Why Is He Here? (2)
Isaac's golden rattle gleamed. So did his eyeballs.
"Haha. A well-raised colt repays kindness with betrayal. Guess sending you to school early paid off, huh?"
Isaac's eyes turned sharp.
Standing in front of him were about twenty male students, all smirking at him.
It was enough to leave Isaac speechless.
So what is this? Some kind of hazing ritual or what?
They were all wearing the same unaffiliated priest robes, making it hard to tell them apart—but at the very least, none of them looked like they were from lowborn backgrounds.
In other words… nobles.
"Hey, string him up upside down."
"He's light, so it should be easy."
…And yet, for noble brats, they had absolutely no sense of dignity? Are these bastards even real clergy? Their eyes looked more like schoolyard bullies.
Did you guys not hear about my performance at the ordination ceremony? Huh?
Still, okay. That part could be forgiven.
I mean, maybe they hadn't heard yet because of the evacuation chaos.
But the problem was the cause of this whole thing.
And by now, there were two possible explanations.
Possibility One:
"Kim Shuri, that bastard betrayed me."
Hmm. Yeah, that tracks.
I did torment Kim Shuri a lot.
If we're ranking people who got hit by my rattle the most, Shuri would be at the top. Sure, it was all to drill sacred laws and knowledge into him, but as an older brother, maybe he did have a grudge.
"So he told his classmates to deal with me instead?"
Yeah, that's plausible.
I'd do the same.
In fact, Shuri had told me to go ahead to the dorm while he fetched some snacks for everyone. Suspicious.
Possibility Two:
"Shuri knows nothing about this."
This was actually the more likely scenario.
Why?
"Don't tell Shuri."
Because they specifically said to keep it a secret from him. If it were prearranged, they wouldn't have needed to say that.
And if that's the case, this is a major problem.
Because that means they completely ignored Shuri's request to take care of his brother! In other words, I'm getting utterly disrespected by his peers!
Still, he did say they were close friends. I mean, come on, Shuri wouldn't let himself be taken for that much of a sucker…
"Hey, but what if Shuri finds out?"
"What if he tells the professors?"
"It's fine. Our Shuri is from Eshua. He'd never snitch."
…Okay, so he is being taken for that much of a sucker.
"We'll just ask him to borrow some Eshua power again as payment for keeping quiet. You know how rare it is to get help from Eshua knights? Even money can't buy that. Who else gets to boss them around?"
This little bastard… I told him to go make friends, and instead he's getting exploited.
Meanwhile, the bastards kept whispering in voices just low enough that Isaac couldn't hear clearly.
"He's not gonna snitch, right?"
"Even if he wanted to, he's still from Eshua. That religion's all about protecting the weak. He couldn't stand to see someone else getting wronged. Pfft."
What even is the Eshua image in your heads? And why am I letting these baby chick priests treat me like this?
"He can't use any other sacred arts, right?"
"Shuri said so. He sucks at everything except purification."
"Oh. So he's a loser?"
A los—what did you just say?
Isaac's face twitched at the unexpected slur.
'Are you kidding me? Even kids like this now… what?'
Back when he was the Demon King, even cardinals couldn't meet his gaze! Their seniors used to piss themselves at the mere mention of his name!
These hatchlings—no, not even hatchlings, more like fertilized eggs—just called the Skull King a loser…?!
'Demon King dignity really hit rock bottom.'
Still giggling, they began to approach.
"It's fine, it's all part of strength training. Priests need to build muscle too."
"We want to score high this term and get into Central."
When they came back with ropes, Isaac's mouth twitched with resignation.
"Ah. Right. Strength training."
"Yeah, think of it as bonding time or some—huh?"
They tilted their heads at what Isaac had pulled out.
They wondered if it was some priest tool, but no matter how you looked at it—it was clearly a baby toy rattle…
Pffft, they couldn't help but laugh.
"What the hell, big body but still a little kid inside—PFFUAAGH!!"
The one who approached got smacked and sent flying. The ridiculous sound had the nearby apprentice priests doubting their ears.
'What was that?'
That sound just now…
No, wait—he just got hit in the face with… a rattle?
…What?!
A rattle?!
They all stared at the object in Isaac's hand in horror. It looked like a child's toy, sure—but the end was stained with blood…
…Wait. Blood?!!
The apprentices' pupils shook.
But Isaac, now twirling the "weapon," had wild, gleaming eyes.
"This is always the problem. No matter how good your intentions are, there's always some slimy little shit to ruin it."
"W-What?"
"Because of brats like you, honest folks like me suffer, damn it!"
Isaac howled, ruthlessly smacking them with the rattle.
"AAARGH!"
"Ack!"
With enhancement magic cast on it, the rattle worked wonders as a blunt weapon. Of course, now that his body had grown, the grip didn't fit as well, which made it less satisfying to swing.
He could have used Whisper to fling it telekinetically, but there were too many eyes on him. Floating objects were a dead giveaway for magic, and that would spread rumors.
Then again, wasn't "crazy guy with a rattle" a bad rumor too?
Either way, it was troublesome.
"Ugh. My body's too big, this is annoying now. Guess I have no choice."
When Isaac lowered his hand, the apprentices finally relaxed. They thought he was about to start stabbing people, but thankfully he seemed to have calmed down…
"Changing form."
Shit! He hasn't calmed down! That lunatic's totally lost it!
As Isaac fiddled with the rattle, something incredible happened. The rattle he'd carried for ten years reacted to his touch and began to glow—
Flash!
"W-What the hell is that…?!"
The rattle's handle extended and morphed into a bizarre new shape.
CRACK!
"A whip?!"
The apprentice priests went pale.
Watching their expressions, Isaac let out a low chuckle.
Why?
Are you amazed by a magic item or something?
That wasn't really why they were shocked, but Isaac laughed to himself anyway.
Someday he'd have to use magic in front of others. If he just pulled it straight from his internal mana core, it'd be dangerous.
So he stored mana in the item instead. That way, people would just think it was a magic tool. Like a fancy carriage heater.
Even if it was weaker than channeling mana directly, for these scrubs…
"What… what are you trying to do?"
The apprentices backed away in alarm, but Isaac cracked his neck.
"Well, yeah. I get it. You guys acting like this? I understand. Studying sacred law pissed me off too."
…Excuse me?
"There's a lot priests have to endure, right? It builds up stress. Yeah. I get it."
Wait, something feels off here…
"Right? Damn bastard gods always going, 'Don't do this, don't do that, don't, don't, don't'—what a bunch of sanctimonious crap, huh?"
Dog—Dog what?
"They say don't eat snacks! Don't drink alcohol! Gambling is forbidden! No meat! Don't hit people! Don't even kill your enemies!"
No!
"Fuck!! Does that sound reasonable to you?! Just kill them all!!!!"
That look in his eyes—he's insane…!
The apprentice priests were the ones who ended up terrified. It felt like they had poked something they really shouldn't have.
"W-Wait! We're sorry!"
"We didn't know you hated jokes like this. We apologize, so please calm down…"
"Joke? I'm always dead serious!"
Isaac raised his rattle high.
***
Shuri was at a loss for words.
Okay, sure, he brought some bread for the group and came to the dorm like planned, but…
"…What the hell is this scene?"
Did he walk into a torture chamber by mistake?
Inside the dorm, the young noble sons were groaning, lying face down in a row. And on top of them, sitting smugly, was a certain little kid…
"Oh hey, Kim Shuri's here."
Still holding the bread bag, Shuri could only stare at Isaac in disbelief.
"…What the hell are you doing?"
"Team bonding."
"…Usually, team bonding involves looking each other in the face."
As soon as Shuri said that, Isaac barked out:
"Look each other in the face?! Get your faces up to the sky! Face down!"
"What?!!"
Is that even physically possible? But once Isaac fondled the rattle, everyone quickly turned their faces skyward.
At the same time, Isaac took out a juice bottle from the bag Shuri brought.
"Our big bro brought some yummy juice too."
He popped it open and poured it directly into the mouths of those lying there, still staring at the sky.
Shuri was dumbfounded.
"…What exactly are you doing?"
"What do you mean what? Can't you tell? It's a tea party!!!"
Whatever happened, Isaac had clearly snapped. Shuri's teammates looked at him with pleading faces.
"Class rep! Help us!"
"He's your brother!!"
Shuri tilted his head, confused.
"You guys outnumber him. And none of you look hurt. Didn't you just play along voluntarily?"
They were far too intact to have been on the receiving end of a beating.
But the apprentices were losing their minds at that comment.
Voluntarily? Voluntarily?!
'You think we didn't try to fight back?!'
They'd thought they could overpower a single kid with numbers.
But every time they tried, they got blown away by his counter sacred arts.
They'd even thought about pretending they were hurt and using it as an excuse to demand compensation from Shuri, but…
"Ugh. I hate sacred arts, but I do like this one thing."
"Wh-What is it?"
"Not seeing blood."
CRACK!
This crazy bastard had been simultaneously using enhancement and healing sacred arts while swinging his rattle around.
In other words, they were getting healed at the same time as they were getting beaten.
'No one said he could use multiple sacred arts at once!'
Eventually, as the other students looked at Shuri like helpless puppies, he let out a sigh.
He didn't even need to ask. He could already guess what happened.
These were the very guys who had said they'd help discipline Isaac when he first mentioned him.
'I told them they'd be the ones getting corrected instead…'
And it really did turn out that way.
Shuri clicked his tongue and looked at Isaac.
"Did you forget? These guys are our teammates. We need good grades. What good does it do to ruin your relationships with them… huh? What's this?"
Shuri looked at the paper Isaac was holding out. It had the names of the team members assigned together.
"What is this?"
"A list of friends you need to cut off."
"…What?"
"Well, not all of them. I interviewed them one by one. Turns out a few were just trying to leech off you."
"???"
As Shuri looked over the list, his expression began to twist. When he stared at the faces marked in red pen, his expression turned ice cold.
"…Ah."
So that's why Isaac was pissed off?
Because there were bastards trying to leech off the family?
Those students paled and raised their voices in disbelief.
"Wait, you actually believe him?!"
Shuri turned to Isaac for confirmation.
"What's the criteria for who got circled?"
"Bastards who don't pay a dime, but rack up a shitload of maintenance costs!!"
"…Ah."
In other words, ungrateful freeloaders.
"They've been borrowing from Eshua for seven years. But they've never given anything back. Even if you're not expecting a return, this is too much."
Sweat trickled down the marked students' faces.
Damn it. Sure, they'd stuck close to Eshua because they were the least likely to ask for repayment among the Five Great Houses, but…
"W-Well, it's just that Eshua's such a great noble house. You guys already have everything, so we figured you wouldn't need our help…"
"Why? Isn't your family in pharmaceuticals? Didn't you recently make some aphrodisiac or something? Your brother used it to date five girls, but it backfired, and he got slapped and kicked out of the party, didn't he?"
That student turned ghostly pale. Shuri's face twisted in horror.
…What the hell kind of intel had this lunatic dug up?
"You could've at least given that to Shuri."
Why the hell would I want that, you bastard?
"He doesn't look like he's popular anyway."
I'm more popular than you, thank you very much. And I'm from Eshua—I'm not lacking in looks, okay?!
"Anyway, you're all noble sons. Friends? Don't be amateurs. Even if the balance isn't equal, don't let it tip too far one way."
The apprentice priests trembled uncontrollably.
This guy's eyes—he's seriously lost it.
"B-But we don't have anything to offer…"
Isaac gave a grin and grabbed their heads.
"Who says you don't~? You've got perfectly healthy bodies, don't you? You don't realize what a blessing it is to have intact organs, huh? Organs that can be sold? Wow, amazing, right?"
"??!!"
This ex-skeleton, who didn't even have organs, grinned with gleaming eyes.
Maybe this was the real point all along.
"Get it? I'm not asking for much. You want to get placed in Central? Then stop overthinking things trying to benefit your family. Just do your part in the group—be sincere, cooperative, and loyal, bros. Got it?"
"...!"
The terrified apprentices nodded furiously.
Finally, Isaac stood up, satisfied.
Hah, fucking hell. I really lost it seeing these unfertilized eggs treating Eshua like some pushover wallet.
Only I get to treat Eshua like my personal bank.
If left unchecked, this would've completely ruined team activities, so he'd just given a little warning.
"Good. Tea party's over."
…Wait, it was a tea party?
"Well, I think this is enough 'moral education' for the leeches."
…Does he even realize that the first evaluation criterion in "Pentagon" is 'harmony'??
Shuri sighed as he looked through the list again, then tilted his head.
'One name's missing. Where'd that guy go?'
And that very student was now sprinting out of the dorm, gasping for breath.
'Damn it, this wasn't part of the plan!'
That student had, in fact, been a spy planted by the enemy duke's house—Nigel Sephet.
"Bring me everything on Isaac Eshua. What he's planning, his abilities, anything suspicious. Even the tiniest detail."
"B-But…"
"Don't want to? That's fine. But Eshua is full of Saint Candidates. They'll be desperate to perform well. Without your help as a teammate, they'll never climb the ranks. They'll try to win you over. Don't worry—we'll support you."
Damn it. What do you mean try to win me over?
'I'm backing out of this.'
He tore the note he was going to send to the Sephet house into shreds.
***
Around the same time—
In the Papal Office, Cardinal Berit was tapping his desk. His fingers drummed with restrained fury.
He called a servant and asked:
"I gave instructions for Isaac Eshua to be summoned, didn't I? Why hasn't he shown up? Was the letter not delivered?"
"N-No, it was delivered."
"Maybe he didn't see it."
"Ah… no, that's not it. We sent five letters, and three different attendants went to summon him directly."
Cardinal Berit fell silent.
"…So he's just been ignoring it, then?"
"…Yes."
"…A mere apprentice priest, ignoring a summons from a cardinal?"
"…Yes."
This insane little bastard?
[T/L: Read extra chapters on my ko-fi page "Pokemon1920" : https://ko-fi.com/pokemon1920 ]