What Happens When The Second Male Lead Powers Up [EN]: Chapter 492

#492

Youth☆ Naval Academy (7)

Fortunately, the class proceeded normally.

-Step, step, step.

-Tap, tap, tap…

If you ask how such a thing was possible in that atmosphere, well.

I guess it was a fantastic collaboration created by the Elder’s experience and Ms. Gain’s improvisation.

All the students were greatly shocked by the answer ‘First love is dead,’ but the Elder seemed to be slowly recovering his energy.

Our protagonist was only briefly embarrassed and never broken.

Thus, when the lecture reached its midpoint, His Highness smiled and said this.

‘…My first love was as solid as the nuter [a type of hard, durable wood] here. And as beautiful as the spring in the south.’

‘Oooooh!’

The teenagers, who had been concentrating, widened their eyes at the memory that was like a poem.

A mysterious mercenary guild specializing in magical beasts, helping the school from out of town.

Everyone except me is the owner of overwhelming beauty.

Among them, the largest and most mysterious Elder.

The history of the continental war that he tells gives the illusion of watching a movie filmed with an IMAX camera at Yongsan IMAX [a large-screen movie theater in South Korea].

The song of clashing swords and the screams of muddy water under the hooves seemed to echo vividly in my ears.

To be honest, I was a little worried that it would proceed with imperial bias, but as expected, His Highness Stanislaus was worthy of being the royal secretary of a country.

He explained it in a fun way, balancing as much as possible based on known facts, so the students listened with sparkling eyes like grandchildren listening to old stories.

‘…Using one force to check another. In royal studies, it is said to be the basics of the basics.’

Wow, I feel like I’m watching a public broadcasting educational program.

‘Thus, His Holiness Irenaeus, who was the Pope at the time, actively protected and supported various minority groups in the desert and gained his own power. This was several steps ahead of the previous Popes. To avoid being swayed by high-ranking clergy from the Holy Nation or the Sneider family, you had to have your own solid foundation. Of course, his innate virtue and benevolent character should not be overlooked.’

-Rustle, rustle…

‘Fighting with your body is the same. Recklessly rushing in with a weapon is the action of a novice.’

‘Ah…’

‘When a magical beast crawls onto the ground, actively use the terrain. If necessary, you must drive away the magical beast by bringing in other beasts. If a magical beast soars into the sky, don’t panic and try to read the direction of the wind first. Controlling flying creatures is ultimately about understanding the flow of air. It is also a good strategy to lure these guys to migratory bird habitats using bait. Use birds to distract the enemy’s attention.’

-Rustle, rustle…

‘But the most important principle you must not forget is to trust each other at all times. Without wavering. Do you understand?’

‘Yes!’

And there, sweet and bitter MSG [Monosodium glutamate, a flavor enhancer] was added.

‘…Yes. That person was my last love.’

‘Uwaaaah…!’

At the deeply affectionate words, the jaws of the audience dropped so much that they felt numb.

Ms. Gain was now ready to warm up frozen dumplings with her breath.

‘Excuse me, did you date? Were you lovers?’

‘Who confessed first?’

‘I’m so curious, Elder Sam!’

The teenagers, with their cheeks flushed red, rushed to ask questions.

Just a few tens of minutes ago, they were all dozing off, but now everyone was raising their hands and asking questions, making me laugh.

His Highness smiled, carefully turning the old textbook.

‘I dated. We were lovers.’

‘…’

‘Because she was my partner.’

‘Heoooong!’

The students and I simultaneously exclaimed.

Empress Celine was His Highness’s first and last love. It’s so romantic!

My heart is pounding without any sense!

‘I confessed…. Actually, I had no confidence at all.’

‘Eoong! Why, why!’

‘Hehehe. There were many handsome men around her at the time. Whenever I met her, I was busy subjugating magical beasts, and we didn’t talk much while sparring. I was afraid she would be displeased if a big guy like me confessed his love. So, I confessed my bursting heart and planned to give up everything that day.’

‘Eoeoeo! No way! Absolutely not!’

The scene was now a blazing kiln [a metaphor for a place of intense heat and passion].

If you listened from the hallway, it felt like only our class’s voice was echoing.

Ms. Gain and I were also completely immersed.

His Highness, the grandfather, thinking of himself that way in his younger days—this was too, like, chewy [endearing or heartwarming].

I can’t express it exactly, but anyway, that’s it!

‘I was wondering what kind of flower to give as a gift, and I remembered that she had been looking at lilacs for a long time during a hunt. So, I went up the mountain early in the morning to pick lilacs. But it was so hard to find a tree in full bloom that day….’

The Elder’s eyes counted the distant time.

We used his gaze as a bookmark to peek at a page of memories.

‘After wandering for several hours, I completed a plausible bouquet and came down with scratches all over my body. Just as I saw her blonde hair in the distance, I realized. I didn’t have a single piece of gold on me. Other men brought her sparkling treasures every day….’

That day, His Highness said he really wanted to cry at his inadequacy.

He also said that he seemed to have shed a few tears. But Princess Celine….

‘But after hearing my heart, she smiled slightly and said.’

Gulp.

‘…Aren’t you too late, Prince? How can you make a lady wait this long?’

‘Euaaaaaaak!’

Thus, the classroom of Class 2-2 turned into a frenzy.

-Step, step, step

‘Really…. The more I think about it, the more amazing it is. It feels like it’s rotting [I’ve heard so much romance that I’m overwhelmed]. I’ve heard three years’ worth of romance.’

‘I know.’

Ms. Gain and I walked down the hallway, constantly talking about the Elder.

The school, where the lunch bell had rung, was as quiet as a lie.

Thinking that hundreds of students would be filling that large cafeteria, somehow old memories came to mind.

Our cheeks reflected in the window were flushed red.

I definitely felt like I had learned important history in a fulfilling way, but the notebook after finishing the fourth period was full of doodles twisted like Korean honey cookies [a type of traditional Korean sweet].

Ms. Gain, who had been putting her fist in her mouth, ended up carving a sentence like ‘Grandfather♡Grandmother’ on the edge of the wooden desk.

Because we respected anonymity too much, we couldn’t capture any of their characteristics, but anyway, the two of them left their traces side by side among the many lovers at the Naval Academy.

‘Hearing those stories makes me so curious about the love stories of Emperor Frederick and Prince Alexandre. It’s so frustrating.’

‘Hahaha.’

And now, we were heading to the school library.

Because all the guild members had decided to gather in one place to have lunch together.

There were also a few things to discuss before going to the cafeteria.

Tete was being taken care of by Sir Johann, whom we met at breakfast, and Grandfather had decided to stop by the faculty room before coming.

-Click

‘Excuse me….’

I didn’t know who would be inside, so I started with a quiet greeting.

We peeked our heads through the slightly open door and diligently looked around.

The facility was one story, and it was smaller than expected, so the name library was more suitable than library.

I heard that the librarian had already evacuated because she was a non-combat personnel.

And because it was lunchtime….

‘No one’s here. It’s very quiet.’

‘Yes. It looks like we came in first place.’

‘Shall we go in first?’ When I asked in a whisper, Ms. Gain smiled and nodded.

As soon as we took a step, a musty smell of books spread out from the space.

The sunlight that came in through the curtains crossed the floor like long silk threads.

I was a member of the library club for three years in high school, and I vaguely remembered that time, so a smile spread across my face.

It’s well organized here too. To be exact, it seems like students hardly ever come here.

‘Oh my, it looks like the students don’t read books very often. Look at the dust piled up in front of the bookshelves.’

‘It’s probably because they don’t have time. They’re always busy with training even in peacetime.’

‘Hmph.’

Ms. Gain nodded her head and disappeared between the bookshelves.

It was a look of having found a very interesting object.

So, we looked around the library separately for a while.

It was a place where you could clearly see that Baron Bareun had done his best as a lord.

Teaching children to read for free, training them in various martial arts, and dressing them in clothes with the school’s emblem stitched on them.

A person who took care of the learning center so much that he even provided all kinds of history books and novels….

‘What on earth was he persuaded by? Werner can’t have that much political power. He’s a human without mana or ether [magical energy].’

Thud, I stopped walking after muttering seriously.

‘…’

In one corner of the library, there was a huge portrait of Baron Bareun.

The woman in the picture looked to be in her late twenties.

I guessed it was a work expressing her appearance when she built the school.

Her young eyes were filled with composure and intelligence, and her developed cheekbones and jaw gave a sense of the unique rigidity of a harshly raised aristocrat.

Her tightly closed mouth looked firm and aloof.

Underneath the simple gown in the style of the Holy Nation, there were tunic and pants without any star decorations.

Finally, she held a short magic wand in her right hand.

I stared at the letters written in white paint at the bottom of the portrait.

‘Baron Averoner Bareun on the opening day of the Naval Academy.’

‘May the Lord protect the Baron.’

Seeing such words made me sigh on my own.

Haa. Is he really going to attack the neighboring territory?

‘…If you do wrong, you will lose all your precious lives. The school and the lord’s castle too.’

It was then.

-Clatter!

I flinched. I heard the sound of a book falling somewhere.

I blinked, turning to the direction where Ms. Gain would be.

If it were her, she would have told me ‘I dropped it!’ by now, but strangely, it was quiet.

Carefully moving my steps, I moved to the depths of the library.

Normally, I would never act alone like this, but knowing that our protagonist was somewhere, courage welled up.

Even the archbishop-level paladin didn’t feel any other presence while entering, so could there be anyone here?

‘Gain….’

-Whoooo….

I was speechless for a moment.

‘…’

She was sitting on a chair by the half-open window, asleep.

I was so engrossed in looking around the library that I didn’t realize how much time had passed.

Occasionally, a white curtain fluttered like a veil, stroking her fair cheeks, and her pink hair, resembling waves, sparkled like sunlit ripples.

The book that had fallen on the floor was swaying the bookshelves here and there, facing the cold wind.

Looking at that scene, the corners of my mouth naturally curled up.

‘…I’ll wake you up when the others come. Sleep more.’

‘…’

Saeak, saek. Her breathing was deep for a midday nap.

I silently leaned next to her and gently moved my hand.

Then, I carefully shielded the sunlight that tickled her eyes.

-Swish, swish!

‘Uh…?’

To be exact, I did so until I found ‘that lizard.’