Chapter 28

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“Strange.”

Angelica spat out the cigarette she’d chewed to shreds, then took a new one from her inner pocket and held it in her mouth, narrowing her brow.

The bus had stopped ten minutes ago. All the students had already gotten off, and they’d been waiting for several minutes, but the guide was nowhere to be seen.

Usually, the academy’s teacher would contact the guide right before arriving. The guide would then meet the students at the entrance and lead them in. But something seemed wrong this time. Sitting in the back, I hadn’t heard much, but I caught a faint murmur of Angelica grumbling about not getting a response.

What’s going on? Was this part of the storyline?

It didn’t seem like it. Or maybe it was?

I didn’t remember every detail of “The Dawn of the Sword”, after all. It was just one of many novels I’d read. I liked it, sure, but not to the point of memorizing every line and scene. I clearly remembered the major plot events, but the rest were hazy, like a foggy memory.

Besides, this practical training session was right at the very beginning of “The Dawn of the Sword”.

It wouldn’t be strange if I remembered it wrong.

“For now, you all stay here. Just wait for a bit. Si-ul, keep the students from wandering off.”

“Uh, Senior? Where are you going?”

“There’s no contact, no guide, and even the guards who should be stationed at the entrance are missing. I need to check what’s going on.”

Angelica must have decided that waiting here was a waste of time. She told the assistant teacher as much as she could before turning away.

But she stopped after only a few steps. Someone had grabbed her.

“Arin?”

“Wait, teacher… just a moment.”

Arin held onto Angelica’s sleeve, her face pale and a faint sheen of sweat on her forehead.

“I don’t think you should go. My supernatural ability… it’s been giving me ‘warnings’ for a while now.”

“…Explain.”

Arin’s supernatural ability was Danger Sense.

It was a form of future prediction, though only limited to detecting ‘threats.’ If she felt danger, it wasn’t a mistake or overreaction. It was a genuine warning of an approaching crisis.

“At first, I thought I was just nervous about the field training… because of the upcoming fight with the monsters. I thought I was just overly sensitive… but no. This isn’t just that. This is ‘too dangerous’ for simple training.”

“…Understood.”

Angelica didn’t ignore Arin’s warning. Even if she was still young, Arin was a supernatural who could sense danger, so it was only natural to heed her warning.

Angelica patted Arin’s pale shoulder a few times, then raised her voice.

“Everyone, get back on the bus. We’re leaving.”

The students, murmuring among themselves, followed their teacher’s instructions without hesitation. They all knew about Arin’s ability; after all, she was the class president.

I was a bit confused but moved as well. This was strange. It was no longer just a misunderstanding or illusion. It wasn’t something I could just chalk up to vague memories.

This wasn’t part of the story.

The field training episode didn’t go like this. The real problem only arose well into the practical exercise.

Up until now, Arin’s danger sense hadn’t sent any warnings.

What’s going on? This isn’t how it’s supposed to be…?

Could it be that I, becoming Lucia, changed the future?

No, that’s unlikely.

I have changed the future, but only in terms of relationships. I became close to Alice earlier than in the story. That was it.

I hadn’t caused any drastic changes that would lead to a major incident in the field training. I was certain of that.

“Hm?”

Everyone was boarding the bus calmly without rushing. Angelica was the last to get on, counted the students but then made a puzzled look.

Following her gaze, I looked toward the front seat. There was someone who had seemingly boarded the bus along with Angelica. A girl? She had jet-black hair like obsidian and wore a red fox mask covering her face. Huh?

“Are you just going to leave? You came here for field training, didn’t you?”

“…Who are you?”

“It would be a shame to go back empty-handed after coming all this way, right? Don’t worry. I’ll help you out.”

I couldn’t see her face, but I could tell.

That girl was smiling right now.

“Teacher…!”

Arin’s urgent voice was cut short.

The girl lightly tapped Angelica’s chest with her parasol.

It was a delicate movement, like a child poking a caterpillar on a branch, as if just playing around. But the scene that unfolded next was anything but light.

Bang!

Angelica was flung backward.

She went spinning out through the bus window, shattering the glass.

But the girl didn’t care in the slightest. She turned her head and looked at the students on the bus, speaking in a sweet, almost honeyed voice.

“Now, students. It’s your field training. If there’s a monster right in front of you, what should you do?”

The response was a sword.

Class A’s assistant teacher, Si-ul, moved swiftly, thrusting her blade toward the girl’s neck with precision.

While the students were still in shock from the sudden turn of events, she handled the situation quickly, as expected of an academy teacher.

However—

“Hm? You’re not a student, are you?”

The girl’s parasol shifted gracefully, deflecting the sword to the side. Then, with a pale hand, she grasped Si-ul’s face.

She threw her out as if discarding trash, flinging her out through the side of the bus with enough force to break the wall.

She had subdued two teachers in an instant.

While Si-ul was one thing, Angelica was one of the academy’s top-ranked warriors. She wasn’t someone who would go down easily.

And yet… she’d been taken out so effortlessly.

“What are you doing? I asked you, what should you do when a monster is right in front of you? No answers?”

No one… not a single person dared to speak.

The aura radiating from the girl engulfed the interior of the bus.

…Why?

What was this? What was going on?

I couldn’t understand. What’s happening?

Why was she here already?

‘…Astaroth.’

One of the most powerful characters in “The Dawn of the Sword”.

Even among the creatures from the otherworld, there were levels of hierarchy.

The lowest level was the beasts.

Most creatures from the otherworld fell into this category.

Among beasts, there were lower, middle, and upper ranks, and each entity had extreme variations in power and ability.

There were weak, mindless beasts, but there were also beasts with intelligence and power rivaling humans. High-level beasts were monsters that could give veteran supernaturals a hard time.

Then there were beings above beasts—monstrosities.

True calamities, incomparable to even high-level beasts.

In three centuries of warfare, they had only appeared six times, embodiments of pure destruction.

And… above even monstrosities.

The transcendent beings who held unrivaled power in “The Dawn of the Sword”.

They had never appeared in the past, only emerging for the first time in the story after a significant portion had progressed.

Devils.

Astaroth was one of these devils.

Although she was positioned as a mid-level boss, Astaroth’s raw power ranked among the top even within “The Dawn of the Sword”.

She wasn’t supposed to appear this early.

Her first appearance should have been in the story’s mid-phase.

The boss character who was supposed to debut at the end of winter, near the end of the first year, suddenly appeared at the story’s beginning.

“Huh? You’re really not going to answer? Really? And here I am asking so nicely.”

A slight irritation crept into Astaroth’s voice.

Maybe she should tone down that intense aura if she wanted an answer. There was no way the students could withstand a devil’s pressure.

It was terrifying. A scream of fear almost escaped my throat.

If even I felt terrified, how much worse must it be for the other students?

My shoulders shook uncontrollably. My heart pounded so fast that my face felt hot and my chest hurt.

…If it weren’t for this situation, it wouldn’t be such a bad feeling.

Astaroth tilted her head, resting her parasol on her shoulder.

Although the mask hid her face, I could sense she was scanning the students.

Likely to pick someone to kill at random.

No, that can’t happen.

It’s still the beginning of the story. I can’t let the students die here.

“The Dawn of the Sword” was not a gentle story. Students died. Many trials and tribulations awaited the protagonist.

But not now, and certainly not in such a senseless death. To be slaughtered by a boss character who appeared out of nowhere, skipping over proper order—no, that’s not right.

“…Fight.”

“Hm?”

“A hero protects people from monsters. So… we have to fight.”

Like a student answering a teacher’s question, I raised my hand and stood up.

I’d never been more grateful for Lucia’s personality. It allowed me to interpret this overwhelming pressure in a different way.

“L-Lu-Lu…cia…”

A trembling hand gripped my sleeve. I didn’t need to look back to know who it was.

Alice’s voice shook more than usual. I gently removed her hand from my sleeve and took a step forward.

Honestly… I have no idea what I’m supposed to do.

A devil—Astaroth. What am I supposed to do?

Don’t underestimate her just because she’s a mid-level boss. She’s insanely powerful. Even an awakened Eugene only barely managed to defeat her by exploiting her weaknesses…

Right, Eugene.

I glanced at Eugene.

He was gripping the hilt of his sword, glaring at Astaroth. Although he hadn’t drawn it, aware of the difference in their strength, he looked ready to attack at any moment.

At the very least, I have to protect him.

I need to draw Astaroth’s attention so he doesn’t foolishly jump in and end up dead.

“Haha, correct. That’s your role, isn’t it? Isn’t that right?”

Astaroth nodded, seemingly pleased.

Then she slowly began to walk forward.

With each click of her heels, she approached, opened her parasol, and reached inside.

“A good child who answers deserves a gift. Here, take it.”

Reflexively, I took what Astaroth handed me.

It was round and had a surprising weight. Solid, with a soft texture… Oh, dear god.

“Picked it up on my way here. Do you like it?”

Handing over a severed human head without a hint of hesitation, Astaroth smiled.

I stared at her, at a loss for words. I might be interested in having my own head severed someday, but I’m not really interested in someone else’s…

Ah, I think I get it.

If I say I like it, she’ll probably decide to cut off my head next. That’s just her style.

I thought it over. If I refuse, she might hit me in disappointment, but she’ll probably hold back her strength… I think.

But if I say I like it, she’ll go, “Oh, I’ll make you like that too!” and chop off my head without mercy. I’m sure of it.

I assessed the situation around me.

And thought of what I needed to do now.

Yes, I’ve made up my mind.

I opened my mouth.

“I like it.”

“Great! Then I’ll make you like that too!”

Swoosh.

Astaroth swung her parasol.

My vision spun.

Round and round. The bus is spinning!

Oh, it’s my head that’s spinning.

Getting my head cut off in public…

Ah… I can’t resist this feeling~♡

 

Author Note

Roll. Roll.

Lucia’s head is rolling on the ground.

Translator Note

We are getting into the main ride of what makes an academy story, an academy story, heh.