Subscriber of the Gods Chapter 384 - Wind

Ethan’s goal for this inter-academy exchange was perfect victory.

A victory so flawless that there would be no room for criticism.

‘Win perfectly and then legally move to the Demon Empire.’

After dealing with the 3rd Apostle, Ethan spent money. He bought a large amount of information about the followers of the Moon and found the remnants of the followers of the Moon remaining in the Holy Empire.

And he found out for certain.

‘The 3rd Apostle brought all the remaining followers in the Holy Empire for this academy raid.’

When Ivecar Academy was attacked, he thought the followers led by the 3rd Apostle were too strong and numerous.

There was a reason for that. The 3rd Apostle had brought along all the capable personnel from the Holy Empire.

‘Normally, they wouldn’t have brought everyone out like that. Unlike the others, she must have seen right through me. She brought everyone to ensure a definitive victory.’

Although it was quite dangerous during the raid, it actually worked out well for Ethan.

Since there were no remaining Dawn Council remnants, they couldn’t immediately seek revenge even though Ethan had killed the 3rd Apostle.

Even so, there were still a few remnants left. However, they too were very quiet.

‘I heard the imperial knights took care of them?’

He learned this while purchasing information.

‘Princess Evangeline must have dealt with them thoroughly.’

This Ivecar raid incident had violated the continent’s unwritten rule. Because of that, even the imperial palace was aware of this matter.

It seemed that Princess Evangeline had dealt with it immediately.

That’s why Ethan was planning to visit the imperial palace.

‘Since I’m already in the capital anyway.’

If he had received help, he needed to express his gratitude clearly for that help.

That’s how you can receive help comfortably the next time too.

The Imperial Palace.

A place difficult for just anyone to enter, but for Ethan, it was a place he could enter and exit quite easily.

He was quite close with Regia, the current master teacher of the imperial palace, and above all, he was the person who had saved Princess Evangeline’s life.

As soon as Ethan presented the token that the princess had specially prepared for him, he was able to enter immediately.

“It’s been a while, Count Ethan. You’ve changed so much! You’ve become much better than before!”

The Ethan from his time at the imperial palace and the current Ethan were completely different people.

So much had happened in between that the princess couldn’t help but be surprised at the change.

“I’ve been busy. There’s been so much to do.”

As Ethan smiled and spoke, Princess Evangeline gave a mischievous smile. Because Ethan’s attitude towards her was comfortable, Evangeline could also be comfortable with him.

After briefly asking about recent events, Princess Evangeline asked about the reason for his visit.

“Do you have an urgent request?”

“I came to pay my respects, and as you mentioned, I do have a favor to ask.”

The princess gestured for him to continue.

“I wanted to talk about those followers of the Moon bastards.”

“Ah, those guys? They attacked Ivecar recently, right? Those guys crossed the line. So I exerted some influence. According to the reports I received, only small fry were left, so I made sure to eliminate even those remnants. It seems the core personnel were the ones who attacked Ivecar. The rest seem to have crossed over to the Demon Empire.”

The imperial palace had directly dealt with the remnants of the followers of the Moon.

‘Building one connection makes things this convenient.’

Ethan grinned and bowed his head.

“Thank you, Your Highness.”

“It’s nothing, Count Ethan. How could I not step in when it concerns you? Did you come to ask about the location of those bastards’ headquarters? We’ve roughly identified the location, but it’s not certain. So we’ve withdrawn for now. If you want, I can put in more effort.”

“I’ve found out the location myself.”

“Oh, as expected, you’re versatile, Count. Hearing that, I think I know what you want to ask me.”

Evangeline smiled.

“I’ll lend you the Black Sword.”

“You mean Sir Black Sword?”

The Black Sword was Evangeline’s bodyguard and her most powerful sword.

Saying she would lend him meant she would send Black Sword and his subordinate knights as well.

Evangeline’s knight order was the most powerful force in the imperial palace.

‘Their individual strength is considerable. It’s a knight order that Evangeline and Black Sword have carefully selected over many years.’

“We’ve swept away the remnants of those followers of the Moon bastards, but being their headquarters, there are probably quite a few strong ones there, right? If Black Sword leads the knight order directly, it should be quickly sorted out.”

Black Sword, who had appeared at some point, bowed his head.

“Following Her Highness’s command, I will carry out Count Ethan Whiskers’ orders.”

This made the situation quite favorable. If Black Sword and his knight order joined this journey, it would provide substantial backing.

“Thank you for your cooperation.”

‘Before crossing over to the Demon Empire, I’ll hit the Dawn Council’s temple.’

As Evangeline said, there would probably be quite strong followers there.

‘I’ll deal with the head priest.’

If support came from the princess’s side, it would be quite reassuring.

Moreover, this incident meant owing a favor to Princess Evangeline.

‘If you only receive without giving, the relationship might eventually break.’

Although Ethan was Evangeline’s savior who had saved her life, a one-sided relationship wasn’t very healthy.

Especially from Princess Evangeline’s perspective.

“Well then, since I’ve accepted Count Ethan’s request, it’s my turn to ask a favor. I heard the inter-academy exchange is not far off. As Count Ethan is participating as a representative, I’d like to give a congratulatory speech, if that’s alright?”

Ethan smiled at Princess Evangeline’s words.

“That’s not a favor, Your Highness. I welcome it wholeheartedly. Everyone will be delighted.”

“Ah, then I should contact them in advance. Do you have any other requests? If you have anything to ask, please do so. I can do much more now than before.”

After Ethan had cured the princess’s incurable disease.

The power dynamics in the capital had completely solidified around Princess Evangeline.

In fact, Evangeline was set to be the next emperor. There was no longer any rival power left within this imperial palace that could be called a rival.

She would probably be officially announced as the successor soon.

That’s how solid her position was.

“Is that all then? Shall we go have a meal, Count?”

Evangeline asked with a bright smile.

“I’ll make sure to remember Your Highness’s request. Please let me know if you need anything at all.”

Evangeline laughed cheerfully at Ethan’s words.

***

The inter-academy exchange was set to take place in a neutral area between the Holy Empire and the Demon Empire.

“A total of six academies will be participating. Including our Ivecar, there’s Freya, Goode, Covington, Saturn, and Vogue. These six.”

With the addition of Vogue Academy, Saturn Academy also newly joined this exchange.

Saturn Academy was the most recently established academy among the Holy Empire’s academies. Because of this, it lacked tradition in many ways and hadn’t been able to participate in the exchange for the past few years.

It hadn’t even been able to attend the meetings where the principals of each academy gather.

But the only thing lacking was tradition. With a young principal at the helm rapidly developing the academy, Saturn Academy was able to participate along with Vogue Academy’s participation in the exchange.

This exchange was an opportunity for them.

An opportunity to be recognized as a decent academy, beyond simply being evaluated as a newly established academy.

“We’re departing.”

Under Ghost Sword’s command, all personnel participating in the exchange set out towards the neutral area.

Between the national boundaries of the Holy Empire and the Demon Empire.

There was a neutral area called Kabak in the past.

This Kabak was a place that both empires tried hard to occupy when they were in the midst of war in the past.

Occupying Kabak would allow for slightly deeper infiltration into enemy territory.

But now that peace had arrived, this Kabak was being used as a meeting place between the two empires.

This inter-academy exchange was also set to take place in this neutral area of Kabak.

As soon as the Ivecar Academy group arrived in Kabak, they could see buildings and sculptures stretching to the horizon.

The other academies must have all arrived already, as the area was bustling and noisy in many ways.

“Ohhh.”

“They’ve made incredible preparations.”

“Vogue Academy put a lot of effort into setting up buildings and sculptures for this exchange.”

Everyone admired Ghost Sword’s words and looked around the nearby grounds.

It looked as if an entire huge estate had been moved here. Kabak seemed sufficient for this inter-academy exchange to take place.

“Everyone else seems to have arrived already.”

“Are we the last to arrive?”

“Then before we all go in.”

Ghost Sword stood in front of the students.

It was right before the inter-academy exchange.

Everyone looked tense in various ways, but there were also many excited students.

This makes it difficult to demonstrate one’s true abilities, so someone was needed to manage those emotions.

“Teacher Ethan.”

“Yes.”

Ethan stepped forward in front of the students.

“I’ll say a few words briefly.”

Ethan said.

“This inter-academy exchange includes many prominent academies, including Vogue Academy. It’s literally a festival and a place for exchange. It’s a special opportunity to broaden your horizons. At this special opportunity, I want to tell you students participating in this inter-academy exchange something obvious.”

Ethan said with a smile.

“The world outside the fence is quite cold. It doesn’t just let mistakes slide like now. Of course, many of you are nobles, so a few mistakes might be overlooked, but that’s not really overlooking. Someone is watching and evaluating you. That evaluation is never forgotten.”

The excited students fell silent at Ethan’s words.

“The academy is a practice ground for adapting to that cold world. You need to learn a lot from this exchange to prepare for the real world.”

Ethan made eye contact with each student.

“We came here to win. But we didn’t come just to learn how to win. Rather, I hope you lose a lot, suffer a lot, and worry a lot.”

Ethan said.

“You are strong. But no matter how strong you are, the reality outside the fence will try to subdue you and make you kneel. It could be power struggles, money problems. Perhaps the closest thing would be succession battles. You are strong, but there are things stronger than you everywhere.”

Strength is always broken by strength. That time comes regardless of the measure of strength.

“So being strong isn’t really that important. There’s something more important than that.”

Ethan paused for a moment and then continued.

“The strength to move forward. The strength to get up and move forward even when you’re defeated, frustrated, despairing, and have fallen to the bottom. I don’t want you to win beautifully in this exchange. That has no meaning at all. I want you to be frustrated, despair, and fall. I want you to know fear. Yet I want you to get up and move forward.”

All the students held their breath at Ethan’s words.

“Of course, not everyone can do as I say.”

Only then did Ethan show a smile.

“In any situation, I am behind you. So rest assured.”

Ethan said.

“Let’s move forward. Onward.”