The World Is Mine For The Taking-Chapter 1257 - 193 - The End Of Normal Days (2)

The stares inside the lecture room were relentless.

It wasn’t just curiosity. It wasn’t even admiration. It was that thick, suffocating kind of attention that clings to your skin and refuses to let go. Every time I shifted in my seat, I could feel eyes following me. Whispers coiled around the air like smoke. Even when no one was speaking, the silence itself felt loud.

So I left.

I slipped out without a word and headed toward the back of the gymnasium. The noise of the campus faded the farther I walked, replaced by the rustling of leaves and the faint creak of branches swaying in the breeze. I found a tree near the edge of the grounds and let myself drop onto the grass beneath it.

The shade was cool. The earth smelled faintly of soil and sunlight. It was quiet enough that I could finally breathe without feeling like I was being evaluated for existing.

I lay back, one arm behind my head, staring up at the canopy above. For a moment, I just listened to the wind, to distant chatter, and to my own heartbeat slowing down.

Then two hands covered my eyes.

"Who is it~?" a playful voice teased, her tone light and sing-song.

"Charlotte," I answered immediately.

Behind me, I heard a dramatic little huff.

"It’s seriously impossible to prank you, Leon. You always know it’s me. You never miss." Her voice carried that exaggerated disappointment, the kind that wasn’t really disappointment at all.

She moved around in front of me, her lips puffed out in a very deliberate pout. It was almost impressive how committed she was to the expression.

"Well, it’s not exactly hard," I said lazily. "When you press your breasts against my back like that—and considering I’ve already memorized their shape—it would be strange if I didn’t recognize you."

Her cheeks flushed instantly, a vivid pink spreading across her face.

"Goodness... the way you say that so casually is kind of perverted," she muttered, crossing her arms. "You really are something else, aren’t you?"

"I’ll take that as a compliment."

She stared at me for a second longer, her pout slowly fading into something softer. Then she straightened her posture and cleared her throat.

"Congratulations on winning the tournament, Leon," she said, this time more sincerely. "I was honestly surprised. I didn’t expect you to enter at all. If you’d told me beforehand, I would’ve completely withdrawn—and I wouldn’t have sent some of my employees to participate under the Guild’s name."

There was no accusation in her voice.

Just genuine astonishment.

"It wasn’t without purpose," I replied. "You’re marketing the Mercenary Guild. You had your people compete under its banner so it would gain visibility, popularity and reputation. And I’d say it worked. There are already more people heading your way."

She sighed, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. "You’re not wrong. But it’s exhausting. People keep coming in, asking if they can be hired. Applications, interviews, evaluations... it never ends. Ella and I are doing our best to handle it all. We’ve gained a lot from this, though." She looked at me, searching. "I’m being helpful to you, aren’t I?"

"You’re definitely putting in the effort," I said with a small smile. "But you don’t have to do it for me. If you want to build something, build it for yourself."

"I am building it for myself," she said quickly. Then, softer, "Because I want to be useful to you."

I exhaled slowly. Arguing with her would be pointless. When Charlotte decided on something, she didn’t half-commit.

"You’re incredibly popular right now, you know," she continued, sitting down beside me. "I never thought you’d reveal yourself like that in front of everyone. I’m not going to lie, I was shocked. Were you planning that?"

"More or less," I admitted.

"You clearly had an agenda," she said, narrowing her eyes at me. "You don’t do things without reason. And I’m guessing whatever you wanted... it worked."

"It did."

I drew in a slow breath, letting it out through my nose.

Maybe that tournament really was the end of anything resembling a quiet life. Maybe the whispers wouldn’t stop anymore. Maybe I’d become the topic of every conversation whether I liked it or not.

But strangely enough, it didn’t bother me.

I couldn’t think of a single real disadvantage. If anything, the attention made certain things easier. It exposed pieces that needed to be exposed. It shifted power in subtle ways.

For now, though, I just lay there under the tree, eyes closed again, letting the breeze brush against my face. The world felt almost peaceful.

"Leon," Charlotte said suddenly, her voice tightening. "Someone’s coming."

My eyes opened.

I followed her gaze and saw a group approaching from across the grounds. Their uniforms were unmistakable. The insignia stitched into their attire marked them as knights affiliated with the academy’s administration.

Interesting.

Were they here to arrest me?

I mentally reviewed the past few days. I didn’t commit any obvious crimes. I didn’t do anything resembling a public chaos. As far as I know, there was nothing that would justify that level of escalation.

But as they drew closer, I focused more carefully on the emblem they bore.

Gaspard.

Gaspard Cordelius Argus.

An old man whose age was practically a rumor in itself. Some said he was nearing a century. Others said he’d simply refused to die out of spite.

The knights stopped a short distance away. One of them stepped forward, his expression cold and sharp.

"You are Leon, correct?"

"Yeah," I replied casually, pushing myself up to sit properly. "That’s me."

"Then you are under arrest." 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Charlotte stiffened beside me.

"And for what?" I asked, almost amused.

"For instigating an investigation into Sir Gaspard with the intent to gather incriminating evidence against him. The investigation was unlawful. You violated the constitutional rights of an individual of higher standing and exceeded authorized authority, resulting in inadmissible evidence. This constitutes grave misconduct. The punishment is three years in the dungeon, followed by the severing of both your hands."

He recited it like he’d memorized every word.

So it had begun.

Dorothea must have started digging through the documents tied to Gaspard. She was the only one who knew about the proceedings and the hidden records in the Entertainment District. That was why I sent her. She knew the pathways, the systems, as well as the blind spots.

Apparently, even she could be caught.

That old bastard. He really thought he could bury this with a legal maneuver? That he could intimidate me into silence?

"If you’re planning to arrest me," I said calmly, standing up fully now, "you should’ve brought a hundred men. Actually, no—make that a thousand. You know who I am. Five isn’t nearly enough. If you really intend to take me in, you’re going to need more than that."

For a brief second, they hesitated.

Then I let it loose.

My bloodlust.

It was pressure that rolled outward like a tidal wave. The air itself seemed to thicken. The temperature dropped by a degree. The grass beneath our feet trembled faintly.

The knights’ expressions shattered.

One stumbled back, knees buckling. Another dropped to one knee, sword half-drawn but shaking. The one who had spoken tried to hold my gaze, but his composure cracked. Sweat beaded along his temple.

It wasn’t magic. It wasn’t spectacle.

It was intent.

Pure, unfiltered intent.

When I finally pulled it back, the silence felt deafening.

Without another word, they retreated. They didn’t do any formation. And certainly not with dignity. They simply turned and left, as quickly as their pride would allow.

Charlotte’s fingers clutched lightly at my sleeve.

"W-What’s happening, Leon?"

I watched the knights disappear into the distance.

"Well," I said evenly, brushing imaginary dust from my shoulder, "someone’s about to lose his position. And he doesn’t like that."

I glanced at her, offering a faint smile that didn’t quite reach my eyes.

"So he’s doing whatever he can to stop it."