First of All, I’m Drinking - Chapter 91

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 91

“But I don’t see Veronica around.”

“Ah, Veronica? She took a leave of absence.”

“A leave of absence?”

“Because of this incident, several parents got anxious and said they couldn’t send their kids to school, so they submitted leave of absence applications as a group. There are a few others besides Veronica. In our class, it’s just Veronica though.”

So it wasn’t just a day’s absence, but a leave of absence.

If many students took leaves of absence, there was a possibility that class rankings would change significantly.

“It’s a sad situation.”

Max looked at me with melancholic eyes.

This guy, as royalty, seemed to feel tremendous responsibility for this incident.

“So I’m really grateful to you, Asel. If it weren’t for you, there would have been several times more casualties.”

“You don’t need to thank me. I just did what I wanted to do.”

Saving the students.

Revealing the power I had hidden.

It wasn’t because of some grand sense of mission or purpose.

I just acted as my heart led me.

“You really are strong though.”

Max seemed genuinely impressed by my martial prowess.

“Who did you learn swordsmanship from?”

“No one like that. I’m self-taught.”

“Self-taught to 5-star at 17… The Empire is blessed. Don’t you have any thoughts about applying to the Imperial Guards later?”

“…I’ll think about it.”

“Good. Think about it positively.”

Max said that and returned to his seat.

During the continuing classes, only one thing filled my mind.

If it wasn’t Raeseya Welton.

Then who is the real Agent of Baal?

What I realized after enrolling was that investigating everyone at the Academy during the remaining three and a half years until graduation would be nearly impossible.

The scale was too large, and there were far too many people.

In the end, someone’s help was absolutely essential.

If it was an organization rather than an individual, that would be even better.

[I’m saying this out of concern, but it would be better not to get deeply involved with those guys.]

Gabriel seemed to be discouraging me from getting entangled with them, saying the Nox Cartel was a dangerous organization.

However, this was a situation where I had to grab onto anything I could.

Even if it was a rotten rope, I had to reach out first.

After school.

I went to Garcia’s private research room.

Knock. Knock.

“Come in.”

Creak.

I opened the door and entered.

Garcia, who had been standing by the window looking at the red sunset, turned his gaze to me.

“It seems we both have a lot to say. Sit down first.”

“Yes.”

While I sat at the reception table and waited briefly, Garcia brought out tea.

Garcia took a sip of tea and immediately opened his mouth.

“So.”

Garcia’s calm eyes turned toward me.

“Did you take care of Raeseya Welton?”

“I did kill her. However, she wasn’t the Agent of Baal.”

“I see.”

Garcia didn’t seem particularly surprised.

As if he had expected this to happen.

Slurp.

Garcia took another sip of tea.

A subtle sneer lingered at the corners of his mouth.

“I clearly remember you being almost certain that Leisia was the Agent of Baal.”

“I was.”

“But she wasn’t. Trust has already been broken once here. Don’t expect me to readily believe whatever you say from now on.”

“She may not have been the Agent of Baal, but she was indeed a priest of the Demon Lords. She was a priest of Pluton, the eighth throne.”

Garcia’s eyebrows curved.

As if telling me to continue.

“I understand that the mission your organization gave you was to identify and eliminate the high-ranking priest of the Demon Cult who had infiltrated Millennium Academy. There’s no mention anywhere of dealing with the Agent of Baal.”

“That’s right.”

“Haven’t you already completed your mission, Professor? It would be fine for you to withdraw now and return to your organization.”

“…”

Thud.

Garcia set down his tea on the table with an annoyed expression.

“You’re saying this knowing full well that I can’t return yet.”

“I didn’t mean to provoke you. I apologize.”

“Like hell you didn’t. A kid who’s still wet behind the ears trying to mess with an adult already – that’s no good.”

The mission the Nox Cartel gave Garcia.

As long as he didn’t know exactly who the ‘high-ranking priest of the Demon Cult’ referred to, Garcia couldn’t return to the organization yet.

Pluton’s priest Raeseya Welton was dead, but.

The Agent of Baal was certainly still walking around the school grounds perfectly fine.

“I heard there’s a suspect list that the organization sent.”

Raeseya Welton was just the most likely suspect based on Garcia’s investigation during the vacation using that list.

If we tracked the other people listed there one by one, we might be able to find a clue.

But Garcia firmly shook his head.

“Sorry to say, but I can’t share that list with you.”

“Why not?”

“Why? There’s no way I could easily share documents containing organizational secrets with an outsider.”

“But didn’t you tell me about Raeseya Welton?”

“I could cover one person with my discretion, but this list contains not only personal information of dozens of people but also the circumstances that led the organization to suspect them. I can’t show it to an outsider. Unless you become a member of the Nox Cartel.”

“I’ll do it. How can I join?”

Garcia tilted his head with a bewildered expression.

“Are you… serious?”

“Of course. Would a student lie to a professor?”

“…Once you set foot in the organization, you can’t get out. You’ll be under the organization’s surveillance and tracking for life.”

“I’ll accept that.”

The Nox Cartel.

Apart from being an international assassination organization, I knew almost nothing about them.

However, what I could be certain of was.

‘They possess information about the Demon Cult.’

Also, they were likely to have hostile tendencies toward the Demon Cult.

They had identified that a high-ranking priest of the Demon Cult had infiltrated Millennium Academy.

They possessed enough information to even compile a suspect list.

Just being able to utilize that information made joining the Nox Cartel worthwhile enough.

‘I’ll ignore the risks for now.’

Right now, let me just think about the benefits I can extract.

How this decision will affect my future maneuverability remains uncertain.

But if my relationship with them turns out well, I’ll gain new allies.

“…I’ll convey your intentions to the organization.”

Garcia caught his breath for a moment before continuing.

“Don’t get your hopes up too high. There’s no precedent for accepting someone who isn’t even an adult as an organization member.”

“Understood.”

He says there’s no precedent, but isn’t there always a first time for everything?

“Please relay my message properly to your boss.”

I was confident.

“About what I accomplished in the Void Tundra.”

If they hear directly about what I did, the level I reached.

They won’t be able to resist accepting me.

After all, it would mean the next generation’s strongest person becoming a member of their organization.

“Haha, confidence is good.”

Garcia burst into hearty laughter.

“When can I know the result?”

“It won’t take long.”

Our conversation ended there.

I returned to the dormitory.

I lay on my bed blankly, staring at the ceiling.

‘I’m doing the right thing, aren’t I?’

No answer comes from questioning myself.

I have no choice but to find it myself.

I gradually fell into slumber just like that.

* * *

The next morning.

Assembly time.

“Starting this week, the second semester individual tournament begins.”

Amelia began with a solemn voice.

“As you know from the first semester, individual tournament results are reflected as the top priority indicator for ranking calculation along with midterm and final exams, so I hope everyone works hard.”

I whispered quietly to Fail beside me.

“Is the individual tournament also held with all students gathering at the training ground like the class tournament?”

“Ah, that’s…”

Fail smiled and was about to answer my question, but Amelia’s ears perked up faster.

“Come to think of it, Asel doesn’t know the individual tournament format. Good. I’ll explain the individual tournament rules once more for Asel’s sake.”

To hear a quiet whispered conversation from the very back row.

As expected of a Swordsmanship Department professor.

Her senses were incredibly sharp.

“The individual tournament has everyone compete once a week. It’s held at the outdoor training ground, commonly called the ‘Colosseum,’ divided among Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.”

As long as I knew each person competed once a week, honestly the competition format didn’t matter much.

What’s important is the bracket arrangement.

Depending on who the opponent is, win rates would vary drastically.

“Initially, all students start at 0 wins and 0 losses.”

Amelia’s explanation continued.

“After a week passes, students will be divided into 1 win 0 losses and 0 wins 1 loss. From then on, students with identical records face each other.”

1 win 0 losses against 1 win 0 losses.

0 wins 1 loss gets matched with 0 wins 1 loss.

“Next week there will be 2 wins 0 losses, 1 win 1 loss, and 0 wins 2 losses groups. Similarly, only students with identical records face each other.”

While bracket luck might have a big influence early on when all students have similar records.

As this process repeats, students of similar skill levels will eventually gather in the same record groups.

It was a good system that balanced brackets while also providing benefits or penalties.

“Matches are held this way for a total of 15 weeks.”

15 weeks.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say they compete for almost the entire semester.

“Students who achieve 8 wins or accumulate 8 losses midway are excluded from subsequent matches. Of course, students who achieve 8 wins receive massive benefits, while those who accumulate 8 losses face penalties.”

If you never lose a single match, you can achieve 8 wins 0 losses in week 8 and graduate from the individual tournament early.

On the other hand, if no conclusion is reached to the very end, you must prepare for the final battle of doom in the 7 wins 7 losses group in week 15.

“For reference, last semester Class A’s Meirei Estrada finished early in week 8 with an undefeated record. I’m hoping someone from our class will be the undefeated champion this semester.”

Amelia saying this was subtly sending glances my way.

Not just Amelia.

I could feel everyone in Class B sneakily glancing at me.

Though everyone in the Swordsmanship Department is a competitor, they say your arm bends inward.

If they couldn’t achieve 8 wins 0 losses themselves, they seemed to hope an undefeated champion would emerge from their own class.

‘If it were a week ago, I would have hidden my strength appropriately and manipulated my record…’

With my martial prowess already fully exposed, doing such things would be nothing more or less than deception.

‘I’ll do my best and get out quickly.’

I don’t have the luxury to waste my already insufficient time on such things.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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