Let’s Block the Ruined Route in Advance Chapter 57

“Which one should I buy?”

 

It’s the weekend again. Eileen is in the market buying notebooks, and as she looks at the colorful notebooks, she starts to think.

 

“Why don’t we buy both?”

 

“I suppose, but I honestly don’t think you’ll read the paper that much.”

 

Cordelia nodded at that. She studied the rack for a moment, then pointed to the one opposite.

 

“How about that one instead? It’s got a simple design, but the spine is unique.”

 

Behind the two pondering, Lucian and Felix stood, looking a little bored, each with a notebook already purchased.

 

“I can’t believe they took so long to choose.”

 

Lucian glanced down at the bright orange notebook in his hand, its color mirroring Eileen’s eyes. He glanced at Felix’s notebook and saw that it was a familiar light brown color, and his reasons for choosing it were not unlike his own.

 

Meanwhile, Felix’s attention was still on Laquerta, the object of his vigilance.

 

‘He’s gentler than he looks.’

 

From Eileen’s reaction to his introduction and their conversations so far, they certainly seemed more like siblings than in a relationship.

 

‘I used to be like that.’

 

His eyes narrowed with jealousy as he fondly recalled the time he was adored by Eileen. 

 

Who needs friends when you’re in a relationship? It was easy for Felix to see that Eileen’s smile would make Laquerta swoon like a sleeve in a drizzle.

 

It made him sick to his stomach that he hadn’t gotten into the same grade as Eileen.

 

“If everyone’s picked, why don’t we go get something to eat?”

 

Lucian asked as the undecideds finished their purchases. At that, Eileen threw up her hands as if she had remembered something.

 

“I know a great place!”

 

Eileen led them to a shop with beautiful wisteria flowers. They carefully opened the door and entered, and the owner, Mr. Gorton, recognized Eileen first and stood up.

 

“Miss, aren’t you the student who went home without eating properly? Are you feeling better now?”

 

Gorton asked with concern, and Eileen nodded vigorously.

 

“I’m perfectly fine now. The food looked so good, and I was sorry I couldn’t eat it, so I brought some friends with me.”

 

Gorton laughed heartily at that, and even though the wisteria had all but faded, leaving only a trace, the sound of his clear laughter relaxed her.

 

“Then let’s treat her right!”

 

He rolled up his sleeves as they ordered their food and entered the kitchen. Lucian looked around the small but well-established shop with admiration.

 

“How did you know about this place?”

 

“I just happened to be walking by with Cordelia.”

 

It had been a month of events that were more accurately described as a series of inevitabilities than complete coincidences. Eileen still often saw the little snake chasing Cordelia in her dreams.

 

‘I know it’s just a dream, but it always gives me the creeps.’

 

Knowing what happened when those snakes turned the corner, Eileen would wake up and hug Star.

 

“I hope to hear back soon.”

 

Before she looked at the note, Eileen wrote a letter to Baroness Fort, asking permission to visit. It was no secret that she’d bribed her way into unlimited access to the arboretum.

 

“Now, let’s start with the specialty barbecue!”

 

Gorton emerged with a huge plate piled high with meat. Cordelia looked at the overwhelming amount of meat, which made even Laquerta’s eyes tremble.

 

“Is there normally this much meat…?”

 

“Well, you tipped generously that time, and this is my reward.”

 

With that, he grinned from ear to ear. In the original, and in the present, he was still the same.

 

Eileen shoved the melt-in-your-mouth barbecue into her mouth and closed her eyes in contentment.

 

Cordelia, Laquerta, Lucian, Felix.

 

The four of them, who would have been at each other’s throats in the mercantile district, pushing each other to the brink, were now eating lazily, chatting about this and that.

 

“Peaceful.”

 

Eileen gulped down the meat in her mouth with a newfound sense of pride. The meal tasted so sweet today.

 

“The newspapers come in twice a week, three copies of each type. You only need to clip the parts you need and put the unused parts in this basket for others to see.”

 

“Yes!”

 

Dozens of newspapers lay on the floor. The scent of ink rising from the thin paper tantalized her nostrils.

 

“What’s the theme?”

 

The second and third graders picked their papers with familiarity and headed for their seats. A quick glance showed that Jessie had chosen an article about baking, which made Eileen think hard.

 

“So I’m a plant, too? Should I try to organize it in a way that will benefit the botanical garden? Oh, I suppose I could do some research on plant diseases.”

 

She concluded and picked up a newspaper. Luckily, her club president, George, had similar interests in agriculture, so it wasn’t hard to find a newspaper that overlapped with his.

 

Neumann reaches for the general daily and pulls his hand away in dismay when it overlaps with Lucian’s.

 

Lucian didn’t react and returned to his seat with the newspaper. As if that wasn’t miserable enough, Neumann ducked his head to hide his expression and bit his lower lip tightly.

 

“Eileen, are you a plant person?”

 

“Uh-huh. I’m going to read the paper and take my time getting oriented. Cordelia, what’s your subject?”

 

“I’m trying to organize the articles. I think it will help me in my future training if I study different articles, like the famous, the infamous, and the up-and-comers.”

 

“Oh!”

 

Eileen looked around in admiration. Felix and Laquerta had already gotten their bearings and were busy perusing the newspaper. Lucian had already decided on a theme and even picked up a pair of scissors.

 

“Can’t lose.”

 

Eileen began to read the paper as well. It was interesting because there was a lot of difficult information, but also a lot of useful information that she didn’t know before. Using scissors, she cut out the necessary sections and began to paste them into her notebook.

 

The sound of a dozen members cutting and gluing paper echoed through the room. The silence was interrupted by two sophomores scrapping notes on the whereabouts of the Transcendents and a junior researching the dynamics of demons.

 

“It seems like the Transcendents have been out and about a lot lately.”

 

“Demons too. When I was a first year, they were usually more likely to appear during the winter months, when life was more hectic, but nowadays they seem to appear out of nowhere with no pattern?”

 

Another member who had been listening to them chimed in. She was a female student who admired the imperial family and had been collecting articles about them.

 

“The Third Emperor is often on the move when it comes to magical beasts, and he seems to be appearing in articles more often than before.”

 

The boy sitting next to her looked up worriedly.

 

“Doesn’t that mean things are getting worse? It’s a little scary.”

 

“You know Daisy from the administration department. There’s a story that she had to rush down to the main house last week because someone in her house was attacked by a demon.”

 

“Is that true?”

 

“Well, I’m in the same class as Daisy, but she hasn’t been to class in days.”

 

Anxiety coursed through Eileen’s veins as she listened, reminding her of the giant creature she’d seen in the lake the day she’d met Lucian. It was terrible that there were more of them.

 

“Come to think of it, the Duke has been busy these past few years, and I don’t suppose it’s because of this?

 

Historically, the cycle of a demon was usually 350 to 400 years. The last one had died 200 years ago, so it was still a period of stability.

 

‘But is this really a stable period?’

 

A reasonable question rose to the top of everyone’s mind. George broke into a loud clap to lighten the mood.

 

“Come on, guys, what are you so worried about? We have a hero.”

 

“That’s true.”

 

The men’s faces loosened as they recounted the stories of the clan of heroes who had saved the Empire from the horrors of destruction time and time again. The mere presence of a hero was a reassuring symbol.

 

“Speaking of which, this time at the Winter Coming of the South…”

 

The worry that had blossomed as someone opened a new line of conversation was quickly drowned out by other things. Eileen felt a strange sense of unease as she looked around the room, which was once again filled with chatter.

 

She remembered the duke who had shown up one day, covered in blood after a dungeon raid.

 

“There shouldn’t be anything wrong.”

 

Even as a transcendent, he was always concerned about the well-being of those close to him. Perhaps even more so after seeing that grotesque creature called Lobel.

 

Eileen let out a long sigh as she faced her most troubling problem. There was nothing she could do about it now. She decided to focus on the task at hand.

 

That evening Baroness Port replied.