Chapter 195

Professor Lapit’s luxurious residence, located in the upper-class district.

It had a guest after a long time.

A student.

“Alcohol?”

“No, just juice, please.”

“I don’t have any juice.”

“Then coffee.”

“Alright.”

A moment later, Professor Lapit brought coffee and placed it on the table.

“Thank you, Professor.”

The student, Armin, smiled and took a sip of his coffee.

Lapit sat down on the sofa and spoke,

“Why are you so distant with the Witch? Is it a pride contest?”

“No, it’s not like that. What can I do if she dislikes me?”

“Dislikes you? That can’t be true. Maybe you’re just misunderstanding because she’s such a strange person?”

Lapit tilted his head.

She was a strange person with a unique mindset, but she wasn’t difficult to get along with.

The fact that she got along well with Shadow, whom most executives disliked, was proof enough.

She wasn’t the type to dislike someone without reason.

“Absolutely not. I’m sure of it.”

Armin shook his head and put down his coffee cup.

“She even grabbed the Messenger by the collar when I tried to get rid of that Heart Thief, Max, at Schwarzfeltz.”

“Cough, cough!”

Lapit coughed repeatedly at the shocking news he was hearing for the first time.

The Messenger wasn’t an executive, but he was the closest confidant to the boss, Heavenly Lord, practically his mouthpiece.

And she grabbed him by the collar?

It was definitely an excessive act.

Something Riviera wouldn’t normally do.

Which meant.

‘She must have been really pissed off…’

She probably didn’t like the fact that Armin tried to kill Max on his own, without Heavenly Lord’s orders.

Because it was clear that Riviera had special feelings for Max.

But she wouldn’t go berserk over just that.

After all, Max had become an enemy of the organization by stealing the Heart.

Riviera must have been aware of that fact.

And that it couldn’t be helped.

So there must have been something else that made her snap.

‘Did he provoke her?’

The Messenger.

He was a man dedicated to his duties, but he wasn’t exactly known for his good personality.

And he always thought from the organization’s perspective.

There was no way he would have a favorable view of Riviera, who was seriously involved with the Heart Thief.

So he must have said something he shouldn’t have…

‘He’s asking for death.’

She usually seemed so eccentric, laid-back, and even easygoing that some people might have underestimated her.

But she was scary when she was angry.

Really scary.

He knew from experience.

If he had provoked her without knowing what he was getting into, it was practically his own fault.

“Sigh, she definitely seems to have been angry… but can’t they just have a drink and talk it out? They’re not strangers.”

“It didn’t seem like the right atmosphere for that. Well, let’s just wait and see.”

Armin smiled mysteriously and took another sip of his coffee.

Then he continued,

“Actually, it’s not unrelated to that, but I’m honestly a bit worried that the Witch might do something rash this time.”

“Hmm, she’s not that kind of person. You know that, right?”

“Well, the original Witch wouldn’t have, but the current Witch is a bit strange. You know that too, right, Professor?”

Armin asked back.

Lapit pushed up his glasses.

“Even so, I don’t think she’ll do anything like that.”

“Haha, if you say so, Professor, then I’m sure you’re right.”

Armin chuckled.

He leisurely finished his coffee and spoke again,

“Anyway, I’ll trust you this time, Professor.”

Diotes Island.

Armin wasn’t going there.

The first years were exploring a different set of ruins.

On the other hand, Lapit was going to the island as one of the supervising professors.

It meant he would be on site.

“What? I’m just a backup?”

Lapit looked surprised.

There were two Red Rain executives going to the island for this mission.

Including himself, there would be three.

…Excluding the Witch, who seemed uninterested.

Anyway, two executives were more than enough.

The dark mages would be flocking to the island, lured by the sweet bait.

They just had to hide behind the smokescreen and do their job.

But why was he being burdened with unnecessary responsibility for such a simple mission?

“Let’s make you a co-lead.”

“…Honestly, I hate feeling pressured. Are you doing this because of the Witch? She wouldn’t…”

“No, it’s just that I’m a bit worried. I have an important task for you. If there are any surviving dark mages, eliminate them cleanly.”

“What?”

Lapit’s expression changed.

Although they had lured the dark mages with an irresistible bait, the organization had a deal with them.

Armin was telling him to break that deal and betray them.

Lapit, who believed that transactions should be clean, didn’t like the idea.

“You want me to do something so underhanded?”

Lapit frowned.

“Ah, don’t misunderstand.”

Armin waved his hand.

“Our deal with them is already over. We provided them with the location of the secret archive, the date it can be opened, and a way to get onto the island, and they agreed to come. Ah, it’s not over yet. It’ll be over once they’re on the island.”

“That’s it?”

“Yes, so once they’re on the island, it doesn’t matter what happens after that. To them or to us.”

Armin smiled wickedly.

“We never said we’d let them leave.”

It was a chilling statement, hinting at the fate of the dark mages.

“…Alright.”

Lapit finally nodded.

He realized there was no problem.

It was just a ruthless conclusion after the transaction.

“Yes, then I’ll leave it to you.”

Tap.

Armin put down his empty coffee cup.

“By the way, I hope the dark mages put on a good show.”

The performance of the dark mages.

There was no need to think about what it meant.

The dark magic books in the secret archive were more important than life itself to the dark mages.

They were also things that shouldn’t be known to the world.

They would do anything to protect them.

Silencing anyone who knew about them was a given.

And the targets of that silencing would, of course, include the students who happened to be on the island.

“Well, they’ll be desperate enough to show their determination. At least they’ll be a good smokescreen.”

“I wish they would take care of that Heart Thief for good, but it’s impossible with the Witch around.”

“…No, even without the Witch, that guy is not easy to kill.”

Lapit shook his head with a wry face.

“Yes?”

“He’s got a lot of…”

“A lot of what?”

“He’s quite popular with strong, beautiful women.”

“…”

“…”

An awkward silence.

“…I’m a bit envious of that.”

“…Me too.”

Even the executives of an evil organization had the same hearts as ordinary men.

“Anyway, I’ll be going now.”

Armin stood up from the sofa, as if he had nothing more to say.

Lapit spoke up,

“There are still no clues about the ‘real’ secret archive, right?”

The truly forbidden books, not just dark magic, that could turn the world upside down if even one of them were to be leaked.

Riviera was also looking for them.

That was why she had entered the academy.

“No, well… But you and the Witch would know best about that.”

“Just in case. So you’re saying you haven’t heard anything about it either. Alright.”

“Yes, anyway, please do a good job this time.”

Armin left with a wave of his hand.

Lapit was left alone.

No, he wasn’t alone.

“So that’s what they’re saying?”

“Yawn.”

Someone yawned.

It was Riviera.

She had been sleeping soundly on the living room floor, sprawled out.

Right next to the sofa.

It meant that both Lapit and Armin had seen her sleeping.

“I don’t know, I didn’t hear anything. I don’t care.”

Riviera rolled over.

“Well, that’s fine. Anyway, that guy is quite amusing.”

Lapit chuckled and clicked his tongue.

To think he had been talking so freely while being completely ignored, as if she was invisible.

Of course, he could guess her intention.

She was telling him to stay quiet and not do anything rash.

Even so, it was childish.

“By the way, you grabbed the Messenger by the collar? That’s a bit too much.”

“It wasn’t too much.”

Riviera retorted immediately.

She pouted, as if she was still upset.

This girl is also… cute.

Lapit smiled wryly.

“Well, if you say so. Anyway, just stay quiet this time.”

“I was going to anyway.”

It was the expected answer.

She wouldn’t do anything rash without reason.

There was no need to keep an eye on her.

In the end,

‘I just need to clean up well.’

Lapit neatly summarized his final task.

* * *

The wind blew.

It was a tailwind.

The ship sailed smoothly.

The sight of it cutting through the blue sea made my heart feel refreshed.

“That’s a relief, Team Leader.”

“What is?”

“I was worried about what we would do if the weather was bad.”

It was a valid concern.

Especially at sea.

But that wouldn’t happen.

Because I had already experienced it.

We would arrive at Diotes Island without any problems.

Well, even horror movies usually start peacefully.

“Don’t worry about unnecessary things. The weather in the Diotes Sea is always calm this time of year.”

A bespectacled boy, the epitome of a model student, interjected.

It was Brett, the class president, nicknamed “President.”

“Huh? How do you know that, President?”

Allen tilted his head.

“Because I researched it, of course.”

Brett pushed up his glasses with his index finger, looking cool.

That’s right.

He was a meticulous guy.

He couldn’t sleep unless he reviewed and previewed his lessons every day.

He must have done thorough research in preparation for this expedition.

“A-As expected of the President.”

Allen looked at him with admiration.

Brett lifted his chin proudly.

‘By the way, this guy…’

I recalled my memories.

Brett, the class president.

He seemed like someone important, but he was definitely an extra.

Because his name and face disappeared from my memory stream not long after.

And that time was probably…

‘There were more casualties among the third years in the Diotes Island tragedy, right?’

It was inevitable, considering the second years were the golden generation, and the third years were the unlucky generation.

The weak die more easily.

It was a natural consequence.

But I didn’t pay much attention to it back then.

Because it was a year full of extras who had little impact on the game.

As game characters, they were just data, so it was a normal reaction.

But.

It was different now.

They were living, breathing individuals with their own emotions.

They were my classmates, who had been studying and living with me at the academy for over a year.

My feelings towards them couldn’t be the same as before.

The death of a human.

The death of a classmate.

That’s how I had to see it now.

‘Brett. I’m pretty sure his name was on the casualty list.’

I was certain.

He would die here.

Unless a decisive ‘difference’ occurred in the future.

And this had nothing to do with the protagonist.

Because the protagonist could only cover the second years.

If anyone was involved…

‘It’s only me.’

The class president who had studied with me for half a year.

His life was in my hands.

No, not just his.

The lives of those I remembered, and those I couldn’t recall, were also in my hands.

I couldn’t even remember how many there were.

They were extras who had no significance in my memories.

But now, they were my classmates.

‘This time will be different.’

I had already decided to leave the second years to the protagonist and his companions.

I would take care of the third years.

And the northern ruins.

‘The door won’t open properly if only one side is blocked.’

The northern ruins and the southern ruins.

They were the divided keys to the secret archive.

And the flow of events always led to the northern ruins being captured and the southern ruins being defended.

It was a natural outcome, considering the second years were in the south and the third years were in the north.

But I was in the north.

This time would be different.

Very different.

I cast a determined gaze into the distance.