Iron Blooded Hound

"...?"

A pale face with no makeup, short silver hair that hadn't dried, and the faint scent of shampoo still lingering in the air.

Sinclair is a commoner with no last name, just a first name. However, she is the one who holds the top spot in the hot class with overwhelming grades.

"...."

Vikir didn't answer; he just twitched one eyebrow.

It was a rather unexpected encounter, considering the time and place.

Why would she be here, at this time, in this place?

The question was soon revealed.

"You know too, Hyung? This is a famous spot for the Milky Way."

Sinclair smiled broadly and held out something to Vikir. It was a small can of beer.

Phew.

Sinclair opened the beer and quickly brought the foam to her lips.

Sinclair, whose white beard suddenly grew, grinned and handed Vikir a beer as well.

"Two cans, but I'll get you a special one."

"...Thanks."

Vikir hesitated for a moment before accepting the beer.

"I didn't expect to see you here at this time of night. I thought I had the place to myself. I always come here when I'm in a bad mood and look at the Milky Way."

Sinclair suddenly seemed to be in a better mood.

Something had happened, it seemed.

But Vikir had something else on his mind.

'... This was a dangerous place. I think I'll have to change my meeting point with Sindiwendi.'

From now on, she thinks, 'If I come to this place, I might run into him from time to time.'

And the man thought, 'I should never come to this place again.'

It was a rather ironic dream.

Just then, Sinclair put down her beer can and took an interest in the owl sitting next to Vikir.

"An owl? How cute. Did you get a letter?"

[All-pam].

"Ahahaha, that's an unusual cry."

Sinclair gently stroked the owl's round head.

Then she looked back at Vikir.

"Did you get a letter?"

"Mmm."

"To whom?"

"...."

Not knowing what else to call her, Vikir remained silent.

Then Sinclair's eyes narrowed.

"You're a girl?"

The owl's head had a greenish-gold ribbon in it, the color of Sindiwendi's hair.

Vikir nodded silently, knowing that it was indeed a girl.

Sinclair's expression hardened slightly.

"Wow~ I see a relationship on Academy, Hyung. You're confident that your grades won't drop while dating, right? Is it good to do CC? Well, who among freshmen doesn't have a dream of becoming a CC?."

"It's not like that."

Vikir briefly dismissed Sinclair's comment.

Vikir's adamant denial of a romantic relationship caused Sinclair to pause for a moment, then exhale.

It was an oddly relieved sigh.

"Hyung, if this is a secret relationship and you're hiding it from me, I'm really disappointed. We're supposed to be able to talk about things like this between us; we're best friends. If that's the case, do you need to tell me? really!"

...best friends? Vikir didn't understand but didn't bother to ask.

After that, Sinclair chattered and told many different stories to himself.

Vikir was a little surprised, as she wasn't usually this talkative at school.

Sinclair waved her half-finished beer wistfully, then spoke up as if she'd had an idea.

"Oh, Hyung, what is your relationship with the president?"

When Sinclair said president, she meant Student Council President Dolores.

If asked what his relationship with Dolores was, Vikir could confidently answer with one word.

"Nothing."

"I didn't think so."

Sinclair narrowed her eyes and elbowed Vikir in the side.

"If there's no relationship, why has the chairman been looking for you like that for the past few days?"

"?"

Vikir's eyes widened as if he'd never heard of it before.

Why is Dolores looking for him?

He's had too many meetings lately.

To the principal, to the president, to the ledger, to the director, to the president, to the so-and-so, to the so-and-so... I was just getting stressed out about why so many people were looking for it.

Even the crown prince said he would give me a commendation.

"I don't have time to study, let alone assassinate.'

Sindiwendi's comment that it would take a month to analyze the information was almost considered good news.

Sinclair shrugged.

"I don't know. Anyway, President Dolores has been secretly looking for you lately."

"Then that's why she came to the archery range, to find me."

"Eh? Why didn't you see her?"

"We crossed paths."

I can't tell her that I turned into a dog, hid, and then ran away to avoid being neutered, so I give her a quick aside.

Sinclair nodded and drained the rest of the beer.

Phew.

The burnt barley scent of the black beer spreads across the night sky.

She leaned against the railing, propping her chin with her hand, looking somewhat helpless.

"I envy you."

"?"

Vikir folds his arms and shakes his head.

Sinclair smirked, wiping the beer foam from the corner of her mouth with her thumb.

"Hyung, you're always like that."

"?"

"I am not asking first. It's my style."

Vikir laughed softly at Sinclair's comment.

Born to be a hound and bred to be a hound, Vikir is not used to questioning anyone.

It was a hound's virtue to stand still and wait for his master to speak first.

Are you tired of people always approaching you first and making noise?

Perhaps Vikir's attitude struck a different chord with Sinclair.

"The reason I said I was jealous... I just said that because I was jealous of my hyung."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah. We're in the same class, and there's a huge gap between us."

Sinclair looked back at Vikir with a puzzled gaze.

A first-year student who ranked first in his class and had already published three or four research papers that would shake up the academic world.

A monstrous irregular, far beyond the level of a typical undergraduate.

For example, the level of a first-year undergraduate student is as follows:.

Professor: Today's lecture is on how to eat salmon deliciously.

First-year undergraduate student 1: Wow, what's wrong with salmon?

First-year undergraduate student 2: Is salmon edible or not?

First-year undergraduate student 3: What is flounder for?

And then, by the end of the fourth year, it's a little different.

Professor: Today I'm going to lecture you on how to eat salmon deliciously.

Fourth-year undergraduate student 1:.

-Professor: ....

Fourth-year undergraduate student 1:.

Professor: What are you doing? You're not going to catch salmon.

The first and fourth years are worlds apart in terms of the depth of subject matter covered.

But Vikir was already far beyond the level of even this fourth-year student and had reached the level of a graduate student or even a professor.

And what about his practical grades?

Vikir, who had been suspected of being a beginner, let alone an expert, revealed his hidden expert-level skills.

It was a level that was unimaginable for someone from a commoner's background, one that was on par with, and perhaps even better than, the great late-period experts of the Seven Families.

"Written and practical. You're a man to be reckoned with, Hyung."

"...."

"I hear you've already been meeting with celebrities a generation or two above you. Everyone's jealous."

Vikir was annoyed by it, but to others, it seemed like it was something they needed and wanted.

But Vikir knew better.

"...."

Money? Power? Honor? All of those things will be worthless rubbish when the Age of Destruction begins.

When that happens, all existing order will crumble and all values will be overturned.

As a great writer once said, 'an era in which survival becomes a cheap joke' will soon arrive.

"It's all for nothing."

At Vikir's words, Sinclair shakes her head again.

"You're not of this world, sometimes."

The words made Vikir's chest heat up a little.

Sinclair smiled again.

"The way you talk, you sound so old—no one would ever think you're 18! Then, why don't you leave this world and go into hiding somewhere?"

With a clink, the empty beer can crunches.

Sinclair placed it in the palm of her hand and drew on her mana.

Crunch!

A white-hot flame bursts forth, melting the beer can.

It soon takes on a new appearance, thanks to the mana of the iron attribute.

A rabbit with a pocket watch and an elaborate metal figurine rests in Sinclair's palm.

"By the way, did you hear the rumor?"

Sinclair said, fingering the rabbit.

"This time, I mean, among the classmates of the class of 20, a royal family member whose identity was hidden entered the school."

"Isn't that just gossip circulating in the stock market?"

"Hmmm, well, what do you think?"

Sinclair replied in a somewhat questioning tone.

"If it's imperial blood, it's probably not normal talent since it's descended from the first emperor, who was a great prophet, right?"

"...."

"You shouldn't stand out too much at the beginning of the semester, so you'll have to keep your talents hidden, so it's worth it to get in. Perhaps you're looking to recruit someone to work with you? I think so."

"...."

"But you wouldn't be able to hide your skills until the moment of truth, like if your close friends were in danger during a test."

"Enough."

Vikir dismissed Sinclair's words again.

"I'm not royalty."

"I never said you were royalty."

"?"

Vikir scratched his head.

Sinclair merely smirked.

It reminded Vikir of a certain scene.

'Come to think of it, Sinclair, this woman was a mystery to me before.'

Vikir remembered before the regression.

After graduating from the academy, Sinclair lost contact with all of her classmates and predecessors.

She disappears from the world, from history, forever.

Before the regression, the Highbro, Midbro, and Lowbro, who had grown quite a bit older since graduating from the Academy, would often have conversations about "what Sinclair is doing now?" and "she's probably doing well somewhere, since she didn't miss out on being Head of the Hot Class for four years," and "where did she come from and where did she go?".

We would reminisce about the amazing grades and records she had set when she was a student at the academy.

When Vikir was thinking about this,.

"Hey. What are you doing after midterms this time?"

Sinclair asked again.

"We have a week off after midterms. Do you have any plans then?"

"I do."

"Like what?"

"Back and lower body, and archery training."

"Not workouts and training."

Sinclair stuck out her lips with a sullen expression.

Then she spoke.

"Come over to my place when you're free. Let's have a meal."

Sinclair's invitation was a bit of a surprise.

Vikir raised one eyebrow.

Come to think of it, Sinclair had made a similar offer to Vikir once before.

It was back when he was volunteering at an orphanage.

Dantalian's act of collecting donations for the parentless children, and Sinclair and Vikir's conversation went something like this, with Sinclair asking him if he didn't want to donate.

"hyung. You don't donate?'

'... I don't have any money.'

He said he didn't really have any.

Vikir had decided not to accept any support from the Baskervilles.

However, it is not currently receiving financial support from Sindiwendi.

He didn't want to arouse any unnecessary suspicion with his cover as a commoner.

Anyway. Sinclair was a bit puzzled at the time.

'Money? Why don't you have any money? You're a student at the academy; aren't you being a bit harsh? The poor kids here don't have parents, and we should be helping them.'

'There is no need for parents.'

"Huh?

"They have to navigate the world on their own. Parents are only functional during childhood, when help from others is essential, but otherwise they are unnecessary.'

Vikir's thoughts were the same then as they are now.

Why do I feel sorry for children in orphanages?

They have everything they need to survive, except that their parents have been replaced by state institutions.

They get the nutrients they need and the education they deserve.

It's a much happier and more comfortable life than being raised as a hound in Baskerville.

The world is full of pain, something to be fought and overcome, and parents are just the initial guides to help with the first tutorials in that long fight.

Vikir sees parents as merely functional, and that's a natural value in the Baskervilles, where he's lived his entire life, and in the Age of Destruction, where he's lived half his life.

But those who have lived through war and those who have not cannot understand each other.

Vikir realized that he might seem a bit strange to those who had not yet lived through the Age of Destruction.

So he had no expectations.

...However.

"You have to come, okay?"

Sinclair looked at Vikir with a seriousness he hadn't seen before.

Instead of her usual curious and bubbly demeanor, it was heavy and wistful.

She was looking at Vikir as if she understood and empathized with him.

As she had in the past.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, it's almost time for my shift!"

Sinclair dropped something in front of Vikir and walked toward the rooftop exit.

'She's got a part-time job at this hour?'

Vikir tilted his head.

But Sinclair just smirked and waved.

And then.

...bang!

The rooftop door slammed shut.

"...."

Vikir turned his head to look at the object Sinclair had set down in front of him.

There was a rabbit with a pocket watch, scurrying about in a hurry, staring at him.

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