Ch.193The Enraged NPC Women. (3)

*Clap, clap, clap.*

“All the first-grade elementary students did well.”

A middle-aged woman with blood-red hair is clapping her hands alone and smiling benevolently toward the children who have descended from the mountain.

“H-Headmaster?”

“…Huh?”

Completely exhausted and looking like she might fall asleep at any moment, Ira was already being carried on Ray’s back, and Grace was similarly being carried down on another teaching assistant’s back. All the students either tilted their heads in confusion or whispered among themselves at the headmaster’s words as she smiled kindly at them. She clapped her hands a bit louder to gather everyone’s attention.

“Class A’s top entrant, Grace Mueller.”

“Y-Yes!”

Suddenly hearing her name called, she tried to get down from the teaching assistant’s back, but the headmaster stopped her with a gesture and continued speaking.

“With the outstanding insight befitting the top student, you immediately noticed the bonus test, and also showed excellent leadership by safely guiding your group and boosting the morale of the elementary students. Well done.”

“Eh… what? W-where were you watching from…?”

“And, Latina from Class A.”

“Yes, yes!”

“Despite originally aiming for the research department and having weak physical skills, the growth you showed in shield techniques while climbing was very impressive. I hope you continue to show progress in various areas.”

“Ha! Yes!!”

“Rock Bell from Class F.”

“Hup…! Y-Yes, ma’am!!”

“You were nearly last in the practical evaluation among the entrants, yet to think you would improve your skills this much in just one week. Keep up the good work, and if you raise your written evaluation scores just a bit, something good might happen.”

“C-Could it be…?!”

“Heh. And lastly, Ira from Class A.”

“Yaaawn… nom nom.”

“Miss Ira?”

“…Huh?”

“Hehe. You fought hard at the front for everyone until you collapsed from exhaustion. You accurately directed elementary students in raid formation tactics that you haven’t even learned yet, and finally, you defeated a monster meant for high school graduation exams that was released by ‘mistake.’ You are undoubtedly the ‘number one’ in this test.”

“…Eh, ehehe. I’m number one… yaaawn… big brother… I’m number one… nom…”

“Fufu… You seem tired so I’ll keep this brief, but I will make sure to properly compensate you later for this mistake.”

The headmaster continued to call about twenty more students by name, offering words of praise and evaluation.

“I’m sure everyone is very tired, so I’ll cut this short, but all of you who passed the ‘bonus’ will receive one merit point each. And from the 10th to 2nd place groups, I’ll award two merit points.”

“N-No way. Then the first place group…?”

“The first place group will receive three merit points, and I will grant them any magic book they desire from the library, or materials needed for research, or a textbook. For students whose names I didn’t call here, I will personally write my evaluation and deliver it within this week, so don’t be disappointed. Now, everyone should rest and recover for today. Those who are injured should go to the infirmary. I’ve prepared high priests and potions. That is all.”

After finishing her speech, the headmaster teleported away as if nothing had happened. And then…

“Oh…”

“”””WAAAAAHHHHH!!!””””

The teaching assistants and guides who had rushed up the mountain to protect the children and fought to keep them safe were all taken aback as the exhausted and dazed children began to shout with joy.

“D-Did you hear?! She called my name!! The Headmaster!! The Headmaster remembered my name!!!”

“SIIIIIICK!! It really was a bonus?!! Grace!!! Thanks to you, she called my naaaame!!!”

“M-Mooom… I, I. The Headmaster!! Huaaang!! Headmasteeeer! Uwaaaaang!!! I, I might get into Class A!”

“W-What place did our group get?! Not all of our group members’ names were called, right?! We must be at least in the top 10, right?!! We made it into the top 10, right?!!”

“O-One merit point… M-My goodness. My goal was to get one merit point during my first year of elementary school…!!”

“Our group must be in the top 10!! None of our members got injured, right?!!”

“I thought I’d be held back because I’m in Class F. Me, getting merit points? Is this a dream? Did I die from a monster attack?”

“Graaah~~!! At least I avoided failing!! Thank you, top student!!!”

“T-To receive an evaluation directly from the Headmaster. I-If I improve based on that, I can surely reach higher…!!”

Everyone was shouting as if they hadn’t just been fighting with all their might to the point of exhaustion. Even the children who had been injured or fainted were shedding tears of joy after hearing the headmaster’s words.

Naty Academy. The largest “Land of Knowledge” in the Eight Continents.

Naturally, all the children who come here have a stronger desire to learn than others and equally high aspirations.

For such children, being called by name and directly evaluated and praised by the headmaster—the highest authority in the academy and equivalent to the ruler of the city or a king—was a joy that made their two hours of hardship seem like nothing.

And in the midst of this…

“Everyone, listen up!!!”

*Pa-pa-pang!!*

“?!!!”

“Who is the greatest contributor who made it possible for all of us to pass the bonus test and receive merit points?!”

An incredibly sharp voice.

When a tremendous number of monsters suddenly attacked, when they were crying out in surrender, the same piercing voice that had sharply scolded them was now pointing at them and asking a question.

Who made this joy possible? Who helped them reach this point?

*Rustle rustle*

Simultaneously, the heads of over a hundred children turned, and amusingly, the sound of their clothes rustling merged into a loud noise. The blonde female warrior who found herself at the receiving end of all those stares flinched.

“Nyaa… big brother…”

“M-Miss Ira? Um, are you sleeping now? Huh? You shouldn’t sleep… um, are you asleep? Uh, uhhh—…”

The red-haired girl sleeping on the back of the blonde female adventurer.

The girl who accurately directed raid formations unknown to elementary students, who blocked a high school graduation-level monster that even the headmaster admitted was a “mistake,” who defeated it for her friend—seeing her, all the students quietly raised the corners of their mouths.

“Shh!”

“”””Shhh.””””

The top student’s greatest contributor.

The girl who helped them endure the fierce battle, who helped ensure everyone’s “survival,” now collapsed from exhaustion and sleeping. The children suppressed their joy, lowered their voices, and repeated her name.

“””Ira (Miss). Thank you.”””

The red-haired girl who had been rumored to be violent—the first-grade elementary students’ hearts were momentarily united in the thought that tomorrow, they would approach her and ask to be friends.

*

“Damn it. It’s not just pricking my conscience; it feels like my heart is about to jump out through my mouth.”

“……”

“This kind of deception of children… That idiot Rotolks said he did well, but it really makes me reflect on myself for entrusting such things to him, and it’s unbearably disgusting.”

The headmaster feels an enormous sense of guilt for hiding the truth of this incident from the children and resolving the matter by giving them merit points and small rewards.

Damn it, all of this…!!

“I’m sorr—”

“Shut up before I tear your mouth apart.”

“Hik!!”

“……”

“…So, where are the professors?”

“…I explained to those who came up. I didn’t show them this one and the collapsed people, and told them that you had already confirmed it, that I went down and explained.”

“Haa. Damn it. Explain everything. Why you acted recklessly in my territory, your objective. Who ordered you, who you contracted with. What the original plan was, don’t leave anything out!!”

*Kuuuung!!!*

Looking at the pink-haired high-ranking demon bound by magic before her, the headmaster emanated sharp killing intent and tremendous magical power as if she would tear the other apart at any moment, and the high-ranking demon began to speak while sweating profusely.

“M-My name is Lili and I’m a h-high-ranking demon of lust and…”

“Do I need to know who you are or what kind of fucking bitch you are?”

“N-No. No! Y-You don’t need to know!”

“Then don’t talk about useless things and get to the point right now!!!”

*Crash!!!*

“Eek?!!”

As the ground around the magically bound demon collapsed under the pressure of the headmaster’s magical power, the high-ranking demon began to speak rapidly with tears in her eyes.

“T-The contract was made by the now-dead high-ranking demon of pride! S-Since he’s dead?! The contract ended in failure! The contractor was a high-ranking person from the Empire!! C-Certainly… Re, Rea…? Re…”

“The Chancellor.”

“Yes!! That’s it!! T-The Chancellor made the contract, and the content was to kidnap the blue-haired wo—”

*Tang!!!*

“Kyaa?!! I-It was to kidnap the woman with blue hair and red eyes!!”

“Ragni?”

“Yes!!!”

“The reason.”

“T-The reason…!!! W-Well!!!”

“Trying to hide it? Should I start by cutting off one of your fingers? No. You don’t need your eyeballs to speak, do you?”

“A-Augh!! T-That!! Our representative who m-made the contract was that high-ranking demon of pride?! S-So I didn’t hear about it?!! I-I’m really not hiding anything, I just don’t know!! I-I’m sorry…!!!”

“Ragni, do you know anything?”

“……”

Ragni thinks. The reason, she doesn’t know why they would use demons to try to take her, but she does know why she was the target.

She hadn’t planned on talking about this. And in her contract with Jack, she had sworn never to reveal it.

“…I’m a member of the imperial family.”

“Holy shit.”

At the time, her oath with Jack was ‘not to reveal that I am a princess.’ In other words, as long as I don’t say with my own mouth, ‘I am Princess Ragni Bluemoon Ottoman,’ I’m not breaking the oath.

Jack probably didn’t know about this loophole.

Hearing my words, the headmaster grabbed her forehead as if she had a headache, and after a moment, she sighed and spoke.

“…What was the original plan? What were you trying to do while kidnapping Ragni?”

“P-Pride would cut off the space to isolate this mountain. Kidnap the woman, and A-Anger would rampage and kill the children…? *gulp*… I-I would put mind control on the monsters to make them go berserk… and k-kill the children and hum—”

*Boom!!!*

“Kyaaaah?!!!”

The temple of the demon who was speaking explodes, causing her pink hair to flow with dark red blood.

The magical power and killing intent spread throughout the space becomes indescribably viscous, pressing down on the demon, and invisible formless spirit magic begins to repeatedly explode the demon’s body, avoiding her core.

The demon’s terrible screams continue for several seconds, before the seconds could turn into minutes.

“…The Empire, and. Ragni.”

“…Yes.”

“Explain everything.”

“…That’s impossible.”

“Why?”

“My necklace. This is [Collar of Subjugation]. Because of my oath with Jack, I can’t tell you everything.”

“‘Ragni Bluemoon Ottoman.’ That’s your real name, isn’t it?”

“……”

“I see. I can roughly guess the content of the oath. I’ve never seen your face, and there’s almost no known personal information. There are no portraits either. To think that a human who ‘is called a princess despite being an imperial family member’ would be right beside me—even I couldn’t have imagined it.”

“…I’m sorry.”

*Crunch!!*

At Ragni’s answer, a warm metallic taste sticks thickly in the headmaster’s mouth. However.

“Tell me everything you can. For the rest, just nod or shake your head if you can answer my questions. That’s possible, right?”

“…Yes.”

The headmaster’s eyes, which had highly regarded and looked favorably upon Ragni until just a day ago, are now more clouded than ever.

Feelings of betrayal about her. And yet, the desire to still believe in her actions until now.

The headmaster, unable to compose her tumultuous feelings, forcibly tried to gather herself by asking Ragni various questions.

“…Demon.”

“Kuhuk, kuhuk…”

“Answer.”

“H-Hek, yes…”

She turned emotionless eyes toward the demon whose exploded body parts were only now almost recovered, and opened her mouth.

“What were you supposed to receive for completing the contract? What was the goal of you demons?!”

“…T-The Empire… territory. Blood and souls equivalent to half of it…”

The demon’s voice didn’t continue to the end, instead turning once more into screams.

Unlike before, these screams continued for more than a minute.