54. Enrollment of Fury

54. Enrollment of Fury

Due to the recent dungeon incident, the atmosphere at the academy was quite chaotic. The combat-focused students who had a dungeon practical scheduled were particularly affected by the incident.

The lecture I was supposed to attend didn’t seem to be any different, as I had received a telegram that today’s lecture was canceled. With nothing to do, I was wandering around the academy.

“My tail feels a little empty today….”

The more days off, the better. My tail was wagging happily from side to side.

However, perhaps because Priscilla and Claire, who were always hanging on to me, were not here, my tail felt unusually light. It should have felt a bit heavier.

“Hmm.”

Priscilla was visiting her sister, and Claire was there as a witness to the incident. As a result, my body, which was always being touched, was empty, and being alone for so long made me feel lonely.

Perhaps because the warmth of people had disappeared, it felt even colder. I wrapped my scarf tighter and thought.

“My body feels a bit… stiff.”

I had already gotten used to the feeling of my body being heavy, so when the weight was gone, it felt awkward. My body had preheated its power, but there was nowhere to use it.

If I stayed like this, it was clear that I would repeat what happened a few weeks ago and break down the classroom door. I groaned and considered a solution.

“Ah.”

That’s right, if I have too much power, why not just use it up?

This was the perfect solution. This is why people need to study. I praised myself in my mind for studying so hard at the academy and, without hesitation, drew my sword.

Feeling the cold air where I could see my breath, I looked around and found a stone wall that seemed perfect for breaking. This was also an asset of the Empire, but what else was the power of the ducal family for if not this?

Yes, nothing terrible would happen if one stone wall disappeared.

I let out a ‘kudeuk kudeuk’ sound and powerfully released my compressed muscles forward.

Ching-

The sound of cutting, which was always pleasant to hear.

Kwaang!

The sound of an explosion followed.

Kwa—-ang!

… one more.

The area was thick with smoke, as if a building had just been demolished. I stood still and waited for the wind to clear the smoke.

As time passed, my vision began to clear. Beyond the stone wall that had disappeared without a trace, I could see a straight hole carved into the distance.

And right next to it, two female students lay collapsed.

“H-Heeek….”

I was worried that they might have been caught in my sword strike, so I approached them with a concerned heart. Of course, I didn’t forget to smile brightly so that they wouldn’t be scared of my status.

“S-Sorry for badmouthing you secretly…! P-Please, just spare our lives….”

Suddenly, the female students changed their posture and bowed their heads. I tilted my head and asked.

“Badmouthing?”

“T-That is….”

“What badmouthing?”

I fiddled with my sword, as was my habit, and asked them. The female students squeezed their eyes shut, then, after a moment, spoke with difficulty.

“The, the Grand Duchess… is a crazy homosexual… and a violent villainess….”

“Is that so?”

“Yes, yes….”

I looked at them and let out a humming sound. The female students flinched at the sound and bowed their heads to the ground as if they were going to burrow into it.

A homosexual, huh. Since I still had a male psyche, there was some room for calling me a homosexual. But violent? A villainess?

“Hmm.”

“Heeek….”

I swear on heaven, I have never done anything that would be called violent or villainous. So why was such badmouthing going around?

“Ah, I see.”

So that’s why. I pondered for a moment, then, having a realization, I turned my head back to them.

“Girls.”

“Yes, yes…?”

“You were fooled by rumors, weren’t you?”

“Yes…?”

That’s how word-of-mouth rumors are. They are easily inflated, and before you know it, lies are added. It’s not so strange to be fooled by rumors that have swelled up like a snowball.

“Rumors are all like that, aren’t they? There are a lot of lies and a lot of exaggeration. Right?”

“Yes, yes….”

“Exactly.”

Even when I was in the North, bad rumors would sometimes circulate about Freya. Of course, thanks to Freya’s advice that one should not blindly believe rumors, I was able to dismiss all those lies.

“Getting fooled by something like that, I don’t think that’s a mistake. Malicious rumors are created to deceive people in the first place, aren’t they?”

“Yes….”

“So you two didn’t do anything wrong. A person can be fooled once in a while.”

I approached them and helped them up, saying this. Then—

Rip!

“Eek….”

One of the female students’ clothes was cut in half and fluttered to the floor. The student was startled and covered her body.

It seemed that the effect of my sword strike had only just manifested.

“Don’t be so flustered.”

I said this to calm the flustered student. More than that, I needed to check if she was hurt by the sword strike. The fact that her clothes were cut meant there could be an injury on her body as well.

“Take your hands away.”

“Yes, yes?!”

I forcibly moved the hands and arms of the female student who was trying to cover her body. This revealed the upper and lower body underwear she was wearing.

“Heeek?!”

I reached out and felt her skin. I pressed down on her belly to see if her internal organs were damaged and kneaded her chest to find any unseen wounds.

“Heuk-gyat…!”

After first confirming that the student’s skin was fine, I put my hands on top of her underwear and kneaded it this way and that to check the parts that were covered.

A soft feeling. The other female student blushed and covered her eyes. This was medical activity, so there was no need to be embarrassed.

“Heug-geuk, e-heuk….”

“Bear with it.”

Perhaps terrified by the sword strike, the female student shed a few tears. I whispered in her ear to reassure her.

“Heup…!”

The female student squeezed her lips shut as if terrified, her body trembling as she held back her tears. After kneading her body a few more times and confirming that she was fine, I let her go and said.

“You can go now.”

“Yes, ye-es…. Heuk, e-heuk….”

“Ah.”

I didn’t forget to give them a final message.

“Don’t be fooled by rumors like that in the future. Understood? And of course, don’t spread rumors.”

“Yes, yes…! Yes….”

The female students bowed and hurriedly ran away. I waved to them.

“…Should I have at least paid for their clothes?”

Since the female student had run away without even picking up her clothes, her neatly cut-in-half clothes were still lying on the floor.

It looked like it could be mended and used again.

…However, after a second thought, I realized that since they were all nobles, they probably wouldn’t have a hard time covering the cost of the school uniform. I threw the uniform into a trash can for a clean street environment.

——————

“The results come out a day later?!”

At the academy’s admissions office. A girl with black wolf ears was pointing her finger at an secretary. The secretary was sweating and replied.

“Yes… grading takes time—”

“Don’t you know who I am? Do it right now!!”

“T-That is not within my authority….”

Freya clenched her fist and trembled, then let go of the secretary. She couldn’t cause a violent incident now, as she hadn’t yet established her power base.

There was nothing more foolish than having her evil deeds discovered by her sister due to such a trivial mistake. She couldn’t let the big picture she had been drawing for 19 years go to waste.

Freya walked out of the academy’s admissions office and gritted her teeth, muttering.

“There’s not much time left, there wasn’t much time left…!”

She could have enjoyed a happy life with her sister in just a few years. If she had just gone a little further past this gate, she could have met her sister.

This and that kept getting in the way. Freya’s bloodshot eyes turned to the gate blocking her from her sister.

Due to the nature of the academy, where important figures of the empire gathered, the entry of outsiders was strictly controlled. That’s why she was also unable to enter.

“…Anyway, my acceptance is a foregone conclusion, isn’t it? Who’s going to say anything if I go in a day early?”

Just don’t get caught, don’t get caught.

Freya pulled out her staff and cast an invisibility spell on herself. Transparent with shimmering light, Freya walked to a secluded part of the academy’s outer wall and began to climb it.

The wall was so high that she had to crane her neck to see the top. But for a talented magician like Freya, a wall like this was nothing. Freya gently extended a green mana from her staff and embedded it into the wall.

As tree branches gradually grew from the wall and intertwined to form a foothold, Freya smiled, seeing the hopeful future where she would soon meet her sister, and began to climb the wall.

“Intruder on the eastern outer wall!”

“Kyaaaak?!”

Freya’s hope was shattered when someone who had emerged from the shadows covered her.