Kays Translations

Chapter 184: Taking the Initiative

The carriage arrived at the Royal Academy gate. There was a knock at the carriage door, and Brother Alex showed what looked like a student handbook to the guard who had approached us.

I didn't know such a thing existed. It was the first time I'd seen one.

After that, the carriage started moving again.

“You have a student handbook? I've never seen one before.”

“It proves you're a student of the academy.”

He handed it to me.

There was something that looked exactly like a picture of Brother Alex's face inside.

Were there cameras in this world?

“Brother, how was this picture of your face made?”

“Oh, that. Everyone is surprised the first time they see it. The academy has a resident artist who paints each student's likeness. It's remarkably accurate, isn't it?”

No way. It was painted by hand?!

It really did look exactly like him. The artist's skill was unbelievable.

With portraits this accurate, you wouldn't be catfished by a matchmaking letter.

…No, wait. I supposed someone could simply order the artist to make them look more attractive.

“That's amazing. I really thought there might be a magic tool capable of capturing exactly what it saw.”

“A magic tool that captures an image? That would be interesting.”

“But if something like that existed, painters might lose their jobs.”

For the sake of the painters of this world, I must not create a magic-camera tool.

I'd keep that in mind.

While we talked, the carriage reached the academy's internal stop. The door opened.

“The student council room is a little way from here. Will you be all right walking?”

“I'm fine, but is it really all right for me, a non-student, to wander around the academy?”

“It should be fine. Probably.”

Probably?

Despite being the former student council president, Brother Alex seemed to have his usual habit of bending the academy's rules and regulations.

Or maybe he simply did things so confidently and suddenly that nobody managed to object.

I followed close behind him so I wouldn't get in the way. Apparently, his face was known throughout the entire academy. Every student who looked at him also looked straight at me afterwards.

We were standing out badly.

Had coming here to see Brother Cain's prospective fiancée been a mistake?

No. Her symptoms were worrying. This was necessary.

The student council room had a dark, almost black wooden door that looked completely different from the doors nearby. It was extremely heavy and imposing. Entering through it would take a little courage.

Perhaps that was why there weren't any students hanging around the corridor.

Brother Alex knocked lightly and entered. I followed him in.

Two boys and one girl were inside. All three looked surprised when they saw us.

“Hello, everyone. You all look well.”

“President—no, Alex-senpai? And is that… little Alex-senpai?”

“Yes. This is my younger brother Julius. I had some business here and brought him along.”

All three stared hard at me.

Little Alex?

Did I really look that much like Brother Alex? I'd thought we were completely different.

“How do you do? I'm Julius Heine.”

“Welcome. We've heard a great deal about you.”

I was curious about exactly what stories had been going around, but we exchanged greetings and sat at the massive table in the centre of the room. It looked old and expensive, and its surface had been polished until it shone.

“How many students at the academy currently have cold symptoms?” Brother Alex asked.

“Perhaps one or two in each class. Were you concerned about the outbreak too, Alex-senpai?”

“Have you checked whether any of the absent students' symptoms have worsened? I already know of one serious case.”

The three sitting across from us looked at one another with wide eyes.

Nobody answered.

Apparently, this was the first they'd heard of it.

“I apologise. We haven't investigated the condition of students who are absent.”

“I see. Students who commute from their family homes can be monitored there, but you need to check the students living in the dormitories. This cold can apparently develop into lung disease.”

Silence fell over the room.

All three officers' faces stiffened. They clearly hadn't expected that.

Like most people, they probably believed there was no magic potion capable of curing lung disease.

“Well, a magic potion that can cure lung disease now exists,” Brother Alex continued. “The creator himself is simply worried that the patient might actually be suffering from a different illness.”

He said that and looked straight at me.

Now all three of them stared at me in astonishment.

Their expressions clouded.

Why was Brother Alex hinting at this so openly? He couldn't possibly want to cause a fuss, could he?

“So that's why you brought Lord Julius here,” one of them said. “Understood. We'll prepare a permit that allows him to enter and leave the academy freely when necessary. Now, what about the magic potion itself?”

I see.

Brother Alex wanted to make sure I wouldn't run into problems simply walking around the academy.

Or perhaps he wanted to make it easier to send me here in the future if the number of patients increased.

That seemed even more likely.

“Unfortunately, we only have one dose of the lung-disease medicine on hand right now,” Alex said. “But if necessary, I'm sure Julius can make additional cold remedy for the academy.”

He looked at me.

Well, I supposed that was fine.

This information would probably be passed to Princess Daniela, and from there it would reach His Majesty the King.

If that happened, I'd probably spend the immediate future making cold remedy and lung-disease medicine.

“I'll cooperate as much as I can.”

“You're very dependable, just like Alex-senpai.”

“Is that so? Julius has always been rather unchildlike. Maybe I didn't play with him enough when he was younger.”

“That's not true.”

The three officers giggled.

The air in the room, which had grown heavy, lightened a little.

So this was how Brother Alex controlled the atmosphere without making it obvious.

The former student council president was no joke.

“Well then, we'll excuse ourselves for now. We'll come back after we're finished with our other business.”

“Understood. By then, we'll confirm the current condition of the students and prepare Lord Julius's academy permit.”

“I'm counting on you, my lovely juniors.”

Brother Alex stood.

I hurriedly rose as well, bowed to the three of them, and followed him out.

Our next stop was Brother Cain's location.

For me personally, this was where the real battle began.

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