CHAPTER 21

After the Magic War, quite a few side effects emerged. And they were truly bothersome.

"Hello, Lord Ludwig. You know me, right? We're in the same class…"

"I'm in the dorm room right next to yours…"

"I met you in my dream…"

It was the usual walk to school, and all I did was step into the classroom like any other day. But here they were, clinging to me and chattering incessantly—especially the girls.

"Hold on, no need to say your names."

If they were expecting a sweet line like, 'I already remember all your names…' then they clearly didn't know Rain at all.

"I have no intention of memorizing them or getting close to any of you. More importantly, I'm terrible at remembering names."

The students looked momentarily stunned, then quickly recovered, laughing among themselves as if it were some sophisticated joke from a noble of a grand house.

"Oh my, what a tease, my lord."

"I'm not joking, though."

"Oh dear, Lord Ludwig, you jest!"

"I told you, I'm not joking."

Even as he insisted, they continued giggling. Rain's expression hardened. Are they all collectively insane…?

"Look at that, the infamous 'Arrogant Noble' is being his usual self first thing in the morning…"

"Deception at dawn… What a truly noble character he has…"

And then the boys started whispering and giving him yet another ridiculous nickname. Not that he cared how others perceived him.

"Hey, move aside."

At that moment, a voice rang through the classroom, as cold and sharp as a desert wind. The thorny undertone in the clear voice sent chills down everyone's spines.

Krista Worden.

Immediately, both the girls and boys stepped aside or scrambled back to their seats as if fleeing.

"Hmph."

As Krista walked past Rain, she made a loud, pointed snort. Following closely behind, Gertrude Fenton tilted her head toward Rain and whispered playfully.

"My lord, perhaps your real nickname is The Womanizer Noble?"

The Womanizer Noble…? Where did that even come from? He seemed to be accumulating more nicknames than Lin.

As he sat down, Krista, already in her seat beside his, deliberately turned her head toward the window, pretending he didn't exist.

She remained so still that she might as well have been a statue.

"Why do you look like you're mad?"

"…"

"Hey."

"…"

"Why are you mad?"

After much persistent prodding, Krista finally crossed her legs and lifted her chin with a haughty smirk.

"I'd appreciate it if you stopped talking to me. I already told you—I don't acknowledge your existence."

"Oh, my bad. I won't bother you again."

"And for the record, I'm not mad. If anything, I'm quite satisfied."

Krista folded her arms, exuding the refined arrogance of a noble. Her expression was proud and aloof.

"I was getting sick of watching you pretend to be weak when you're actually ridiculously strong. You beat me, Krista Worden. You should walk with your shoulders straight."

She sounded just like Aunt Elin. Do nobles really have to be strong no matter what?

"But now, I actually have a reason to crush you properly. Before, even if I defeated you, people would just mock me for beating a so-called useless noble. But now that you've taken down Chaihark, the entire game has changed."

"?"

"Mark my words, Rain Ludwig. One day, I, Krista Worden, will flatten you like clay. So don't you dare lose to anyone before then. If you do, I won't forgive you."

Krista slammed her hands on the desk and stared him down. As Rain met her gaze without flinching, a tense silence filled the room.

"The Infamous Noble from Rivarden versus the Top-Scoring Freshman…"

"What an insane matchup…"

Then Rain glanced at Krista's desk and raised an eyebrow.

"Owen's teaching the first period. Aren't you going to take out your textbook? You'll lose points if you don't."

"Oh, right! That was close."

And just like that, the tension shattered as Krista hurriedly sat down and fumbled for her textbook.

From the front row, Gertrude Fenton let out a weary sigh and rubbed her forehead.

"If you're going to act all dramatic, at least see it through to the end…"

She literally spent all of last night practicing that declaration of war…

After attending classes and spending his after-school hours researching runes, the weekend arrived before he knew it.

"We have a problem."

Rain had planned to meet Karen, a junior librarian, at the library that weekend. She glanced around cautiously before speaking in a hushed tone.

The issue was this: they had inquired at all five publishing houses in the Empire, but most books about Touraina had been temporarily discontinued.

"Why were they discontinued?"

"I'm not entirely sure. But apparently, the Golden Children, an inquisition branch of the Holy Dragon Church, abruptly added them to their censorship list this year."

"Wait, are you saying books about Touraina have been deemed heretical?"

That was strange. Touraina never engaged in heretical activities, so why this treatment…?

And if they were going to conduct an inquisition, shouldn't they have done it while she was still alive? Why now, suddenly, after her death?

"Have you read those books?"

"Of course. Any central librarian has to. She was the disciple of both Grand Mage Lin and the Fire Dragon Priestess Frieda, and she accomplished just as much as they did."

That person?

Rain almost burst out laughing.

"Did you find anything strange? Like advocating for dark magic?"

"Strange? Not that I noticed. And since they're officially biographies, any controversial parts should have been censored already."

So Touraina didn't get into dark magic?

That was a relief, but… then why all this?

Thinking about it wouldn't bring him any closer to the answer, but things were getting complicated.

"Looks like we'll have to check the black market."

"The black market?"

"You can find almost anything there—from banned books to magic relics tainted by the Abyss. We should be able to find Touraina's works without much trouble."

"But the real problem is that Touraina's books are currently under inquisition scrutiny, right?"

Exactly. The price would be through the roof, and more importantly, he couldn't use his family's funds.

If he tried to buy the book with Ludwig family money and got caught by the Golden Children, things would get messy.

Sure, the Ludwig family wouldn't be burned at the stake for heresy, but it would still be a major headache for his parents.

"But if I buy it personally, that's a different story."

If caught, he could simply claim, "I deeply admire Touraina and wanted to read her book." Worst case, it would just be a personal issue.

"I feel responsible for this, my lord. I'll contribute as much as I can."

"How much do you make per month?"

"Thirty Xuanwu silver coins."

Since a common laborer earned about one silver coin per day, it wasn't a small amount. But for the black market, it was nowhere near enough.

"Hmm… we'll probably need at least three gold coins to be safe."

"Three gold coins?!"

Karen's eyes trembled.

Since it took one hundred Xuanwu silver coins to exchange for a single Huanglong gold coin, she visibly paled.

"This is serious… My lord, you said you can't use family funds either… and my salary is nowhere near enough…"

Right. Time to think. I never expected to worry about money in this lifetime, but here we are…

How should he make money?

A plan formed in his mind, and Rain nodded in satisfaction.

"Don't worry. There's something I've been wanting to do anyway. I'll just make some extra cash while I'm at it."

"And that is…?"

"I'm going to register as an adventurer."