I Became the Academy’s Female Delinquent Chapter 63. Interlude (2)

The clouds cleared, and dazzling sunlight poured through the office window.

Flash!

Dane, who had been dozing off, opened his eyes.

“Ugh- Elsie!”

“…To wake up shouting your little sister’s name, you truly are insane. Insane.”

Dane’s adjutant, Linz, frowned and gave him a look of utter disdain.

Dane, unperturbed by her gaze, opened his pendant and checked a photo of Elsie from her childhood.

Linz’s eyes narrowed as Dane’s cheeks began to lift slightly.

Her superior, who had been engrossed in work for a long time, had turned into a rather foolish person a few months ago.

It was all because of the person in the pendant he was looking at.

“Our Elsie seems to have become even more lively and cute recently.”

‘…Recently?’

He hasn’t even been down to Midgard recently, so what on earth is he talking about?

Linz began to suspect that her superior had finally gone so mad that he couldn’t distinguish between dreams and reality.

“Captain Dane, be honest with me. Your little sister Elsie. Is she actually your daughter? How else could you…”

How else could he shower her with such infinite affection and endless praise that would make even the most devoted father blush?

Linz’s suspicion was reasonable.

Thump!

“What nonsense! Elsie is definitely my little sister, even though… there’s a bit of an age gap!”

Dane glared and thrust the pendant at Linz, shouting.

Linz recoiled at his vehemence.

“Okay, okay! I get it… Oh, is this the little sister you cherish so much?”

Inside the pendant Dane held out was an old photograph.

In the photo was Dane, looking much the same as he did now, and an adorable little girl clutching at his clothes.

She was such a pretty child that it was impossible to imagine how beautiful she would become when she grew up.

“Oh, my goodness! How can anyone be so adorable?”

Dane grinned, showing his teeth, at Linz’s unconscious exclamation.

“Hahaha! Elsie is my pride and joy, whom I’ve cared for like my own child since she was little!”

“You’ve told that story more than thirty times already. Though this is the first time you’ve shown me the photo.”

Dane’s behavior was that of a typical doting father.

Seeing the photo of that pretty child, she was beginning to understand, at least a little.

That’s why Linz couldn’t help but be even more suspicious.

‘Even if there is a big age gap…’

“She really is your daughter, isn’t she?”

“I told you, no! Damn it! I need more pictures of Elsie! Everyone treats her like my daughter, it’s too much!”

With that, Dane stood up abruptly and started towards the window.

“Hey, you were just dozing off! Where do you think you’re going?”

Linz hurriedly got up and grabbed Dane, who was about to jump out the window.

She was dragged along by Dane.

“A heartless father who never sends news! I’ll take a family photo so amazing it’ll make you sick with envy!”

“Hey, finish your pending work before you go-!!!”

**Mythic Grade Monster Summon: Nameless Eagle!**

_Fzzzzzt-!_

“Aaaaaah!”

Linz clung to Dane until the end as he jumped out the window.

She felt a sense of floating as she heard the sound of the Bifrost tearing through space.

Falling.

If Dane’s monstrous eagle didn’t quickly snatch them up, they would plummet to their deaths.

‘That’s unlikely… but how do I stop this man?’

Contrary to Linz’s thoughts, the situation was unfolding in a strange direction.

“Huh…?”

Dane’s voice was filled with bewilderment as the Nameless Eagle didn’t respond to the summons.

“What’s that bastard doing that he’s ignoring the summons?!”

“Huh?! What are you talking about! We’re falling!”

Dane, who had confidently jumped out the window with Linz clinging to him, scratched his head.

“Sorry, Linz. I guess he’s not coming.”

Asgard, the base of the Einherjar Knights.

Above the knight’s headquarters located in the main god’s palace, Valaskjálf, an adjutant and her superior fell endlessly.

_Thwack-!_

It was a laughable mishap.

In any case, Linz’s goal was achieved since she was able to stop Dane from running away.

*

A gentle breeze blew across the island of Lyngvi, where flowers were in full bloom.

Shrubs swayed in the wind, creating a beautiful scene.

Contrasting with the peaceful colors, a massive being lay prostrate in the center of the island.

Fenrir, a Jötunn in the form of a giant black wolf.

Before his original power could fully return, he had been subdued by the efforts of Reginleif and Elsie’s group and was once again transported to the island of Lyngvi.

The loathsome chain that had bound him, Gleipnir.

He had failed to break it in the end.

And the blow from the spear-wielding girl that had dealt him critical damage. It was still a skill he found hard to believe.

Perhaps it was because such thoughts kept swirling in his mind.

Fenrir, unable to sleep, opened his eyes.

His large ears perked up.

‘Someone is coming.’

Had that wraith with white hair and deeply sunken jade eyes come again?

No.

Fenrir’s developed hearing and sense of smell denied it.

In Fenrir’s field of vision, as he raised his head, a middle-aged man with his right arm covered in a robe was approaching.

Dazzling silver hair, a thick beard that had grown out unlike what Fenrir remembered.

Jewel-like, transparent blue eyes.

His attire seemed shabby at first glance, but his grand physique, broad shoulders, and antique appearance exuded an aura of unapproachable dignity from the middle-aged man.

The man’s hair and eye color reminded him of the girl he had fought recently, making him feel a little unpleasant.

Fenrir called out the man’s name in a curt voice.

[Tiwaz. Has your wanderlust flared up again? I don’t know how many hundreds of years it’s been since I’ve seen you.]

The man called Tiwaz stared at Fenrir for a moment before nodding.

“Let’s just say that.”

Fenrir frowned at Tiwaz’s nonchalant reply.

[Hmph. Shouldn’t you be leading your esteemed family now?]

“I didn’t know you were so interested in people’s lives.”

‘An animal-type Jötunn who isn’t interested in human affairs, yet you’ve thought that far ahead.’

Tiwaz frankly admired him as he looked at this ancient being, once quite close to him, with fresh eyes.

[Are you one to talk?]

“I’m human now… probably. You know roughly what happened to prevent Ragnarok, don’t you?”

[You abandoned your divinity? It was laughable. That such a thing could change the future of the end.]

Fenrir rose to his feet.

One of the shrubs was trampled and crushed under his massive forepaw.

Crackle.

[Not everyone agreed with that decision.]

“Yes. There were gods who opposed it. And so, they died.”

_Thwack!_

A massive forepaw scraped the ground right in front of Tiwaz.

Fenrir’s eyes were burning red.

“It was your father who started the fight first. That guy literally threw his life away and rampaged. Causing all sorts of disasters.”

He was about to trigger Ragnarok on the spot. That’s why he died.

‘…But, is he really dead?’

He still remembered the moment Loki, pierced by Baldr’s mistletoe, vanished.

Loki, who had not given up his divinity until the very end.

With his death, all divinity scattered, and the fate of the bound world was freed.

But an unknown anxiety still lingered in Tiwaz’s heart.

[….]

Fenrir was silent for a long time.

The giant wolf sat down, exhaling roughly through his nostrils.

[…So. What brings you here?]

“I’m investigating the anomalies in Niflheim and Helheim that occurred a dozen years ago.”

[You’ve lived like a human for hundreds of years, have you gone senile? If it’s something like that, you should go find Hel, that girl.]

Fenrir’s territory, the island of Lyngvi, was on the border between Midgard and Asgard.

How could he investigate the anomalies of the lower world from here?

“Your sister Hel was not cooperative with me. So, I’ve been tracking the traces of ‘a certain wraith’ in my own way.”

About a dozen years ago.

A mysterious wraith that escaped from Helheim as if it had been waiting for its chance, and overturned Niflheim.

It was also suspected that the unprecedentedly massive outbreak of demonic beasts that occurred at the same time was due to that wraith.

The existence of a wraith that shook the lower world with unpredictable power and then disappeared.

Tiwaz’s independent pursuit, belatedly realizing this, began in that way.

That was also the reason why he had taken a second wife to take care of his family, and why he had left his beloved family behind to wander.

That was also the reason why the Einherjar Knights regularly went on expeditions to Ginnungagap.

‘It’s all because of that wraith.’

[Wraith…]

Fenrir trailed off as he rose to his feet at the mention of tracking traces.

[I know nothing about it.]

“…A wicked spirit that has degenerated into a wraith is distinctly different from the being it was in life. A Jötunn of your caliber wouldn’t be possessed by a mere wraith.”

Fenrir’s shadow fell over Tiwaz as he rose to his feet.

It was impossible to read the thoughts of the wolf with the gleaming yellow eyes.

[It seems like you’ve completely wasted your time, Tiwaz. No… Tyr. This conversation ends here.]

“To bring up a name I abandoned a long time ago. You must be quite displeased.”

[We may have been able to have a peaceful conversation thousands of years ago. But we’re not on such terms anymore.]

Tiwaz raised his right arm, hidden by his robe, and scratched his head.

His right arm was an elaborate prosthetic made of silver.

[Go back now, unless you want to lose your left arm too.]

“Why bring up such an old story… Do you really think you’re capable of that with your current strength? Your power isn’t what it used to be… and it seems like you’ve been quite depleted recently?”

Tiwaz’s eyes narrowed as he discerned the damage accumulated in Fenrir.

Fenrir began to growl.

[As if I wasn’t already in a foul mood after being hit by a girl who looks like you.]

“What…? What do you mean-”

[I know you’re not the type to leave just because I tell you to, so I’m leaving.]

“Hey! Fenrir! Stop for a moment! What was that just now-”

Whoosh-!

Despite being weakened, Fenrir vanished in an instant with his tremendous instantaneous acceleration.

Tiwaz, who had extended his silver prosthetic arm into the air, remained frozen for a while, mulling over Fenrir’s words.

*

Clap!

Reginleif clapped her hands and smiled.

Her voice, which gathered the attention of the students in the class, was a little more excited than usual.

“Is everyone diligently studying?”

Hardly any positive answers were heard.

Regardless, Reginleif continued.

“This is the first time you’re experiencing it since entering the academy, but… the time for extracurricular activities has come!”

“…Extracurricular?”

Elsie tilted her head at Reginleif’s seemingly happy appearance.

“What exactly do you do during extracurricular activities?”

Reginleif raised a finger at someone’s question.

“You go outside the academy to broaden your horizons… and leisurely enjoy a break! Educationally, of course!”

Cheers erupted from here and there at Reginleif’s explanation.

She emphasized that it was educational until the end as she continued.

“Hehe, judging by the reactions, it seems like almost no one read the annual schedule that was distributed at the beginning of the semester?”

Reginleif laughed, covering her mouth with her hand.

“It may be sudden for those people, but the extracurricular activities are next week! The destination is completely outside of Glitnir… and we’re going to Nóatún!”

The destination of the extracurricular activities, Nóatún.

Most of the students began to cheer.

‘So… should I think of it as a school trip?’

Elsie, having roughly grasped the situation, looked around with a slightly bewildered expression.

What exactly is Nóatún that everyone is so happy about?

She hasn’t even grasped the geography of Glitnir yet, and now they’re going outside the city.

Elsie was overcome with a creeping sense of unease.

“Elsie, it’s Nóatún!”

Thrud shook Elsie’s shoulder.

Elsie, showing a reluctant expression, simply blinked her wide eyes and stared at Thrud.

“What, what kind of place is it…?”

Elsie’s trembling voice. Thrud, quickly realizing that she was a little scared by the unexpected schedule, spoke in a gentle voice.

“Nóatún is a very pretty city with a view of the sea! It’s also famous as a tourist destination, so everyone is so excited.”

A waterfront and a wide beach. An endless sea.

The beautiful city of Nóatún was a place that anyone who led the latest trends in Glitnir dreamed of visiting at least once.

“Tourist city… sea… leisurely rest…”

Elsie blinked and quietly muttered, imagining the blue sea.

A rest by the sea, she thought it might not be so bad.

“Elsie! When you think of the sea, what comes to mind?”

Elsie wiggled her fingers at Thrud’s question.

“The sea?”

“Yeah. A transparent sea and beach!”

Elsie hesitated on how to answer at Thrud’s excited appearance with sparkling eyes.

‘The sea and the beach…’

“Um…”

While Elsie was pondering, Doyun, who seemed to have heard Thrud’s question as well, was staring at her with wide eyes.

‘Why is he like that…’

Elsie tapped her cheek with her finger, and a suitable image began to come to mind.

“When you think of the sea and the beach, it’s definitely…”

“Definitely?”

The gazes of the students who had somehow gathered nearby were also focused on her.

Elsie, shrinking under their wide-eyed gazes, hesitated before opening her mouth.

“Sub…”

“Sub?”

“Submarine combat.”

No matter how much she thought about it, submarine combat was the only thing that came to mind.

‘Surface warfare is good too… but submarine combat also seems fun.’

Everyone was at a loss for words at Elsie’s appearance as she clenched her fist and answered.

Doyun looked somewhat disappointed, and Thrud stared at Elsie with wide eyes and a dumbfounded expression.

The other students’ expressions were not much different, so Elsie panicked and rolled her eyes.

‘Is that not it…?’

“Then… su, surface warfare…?”

Elsie, choosing a different answer in a barely audible voice, glanced around.

The sight of them snickering one by one didn’t seem so bad.

“Elsie, this won’t do…”

Thrud, quietly muttering Elsie’s name, hugged her.

Elsie panicked and floundered.

Thrud’s breath tickled her ear as if she was about to whisper something.

“We’re going shopping, so be prepared…”

“Eek…”

Elsie shuddered, recalling the hellish memories of the past.

Why? Elsie’s mind was filled with questions.

She sent a pleading look to Doyun, but he simply nodded.