episode_0061

It instantly cuts off the neck of a man trying to do something.

He spun around, his head flying into the air, and his body, losing its balance, fell backwards in a spray of blood.

Judging by the amount of magical power felt, it seemed clear that this man was the instigator. Something rose from the man’s body, and with a humming vibration, it greedily sucked in the man’s corpse. I reached out and grabbed it as it fell.

It was an object I had encountered several times on my way here. It was a strange object made of metal, unusually heavy for its size, with all four sides being triangular. Each side had a strange pattern engraved on it.

I knew without even thinking about it that this was an important item. I went into the warehouse where the man had come out. I followed the faint afterglow of magical power to the floor of the warehouse. There was nothing there, but my senses were pointing me there.

With one swing of my sword, the floor split. To be exact, the secret door disguised as the floor was cut off. I slowly descended.

It was a place where I was amazed at how well such a deep and proper space was created. It would have taken only a few years to prepare something like this without it being noticed… Could it have been inside the academy much earlier than I thought?

At the end of the path, there were only a few broken tables and chairs, and nothing else. I grabbed a chair and sat down.

“Is it okay to ask here? Yugram. What the heck is this?”

I put the object on the table. Yugram walked over slowly and took out a quill pen and some paper from his bosom. Yugram put the paper down on the table and took the metal in his hand.

Yugram began to mark the object with a quill. It seemed as if he was applying ink to each surface. After marking each surface as if it were a seal, Yugram pressed it onto the paper.

Yugram completed a certain picture by changing the angle here and there. Depending on the surface, there were cases where he took several shots, and cases where he took only one shot.

When I finally saw the finished painting… no, from the moment it began to take shape, I already knew what it was.

The left side of my face started to sting. I had the illusion that the familiar pain was growing stronger again.

The revealed pattern was the symbol of the Four Guardians.

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“After all, it’s a school holiday..”

“Well.. I can’t help it. That mess happened.”

Cosette and Agnes muttered bitterly. On the bulletin board was a handwritten statement from the headmaster, along with a series of statements about recent major events, and concluding that the school would be closed until next year. It wasn’t a difficult decision to understand.

As you walk around the academy grounds, you’ll see that there are quite a few shops that were burned down or in disarray due to the students who were being manipulated by the cult and causing a riot.

There were students from all grades who died or were injured there, so even if it was an academy where it was common for people to die, this was something that couldn’t be easily overlooked.

“And… Princess… That… Rumor, you know.”

“I’m sorry, but I have nothing to say to you.”

“Yeah..”

I felt sorry for Cosette, who was watching closely, but I couldn’t say it out loud.

The rumor Cosette spoke of… was that the riot of the lower-class nobles that had hit the Academy was not due to simple discrimination or repressed emotions, but was the work of the cult of the Devil. The source of the rumor was unknown, but it quickly spread within the Academy.

But from the students’ perspective, it was inevitable. Rather than thinking that their friends, who had been doing well without any major problems, had suddenly gone crazy and were going around lynching people or burning down stores in groups, wouldn’t it be better to think that they had fallen for the tricks of the Sashin cult?

Also, the testimonies of the upper-middle-class noble students who fought directly against the lower-class nobles and survived… that they wielded powers that were difficult to understand by common sense, added fuel to the rumor.

When they heard that someone had just held their palms together and an invisible blade had cut off the other person’s neck, the students, who did not want to easily believe such rumors, could not help but wonder if it was a cult of the dead.

“Honestly, I’m a little surprised that classes will resume next year. Can we really get this mess under control in just half a year?”

Ayla muttered with a sullen face. Certainly, the Academy faculty was probably pretty sure that the Shinigami cult was hiding within the Academy.

After half a year of chaos, classes resume without any problems? It was hard to believe. Mathias, who had been listening quietly, said.

“I understand that you want to take a break, but what will you do then, Princess? Will you continue to stay in the Academy?”

“I’m thinking about that right now…”

Since students wouldn’t be kicked out of the dorms just because they didn’t attend class, they could live a normal life. However, it was natural that if they didn’t attend class, the already boring academy life would become even more boring.

There must have been a lot of damage to the shopping district there, so there must be a lot of stores that can’t do business properly. Thinking about that, it would be extremely foolish to spend time inside the Academy branch.

That’s fine. But what are you going to do then? If you ask, I don’t really have an answer. My only friends are the four people I met at the academy, and I can’t go back to my hometown. Where on earth am I going to spend half a year, what am I going to do?

I looked at Cosette, who was making an awkward expression as she pondered. It seemed like she didn’t have anything to do either.

“Does Cosette have any plans to go home or anything?”

“Hmm… I think that might be a bit difficult… If I were to ask that, wouldn’t it be the same for the princess?”

“What? Right?”

Cosette sighed deeply. Thinking about Cosette’s family background that I had vaguely heard about, it probably wasn’t a very good atmosphere yet. I turned my head to the commoners, Agnes, Ayla, and Mathias.

“I was thinking of stopping by the house anyway. It’s close by..”

“I’m a bit hesitant because the distance is quite far. I was going to stay in the dorms normally or follow the princess if it was okay.”

“It’s annoying.”

In order, these were the answers from Ayla, Mathias, and Agnes. I asked Ayla, pulling the cheek of Agnes, the unfilial daughter who did not consider the feelings of her parents who were anxiously waiting for their cute daughter.

“That Ayla, if… it’s not a lung…”

“Ahahahaha.. What about the lungs. It’s okay. No, not just the princess, but all the people who have nothing better to do, why don’t you follow me? It’s a bit rural, but it’s a fun place to spend time.”

I lightly dodged Agnes’ arm as she counterattacked after releasing Agnes’s sticky ball. When I glanced at it, I saw that Cosette seemed to be quite pleased with it as well.

“Is that okay? I think this is quite a lot of people.”

I could hear Agnes grumbling that she didn’t say she was going, but it was obvious that if I really left her behind, she would be sobbing in her room in the dorm, so it was certain that she would be taken.

Ayla smiled refreshingly and answered as if she didn’t care at all.

“After all the money I’ve received from the princess so far, being treated at home for a few months is nothing special. Rather, I’m more curious about whether the princess or Cosette would be willing to spend time in the countryside.”

“Hey, it’s not just any ordinary countryside, it’s Ayla’s hometown. And you’d be more bored at the academy right now than there?”

I nodded slightly, as it was an undeniable fact. Ayla clapped her hands and said,

“There are 6 people including the healer.. Let’s hire a carriage and go. Since we’re going home, let’s go comfortably.”

“Is that okay? If the carriage gets bigger, it’ll cost quite a bit of money..”

Hearing what I said, Ayla chuckled as if she found it ridiculous.

“Princess, have you forgotten? The enormous amount of compensation you received for that expedition. There’s no way you’ve already used it all up.”

It was only then that I remembered the huge bag of gold coins that the Ayla had received. Well, if they had spent all that money in just a few months while attending the academy, that would have seemed more impressive than their swordsmanship skills.

“Since I earned money thanks to the princess anyway, I can use it to treat her. Don’t worry about money and enjoy your trip comfortably.”

“Aila, then I’ll give it to you too. Since I also received money from the princess.”

As I saw Ayla and Mathias proceeding with their conversation on their own, I could tell that they had become quite close. Now that I think about it, when it comes to traveling… I guess we’ll end up sharing rooms like before, with men and women sharing rooms?

I still haven’t forgotten the cute thing Ayla tried to do to Mathias. Thinking about how I could tease Ayla to my heart’s content with the help of Cosette and Agnes, I’ve already started enjoying the trip before we even set off.

“Okay, then… Tell Ayla when you’re all ready. Let’s move according to Ayla’s schedule.”

I finished the story with my usual expressionless face, trying not to let my smile fade away.