Chapter 109

By the stream, a good distance from the cabin.

Eddie sat alone in front of the stream that flowed through the orchard.

“Hoo……”

He buried his deeply bowed head between his legs and let out a trembling breath.

As he did, the pain in his side was felt more clearly.

Gail had said that Eddie's condition was also not good, and that he should receive an immediate examination and rest, but Eddie could not.

Right now, he needed this pain that felt like it was stabbing his entire body.

He felt like he had to experience at least this pain.

Shwaaaaaaa-

A cool breeze blew, sweeping through the fruit trees.

That refreshing energy cooled the heat of the emotions boiling inside Eddie, even if only a little.

Eddie slowly raised the head he had been bowing for a long time.

He then shifted his gaze to the object he had been holding in his hand all along.

It was Caliptus' Eye, with Daz's blood still not dry on it.

The secret art he had been wearing until the moment of his death.

As he took in the golden monocle that sparkled in the sunlight, Eddie squeezed his eyes shut.

As trusted, Daz had brilliantly utilized Caliptus' Eye in the operation.

If he hadn't noticed Furas' surprise attack in advance and cast a shield, even Eddie might have died.

Although the shield was not strong enough to completely block Virgamut, thanks to Daz buying a moment of time, he was able to come to his senses and defend himself.

'He cast the first shield not on himself, but on my side. That's why his body was open and he was pierced by Virgamut.'

Eddie gritted his teeth.

Daz had not even let out a small groan even after his body was pierced.

He must have been worried that if his injury was known, Eddie and his comrades would be agitated, and the enemies would gain momentum.

He had even kept the Virgamut, which had been included in the summoning area with them, confined within his body until the very end.

'He is a child with a very strong sense of responsibility, as much as his excellent skills.'

Leodimir's assessment of Daz was accurate.

He, who was the field leader of the Mercuries, had fulfilled his responsibility to the end and completed his mission.

'He was an excellent disciple, Leo.'

Opening his closed eyes, Eddie gave a small, bitter smile.

His two eyes were filled with a devastated heart.

In the end, on the path to revenge, someone's life had been sacrificed.

And not just anyone's, but the life of a grand-disciple.

Of course, he had not entertained the naive thought that no one would die in this great battle.

But something you're prepared for isn't necessarily not difficult, and the fact that the subject was a grand-disciple was certainly a difficult thing.

Eddie caught his breath as he looked at the blood-stained Caliptus' Eye.

And when his exhaled breath no longer trembled, he slowly got up from his seat.

Thump, thump, thump-

Approaching the stream, Eddie looked down at his own face reflected in the clear water.

His face was stained with Daz's blood.

As he faced his own face, splattered with the blood of his grand-disciple, his gaze slowly changed.

The anger that had been suppressed by his devastation began to raise its head.

The face of Furas, brought to mind by the brilliant golden light of his eyes.

When he thought of Furas, the face of his father, Ivan, also came to mind, and a part of his chest grew even hotter.

Anger rose to the point where he no longer even felt pain.

The will for revenge, which was already firm, was sharpened even more.

Eddie looked up at the sky and conveyed his will to Daz.

“I will shatter the one who killed you into pieces. And I will show you that your sacrifice was by no means in vain.”

Squeeze-

A vein popped on the back of the hand that was holding Caliptus' Eye.

Leodimir had said thank you to his dead disciple and let him go.

On the other hand, Eddie took on his grudge and renewed his resolve.

Shwaaaaaaa-

The cool breeze now blew from behind Eddie.

After sending his condolences on the wind, Eddie turned his body and returned to the cabin.

* * *

Daz's funeral was held at Leodimir's private estate.

It was a very simple funeral, with his body being cremated and his ashes sent off on the wind, watched by those who had been with him at his death.

It couldn't be helped.

It was the nature of the Mercuries to operate in the shadows and disappear without a trace.

After sending Daz off, Eddie informed the second generation of Palamedes, who would be waiting for news, of the success of the operation.

And he also added a request, 'For the time being, keep a low profile and do not take any action.'

This was because of Furas, who would be hell-bent on finding out Eddie's backers.

This incident would have convinced him that Eddie had a huge backing force.

So, Furas would first try to investigate Leodimir and the second generation of Palamedes.

He would have them watched and followed.

Even if it was inside the academy, he had already built up a close relationship with the elder professors.

They would willingly become his eyes and ears and watch.

So, for the time being, it would not be easy for the second generation and Eddie to have contact even as students and professors.

Perhaps the pretext of being the class vice president was a small breakthrough, if it could be called one.

Only after giving various instructions to the second generation did Eddie finally receive Gail's examination.

Due to the large expenditure of power in Shainborough, his circle was overloaded, his body was injured in various places, and his stamina was at rock bottom due to psychological problems.

But even in this state, the fragment of Rakan's claw was surprisingly quiet.

Previously, it would try to seize the initiative of his mana even if Eddie's condition worsened slightly.

Now, even though his condition was at rock bottom in many ways, the claw fragment was not emitting mana.

Even though Eddie had entrusted his body to Rakan's mana twice in Shainborough.

This was a positive change.

It meant that Rakan's mana had toned down its aggressiveness towards Eddie.

Gail speculated about this sudden cooperation like this.

“I believe it is because Rakan is sympathizing with the Master's anger over Daz's death.”

Eddie and Leodimir also agreed with that speculation.

Rakan had lost countless clansmen to the current Kirhausen.

That sorrow and anger would be similar to what Eddie felt after losing his grand-disciple.

Furas' choice to kill Daz had strengthened the bond between Eddie and Rakan.

It was not something to be happy about, but the fact that Furas had made a mistake was by no means a bad thing.

Eddie calmed his mind and placed his hand on his left side.

The pain was still severe, but he was no longer afraid of it.

This too was a mistake that Furas had made without realizing it.

Because Eddie's anger was so great that he didn't even feel the pain.

And of course, this anger would never diminish.

Because a life lost will never return.

Gail, having finished the examination, returned to the Mercury headquarters.

Eddie remained with Leodimir and they talked about the future.

“By now, he must have realized that all the secret arts in the separate dimension have disappeared. Furas' anger must be immense.”

“It would be. But he won't be able to rashly make that fact public. He would have to make up an excuse for how he found out he was robbed in the first place.”

“Unless he reveals the battle at Shainborough, that is.”

“Right. So, you will be watched even more closely. He will have to find the secret arts somehow.”

“I have already anticipated that.”

Leodimir answered calmly and sipped his tea.

“By the way, I’m worried about the immediate future. The voices demanding your expulsion, Master, will not be small.”

At Leodimir's words, Eddie let out a short laugh.

The fact that he had to think about how to attend school in the future in the midst of all this was quite absurd.

But this concern was not only from a dean to a student.

Soon, Kirhausen would announce the news that Eddie had left the family, and then Eddie would officially no longer be a tail.

The justification for attending the academy would disappear.

Of course, in principle, it didn't matter since he had passed the exam with his own skills.

The tuition that Kirhausen would no longer pay, Eddie would be able to earn through scholarships and other means with his abilities.

But that was only in principle.

Kirhausen would use all available methods to get Eddie expelled from the academy.

Using not only the elder professors, but also the academy's board of directors, the media, and all the magical families within their sphere of influence.

The reason was clear.

Eddie, who knew about the family's corruption, must not be allowed to tell Marcel this fact.

“They will do all sorts of things to keep me away from Marcel.”

“They will probably contact numerous family heads and media outlets during the holiday. They will create a public opinion that your expulsion, Master, is justified.”

“They will also claim that if I'm not expelled, it's an admission that the dean is backing me.”

It was an obvious move.

But it was a powerful move that they would use without hesitation despite its obviousness.

“For now, I can attend until this semester with the tuition that bastard Furas paid… I'll have to be busy during the remaining period.”

Eddie said, sipping his tea.

“In any case, the biggest reason for staying at the academy now is to approach 'that child'.”

Tak-

Eddie put down his teacup and thought of a female student at the academy.

She, who had red hair like Joy, was the most important part of the next plan.

“Bring Joy here. I need to formulate a detailed plan.”

This time, referring to another red-haired female student, Eddie looked at Leodimir.

Leodimir understood Eddie's instructions and nodded his head.

* * *

The next day.

The world was once again abuzz as Kirhausen issued a statement about Eddie.

Eddie had left the family of his own free will, and he was no longer an admission assistant of the Kirhausen family.

With that, the separation of Eddie and the current Kirhausen was official.

And as if waiting, the newspapers that Kirhausen had pressured poured out speculative articles.

The content was roughly as follows.

[Did Eddie Summerson leave Kirhausen at the suggestion of Dean Devens?]

[Will Eddie Summerson now become an admission assistant of the Devens family?]

[Eddie Summerson, is his real purpose the establishment of an anti-Kirhausen organization centered on commoners?!]

Articles with all sorts of sensational headlines filled the newspapers.

Since they were articles instigated by Kirhausen, the purpose was one.

To brand Eddie as a 'traitor' with impure intentions.

This was to make the public more naturally accept his impending demand for expulsion.

And sure enough.

A few more days passed, and letters from family heads demanding Eddie's expulsion flooded the academy.

In those few days, Furas had quickly instigated the family heads.

But here, a variable arose that Furas had not considered.

Opinions opposing Eddie's expulsion came from non-commoners as well.

They were the influential figures of Lacania who had children at the academy, and the ambassador of Embas who had heard the news.

They had no intention of leaving Eddie, who reminded them of Phinix Embas, alone like this.

In short, it was a matter of regional and national pride.

So, they swarmed like bees, arguing to the academy that 'expelling Eddie without a valid reason is unjust.'

And when they gathered courage, the commoners who had been suppressed by the prestigious families also raised their voices again.

Of course, that was not enough to overturn the public opinion of the upper class that Kirhausen had instigated.

But the fact that the public opinion, which was expected to be one-sided, had become a debate was a great help to Eddie.

Leodimir could delay the decision about Eddie, using the divided public opinion as an excuse.

This series of events was by no means beneficial to Kirhausen.

They didn't need to care about the support of the commoners that had hit rock bottom, but the conflict with the domestic and foreign upper class was painful.

Nevertheless, Kirhausen did not stop its attack on Eddie.

Furas' anger towards Eddie was so great that he would go to the end even if it meant a victory with only losses.

Thus, during the holiday, the story of Eddie made the whole empire buzz.

The rural commoners who had not yet heard the news learned of Eddie's situation through the newspapers.

Everyone came to know that Eddie was under attack from the upper class of the magical world, led by Kirhausen.

And even.

Joy, who lived in a remote place even in a rural village, and her grandfather with limited mobility.

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