After the joint assessment ended, Evan met with Yeniel and had a conversation.
It wasn't a profound discussion.
Just ordinary talk about each other's well-being.
They talked about what happened during the joint assessment.
The determination he felt from Rudy Astria.
It was different from Evan's.
Rudy didn't hesitate.
There was no doubt in his actions.
He was confident in what he was doing and acted accordingly.
"Having fought him directly, I now understand what you meant."
"So, what are you going to do now?"
Yeniel asked, and Evan responded with a smile.
"Just take a break. But that doesn't mean I've given up on the top position. I'll still aim for it."
The fight with Rudy hadn't changed Evan significantly.
He changed just a little.
His problems were far from resolved.
He still didn't know where to go or what goals to pursue.
However, Evan felt relieved.
For someone like him who had never discussed his concerns or himself with anyone, the fight and conversation with Rudy lightened his heart.
It felt like a festering inflammation had finally been drained.
"You've changed a bit."
Yeniel noticed this too.
The change in Evan's expression was evident.
And now.
Evan stood in front of the hospital room where Rudy Astria was, holding a fruit basket.
He thought of apologizing since he was the one who injured Rudy, but since Evan himself was injured by Rudy, he felt no need to apologize.
The reason Evan wasn't hospitalized despite being injured was because most of his injuries were internal.
Compared to external injuries, there wasn't much the hospital could do for internal injuries.
If his organs were damaged, medication would suffice, and mana would naturally recover over time.
After some contemplation, Evan prepared to enter.
“Ahem…”
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})He cleared his throat and raised his hand to knock.
“You idiot!!!”
At that moment, a loud voice came from inside the room.
Evan frowned and opened the door.
“Rie! Rudy is a patient!!”
“Better to ask us to stay around! Idiot!!”
“No, I thought that’s what would happen!”
“How pathetic, senior.”
Rudy was sitting up in bed, leaning back.
In front of him, Rie was furiously pacing, Luna was trying to calm her down, and Yuni was laughing at Rudy.
“Rudy Astria?”
Evan, seeing this, called Rudy's name.
Everyone's eyes then turned to Evan.
“…Evan?”
They all looked at Evan with puzzled expressions.
However, Rudy looked at the fruit basket in Evan's hand and smiled.
"Are you here for a visit?"
"…Yes, though it seems at a bad time."
"No! You came at a good time."
At that, Rie glared at Rudy sharply.
Rudy ignored Rie's scorching gaze and reached out towards the front of the bed.
"If you've come for a visit, sit down."
Evan placed the basket in a corner of the room and sat down on a chair.
"It looks like everyone is close."
Rudy glanced at Rie and commented.
"You seem to be in good condition."
"I received a lot of healing magic before arriving at the hospital, so there wasn't much to treat."
Rudy shrugged with a subtle expression.
"Leaving that aside."
Rudy stared intently at Evan.
"Have you sorted out your thoughts?"
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})"Somewhat. I don't know where to go yet, but I've realized what I shouldn't do."
Evan spoke, seemingly relieved, and Rudy seemed satisfied.
"Your expression looks much better than before."
"Does it?"
Evan's face now had more variety.
Different from before, when his face seemed to carry the weight of the world's worries, casting a shadow over it.
There was more diversity in his expressions, and the dark circles under his eyes had diminished.
The changes were a result of his worries fading and him sleeping better.
Evan briefly chatted and then stood up from his seat.
"Since you seem alright, I should leave."
Evan had come to offer condolences since Rudy had lost the first place to Yeniel.
Seeing that Rudy's expression didn't seem too bad despite losing first place, Evan felt there was no reason to stay.
"Ah, Evan. Take this."
As Evan was about to leave, Rudy handed him an envelope that was nearby.
"…What's this?"
"Open it in your room alone. Don't talk about its contents with anyone else."
Evan looked at the envelope with curiosity.
Seeing his expression, Rudy waved his hand a few times.
"It's nothing big. Just a small favor."
Evan narrowed his eyes and looked at Rudy.
"Alright. If it's not too difficult, I'll consider it."
"Good, try to accept it if possible. It'll be a big help to everyone."
Evan nodded at Rudy's words, then left the hospital room.
Returning to his room, Evan stared intently at the envelope Rudy had handed him.
He took out a letter opener and carefully opened the envelope.
Inside was a paper that resembled a letter.
Evan took out the paper and skimmed through its contents.
"…What?"
Evan looked at the contents in disbelief.
The message written on the paper:
Rudy was planning to target the Rebels.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"})"…He says this isn't a big deal?"
Evan uttered to himself in disbelief.
There was a man walking down the street, his hood up, scanning his surroundings.
"Hey! Don't run!"
Nearby, three or four children were playing, and a woman, who seemed to be their mother, was scolding them.
"Hey, you there!"
"Hahaha! Try and catch me!"
The children ran around without looking ahead.
"Ah!"
One of the children, running forward, bumped into the man.
"Oh, I'm so sorry."
The children's mother, seeing her child bump into the man, quickly rushed over.
As she apologized and looked up at the man's face.
"…Gasp."
She gasped upon recognizing him.
The man was Aryandor, the leader of the Rebels.
Even a common woman knew his face due to the widespread wanted posters from the Empire.
This area was under Rebel control.
To these people, the leader of the Rebels was like the Emperor himself.
An untouchable figure.
"I'm so sorry. Are you okay?"
The mother was at a loss for words, unsure of how to act.
'The leader of the Rebels is said to be a ruthless being.'
That was the impression given by the wanted posters distributed by the Empire.
Unforgiving and cruel, someone to flee from at first sight.
Aryandor didn't respond but reached out to the child.
"Please, just spare my child…!"
Just as the mother was about to scream,
"Look ahead when you walk. It's dangerous to run like that."
Aryandor said, smiling and helping the child up.
He then dusted off the dirt from the child's clothes.
The mother watched in disbelief.
"Are… are you okay…?"
"It's normal for kids to run around and bump into things. I'm fine."
Aryandor looked at the child.
"The child seems to be a bit hurt from the fall, so go to the Rebels and ask for medicinal herbs. They will give you some."
The mother's eyes welled up with tears upon hearing this.
Before the Rebels took over this territory, there had been many stories of children clashing with the nobles.
Even for minor accidents, the nobles had imposed harsh punishments on children.
Yet here was Aryandor, lifting the child himself and offering medicine.
"Th-thank you."
"No need to thank me. It's just the right thing to do."
Aryandor smiled and said.
"Leader."
Then, a girl approached from behind.
Dressed like a witch, with a pointed hat and carrying a staff, it was Jefrin.
"What is it?"
Jefrin spoke quietly.
"A letter has arrived from Evan."
Aryandor's expression hardened.
"…Let's go back and talk about it."
As Aryandor moved to leave, the mother bowed respectfully.
"Thank you!"
Aryandor simply smiled in response.
Jefrin watched Aryandor with a curious tilt of her* head.
"Who is that person?"
"Just a commoner. Speaking of which, it seems there's a lack of space for children to play. They could get hit by carriages if they play in the streets like this. Tell them to create a separate play area."
Hearing Aryandor's words, Jefrin nodded.
Such orders weren't unusual, so she didn't react much.
"So, what's this about a letter from Evan?"
"He's under suspicion. He's asking us to come and get him."
"Come and get him?"
"It's difficult for him to escape the academy's scrutiny."
At Jefrin's words, Aryandor furrowed his brow.
"What do you plan to do?"
In the past, Aryandor would have looked into the future upon hearing such news.
However, he could no longer use that ability.
Even when Aryandor saw the future, events never unfolded as predicted, especially when it involved the academy.
Among all the futures he had seen, Evan was the most troubling.
Yet, the fact that Evan was willing to join the Rebels was too good an opportunity to pass up.
That's why it felt so unsettling.
"How many assassins do we have available?"
"Only three or four."
"Send only them."
"Just the assassins?"
Assassins were good at hiding but not particularly strong.
If someone powerful from the academy pursued Evan, they wouldn't be able to shake them off.
"Isn't this a great opportunity? Shouldn't we send someone more capable?"
"It's dangerous."
"If it's dangerous, shouldn't we send stronger people?"
Despite her argument, Aryandor showed little reaction.
Jefrin bit her lip, then tapped her chest.
"Then I will go."
"You? Going there?"
"If someone pursues us, I can use illusion magic to lose them. There shouldn't be any problems."
Aryandor found it odd that Jefrin was so eager to go.
She was usually indifferent to her surroundings, focusing solely on her magic research.
Yet, here she was, insisting on going herself.
Aryandor didn't understand but decided to respect her wish.
"If that's what you want, do so. However, you'll be responsible for your actions."
At Aryandor's words, Jefrin smiled.
"Understood."
*Alright I am sorry, I dunno why but Jefrin just happens to be my biggest weakness. So later chapters tell me Jefrin is indeed a girl. So Jefrin will be once again referred to as female...
If all of sudden Jefrin's actually a guy... I might have to hang it up.
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