How to Live as a Knight After the Ending - Chapter 120



Only Krnovel

Episode 120. The Outrage of Intelligence (2)

“Wow. So this is the problem-solving office I’ve only heard about.”

Thalia’s eyes sparkled.

It was surprising that she, who usually lived in more luxurious and better places, was surprised to see an office like this.

Did she sense Ossian’s gaze? Thalia said, pouting her lips.

“Brother. Did you just think I was a child who didn’t know anything about the world?”

“I was just surprised that you came all the way here. But you’re my brother?”

Thalia’s title felt quite awkward.

We have experience exploring ancient ruins together, so I can’t say we aren’t close. Even considering that, doesn’t calling him oppa feel too close and burdensome?

However, Thalia seemed not to hear Ossian’s remarks and was curious about other things.

“Wow. There’s a gramophone here. And that display case is filled with all sorts of liquor! Isn’t this more of a bar than a troubleshooting office?”

“Because we also have a tavern.”

“I see.”

Thalia sat on a high chair in front of the bar table, swinging her legs back and forth.

As she looked around curiously, her gaze continued to glance at Ossian.

“So, why did you come here? Are you thinking of submitting a request?”

“How did you know?!”

“… … I won’t just come to the problem-solving office to play.”

“Now that I think about it, that’s true.”

Thalia scratched her cheek with her index finger, embarrassed.

Contrary to the smart appearance shown in the ruins, he was surprisingly clumsy.

‘Or maybe I was that nervous.’

Just looking at the current situation here, you can tell that.

“Is there anything you would like to discuss?”

Ossian asked first because he felt like she wouldn’t open her mouth if he left it like that.

Just giving someone a light push by asking them a question can give them a lot of courage.

“… … Yes, that’s right. I came here to ask for a favor.”

“First of all, I want to say that it’s nice to come, but why me first?”

“The only person who came to mind right away was my brother. Since I don’t know much about the problem-solving industry, my brother was the only person I knew. And since we knew each other, I thought I could talk more comfortably.”

“I would like to hear what the request is about, but it is a priority to first ask the broker for the request.”

“Are you a broker?”

Ossian nodded at Ronan, who was sitting quietly in a corner.

Thalia also saw Ronan, and Ronan smiled happily and greeted her politely.

Thalia looked at Ossian and asked quietly.

“… …Why can’t I just ask you, oppa?”

“Why?”

“Why, well… … .”

Thalia couldn’t bring herself to say anything else, but Ossian seemed to know what she was trying to say.

Today, the evils of lookism were once again evident at the Violet Fox Tavern.

‘At this point, I guess I should put up a sign that says ‘0 accident-free days’ or something.’

The only silver lining was that, unlike the others, Thalia was not directly rude to Ronan.

He’s really a good guy. He’s completely different from my brother.

“You don’t have to judge by appearances alone. Ronan is a capable broker. But aside from that, the request you wish to ask of me is related to [Grand Cloister], right?”

Thalia’s eyes widened.

“Oh, how did you know?”

“Just before you came here, there was a case of a wizard going wild nearby. The wizard was wearing a suit with your academy logo on it. Is that right?”

“Ah. That’s why the guards were controlling the vehicles nearby.”

What is there to hide?

Thalia nodded honestly.

“That’s right. There have been some strange things happening in the Academy recently. If I had to pick one, it would be a magical explosion.”

“Magic is running wild.”

“It’s a very serious matter. It has much stronger magical power than its original, but it eats away at its sanity and eventually destroys its surroundings.”

Ossian crossed his arms.

Thinking back to what had happened that morning, I could tell that Thalia’s warning wasn’t just a scare.

[Grand Cloister] If he were a student, his talent would have been far superior to that of his peers, but even taking that into account, his strength was not something that he should have at that age.

Moreover, if you look at the condition of the wizard’s body after the rampage, it’s a miracle that he didn’t die.

“Is there anything suspicious?”

“That’s because there seems to be something going on among students these days.”

It’s medicine.

Ossian already had a bad feeling.

“I guess it has something to do with this recent magic overload incident.”

“Yes, that’s right. Rumor has it that if you take that potion, your magical power will increase and your magical power will become stronger than usual.”

“If you’ve been admitted to the Grand Cloister, you must have talent that will be recognized wherever you go.”

“But it’s human greed to want to become stronger and rise higher.”

Human greed is like that.

If you were recognized as the best writer in your town, village, or city, you would be happy right away.

But when you go out into the wider world, you realize that there are many people who are similar to you or even greater than you.

Objectively speaking, he is clearly an outstanding person, but for someone who was once called a genius, it must be very humiliating to be put below someone.

“The Grand Cloister is very competitive. Everyone works hard here, but not everyone gets the same results. There are rankings within the organization, and in the end, there are winners and losers.”

Ossian nodded, saying he understood.

It was a story that resonated even more with me because in my previous life, I was from Earth, and from a country that was unrivaled in educational fervor.

“It’s the perfect environment for something like that to happen. However, there’s something I’m curious about. If it’s a magical education institute, there should be excellent magicians as teachers. Why didn’t they tell them?”

“I told you. But you scolded me instead. I told you not to spread false rumors.”

“Is it to protect the public image of the Grand Cloister Academy?”

Besides, there may also be an intention to not get involved in the annoying things that happen among students.

But even so, it’s only a stopgap measure. Closing your eyes doesn’t make what happened go away, right?

“Teachers think this will work itself out. Some are happy that they can weed out the weak-willed students who use drugs or something.”

Thalia’s fists shook in anger at the mere thought.

“But if we continue like this, the situation will not get better, but rather worse. I can’t just sit back and watch that happen.”

“Did you tell your brother Terence about this?”

“I know. But you told me not to worry about this. You idiot. You don’t know my speed.”

“Have you reported it to the guards?”

“I did. However, even though they were guards, they couldn’t just investigate the Grand Cloister. Even the teachers were pretending it didn’t happen.”

“So that’s why you came to me.”

Because he is a problem solver, competent, and able to handle things quietly without letting anyone know.

“Haha. This is truly a troublesome request in many ways.”

Ronan approached casually and sat down at a nearby table.

Thalia saw Ronan and unconsciously shrugged her shoulders and stiffened her body.

“Huh? Why are you doing that?”

“Oh, it’s nothing.”

“If you feel uncomfortable or need anything, please feel free to let me know.”

It’s inconvenient for you.

Thalia almost said something like that, but she swallowed it desperately.

At least I wasn’t so ill-mannered as to say things like that out loud like other people.

“Mr. Ossian, what would you like to do?”

“First, let me hear about the salary.”

Ossian said firmly.

Thalia’s eyes widened at those words.

“Look, conservative?”

“Are you planning to use me for free?”

“No, that’s not it. Of course I was thinking about the salary too. But… … .”

Thalia trailed off.

Ronan smiled faintly, knowing why.

“It’s because the salary you offered might not be to Mr. Ossian’s liking.”

“……yes.”

What Thalia feared most was what would happen if Ossian refused this request.

She was at a loss as to who to ask for help next. In fact, at the time she came to the troubleshooting office, the only lifeline Talia could rely on was Ossian.

‘I’ve got a pretty troublesome request.’

Ossian stared at Thalia without saying a word.

If he had asked me to come find someone somewhere, or if he had said that force was needed, I would have taken it lightly.

But this incident itself was different.

An illegal drug distributed within the Magic Academy.

It carries the risk of causing serious casualties by making the wizard go berserk.

Isn’t it too harsh to ask a single troubleshooter to find the cause and eliminate it in the bud?

Perhaps other troubleshooters would have flatly refused.

He said that this was beyond his ability to handle.

In this industry, external image is usually important, so there are many cases where people brag about trying something even if it is difficult.

But even taking that into account, Talia’s request was said to be impossible.

‘And of all places, it’s the Magic Academy.’

Even though teachers were keeping quiet and cracking down on the problem, it was still difficult for a single problem solver to step in and solve it.

Thalia watched Ossian closely, worried that he might reject her.

She has no one left to ask for help other than Ossian.

Ossian was not unaware of that fact either.

So instead of flatly refusing, I asked a question.

“Let me ask you something.”

“Yes? Yes, yes.”

“Why do you go to such lengths to try to solve this problem?”

“Ah, all of a sudden?”

“I was just wondering. You must be a pretty good student at the Magic Academy. You have nothing to do with this, and you will never have anything to do with it.”

Most of the students who committed the incidents were either pessimistic about their own talents or had dangerous personalities that drove them to resort to dangerous means.

But the Thalia that Ossian saw was not like that.

Considering her older brother Terence’s talent, it is only natural that her sibling, Terence, would also be quite talented.

okay.

For Thalia, this incident was strictly speaking ‘someone else’s business’.

No matter what happens to others.

Whether they run wild or not.

It has nothing to do with her at all.

Because we belong to the same academy? That doesn’t give me the motivation to move like this.

So Ossian asked Thalia.

I wonder if she’s hiding something. Or if there’s another reason.

“Do you need a reason?”

But what came out of Thalia’s mouth was completely unexpected.

Ronan, who had been listening quietly from the side, also raised his eyebrows.

“This is dangerous. People could get hurt or even die. It’s not just you who’s getting hurt. It’s also harming innocent people around you.”

“you…….”

“If you say you’re going to solve something like that, why do you need a reason? If you say you’re going to do the right thing in the world, why do you need a reason?”

Thalia’s words were the assertion of an idealist who had no regard for reality whatsoever.

If someone else had heard this, they would have called her a stupid girl living in a flower garden.

Even if the troubleshooters smile on the outside, they will turn around and spit at you, saying that you have bad luck.

But not for Ossian.

Even if you think in your head that it is the right thing to do, it is difficult to put it into action.

But Thalia was willing to do it.

Even though it wasn’t his business, and had nothing to do with him, he did it.

“Is that your answer?”

“Oh, yes. Well, then?”

“hmm.”

“Father, you didn’t fail, did you?”

Thalia was anxious about how Ossian would react.

There was a moment when I felt uneasy, wondering if what I said in vain might have offended him.

“I will accept your request.”

“Yes, yes? You said you would decide after hearing the compensation.”

“That’s right.”

“But why… … ?”

“Because I liked the answer.”

“For just that reason?”

“Of course I intend to receive compensation. Surely you are not planning to receive compensation in exchange for this answer?”

Thalia waved her hand.

“Of course not! I also have a conscience. I have asked you a difficult favor, and I have no intention of just glossing over it. Even if it means borrowing the power of our family, I will definitely compensate you appropriately.”

“That’s fine. You said that, so there’s no way you wouldn’t keep your word.”

Ossian rose from his seat.

“While we’re on the subject, let’s get started right away.”

Thus began the investigation into the rampage of magical power.

*

The Prometheus Consortium dispatched enhanced humans to monitor Ossian’s movements.

Arlo, a beta-level enhanced human, was secretly dissatisfied.

‘Damn it. Why do I, a beta-level agent, have to follow the movements of a mere troubleshooter?’

For that, I had to use my powers and even disguise myself.

The white hair was a common dull brown, and the skin color was also made a little darker.

Manipulating the pigments of the body was nothing to him.

‘First, we need to look into the people around the problem solver.’

The first thing that caught Arlo’s eye was Anna Grund, wearing a red hood and going to the market.

‘The order was to watch, but wouldn’t it be easier if we took hostages and threatened them?’

Arlo made his own judgment. In fact, he had a strong desire not to prolong such a trivial matter.

‘He just so happens to be wandering around alone. If I just catch him… … .’

Arlo carefully observed Ena’s back from inside the alley.

Seeing her wandering around so leisurely, it wouldn’t be like she was kidnapped.

The moment Arlo made up his mind to do so.

Inside the alley, a red light appeared behind him.

“… … !”

Arlo, as expected of a reinforced human, reacted quickly to the sound behind him, but his opponent was faster than him.

A sinister black gauntlet was placed around his neck, muffling his sounds, and dragged him into the darkness of the alley.