Chapter 157. The Compass of Evil in My Heart
The next day.
I met Ransi again in front of the warp gate administration office.
“Are you truly sure about this? Lady Gamo will make preparations, of course, but the nobles’ scheming will be far more humiliating and petty than you can imagine, Aster-nim.”
“…”
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
I stared straight at her, then shook my head slightly.
“No reason.”
“…?”
It was because emotion had appeared on the face of the usually stone-faced Ransi.
Normally, she would have stopped me in a purely formal tone, like “because Lady Gamo ordered it,” all business.
But right now, she seemed… genuinely worried.
With her expressing concern this strongly, I couldn’t help but ask.
“What on earth are they like, for you to say that?”
I honestly wanted to know.
I’d seen everything there was to see—things you should and shouldn’t see and even things shaped like diamonds—but I’d never experienced nobles’ schemes firsthand.
And yet, for some reason—
The corner of Ransi’s eye trembled.
‘What’s that about?’
The tremor vanished quickly enough that I could’ve dismissed it as my imagination, and just then Ransi opened her mouth.
“They’re childish.”
“Most scheming is.”
Dirty tricks are usually childish by nature.
I’d only asked because I wondered if nobles had their own special brand of underhandedness.
But the dirty tricks that spilled from Ransi’s lips went beyond childish and straight into downright pathetic.
“They’ll stick out a leg.”
“In a crowded…”
“Imagine this. Right in the middle of a banquet hall, someone suddenly trips and falls with a thud. You’re holding a glass of red wine… no, it would be food in your hand in your case, Aster-nim. What do you think happens when you fall?”
“It’ll all spill on my clothes?”
“That’s when someone rushes over. ‘Are you all right?! Aster-kun, this is…!’ I can promise you the voice will be just loud and clear enough to draw everyone’s attention.”
As she spoke, Ransi’s brow gradually furrowed, as if recalling a particularly unpleasant memory.
After that, she kept talking without my even having to prod her.
“Sometimes they’ll try to put you in your place with so-called culture—art or music, literature, politics, economics, social issues, and the like.”
“That much is…”
“They’ll call on you to speak in front of everyone.”
“…?”
“It’s nothing more than handing you the floor in front of a crowd, but someone will say something like this: ‘Oh! I hear Aster-kun has a few thoughts about such-and-such issue. Why don’t we all listen for a moment?’ And that voice will be…”
“…Loud and clear enough to draw everyone’s attention?”
“Your learning ability is impressive.”
“…”
“In any case, before you can even open your mouth, they’ll lavish you with praise in front of everyone. The higher you’re lifted up, the harder it hurts when you fall.”
Listening quietly, a thought occurred to me.
Maybe this wasn’t just what she’d seen and heard. Maybe these were things Ransi herself had once gone through.
In any case, that wasn’t the end of it. There were all kinds of petty tricks.
They’d deliberately give you the wrong dress code, or “accidentally” spill wine on you, or manipulate the atmosphere to put you on the spot and embarrass you in front of everyone—so on and so forth.
The more I listened, the more I thought, What kind of idiots do stuff like this?
But.
‘Each one is just barely too trivial to smack them for.’
That was exactly it.
Disgustingly childish, but each act was so trivial that it was hard to confront them one by one.
And at this level of pettiness, I could guess why Ransi was trying so hard to stop me.
‘These are all things that would only look ridiculous if Lady Gamo stepped in herself.’
In other words, I’d have to endure all these trials and tribulations alone.
Of course, no one with half a brain would pull this crap right in front of Lady Gamo, but that would only be “in front of Lady Gamo.”
Still, wait.
As I listened, something struck me as odd.
“By any chance…”
“Yes, please speak.”
“You’re talking like it’s already decided that I’ll be attending a banquet… am I right?”
“Didn’t Young Master Demian tell you?”
“…?”
“I assumed you knew and contacted you with that in mind.”
“…?”
The eyes that had been filled with worry just a moment ago now held a faint hint of disgust.
Like she’d thought I was human and then discovered I was actually a goblin—her gaze was even more fiercely contemptuous than when we’d talked about Blood, Sweat and Tears No. 1.
That was when I smiled leisurely.
“I was kidding. Of course I kn—”
“That’s enough. If I asked and you couldn’t answer, I think I’d be deeply disappointed, Aster-nim.”
“…”
“Do you really know?”
Silently, I shook my head.
Ransi looked at me with open contempt.
“The day after tomorrow is Young Master Demian’s twelfth birthday.”
“Sorry?”
“…Let’s go. It’s almost time to board.”
I asked, still in a daze, but Ransi simply spun on her heel and started walking.
She moved so sharply that the air practically whooshed, making my hair flutter.
I stared blankly at her back as she walked away.
‘I honestly never heard about this.’
Really, this was the first I’d heard of it.
The warp gate, as always, offered a fast and comfortable way to travel.
And just like the warp gate, Ransi, the stoic servant, was remarkably quick at reining in her emotions.
“I apologize. Thinking about it now… Young Master Demian never cared much about birthdays.”
“…”
“I did think he would at least mention it to you, Aster-nim, but I suppose not.”
“…”
Ransi bowed her head politely and apologized for her rashness.
Rather than being angry at her attitude, I was more relieved that my memory hadn’t failed me.
Honestly, as a vagrant from the Black and White Zone, I’d never seen much meaning in birthdays—but that didn’t make the whole thing feel any less awkward.
“In any case, I’ll explain the rest while we travel. The thing you really need to be wary of isn’t those petty tricks, Aster-nim.”
Ransi continued as we stepped out of the warp gate.
“The people who resort to such obvious tricks are predictable, and others are well aware of their behavior. Aside from the shame, it’s not a huge problem. The real problem is…”
“What is it?”
“The moment you lose your temper, Aster-nim.”
“Hm.”
I didn’t need to hear the rest. I already knew where this was going.
A vagrant from the Black and White Zone who lucked into the right friend and got invited to a noble’s banquet.
But that vagrant couldn’t tolerate a lofty noble’s “mistake,” lost his temper, and caused a scene.
What would happen next was obvious.
‘A vagrant who insulted a noble.’
They could chop off my head and no one would complain.
Of course, it was the young lord’s birthday, and I was attending as his friend, so they wouldn’t literally behead me… probably.
‘But it’d make one hell of a pretext.’
Ransi’s concern was exactly what I had in mind.
Either way, she continued.
“Even if you endure it, that won’t be the end.”
“If it doesn’t end there…”
“I don’t know what excuse they’ll use, but they’ll try to force you to prove your ability or worth somehow, Aster-nim.”
“Hm. For example?”
“The easiest method would be a duel, but at a banquet I’m not sure what form it would take. You can’t exactly be flinging spells around in the middle of a party.”
In short, there were no certainties, only possibilities.
We paused the conversation there for a moment.
“Ah, we need to go this way.”
“We’re not heading straight to the manor?”
“No. Lady Gamo ordered that we get your outfit for the banquet in order if we were to bring you. With the time we have, a fully custom piece will be difficult, but we can alter something off the rack to fit you well enough.”
And so, we made our way to a tailor’s shop somewhere within Brando’s territory.
Our conversation continued even after we stepped inside.
After smoothly relaying Lady Gamo’s requirements to the staff, Ransi stood next to me while they took my measurements and spoke up.
[You can use message magic, correct?]
[Yes.]
[Then I’ll continue.]
Ransi went over all sorts of things I had to be careful about, and I listened quietly, taking it all in.
And as I listened, I realized something.
‘It’s almost like… she prepared this whole lecture in advance.’
Maybe it was because I was a vagrant from the Black and White Zone.
Ransi explained everything from nobles’ habits and ecology to their delicate pride battles—the things I needed to know—in a crash course.
The information was so compressed and well-organized it was hard to believe she was improvising.
And that wasn’t all.
[…Was that a bit too difficult?]
[Sorry?]
[I’m sorry. When I talk, I keep forgetting how young you are, Aster-gun. Let me break it down a bit more…]
She was even adjusting her explanations to my “vagrant from the Black and White Zone” level and my age.
Once Ransi finished her entire explanation—
[Aster-nim?]
[Yes?]
[Are you listening?]
[Yes, I was listening.]
[Then that’s enough.]
Watching Ransi slip back into her brusque servant mode, I整理ed my thoughts for a moment.
Suddenly, a thought came to me.
‘The path of justice is long and harsh indeed.’
Listening to Ransi, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I wasn’t going to House Brando at all, but walking into Deculan’s Demon Realm or something.
So what should I do?
‘Give in? Not a chance.’
I don’t back down.
These trashy noble antics had made a tiny sprout break through the dry ground of justice in my heart.
It would probably wither quickly, but at least it wasn’t completely hopeless.
[…Your eyes look a bit dangerous right now.]
[You’re imagining things.]
At the tailor’s request, I went to stand in front of the mirror, held a suit up to my body, then returned to my seat.
And then—
[This vassal house you mentioned… No, you said it’s not a typical vassal house. Are they really bold enough to mess with the young lord’s friend on his own birthday?]
[That…]
Ransi hesitated for a moment.
Then, with a faint sigh, she spoke.
[There’s a good chance Young Master Demian simply won’t care.]
[Why?]
[…Because it’s not something he’s interested in. Things may be a little different when it concerns you, Aster-nim, but…]
[I get the gist.]
I’d already seen it on the day of the entrance ceremony, with the second son of House Dolanpe… what was his name again? Hikster? Hipster? Just thinking about that day made it obvious.
The hamster’s eyes had gone bloodshot as he charged at us, while Demian had just smiled innocently.
[This may be presumptuous of me, but… if Young Master Demian doesn’t step in, I hope you won’t be too disappointed…]
[Come on, of course I won’t.]
[…]
At my firm denial, Ransi’s expression hardened for once.
Even so, my thoughts didn’t change.
If I have power and see someone close to me getting toyed with, and I just stand there?
A proper friend is someone who says, “Only I get to hit him, only I get to tease him.” The way I hit and tease Shine and Raileigh is kind of like… No, that’s not right.
I do have a conscience, so let me correct that.
‘Those two aren’t my friends.’
Anyway, that wasn’t the important part.
Raileigh was always ready to stab me in the back, so he was disqualified by default, and I did feel a bit bad about Shine.
Well, I started feeling bad once Shine suddenly got strong.
In any case.
[Don’t worry. There won’t be any reason for him to step in.]
[…Understood.]
I let the staff drag me around, holding this outfit and that one up against my body, and that was when the commotion broke out in the shop.
“Have you people gone completely insane?! Do you have any idea who I am? Hey. Hey! You don’t know who I am? Huh?”
“S-sir, as I said, we already have customers inside…”
“Customers inside? Huh? Who? Oh? Who’s so important you’re turning me away at the door? Come on, let’s see their face. Who is it? Say it.”
Judging by the voice, he was in his mid to late teens. Still had that lingering immaturity to him. He roughly shoved aside the flustered clerk and tried to barge into the shop.
“S-sir…!”
“Oh? A lowly thing like you is blocking me? Hey, you little bastard. Do you even know how much this suit costs?”
At the noise outside, I glanced over, and Ransi narrowed her eyes and shot me a look.
[We rented out the shop under Lady Gamo’s name, but the clerk won’t be able to say that. He seems to be in a bind, so I’ll go.]
So high-end places like this must have some kind of unspoken rules.
‘Yeah, if they just answered every “Who’s inside?” honestly, my job would be a lot easier.’
Anyway, Ransi walked toward the entrance to help the beleaguered clerk.
That was when the rude young man’s voice turned bright.
“Well, well! Look who it is—isn’t this Ransi?!”
What, they know each other?
I perked up and listened, my interest piqued, and even the clerk next to me held his breath.
But then—
Ransi’s message magic reached me, cutting through the wall between us.
[Aster-nim, do not come out.]
To be fair, “cutting through the space” was just over a single wall.
Either way, a moment later I faintly heard Ransi’s voice, now cool as ice.
“…I greet you, Young Lord Paijin.”
“What, what? What are you doing here? Lady Gamo should be at the manor. Is the young lord here or something?”
“I’m sorry. I can’t speak on that matter.”
Listening to that little exchange, the instincts of the righteous Troubleshooter that had been quiet for a while suddenly flared to life.
‘…So that’s him.’
The compass in my heart that points toward evil spoke.
There’s evil up ahead, it said.
And yet…
The needle spinning in circles was probably just my imagination, right?
Probably.
