CH 33

Epilogue: Where to Return

Translated by Hikaru

Edited by Mel

The next day, I arrived at school as usual and noticed that the classroom was a little noisier than normal.

As I made my way to my seat, I listened to the words flying around. I could hear voices of surprise and confusion everywhere, “You’re lying,” and “I don’t believe you.”

“Tweight. Come here.”

As I sat down in my seat, Elysia called out to me with a mysterious look on her face. Tilting my head, I followed her to the courtyard.

In the quiet garden with a chilly breeze blowing softly, Elysia looked back at me.

“Thi … did you do it?”

As she spoke, Elysia held out a large stack of papers.

It was an extra newspaper that had been issued throughout the capital this morning. On the front page was a shocking article.

“The Assassination of Robert Telgande.”

“Because of a Conspiracy.”

The newspaper reported that Robert Telgande, the second son of the Duke of Telgande, had been assassinated last night. It seemed that someone attacked him when he was at his rented villa in the royal capital.

The culprit has yet to be found. When the guards investigated the scene, they found a ledger book among Robert’s belongings. It contained evidence of the corruption that Robert had been involved in so far, as well as detailed information about the illegal business partners with whom he had been in close contact. The culprit was suspected to be an assassin sent by one of his business partners.

“It’s a dangerous world we live in.”

“You’re so obvious. It’s you, isn’t it?”

“What are you talking about?”

Of course, it was me.

But there was no evidence of that. Everything in the newspapers was the result of a cover-up by the bureau.

This maneuver was probably also a way to publicize throughout the country that the bureau had obtained the ledger books. By this time, Robert’s business partners must be breaking out in a cold sweat. Now that they realized that they were in a vulnerable position, they could no longer resist the bureau.

“Well… it’s okay. I somehow understand who you are.”

“Is that so?”

“My father once told me a story. Knights are not the only ones who protect this country. It’s not widely known, but there are people who protect this country in a different way than knights.”

I was not such a lofty person.

So was the case last night. What we’ve done so far is not something to be praised.

In fact, they had threatened Robert’s business partners, not caught them. We had decided that it was in the best interest of the country to be able to use them as pawns when necessary, rather than to judge and dispose of them illegally.

The Royal Defense Intelligence Bureau works solely for the benefit of the nation. It is not an organization that offers a helping hand to the suffering innocents.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. As I told you before, I used to be a cleaner.”

“So, last night. After you left me, you went out to clean?”

“Yeah. This time, the dirt itself was not a big deal, but there was a lot of extra stuff around it. It was harder to get due to that.”

“…yes.”

Elysia made a small gesture and dropped her gaze.

“Then, at least let me say this… Thank you.”

Elysia said, looking at the trees swaying in the wind.

I just accepted it in silence.

“Hey, you two. What are you doing out here?”

“Class is about to start.”

When I lost the line of the story, Glan and Mize came to my side. They both seemed to be on their way to class and were carrying their bags.

Elysia and I exchanged glances for a moment and laughed at the same time.

That was the end of the nasty talk. I told Glan that it was nothing, and headed to class.

“…Huh?”

Just as we were about to head to the classroom, Elysia called out..

“Come to think of it, aren’t we in a relationship now, Tweight?”

“Hmm?”

“Ee?”

“What?”

Me, Mize, and Glan all voiced our doubts, but out of the three of us, I was the only one who had an idea of what Elysia was talking about.

“…do you think so?”

“I think I do. It’s like we’ve become lovers, you know? We even kissed.”

The day before the joint exercise. When I stopped Elysia’s revenge, I kissed her in the heat of the moment.

“Oh, hey! Tweight! What do you mean? Didn’t you just say something about kissing!?”

“I demand a full explanation!”

Glan looked desperate, while Mize looked somewhat amused, and asked me a question. How should I answer? For some reason, I felt a warm feeling as I puzzled over it.

Oh, I see.

So this was everyday life. An ordinary, simple life. I now understood that this was where I should be.

I am back now.

From the cruel world of death. From the darkness of a conspiracy swirling nation. I’ve returned to my ordinary days.

I was glad. I was able to protect this daily life.

Enjoying a normal life.

To be honest, I was not sure if I was going to achieve this goal. But at least, I realized that this daily life was worth protecting. If someone didn’t, it could easily be destroyed.

I wanted to tell the man I was not so long ago, when I was fighting selflessly,

It would be fine. There’s nothing to worry about.

What you’ve been protecting is definitely worth it.