Chapter 62 : Chapter 62

Chapter 62. Something Feels Off. Very Off (1)

“Huh? How did you get here?”

To a startled Patrick who asked back, April replied.

“The Baron was looking for the Young Master, so I came.”

“Oh, right, thanks. But didn't they block the way?”

He had clearly ordered for no one to be allowed here, so could it be they had broken their promise already? But that wasn't the case.

“They blocked my path, so I entered secretly.”

“You deceived the Orcs’ senses and came all the way here in secret?”

“Yes. That is correct.”

“……”

He hadn't even taught her something like stealth techniques.

Yet April, wearing that frilly maid outfit, had deceived the senses of the Orcs and made her way here.

Considering the Orcs’ senses, sharpened by their daily hunting, this was a feat not even a skilled assassin could easily accomplish.

‘As expected of the Heavenly Martial Body. It's just a cheat.’

Patrick grumbled as he headed towards the Baron.

* * *

“Hahaha. My son, congratulations.”

“…For what?”

Patrick wore a sullen expression.

To suddenly laugh and congratulate him without any explanation was the forty-seventh thing Patrick hated the most.

To be precise, should he say he was wary?

This was because such cases usually led to more troublesome matters than actual reasons for celebration.

This was especially common when those words came from his Master’s mouth.

[Hahaha. Congratulations. The Murim Alliance has appointed you as an instructor.]

[Hahaha. Congratulations. The government has ordered that the wealth obtained from subjugating the bandits this time be distributed among the common people.]

[Hahaha. Congratulations. …….]

Congratulations, my foot…

He felt like his lifespan was rapidly decreasing because of his Master, who always brought him troublesome, headache-inducing tasks where he did all the work for someone else's benefit.

And now, his father, whom he classified as a pushover on the same level as his Master, was congratulating him with a wide smile on his face….

‘Something feels off. Very off.’

With the caution of a stray cat wary of someone trying to feed it, Patrick spoke carefully.

“What is it? Please explain first.”

“Hmm. Right. I was so happy I didn't explain what it was about.”

To such a Patrick, Baron Schneider said.

“You saved the daughter of Count Parmas this time, did you not?”

“I did.”

“And Count Parmas said he would bestow a great reward upon you.”

“Ah, that’s right. That reward hasn't arrived yet, has it? Could it be…”

“Yes. The Count has bestowed a reward upon you. Hahaha. A very great reward at that.”

“Wow. That's actually great news.”

Patrick let out a sigh of relief and smiled.

It seemed it really was something good after all.

From what he had observed during the bandit subjugation, Count Parmas was a generous and fairly just person.

Wouldn't a reward bestowed by such a Count after careful consideration be a great one?

“Hehehe, what is it? Money? Gold? Jewels?”

“Hahaha. It's a reward far greater than such things.”

“Eheheheheheheheheh.”

Patrick let out a vulgar laugh, leaning back so far it seemed his spine might break.

The Baron, who would normally sigh at such a sight of his son, simply smiled fondly this time.

“Here, this is the reward the Count has bestowed upon you. Open it and see for yourself.”

What Baron Schneider handed him was a thin piece of paper.

‘Could it be a land deed? Or a merchant guild ownership certificate? Ahem…. He really is generous, isn't he? I owe my life to you, Count. Truly.’

With infinite gratitude towards the Count, Patrick unfolded the paper. On it was….

「Academy Special Admission Permit」

“Huh?”

“Congratulations, my son. You are now able to go to the Academy.”

“…Huh?”

“Truly. I don't know how to thank the Count for his consideration. My son is enrolling in the Academy. This father can now die without any regrets.”

“…Huh?”

This isn't it? This is not it?

Where's the house deed? Where's the land deed?

No matter how many times he looked, all he found was a document stating that due to his great contribution in the subjugation, he was being recommended for mid-term admission to the Academy through a special exception with the recommendation of the Eastern Margrave.

‘Hahaha. So, it's like this, right? As a reward for saving his daughter, he's telling me to go to school?’

Having grasped the whole situation, Patrick smiled brightly and said.

“That son of a bitch Count.”

If a gift isn't chosen with the recipient's preferences in mind, one is bound to get this kind of reaction.

* * *

“Block him! Block him!”

“Capture him. It's the Baron's order!”

The brave soldiers of the Baron Schneider family took up their weapons with a do-or-die resolve.

Although they had been reborn as the strongest elite soldiers in the east, they couldn't help but be tense in front of the formidable enemy before them.

“Get out of my way!”

“Kuaaak!”

“Ugh!”

Soldiers flew through the air, screaming.

And the demon that sent them flying, charging forward, yelled.

“I said get out of the way! You bastards. Move! Today, I'm going to cut off the head of that ungrateful bastard, Count Parmas.”

It was Patrick.

The soldiers desperately blocked Patrick, who, with a genuinely enraged expression, was trying to go straight for the Count's neck while sending soldiers flying.

“Captain! The second line of defense has been breached.”

“The third line of defense won't hold for long either.”

“Block him. I said, block him. The Baron ordered us to stop him no matter what.”

“How are we supposed to stop that?”

“Just block him! You bastards!”

“Reinforcements have arrived from the Red Rock Tribe.”

“Deploy them immediately!”

Orcs from the Red Rock Tribe, with bulging muscles and holding Stone Swords taller than themselves, gathered.

“The great warrior has gone mad again. Block him!”

“Uooooooh!”

“Block him!”

“Kill him!”

The Red Rock Tribe bravely stood in Patrick's way. But Patrick didn't even blink an eye.

“Where did these guys learn to go ‘Uooooooh!’ again!?”

And as Patrick charged, the green, muscular figures were sent flying into the sky like exploding fireworks.

“Kuweeeek!”

“Kueek!”

After sending the Orcs flying and finally breaking through all the defense lines, the last one to block Patrick was….

“This is as far as you go, Young Master!”

Kaaang!

It was a beautiful maid, so beautiful that even the phrase ‘a beauty that could topple nations’ was insufficient.

Revealing blonde hair and light green eyes, holding twin swords in both hands, she succeeded in blocking Patrick's path all by herself.

Patrick's charge, which had been sending soldiers and Orcs flying like autumn leaves, was stopped for the first time before her twin swords.

“April, how dare you?”

“I apologize. However, you ordered me to prioritize the Madam's instructions according to the Young Master's command…”

“No, uh… I did say that. I guess I did.”

Patrick was slightly flustered.

Come to think of it, he might have said something like that. Wait, if so….

“Is Mother here too?”

“I am.”

The reply came from behind.

There, a brown-haired noble lady, as beautiful as April but with a strangely mature charm, was walking with a bitter smile through the pile of bodies (?) groaning in pain.

“My dear son.”

“Why… is iiiiit….”

Patrick’s madness, which had been escalating, subsided a little.

No matter how fearless Patrick was in the world, with nothing he wouldn't charge at and solving most problems by beating them up, his mother, Ava, was his weak point.

“I heard that you charged out to cut off the Count's head. Why is that?”

“Well, if you hear me out, anyone would have no choice but to understand.”

“Alright. Tell me.”

“That bastard, the Count?”

“What about him?”

“He told me to go to the Academy, you know?”

“……”

“So how can I not be pissed? Huh?”

My son.

My dear son.

What am I to do with you.

* * *

For now, the situation calmed down.

Well, Patrick was still like a keg of gunpowder that could explode at any moment, but well, that was always the case, so it didn't matter.

“Kyarrrrr….”

Baron Schneider sighed and said.

“Son.”

“Grrrr….”

“Speak like a human.”

“Whyyyyrrrrr….”

“Why? You ask why? …I'm the one who wants to ask. You son of a bitch? What's with you all of a sudden? Why were you throwing a fit, saying you'd take the Count's head? Why?”

“Oh my, Father, for a Baron with dignity and grace, ‘throwing a fit’ is quite the expression.”

My father has become quite rough too.

“You… you have the right to speak of dignity…. Ughhhh….”

“My lord. Get a grip.”

“Bring the blood pressure medicine. The blood pressure medicine!”

The Baron, who was about to collapse clutching the back of his neck, downed the medicine Lawrence brought, drank a cup of cold water, took a deep breath, and spoke.

“Why? Why did you do it? Why? Why?”

“Ah, because that bastard told me to go to the Academy?”

“So what? Others are dying to go. There are guys who bribe professors and pay their way in, so why are you throwing a fit when they're letting you in?”

“Then tell those bastards to go. I don't want to.”

“Whyyyyyyyy?”

The Baron was about to go crazy.

When the nobles of the east gathered and chattered amongst themselves, the Baron, although unable to join in, had ears and was listening.

Frankly, he wasn't envious at all of those who had invested well in business and made a lot of money, or bought trendy works of art, or took a new concubine.

But there was one thing that even the Baron was envious of: the nobles who exchanged news about their children who had enrolled in the Academy.

[Hohoho. The 3rd-year curriculum of the Knight Faculty must be tough. My son, who usually doesn't complain, was whining in his letter.]

[The Knight Faculty is still somewhat better. My son, who entered the Law Faculty, is already prepared to repeat a year.]

[The Law Faculty. Isn't it a place where almost no one graduates on time?]

[Hahaha. That's true. I also told him not to worry and just study hard.]

Honestly, he was envious.

No, to be more blunt, he was jealous.

While his son was over at that table just stuffing his face with the Count's food, other families' children had enrolled in the Academy, where the most talented individuals in the Kingdom of Atronia gathered to hone their skills.

There is no one in this world who doesn't enjoy boasting about their children.

Of course, Baron Schneider's son was also a source of pride… pride… pri…

‘Is he a source of pride?’

It was ambiguous.

His son had an outstanding talent for the sword and a knack for making money, but to puff out his chest and boast proudly, there were many embarrassing aspects.

Anyway, the important thing was that the Baron was overjoyed, as if flying through the sky, when it was decided that Patrick could enroll in the Academy.

But the person in question himself was foaming at the mouth and throwing a tantrum, saying he didn't want to go….

“Son. Do you know what kind of place the Academy is?”

“A school, I guess.”

“It is a place where the kingdom's greatest talents gather to hone their abilities for the future.”

“So, it's a school.”

“…Huh?”

Well, yes, he's right.

The statement itself is correct.

“Ahem, but the Academy established by the kingdom is not just any school. It is the premier educational facility that selects the best talents, provides the best education, and nurtures the individuals who will be responsible for the kingdom's future.”

“You really like the word ‘best’, don't you?”

“Be quiet. Anyway, others wish to attend that Academy but can't, even retaking the entrance exam several times. But why do you say you don't want to go even when they're letting you in?”

“Because I don't want to go?”

“A very reasonable reason. Isn't it?”

“No, seriously, what am I going to learn there? What is there for me to learn?”

“Morals?”

“…Huh?”

Hmm, that was certainly something he needed to learn. But….

“Am I the type of guy whose morality will grow by leaps and bounds just by going there?”

“You do know yourself well.”

“Ahem!”

“Don't be proud of it!”

This hopeless child of mine.

He has a ridiculously good grasp of his own character.

Baron Schneider let out a deep sigh and said in a much calmer voice.

“Son.”

“What is it? What kind of scheme are you plotting, calling me in a voice so full of sorrow and regret?”

“Scheme!… I mean… This father will tell you a fact you do not know.”

“…Go on.”

To his son, whose face was full of the expression ‘It won't work no matter what you say, but I'll listen anyway,’ Baron Schneider spoke calmly.

“In fact, this father also took the entrance exam for the Academy in his youth.”

“Tsk tsk tsk, but you failed. What can you do? A loser will always be a loser.”

“I passed.”

“…No way?”

This little punk?

Baron Schneider was offended. Just then, Lawrence, who was standing beside him, said with a smile.

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