I’m Here to End This Fight

Chapter 122: The Bluebird (3)

For Yuri, making things wasn’t just a means of survival; it was also his one and only small hobby that he found interesting.

Moreover, his craftsmanship wasn’t bad at all.

No, to be precise, it was at a level that could be considered as talent.

He had interest, talent, and as a result, he found enjoyment in continuously creating things.

However, recently, as he began constructing the foundation of a small fortress, he started to realize the limits of his skills.

And then, when he encountered the intricate traps within the mechanism, Yuri was deeply impressed.

“So, those were made by the Bone Clan?”

His life mentor, the mercenary uncle, once said:

[If you ever meet someone from the Bone Clan in your life, cling to them, no matter what!]

Even if what you gain from them is nothing more than trash, as long as it carries the label “Made by the Bone Clan,” you can fetch a high price for it.

But this…

“It’s not just that the items were made by the Bone Clan, but the very technology to create such things.”

Every small trap within the mechanism.

All of it was created with the Bone Clan’s technology, and now, there was an opportunity to learn that technology right before his eyes.

How could he not be tempted?

If he could learn it, he absolutely had to.

And Yuri had a way to do it.

His eyes gleamed.

“The application form.”

That 10,000-point piece of paper that he had wondered when he would ever use—now, the opportunity had come.

But there was one major problem with this opportunity.

‘…I don’t know his name.’

According to Theresia, he needed to write down the name and affiliation of the person whose lecture he wanted to attend on the application form.

But all Yuri knew was that the person was from the Bone Clan.

When he tried to approach and talk, he was immediately attacked and driven away in a ridiculous manner.

There was no chance to even find out his name.

‘Is there no way to find out his name and affiliation?’

Yuri pondered, stroking his chin.

‘The method of annoying him like before won’t work anymore.’

That Bone Clan man had said he was going to change duties soon.

This would likely be the last time he could provoke a conversation like this.

‘Will he leave entirely after the duty change?’

Whether the Bone Clan man would leave the cradle after his duty was done, or receive a new assignment, or if the new operator who would replace him would also be from the Bone Clan—none of it was certain.

Even though he wanted to use the application form, he couldn’t without the necessary information.

Yuri’s thoughts continued to race, searching for a method.

Then, in a fleeting moment—

“Huh?”

A memory from the past flashed through Yuri’s mind.

“Maybe…”

Had he found a way?

Yuri’s eyes shone brightly.

With a faint smile, he quickly left the spot.

As March began, the frozen stream melted and started to flow.

Trickling—

And mixed in with the melody of the flowing stream was a small humming sound.

“Hmmm~.”

The one squatting by the stream in just his underwear, humming continuously, was none other than Jerry Bee.

“Hmmm, hmm-hmm-hmm!”

Though the weather had warmed, the water was still quite cold, yet Jerry didn’t mind and diligently washed every corner of his body.

Splash, splash—

Whether he was washing his face, swimming, or shampooing, Jerry finished cleaning from his face to his hair in one go, then stood up and stared intently at his reflection in the water.

And then—

“Phew—.”

With a big grin, he brushed his wet blonde hair back.

“Damn, I’m handsome.”

Every time he washed, Jerry thought that his looks were good enough to hold their own anywhere.

Caught up in self-admiration, he was about to finish washing when he hesitated.

“Hmm…”

Letting out a faint groan, Jerry squatted down again.

“…I’ll wash a little more.”

Normally, he would have stopped at this point.

But today was different.

Today was the day he would face the moment of his life.

Determination gleamed in the brown eyes reflected in the water.

‘I can’t go meet her looking half-done!’

With that resolve, he started washing himself more thoroughly than before.

His humming resumed, now filled with excitement.

Hmm-hmm—hmm-hmm-hmm!

The reason he was so happy and excited today.

The reason he was paying so much attention to his appearance.

It all stemmed from his meeting with Theresia two hours earlier.

[There you are.]

Theresia had approached him with a slightly pleased expression, as if she had been looking for him for a while.

But unlike her initial pleased look, she hesitated and spoke with some uncertainty, her voice trailing off.

[Um… do you have a moment? There’s something I want to talk about.]

Then, as if avoiding his gaze, she lightly lowered her head.

[I’ll wait for you there.]

She handed Jerry a note and quickly disappeared, almost as if she was running away.

Watching Theresia walk away, Jerry, along with all the other cadets of the 49th batch who witnessed the scene, was shocked.

‘Did Theresia… just act shy?’

Avoiding eye contact and lowering her head.

Running away as if embarrassed.

It was unmistakable; she was definitely feeling shy.

And in response to Theresia’s reaction, Jerry, along with everyone around, had their mouths wide open in shock.

Who was Theresia?

The remarkable individual who had entered with the Golden Dragon Plaque and consistently pushed herself to claim the top spot among the 49th batch.

She was known as an obsessive training maniac, and because of that, she maintained only minimal friendships with others.

But it was precisely that situation that made the other male cadets of the 49th batch admire her.

Her outstanding beauty.

And the dignified woman who relentlessly pushed herself.

To the men of the 49th batch, Theresia was someone they couldn’t easily approach and shouldn’t approach lightly—a sacred figure.

And yet, Theresia Winchester!

That very Theresia had just handed a note to a man and left, looking shy!

And everyone knew what such a situation roughly implied.

To the men of the 49th batch, it was nothing short of blasphemy.

A surge of killing intent rose in an instant.

But the target of that killing intent, Jerry, had already fled long ago.

After escaping from his fellow cadets, Jerry immediately began polishing himself up.

“Perfect.”

After spending a full two hours grooming himself, Jerry was satisfied with his now-perfect appearance.

Quickly getting dressed, he spread his arms wide and took a deep breath.

Ssssss—!

The still chilly winter air filled his lungs.

But within that air, Jerry could sense a faint scent of spring.

Simultaneously, his heart began to race.

‘Is spring finally coming for me too?’

Grinning, he pulled out the note Theresia had given him and sniffed it.

Sniff-sniff—

Though it smelled only faintly of paper, to Jerry, it seemed like something entirely different.

‘So sweet.’

Could this sweet scent be the clumsy fragrance of her love?

Recalling Theresia’s shy departure, Jerry unfolded the note.

“Her handwriting is as neat and beautiful as her looks, our goddess.”

Smiling contentedly, Jerry confirmed the time and place of their rendezvous and set off immediately.

Though there was still plenty of time until the meeting, it was only gentlemanly to arrive early and wait.

“Hmmm~.”

Jerry’s joyful humming resumed as he walked with excitement.

A little later.

Jerry finally arrived at the meeting place.

“Huh?”

He paused when he saw the emerald hair in the distance.

‘She’s here already?’

Even though he had arrived early, Theresia was already there before him.

Jerry nodded in understanding.

‘She must be nervous too.’

Perhaps anxiety had led her to arrive early as well?

Thinking so, Jerry walked forward, imagining how he would respond to Theresia’s impending confession.

And finally, Jerry stood face-to-face with Theresia.

“You’re early,” he said in a slick voice, flashing a smile that he himself found impressive.

‘It must be a perfect smile, right?’

Yet, at the same time, he was a little worried.

What if his perfect smile made her heart race and made her even more nervous?

But Theresia’s face didn’t look nervous at all as she stared at Jerry.

Instead, she looked slightly embarrassed and extremely apologetic.

“Sigh…”

Letting out a small sigh, Theresia turned her head to the side.

“You’re here.”

In response to her words, a figure emerged from behind a tree.

A black-haired boy with golden eyes.

It was Yuri.

He walked over to Theresia and handed her a piece of paper.

“You’ve done well.”

Theresia took the 【Meal Voucher】 that Yuri handed her and asked suspiciously.

“So, with this, you’ll cook whatever I want, whenever I want?”

“Of course. As long as it’s one meal, anytime.”

Only after Yuri’s firm answer did Theresia withdraw her suspicious gaze and smile faintly with satisfaction.

But that smile quickly faded when she turned back to Jerry, leaving only a trace of guilt.

“Well… I’ll leave you two to talk.”

Leaving those words behind, Theresia departed the scene as if fleeing.

Much like she had earlier.

A series of question marks popped up above Jerry’s head as he watched her leave.

‘…What’s going on here?’

He couldn’t quite make sense of the situation unfolding before his eyes.

After standing in a daze for a long while, Jerry finally managed to summarize his situation briefly.

‘I… I’ve been sold, haven’t I?’

And for nothing more than a single meal?

A vision of Theresia, shyly lowering her head just hours ago, flashed through Jerry’s mind.

That was when he finally understood.

‘The reason she couldn’t meet my gaze… was this?!’

Theresia had avoided meeting his eyes because she felt guilty for selling a fellow cadet for just a meal.

Now that he knew the whole truth, Jerry looked up at the sky in despair.

“Damn… it’s cold.”

The spring day he had so eagerly awaited did not come.

Only the cold winter lingered on.

Jerry’s gaze, which had been looking up at the sky, now dropped to the ground.

Drip—

A clear droplet fell from the eyes of a man whose pure feelings had been crushed.

And it was then.

“Hey, are you crying?”

A black-haired head suddenly popped under Jerry’s lowered face.

“Yikes!”

Jerry jumped back in surprise and glared at Yuri, who was grinning at him.

‘That bastard, that one right there!’

Yes, it was this guy who was the root of it all.

If this guy hadn’t used Theresia to set up this meeting!

Then he wouldn’t have ended up misunderstanding and getting hurt all by himself!

Seething inside, Jerry glared at the black-haired boy.

‘Annoyingly good-looking.’

The first thing he noticed was how disgustingly handsome Yuri was.

Then, something else struck him as odd.

‘A red epaulet? So he’s from the 50th batch?’

Theresia, who didn’t easily make friends even with those in the 49th batch, had a close relationship with someone from the 50th batch?

Judging by their earlier conversation, they seemed to be very close.

‘Who the hell is he?’

Furrowing his brow, Jerry kept looking at Yuri, tilting his head repeatedly.

‘But… somehow, he feels oddly familiar.’

Even though this was clearly the first time he’d seen his face, there was something strangely familiar about him.

And the feeling wasn’t a good one.

He had a sudden urge to get away from this place as quickly as possible.

Feeling uneasy, Jerry asked with a stern face.

“Who are you? Why did you call me here?”

At his question, Yuri waved his hand casually.

“Hello, Jerry-sunbae. How have you been?”

The overly familiar tone made Jerry flinch and take a step back.

“Y-you, you are?!”

His face had already turned pale.

‘Damn it! No wonder I had a bad feeling!’

The ominous feeling he’d had since a moment ago.

And the arrogant, rude voice calling him “Jerry.”

There was only one person who matched all those conditions.

Jerry pointed at Yuri and shouted.

“You crazy bastard!”

At his outburst, Yuri’s eyes narrowed dangerously.

“If you curse at me right to my face, who knows what this crazy bastard might do?”

“That…”

“Stop right there. If you take even one step back, I’ll stop treating you like a sunbae altogether.”

“Since when did you ever treat me like a—”

“Shhh!”

“F-fine.”

Jerry realized it.

Yuri saying he would stop treating him like a sunbae actually meant he would stop treating him like a person at all.

And as soon as he realized that, Jerry stood still, awkwardly smiling as he spoke.

“Haha, so, what brings our busy hoobae here to see me? You must be busy, so I’ll take care of it quickly!”

“As expected of Jerry-sunbae. You’re so easy to talk to.”

Yuri smiled, as if satisfied.

Then, wiping the smile off his face, he spoke.

“Jerry-sunbae, do you know where the organization that buys and sells information in the cradle is located?”