After school, in the library .

I was visiting the sixth floor for a meeting with Eduard .

However, five minutes before the promised time, the one who appeared was a small golem, not Eduard .

The note sent using the golem had a scribble saying, “It looks like I will be a little late . ”

(He must have gotten himself involved in something troublesome again, that guy……)

While waiting for Eduard, I decided to walk around looking at the bookshelves .

Then I found the figure of the president of my school year on the long ladder hanging on a bookshelf .

He is the president, but he does not seem haughty; he is always calm and collected, and many students idolize him .

But on the other hand, he always maintains a certain distance while socializing; he is a student who does not get along well with anyone .

The term ‘solitary genius’ comes to mind .

He seemed to be immersed in the book he had acquired, and didn’t seem to care even though I came up to this floor .

Taking advantage of that, I decided to observe him .

It appears that he has been thoroughly reading the books in that bookshelf since last week .

The books there are primarily about phantom beasts, magic, ethnicity, and religion of the southern continent .

Large rivers that flood repeatedly, dense forests, subterranean lakes spread out under the desert and the many magical beasts and phantom beasts lurking in them .

A miracle brought about by a Hero or a Saint found by an angel .

A land ruled by kings who misgovern, such as boiling their subjects and sipping their bone marrows .

A holy land that continues to produce curses .

People who have their family rooted in the south are more or less attracted to the south .

I understand because I am like that as well .

Although it might be more serious for him .

His fingertips that are on the bookshelf seem slightly lost .

I guess he can’t find the book he is looking for .

“If you’re searching for the legend and appearance record of the phantom beast abaddon1, I borrowed it . ”

Because of the tendency of the book he was reading, I got an idea of the book he was looking for, so I called out to him .

Then he slowly glanced at me .

“How did you know what I was looking for?”

“I also read something similar last month, so you’re probably looking for this . ”

I showed him the cover of the book I was holding in my hand .

His face showed a trace of surprise .

Apparently, my guess was correct .

“I was also concerned about the starvation incidents caused by abaddon . I will return it three days later at the latest, but would you like to have a quick glance at it now?”

I cast Levitation on the book and carried it to his hand .

“I see……the rumors that say you’re sharp seem to be true . ”

He grabbed the book that was floating gently, flipped the page and said that .

What does he mean by that?

“Rumors?”

“They say that you hide your true ability due to some circ.u.mstances, but you’re a fairly sharp and able person in contrast to your appearance . ”

“This is the first time I heard such a rumor . ”

I have no idea why that kind of rumor spread .

That matter seems to have been transmitted in a warped way .

What I have to hide about myself is the blood that runs through my veins and the curse-like thing that dwells inside my body .

“There is another one . It says that you are like Aurelia’s shadow, but in fact you are the mastermind . ”

“No way, does it really look like that?”

“No, you always look like you’re annoyed at being dragged around . ”

“Aah, sorry to disappoint you but that’s the correct answer . ”

The expression that I thought was cold and ice-like collapsed .

He showed a gentle smile .

This might be my first time seeing this kind of expression on him .

At that time, a rumbling noise could be heard .

When I glanced at the direction of the sound, brilliant colors appeared in my dark-colored world .

“Oya, I didn’t know that you guys are close enough to crack jokes . ”

The one who appeared was a blond boy who emits a sparkling presence even in the dimly-lit library .

It was Eduard Aurelia .

He was about to go up the stairs with two small golems made of clay holding a large luggage for him .

“Ed, you said you’re going to be late, but that was fast . ”

“I was about to be forced to do a boring job, but I ran away . ”

“Good grief . You must have skipped your student council work again . ”

“Come on, I got the answer for you-know-what . That’s why I want to find you as soon as possible!”

Although I intended to criticize him harshly, Eduard responded with a seemingly innocent look .

“……Don’t tell me, have you finally understood the answer left by that person?”

Eduard smiled instead of answering .

‘That person’ is his mother .

d.u.c.h.ess of Aurelia and one of the war heroes, Frederica Bort .

Busy as she was, she left some mysteries for her son before leaving for a long voyage .

Surely there are amazing things, please try to search for them, she said .

“Well, there’s that hint on the sixth floor . Now then, let’s get going—”

“Eduard Aurelia . ”

The guy on the ladder blocked his words .

Eduard raised his eyes .

“Oya, sorry . Did we bother you?”

“No . But, is that a conversation that others can listen to? For example, what if I listen to it?”

“You don’t look like someone who would poke your nose into other people’s secret, so I thought you wouldn’t be interested in such a thing . ”

“……Then, what about him?”

“‘Him’?”

Looking at the direction he pointed at, a boy appeared from the shadow of the bookshelves .

Claude Lucanrant .

The successor of the former royal family of the North who likes to fight .

Certainly, last week an uppercla.s.sman from Hafan was completely thrashed by him in a duel trial .

“Oh, Claude-kun, what a coincidence!! Have you found a good book!?”

Eduard spoke to Claude with a cheerful-sounding tone of voice .

But, Claude only glanced at us with his light blue eyes and left silently .

Eduard opened his mouth after confirming that Claude had descended to the lower floor .

“I wonder what was that all about……”

“He doesn’t seem to be the library type . ”

I also come to the library frequently but I have never seen Claude .

“Maybe he ambushed you because you guys are conspicuous?”

“That’s a scary thought . Ambus.h.i.+ng me, blaming me for something and then wanting another duel, I’m sick of it . ”

“I thought you would gladly take up on the challenge . ”

On the ladder, that guy—Elric Actorius looked at Eduard with a surprised expression .

Actually, Eduard is more sensitive to what other people think of him than he looks, and he’s surprisingly timid .

It is only when he tries to protect his important people and things that he desperately encourages himself and becomes aggressive .

“Well then, maybe he wanted to be friends with you guys, what do you think?”

“No way! That Claude, wanting to be friends with us?”

Eduard raised a voice that sounds like he was truly surprised .

I also don’t think that Claude Lucanrant wants to foster friends.h.i.+p with us .

“You guys always seem to be having fun, so maybe he’s envious . ”

“I wonder if we really seem that frivolous……I intended to become a serious student though!”

“It is true that you tend to deviate, Ed, so it is inevitable for you to be thought of as an outrageous student . ”

I recalled the incidents that Eduard caused since we first entered the academy until now .

It started from the great destruction of the alchemy workshop that he caused, to the three consecutive duel trials two weeks ago .

I know the reasons for those, but this guy always does everything in a grand scale no matter what .

“No, no, I didn’t mean that as an insult . Even from my perspective, you guys seem to be having so much fun……simply enviable . ”

After Elric said that, he turned his eyes back to his book .

“I apologize for getting in your way . Good day . ”

And then, after saying such words, Elric went back to reading quietly once more .

When making a conjecture about another person’s mind, he unexpectedly projected his own feelings .

In other words, this guy is—

Under the ladder, Eduard and I exchanged looks .

“……Hey, Ed . ”

“I know, Brad . ”

Apparently, we were thinking the same thing .

I nudged Eduard with my elbow and urged him to invite Elric .

“Elric Actorius . Would you like to go on an adventure with us tonight?”

Inside a bas.e.m.e.nt with heavy and depressing air, I walked while being led by jailers .

A gate with multiple locks .

And, several times more guards than the others .

There is no human figure in the cells lined up on both sides of the pa.s.sage .

It is an old-fas.h.i.+oned prison that is rarely used now .

Even so, it is strictly guarded to a shocking extent .

When we reached the innermost special cell, the jailers left me there .

With a heavy clinking noise of the chain, the guy inside the cell turned around towards my direction .

Inside a room with only one simple chair .

My old friend—Eduard Aurelia was imprisoned there .

“It seems you were not careful enough this time, Ed . ”

“Hey, it’s been a long time since we talked face-to-face like this, Brad . ”

Eduard, who was like a bright light even in a dark place like this, smiled as he said so .

“I didn’t think you would be suspected as a vampire and imprisoned . ”

“No, no, I was really surprised too . ”

Even after a week of imprisonment and interrogation, I cannot see any fatigue or haggardness in him .

“Let me guess how this happened . ”

“Heeh, you know about it?”

“What started it off was a request from the church of Ignitia, probably about the kidnapping cases caused by a vampire . ”

“Oya, that’s correct . ”

When he was trying to save the abducted women, he was falsely accused .

Perhaps it was something like that .

When I pressed him about it, Eduard began talking about the details of the case .

“—then, I hurriedly sent the box containing the ten women who were in a state of apparent death to the room I was renting . ”

“Couldn’t you think of another destination……”

“No, no, you see, I thought it was more important to save their lives first and foremost . ”

“You, seriously, just how foolish are you?”

The ending is just as I thought .

As always, he doesn’t disappoint expectations, but he’s already this old, I wonder how much longer it will take before he gets a clue .

“To think that he still wouldn’t listen to my explanation . ”

“There is no way he would listen . He is the Margrave of Urs, Deputy Governor-General of the North, Harlan Slayson . ”

“On top of meeting me in-person, he even questioned me personally! Even someone like me never expected it . ”

The vampire this time was different from the young vampires that sometimes appeared .

An ancient vampire who was called the b.l.o.o.d.y Saint or the One who covets death .

If it is an incident involving such a powerful monstro, that Harlan will also take action .

However, it has been confirmed that the vampire who was the main culprit has been eliminated .

It has become a development where the younger sister killed the vampire her older brother has been pursuing .

This pair of brother and sister seems to be similar to that person in unreasonable parts .

“—and they also wanted a bit more information from me, but well . There is no evidence that the vampire in this case has sneaked into the academy, right?”

“Aa, that’s correct . ”

As I replied, I made the sign for 「false」 that we had arranged beforehand .

The princ.i.p.al has given me his approval to tell Eduard the truth .

Eduard will not confess anything no matter how much he is tortured, I know that well .

“The underground altar has already been purified, right?”

“Aa, without a doubt . A student who happened to be lost purified the altar by chance . The great collapse caused by spatial magic has also been successfully avoided . ”

I looked into his eyes as I gave him my reply .

With this alone, Eduard would understand who the student who happened to be lost is .

This overprotective guy is using the mage and the dragon knight to be his sister’s watchdogs in school .

It’s just that a watchdog doesn’t get lost .

How that case ended should have also been correctly transmitted to Eduard .

“Is my Erica doing well? And that girl too . ”

“Aa, they seemed to be having fun . Surprisingly, Erica Aurelia and Chloe Cloacina seem to get along well . ”

“Please look after those children when I can’t, Brad . ”

When our eyes locked again, I nodded .

Then, perhaps Eduard felt a little relieved, a trace of exhaustion finally showed on his face .

“For the time being the North will be watching . So you and Elric should also take care of yourselves . ”

“I know . ”

“I can return to the surface in three days . Until then, stay safe . ”

“You should protect only what you ought to protect . ”

At the very least, so that there won’t be a repeat of that time .

I cannot forget how much violence he suffered at Claude’s hand who tried to kill me .

It would be pointless if one gets oneself almost killed in order to protect someone else .

“……perhaps, ever since that incident, he was avoiding us . ”

“I sincerely wish that no more mistakes beyond that will occur . ”

Having said that, I left the special cell .

In the pa.s.sage on the way to the surface, I met over a dozen men dressed in dark brown robes .

They were all carrying a sword and hiding their faces with their hood .

Those swordsmen had a cold presence like winter .

They are Harlan Slayson’s Inquisitors—the vampire-slaying swordsmen .

Before this autumn’s All Souls’ Day, visitors from the winter were visiting the academy .

1 Abaddon: appear in the Bible as both a place of destruction and an angel of the abyss . In the Hebrew Bible, abaddon is used with reference to a bottomless pit, often appearing alongside the place שְׁאוֹל (Sheol), meaning the realm of the dead . In the New Testament Book of Revelation, an angel called Abaddon is described as the king of an army of locusts . In Revelation 9:11, Abaddon is described as “Destroyer”, the angel of the abyss, and as the king of a plague of locusts resembling horses with crowned human faces, women’s hair, lions’ teeth, wings, iron breast-plates, and a tail with a scorpion’s stinger that torments for five months anyone who does not have the seal of G.o.d on their foreheads . (source)

*finished building a s.h.i.+p* I declare myself as the Captain for EdxBrad s.h.i.+p! Who’s on board~? (eristol: Aye aye captain! I am on board~)

Just . Look . At . This . Line:

When I glanced at the direction of the sound, brilliant colors appeared in my dark-colored world .

The fact that Brad repeatedly referred Eduard as a bright light had me soft .

ALSO .

“Ed . ”

EdxBrad is practically canon! Or at least one-sided love from Brad *Ehem* Does this chapter change your opinion about Brad? Next chapter is the last one for this arc!