LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 23
Chapter 23
—–CROW—–
I muttered, looking at the two girls (or what was left of them) sprawled on the ground.
“This is strange. Why aren’t they improving?”
“…I think Prince Oz’s teaching methods are strange.”
“And you’re saying this now, after staying silent during the whole thing?”
Lucia, arms crossed, looked down at the two collapsed figures and quietly nitpicked. If she thought my teaching methods were strange, why didn’t she stop me earlier? I thought everyone did this.
“M-Master’s standards are strange. I should have known from the time you used magic on yourself…”
“…You did that?”
Lucia muttered with a horrified expression.
“No, it’s not wrong, but it’s misleading without context.”
What I did was purely experimental. It was an experiment I had to conduct, and the pain was still bearable. Considering what was to come, this level of sacrifice was something I had to endure.
“I don’t see how that’s misleading…? Just hearing that tells me everything I need to know about how Prince Oz has lived.”
Know what? I hadn’t even been in this world for a year yet. As expected, it was difficult to explain things without mentioning the ‘outside existences.’ Unfortunately, I had no choice but to bear this false accusation.
“First, could you get them out of my sight?”
“…Of course Prince Oz shouldn’t have to clean them up, but isn’t your wording a bit harsh?”
“What’s wrong with it?”
“No, it’s… never mind.”
Eleanor shouldn’t be struggling with just this much. If she didn’t want to get hurt in the future, she couldn’t remain this helpless. I hoped she’d at least realize the Key she possessed. Even with my support, there were limits. I didn’t want her to become a completely useless idiot.
“I need to make them presentable within a week.”
Eleanor wouldn’t get anywhere unless she fixed her temperament. As for Baekyang, she didn’t even try to approach me. I didn’t know if she was traumatized by the last incident, but it wasn’t a good habit for a guardian. She was the wall of the party. If she crumbled, everyone crumbled. Even if our relationship was temporary, I couldn’t ignore her, considering her connection to the
“…For now, I’ll try to manage them, so why don’t you take a break from this?”
“Lucia.”
“…”
“You remember what I said, right?”
“Of course…”
“Then I’ll leave it to you for now.”
[Observation] confirmed she wasn’t lying. At least, Lucia wouldn’t try to manipulate Eleanor. Then it was fine. A professionally trained soldier from the Empire would be a much better teacher than someone like me, who only knew game-based knowledge.
* * *
The second chapter of the main story surprisingly unfolded while Tia was still at Scientia. It meant that even under the protection of the [Dragon Emperor], the most secure location, it was difficult to completely prevent this incident. Then who could push the world’s strongest being, the [Dragon Emperor], to such an extent?
There weren’t many beings in the world who could rival her. At least, among those I knew, excluding some of the ‘outside existences,’ there were only three: the [Hades King], the [Demon King], and the [Yokai King].
Yes, ‘Kings.’ If they didn’t lead a nation or territory, they wouldn’t be able to stand against Tia. In terms of individual power, none of them could defeat her. But since they commanded their subordinates from their advantageous positions and rarely emerged, they were considered troublesome opponents. Of course, if they stepped into Tia’s territory, they had no chance of winning.
Yes, normally, they had no chance.
But that was only considering their military strength. This opponent dared to set foot in the [Dragon Emperor]’s territory.
“It would be good to get a look at him beforehand.”
That was Thanatos, the [Hades King], a Key Person who appeared in the second chapter of the main story. He would cause trouble again in the future, so it would be beneficial to see him in advance. He would act to discover the reason for Tia’s obsession with Scientia, and Eleanor would be caught in the aftermath.
So, how would he infiltrate Tia’s territory? Scientia had a fairly powerful barrier. Even the [Hades King] couldn’t break through it in a short time. And the moment he touched the barrier, Tia would notice and take action.
Therefore, Thanatos had no choice but to attack from within. He was playing dirty tricks from the inside, just like Tia had warned me about. Scientia’s interior was vulnerable. This was due to Tia’s arrogance, believing she could easily handle any trouble caused by students. Of course, there were no students with abilities that could threaten her.
“Nice to meet you, Daughter of Death.”
“…?”
Tia rarely investigated the students she admitted to her territory. It was a result of her confidence. There were no beings that could pose a real threat to her, and if there were a student with such power, there would be no need to investigate. A powerful individual like that couldn’t remain unknown. Of course, there might be hidden masters. But even if there were, would they be used as mere pawns? Using and discarding such talent was too inefficient. That was why Tia didn’t take any special measures.
Because of that prejudice, she hadn’t investigated Eleanor and hadn’t bothered with the infiltration of the Empire’s intelligence agency,
[Observation – Activated]
And there was one being exploiting that weakness. A gloomy girl with black hair tied in twintails and dark gray eyes sat on a bench, gazing at the sky. She was the one who hadn’t moved among the three powerful presences I’d sensed during the practical exam.
“Mind if I sit here?”
“…”
[KP Hades King (Eroded)]
Marie Sistus
A famous and capable individual known throughout the world. A genius considered the best among the children of the [Hades King], known as Sistus. Who would have imagined that such a being would be used as a mere pawn? Was it even conceivable that a successor, practically a child of their own, would be used and discarded like this?
“What are you looking at?”
“…”
I asked Marie, who was staring intently at the sky, but there was no response. Honestly, I didn’t know what she was thinking. In the second chapter of the main story, she only appeared wearing a black hood, without any lines.
“…”
Had she received orders from the [Hades King]? I tried talking to her several times, but she didn’t answer. She just stared blankly at the sky, like a doll.
“…The sky.”
I was about to get up from the bench, having given up on getting a response, when Marie suddenly spoke. Her timid voice sounded plaintive, making me uncomfortable.
“The sky here is clear and beautiful.”
“…”
“The clouds, the sun, and above all, that clear blue color are so beautiful… so I was looking at it. These things didn’t exist where I lived.”
“Oh, I, I see.”
She spoke more fluently than I expected. Wasn’t she a better conversationalist than me? I still activated [Observation] whenever someone tried to talk to me. It was convenient because most of the time, they would just shut up and go away.
“You’re similar to that girl. Everyone avoids me, but you approached me suddenly, as if it were nothing.”
“Who are you talking about?”
“A girl with strange hair… her name was…”
“Noah?”
“Yes, I think that was her name.”
I knew it. The only person in this academy known for having strange hair was Eleanor. By the way, being compared to Eleanor was quite humiliating.
“She suddenly talked to me and tied my hair like this.”
Marie said, fiddling with her twintails. Eleanor’s behavior was completely unpredictable. Originally, there wouldn’t have been any connection between them. Was this a butterfly effect caused by my actions? Maybe it was because I fought Gerard instead of Eleanor. Either way, the result wasn’t bad. Eleanor had been getting beaten up by me since this morning. So, at least she hadn’t tied Marie’s hair today. If Marie usually kept this hairstyle, it meant she liked the way Eleanor had tied it.
“If you see her again, could you say hello for me?”
“Do it yourself.”
When I rejected Marie’s suggestion without hesitation, she widened her eyes in surprise. More than anything, I didn’t want to see Eleanor’s triumphant smile. The only favors Eleanor would ask of me outside the main story were to subdue her when she was causing trouble.
“…I’ll try.”
I hadn’t decided what to do with Marie until the moment I met her. Since she was destined to die after serving her purpose in the original story, it would have been easier to just kill her now. It would have been a simple matter if I reported her to Tia. Then Tia would expel Marie from Scientia, and Marie, having become useless, would be abandoned by the [Hades King] and die. Since Marie was trying to harm Scientia as the [Hades King]’s pawn, Tia wouldn’t let her go. She was a dragon who appreciated human potential, but she was ruthless when it came to intrusions into her territory. It was rare for her to spare anyone.
It would be too late after the incident was resolved. Tia would kill Marie. But it was also troublesome to report and expel Marie before she did anything. After all, she would be killed by the [Hades King]. And Tia wouldn’t care about anything that happened outside her territory.
“From now on, decide what you want to do yourself.”
“…”
I left those words with Marie and got up from the bench. It didn’t matter whether she took them at face value or misinterpreted them. I’d decided not to eliminate Marie. So, I would aim for the opposite. Getting her away from the [Hades King] wouldn’t be a bad idea. Since she was partially eroded by the [Hades King], she had fairly high stats. She was probably SSR-rank. Of course, if I acted on my own again like last time, I might actually get my neck ripped off. I should tell Tia, but… after making some arrangements. I needed to create a situation where Tia could choose to save Marie and screw over the [Hades King].
“…This is going to be busy.”
It wasn’t just out of some petty sympathy. I didn’t intend to be that sentimental. When I looked at her with [Observation], I met the gaze of someone residing within her.
『He’s someone worth retrieving after death. It would be good to collect him this time.』
Not Marie’s eyes, but the [Hades King]’s. The [Hades King]’s eyes looked down on me appraisingly. He was looking down on me with crescent-shaped eyes, as if I knew nothing.
That arrogant bastard…
“How irritating.”
Who was he looking at? So, it was just… yes, just because. I just wanted to make that bastard [Hades King] feel utterly shitty. I was already looking forward to seeing his expression when his plan was shattered.
[Erosion Blade 27%]
The [Hades King]’s arrogant plan would fail. I would make sure of it. I wouldn’t allow him a single advantage. He would fail before he even discovered what Tia was hiding, before he could even deduce the reason for her obsession with Scientia.
* * *
The midterm exams were approaching. I barely remembered attending any classes, and yet, it was already time for exams.
“How did this happen…?”
Hearing that Professor Aira had been incredibly lively while I was hospitalized made me feel guilty. Meanwhile, Eleanor and Baekyang had decided to correct their bad habits. Of course, we would have to train together as the exams drew near, but it would probably be fine. Arieta’s support abilities were unparalleled. And with my [Observation], we were unlikely to lose unless something drastic happened.
“Oz, you’ve been surprisingly busy.”
“Could you please leave out the ‘surprisingly,’ Arieta?”
It made me sound like a jobless bum. I had a fairly busy schedule after classes. I’d left the training to Lucia, so that was fine, but there were many things I had to prepare.
“I heard you were working for Headmaster Tia. I heard it was dangerous, was it alright?”
“It wasn’t bad for me either, so it’s fine.”
First, the daily dungeons were now completely under my jurisdiction. Tia, also wary of the daily dungeons, smiled in satisfaction when I offered to manage them. The stiff feeling around my neck during our conversation was frightening. In any case, I was able to consistently visit the daily dungeons and collect a large number of
[Mana Dominator Lv. 1]
Exp: 147/200
[Spatial Barrier Lv. 1]
Exp: 1/300
Thanks to that, I’d gained a lot of experience for [Mana Dominator]. It would have been better to invest in a survival skill like [Spatial Barrier] rather than a random skill like that, but I couldn’t help it. How could I resist my curiosity? I couldn’t wait to see how it would change when it leveled up.
“You’ve also had a lot of achievements as a member of the disciplinary committee recently, haven’t you? I was surprised by how seriously you’ve been taking it.”
“A certain troublemaker kept causing problems, so it couldn’t be helped.”
Naturally, that troublemaker was Eleanor. Thanks to her, I’d earned nearly three credits in this short period. Though, in exchange, if Eleanor failed the midterm exams, she would automatically fail the semester.
“Even so, I heard many people saw you patrolling. You’re more shy than I thought.”
“…Anything I say here will only be interpreted that way, so I’ll just accept it.”
“Fufu.”
See, she was already steering the conversation in that direction. For the record, the patrols Arieta was referring to were the result of my efforts to thwart the [Hades King]’s plan. The [Hades King] was using Marie to carve formulas made of blood and flesh throughout the academy. Since the formulaic structures were made of malicious intent, they couldn’t be detected by mana. It was no wonder Tia hadn’t noticed. Of course, to me, with [Observation], it was just a blatant trick.
“Excuse me, Oz. Could I ask you a favor?”
“Yes? Ah… Yes, you can.”
As I inwardly mocked the [Hades King], Arieta suddenly spoke, sounding apologetic. I had completely dropped the honorifics when addressing her, but Arieta still insisted on using them.
“The party… the freshman party, that is. I’m scheduled to offer prayers at Headmaster Tia’s request.”
Arieta continued, her expression filled with apology and guilt. I already knew. Eleanor had mentioned it. As a Saintess belonging to the church, she was bound to be busy.
“It seems the disciplinary committee will be short-staffed that day. If you’re free, would you mind helping out with the disciplinary committee’s work?”
“I don’t like crowded places anyway, so don’t worry about it, Arieta. I’ll patrol that day.”
“Ah… Th-That’s not what I… No, thank you.”
Arieta fluttered her hands in a panic, then accepted with a look of guilt. She was probably feeling sorry for me, missing out on the once-in-a-lifetime freshman party. Eleanor had invited me to hang out with her if I was free, but she had plenty of friends, so it wouldn’t matter. Besides, the invitation was conditional on me being “free,” so…
“Ouch! It hurts… I-I wasn’t trying to lie…”
But still, she looked too distressed. Anyone would think she’d committed a terrible crime.
—–CROW—–