The Duty Of An Academy Student Should Be To Study - Chapter 76

Episode 76

Khan, with his heavily swollen eyes, rolled them around, barely visible.

“We tried our best to search from our end…”

“Try harder.”

“But the final repayment date has already passed, so we are quite pressed for time…”

“Is pointing a gun at the son of Duke Conway, not a pressing matter?”

Khan shivered, lips pressed tightly together, his shoulders trembling. 

Jasper continued almost threateningly.

“I was just trying to rescue a woman in danger as a gentleman, and when forced, I had no choice but to use violence for self-defense. Did you do wrong, or did I do wrong? Tell me.”

Even though he had been unilaterally hit, Khan nodded his head reluctantly.

“We… did wrong.”

“Yeah. Don’t you want to complicate matters further?”

Khan nodded slowly. He was certainly feeling unjust. If he had known that Jasper Conway, a key figure, would appear here, he wouldn’t have taken out his gun.

Redmark was gradually expanding its scale within the upper echelons. They couldn’t act recklessly like the lower gangsters in the back alleys.

Jasper looked at Khan’s worried face and spoke.

“Since I’ll cooperate to some extent, start by looking for George Bell. Let’s postpone the repayment deadline. That way, we can somewhat bury the regrettable events that happened today.”

“Lordship, please. What I need to decide here is not, no, it’s not. I have to ask the higher-ups…”

“Then go and ask them what to do. There should be some communication device at the top, right?”

“Yes…”

Jasper said, nodding towards Rose.

“Next time, instead of coming to Rose Bell, contact me directly. I am her sponsor and representative.”

Rose momentarily lost her words and only moved her lips at the rapidly changing situation. She couldn’t tell when Jasper became her representative. 

In a way, considering the scholarship, it wasn’t entirely inaccurate to call it a sponsorship relationship.

Jasper brazenly added.

“And I’m not entirely unfamiliar with George Bell either. There’s a lot to sort out with him. I also want to meet George again as soon as possible.”

Father and acquaintance. What kind of talk was this? Startled by unexpected words, Rose hurriedly caught her breath.

Jasper stood up.

“I think we’re done here. Just take care of this.”

Jasper’s finger pointed to the document. Khan reluctantly gathered the documents back into his arms.

“Then… I’ll be in touch soon, Your Lordship.”

“Good. Make sure to communicate well with the higher-ups to avoid unnecessary embarrassment for each other.”

Jasper sharply retorted and cautiously placed his palm on Rose’s shoulder.

“Let’s go.”

The voice towards Rose was gentle. Rose glanced at Jasper for a moment and then stood up from her chair. The tension that had built up in her body was instantly released, and her legs wobbled as the tension left.

Jasper immediately wrapped his hand around Rose’s forearm, and unfortunately, there was a bruise on that forearm from being restrained by Khan.

“Ouch.”

Rose winced unconsciously, narrowing one eye, and Jasper’s face chilled just like a few tens of minutes ago.

“…Does your arm hurt too? Did you get hit?”

Drrrrk. 

Khan hurriedly pushed his chair back and stood up noisily. Stepping back urgently from Jasper, Khan raised both hands.

“I swear… I swear I never hit her!” 

“She’s in pain though?”

Jasper was on the verge of swinging his fist again. Rose desperately grabbed Jasper’s sleeve.

“He didn’t hit me. He just grabbed me hard and left a bruise. Let’s go now.”

“A bruise? And you want me to just let him go?”

“Well… technically, haven’t you let him go already? It’s not like you haven’t done that. I think he might have a broken nose too…”

Khan nodded in agreement with Rose’s words. 

At that moment, Caleb, who had been observing the situation from the side, walked forward. Suddenly, he raised his leg and kicked Khan’s abdomen.

“Oof…!”

Khan fell to the ground, clutching his stomach and groaning, and Caleb turned to Jasper.

“I hit him just in case you were going to make a corpse. Let’s just go. Look at Rose Bell’s expression. She might faint.”

As Caleb said, Rose’s face had turned pale. So much had happened in just a few hours. It was the first time she had witnessed such a blatant act of violence.

Jasper looked displeased but reluctantly led Rose outside. As soon as Rose stepped out of the inn, she took a deep breath. While inside, she had been on edge and couldn’t breathe freely.

Caleb, who followed them out, scratched the back of his head and spoke.

“Are you going back to the academy like this? Jasper, your uniform is a mess. If you go like this, it’ll cause a commotion.”

Jasper’s jacket and shirt had splatters of blood here and there, and it stood out even more against the light-colored uniform. Jasper looked down at his clothes and clicked his tongue.

This time, Caleb inspected Rose and asked.

“You probably need some time to calm down too. Oh well, I came out to play a round of poker, and now it’s turned into this…”

By the way, Caleb wasn’t dressed in a school uniform. It wasn’t a noble outfit either, but rather the everyday clothes commonly seen on the streets worn by commoners.

Rose suddenly remembered the rumor that Caleb might be considering dropping out. After all, it had only been a few days since she had seen his face. She hadn’t been able to find him at the academy during that time.

‘Was the rumor true…?’

Caleb sighed.

“First, let’s both go to my place. Not Earl Sidoor’s townhouse. It’s a cozier place than that.”

Jasper furrowed his brow in puzzlement and asked.

“You left your home?”

“It’s a complicated story. Let’s discuss it at home. Have a drink or two when we get there.”

With a gentle tap on Jasper’s back, Caleb began to lead the way down the street.

* * *

The place Caleb took them to was a communal housing area where the laborers who flocked to the capital after the magic technological revolution lived. 

It wasn’t too far from the slum area where Rose had encountered George.

The recently increased communal housing buildings were closely packed together. They were built without much consideration for aesthetics, aiming to accommodate as many people as possible.

People wandering in the residential area mostly looked like factory workers. They glanced at the academy students who appeared on the worn streets, their clothes bearing the marks of labor.

Caleb’s apartment was on the top floor of a five-story communal housing building. Even though it was midday, the entrance was dimly lit, mainly due to the closeness of the buildings, making it difficult for sunlight to reach.

The staircase was so narrow that only three people could ascend in a single file. 

Jasper, climbing the stairs, said in disbelief.

“You live here? You moved out of the dorm or your house to come here?” 

Caleb, who was leading, cheerfully responded without looking back.

“Why not? It may look a bit old and dirty, but it’s surprisingly comfortable to live in. The most attractive part is the extremely low rent.”

“You weren’t moving out; you were chased out.”

As Rose silently climbed the stairs between Caleb and Jasper, she got lost in memories for a moment. When she was younger, she had lived in a place like this for about a month.

Before selling their title, unable to afford a standalone house, she had briefly stayed in a communal housing building.

It was located in an industrial city quite distant from the capital, and the hygiene conditions here were worse than in the capital. She recalled how her mother, Anna, used to be sad every day.

‘Why is Caleb living here? Did he get kicked out? Perhaps… did he break off the engagement with the Shermans?’

If he had been kicked out of home and lost financial support, it would make sense for him to live here and for the news of him dropping out of the academy.

‘Rebecca would be upset…’

Lately, Rebecca seemed to be depressed, and Rose was worried. Oddly enough, Caleb cheerfully welcomed the guests into his own home.

“Make yourself at home. The entire 5th floor is my territory.”

Most people rented a single room in the communal housing and paid monthly rent. Some rooms were so cramped that there was hardly any space besides the bed.

The 5th floor where Caleb stayed had a living room, kitchen, and three bedrooms. It was rare to rent an entire floor like this. If one could afford such a rent, they wouldn’t bother living in the communal housing area.

Rose was surprised to find Caleb’s home more spacious than expected, but Jasper chuckled in disbelief.

“You live in a place like this?”

Caleb waved his hand dismissively.

“Come in and sit down. I’ll make some tea.”

“What do you even do for a living?”

“Ugh. Don’t nag at me! Rose, does he always talk like this to you too? Seriously, for a guy to be so harsh…?”

Jasper interjected, looking sternly at Caleb.

“Can you shut up for a moment?”

“Yes, yes.”

Caleb smiled playfully and headed towards the kitchen. Jasper and Rose sat side by side on the worn-out cloth sofa.

Not long after, Caleb returned carrying a tray with tea cups and a teapot and spoke.

“I wasn’t kicked out of my house, I chose to live here. Isn’t it good in its way?”

Jasper furrowed his brow, and Rose nodded in agreement, playing along. 

“Yeah, it has a cozy atmosphere.”

“Thanks, Rose. You have a good eye. It seems like we subtly connect well.” 

When Jasper shot Caleb a sharp look, Caleb shrugged. 

“Well, we do have a connection, and didn’t I just see Rose Bell being dragged away? What would you have done without me, when you were begging me on the street to help you find Rose… ouch.”

With his face turned red, Jasper flicked Caleb’s shin in irritation.