I answered the reporters' questions and glanced at my watch. Assuming Dasrote would try to use the charity announcement, I considered the angles they might take.
First, from Dasrote's perspective, the thought would be this: 'Is he just pretending to be good to cover up the scandal?'
Naturally, they would need to emphasize that my intentions were not pure. The most effective way to stir public sentiment was to paint me as an outsider, so presenting an unrealistic, specific monetary figure for magical compensation was a method perfectly suited for Dasrote. Money, and any topic tied to desire, was an area Dasrote exploited to the point of tedium, so the possibility of them targeting the compensation was already high.
"I have a question."
"Yes."
"The Imperial family has expressed intent to investigate Dasrote, and the Imperial Court has immediately issued a search and seizure warrant. The grounds are that Dasrote used photos of a Prussian Kingdom citizen, completely unrelated to the interview, for false reporting."
It wasn't a question about the charity topic, but my aide didn't intervene. He knew better.
Here it comes.
The preemptive donation blocked one of their expected counterattacks, but it couldn't end there.
Were they the type to back down just because a prediction went slightly wrong?
No. There was plenty of room for them to shift focus slightly, away from money and back onto the scandal.
'Just blow the lid off the false reporting then.'
Timing-wise, I thought the Bavarian warning would come first, but this one arrived earlier.
No matter. Both would have a significant impact.
I smiled and listened as the reporter continued.
"I question whether this matter truly warrants a search and seizure, and the Imperial Court's response in issuing the warrant. Do you know if the Bavarian Kingdom or the Bavarian federal government was involved?"
Of course you'd have questions.
To rephrase, his question was this: 'The Imperial family usually turns a blind eye to anything that doesn't directly harm them, so why go as far as a search and seizure over a few photos of commoners?'
Frankly, even I wasn't certain the prosecution—though it's really the Imperial family—would request a warrant. Unless I could read minds, I never moved with absolute certainty.
But it wasn't unreasonable for the prosecution to deem a search necessary. Would a media outlet known for always sourcing fair, correct evidence and reporting sensibly suddenly engage in massive fabrication for this one story?
'No way.'
Especially given that the outlet was Dasrote, it was far more likely they had always operated this way. Naturally, Dasrote wouldn't want to hand over evidence of all their past manipulations, so they'd have either destroyed all records or moved them to a secure location. There was ample reason to conduct a search now.
Then let's think. 'Why would the Imperial family react so strongly to an issue that isn't even theirs?'
Hadn't Dasrote, over the past few years, very cleverly created gossip about Imperial or government figures in their reports?
Of course they had. They touched anything with news value. Though they hadn't gone as far as they did with me, of course. They stayed within lines like 'allegations have been raised,' ending with a few sentences to avoid regulation and punishment.
'And... those were all allegations Dasrote manufactured first.'
Even if not a major blow, from the Imperial family's perspective, Dasrote would be seen as a target requiring close monitoring, one that needed a firm lesson. But true to a society with collusion between politics and media, the Imperial family and Dasrote often shared interests. There were precedents where the Imperial family gave Dasrote hints about individuals they wanted removed, guiding situations to unfold as desired.
So... cutting off magical support would be a waste of a useful pawn, but verbal warnings weren't taken seriously because Dasrote knew the Imperial family was also in a position of need. Therefore, from the Imperial family's standpoint, when a good pretext arose, applying strong pressure once served to demonstrate their power painfully, without causing long-term damage.
The timing was good.
The Imperial family wanted an opportunity to deliver a meaningful warning to Dasrote, and I needed to prevent Dasrote from shifting focus to the scandal and reinforcing false rumors.
Having finished these thoughts, I answered the reporter's question.
"As you know, I am a Bavarian citizen. Regarding Dasrote's false interview and photographic materials, I filed a report with the Bavarian Investigation Bureau based on my nationality. I am unaware of any developments thereafter."
Another reporter raised a hand.
"Including the interview and photos, a total of five individuals were featured by Dasrote. The Imperial Newspaper has reported that for three of them, there already exists recorded evidence proving the information false. Can we consider all of Dasrote's claims to be fabrications?"
This one was trying to outright confirm Dasrote's claims as false. An attitude I appreciated.
I nodded in response.
"Yes. Of course. Let me reiterate, I am not in a romantic relationship with anyone. I never have been, and that remains true now. The individuals in the materials Dasrote presented are all people I have never even met."
Then, the atmosphere in the press section shifted.
It wasn't because of my words. The reporters, seeing something written on the papers they held, quickly opened their mouths.
"I have a question."
"Yes."
"Two minutes ago, the Bavarian Royal Family warned that if Dasrote publishes any more false articles attacking the royal family's authority, they will permanently expel Dasrote's Bavarian branch. Were you aware of this matter, Lord Nikolaus?"
Perfect timing for a connection.
Perhaps the Bavarian Royal Family had also been informed of the Imperial investigation process and timed their announcement to coincide with the Imperial statement.
The search and seizure would have already dealt a blow to Dasrote, making it difficult to continue the issue, but this drove the nail in further. With Dasrote's credibility now in question, the Bavarian Royal Family essentially proved all of Dasrote's claims were fake.
This was the end.
I smiled beneath my mask, looked at the broadcast camera, and spoke.
* * *
Ding—!
〈 Chapter 4. Constant Dripping Wears Away the Stone (2) 〉
Proposal 3: [Impression] Score 5 Defense (?/N) (107 hours 09 minutes 58 seconds)
* Route 1 — 〈 Chapter 5. Good Things Require Time (1) 〉
* Route 2 — 〈 Chapter 5. Don't Praise the Day Before Evening Falls 〉
Congratulations!
'Proposal 3: [Impression] Score 5 Defense' successful!
'Route 1 — 〈 Chapter 5. Good Things Require Time (1) 〉' confirmed.
I lay back comfortably and looked at the status window.
107 hours was about four and a half days.
It ended just over two days in. Since it was marked 'N,' I thought it would last the full week, but it didn't.
And...
Yesterday, the last digits of the impression score were 2513, right?
Lucas Rene Ascanien
Impression: -9.9 [+5.0025496]
Thanks to the charity report and donation news breaking in earnest this morning as well, it jumped nearly tenfold. Considering it was around 15000 after the proposal appeared, it rose even more than that.
'Seeing it end early probably means there won't be any further drops in impression score within the week.'
With the three variables—the preemptive donation, the search and seizure, and the Bavarian expulsion warning—overlapping at once, Dasrote could no longer sustain the topic. They even wrote articles that subtly praised me.
They must have thought scratching further would mean losing more than gaining.
'Not that I'm going to stop here.'
However long the legal battle takes, I'll make sure to finish them off. Of course, filing a lawsuit under the Nikolaus identity would only risk information leaks, so I'll do it after revealing my student status.
'By the way, raising the score isn't easy.'
Seeing that even 4.2 billion didn't push it past 6 points drove the point home again.
I closed my eyes and continued calculating in my head.
To raise the impression score by 4 more points, I'd need events like the live broadcast two or three more times. Even with positive numbers, as the value grows, raising it becomes harder, so hoping for a 3-point jump from a single activity like before is difficult.
'If I'm going to put in the effort anyway, I should build a more refined image.'
As long as I attend school in good health, my brother's anxiety about Luca will only grow. I can't completely avoid school life as a student, so unless I drop out, 'Luca' being consumed is inevitable.
I'll accept the wariness towards Luca, but in turn, I need to make Nikolaus even more solidly secure.
Then, someone tapped the floor with the tip of their shoe.
I opened my eyes to see Leo standing by my bedside.
Not surprising. This was Leo's training ground.
Leo looked at me and gestured with his chin.
"Get up. Time to train."
"Sorry, but I came to say I can't."
"What? Why?"
Leo raised his eyebrows, looking surprised.
"I have a lot to think about."
"Think? You can think while training. I won't say anything today."
"..."
He increases the intensity every time my skills improve. How could I possibly think of anything else under those conditions? The fact he thinks it's possible is astonishing.
More than anything, this guy has a supernatural sense for detecting even a hint of distraction during training and gives serious advice about it. Saying that now just reeks of trying to coax me into training because he wants to.
As I closed my eyes silently again, Leo tried to persuade me once more.
"We haven't trained in over four days because of the council and Dasrote. You'll lose the feel you've built up. You need consistent practice."
What did I expect from this magic-obsessed guy...
I sat up abruptly and leaned against the wall.
"The feel is important, but I need to build up the stamina to think first. Let's start tomorrow."
"Well... disappointing, but fine."
Leo sat down hesitantly beside me, his face looking oddly gaunt.
It was nice to see his magic-crazed expression again after so long.
Still, no intention of training.
Elias is still treating his leg, so he can't train...
"Train with Narke. He's good too."
"Hmm..."
Judging by his response, they hadn't developed that level of familiarity yet.
Naturally. Aside from the secret meetings, they don't really do anything together, so they probably see each other as just another classmate.
Come to think of it... it would be useful if I could see affinity levels between other people.
'...No, cancel that.'
If I get an ability to see others' affinity levels, I shouldn't use it. There might be uses, but compared to Insight and the like, it's relatively much less useful.
Insight would actually be more helpful for gauging relationships between people.
If you're giving something, give me Insight.
Thinking that, I tried to recall who Leo trained with last school year. Luca had zero interest in how the class operated, so no one came to mind.
"Who did you usually train with before?"
"Just classmates. Taking turns."
"Then call one of them and train today."
"Rather not... I'd have to entertain unnecessary conversations besides training. More importantly, you said you wanted to rest to think?"
Since they'd mostly gossip or talk about family matters, 'unnecessary conversations' was accurate.
I nodded and answered his question.
"I'm trying to build Nikolaus's achievements more meticulously. Plans need to be detailed."
"You're trying to make Nikolaus like your older brother, right?"
"Right. I need to do at least that much so later, no matter what my brother tries to incite, I won't be pushed around."
For that, I need to lay a proper foundation.
Especially my past and ID, which still have many holes.
This part needs reinforcement.
"By the way, it's already November 15th. What about the end-of-month evaluation?"
The school postponed it indefinitely, and it's been a week with no news.
Leo frowned.
"Actually, I'm not supposed to say until the day after tomorrow... but come to think of it, you should probably know. Just don't say anything until then."
"What is it?"
"They're sending us to clean the lower restricted zone before the festival. Magic department only."
"...What's the plan? Aren't we all going to die coming back?"
"...I wonder how the kids would react knowing the practical exam dead-last is looking down on it like this..."
Ignoring Leo's dry laugh, I smiled.
Well, that's just the surface-level dead-last, so whatever.
"So, why do I need to know?"
"You'll probably have to take the core inspection again. I told the professor it would be meaningless, but he said we don't know until we try, so we'll do it. The school has been talking a lot about the restricted zone this time, so they've taken an interest, it seems."
"Hmm..."
"But the schedule got messed up because there's a shortage of places to send people this time due to suitability issues. They're also discussing only sending students who pass the inspection... Nothing's confirmed yet. What about you? Just going to take the medicine?"
"Of course."
A good opportunity.
I can definitively inform my brother about my core condition. Not that he'll be completely reassured, but this will be pretty good data.
I retrieved Nikolaus's ID from the bag I'd tossed aside earlier.
Though called an ID, it's closer to a mage registration card.
[Nikolaus Karl Bernhard Yoon Ernst]
The name written in bold caught my eye first.
I couldn't help but let out a dry laugh at its length, but giving unnecessarily long names is a noble trait, so it can't be helped.
The random Korean surname in the middle couldn't be removed due to the record from the first restricted zone visit, so I included it as one of the middle names.
Of course, that's not important. What I wanted to see was this:
Bavarian Royal Magic Association Temporary Registration
Magic General, 5th Class
"Registered as 5th Class."
"Yeah. Temporary registration classes are all set to the median value."
I can't leave it as a temporary registration forever.
Checking the expiry, it's until the end of this year.
There's about a month and three weeks left, but...
"I should go now. Do you have time? If not, I'll go alone."
"Wait, hold on. You're going right now?"
"The timing has to be now."
If the school conducts the core inspection, my brother will hear what class my core is...
By aligning that timing with the ID issuance period, I can escape some of the suspicion.
The suspicion my brother, who sees Nikolaus as a subject of observation, holds.
Seems the school wanted to do some preemptive work using the students.
Thanks to that, I get to ride the wave.
—-----------
T/N:
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