What Happens When The Second Male Lead Powers Up [EN]: Chapter 487

#487

Youth☆ Naval Academy (2)

The brief, touching moment passed, and we all walked past the sign and into the side path.

The students—I had confirmed twice that none of them were underage, but it was still shocking—cautiously followed us, watching our every move.

-Tap, tap, tap······

“Wow.”

Beyond the blackened shrubs, tall, thin trees stood densely like gatekeepers.

I hadn’t seen much forest on the way up here, so it was amazing to see them gathered so thickly in this cold area.

Most of the trees were white with snow and had no leaves at all.

Occasionally, owl families sat huddled together on the branches, dozing.

Ropi, clinging to the Crown Prince’s shoulder, showed great curiosity.

I moved even more carefully, worried about waking them up.

-Crunch, crunch, crunch······

It was the entrance to the Naval Academy.

The short stretch of forest slowly opened its mouth like a theater curtain, revealing a tall building.

Whirr—! The salty scent of the sea blew in, stimulating my nose.

I stopped walking with Areum and widened my eyes.

Since no one except the lord was allowed to ride horses on the school grounds, everyone had dismounted and was walking.

“Gasp.”

But why is it like that over there······.

“As you can see, all support from the Lord’s Castle to the school has been cut off.”

Tess, a teacher at the Naval Academy, calmly stopped walking and explained.

I quickly exchanged glances with Gain and the Crown Prince.

What lay before us was a wide field, with a carriage missing a wheel and crookedly cut logs scattered haphazardly in the middle.

Dozens of students came out of the main building and busily chopped firewood, opening the back door of the carriage and peering inside.

There was nothing left, but they seemed to be checking just in case.

“Hmm······.”

The stone building with a gray-green roof was larger than expected, but it felt cramped to be described as ‘built with the lord’s private funds since his mother’s generation.’

It was closer in size to a large mansion than a school.

The shrubs around the field were littered with fallen evergreen leaves and branches.

In front of the stairs leading to the main building, there were also densely packed wooden barriers.

They looked clumsy, as if they had been hastily made. Francois muttered in a serious voice.

“······The situation seems quite bad. It’s not a typical school.”

In short, the Naval Academy looked like it wasn’t being managed at all.

It was like an abandoned training center.

Students carrying rusty spears from behind the building saw us and were overjoyed.

“Teacher Tess! They say there’s meat broth today! The inspection team caught a white sugar bear on the beach!”

“Hahaha, that’s lucky.”

His Majesty the Grandfather laughed heartily. I blinked blankly.

‘White sugar bear’? I haven’t seen that name even in the ······.

“Waaaaah! White sugar beeeaaar!”

“Meat! Meat! Meat!”

Flinch! The students behind us started shouting and jumping up and down.

Seeing them like that, I was reminded that they were still young.

‘The pork belly is mine!’ ‘Then the rind is mine!’ The ground seemed to shake every time the young people jumped.

The Crown Prince, who had never grown up in such a noisy environment, frowned.

I quickly showed him Tete and smiled.

It seemed that seeing a baby calmed him down.

I guess he’s a male lead for a romance fantasy for a reason.

“That’s good. White sugar bears need to be cooked for a long time, but I hope there’s enough firewood.”

Teacher Tess raised her voice and asked. Then the students excitedly replied.

“We’re about to chop more!”

“The teachers are skipping this afternoon’s class because of it! It’s a rare meat feast!”

“Aaaah! I love it!”

The greatly excited students bit their fists and tore at their hair.

It was completely different from how they had been trembling in fear of the paladins.

I laughed, thinking of Jeong Eun-seo, who went crazy for pork belly.

Tess glanced at her students, and the broad-shouldered friends quickly bowed to us and rushed to the field.

Gain giggled, saying, ‘Wow, it reminds me of my school days.’ Then the teacher adjusted her fur cloak and said.

“······The food situation is also precarious. The villagers who fled gave us various things, but the children are at an age when they eat a lot, so it’s running out quickly. It’s winter, so there are limits to hunting.”

Her eyes, looking at the students’ backs, were full of worry.

Sir Johan asked calmly.

“Why did the lord cut off support for the school?”

Then the teacher sighed deeply. It was a truly incomprehensible part.

In a situation where you never know when a mythical magical beast might strike, he abandoned the school he founded to fight against magical beasts.

“······He was swayed by the words of a certain noble and came to believe that war with the neighboring territory was more important than defeating magical beasts. An official letter has been issued stating that Naval Academy students must also participate in the Atsuma invasion.”

Her slender shoulders drooped even more. Oh my.

“‘Bozena,’ you mean?”

Then Tess’s eyes widened.

“Excuse me, but how did you know? Has the rumor already spread outside the territory?”

“We heard it from Yara. She said that a person named Bozena seduced the lord and made it impossible for him to make proper judgments. She’s unnecessarily inciting animosity with Atsuma.”

“······It’s all true.”

Not only Yara, but also the administrator from Barre who had fled to Yerihol Lord’s Castle said so.

Tess looked at us for a moment, then took out a small box from her pocket and opened it.

A crumpled piece of paper came out of her cloak pocket.

The woman sprinkled the contents of the box on the paper and skillfully rolled it up.

I realized it was a cigarette just as she was licking the end of the paper.

The hand searching the opposite pocket was clearly looking for a light.

The teacher suddenly looked old and troubled, as if she had aged 30 years alone.

-Click, whoosh!

“Madam.”

Francois instantly lit his match and held it out to her.

The gesture of protecting the flame was elegant, and his slightly curving pink eyes were wonderful.

My mouth dropped open dumbly. Wow, that’s why he’s the third most eligible bachelor in Riester.

“Thank you. Haa······. When we refused to send the students, the lord cut off all support to this place. He was truly resolute. He didn’t seem like the adult we knew.”

“But isn’t the lord the principal? He must know the situation of the remaining faculty and students······.”

“The principal is not the lord. It’s his son, Prince Sem.”

Tess, exhaling a long cloud of smoke in the opposite direction, looked at me and replied.

The wind was blowing towards her, so we weren’t affected by the acrid smoke.

The teacher scanned the school with her large eyes, then smiled at the students bickering while sitting on the window frame.

Her gaze was full of affection.

The loud shouts of the young men echoed all the way here. ‘Hey! Do you want to die? Give it back now?!’ ‘Hehehe······!’

“The prince visits the school every other week, but he has difficulty communicating smoothly with us because he is shy of the teachers. He is basically on our side, but his personality is gentle and his spirit is weak······. He can’t beat his mother, Baroness Barre.”

“Hmph······.”

“He went into the Lord’s Castle to persuade his mother, but I don’t know if that will work. The baroness is already ill······. Maybe he won’t be able to get out of the castle forever.”

“Not get out?”

Jibril Diop, who had been listening quietly, frowned.

Tess took a deep drag of her cigarette and frowned.

Her chest seemed to be heavy with each thought.

“Hoo. Just a few days ago, all the passages in and out of the Lord’s Castle were blocked.”

“Yes?”

Our eyes widened at the same time. This was news to us.

Neither the experienced administrator nor the responsible Yara had told us this news.

Originally, we were planning to enter the Lord’s Castle through the guild hall, so it was terrible timing.

“It’s to prevent the outflow of resources and materials in order to prepare for a full-scale war with Atsuma. Even in Barre, which is desperately poor, the Lord’s Castle is still the Lord’s Castle. It can be self-sufficient for at least a few months.”

“Then, outside merchants or mercenaries are completely······.”

“Yes. Even the precious Prince Sem entered alone. Bozena has completely swallowed the castle.”

“······.”

Our faces hardened instantly.

We had come diligently, but Berner was already hiding in the Lord’s Castle, completely locking the door.

Moreover, he was recklessly destroying the defenses of the land that suffers from magical beasts every year······.

Irresponsible and bad guy. The worst human being who only thinks about himself. How can you be a royal consort and do that?

“So, I’m sorry to say, you won’t be able to see the principal. I can show you the principal’s office if you wish.”

Then the entire group stared at me. I stopped patting Tete.

I wondered why they were doing this all of a sudden, but when I thought about it, I was the ‘Guild Master.’

It meant they wanted me to decide the future course of action. Ugh.

“No, then first······.”

I looked up at His Majesty the Grandfather for a moment—I was encouraged by his usual kind eyes—and calmly organized my thoughts.

First of all, the method of entering illegally through the guild hall was gone, and it seemed that we had no choice but to endure here until we met Prince Sem, the lord’s son.

We could sneak into the Lord’s Castle under the cover of darkness, but there was too much possibility of causing a commotion.

Barre was in a situation where magical beasts could strike at any time. We couldn’t handle other disturbances.

It was also true that we came to help the school and the village.

And since the lord’s son was the principal, it seemed that news from the castle was reaching us quickly and accurately······.

“If there is a room where we can stay, please guide us there. As a guild specializing in magical beast subjugation, we will do anything to help. We have received a formal request.”

I said, pushing up my glasses.

Tess blew out a short puff of cigarette smoke, stubbed out the cigarette butt with her foot, and picked it up again.

Finally, she turned to us and smiled faintly.

“······Thank you so much. As a Northerner, I will never forget this favor.”

And then she took the lead again. Areum followed behind with a haughty step.

*

The next morning, day one of my haphazard enrollment.

I was walking awkwardly down the school hallway with Tete on my back.

“Um······.”

It’s not that I’m lost. I swear that’s definitely not it.

It’s just that I was supposed to meet Gain in front of the men’s dormitory hallway before breakfast, but I didn’t know if it was this staircase or that staircase, so I wandered around a bit, and eventually I chose ‘this one,’ but Gain didn’t show up, so I went down to check······.

I just happened to choose the wrong way to come up. That’s really all.

-Awoo?

“Sorry. That’s what happened.”

Then Tete smiled, folding his bean-like eyes.

It was a great relief that the divine beast only ate aether [a magical energy source].

Otherwise, even the baby would have to starve because of me.

-Awoo, awoo

“Yeah, looking for the black hyung [older brother/male friend]? That hyung left before 6 o’clock.”

‘He’s so diligent. He works out hard too.’ I whispered, patting Tete.

The room we were given was for two people, and as always, I ended up sharing a room with Crown Prince Cedrick.

And of course, he had disappeared since the crack of dawn.

He’s either meditating somewhere, or sparring with Sir Johan······.

“No, it’s not the other friends who are the problem right now. Hyung is going to starve like this.”

The first class of the third grade, third class, was said to be ‘dagger training.’

I have to eat and brush my teeth before that starts.

I can’t keep wandering around like this, this is a disaster.

“······Why is it so quiet here? Is there a faculty office?”

I poked my head out into the newly appeared passage.

The dormitory hallway alone was noisy with students, which was subtly reassuring, but this side was so quiet it was a little scary.

I don’t think I’ll be able to meet Gain no matter what I do here······.

-Nyaa

“Ropi!”

Wow, my savior has arrived! I smiled brightly and approached him.

The feline divine beast was sitting outside a door, looking at me with pitiful eyes.

I don’t know how he got into this hallway, but my expression kept crumbling with joy.

I quickly bent down to meet his gaze.

“Ropi, please tell hyung the way. I need to go back to the men’s dormitory hallway, but I can’t find it because it’s my first time here.”

-Weeeong

Then the little one stood up and meowed for a long time, then went into the open door.

I was flustered and raised my head. A sign hanging at the top of the entrance caught my eye.

‘Infirmary.’

Infirmary?

“You’ve arrived, Lord.”

Huh, it’s Sir Johan’s voice!

I turned around with a happy expression, and saw the cardinal standing in front of the bed wearing a white gown.

Seeing his mint-colored eyes, I quickly felt at peace. And beyond the curtain, on the bed······.

“Good morning, Marquis.”

Francois, lying neatly, was smiling faintly at me.

Uh······?