Chapter 102: Festival Day

As night fell on the day of the ball, the daytime heat subsided and the streets filled with a festive atmosphere and street stalls.

Commoners and nobles alike were caught up in the celebratory mood, with smiles adorning the faces of everyone on the streets.

However, among all these people, only Marina beside me looked as gloomy as if attending a funeral.

“Could you lighten up a bit? It’s not right to be like this on such a festive day.”

“They haven’t shown up yet, even though the ball is about to start… How can I smile in this situation?”

Marina’s duty was to protect the Academy, not fight intruders. It seemed her hatred for them was so strong that she failed to notice her purpose and means had become mixed up.

“They haven’t shown up yet, but won’t they come out once the ball is in full swing? It’ll be easier to target them then…”

“Headmaster… Get a grip.”

Feeling regretful about whatever had made her like this, I asked sincerely, and she immediately fell silent as if calming down.

“Looks like they’re not tactless enough to show up on a festival day. Just relax and enjoy yourself today, Headmaster.”

“I’ve hated balls since I was young.”

“…Pardon?”

Marina, who had been quiet, suddenly opened her mouth and started her story before I could ask what she meant by that random statement.

“Every year when the summer ball came around, it interfered with my studies. The men would stupidly blabber on about how sexy this or that lady was, while the women would act like whores, talking about seducing this or that young master. It was absolutely infuriating.”

“…”

“But looking back now, I wonder if those foolish and frivolous behaviors were what youth was all about. The privilege of youth, forgivable due to immaturity.

Back then, I dreamed of a different future from them and kept holing up in my room to focus on studying. But the result is that at this age, I’m still unmarried and getting lectured by a commoner student. I wonder if my past self would have continued studying if she saw me now…”

I’d just told her to cheer up, so why was this heavy conversation coming out of nowhere?

Having discovered yet another reason why she had no friends, I still kept the conversation going.

“Still, Headmaster, you’ve had quite a successful life, haven’t you? You reached the level of Archwizard at such a young age and became the Academy’s headmaster…”

“I may have reached the level of Archwizard and become headmaster, but I’m still unmarried and now I’m here like this…”

“Fuck… You’re making me depressed too with all this talk. Don’t you have anything less gloomy to say?”

“…You’re right. Then, Ian, what’s that strange-looking thing you’re holding?”

“Oh, this? It’s a syringe.”

“You mean that tool alchemists use to extract blood?”

In this world, medical techniques mainly relied on miracles, magic, and herbs, so syringes were extremely rare unless you visited an alchemist’s workshop.

The one I was holding was made by Otar and Hadi, with a purification spell on the needle tip allowing it to be reused multiple times – a special product.

“A magic-imbued syringe made by Count Otar himself? Quite luxurious. But why a syringe…?”

“It’s for injecting doping drugs when there’s no time to take them orally during combat.”

Using this syringe would give less opportunity for enemies to see, and injecting drugs directly into the bloodstream would make them take effect faster than oral consumption.

“Hmm… It’s a good idea, since you could choke if you take drugs while fighting. But injecting drugs directly into your veins seems a bit…”

Marina looked at the syringe with distaste and shuddered.

It’s actually not a big deal once you try it, but I understood why it would seem off-putting just from the explanation.

Sticking a needle into a vein to inject drugs – it doesn’t get much more unsettling than that when you put it into words.

“It may look like this, but it’s quite useful. In a pinch, I could even stick it in an enemy.”

“In an enemy…? But if it’s an enhancement potion, wouldn’t that make the enemy stronger?”

“That’s true, but they’d self-destruct from the drug’s side effects after a few minutes. I’d just need to buy time.”

Of course, this was a pointless assumption since I’d never encountered such an enemy while facing Baldo techniques.

“Side effects…”

Marina muttered those words and then, recalling some memory, let out a deep sigh.

“I’ve heard reports from the Alchemy Department’s teacher. While Hori is exceptionally talented, she seems to have serious ethical issues.”

“Yeah, I wonder how she ended up with such a twisted sense of ethics…”

“Why are you talking as if it’s someone else’s problem? From what I can see, you’re not much different, Ian.”

“What?”

This was utterly unacceptable.

How could I, who had thwarted several Academy attacks and sternly reprimanded even teachers when they did wrong, have ethical issues?

As I was about to protest this statement that I couldn’t possibly let slide, Marina suddenly stood up from the bench.

“Huh? Uh…?”

Confusion, anxiety, fear.

As these emotions that appear on people’s faces when something goes wrong bloomed on her face, a smile spread across my lips as well.

It seemed the guests I had been hoping would come on the festival day, but couldn’t invite, had arrived.

—Raei  Translations—

I hadn’t let my guard down at all.

Although the mysterious intruder named Ganryu and the Sword Demon Society’s target was said to be Ian, I hadn’t neglected the security of other students.

I had even secretly assigned bodyguards to Jessica and Hori, who were closely associated with Ian.

‘But why on earth…!’

No, now wasn’t the time for regret, nor did I have the luxury. What I needed to do now was to resolve this situation as quickly as possible.

To do that, the first thing I had to do was swallow my pride and accept the reality that I had no choice but to rely on a student’s strength.

“Ian, listen carefully. I believe Jessica has been kidnapped.”

“…What the fuck?”

Even though he wasn’t the target, the rage emanating from his body was enough to make my hands tremble just from standing nearby.

But that lasted only a moment. After glancing at the air once, he regained his composure as if water had been poured on the fire of his anger.

“…Explain in detail. What do you mean she might have been kidnapped?”

“Judging by the detection spell I had placed on her body, Jessica just left the Academy grounds. There was no movement before that, so it’s clear the enemy was involved in some way.”

“Is there a possibility that it’s just magic making it appear that way, but she’s actually still inside the Academy?”

“I can’t rule out that possibility, but I can’t reach the bodyguard I had secretly assigned to Jessica. The chances of that are likely low.”

I could say this with certainty since I was able to contact the bodyguards assigned to Hori and Prince Euclid properly.

Judging by the lack of contact, they were probably dead or at least in a situation where they couldn’t communicate.

“But one thing that’s puzzling is why they deliberately revealed themselves at the end, despite having completely fooled us up to this point.”

“…They’re telling me to hurry up and come because they’re waiting. Those bastards… They didn’t need to go through all this trouble, I would’ve come if they just asked.”

“No, it’s too early to jump to conclusions. If they intended to use Jessica as a hostage, there would be no reason to reveal their location like this.”

To begin with, it wasn’t even clear who the enemy was right now. Ganryu and his group wouldn’t need to go through such trouble to send Ian somewhere else.

On the other hand, considering the characteristics of the Sword Demon Society, composed only of demon swords, it seemed unnatural for them to use magic powerful enough to deceive me.

Then, could it be the work of another organization targeting Jessica, rather than one of these two groups?

No, if they could deceive me to this extent, they must be an Archwizard or at least someone close to that level. Why would such an organization target a mere noble lady?

As I was thinking who it could be, Ian tapped my shoulder and spoke.

“…Headmaster, which direction did Jessica disappear in?”

Ian’s voice was utterly cold as he said this, but the hand gripping his sword hilt was clenched tight enough to crush it.

“…You won’t listen even if I try to stop you, will you?”

“You know me well. It’s a trap or whatever, I’ll just cut down whoever’s waiting. So hurry up and tell me where.”

Since I was planning to ask for his help anyway, I took out one of the hairpins in my hair and cast a spell linked to the tracking magic I had placed on her, then handed it to him.

“It’s to the west. When you get close to Jessica, that hairpin will react, so it should be easy to find her.”

“Yes, Baldomaru!!! Baldomaru!!!”

“Baldo… what?”

When he shouted with a voice full of aura that could burst eardrums, the noisy street instantly fell silent, replaced by an eerie stillness.

And a moment later, with a thunderous sound that shook the ground, a green-maned horse with an inexplicably furious look appeared, snorting heavily.

“W-What is this horse…?! Don’t tell me it’s the enemy’s…”

“No, it’s my horse. If I call it by that dignified name like I did just now, it happily appears right away.”

After forcibly calming the excited horse, Ian departed westward. I shouted at his back as he left.

“Ian!! Once I confirm the Academy’s safety, I’ll come right away. If they try to take hostages, don’t make any rash moves!”

“Headmaster!! Fuck, behind you!!!”

“Behind?”

As I reflexively turned around, what caught my eye was a mechanical doll wearing a wide-brimmed pointed hat, staring at me with its single eye.

Seemingly grasping the gravity of the situation, all the ordinary citizens started screaming. The mechanical doll waved its staff once, and all the screaming citizens turned into gray stones.

“It was noisy, so I quieted them down. It’s a simple spell that will wear off by dawn, so don’t worry…”

“…”

The moment she cast the spell, I felt as if the unfathomable gap between her and me had become visible.

I felt pathetic for not noticing such a monster behind me until Ian pointed it out.

“…Were you waiting for me?”

When I asked, she replied in a voice devoid of any emotion.

“Yes, but I didn’t come here to kill you. You seem to have talent, but lack practical experience. It’s understandable given the long period of peace, but I recommend improving urgently if possible.”

She was speaking as if she were my mentor, but perhaps because I was acutely aware of the difference in our abilities, I didn’t feel any indignation.

However, I couldn’t show such feelings to the enemy, so I put on as much of a bluff as I could and asked her.

“…Is it appropriate to give advice to an enemy?”

“I was just expressing my honest impression, so don’t mind it. But if you consider my words as advice, let me add one more thing.”

“…Go ahead.”

As I hastily summoned my staff and prepared for her attack, she extended her staff forward and said.

“It’s better not to make promises you can’t keep from the start.”