Chapter 37
How was it that the first friend I’d made in the Temple was someone who I was convinced I couldn’t become friends with?
The qualities of a capable villain:
1. Treats their subordinates well.
2. Makes people want to become their subordinate.
Becoming Vertus’s subordinate actually seemed beneficial in some ways, but I was still nervous. It was sort of like being a double agent.
‘Are you really planning on treating me like your subordinate? Because if that’s the case, that’s going to be hard to maintain long-term.’
If I became Vertus’s subordinate, he would become the only noble in history to have a Demon prince as a subordinate.
Nonetheless, Vertus seemed to want to maintain a close relationship with me during our time at the Temple.
But I knew who Vertus was. He was someone who believed in meritocracy. Whether someone was a commoner, noble, or royal, it didn’t matter to him. As long as they were capable, he valued them; if not, he was indifferent to their existence. He would use anyone who proved their worth, no matter who they were. That was his attitude.
This time, Vertus sat down along the railing of the terrace, which was close enough to the ground that it was safe for him to get off.
With his back to me, he said, “Do you love the empire?”
“Of course.”
That wasn’t a lie. I truly loved it. This was the best place to live in the entire continent.
“Why do you love it?”
He was the type who detested predictable answers.
“Because of money.”
“... What? Money?”
Vertus turned his head to look at me, his eyes wide with surprise. I figured that he would find out anyway if we continued to interact, so I decided to be more honest.
“How could I not love a place that lets a homeless beggar with nowhere to go live in such a palace, just because they found something unusual about him?”
“... A beggar?”
“Yes.”
‘I’m not just an ordinary guy without a background, kid.’
“I came from the streets.”
‘I was a beggar, you see!’
Vertus seemed genuinely shocked, unable to imagine such a thing, his mouth slightly agape. It was clear that he had not done a background check on me. Looking baffled, or maybe just shocked, he was silent for a moment before regaining his composure and nodding absently.
“Ah, I see... Okay... I understand what you mean.”
A beggar who roamed the streets. That was who I was.
“If you don’t like the fact I’m a beggar, there’s nothing I can do about it.”
Being a commoner and being a beggar were two completely different things to Vertus, especially because Vertus was not just any prince, but the prince of the imperial empire of Gradium. That meant that a royal figure like him would be closely associated with a beggar.
“No. It actually makes me like you more.”
Vertus’s response was unexpected. He wasn’t just being nice and understanding of my situation, but rather preferred the fact that I was a beggar.
“Because it ensures your loyalty.”
Not only was I allowed to live on such a luxurious campus solely due to having some talent, but I could even have conversations like this one with a prince.
He seemed to think that my loyalty to the empire was, in fact, something to be expected. Vertus chuckled, perhaps amused, and swayed by my reason that I was loyal because of money.
“I know that being seen with a beggar like me could tarnish your reputation, but I didn’t really want to keep this a secret.”
I pointed out another potential issue to Vertus. Certainly, it wouldn’t paint a pretty picture, and news of my background would eventually spread.
But Vertus dismissed it outright. “That’s absurd.”
“Reinhart, you know ants, right?” he continued.
“Yeah, of course.”
“Did you also know that ants have their own society and hierarchies?”
“Like the queen ant, the worker ants, and stuff like that?”
“Yes, that sort of thing.”
Vertus peered into the darkness, staring out quietly into the distance.
‘Why is he talking about ants all of a sudden?’
“The queen ant, the worker ants, the soldier ants. There could be more detailed divisions, and there could also be other classes of ants. Or maybe not. I don’t know the specifics.”
“Okay...?”
‘Is ignorance something to be proud of?’
“But why do I care about the ranks and the hierarchy of ants?” Vertus said coldly. “Beggars, commoners, nobles, kings of vassal states, dukes, counts, viscounts, barons. Why would I concern myself with such things?”
This was the kind of person Vertus was.
“To me, Reinhart, everyone below me is the same.” Vertus laughed ominously. “So whether it’s Heinrich von Schwartz giving me attitude, or you doing the same, it’s all the same to me.”
He possessed a rather straightforward logic.
“Everyone beneath me is equal.”
He had already tolerated the small ant-like human beings mistreating him at the Temple. It didn’t matter which rank of ant mistreated him, even if it was the lowest of the ants. To him, they were all the same.
It might have sounded harsh, but ultimately, it meant that he didn’t care what I, the lowest ant, did to him. It was his way of saying that I shouldn’t mind talking casually to him at all.
“The essence of what you’re saying is good, but why say it in such a twisted way?”
‘Look at this guy, being unnecessarily sophisticated.’
“That’s the nature of power, Reinhart.” Vertus chuckled. “Those who have it have the freedom to be insolent to others.”
His choice of words was getting quite aggressive and I didn’t know if becoming close to Vertus was actually a good thing anymore.
“People in power have the freedom to be insolent.”
“But you, you don’t even have that power, and yet you’re insolent.”
Vertus seemed amused by my audacity, despite having nothing to my name. He had made a judgment about what kind of person I was, but it appeared that his amusement had more to do with finding me a fascinating character rather than anything else.
“Plus, although you’re from the gutter, you seem pretty smart, and your eloquence isn’t something that one from the streets would have.”
“I mean, there’s all sorts of people in the world,” I said.
Vertus looked at me as if trying to see right through me.
“Alright. I’ll find out what you’re really hiding later.”
He seemed confident that someone of my background couldn’t possibly be so smart and down to earth. He might be treating me as a friend for the moment, but he was undoubtedly suspicious of me.
There was no way I could lie about my background, but I also didn’t see any benefit to acting like a dumb beggar.
It was an inevitable outcome, so I had no regrets about my portrayal of Vertus.
Vertus would probably never fully trust my story about being of base birth and without any connections.
He hadn’t explicitly told me to become his subordinate, nor had I said anything about wanting to serve under him either.
“But the truth is, I really don’t have any talents. What’s in it for you to become friends with me?”
“A measly talent is of no use right now anyway. That damned scanner doesn’t explain all there is to a person.”
When I told Vertus the truth about who I was, he also dropped any form of pretense in front of me.
A measly talent; Vertus was categorizing the students of the Royal Class as being currently useless.
Vertus seemed to think that relying solely on a physical scanner was idiotic. He was focused on assessing the indicators that it couldn’t show.
“It’s hundreds of times better to have a sharp mind instead. Of course, the problem seems to be that smart people often don’t know where to apply themselves. But, given the way you’ve lived, I can understand your actions to some extent.”
Vertus chuckled.
He seemed to think that I had good judgment ability and a good head on my shoulders, but when a dispute arose, I was the kind of lunatic to throw a punch first.
And he seemed to believe that my background—being from the streets—was the reason behind my madness.
But... I wasn’t actually from the streets...
“Ultimately, the message I want to say to you remains the same. Calm your temper and live a little more sensibly.”
He’d eventually come full circle and landed back on the initial topic.
“I’ll try, but other kids have to be reasonable, too,” I replied.
“Okay. For now, that’s all I want to say.” Vertus stepped down from the terrace railing and stood facing me. “When I become certain that you’re my man and I can work with you, then we can talk about more important matters.”
It was not yet time for Vertus to trust me, nor was it enough time for me to trust Vertus.
But Vertus saw something of worth in me and had therefore approached me first, as if he wanted to say, “I was the first one who recognized your value before anyone else did.”
Now, I didn’t need to put much thought into knowing who it was that saw my value first.
***
I had become friends with Vertus.
Or maybe not friends yet, exactly, but it seemed I had earned a degree of his favor, at least. He seemed to see me as someone worth using.
There was no visible impact since we didn’t act as though we were incredibly close or anything. Of course, we had easy conversations, regardless of who was watching, but it was likely that Vertus now had a reputation for being kind, even to the most unruly troublemaker.
Friday’s classes included theology, alchemy, and a general combat training session.
Theology was a class for those with a talent for divine power, which meant that only Erhi from my class, and Ashir from Class B, were in it with me. The rest were students from the other regular classes aspiring to be priests or holy knights.
Obviously, I understood what it was, but I couldn’t wrap my head around divine power at all. A demon with divine power—now that would truly be a funny title.
Alchemy was taken by everyone who was majoring in magic. Unlike the magic class, alchemy seemed worth learning. It consisted mostly of practical scenarios, which made it interesting as well.
As for the general combat training class...
I almost died during the class.
It was basically the same thing as the physical training class, just with a different name.
The good news, though, was that because of the rumors that were circulating about me being a mad lunatic, the kids from Class A and even those from Class B—except for Ludwig—avoided making eye contact with me.
The day I appeared for Theology class, Erhi seemed to be avoiding me. Ashir from Class B, who majored in theology, also might have heard something since they quickly averted their gaze after our eyes met once.
Hmm...
This wasn’t just about being a class delinquent. Instead, it was more like being known as a psychopath.
And it seemed that nothing had been revealed to dispel the rumor of my mysterious background.
Was Vertus planning to just let the misunderstanding sort itself out?
Indeed, I had a bad temper, but it was also true that I lacked talents or abilities. So if a physically strong person decided to pick a fight, I would easily end up getting beaten up. However, it appeared that, because of this misunderstanding, most chose to stay clear of me.
Did they seriously think that I was a noble in disguise?
The imagination of kids was truly beyond the realm of my understanding...
***
Members of the Royal Class were generally expected to reside in the dormitories. Given that many of the Temple students were from abroad, most of them stayed at the Temple’s dormitories. However, some students who were from Gradium commuted to and from the school.
Of course, given the massive size of the Temple, those commuting from outside would have to wake up quite early.
Among the Royal Class, those who owned a mansion in Gradium would often go home on the weekends. There were no mandatory weekend activities; everyone was left to their own devices to study or entertain themselves as they pleased.
Staying in the dormitory was an option too, but staying there alone wasn’t particularly appealing since there wasn’t much to do on my own at the moment, and I had no brilliant ideas for awakening any abilities just yet.
For the moment, it seemed best to tell the others about the events that happened in the first week.
***
As for places I could go, there weren’t many options aside from the sewers under the Bronze Gate Bridge and the Rotary Club.
“... So you’re saying you’ve been beating up the kids?”
“... Well, essentially, yes. That’s how it turned out.”
Loyar, who had heard about my life at the Temple, looked at me as if resigned to the fact that I couldn’t change my innate behavior.
“It’s not like that. They were the ones who started the fight! It’s not like I picked a fight with someone who was minding their own business for no reason!”
“Oh, okay.”
Loyar looked back at me, clearly not believing any of it.
‘Seriously? So that’s how it’s going to be...?’
“Paw.”
Pat.
“P-please don’t, Your Highness...”
“If you keep looking at me like that, I might just have to ask you to roll over as well.”
“Please, please don’t, Your Highness...”
I knew that she acted on instinct, more than anyone else.
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