Time Healer Ceres

“Do you know where the other two keys are?”

“No.”

The leader of Sky’s expression shifted immediately.

Judging by the desperate look in his eyes, he had likely been searching for the keys for a long time.

Unfortunately, there was nothing Ceres could tell him in her current situation.

Since there were three Black Keys in existence, naturally, there were also three people who possessed them.

Grace Ellesia.

Artia.

And...

Kainel.

That was because the ones who founded the intelligence guild known as Sky were the three of them.

Back then, the concept of buying and selling information didn’t exist. There were no people who specialized in intelligence work, and most information could only be obtained through the influence of noble families.

Sky was created out of frustration with that system.

“Isn’t the name a bit tacky?”

“What’s wrong with it? Sky sounds cool! It means all the information beneath the sky belongs to us.”

“Grace says it’s tacky. Change it.”

“Change it to what, Frozen Human? Grakaar? Sky sounds way better than the names you come up with.”

“We just took one syllable from each of our names. What’s wrong with that?”

“Are you serious? It sounds ridiculously childish! And why is my name last?!”

“You two are too loud. Let’s just go with Sky.”

“See? Even Grace agrees Grakaar is terrible.”

“Really, Grace?”

“......”

“Stop putting her on the spot! She can’t even look you in the eye!”

“Julia, what do you think about the name Grakaar?”

“It sounds like the name of an ancient monster from a thousand years ago.”

...Yeah. It really was awful. What kind of name was Grakaar? Sky sounded much better.

In the end, they secretly established the intelligence guild and managed it together.

However, that didn’t mean the three of them openly stood at the forefront.

They appointed a separate guildmaster to run the organization, while they remained behind the scenes as supporters. It simply made gathering information easier whenever they needed it.

Instead, Artia created the Black Keys, saying they needed a symbol that could identify them as the guild’s founders in case of emergency.

So, he really doesn’t know where the other two keys are.

It seemed Artia never passed his key down to anyone else.

Then again, Grace did the same.

She didn’t even hand it over to Enoch, the disciple she cherished most, and just stored it away inside her subspace.

I created the organization in the first place. As long as I could use it when necessary, that was enough.

They never intended to monopolize the guild by passing the key down through generations.

They created the guild because it was useful. And since they had grown attached to it, they wanted it to continue surviving on its own.

Artia and Kainel agreed with that as well.

That was probably why Artia never passed the Black Key down to future generations.

As for Kai...

Well, considering he had secluded himself within the Persia Grand Duchy for so long, perhaps he naturally stopped involving himself with Sky as well.

The fact that Sky’s leader was asking about the whereabouts of the other two keys already proved enough. Not a single person carrying a Black Key had appeared all this time.

Then again, if I’d had enough money, I would’ve used another information guild too.

“You have to believe I’m innocent, Julia. I really didn’t want to stir up that peaceful Sky. But what choice did I have? If I wanted to solve things without too much trouble, this was the only way.”

“Mhm, I believe you. But I have no idea what you’re talking about right now.”

“There are things like that. Now, let’s finish your homework.”

“Okay.”

Ceres pulled Julia sitting on her lap a bit closer and rested her chin atop her head. The girl was busy scribbling away at the desk.

After a while, her gaze drifted toward the window.

If I’d used another information guild, I wouldn’t have had to deal with this hassle.

Her eyes lingered on the deepening shadows outside before she quietly shook her head.

“By the way, where’s Antonian?”

The evening sky had already turned red with sunset. It was long past the time her younger brother should’ve returned from the Academy.

“Antonian has been coming home late every day lately.”

“Every day?”

“Yeah. He said he’s been staying late to train.”

...Train? What’s that supposed to mean? Not studying, but training?

“Ceres.”

Having noticed her confusion, Julia looked up at Ceres with mild reproach.

“Don’t tell me you don’t know what department Antonian is in?”

Why do I feel like I’m being scolded?

“What department is he in?”

“The Swordsmanship Department.”

“Huh?”

“Antonian learns swordsmanship.”

***

“Haa... haa...”

“Damn it...”

“Phew...”

Darkness gradually settled over the Academy training grounds. Though classes had long since ended, the arena remained crowded with students.

The problem was that several of them were lying flat on the ground.

Around ten students were sprawled in the dirt, covered head to toe in dust as though they had rolled across the training grounds dozens of times.

Meanwhile, the ones standing around them looked perfectly fine.

“For the next week, you guys will be cleaning the training grounds.”

“Why even set it to one week? At this rate, they’ll end up doing it every time anyway.”

“Exactly.”

The boys burst into laughter, their faces full of ridicule.

“Huff... huff... Since when did we agree to that?!”

“Why are you changing your story now? You said if you lost the sparring match, you’d do it.”

“You were the ones who decided that yourselves!”

“Then you should’ve won. Who told you to lose?”

“You b*stards really...!”

Antonian clenched his teeth.

Even while struggling to catch his breath, he forced himself to shout back, but their mockery only intensified.

“Let’s go.”

“Yeah.”

“Make sure you clean up properly.”

As Antonian watched them stroll away without a care, his fists tightened. But after a long sigh, the strength drained from his body again.

He had already lost count of how often they mocked and humiliated him like this. Was being weaker really enough reason to be treated this way?

“Haah... damn it...”

“So annoying...”

“This is ridiculous...”

When Antonian turned his head, he saw the other students in his group looking just as furious as him.

It had been over half a year since the students from Group A began tormenting them under the excuse of sparring.

The bullying started earlier this year, after the Academy divided students into groups based on skill for the sake of efficiency.

Of course, as students learning the sword, none of them minded sparring itself. No matter what form it took, experience was still experience.

“They call this sparring, but those b*stards are just using us as punching bags!”

“Agreed... Never in my life did I think beatings filled with contempt and mockery would pass as sparring.”

“If we refuse, they get in the way and stop us from practicing. The professors won’t even listen to what we say. I stopped expecting anything from them a long time ago. Complaining just wastes my breath.”

Antonian silently agreed.

When the groups were divided, it seemed the Academy had also considered family background. Not a single professor properly reprimanded the students of Group A, which consisted entirely of children from powerful noble families.

“You should be ashamed of being weak!”

If anything, even the professors looked at them with disdain and scolded them instead.

“I thought getting into the Academy meant everything would work out.”

“My parents already think I’ve become some great knight.”

“Damn it...”

Frustrated voices erupted from all around.

They had all entered the Academy carrying dreams of their own, but reality was crueler than they imagined.

Thanks to this unspoken hazing, they couldn’t even train properly.

“Is it really a crime to be poor and weak?!”

“Yeah. It is.”

“...?”

“If you’ve got no money, no power, and no talent on top of that, then that’s a crime.”

At the sudden voice, Antonian jolted upright.

“...Ceres.”

She was staring blankly at him and the other students sprawled across the ground.

Tap. Tap.

After walking over, Ceres brushed the dust from Antonian’s back before meeting his eyes.

“What are you doing here?”

“I was passing by.”

“What kind of excuse is that...?”

Despite the disbelief in his expression, Ceres said nothing and continued dusting the dirt off him.

A few days ago, Julia had mentioned that Antonian was learning swordsmanship. Ever since then, Ceres had been quietly observing him.

Every evening after sunset, he would drag himself home looking very exhausted.

At first, she assumed he had simply been training hard, but after watching him return covered in dirt day after day, she couldn’t help growing suspicious.

What kind of training leaves someone looking like that every single time?

Unable to ignore her curiosity any longer, Ceres personally came to the Academy.

And what she found was her younger brother being mercilessly beaten around by children his own age.

This wasn’t sparring or training.

Antonian was just being trampled on.

“Antonian.”

“...What?”

How much had she seen? Surely, she hadn’t seen him getting dragged around helplessly by the others as well.

Antonian unconsciously bit down on his lip.

He felt ashamed.

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!