveal what was going through his mind.
Until suddenly, a pale hand was placed against his forehead.
“Does it hurt?”
Yuma blinked slowly as his eyes caught sight of his exhausted cousin’s face.
“… Brother.”
“Thirsty?”
“Hmm…”
“Here.”
Rue helped Yuma sit up, then took a glass of warm water from the pitcher beside the bed.
“How many days?”
“Eight days.”
“…”
“Don’t worry. My father has been handling the important matters. As for the reports and the aftermath of the attack, the reconnaissance team has already taken care of them.”
“Were there any casualties?”
“District 8 lost four people, and District 3 lost seven. The rest suffered injuries ranging from minor to severe, for a total of thirty-nine wounded.”
Yuma tightened his grip on the glass slightly.
“Give the bereaved families proper compensation. Hold their funerals with full honors.”
“Lavis is leading the funerals. He should be back sometime soon.”
Silence.
“Next time…” Yuma looked at Rue. “Tell me immediately if something like this happens.”
“A war without casualties is impossible, Yu.” Rue looked at him seriously. “If you keep doing everything for them, the soldiers will never grow. And one more thing—”
He lightly tapped Yuma’s forehead.
“Children are supposed to play.”
“… I’m not a child.”
“You always act as if you’ll fall apart if you stop moving. Try to rest, Yu. There are plenty of adults around you. It’s not your time to choke yourself with work.”
Yuma lowered his eyes calmly.
If I stop… My chest feels tight.
Tightening his grip on the glass, Yuma looked at the spoon that appeared in front of him.
“Come on. Eat first?”
“I can do it myself.”
“I used to feed you when we were little, while everyone else was still busy.”
“Hm… Brother Rue always wanted to trade me for Uncle.”
“Trade-in. I’d even give you all my pocket money.”
Yuma let out a small laugh.
Back then, it felt comfortable. Brother Rue and my brother—
“…”
The realization made Yuma want to press against his chest again.
Tight.
Yet he felt as though he wouldn’t be able to cry, even if he wanted to.
The porridge in the bowl was eventually finished without a single bite left.
Rue rang the small silver bell beside the bed.
Ring.
Not long after, a soft knock came from the door.
“Excuse me.”
A servant entered with his head bowed and quickly cleared away the dirty dishes.
Meanwhile, Rue walked over to the desk across the room and picked up the stack of documents he had left there earlier.
Rustle… Rustle…
The sound of turning pages filled the room, which had fallen silent again.
Rue stared at the final page. His mind returned to the large laboratory they had discovered a week ago.
Just like seven years ago, there had been many civilians used as test subjects there. The blood of Death Gods had been implanted into human bodies to create new entities.
The Shadow that attacked them the other day had merely been a failed product. The summoner… Was one of the successful ones.
Unfortunately, the place had already been abandoned by the time their team arrived. All that remained were vague clues suggesting that four small kingdoms might be working together with the Death Gods.
Rue frowned.
The massacre of civilians in the Kingdom of Dwira deserved to be investigated again.
Several small kingdoms had no cooperation with us. So there was a good chance we would never know if civilians with powerful soul abilities had been captured and used as test subjects.
After all, it was impossible for the upper-ranking nobles not to notice a decrease in the number of their people.
That statement alone was suspicious. And if they really were involved, then…
Rue slipped the final document beneath his coat, then took another file from the desk.
Yuma needs to rest.
The amount of power he had released was far too great. The Professor had even said that Yuma’s organs had failed several times while he was unconscious.
No matter what it took, Rue had to make him rest completely.
He returned to the bedside and held the file out to Yuma, who still had his eyes closed.
“Yu.”
“Hm?”
“This is a summary of the reports up to today.”
Yuma accepted the file and read it carefully.
Based on the traces of power they had found, the Reconnaissance Corps had managed to locate a large laboratory where experiments had taken place.
By the time they arrived, the building was already empty. However, they had still managed to obtain some information from the site.
One of them indicated that the people behind the experiments were searching for individuals with powerful soul abilities.
And one of the places where many such individuals gathered was—
“A school?”
“Yes.”
Rue tapped the document in Yuma’s hands with a serious expression.
“A school.”
He continued after seeing that Yuma was still focused on the report.
“A place where many individuals with powerful soul abilities gather. There are accomplished teachers, noble children, and students from other kingdoms.”
Yuma remained silent.
“We already know that contamination is more easily accepted when someone willingly receives the power of a Death God without being forced. And the easiest people to influence are children who have only just begun to discover their powers.”
Yuma looked down at the document in his hands.
“Richard also reported two cases involving missing children who have since been found. One of them was confirmed to have become a Death God a month ago.”
Rue tapped the document once more.
“So the school should be investigated.”
Yuma looked at Rue intently.
“Why are you so excited?”
“Ahem.”
Rue immediately put his serious expression back on, as if nothing had happened.
“You’re imagining things. I’m just glad we have a lead.”
“But there must be something else besides the school, right?”
“Yes. Several kingdoms are suspected of selling their own people. Like the Kingdom of Dominic. Its king suddenly became capable of paying off his debts and seized a gold mine that had previously been disputed.”
“Be careful when investigating. A small mistake could trigger a war.”
“I know. But the school is more urgent.”
“Hm?”
“Student registration will open soon. This is the perfect time if we want to send someone undercover.”
“True. We have to choose the members.”
Yuma gave a slight nod.
“Most of our members have already graduated and are well known to the public, making it difficult for them to disguise themselves. The others are already too old to be students.”
Rue paused for a moment.
“They’d be more suited to becoming teachers.”
He suddenly remembered Lavis, who had insisted on disguising himself as a teacher two days ago.
The thought of that lunatic teaching innocent children his fighting habits made Rue want to kick him.
“Are there any noble children enrolling this year?”
“Hm? Ah, there are.”
Rue shook his head.
“But I don’t recommend them. No matter how calm they are, they’re still children who haven’t seen the world. It’s too risky to entrust them with a mission like this.”
Yuma rubbed his temple tiredly.
“If we send our members openly, they’ll hide again. But it’s too risky not to investigate if there really is something going on there.”
“That’s true.”
“It’s difficult…”
“Not really.”
“Hm?”
Rue smiled faintly.
“We have a candidate.”
His gaze fell directly on Yuma.
Someone who rarely appeared before the public. Someone of the right age. Someone trustworthy. And strong enough to carry out the mission.
Yuma looked at him calmly, though his headache was beginning to throb.
Uncle and Brother Rue have always wanted me to go to school. I have a feeling this is just one of their schemes.
It was.
And of course, Rue would never admit it.
“There’s still a lot of palace business that needs to be handled.”
“My father can take over temporarily. And I—”
Rue took a long breath, as though he were about to sacrifice something incredibly precious.
“—I’ll handle the Archduke’s affairs.”
“Don’t you hate being the heir?”
“Heir to what? It’s only temporary. If Father dares to make me Archduke and retire early, I swear I’ll wear underwear and dance around the capital carrying a sign that says ‘Archduke’s Heir.’”
“…”
Yuma sighed.
He had no idea why that father and son were always trying to sell each other off.
The Archduke was always offering his son to neighboring kingdoms for free, while the Young Archduke was always hoping some widow would take his father far away.
Hard to understand…
“So, do you agree?”
“I’ll think about it.”
“Good. That means you agree.”
“… I just said I’d think about it.”
“I’ll handle your registration papers anyway.”
Yuma simply stared at him.
“You’ve never shown your face to the public before. And because of your condition, only a few nobles know what you look like.”
Rue nodded to himself.
“Oh, what a perfect candidate.”
Rue looked toward the window with an excited expression, ignoring his cousin’s calm stare.
“Hmm… What identity would suit you? A noble would attract too much attention. We could make you the son of a wealthy merchant.”
“An ordinary person would be easier.”
“No.”
Rue turned and looked at Yuma seriously.
“It’s unacceptable for you to be an ordinary person. What about food and other necessities? You’re still a prince, Yuma.”
“Hmm…”
“Good. It’s decided.”
“Then which class do you want to enter? The noble class has a more advanced curriculum, while the ordinary class teaches from the basics.”
“The ordinary class. It’ll be easier to move around if I’m an ordinary person.”
Rue nodded reluctantly.
“Your specialization… Hm. A sword or bow would be too distinctive. Your healing is too versatile, and your Soother ability would also stand out too much.”
“Guardian?”
“Yes.”
“Okay.”
Rue nodded in satisfaction.
“This will require serious preparation. I’ll contact Richard first.”
“This is really just something you want, isn’t it?”
“Ahem. For the security of the Empire.”
Rue stood and walked toward the door. His hand was already on the doorknob when he turned back.
“I’ll call the Professor. Don’t get out of bed yet.”
“Hm.”
Rue nodded in satisfaction, then left with steps that were almost… Light.
As if he had just received a great gift.
The room fell silent again.
But less than fifteen minutes later, the door suddenly slammed open.
“Your Highnesssssssssssss!!!”
“Yuyu! Commander! Prince Ark! Whatever you want to call me—I’m back!”
Lavis entered wearing black mourning clothes, still as loud and energetic as ever.
Behind him, a small figure followed, breathing heavily.
Yuma rubbed his forehead again.
Ah… This is going to be noisy.