Chapter 54

Chapter 54

The city of merchants—Skedum.

It was a vast city located about a day’s distance east of Lysquare, the capital of the Arium Empire.

The reason Skedum was called the city of merchants was simple.

‘Because it’s the city where every merchant of the Empire gathers.’

The Arium Empire was enormous.

It was self-sufficient enough to thrive solely on its own resources, even without trade with other nations.

Because of that, countless goods were produced all across the Empire.

And the place where all those goods converged was right here—Skedum.

‘Merchants trade their goods here, then distribute them throughout the Empire.’

From its very founding, Skedum was designed to be the center of distribution.

Thanks to that, countless roads leading to every region of the Empire were constructed with Skedum as their hub.

‘And since foreign merchants also conduct trade through this city…’

As the center of Arium’s distribution, there was no better place for merchants from other countries to conduct business.

Perhaps because of that, several foreign merchants had already caught my eye.

“Sir Gideon, among the first-year students, a total of three have reported missing luggage.”

“Go check the carriages for Class 2-A. That’s where you’ll find them.”

“Uh… how did you know that?”

“Just trust me.”

I’d gone through this school trip episode countless times, and I’d already found those three students’ missing luggage dozens of times in the same spot.

If this were still a game instead of reality, I could’ve found their bags with my eyes closed.

In fact, I had once actually tried it out of boredom—and I really did find them.

“See that first carriage at the front of the second-year section? Check the cargo compartment there. You’ll find two black trunks and one green trunk.”

“Ah… yes, understood.”

The first-year student from the Student Council quickly hurried off in the direction I pointed.

Seeing that, I couldn’t help but chuckle faintly.

‘Was that kid’s name Jim? One of the few commoners in the Student Council, if I recall correctly?’

Still, it felt oddly unfamiliar to have someone speak to me so respectfully.

Until now, I’d only ever interacted with people ranked above me, so being on the receiving end of formality was rare.

‘Now that I think about it, I am technically a noble.’

Though, of course, I was the lowest-ranking kind of noble.

Well, that aside.

“…Looks like everything’s just about wrapped up.”

I glanced around.

There were a total of five large hotels in Skedum.

Lysquare Academy had rented three of them, assigning one to each year group as their lodging.

My current task was to ensure the first-years checked into their hotel safely, and—

“Looks like it’s almost done.”

Everything was proceeding smoothly.

Judging from how the second- and third-year groups were still busy, it seemed clear the first-years had finished their tasks the fastest.

Well, that was only natural.

Because I was here.

‘I already know when, where, and how every problem will happen—of course it’s going to go fast.’

Skedum was one of the stops on the first-year school trip.

I’d seen this scene far too many times in the game.

And because I knew every possible problem and its solution, nothing could really escalate here.

‘Should I contact Nia? Or maybe check if the instructors have encountered any other issues…?’

I was lost in thought when—

“Gideon.”

“Hmm? Ah, Lady Sedna.”

Hearing someone call my name, I turned my head to see a group of first-year Student Council members gathered beside me.

The one who’d spoken to me was Sedna Elinas—the de facto leader among the first-year council members.

“Is something wrong? Ah, if there’s not enough space to park the carriages, as I mentioned earlier, we could ask one of the nearby nobles to—”

“That issue’s been resolved. It worked out right away once we followed your advice.”

“Ah, that’s good to hear. Then what brings you to me?”

“…I came to apologize.”

“Apologize?”

Tilting my head, I saw Sedna lower her voice slightly.

“For doubting your ability. I’m sorry.”

Scratching her head, Sedna continued awkwardly.

“When the Student Council President assigned you to lead the first-year council members, I had a lot of doubts and complaints. But I think I misjudged you. Seems like the President really knew what she was doing.”

For reference, during this school trip, the Student Council had been divided by grade to oversee different tasks.

The leaders were Nia for the third years, Lisa for the second years, and me for the first years.

Since Nia was the Student Council President and Lisa was the respected Disciplinary Committee Head, no one questioned their authority. But when Nia appointed me to lead the first-years, there had apparently been quite a bit of murmuring.

‘Still, I didn’t care. I just wanted to get the work done as fast as possible.’

And I had to finish quickly.

Because that rebel faction was going to cause chaos later today, and I needed every spare moment to prepare.

So I’d efficiently handled every issue using my game experience, and thanks to that, my reputation seemed to have improved somewhat.

“There’s no need to apologize. I only did what I was supposed to do. By the way, Lady Sedna—since the lodging and carriage issues are all wrapped up, does that mean the first-years now have free time?”

“Probably, yes. Once the headcount is done, it’ll be free time.”

“Understood.”

Thanks to our quick work, the first-years would likely enjoy free time earlier than the other grades.

That meant I could get a few things done before the second- and third-years came out.

“Then, we’ll head in for now. Ah, I’ll take care of the headcount and report to Lady Nia, so please don’t worry.”

“Oh, okay. And hey… Gideon.”

“Yes, Lady Sedna?”

“Let’s drop the formalities between us. We’re in similar positions—let’s be friendly.”

“I don’t know if I should, Lady Sedna…”

I hesitated, but Sedna’s expression was sincere.

“Come on, whether you’re a viscount’s son or a baron’s son, there’s not much difference between us. Since we’re working together, let’s get along.”

“In that case… alright.”

“Good. Let’s be friends from now on.”

After chatting a bit longer with Sedna, she left with the other first-year Student Council members.

‘Sedna’s pretty much the same as in the game—easygoing. Still, I didn’t expect her to ask to be on friendly terms.’

Not that it was a bad thing.

It was always better to have more allies.

Sedna might not be much help later on, but having one more person on my side could always come in handy someday.

“…Let’s finish this up quickly.”

After organizing my scattered thoughts, I began to move as well.

From this point on, it was unlikely I’d have much time to relax.

---

“Are you referring to the group that has been staying at this inn for over a month?”

“Yes, are there any?”

“I can’t disclose that information. Revealing guest details without permission is—”

“Are there?”

I slid a single gold coin across the counter toward the innkeeper.

The man hesitated for a moment before discreetly pocketing the coin.

“About a month ago, a group of roughly twenty people checked in. They looked like merchants, but for some reason, they’ve been staying here for over a month. Must be taking a while to finish their business.”

“Were they the group wearing green masks?”

“W–what? How did you know that…?”

“Let’s just say I have my ways.”

It seemed I’d found the right place.

Every time the school trip episode played out, the rebels’ hideout location changed.

In other words, each new playthrough assigned their inn at random.

There were generally ten possible locations, and—

‘I’ve already checked three of them.’

This one was the fourth.

Finding them faster than expected was fortunate.

If I’d had to visit all ten inns before finding them, I would’ve wasted far too much time.

“They’re not here at the moment, are they?”

“No, they shouldn’t be.”

“I see.”

Just like in the game.

In that case, I simply had to follow the same pattern.

“They’ll probably check out tonight.”

“Ah… will they?”

“You have a communication crystal, right?”

“Eh? Ah, yes, I do.”

“Let me see it for a moment.”

I practically took the innkeeper’s crystal from him and entered my own contact information into it.

“You can reach me directly through this now.”

“Ah, understood. But why all of a sudden…?”

“When you notice them starting to prepare for checkout, contact me right away. Understood?”

“Eh? But why would I—”

“Please do it.”

I handed him another gold coin.

“I’ll trust you to handle it.”

“…If they start packing their things, I’ll send you a message through the crystal.”

The innkeeper accepted the second coin with a helpless expression.

Satisfied, I smiled faintly and stepped out of the inn.

‘Having plenty of money sure makes things smoother.’

The Kyrgram Family had no one left but me, but at least they’d left behind quite a fortune.

Being able to easily buy people’s cooperation was undeniably convenient.

‘I should drop by the Imperial Bank later and withdraw some more.’

Considering how much gold I’d likely need soon, it wouldn’t hurt to prepare in advance.

Well, that aside—

‘Now that I know where the rebels are staying, I should check the locations where the kidnappings will occur.’

The green-masked rebels’ goal was to kidnap students from Lysquare Academy.

To be precise, they intended to use those kidnapped students as sacrifices.

All to resurrect a powerful monster that once existed long ago.

If I failed to stop that resurrection here, the future me would probably have to risk my life fighting that monster someday.

That was why I needed to crush the rebels completely during this school trip episode.

‘Of course, if things get out of hand, I could switch to the Rebel King route… but that path is way too risky.’

That route was my last resort. For now, my goal was to make sure there were no casualties.

Which meant I needed to scout out all the kidnapping sites in advance.

---

It was a cityscape I’d seen countless times in the game, but seeing it in reality felt completely different.

A city where all sorts of exotic sights and sounds mixed together.

Combinations that should’ve clashed somehow blended perfectly here—that was Skedum’s unique charm.

If I could, I would’ve loved to simply enjoy this beauty for a while.

But I didn’t have that luxury.

I was busy checking each of the kidnapping sites ahead of time.

Getting familiar with the terrain beforehand would help prevent mistakes when the fighting began.

‘The problem is, I don’t know who will be kidnapped this time.’

Just like the rebels’ hideout, the kidnapped students were randomized every playthrough.

There were six possible candidates, and three of them would be taken each time.

‘Technically there are ten total, but the rebels aren’t stupid enough to kidnap the children of three ducal families and the Princess.’

For reference, the rebels always targeted the three nobles with the purest bloodlines as their sacrifices.

At Lysquare Academy, excluding the heirs of the ducal families and the Princess, that left six possible victims.

‘Anyway, let’s check each kidnapping site.’

In the game, visiting those places in advance never triggered any events, but this was reality.

That meant there might be differences this time…

“Gideon.”

“Hmm? Ah, Lady Lisa.”

Just as I was gathering my thoughts to move again, Lisa approached from afar.

“Have the second-years finished their tasks?”

“Yes, we just wrapped up. We’ll give them free time soon. I got permission from the instructor to step out a bit early.”

Lisa spoke with her usual calm, expressionless tone.

But something felt off.

For the past week, she’d deliberately kept her distance from me, acting cold. Yet now she was approaching me of her own accord.

“Um… Gideon.”

“Yes, Lady Lisa?”

“Would you, uh… that is…”

She hesitated, visibly tense, before finally gathering her courage to speak.

“D–do you have time? I’d like to look around the city with you.”

“Oh, sightseeing, you mean?”

I quickly ran the numbers in my head.

There was still time before the kidnapping would occur, and I could check the target areas while touring the city with her.

‘Besides, Lisa isn’t the type to go sightseeing for no reason. If she’s asking me specifically, there’s got to be a reason behind it.’

After thinking it through, I nodded.

“Of course.”

“…Really?”

Her face remained stoic, yet for the briefest moment, I saw a glimmer of happiness flash in her eyes.

“Yes, really. Speaking of which, have you eaten dinner yet? If not, perhaps we could—”

I was thinking of taking her to a restaurant in Skedum that I knew she’d like.

But before I could finish my sentence—

“Oh? Gideon, Lisa! What a coincidence!”

Voices called out from afar.

Turning my head, I saw Jason and Sara, with Layla smiling brightly between them as she approached.

“Are you two working? If not, why don’t we all go sightseeing together?”

“…Tch.”

The heirs of the ducal families always showed absolute loyalty and deep respect toward the Royal Family.

And right then, for the first time, I saw Lisa cast a resentful glare in Layla’s direction.