– The Hooligan and Unfairly Admitted Student (1) –
The carriage Kleio and Nebo was riding passed over a bridge to the west side of Tempus River. With Kleio’s encouragement, Nebo explained to him how to call a carriage, how to ride in a shared carriage, and other useful tidbits.
‘You won’t know these kinds of small everyday life tips if you only look at the manuscript. Shouldn’t I figure the world out a bit while I’m in school so that my slacker life will be a good one?’
Having soon gotten the hang of it, Kleio told the driver their exact destination. The driver soon let Kleio off at a small stone building, presumably the closest Planta Bank branch building.
Five minutes later, the Planta Bank Royal Circus branch manager Henry Pist was wiping the sweat off the shiny top of his head.
“What? Asel? Father, son? Which one came in?”
The branch manager’s secretary’s reply came calmly.
“It is the son.”
“Didn’t the Zentrum fleet accompany him?”
“It is not the eldest son, but the second one, branch manager.”
“There was a second son in the household?”
“There is, and he is asking to check his account.”
“Is he the real one?”
“He indeed is the student enrolled in the Royal Capital Defense Corps School, Kleio Asel.”
“Why did he ask to check his account?”
“He says he wants to withdraw money.”
“How much?”
“He spoke vaguely, but he has a total of the 400-thousand dinars in his account. If he withdraws all of it in cash, this branch is lacking in the appropriate funds. The main branch…”
“I’ll go out and find out why he purposely visited this branch.”
The reason was that it was merely close to the school, but the branch manager didn’t know that.
.
.
.
Planta Bank Royal Circus Branch’s reception room was both fancy and comfortable, with a comfy sofa and cigar cases and brandy bottles placed on the tables next to it. It seemed closer to a gentlemen’s club from a movie than a reception room. Kleio was in the middle of enjoying its comforts, sinking deep into the sofa.
‘Of course, it doesn’t seem like a reception room intended for seventeen-year-olds. Would it look weird if I asked for a glass of this alcohol?’
In the beginning, Kleio didn’t receive reception room treatment. It happened the moment he handed over a check at the counter with his signature. Because he didn’t know the total worth he had, he asked a couple of questions before writing an amount on the check. But when he asked how much he had, the counter employee grew flustered. Kleio was also inwardly taken aback by the employee’s expression.
‘And they suddenly called me inside. I thought I was caught forging the signature.’
Of course, that wasn’t the problem. Kleio’s account contained 400-thousand dinars. It seemed the bank was anxious that he might try to withdraw his entire balance. Kleio, who had been smacking his lips at the sight of brandy, saw the branch manager come in and swiftly put on his business smile.
“Hello, I’m Kleio Asel. There was no need for you to come out personally, manager, but thank you regardless.”
“It is no trouble. Thank you for frequenting our Planta Bank for such a long time, starting from your father’s time. I’ve heard of the matter. How much money do you wish to withdraw?”
“I was thinking of withdrawing a little to use, but it seems the affair has escalated. I merely need enough for my living expenses.”
The branch manager became noticeably relieved.
“Then, would about 1000 dinar suffice?”
“Yes, please do so.”
‘Exactly how much are 400 thousand dinars that there’s this much of a fuss? It seems like it’s no small amount of money.’
“It seems our employee misunderstood and needlessly took up your time.”
“Not at all, but since it has already happened, may I ask for a glass of brandy?”
“Of course. It is a beverage provided for our customers.”
The branch manager replied readily and poured him a hefty glass.
“Then, I will bring the money over here.”
“Yes, please take your time.”
It wasn’t a way of speaking that suited a boy just past puberty, but with his attention caught on the brandy, Kleio didn’t care. Soon, the glass full of brandy entered his grasp. The burn sliding down his throat and the scent brushing past his nose… it was exquisite.
‘It’s better than that twenty-five-year-old Armagnac.’
When he was with the company, authors coming back from overseas conferences had sometimes brought alcohol as a present to the company. It was annoying listening to the company head’s complaining while they drank, but the expensive alcohol had enough worth to make him endure the complaints. In his thirties, Jungjin’s love was neither women nor books, but alcohol. On top of that, this alcohol was free and had not a hint of his old boss’s shittiness.
‘I’ve hit the jackpot.’
Kleio slowly emptied the drink. While he was enjoying the aftertaste remaining on his tongue, the branch manager brought the bills to the reception room. Kleio smiled with his whole face as he put the thick envelope away.
“Next time, you can call over a bank attendant. You don’t need to trouble yourself by coming here in person. Thank you for doing business with us, and please convey our regards to your father as well.”
“I will do so. Thank you.”
‘A branch manager’s greetings is something only people like landlords receive, even if it’s a neighborhood branch, but I’m experiencing all sorts of things after coming here. So this is what being born with a silver spoon is like.”
Nebo, who had been waiting in the lobby, went fish-eyed when he saw Kleio come out with adults around him.
“Huh, so you really were the son of an important household.”
“Hm, I didn’t know either. Then, let’s go now.”
Still, with his eyes bulging, Nebo glanced at the branch manager’s bald head, politely bidding them goodbye. Kleio, leisurely, and Nebo, glancing around at their surroundings furtively, left the lobby. Henry, the manager who saw them off, quickly called his secretary.
“Gather some information on what Kleio Asel is going to do in the capital. Seeing how the second son who hadn’t been active up to now is stepping forward, he must have something in mind.”
“I understand.”
“An Asel is an Asel. He’s frail and young, but inside, he’s already an old person. There’s nothing bad about being cautious.”
If he had known that impression had come about just because he drank one glass of brandy, Kleio would’ve spat it back out, but the bank owner’s words didn’t reach his ears.
***
‘Seeing how Isiel didn’t come for me again, the magic formula incident must’ve been resolved. As expected, holding out saying ‘I didn’t know’ was the answer.’
Kleio was lying on his bed while eating a snack. He had also tried thinking about Editor’s Authority and the author’s goal, but seeing how there were no more messages, he lacked the proper components needed to make a guess about their intentions.
‘They asked me for help revising the manuscript, but there’s no word on what parts of the manuscript they didn’t like, what they want to do with it…’
Then, he had no choice but to pursue his future in his own way. After dropping by the bank, he ate, slept, and lounged around the entire weekend. When he got bored of lounging around, he occasionally petted the cat. After that, he carefully read the school rules written in his notebook. The first focus was on dropping out of school. It was only possible with a guardian’s approval.
‘There’s no reason the father who used incredible amounts of donation money would agree to me dropping out. Seeing how I haven’t heard about a mother, it seems likely there isn’t one?’
The second was flunking and expulsion. If you failed two tests in a row, then you were held back, and if you were held back twice or had missed more than two-thirds of attendances per term, then you were expelled.
‘Good; let’s keep this up.’
Finally, he also scanned through the textbook. As he did, he realized something important.
‘Even though I have Promise, I can only read books at my original pace when I’m reading them for the first time!’
It was the same even when he tried it out several more times. Promise’s 「Memory」 only applied to books that he had already read properly once. For books he hadn’t read, he had to use his head to familiarize himself with the contents, like in his original world.
‘Why should I do that? Ehhh.’
Tossing the textbook away, Kleio flopped onto the bed again. Seeing that, the cat sprawled out and picked a fight.
“Idiot, do you finally have the will to pick up a book?”
“No. I’m an idiot, so I can’t do things like study.”
“Tsk tsk. Pathetic. You failed the last test, so if you keep on being like that, you’ll be sent away from the school.”
“Ah, that’s exactly what I want.”
That was how Sunday evening ended.
***
Then, Monday arrived. He leisurely went to the Year 1 lecture hall. There wasn’t much that had changed about his life now that he was going to classes. Maybe the rumor about his suicide attempt had already spread because the teachers and students treated Kleio like a boil. In other words, even if he slept in the back of the lecture room, he wouldn’t even receive warnings. Kleio, having slept throughout the class, stretched out as the lunch bell awoke him.
‘My back does ache a bit, sleeping hunched over for the first time in a while. Starting tomorrow, I shouldn’t even come to class.’
The school’s regular classes were from Monday to Friday, for three hours in the morning. Starting from the afternoon, apparently, the students did research or training according to their personal paths, but was there any need for him to do that?
‘Let’s just eat.’
He had found out the location of the cafeteria by asking an attendant. He had moved so slowly that there was nobody in the cafeteria by the time he arrived.
‘Oh, the lunch menu is also three courses.’
There was a handwritten menu next to the cafeteria entrance: soup, butter-fried fish, berry compote, and cream. Stopping and reading the small lettering underneath, it seemed you could also request wine, despite it being a school cafeteria.
‘I guess minors can drink alcohol here?! No wonder the bank readily gave me some.’
Kleio’s drooping eyes opened wide for the first time. Among the things that happened after coming here, this was the best right after checking his bank account.
‘I was worried, thinking that I’d have to refrain from drinking for a while.’
While he had been working at the publishing company that was probably already shutting down, there had been exactly just one good point. Academic book writers were mostly professors, and professors had all sorts of expensive and good alcohol. Normally, a company entertained the authors, but given the company was run via the company head’s connections, the authors felt a little sorry for the company head. As a result, they had always received presents of alcohol. It was alcohol that Jungjin wouldn’t even be able to think about buying with his monthly salary, but after frequently drinking it because of presents or holiday greetings, at some point, he had grown used to it.
‘This is similar to the Alsace wine that Professor No Youngshin used to bring over in boxes. There’s less of a sour taste, and it’s not sweet, but there’s this mineral taste. Ah, the weather is nice, and it’s great to drink.’
While eating the meal on the tray, he requested one glass, then another. It was the day after he had slept to his heart’s content, and the weather was nice, so he didn’t even feel intoxicated. His body was frail, so he had worried that his alcohol tolerance would be weak, but he took alcohol well. Maybe it was because he was a young man, and his liver was clean.
After devouring the dessert, Kleio even received a bottle of alcohol from the cafeteria lady.
The time was May. The budding summer roses along the thin fences outside the window were beautiful; the wind was cool; there was nothing he had to do. And the wine was delicious.
Sip.
‘This is what it’s like to live.’
Just then, a ringing voice in the cafeteria woke Kleio from his reverie.
“Ah, you. I know that there is remaining alcohol, so why are you lying? There is always alcohol remaining in the Year 1 lecture hall cafeteria.”
“Get lost, you rascal. One glass each to accompany the food! It’s not given out for you to get drunk!”
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