Chapter 74: Your Name Is… (3)

“Let’s end today’s class here.”

As Marina spoke, Jessica and Rain immediately stood up, followed by Silence, who had been comfortably seated on the floor.

At first, the three had cast sideways glances at this peculiar sight, unable to adapt. But after witnessing the same scene for hours, they seemed to have grown accustomed.

“Ian, please stay behind for a moment.”

Just as I was about to follow the other two out, Marina suddenly called me back.

There was only one reason Marina would call me separately, so inevitably, it had to be related to the recent attack.

“Has something else happened?”

“No, nothing like that. I just wanted you to stay behind to share the progress of the investigation.”

Though only two days had passed, Marina had investigated a great deal in that short time.

“First, regarding the students, fortunately, we’ve confirmed that so far, none have been affected by mind control magic or anything similar.”

Whether they lived in the dormitory or not, all students had to pass through either the main or back gate when entering the academy.

Therefore, by placing detection magic at both gates, they could naturally examine all students.

“However, since our opponent this time is a mage of higher caliber than me, there’s a possibility they’ve implanted magic I can’t detect.”

“If we consider that far, there’s no end to it… It’s best to assume there isn’t any for now.”

Additionally, she had searched for magical devices that functioned like CCTV within the academy, but fortunately, none were found.

“So now, all that’s left is to upgrade the barrier to interfere with enemy detection and teleportation.”

“You’ve accomplished all this in just two days?”

“Not ‘just’ two days, but as many as two days have passed. As someone responsible for the students’ safety, I can’t afford to slack off. By the way, Ian… Haven’t you received any contact from Master Otar?”

“He said he’d contact me if he found anything, but since I haven’t heard from him, it seems he hasn’t discovered anything yet.”

To begin with, gleaning credible information from a single katana was an extremely difficult task.

It’s not like we’re dealing with some amateur assassin from a detective novel who would use a metal mined only in a specific region to make a katana.

“He’ll likely contact us soon, so be a bit more patient. Besides, isn’t there a more pressing issue…?”

“You’re talking about Sir Peter.”

Being as perceptive as she was, Marina immediately understood what I meant.

Peter van Fortress, a barbarian who only uses a hammer, but with the impressive background of having served as the Royal Knight Commander, was now holed up in his room.

And this, at a time of crisis when we didn’t know when those bastards might attack again.

“Any signs of him coming out?”

“…None at all. It seems the shock from you was quite significant.”

“Don’t blame it on me. This world is governed by the law of the survival of the fittest. It’s all weak Peter’s fault. I’m not to blame at all.”

That’s right, this world was ruled by the law of the jungle. A cruel world where the strong survive and the weak perish.

Some may argue that such is the law of beasts, not humans, but humans are beasts too.

No matter how much we pretend to be different from beasts by touting morality and ethics, we can’t escape this truth.

“I’ve been thinking this for a while, but did you experience something unpleasant in your childhood, Ian? Looking at you closely, there seems to be a serious flaw in your ethical views…”

“That’s rude. What exactly is wrong with my ethical views?”

Even on Earth, I was often asked if I had issues with society, but that doesn’t mean I should be compared to these primitive medieval people.

“Anyway, you’re saying that man isn’t coming out, right?”

“…I’ll warn you in advance, don’t even think about doing anything unnecessary that might worsen the situation.”

“Will he come out if we just leave him alone? Whether we do something or not, it’s the same, so we might as well try something.”

“Haah…”

Marina sighed, but having no words to refute, she nodded in agreement.

“Still, use gentle methods as much as possible. You absolutely must not use coercive means.”

“I’ll… try my best to do so.”

“…You’re not going to try, are you?”

“Nope.”

Even after hearing that, Marina, probably thinking it was worth a shot, allowed me to drag Peter out of his room.

Since pulling Peter out of his room wasn’t an immediate necessity, I first headed to the training ground where Jessica would be waiting.

Arriving at the training ground, Jessica, who had arrived earlier and was doing self-training, gave me an incredulous look as I sat atop Silence.

“…Are you going to train on horseback today?”

“I have to, right? I can’t get down from this state. I’ve never fought on horseback before, but don’t hold back, come at me.”

I was just stating a fact, but Jessica, taking it as a provocation, charged at me more fiercely than usual.

This was my first battle on horseback, but after it was all over, I wondered if it could even be considered a battle.

Silence, enhanced beyond comparison to before with the energy received from me, literally toyed with Jessica.

With its enhanced leg strength, Silence kept a distance whenever Jessica approached, and Jessica couldn’t even graze Silence.

“Hah… y-you said it was your first time in mounted combat…”

“It is my first time in mounted combat. But I’ve done Baldo many times before.”

If I had to make an excuse, things turned out this way because my Baldo compensated for my lack of horsemanship skills.

With my insufficient riding skills supplemented by Baldo and a Japanese sword, I was now the very embodiment of the Mongol mounted Baldo troops that had once terrorized all of Europe.

Compared to me, Jessica was nothing more than a little lady with a bread roll hairstyle.

Therefore, just as grass types are weak against fire types, the relationship between me, who could tear down castles and ravish bread roll-haired ladies, and Jessica was disadvantageous in terms of compatibility.

“The relationship between you and me is hierarchical! If you’re upset, learn Baldo like me, Jessica!”

“As if I’d learn something like that!”

“That’s why you can’t win…!”

Jessica got up on her knees and charged at me and Silence again, but still couldn’t even touch Silence’s tail.

Afterwards, after seeing off an exhausted Jessica, I was about to visit Peter at last, but…

“Ian…?”

After about four days, Euclid, who hadn’t visited during that time, came to the training ground.

Euclid and Nana, seeing me on horseback, wore puzzled expressions and said,

“Ian, why are you riding a horse indoors?”

“Hmm… I can see some kind of aura connection between you and the horse. Are you training it or something?”

Being a warrior like me, Nana immediately noticed the connection of aura between Silence and me.

I nodded and explained the situation, to which Nana responded in a voice that seemed disgusted,

“Even if that’s the case, who in the world rides a horse indoors? You’re out of your mind…”

“It’s the pursuit of efficiency. But I haven’t seen you for three days, did something happen? Were you feeling unwell…?”

“Huh? Oh, no… It just took a bit longer this time, so don’t worry…”

“Took longer? What…”

Just as I was about to ask what had taken longer, Nana suddenly let out a loud fake cough, cutting off the flow of conversation.

“By the way, there’s one thing I’d like to ask…”

“Something you want to ask? What is it?”

“About that… the attacker from two days ago. Could you tell me what kind of person they were?”

“Even if you ask what kind of person…”

I could tell them the name and my impressions from the fight, but somehow, I felt that wasn’t what Nana was asking about right now.

“I don’t quite understand the intent of your question. What exactly do you want to know? Like my impressions from the fight?”

“To be more precise… did you feel any demonic energy?”

“Hmm… I didn’t feel any demonic energy, but I’m not certain the main body wasn’t a Myne either.”

Unlike aura, demonic energy can only be emitted by demons, humans who have turned into Myne, or those possessed by demons, so that doll couldn’t have emitted demonic energy.

“The attacker was borrowing the body of a doll?”

“Saying it was a doll isn’t quite right since it was alive, but well, something like that.”

As I explained in detail about the doll, Euclid made a gesture as if he was about to vomit in disgust.

Nana, who was listening beside us, couldn’t be seen due to her helmet, but her expression didn’t seem pleasant either.

“Given that they do such things, the probability of them being related to demons is high, but it’s not certain…”

“I-I see… It’s really fortunate that you’re safe after encountering such individuals.”

“Yeah, it was a formidable opponent who used Baldo, but thanks to them abandoning their greatest weapon at the end, I was barely able to win.”

“…They used Baldo? What on earth did you fight against?”

While Nana was dumbfounded, I spoke to Euclid, who seemed relieved,

“But why did you ask about that?”

“Huh? About what…”

“The demonic energy. Why did you ask if the intruder used demonic energy?”

At those words, Euclid fell silent, and Nana exuded a menacing aura that was perceptible even through her helmet.

A flustered Euclid was desperately trying to come up with some excuse, but it seemed unlikely that any answers would come out even if I pressed further.

‘Perhaps it’s time to take a step back here…’

Thinking this, I suddenly grabbed one of Euclid’s hands.

“Wh-what?!”

Just like on the day we first met, Nana stepped forward in surprise at this sudden action, but before that, I spoke to Euclid,

“I don’t know what’s going on, but if you don’t want to talk about it, that’s okay. I just want you to remember one thing.”

“Huh…? Wh-what is it…?”

“If you ever have any troubles, make sure to consult me! No matter what happens, I’ll definitely help you!”

Moved by my sincere words towards Baldo, Euclid replied in a voice that somehow sounded sweet,

“…Okay…!”

Heh…! I’ve strongly asserted my Baldo dominance over a demon!