The Gloomy and Timid Princess Heads to the Academy

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“…Anima…! Please… come back… Talk to me again…! We’re friends, aren’t we…?”

– Affirmative. Cecilia is my friend. Hah, but… orders must be obeyed.

…Hmm. Somehow, I feel like a bad person. Spirits seem to be more rigid than I thought.

I just wanted to call her for a moment to talk, yet it felt like I was trying to take away a precious friend.

I really should investigate and return her. Even though that girl was always pestering Dokan, seeing her like this made my heart soften.

“Well then… how did you end up like this, Kohara?”

From the looks of it, she seems to be breaking down soon. The little magic she has left is almost depleted, maybe a few months at most.

– Affirmative. This entity was created approximately 5◼0 years ago. Created by ◼. Purpose: To search for the missing advance party while monitoring and scouting this continent.

“No, no need to go into details. Just tell me why it’s so ‘shattered’.”

I wasn’t surprised that the God my mother created existed. She had made various things as needed.

The large God that wound around the mountain was originally a serpent beast that became a God after being designated by my mother.

Anyway, whether it’s impressive that it still functions in this state, or impressive that someone turned what my mother made into this state.

– …By the time we arrived, the advance party had already been killed or ◼◼. Additionally, attacked by the natives.

Can’t handle orders simultaneously? Even if I told her to skip such a long story again, the spirit stubbornly continued with its own words.

“…Huh. Anima…”

Cecilia has now completely crumpled to the floor, crying. This wasn’t what I intended…

– Attempted to convert the attacking natives using magic. Tried to explore using them, but was hindered by the ‘Hero’ blessed by the Goddess and his party.

…Let it be. Has anything I’ve done ever gone well? Anyway, wouldn’t a sincere apology suffice?

– Ho◼◼, killed. Ken◼, killed. Later, the corpses were dismembered and processed. This entity was divided into 170 pieces and processed by the Goddess. Bell◼gore, killed. Shikari, sealed.

I think it’s talking about her comrades, but the noise was too much, maybe because it was old, or maybe it was on the verge of breaking down.

…Still, I think I understand what must have happened. It was undoubtedly that Goddess and her minions that turned the God into this state.

Should I then wipe out the church, at least?

“Anima, good job. Now, please return to your master.”

– Correction. This entity’s master is—

It stopped moving after just saying “master.” No way, right?

It must have just paused for a moment. It couldn’t have broken down because of me, right? It can’t be that its magic ran out at such a bad timing.

Hmm, it shows a balance of 0.

“…Anima? Why did you stop…? Anima?”

…Uh, so that means I’ve taken away a friend who has little time left and made her die.

“Anima…?”

There was no fault in the structure. It was just like a clock that stopped because the battery ran out. But the problem was I had no way to get that battery.

Putting twisted magic around it would be like injecting cooking oil into a car.

Even if it could roll, destroying a perfectly good machine is… hopeless?

…What should I really do? If I return it like this, it’s no different from saying, ‘Oops, it broke, I’ll return it~’. Yet, there’s no way to fix it.

“Not really… right? Anima… no…?”

“…Hah.”

I was in a situation where I couldn’t do this or that. If I leave it behind, my conscience hurts, yet I couldn’t do anything about it.

The heavy atmosphere felt like it was making the air stickier.

…Wait a minute. Air.

Suddenly, I remembered the green ball in my pocket. Thanks to the magic it emits, I’ve been able to breathe comfortably until now.

Maybe this could supply magic to the spirit? Though it only releases a tiny bit, so it’s barely enough for survival.

Wouldn’t it be enough to navigate this situation…?

I didn’t have time to think quietly, so I immediately sprang into action. Steeling my resolve, I pulled out the green ball from my pocket.

Then I squeezed it hard in front of the spirit.

Juice… one might say. Something indescribable came out, scattering magic everywhere.

The spirits, led by Anima, immediately began to react to the magic.

– …Magic detected.

Fortunately, it seemed my prediction was correct, as the spirits began to greedily absorb the magic, growing in size.

“Ugh… Anima…? Ugh, the spirits…?”

Cecilia, still crying, noticed the spirits going wild and turned to me in surprise.

“…That’s, could it be the fruit of the World Tree…? How did you… No. More importantly, why can I not feel the blessings of the Goddess?!”

Oh, so this is the fruit of the World Tree…?

Wait a second, why does Dokan have something like this? Though one shouldn’t say that when they’ve taken it without a word.

Is this the protagonist’s power? I was just as confused. The precious thing I had been keeping all along was the fruit of the World Tree?

No, even more than that. The World Tree is supposed to be on our continent. It looked so different from what I knew.

“…No reason to tell you.”

I have no idea, what is this.

For now, I’ve fixed Anima, so… could I slowly leave?

“…Wait, who are you really?!”

“No need to know.”

Even if she asked me, I wouldn’t have anything to answer. I know I’m the White Royal Family’s Eldest Daughter, and I came from the East.

Besides that, there’s nothing particularly worth saying.

From the start, I was supposed to meet her spirit, so there was no reason to stay any longer.

“Wait…! I still have questions… Ah, Anima! Are you alright?!”

I nudged Anima toward her, and Cecilia began to fuss over her. Rightly so.

After all, you’d check on a friend you thought was dead. I would stop everything and check too if it were Dokan.

Faced with the disgusting air I hadn’t felt in a long time as I sneaked away, I wondered.

…I wonder if that remains in Dokan’s locker. I should see if I can meet Dokan and check.

—

She was pleased with the unexpected information after gaining an answer as to why those dispatched to the continent where her disciple fled did not respond.

She knew her disciple was skilled but never thought they’d use what she created against her. Though initially excited about her disciple’s growth, that feeling quickly subsided.

That was an achievement for her disciple, not for humanity.

While resetting the tree that gives life to create a species for humanity was something even she found remarkable, it wasn’t especially important for Byeolbi.

In the end, there was still no answer to her question.

Can you endure today’s pain for tomorrow’s peace? She had pity for the species called humanity, and thus, this was the observer’s question, detached from her main body.

The plan was to seal humanity’s self-awareness for 3,000 years, forcing technological advancement exclusively, and then return their self-awareness once they reached a sufficient level.

After hearing that question, her disciple fled with humanity, isolating the continent in response.

Byeolbi did not pursue her disciple. Even if they were the remains abandoned by their main body, the observer was still an observer.

Non-interference in any case. That was the observer’s first directive.

Thus, she waited.

For whenever her disciple would bring an answer to her.

However, she didn’t remain idle. She used her subordinates to find out what was happening, and even tried to observe her disciple’s continent directly.

Though all attempts ended in failure, she did not feel particularly anxious. No matter how outstanding they were, they were ultimately destined to return to her.

Like waiting for a student who had fled in the middle of class, Byeolbi waited patiently for her disciple.

“…My lady. What are you thinking so deeply about?”

“Oh, my lord. It’s nothing much.”

Jeongho was busily preparing to conquer the disciple’s continent, but that was entirely his own intent.

His ambition, to have all races and worlds under him and create a world without war, was so foolish yet pure that it was enough to pique Byeolbi’s interest.

“It won’t be long now. The day will come when there’s no more conflict.”

“You know how absurd that is, don’t you?”

Even among the society of ants, who have nearly no self-awareness, conflicts arise, yet he wants to unite humans, who possess self-awareness, no matter how absolute his power may be.

Byeolbi thought it ridiculous, yet if it could truly happen, she found it amusing.

“I know. But I just want to pass down an empire where neither blood nor mud splashes on my child. Such tragedies must end in my generation, don’t you think?”

The person who had blindly followed her until having a child suddenly began to actively achieve something. This realization always gave Byeolbi new insights.

Though Byeolbi wore the skin of a human, she could not understand human nature.

“If that is what you believe, I will assist you wholeheartedly.”

“Your words bring me strength.”

Observing living creatures was a truly enjoyable thing. Byeolbi thought so.