Chapter 47: Romantic, romance

The two transcendents of the Academy were currently absent.

The Academy Head had left to admonish(?) the professors, and Paeren had temporarily left the Academy due to personal reasons.

It was true that this was the period when security was at its most lax, but the Academy was still the Academy.

Although there had been many unpleasant incidents recently, the Academy Head’s barrier was still robust.

Furthermore, it had even been upgraded this time, making it much harder to infiltrate the Academy than before.

But this was all about external matters…

For Arie, who wished to cause trouble from within, there was no problem whatsoever.

“I’m seriously going crazy…”

I pressed my aching temples, recalling what Arie had said.

–It’s the Academy Head’s office!

‘……Thinking about it again, it seemed insane.’

‘Raid the Academy Head’s room?’

‘Coincidentally, the owner was away, but there was no way she would have left without taking any precautions.’

‘At the very least, she would have installed a device to detect any intruders.’

‘If I were to step into the Academy Head’s office defenseless and get caught…’

‘I wouldn’t be able to return in one piece.’

Moreover, I was just an ordinary student, so if I messed up, I could genuinely get expelled, yet Arie spoke with such nonchalance.

–Just don’t get caught.

–……

Hearing those words, I truly lost my words.

‘Is that as easy as it sounds?’

‘I was curious to know the source of Arie’s overflowing confidence.’

Anyway, I intended to refuse her absurd demand.

‘I thought I just needed to play along until she got tired of her villainess game, but to think she was planning something as dangerous as raiding the Academy Head’s office…’

Admitting inwardly that I had underestimated her, I tried to tactfully refuse.

But Arie was adamant.

–Hehe, I think my assistant can do it.

–No, if I get caught, I’ll really get expelled. I’m not a great person like the boss; I’m just an ordinary student.

–A penalty like that for failure would make it more fun, wouldn’t it?

‘……It seemed our Holy Maiden’s life was too boring, as she was walking the path of becoming a troublemaker herself.’

‘The problem was that she had dragged me into it.’

‘I didn’t become a subordinate for this…’

In the end, I couldn’t refuse her firm command and ended up promising right then and there.

To infiltrate the Academy Head’s office together tonight…

My vision was already darkening with worry.

Since Arie was already quick-witted, I tended to refrain from using my abilities when she was nearby.

It didn’t matter when I was operating in disguise, but when I was in the guise of an ordinary Academy student, I acted as cautiously as possible.

‘Anyway, there was hardly any need to use my abilities…’

But after infiltrating the Academy Head’s office, I didn’t know what unexpected situations might occur.

Honestly, I wasn’t confident I could avoid using my abilities until then.

All I could do was to be as careful as possible when using my abilities, to avoid Arie’s keen eye.

‘Ugh, I wish Yulia would notice and interfere instead…’

‘Because she was the only one who could stop this absurd act without having to worry about Arie’s reactions…’

It was a day when Yulia’s absence was felt more acutely than ever.

****

That evening.

When the sun had completely set and the moon had risen to its zenith…

As I sat alone in the park, Arie, dressed in more casual clothes than usual, approached me.

“Hehe, you arrived early, Assistant…”

“…It’s not that I arrived early; it’s that the boss is late.”

“Hehe…”

She avoided my gaze and smiled awkwardly.

Then she explained the reason for her lateness.

“I was a bit late because I was shaking off Yulia. It seems she’s getting more perceptive.”

“Well, because of the boss…”

“What did you just say?”

“Ah, nothing.”

This time, I avoided her gaze and smiled awkwardly.

I wondered again if this kind of relationship, where we were constantly watching each other, was truly proper.

“Did you bring what you promised?”

“If you’re referring to the rope, I brought it.”

I handed Arie the rope I had just bought.

She took the rope and began to tie it tightly around her body.

“Hehe, good.”

“……”

I glared at her with a slightly pathetic gaze.

‘She had insisted it was absolutely necessary for the infiltration, so I had reluctantly brought it, but…’

‘If she was going to use it like that, it would be better not to have it at all.’

‘The rope was tied in a position that looked uncomfortable for breathing even at a glance…’

‘If an ordinary person tied themselves like that and climbed a wall, they would gasp for air, choked by their own weight, and fall.’

‘Arie’s body wasn’t so fragile as to be crushed by a rope, so that wouldn’t happen, but still.’

‘I was worried she might rely too much on her body and suffer greatly later.’

‘No, why climb the wall with a rope in the first place?’

‘She could just fly…’

‘Although the Academy Head’s office was on a high floor, there was no way Arie couldn’t fly that high.’

‘She might be a bit foolish, but she was, after all, a Holy Maiden on the verge of transcendence.’

I wanted to ask why she was expending effort on such useless things, but I decided to just keep my mouth shut.

‘Because somehow, I felt like I knew what her answer would be…’

Arie, who had tied herself securely, handed me the end of the rope.

“Assistant, please tie this to the rooftop.”

“…I can’t fly. To get to the rooftop of the building where the Academy Head’s office is, there’s no way but to go via another building.”

“Ah, um…”

At my words, she seemed to ponder for a moment.

“It can’t be helped. I’ll send the rope up without your help.”

“How do you mean?”

“…? I’ll move it with divine power.”

“……”

‘No, I’m telling you, just fly up by yourself?’

‘You can just go up and then lower the rope later.’

While I was feeling frustrated inwardly, Arie had already fixed the rope somewhere on the rooftop.

‘…Without even using her hands, just by moving divine power.’

“Well, what a taste…”

“Hehe, I heard that this time, Assistant…”

“S-Sorry.”

Anyway, because of that unnecessary process of climbing the wall with a rope, a lot of time was wasted…

Finally, Arie and I reached the height of the Academy Head’s office window.

Perception.

[My sight is soon the sight of transcendence.]

Cognition.

[My eyes can see what could not be seen.]

“Hmm…”

Taking a quick look, the security wasn’t as strong as I expected.

Considering that the Academy Head was a transcendent, it seemed rather sparse.

It seemed unlikely that anything important was stored here.

Indeed, from a transcendent’s perspective, the safest place was none other than by their side, so they tended to carry important things with them.

Thanks to that, I was spared the trouble of searching for treasures myself…

Unfortunately, vigilance has increased recently, so they hide them more often…

To me, who was looking into the Academy Head’s office through the window, Arie quietly asked.

“How many traps do you see?”

“I don’t see any? How could I possibly detect a trap made by a transcendent in the first place?”

“……Hehe, then it can’t be helped. I’ll go in first.”

Arie gestured to me, then instructed me to open the window and hold it so it wouldn’t close.

I didn’t know what she was up to, but I followed her instructions for now.

Soon, she sat astride the window and began to recklessly draw out divine power.

–Whoooong…!

The pure white light of divine power tried to illuminate the surroundings, but as she gestured slightly, the brightness of the light decreased.

I couldn’t help but be surprised by that sight.

‘That could be controlled…?’

Divine power continued to accumulate and accumulate in Arie’s hand, growing in size into a perfectly spherical shape.

Unable to contain my curiosity, I finally asked her.

“Boss, what are you making now?”

“It’s a sphere made of divine power. Hmm, doesn’t the Assistant know better than me?”

“Huh?”

Just before asking what nonsense that was, I felt a sense of familiarity from the divine power sphere resting in her hand.

“By any chance, this…”

“That’s right. It’s similar to the mana sphere you told Yulia and me to make before the end of vacation, isn’t it?”

“Yes, the circulation and flow are perfectly captured.”

“I practiced with mana and it didn’t go well, so I tried with divine power and it worked right away.”

Arie smiled softly and proudly showed me the sphere up close.

At this, I looked into the sphere with a surprised expression.

‘Mana and divine power must be handled in completely different ways…’

‘How did she make a divine power sphere of the same form from a mana sphere that was only shown once?’

Given that she perfectly reproduced not only the shape but also the circulation and flow, her comprehension seemed extraordinary.

‘But why did she suddenly make that?’

At the sudden question that came to mind, I couldn’t help but tilt my head.

‘Surely, she wouldn’t do it to get praise in this situation…’

Before I could ask anything, Arie spoke first.

“After nearly a month of alternately making mana spheres and divine power spheres, I realized one interesting fact.”

“What is it?”

At my question, she grinned and said.

“A circulation and flow perfectly attuned to the world… can also exhibit excellent performance in concealing one’s presence.”

“……?”

At that moment, my comprehension couldn’t keep up, and I was dumbfounded…!

“I’ll show you directly.”

Arie abruptly threw the divine power sphere into the Academy Head’s office.

“Arie…!”

At this, I, startled, turned to look, but she remained nonchalant.

Soon the sphere touched the floor…

The entire Academy Head’s office began to glow brightly.