Chapter 281

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I went to Class D to meet Regina, but Class D was temporarily closed today.

Could it be because Class D was a collection of troublemakers?

Not a single student had come to school.

Only three students were missing, but Class D was a class of just three.

I had somewhat expected Regina not to come to school. Regina, whom I met in the morning, was in such bad condition that she had lost consciousness and fainted. Health should take precedence over academic zeal. Regina wasn’t enthusiastic about education in the first place. It wouldn’t be strange if she skipped class due to poor health.

Seri had come to school in the morning. But she said it wasn’t fun alone, so she ran away around lunchtime.

What was unexpected was Carlos. He hadn’t been to school for almost a month.

But it wasn’t an unauthorized absence.

He had received permission from the academy and was recognized for attendance even though he didn’t attend classes.

Was the last time I met him right before I was kidnapped? I heard he visited me when I was in a coma after that, but he never came to see me after I woke up. I wondered what he had been doing, but Carlos was not at the academy but in the 6th unit of the Celestial Corps.

Considering the relationship between Carlos and the 6th Division Captain, I could roughly guess why he was indebted to the 6th Division.

Elijah, the captain of the 6th Division, was the one who rescued Carlos, who was once a member of the Family, and enrolled him in the academy. Carlos’s legal guardian is the director of the orphanage, but in reality, it’s Elijah. If she hadn’t guaranteed Carlos’s status, the former Family’s hunting dog would not have been able to enter the academy.

Beast transformation ability supernaturals are rare.

Elijah cherished Carlos, who had the same type of ability.

If Carlos had asked for training to become stronger, Elijah would have accepted without hesitation.

Anyway, as a result, Class D had a day off on its own. There was no other way since no students were attending class. It was a disappointing situation for me, as I had business with everyone in Class D, not just Regina.

Astaroth’s influence extends to Class D. Regina was confirmed, and Seri was almost confirmed as well. I’m not sure about Carlos yet. I was planning to meet him in person to confirm, but.

The schedule was a bit messed up, but it’s always best to take the long way around when you’re in a hurry. I decided to take care of what I could do right now. Carlos is in the 6th Division, and even the homeroom teacher of Class D doesn’t know where Seri is, so I’m heading to the Class D dormitory to find Regina.

Class D also used a separate dormitory. There were cases where it was justified, but wasn’t it too discriminatory? Still, dormitory isolation is only for the first year. If they are judged to have been reformed to some extent, the separation measures are gradually lifted. If there are no problems, they can receive the same treatment as ordinary students by the third year. If there are no problems, that is.

“Hmm, what if she’s not in the dormitory?”

It would be troublesome if she became a runaway ninja like Seri. I’d have to search for her one by one, and Yoo-seong doesn’t have much time. He said he had left all the work to the vice-captain to be at the academy. He needs to return as soon as possible.

“Don’t worry.”

As I voiced my worries to myself, Yoo-seong pointed to the closed door with a chin gesture. He lowered his voice and spoke only to me.

“I can feel a presence inside. Unless you mistook the room, a thief broke in, or a guest came… well, if there are no such variables, the girl named Regina will be behind that door.”

Yoo-seong was quite on edge. His blue eyes were submerged in deep depths.

I explained Regina’s situation to Yoo-seong and asked for help. In the process, the ‘Red Fox Mask’ was mentioned. It was a relic that controlled living things.

Yoo-seong’s unease was not only because of the existence of the ‘mask’ that controlled people. Yoo-seong was already aware of Astaroth’s mask.

During the field training, Astaroth made her first appearance in the world.

She proudly boasted about the existence of the mask, and that information was conveyed to the Celestial Corps as it was.

Of course, Yoo-seong, the commander of Celestial Corps, would have been aware of that information as well.

Moreover, I had told Yoo-seong about Astaroth’s mask. Four days ago, the day before I was discharged from the hospital, I talked with Yoo-seong all night. At that time, I subtly reminded him of the existence of the mask.

However, I didn’t go into detail.

Because at that time, the purpose was to comfort Yoo-seong, who had lost Lucilleso suddenly.

You can’t talk about work at a funeral, right?

It’s already sad enough because of the saintess’ unjust death, and now he has to deal with troublesome problems.

I couldn’t bring myself to say it, so I decided to wait for the next time.

A mask that controls people and monsters alike. Astaroth’s toy. Its danger was enormous. It was like a devil controlling humans. It was unclear how far Astaroth’s influence extended throughout society.

Originally, the most frightening thing was not external enemies but internal ones. 

Astaroth’s spy. Moreover, anyone can become a spy who obeys the devils just by wearing the mask. It’s hard to find them, and you never know when a new spy will appear.

Fortunately, I have Lucille’s memories.

By looking at the memories of the previous iterations, I could narrow down the candidates for ‘mask slaves’.

The members are slightly different in each iteration, so it’s not certain, but it’s much better than nothing.

However, another problem arose here as well.

Lucille’s memories are too vast. Hundreds of millions of regressions. Hundreds of millions of years. I only remember a small part of it. When Lucille showed me her memories, she selected and showed me only the important ones. The rest of the memories were buried under the surface of my mind.

It was a time that had even worn down the blessed saintess.

If I were to be buried in that endless time, my personality would also be ruined.

So, I had to find and read Lucille’s memories that were submerged below the surface, just like taking out a book from the library and reading it.

Lucille’s memories were not meticulously categorized like a library. To extract only the information related to the mask from the books of memories that are piled up indiscriminately, I’ve been trying whenever I have time, but it’s not easy. It’s like searching for a needle in the desert.

Anyway, Yoo-seong was very uncomfortable for various reasons.

The most decisive reason is that I almost fell victim to the mask like Regina.

During the field training, I almost became Astaroth’s slave. If Eugene hadn’t helped in a timely manner, I would have been affected by the mask, right?

Of course, at that time, Lucille’s thoughts were present, so I would have shaken off the mask’s control. It would have taken some time, though.

I explained the mask and mentioned that case as well, and Yoo-seong has been very uncomfortable ever since. Seeing his blue eyes turning golden in patches, it seems like he’s really boiling inside. 

Ehehe, are you getting angry for Lucia’s sake? That makes me happy! Lucia points… no, I’ve given too many today, so I’ll give them next time. I’ve exceeded today’s limit!

“Regina, are you there?”

I knocked on the door and said.

No answer came back. Maybe she didn’t hear me well? I raised my voice and shouted again.

“It’s me, Lucia. Are you inside? Can I talk to you for a moment?”

I’ve come to repay your kindness!

I’ll free you from the mask’s control!

I’d be really grateful if you’d slice and dice me like you did back then as a reward!

I’m feeling sexually frustrated these days!

“Regina? Huh? Are you listening?”

I knocked on the door repeatedly, but there was no response.

I slyly turned my head and looked at Yoo-seong.

Hey, are you sure Regina is really in the room?

Yoo-seong shrugged and pointed to the door again with a chin gesture.

It was a gesture that she was definitely here.

“I know you’re inside, you know? It’ll just be a moment.”

Captains possess a super sensory perception that surpasses most detection-type supernaturals, and Yoo-seong was the most outstanding of them all. He couldn’t have been mistaken. It was certain that someone was in the room.

But no matter how much I called, there was no response.

Then there were three possibilities.

She was asleep and couldn’t hear me.

She didn’t want to talk and was refusing.

It wasn’t Regina, so the third party couldn’t answer.

“Hmm, I guess I have no choice.”

I let out a deep sigh.

I can’t just go back after coming all this way.

I put my hand on the doorknob and shouted with a bright smile.

“I’ll just go in.”

If she’s asleep, I’ll wake her up.

If she doesn’t want to talk, I’ll just push through.

If it’s not Regina… well, let’s check who it is and deal with it.

Crack. 

I put strength into my grip and broke the doorknob. It was made sturdily, as befitting the academy’s dormitory, but there’s nothing they can do if I try to break it on purpose. Arin tore the door off completely, right? I can do something similar easily.

“Huh?”

The door opens as if claiming it was never locked. A flustered voice was heard. It was slightly cracked, but there was no problem understanding it. Regina’s voice. The answer was the second one.

“Hehe, I told you. I know you’re inside.”

I took a step towards the room with a triumphant expression.

It’s no use pretending you’re not here. No means no. I apologize in advance for the rudeness. It’s rude, but there’s a really important story. I’m in a hurry, so I have no choice…”

The moment I entered the room, I stopped in my tracks. A terrible smell stung my nose. It was the smell of perfume. It was like dozens of different types of perfume were mixed together. It was so intense that I felt like my nose was paralyzed.

I was a little late to notice because it was buried in the perfume smell. A familiar smell. Something that every living creature has. The smell of blood.

“Re-Regina?!”

I realized it belatedly.

A dark room with no lighting.

The floor was soaked with red liquid.

The sticky and fishy smell of blood told me that it was not paint but blood.

And I could quickly find the owner of that blood.

“No, no, this, this is, well, that is…”

Regina stuttered and hid her arm behind her back.

But it was too late to hide it.

I could see it clearly.

The countless self-inflicted wounds carved on her arm.

The blood-stained box cutter she was holding in her right hand.

‘This, could it be…’

All the circumstantial evidence points to one truth.

Self-harm.

Regina had committed self-harm.

‘…That’s not how you do it.’

The cuts are too shallow. You won’t be able to cut the artery unless you put more force on your wrist. Besides, the wounds are too honest. Did you just swipe it roughly? If you twist the blade slightly when it pierces the flesh, you can make the blood gush out even more pleasantly… no, that’s not it.

‘I’m so jealous… I can’t do it even if I want to… I’m in a forced celibacy life of sexual frustration…!’

Ah, no! That’s not it either!

Is this the time to be jealous?! Did you get a hole in your head or something?! Should I physically drill one for you?! You should be worried about Regina first!

“Are, are you okay? Does it hurt a lot? Why would you do this…”

I held back a sigh and hurriedly took out a handkerchief. Let’s stop the bleeding first. I’ll hear the details later.

Author Note

A/N (Author’s note):
Do you remember the 19+ side story that is the 100th chapter?

It’s the side story route where Lucia became Astaroth’s slave right?

At that time, Lucille’s will was still embedded within Lucia, so she was eventually able to break free from the brainwashing.

If a sequel of that chapter was to be released, it would have been a story where Lucia, who had came to her senses, running away with Angelica

In short, it’s Angelica’s route… The forbidden student x teacher…

Hehe, the happy ending is the best after all… a bad ending is too sad…

Translator Note

T/N (Translator’s note):
Author really said that last part knowing what he did to Regina, smh…

Well, it’s justified, Regina is the cutest when she suffers~!