Ch.295295 – The Mindscape of a Scary Child (Or Not)

<295 – The Mind of a Scary Child (Or Not)>

A professor at the Academy was murdered.

Whether this was an unprecedented incident or not, it was certainly an unusual situation.

It was a serious situation that could potentially trigger a full-scale conflict between the Foundation and the Academy.

The hero felt belated regret.

Should I have just let him live?

“Oknodie…”

“Yes?”

“Y-you’re not planning to kill us too, are you?”

When his head was burning with anger, he thoughtlessly made the professor suffer first, but now that the situation was over, he finally realized it might be his turn to be threatened.

Hearing the hero’s trembling voice, a bright smile bloomed on Oknodie’s face.

“Of course not! The hero has so much to do in the future. You need to diligently kill regional bosses that appear as regional events, kill the Demon Lord, kill the Emperor, and more!”

“What exactly do you think a hero is…”

There was no killing intent from Oknodie.

But what about the butler?

The Foundation’s powerful figure who had just made the greatest contribution to killing the professor turned to look at the hero and saint.

“Ishtar…”

“Relax. He won’t kill us.”

There was no intent to kill.

He realized this fact as soon as their eyes met.

“I have no intention of harming the young lady’s friends. Please rest assured.”

Jona himself said so.

However, his warning was just beginning…

“Just remember one thing. The moment you are no longer recognized as friends by our young lady must never come.”

If that time comes, they might have to face this Jona with their own strength.

This monstrous expert who had defeated an Academy professor-level fighter head-on.

Even though the hero himself had helped, it was a battle where he thought Jona’s skills might have been enough to gain the upper hand without anyone’s intervention.

The world is vast, and there are many strong people.

Not only in rescuing companions, but the hero himself still had a long way to grow.

Natural mana of all attributes gathered, carrying the colorful radiance of aurora over the uninhabited island that had become a mana vacuum due to continuous use of grand magic.

A landscape that would be revered as a natural wonder by ordinary villagers and recognized as the aftermath of a terrifying clash of powers by skilled adventurers.

She would not stop training until such scenery became familiar to her.

With today’s sight engraved in her heart.

“So when does today’s auction start?”

“In 15 minutes.”

“What!? You’re still going to continue the auction after all this?”

For a brief moment, they had witnessed a battle between those far stronger than themselves.

Their minds and bodies were exhausted from the tension and the sense of crisis that they could have died if they had been caught up in it.

It would be natural to want to return to the cruise ship together and rest comfortably, but that Oknodie was smiling as if nothing had happened to him.

‘Scary. That mental fortitude.’

Was it not surprising that a Foundation child would be attacked by an assassin, even if the opponent was an Academy professor?

“Um, there’s something that’s been bothering me that I wanted to ask… Didn’t the auction supervisor say he wouldn’t intervene in any incident that happens to participants during the auction?”

“The current Saint has a good memory. That’s correct.”

“But you just intervened. To protect Oknodie. If the auction supervisor didn’t break the rules, then you could intervene because the auction was over, meaning the auction should be considered already finished, right?”

Hearing her childhood friend’s clever observation, Ishtar belatedly realized Yufi’s intention in claiming the auction was over.

‘Yufi wanted to end this unreasonable auction quickly before our weaknesses came up for auction.’

Jona readily agreed.

“According to the regulations, that’s correct.”

“Phew. Then we just need to wait for the ship to take us back.”

But their opponent was the Foundation.

Jona’s subsequent response was enough to fill Yufi with terror.

“It’s different now. I judged that I failed to provide Participant Oknodie’s <One-time Assassin Detection Service> adequately, so I provided an upgraded <One-time Assassin Repulsion Service>. Therefore, this procedure does not constitute grounds for auction suspension.”

“Assassin Detection Service upgraded to Assassin Repulsion Service…?”

The veins on Yufi’s hand clutching her staff bulged.

Ishtar noticed that her childhood friend’s reaction was an attempt to hide her extreme tension.

It was no different from how she had behaved when facing Professor Layve just moments ago.

Jona’s threat was gone.

But Yufi still felt it.

The same level of fear as when facing Professor Layve.

“Calm down. We can’t help it if the auction continues. Oknodie was just that thorough in her preparations.”

Jona further explained the process of upgrading to the Assassin Repulsion Service.

The level of preparation—noticing the impending attack in advance and setting up defensive measures that even the Foundation’s butler couldn’t detect—was honestly impressive enough to acknowledge despite them being enemies.

“Ishtar… this isn’t just about that.”

Yufi saw something beyond such honest appreciation.

Unlike herself who was straightforward, Yufi had the qualities of a clever advisor, and Ishtar had received her help many times before.

It was largely thanks to Yufi that her often unreasonable plans were always carefully executed.

The initial confrontation with Professor Layve was the same.

Even when Ishtar did something as crazy as turning an Imperial professor into an enemy, Yufi followed without complaint.

She strengthened their defenses and bought time for the Foundation and Oknodie to join.

She also naturally guided the flow of battle so that the professor’s countermeasures would temporarily seal them rather than harm them.

If someone like Yufi was this afraid, there must be a reason.

When Ishtar took a listening posture, Yufi whispered quietly so only she could hear.

“That professor… Oknodie deliberately provoked him.”

“What?”

“The incident that became the first point of conflict between you and Oknodie. The commotion where students were collectively trapped by ice trap magic in the abandoned school building. The person Oknodie provoked by causing that incident was that very professor.”

“!!”

“Oknodie might have been planning from a very long time ago to bring the hero and the Imperial professor to this place and create this situation.”

Goosebumps rose on Ishtar’s hand.

“Even so, that’s going too far.”

Yufi’s words were generally correct.

Knowing this, Ishtar still wanted to deny it because the weight of that statement was too heavy.

But Yufi didn’t take back her words.

She didn’t laugh it off as a feeling.

Rather, she showed even greater fear, saying that now things made sense.

“The Foundation’s butler said that Oknodie already knew about the attack, which is why she purchased the <One-time Assassin Detection Service> that seemed like a malicious item. Saying she knew means she intended to kill him. You saw how advantageous the butler’s abilities were on this uninhabited island.”

“Metal attribute mana puzzle!”

“Oknodie who summoned the professor, the butler who prepared for the repulsion, and Oknodie’s ‘Papa’ who set the stage—they’re all in this together. The Foundation has been planning this big picture since the midterm exams.”

It was vast.

The breadth of vision was on a completely different level from them, who had been struggling just to keep up with the current events.

Not someone who follows the game board, but someone who designs it.

The boldness to prepare and execute their own plans even within the Dragon Principal’s Academy.

Oknodie’s actions and their meaning, carrying out one axis of the Foundation leadership’s brutal plan without anyone noticing until today.

Everything was too vast.

Almost unbelievable as the actions and mindset of a child younger than herself.

‘Scary child.’

She became afraid just imagining what kind of evil schemes the smiling Oknodie might be hiding inside.

“Don’t forget. We’ve been caught up in the Foundation and Oknodie’s plans too. And the fact that we were present when the Imperial professor died.”

“What… does that mean?”

“It means many things. At least what I can understand with my current thinking is… if the Academy learns about today’s events, they’ll consider us potential allies of the Foundation. And the Foundation can use this fact to complicate our position as we try to gain sponsors for the hero’s party.”

Despite such a terrifying scheme unfolding, the auction would continue in just 10 minutes.

An auction where items that might be Ishtar’s or Yufi’s weaknesses could appear.

Their vague anxiety soon materialized in the upcoming auction.

“I will now reveal the sixth item of the uninhabited island auction. Today’s item is <Sponsorship of the Hero’s Party>.”

The difficult future Yufi had predicted became reality in just 10 minutes.