Ch.276276 – An Unpleasant Smile

<276 – An Unpleasant Smile>

I wasn’t surprised.

NPCs acting on their own wasn’t anything new.

But this was a bit much even so.

“Why is Leaf trying to kill April and Zaku?”

“…Young miss. I apologize for showing you such an unseemly sight after not seeing you for so long. However.”

“That’s enough excuses.”

As I stepped past the two and stood blocking the way, Leaf’s pupils trembled violently.

“You mustn’t do this. The Foundation’s orders are absolute. There are no orders that go unfulfilled.”

“Then today will be the first exception! I said I wanted to see Leaf and Jona, not that I wanted Leaf to fight with April.”

“The Foundation dispatched me, an assassin maid. If I fail to carry out my orders, they’ll send someone even more dangerous than me next time.”

“That’s fine.”

I had confidence in my abilities, but there was something else giving me confidence too.

“Because I’m Papa’s daughter!”

The chairman of the Foundation.

The head of this cycle’s powerful secret organization that rivals the Academy.

“Young miss, you don’t understand how dangerous that person is.”

“No. I understand perfectly well.”

Until now, I’ve been ignoring it completely.

Because it wasn’t time for that event yet.

But the final exams are right around the corner.

Summer vacation starts the week after finals end.

I can’t keep turning a blind eye forever like it’s someone else’s problem.

So I thought about it.

Which NPC from the cycles I know corresponds to the chairman?

Although <Surviving Academy Life with Luck> has both fixed and variable elements, the villains who appear as main characters have stronger fixed elements the more central they are.

Even if organization names change, faces and appearances differ, or perhaps even genders change.

There are three worst villains that remain unchanged.

Just as there are chapter bosses inside the Academy, these act as season bosses with a broader scope than the chapter bosses who change the external environment.

The Revolutionary of the Holy Central Empire.

The Agent of All Gods.

The Head of the Organization.

All three are the root causes that accelerate or directly trigger regional events on a national scale.

The influence of the Wiheomhae Foundation is comparable to these three great evils that affect the entire continent.

Papa, the chairman of the Foundation, must certainly be one of these three: the Revolutionary, the Agent of All Gods, or the Head of the Organization!

‘Normally, having an antagonistic relationship with a season boss would be natural, but this cycle is special.’

Without the power of these three great evils who wreak havoc on a global scale, the Wiheomhae Foundation’s influence in this world would be incomprehensible.

Currently, due to lack of information, it could be any of the three.

But the three great evils have something in common.

‘A great villain is one who sticks to their beliefs!’

They’re not garbage who throw away promises, have no principles, and lack any self-restraint that could be called their own line they won’t cross, making you think “This is a season boss?”

“Leaf treats me too much like a child. I have the power to choose a maid’s life as I please~!”

“…You’ve changed a lot since I last saw you, young miss. I’m not sure if this should be called growth.”

“Though I haven’t grown taller at all!”

Still, asserting myself confidently to Leaf isn’t difficult.

“Both of you, follow me. I won’t tolerate you having a cat fight out of my sight. Those cute tails are precious and should be taken care of!”

“…The Foundation people’s obsession with tails is truly baffling.”

April followed awkwardly, closing her legs and moving stiffly.

“What are you doing? Aren’t you coming?”

“…Is it okay for me to come too?”

“Of course it’s natural for related parties to come along. Both Zaku and Primer.”

With a thud, someone fell from the tree.

It was Primer, who had fallen on his behind in surprise at being discovered.

“I don’t have to help you up, do I?”

“I-I can go! I can go on my own feet!!”

The place I took everyone to was the communications room.

Naturally, I called the Wiheomhae Foundation.

“This is the Chief of Staff of the Wiheomhae Foundation Chairman. Please state your business.”

“Hello! This is Oknodie, Papa’s daughter, calling again. It’s troublesome when you order the disposal of my maid without my permission, you know?”

“…I’ll say this only once. Whatever you’re thinking, dispose of the maid. That is certainly the path where you, Miss Oknodie, will suffer the least loss.”

What?

The Chief of Staff talking back?

“Never mind that, just let me talk to Papa!”

“I have clearly warned you.”

The Chief of Staff hung up with a heavy sigh.

* * *

The Wiheomhae Foundation Chairman’s office.

The Chairman’s hand, which had been scanning the northern demon-occupied territories on the world map visible through the window, stopped around the blackened, scorched land.

The area was small.

At least five times smaller than he had expected.

“The assassination of the traitor who infiltrated the demon realm ended in failure, I see.”

“This information hasn’t been detected by the Academy yet. Our scholarship student Magdonardo, who committed the act, has only received minor penalties as it was judged to be a simple training accident.”

“Well, this alone is beneficial. There are creatures in this world as tenacious as cockroaches, after all.”

When he switched the map settings, temperature readings from across the continent appeared.

The extremely high temperatures centered around forested areas indicated the proliferation of plant-type monsters like flame flowers or flame vines.

It was evidence that the spirits, thoroughly angered by high-level fire magic that had leaked into the spirit realm from the Academy, had not been properly appeased.

At least once a month.

The worldwide chaos delivered directly from the Academy like a monthly event was no longer even a joke.

“Shall we hire water and ice mages to protect our hideouts, facilities, and supplies?”

“It’s a trap.”

A kind and benevolent smile formed on the Chairman’s face.

The smile of this handsome man with both youth and insight might have seemed charming even to other men, but the Chief of Staff felt a chill as if a knife had been plunged into his heart just by looking at it.

The Chairman’s smile was never a good thing.

Even considering the fact that he was always smiling, it was all the more so.

Because he was always a dangerous person.

“It’s an attempt to identify those who possess the intelligence network capable of holding and viewing the continental map in their hands. The Dragon Principal’s cunning is truly something to be acknowledged. Huhuh. Though an enemy, he’s quite an interesting opponent.”

“…I apologize for my shortsightedness. Your insight is always admirable, Chairman.”

“As my Chief of Staff, what strategy would you devise based on my advice?”

This was a test.

Evidence that the Chairman, who enjoyed playing with and mocking people’s hearts, had made him a toy.

If he failed to meet expectations, the toy would be treated harshly.

A toy without affection could be grabbed by the arm and shaken roughly, and if the arm came off, it could be haphazardly reattached and played with until replaced with a new toy.

Every thought, every word had to be careful.

“…I would leak this information to the <Revolutionary> of the Empire.”

The Chairman nodded slightly, suggesting it wasn’t a wrong answer.

Gaining confidence, the Chief of Staff continued.

“The Revolutionary, as one of the three great evils, knows that our main enemies are not only the Empire and the gods but also the Academy. They won’t openly favor ice mages. But they will actively use this information as a catalyst for revolution.”

“For example?”

“They will instead favor fire mages. At this time when the fire demon’s energy is strengthening across the continent, fire mages are at their peak power. Good for destruction rather than salvation.”

“Wouldn’t it be better to sell the information to the Agent of All Gods, who is obsessed with destruction?”

“Not necessarily. The Revolutionary also needs funds for the revolution. They will sell the information we leak to the Agent of All Gods. The Agent would boldly use water and ice mages without concern for the Academy’s reaction.”

The Chairman turned around.

“The Chief of Staff is an excellent model student. As always, you don’t miss the model answer.”

Not bad.

But it meant that once again, he had failed to satisfy the Chairman, making the Chief of Staff feel diminished.

Could any idea in this world truly satisfy that demonic man’s heart?

“…I forgot to mention. There was a call from Oknodie at the Academy.”

Perhaps in this atmosphere, he might be less angry.

With a small hope, the Chief of Staff relayed what he had heard from Oknodie.

“Children are greedy. They try not to let go of anything placed in their hands. I don’t think such childlike innocence is bad.”

“…”

What wind had blown to make this man say such pleasant, heartwarming things?

It wasn’t with good intentions.

The Chief of Staff was certain of this internally.

His suspicion was soon confirmed.

“Give permission.”

“…!”

“Don’t you want to see? When a child holding handfuls of candy has too much to protect with their own hands, which ones will they throw away first.”

The Chairman spoke with his usual smile.

“Tell her. That after next week, when the final exams end, I plan to give special gifts to the children and maids who visit the Foundation during summer vacation. Tell her to bring all her friends, preferably without missing a single one. Huhuhuh.”

It was truly an unpleasant smile.