[Lifespan Remaining: 8 days, 20 hours, 44 minutes.]
"The transportation mirror..." he explained. "It contains a powerful core. I—I could maybe siphon some of its power into smaller monster cores. That would ensure that your group passes, and since the mirror’s core is so strong, nobody would even know a thing."
"Wouldn’t Instructor Klein notice?" Violet asked.
The custodian shook his head quickly. "I have maintained Base Camp D for five years. Instructor Klein has not even been stationed here for one."
"He knows how to operate the transportation mirror, but he doesn’t know how it works or what’s powering it—"
"Whatever," Violet cut him off. "And you’re certain he won’t notice?"
"Y—Yes..."
"No," she shook her head. "If that’s the case, then I want to take first place."
"What? But that’s—!" the man sprang up from his chair.
"Aren’t you so capable? Find a way."
With that final statement, she turned and walked toward the entrance. But just before she exited, the girl turned back. "Keep in mind your situation and decide wisely."
Violet then left quietly, leaving the custodian standing alone inside. Noct remained motionless under the veil of darkness as she stepped out of the staff tent and returned toward Robin’s group.
Noct’s mind, meanwhile, was racing.
’Could it...really be that custodian?’
A lot of the pieces aligned quite nicely. If he had been working here for a long time, surely he would know about the key and the Hidden King’s Tomb. And if he had been pressured this much by Violet, surely he would do something rash like disturbing the dungeon to look for more cores.
Maybe once the camp was attacked, the consequences spiraled beyond his control.
’Was that why Violet suddenly got so attached to Robin in the game? I mean, he did save her, but was it more because of the guilt of what happened? Did she want him to protect her from the consequences?’
A lot of things didn’t make sense also. Mainly the fact that the key was already gone. Someone like the custodian might have the key, probably for safekeeping by the Academy’s orders.
But at the same time, why would the Academy trust such an important item to a custodian instead of the Instructor. The more Noct thought about it, the more confused he became and the more things didn’t make sense.
For a moment, he considered changing his plan entirely.
He could confront the custodian now, inform Instructor Klein, or perhaps even tell Robin what one of his precious heroines was planning behind his back.
Though none of those options would really prevent the disaster from happening.
The custodian hadn’t removed anything yet. If Noct exposed him now, Violet would deny the conversation ever even happened, and House Reine would likely find some way to bury the accusation and cause even more hassle.
If the custodian attempted to tamper with the mirror, the trap would expose him. If someone else reached it first, Noct would learn that there really was another culprit.
’No point changing a perfectly good plan. There’s still two days left after all.’
Noct waited until the custodian finally emerged from the staff tent, looking considerably paler than before. When the coast was clear, he finally made his way back to his own tent.
Well, he found the tent empty, but instead, found voices drifting from a small fire a short distance away. Finn sat beside Annie, watching her turn something over a flame, while Alice was busy arguing with someone on the opposite side.
Apparently, they had guests.
Noct!" Alice noticed him first and waved him over. "We saved you some."
All four members of Group Eleven were there. Their wounds had been cleaned and bandaged, though Airy still held one arm close to her body.
Gareth’s expression soured when he saw him. Noct briefly considered going straight to bed after seeing the guy’s attitude, and also the fact that his presence would ruin the mood. But Finn being accepted there was strange.
’Do they not know that he’s a prince?’
Regardless, there wasn’t much else to do while waiting for his trap. And for once, Noct had enough lifespan to sit around without feeling like he would be wasting it. "What were you talking about?"
"What we’ll do after we get admitted," Alice answered.
"If..." Gareth muttered.
Lucy nudged him with her elbow.
"What?" he said. "We’re all thinking it."
Noct accepted a skewer from Annie and inspected it. "So? What were the answers?"
Alice glanced at him before answering. "Gareth wants to join the royal guard. I mean, it’s stable income. A lot of families near the outer regions of Rexford live and die by their crop harvest."
"He wants nobles to have to salute him," Lucy finally admitted. "And he thinks their uniform looks really cool. He keeps mentioning it."
"Th—that’s not what I said...!" Gareth’s face suddenly turned red as he looked toward Noct. "I—I totally did not say that!"
"Lucy wants to open a training hall," Alice continued, saving him the embarrassment. "Alex wants to travel and write about monsters. And Airy wants to—"
"Enchant household tools," Airy finished.
Noct raised an eyebrow. "Household tools?"
"Axes, stoves, farming equipment... Things people actually need." She glanced at Annie. "If I can make the enchantments last long enough, anyway."
"Speaking of, not to ruin the mood or anything," Noct’s curiosity was piqued at the mention. "Enchanter is an extremely rare class. So are the rest of yours...How did you manage to advance into them?"
Gareth glanced around at his members, not sure if he could trust Noct with the information. But Lucy spoke up first. "Come on, Gareth. He helped us. Sure, most nobles suck, but can’t you see that Noct was looking out for us?"
Airy nodded. "Yeah. He could’ve just waited for us to die and taken the core afterward."
After a moment of silence, Gareth finally gave in. "Actually, a retired adventuring party decided to settle in our hometown. Their members taught us what they knew. Said that we were talented and would make a name for ourselves some day."
"Which adventuring party?"
"The Wayfarers."
Noct lowered his skewer, resisting the urge to drop it onto the floor.
"...My father’s old party?"