episode_0091

Adelaide Clarissa Novena Cascadia is the student council president of Aegis Awakener Academy. She is renowned as an outstanding student within the school.

“-Adela Sunbae, they say she’s first in class again this time, don’t they? The more I see her, the more amazing she is!”

“-Excellent, Adelaide-nim. Your abilities displayed in this long-term expedition were enough to impress even me. Truly befitting of a descendant of an honorable family.”

At school, she consistently achieved excellent grades in both practical and theoretical subjects. As student council president, she also demonstrated outstanding leadership. Her inherent elegance and kindness left a deep impression on many.

There was a minor issue, however: fan letters and gifts expressing affection poured into the student council office constantly, regardless of gender.

Meanwhile, she did not neglect her family duties. In several unexplored dungeon searches and erosion zone expeditions, Adela achieved excellent results, drawing the attention of the family elders and establishing her position as the next head of the Cascadia family.

In addition to these abilities and achievements, her beautiful appearance, combined with the grace and etiquette unique to old noble culture, made her stand out even more. She was truly a young lady of both talent and beauty.

However, like a flaw in a jade, she also had a minor imperfection. It was this:

‘This child is too cute!’

She couldn’t resist anything cute.

Adela loves cute things.

Her room in the family mansion was filled with everything she considered cute, including puppies, kittens, and dolls.

Her favorite cute subjects were children. That’s why she was always kind to them.

Today, she happened to encounter a group touring the school.

Usually, most visitors were adult tourists, but occasionally, groups of young students would come. They could be seen as prospective juniors aspiring to attend an Awakener academy.

She felt a desire to personally and thoroughly explain the academy to those who might become her juniors in the future. So she made time to guide them herself, and then she overheard words of admiration.

“Wow, she’s beautiful…”

She had heard compliments about her appearance countless times throughout her life. She casually turned her head. Then, her amethyst-like eyes widened. She stared blankly at the girl, admiring her.

Upon seeing Violet, Adela couldn’t stop her lips from curling into a smile.

‘To think such a cute girl existed!’

Despite her simple attire, the girl was incredibly cute.

Slightly vacant eyes, a cute little mouth parted in a smile, plump cheeks that seemed like they’d stretch forever if pulled, ruby-red eyes like polished gems. It was a little regrettable that she was a bit tall, but considering her age, it couldn’t be helped.

Upon seeing this doll-like girl, Adela found herself spontaneously intrigued.

“Oh my, how cute… What’s your name?”

“Ah… my name is Irene!”

Violet quickly blurted out her friend’s name as an alias. Unaware of this, Adela found herself muttering the girl’s name a few times before smiling brightly and continuing her questions.

“I see. Irene. Excuse me, but may I ask a question? Are you an Awakener by any chance?”

“Eh…? Yes! That’s right.”

When Violet answered flustered, Adela was secretly overjoyed. An Awakener? She didn’t seem to have entered the academy yet, so if that’s the case…

“I see! Then, do you have an Awakener academy you’re currently aiming for? What do you think about Aegis Academy?”

“Ah, well, that is…”

Adela fell into thought for a moment. She imagined this cute girl entering in the Aegis uniform. Thinking of having such a child as a junior, it might not be so bad.

‘If such a beautiful child were a junior… Oh, dear.’

Adela, lost in her thoughts, suddenly snapped back to reality. It seemed she had gotten too excited. After hastily concealing her embarrassment, she quickly adjusted her posture in front of the people who were staring blankly. Following her ingrained etiquette, she swiftly returned to her usual demeanor.

“Ah, I apologize for the impropriety, everyone. My introduction is late. I am Adela, the general student council president of Aegis Academy…”

***

A century ago, before the dimensional invasion occurred and all nations of the world united under a single global government called the Federation, there were various kingdoms, republics, and empires in this world. Naturally, nobles and royals also existed.

It was the otherworldly monsters that dragged the nobles, who had not lost their influence despite the growth of capitalism and the rise of the citizen class, from their thrones. Many noble families died out as young noblemen, clamoring for honor, participated as officers and all became food for the magic beasts. Among the surviving nobles, landowners who relied on agricultural land could not escape destitution as a significant portion of humanity’s territory was encroached upon by the other dimension.

Nevertheless, some noble families survived through the turmoil. This was because they were fortunate enough to become Awakeners.

They took up swords and organized private armies to fight against the magic beasts, just as their ancestors had done centuries ago. After the dimensional invasion, their efforts were rewarded. They succeeded in securing a place of power in the new world order, using the power called Aether as their lifeline.

After the entire world united under a single government called the Federation, the aristocratic status of the old noble families was no longer recognized, but their significance as representatives of old-world traditions and history was considerable.

“…I would like to personally guide you. Is that acceptable?”

And before me stood one of the descendants of an old noble family. I never expected to see this genuine noble lady here. What an incredible coincidence.

The people participating in the tour were initially surprised to see a student suddenly introduce herself as the student council president, but then they were delighted and followed Adela. What better opportunity could there be than to have the student council president personally guide them around the school?

「I thought we’d meet someday, but I didn’t expect it to be here.」

「I know! She’s a real noble. I didn’t expect to meet her on the street.」

To draw a comparison to the Earth world before the transmigration, Adela’s family is similar to or slightly below European royalty. Although the class system has long disappeared in this world, Adela’s social standing would be higher than Irene’s, considering only her historical position.

Currently, she was diligently explaining the school’s geography, history, its buildings, and education. It was a long explanation, but she presented it in an easy-to-understand and interesting way, so time seemed to fly by.

However, something was strange. That noble young lady kept looking at me. Even while faithfully performing her role as a guide, she subtly directed her gaze towards me.

「Hey, I think we’ve been spotted. Adela keeps looking at Number 200.」

「Why did you thoughtlessly blurt out “beautiful”!」

Why was that? The Violets put their heads together and quickly found an answer, but they weren’t sure.

「Adela liked cute children. Wait, no way!」

「No way. Has she fallen for us?」

「Not that, but I think she finds us cute!」

Objectively speaking, we Violets are sufficiently beautiful girls.

And the character ‘Adela’ that I know loved children simply because they were cute. She was extremely enraged when the Witch of Boundless Light took children hostage.

I got an opportunity to talk with her at length a little while later.

While passing through the school cafeteria, Adela suggested they take a break, saying the school was too vast to tour in one go, and bought drinks for the tour group. People sat down and rested. As I was drinking my sweet iced chocolate, she cautiously approached me.

“Irene, how does our school look to you?”

“It was very good!”

I gave a short and simple answer to her question. She thought I was an Awakener girl preparing to enter an academy.

However, saying the school looked good was my sincere feeling. Aegis was superior to Polaris in many ways. The buildings, the academic atmosphere, the facilities—everything!

“If you haven’t thought of an academy yet, please come to Aegis. Its history is shorter than other academies, but the professors teach well, and all the students are good. The facilities boast the cutting edge of academy cities.”

“Oh… that sounds good.”

As I talked with Adela, the break time had almost passed without me realizing it. It was a short conversation, but a very pleasant one.

Most importantly, Adela is beautiful! She also seems as generous-hearted as Daphne.

「Why isn’t our academy’s student council president someone like this?」

「Aegis is truly a proper academy!」

Adela, who is kind to strangers and generous-hearted, is a hundred times better than Polaris’s cunning and violent gigolo-like man.

That guy truly deserves to die.

Time passed, and the tour eventually ended. When it was time to part ways with the visitors, Adela greeted each person individually.

“I hope this time today was a good experience for you.”

“Goodbye, you said you were aiming for Aegis, didn’t you? I hope we can meet again as senior and junior!”

When it was my turn, I felt Adela’s violet gaze warmly on me.

“Irene, whatever academy you aim for, that’s your choice. I respect your decision. However…”

“Yes. If possible, I’ll aim for Aegis!”

I received her greeting and headed for the school gate. As I walked, she rushed towards me.

“If you have any more questions about advancing to higher education, please contact me here!”

She gave me her contact information and then withdrew. The Aegis student council president’s contact information—that wouldn’t be bad.

***

A long time passed after parting ways with Adela.

As night fell, the academy was enveloped in darkness. Lights were still on in the offices of professors, the central library, and for students doing self-training at night, but they were slowly turning off one by one.

When the time came, the hidden Violets revealed themselves. As personalities entered the dormant bodies, the bodies that had been lying still like corpses naturally regained vitality and moved as if nothing had happened.

「We should thank Adela!」

「Thanks to her, we got to know the academy’s structure and facilities very well.」

The Violets immediately applied adhesive and camouflage cream to their faces, then attached thin masks. Over those, they wore balaclavas and goggles. Their faces became very stuffy, but this was the best way to ensure their identities remained secure.

Finally, they put on recognition-inhibiting necklaces and channeled magic power into them. Now, if anyone saw them, they would appear as unidentified black figures in combat gear.

「Operation start!」

The Violets dispersed to their respective assigned areas.

The main personnel headed towards the garden and the forest. In truth, though called a forest, Aegis Academy’s forest was closer to an arboretum.

First, some of the Violets carefully cut the power lines near the garden and forest, avoiding detection.

-Crackling!

Immediately, the lights within the forest and garden went out, plunging the area into darkness. Simultaneously, a Violet who had infiltrated the school’s outskirts poured oil into a trash can and set it on fire. Flames roared up loudly. This was a diversionary tactic to draw attention.

A Violet who had approached the vicinity aimed a crossbow at the CCTV. For some reason, its power hadn’t gone out.

-Thwip!

The CCTVs were neutralized one by one. But this wasn’t the end. I recalled what Adela had said while guiding us through the garden and forest.

“-The plants planted here are very precious. That’s why security spells are in place. You mustn’t touch them, alright? If you so much as lay a finger on them, an alarm will immediately sound, and a barrier magic will activate, separating the inside from the outside. You’ll be trapped helplessly until the disciplinary committee members and guards let you out.”

「It’s true.」

「The spell formulas are dense. We definitely can’t break that with our level!」

The security system here wasn’t just surveillance cameras. Various magic formulas were deployed.

「A clumsy thief would be caught immediately upon entering.」

But we aren’t afraid. Those magic formulas cannot block our approach itself. They only prevent us from stealing and leaving.

The Violets have a way to escape completely.

Crystal flower clusters, shimmering in the distance, could be seen. They would quickly rush in, pick the crystal flowers, secure them, then transmit and re-create them. If urgent, they could even simply commit suicide.

「Get ready!」

With the crystal flowers in sight, the Violets prepared to run. Not much time left until mission completion.

As I was counting silently, a violent explosion echoed.

「That’s too loud for a diversion, isn’t it?」

「Hey, I said set a fire. Who said use a bomb?」

Number 76, who had set the fire and was waiting outside, protested.

「What are you talking about! I only used gasoline. And that sound is coming from outside!」

「Then what is it? Is someone playing a prank outside?」

As the Violets looked around, a gigantic, white-glowing barrier appeared in the dark night sky above Aegis Academy.

「Isn’t that the school’s defense system?」

As soon as the barrier appeared, it immediately tore apart and vanished. It shattered like breaking glass, scattering into pieces and melting into the darkness.

While we were failing to understand the situation and looking around, an object of an indescribable color pierced through the shattering barrier and invaded the school. This sight… surely not…

A small explosion was heard, followed by sirens wailing throughout the entire school.

And then, security barriers activated over the areas where crystal flowers and herbs were planted. The garden and forest began to seal off.

「Oh! The barrier! The barrier appeared.」

The surprised Violets leaped inside before the barrier closed.

“What in the world is happening…?”

I frantically picked the flowers and put them into my inventory.

Meanwhile, the commotion within Aegis Academy continued to grow, showing no sign of subsiding.

Just like a pear falling when a crow flies [a proverb about coincidental events that appear related but aren’t], something happened on the day we decided to steal things.

There was only one case where a barrier could break.

Someone had attacked the academy.