episode_0075

000

The time is noon, when the sun is still high overhead.

Under the parasol’s shadow, the ice that had been clumped together in the cup melts away.

As it collapses from its formed shape, a `clink` sound rings out.

While Layla was speaking, neither Cleon nor she touched their own cups.

Having finished her story, Layla quietly closes her eyes and organizes her thoughts.

Then, after a short pause, she opens her mouth and says to Cleon.

“…That wasn’t exactly a pleasant story, was it?”

She muttered in a voice mixed with self-deprecation and sadness.

Now he knew what had happened between her, Ariadne, and a young girl named Bea.

The girl depicted in the painting he saw when he moved Layla to the bedroom before.

That girl must have been Beatrix.

The memory that was submerged deepest when he glimpsed into Layla’s memories.

That was the biggest trauma that the human Layla had.

After that, it was a story that Cleon knew well.

She tried to build up achievements in order to stand in the position of Elder.

In the process, she briefly had colleagues to study the same topic.

But to Layla, they were just humans with the same goal, compared to Beatrix.

Even if they called her a friend, she didn’t deny it.

She deteriorated into a heinous human who didn’t hesitate to demand sacrifices from them if necessary, and didn’t even feel sad about it.

Ironically, it was because of such a Layla that she confronted Cleon.

She was defeated by him and survived thanks to Quon’s mercy as a price for deceiving her new colleagues and new friend, including Quon.

The reason she changed because of that may have been because she felt the shadow of Beatrix, the only light she couldn’t deny, from Quon while living with her.

Because the girl Bea in the story was similar to Quon, who was kind and liked to care for others.

Such a guess flashes through Cleon’s mind.

Once he has sorted out his thoughts a bit, he opens his mouth again and tells Layla.

“If Ariadne has reappeared, maybe Beatrix is-”

Before Cleon could say, “…alive,”

Layla makes a sad expression and shakes her head.

“If what the Execution Department said is true, Ariadne’s current owner is a member of the Execution Department.”

“I see…”

Thinking about it, it couldn’t be helped.

It didn’t seem likely that Beatrix would be cooperating with the Execution Department, who had attacked Layla and almost taken her life.

That is, if she is still alive.

“And… If Bea is alive… She would have appeared before me.”

That statement contained Layla’s wish.

If they hadn’t said their final farewell there.

It would be fine if she felt disillusioned with her, who had committed numerous misdeeds.

She would have shown her face to her, even if only for a moment.

“Ariadne was an ancient relic with many hidden things. It’s more likely that the Execution Department people recovered and used it after it reappeared.”

For them, who had to hide their identities, Ariadne’s existence was worth going crazy over.

“…Then we have to get it back.”

Cleon said that and stood up from his seat.

Still, there are many things that are unclear.

There were several puzzle pieces missing from Layla’s story.

1. Where did the Minotaur that appeared inside Ariadne come from?

2. Why did the Execution Department target Beatrix?

3. In Layla’s memory, what was the reason that she was no longer targeted by the Execution Department after that incident?

There’s no way Layla wasn’t curious about that.

So, in order to uncover all of that, it was unavoidable to contact them.

For Cleon, it was something he started to do the Senior students a favor.

But for Layla, a much greater fate was intertwined with it.

“…Okay.”

Layla gets up with a determined expression and tries to head to Ayon’s Tower, where the Senior students are gathered.

At that time-

“Instructor Cleon.”

A voice calling Cleon.

When the two turned around at the sound of a man’s voice they were hearing for the first time.

There was a student who appeared to be a young man- no, a boy.

His eyes were sharp, and he gave off an intellectual vibe.

A quiver and a bow on his back.

And light armor on his body.

He was dressed in a typical hunter’s outfit.

“…Who is it?”

When Cleon asked quietly, the boy swept back his bangs and revealed his identity.

“It’s Trace. Trace Olareon.”

“Ah, the Senior student of the Archery Department.”

Layla said as if she recognized him when she heard the name.

Cleon nodded, thinking, `Is this the department Sasha is in?`

“I heard you were tracking the Execution Department’s hideout alone.”

“Yes. Unfortunately, there weren’t any big results.”

He clenches his fist tightly as if he’s frustrated.

He seemed to feel frustrated that he couldn’t catch the tail of the Execution Department after all.

But Cleon didn’t really care about that.

Rather, he thinks that it was definitely a wise decision to move alone when the Senior students from other departments were only trying to take care of their own interests.

“The Senior students will be gathering at Ayon’s Tower again soon to have a meeting.”

As Cleon was about to say that, Trace also nodded.

“Ah, I heard. I just wanted to talk to you before that.”

“…With me?”

Cleon was curious at the unexpected words.

“Sorry, but without Layla Flameworth, just the two of us.”

“Wait. What are you trying to talk about? Don’t tell me you’re trying to do something about Cleon being an instructor of the Black Magic Clan and the Holy Studies Department.”

When Layla frowned and tried to speak, Trace shook his head.

“I’m not going to do such a foolish thing. I am a noble. I wouldn’t do anything that would harm the dignity and honor of a noble.”

He’s a typical noble, but he seems like an interesting guy, Cleon thinks.

Then Cleon puts his hand on Layla’s shoulder.

“…You have to come back soon.”

Turning her head and meeting Cleon’s eyes, she moved to head to Ayon’s Tower one step ahead as Trace wanted.

Trace, who had been following Layla as she moved away, turned his gaze back to Cleon and started talking.

“What is your relationship with her?”

“Haven’t you heard? Along with Sasha- Sanathia, I was also part of the group that went on an adventure with her.”

“A colleague, is that what it is?”

Cleon nods at Trace’s question.

Trace has a slightly complicated expression on his face.

But he quickly returns to his usual slightly arrogant expression and continues talking.

“I’ll get straight to the point. Instructor Cleon, you are currently being followed- or tracked by someone.”

“…Are they from the Execution Department?”

They were the only ones who had attacked him in the Academy.

Trace continues to speak while putting his hand on his chin.

“No, even when you were being attacked by the Execution Department. There was someone who was constantly observing you.”

“Without helping us, or joining the Execution Department?”

Cleon also seemed to have something in mind at the boy’s nodding words.

Come to think of it- a jealous gaze that he sometimes felt.

But because he didn’t feel any malice, he didn’t react that sensitively.

Thinking that far, Cleon notices something strange and goes, `Huh?` for a moment.

“Wait, how do you know that I’m being followed?”

“…Th, that’s… Oh, it just happened to. All.”

Trace was noticeably flustered by Cleon’s comment and changed the subject.

Was he perhaps, watching him?

“So, what kind of person is that?”

“…I don’t know that much. It seems like they’re good at hiding their appearance and appear intermittently.”

“Did they use magic…”

If you use stealth magic, you can’t confirm it with normal vision.

If it’s a type similar to his Curtain of Darkness, then it would require high-level magic vision.

It would have to be at Layla’s level to be able to visually confirm their appearance.

“Are they here now?”

“It seems like they were here until a little while ago.”

Trace shakes his head and answers Cleon’s question.

He’s got a stalker who appears and disappears without notice, this is giving him a headache.

“Thanks for letting me know, I’ll be careful.”

“What for, she would be sad if something happened to the guardian of a student from the same department.”

Trace says with a face that seems a little proud of himself.

Ah, I see. Is that what it is, Cleon seemed to have noticed something.

“It was because of Sasha. You were watching me.”

Trace’s face froze on the spot at those words.

Then he said in a flustered tone.

“I, I don’t know what you’re talking about. Of course, it’s true that I paid attention to you for the sake of Sanathia Lupenvolf, but…”

Seeing him flustered to the point of stuttering, Cleon is convinced that he’s right.

“You were worried because the guardian of the girl you have feelings for is from the `Black Magic Clan` and is an `instructor in the Holy Studies Department`, right?”

Trace lets out a groan of, `Ugh…` at the slightly teasing tone.

“…Yes, that’s right. But what I valued was, of course, the pursuit of the `Execution Department`.”

But he quickly returns his expression to its original state, as you would expect from a noble.

“So? What is it that you really want to say?”

“…Do you use mind reading or something?”

Trace seems flustered once again that his true feelings have been revealed, but Cleon just shrugs his shoulders.

The boy looks around for a moment, then coughs once and says.

“I want you to tell Sanathia Lupenvolf about me.”

“…Hoo.”

“Her talent is too good to just let it rot. With the support of the Olareon family, she can further hone her skills.”

Cleon answers with the corners of his mouth raised at those words.

“And in the process, you might be able to get closer to her if you’re lucky?”

“…Yes.”

Trace answered honestly, as if there was no need to hide his true feelings after that.

Cleon ponders for a moment as if he’s worried.

One of the things he was worried about when coming to the Academy was that flies who don’t know the value of their lives would flock to their colleagues.

Layla is one thing, but Sasha and Quon are noticeable enough just because of their appearance.

Quon has a slightly laid-back impression on weekdays, but after separating from Albein, she has a clear sense of judgment, so he’s a little less worried.

Sasha is a pure girl from the countryside, so even if Quon and Layla ask her to be careful, Cleon was going to pick her up.

Trace is different from the type of people that he was worried about.

He has a slightly arrogant impression, as you would expect from a noble, but he’s skilled and easily reveals his honesty.

He thinks he wouldn’t be bad as a friend.

Cleon smiles and opens his mouth.

“No. I can’t. She’s mine. I won’t give her to you.”

“…Ugh…”

Trace lets out a groan once again when words that were the opposite of his smile came out.

Cleon himself was a little surprised that he had this much possessiveness.

But he was just honestly saying what he was thinking.

A slightly long silence passed between the two.

Trace carefully opens his mouth and asks a little later.

“…Is that perhaps the kind of statement that is often said, `I won’t give you my daughter?`”

He was a boy with a lot of hopeful observation.

“It’s different. It means that she’s my woman, so I won’t hand her over.”

“You’re a lolicon…!”

“Say whatever you want. How is it as a noble for you to try to take another man’s woman?”

“Th, that would…”

Trace turned his head as if he had been stabbed in a sore spot.

“Well, I don’t think badly of you personally. But give up on Sasha.”

Trace drops his head at Cleon’s words.

He seemed quite frustrated by the harshness of reality (?).

“And. You don’t need to talk to me to get close to her, right?”

“…I am a man from a noble family. It is against my father’s teachings to talk to a woman first.”

“What is that? If you keep doing that, you’ll miss the relationships that you can grab.”

Trace suddenly raised his face when Cleon said that.

“Has instructor Cleon also had that happen before?”

“M, me…? Um…”

Cleon turned his head away for a moment at the sudden question.

He has only had the experience of liking someone once in his childhood.

…It was definitely true that he hadn’t conveyed those feelings.

But it was still questionable whether that was `love`.

Perhaps it was just a child’s admiration.

Excluding that, Cleon hasn’t had the experience of being rejected.

From the beginning, there weren’t many cases where he would like someone else.

“No, there isn’t…”

So he answers honestly once again.

Trace stares at such a Cleon for a moment.

Suddenly, he bent over.

“…Instructor Cleon, no, master!”

“…Master?”

As Cleon is flustered by the sudden change in title.

Trace strode up to him and bowed his head once again.

“I have been waiting for a woman I have feelings for to approach me until now by following my father’s teachings since I was young. But every time, the woman would end up with another man…! I was thinking that maybe my father’s teachings were wrong! I thought that there would be a chance if it was a pure girl like Sanathia… If even she doesn’t work out…!”

“I, I see…”

Cleon is flustered as he sees Trace pouring out his feelings like a machine gun.

This guy, he was harboring those kinds of worries…

“Mister Cleon is a professional in relationships between men and women to the point that the woman next to him changes every time I see him for some reason… I was convinced when I heard those words just now. To become an excellent hunter (man), I have to be like you!”

“Suddenly that’s extremely rude, you know…?”

Cleon questions for a moment at the words that make him wonder if he’s being insulted somewhere.

He didn’t feel like doing anything for a boy who was this desperate.

“Please! Please teach me the secrets to relationships between men and women! Master!”

“… …”

…It’s become a troublesome situation.

Cleon certainly has relationships with many women, but he’s a human who doesn’t have experience with normal romance.

He deceives them and mixes bodies, mixes bodies because it’s necessary, or he realizes that they’re in that kind of relationship when he notices.

That’s mostly what happens.

“Ah- well, what is it. There’s not much I can do for you.”

“No! I’m satisfied just watching master treat women from the side.”

Cleon was watching such a passionate Trace, and in the end he couldn’t properly brush him off.

He headed to Ayon’s Tower one step ahead while being embarrassed by the gazes of the people around him.

001

When Cleon and Trace go up the tower and enter the Senior students’ meeting room.

Unlike before, there was a woman who appeared to be a teacher standing there.

She looked a little over 50 years old, with a fancy dress and white hair curled up like a noble.

She was a woman with a plump figure.

The gazes of the other Senior students looking at her were full of distrust.

But still, it’s the relationship between the Senior students and the teacher.

It seemed like no one was directly saying it out loud.

The female teacher turned her body toward Cleon and Trace, who had appeared in that situation.

“Hmm? Are you…? Trace, the Senior student of the Archery Department… and the Black Magic Clan?”

As Cleon was about to say something at her burdensome gaze that was looking at him with one eye narrowed.

Aruru opened her mouth first before that.

“That’s Instructor Cleon. You remember what I said earlier, right?”

“Ah… That instructor of the Holy Studies Department… Hmph.”

The female teacher scoffed as if Cleon was absurd.

When Layla, who was sitting next to Aruru, was about to get up from her seat with a murderous face.

Riomess, who was next to her again, grabbed her leg and sat her down as if calming her down.

“If you’re going to suddenly barge in, wouldn’t it be better to match the meeting time at least.”

“…I’m sorry.”

No matter how you looked at it, she was his superior, so Cleon followed her words for the time being.

Trace quietly said in a voice that only Cleon could hear.

“She’s Madam Gnome. She’s a direct representative of the 12 Elders and reports the trends of the Senior student meeting to them.”

…In other words, she was playing the role of a monitor to prevent the Senior students from raising objections to them.

It was understandable that the other Senior students’ expressions were dark.

“So, what is it that the Elders want?”

At Aruru’s words, Madam Gnome turns her gaze away from Cleon and speaks to her.

“To recover a very dangerous relic that the Execution Department possesses… `Demiurge`.”

When Madam Gnome said that, all of the Senior students seemed to have no idea about the name.

“What is Demiurge?”

When Aruru asked instead of the Senior students’ questions, Madam Gnome answered.

“I also have not been told about the identity of Demiurge. The Elders say that even knowing its identity is prohibited.”

The students and Cleon all frown together at those words.

If they don’t tell them what it is, how are they supposed to recover it?

“The current Senior student of the Execution Department is in possession of Demiurge. Be sure to capture her alive.”

“… … I didn’t have any intention of causing any deaths from the start.”

Aruru answered with a bit of anger at her tone as if she was saying that it didn’t matter what happened to the students of the Execution Department other than the Senior student.

“If possible, that is.”

Madam Gnome’s tone was as if she was looking down on and ignoring such a will of Aruru’s.

She’s not on the Senior students’ side.

She’s the limb of the Council of Elders, and she’s only in a superficial cooperative relationship with the Senior students.

Madam Gnome didn’t feel any dignity or responsibility as a leader or teacher.

She’s a typical adult who only flaunts her authority as a superior and hates children.

Cleon couldn’t help but feel that way.

When everyone was thinking similarly, Aruru answers her before the atmosphere becomes more fierce.

“I understand. We plan to break into their hideout tomorrow at the latest. Madam Gnome, please tell the teachers before that so that ordinary students don’t pass by that area.”

No matter how you look at it, a battle is unavoidable if the opponent is the Execution Department.

Taking a day for preparation time was quite fast.

But if they delay, they will also realize that the location of their hideout has been exposed and hide in a place that they can’t catch.

“Then. Is the meeting over with this?”

Layla quickly stood up from her seat and looked around.

“I have something to do, so I’ll go first. You don’t have to worry, I’ll properly participate in the operation, so.”

She said that and made eye contact with Aruru, then grabbed Cleon’s hand and left the tower.

Cleon asks Layla, who is hurrying her steps.

“…What’s wrong?”

“Madam Gnome is connected to the Council of Elders. The Council of Elders is connected to the Execution Department. It’s clear that they’re trying to cut them off like a lizard’s tail now.”

With the power of the Council of Elders, they can no longer cover the Execution Department that has been exposed behind them.

That must have been what they judged.

“But even the Council of Elders won’t try to cut off all of them. They’ve been using them well up until now, so they’ll select and leave only those who still have value.”

“I see. So you’re trying to prepare a card that they don’t know about so that they won’t tell them?”

Layla nodded at Cleon’s answer.

“I have to prepare various barrier stones and magic tools… If I show you the magic, Cleon, you can copy it and use it with the Seal of Dominion. Sorry, but please humor me.”

“…Of course.”

It was necessary to hurry in order to use the time remaining until the operation effectively.

It seemed like there wasn’t much time left until the end of their bad relationship with the Execution Department.