Ch.32Sword Saint – 4

In the internet of my world, there was a legendary quote worthy of being called a classic.

—So what do we do now?

It was a magical phrase that captured versatility, appropriateness, humor, and emotion all at once. With just slight modifications, it could be applied to almost any situation involving users and developers, generating countless parodies due to its infinite potential.

And that was exactly our current situation.

“So what do we do now?”

We had formed a club, but we didn’t really have anything to do.

Originally, Priscilla’s purpose for creating the club was for the two of us—and possibly Rosaria—to preemptively handle events from the original story that could threaten the academy.

But suddenly Brunhild declared she wanted to join because it looked fun, and naturally Aria joined as well. To make matters worse, the Sword Saint who became our advisor even showed a strange interest in me, completely complicating the situation.

“…I don’t know either.”

Priscilla answered honestly. It was a 100% pure, genuine response without a trace of deception. Brunhild, looking slightly dazed at this candid answer, asked again.

“Um… wasn’t there a section for stating the purpose on the club establishment request form? What did you write there?”

The casual speech that had somehow become natural flowed from between her crimson lips.

“Just… social bonding.”

“…Social bonding? They approved the establishment with that reason?”

This time Aria asked with wide eyes. She seemed to have done her research on clubs as well.

Priscilla remained nonchalant.

“Look at the people here. The president is the top student in the second year, and the three members are the first-year valedictorian, the first-year salutatorian, and a hero chosen by the Holy Sword. The advisor is the Sword Saint invited as a special instructor. With this combination wanting to form a club, wouldn’t it be stranger if they didn’t approve it?”

The two who had asked the question nodded simultaneously in understanding. They seemed to know that Bellium Academy gave preferential treatment to students with good grades.

“With the four of us, we could get approval even if we submitted an application saying we just want to openly goof off. I guarantee it. Though we’d have to maintain these grades, of course.”

Coming from Priscilla, who had lived here for centuries, her guarantee felt even more credible. Even Aria and Brunhild, who didn’t know the inside story, seemed completely convinced.

“Y-yes, that’s true.”

“I understand.”

With that, we ran out of things to talk about. We returned to the “so what do we do now?” state, and silence once again filled the club room.

Except for the Sword Saint, who was still staring at me intently.

When most students think of midterms, they think of exams, but it was a bit different for Priscilla and me. We both naturally thought of terrorist attacks before exams.

Like suicidal summoning attacks carried out by idiots who fell completely for a succubus and went mad with lust, or internal conflicts triggered by fools who thought they’d be spared if they sided with the demon race.

Of course, those guys were all betrayed and discarded by the middle of part two, when the war intensified, after being used for their worth.

“This midterm too… mmm… will be… like that…”

“I don’t know how it will differ from the original story, but we need to make plans assuming an attack is coming, right?”

“Mmm… yes, that’s right…”

Priscilla, sitting on my lap facing me and eagerly absorbing my warmth, nodded. She seemed completely at ease in my room.

When I asked how she could come and go here as if it were her own home without ever getting caught, she said she used “Existence Erasure,” a top-tier concealment magic that was an upgraded version of invisibility magic.

It was magic that hadn’t even been officially developed yet at this point in time, let alone commercialized, and she was using it just to sneak into the boys’ dormitory. That was truly remarkable dedication.

“So… mmm… we need to… mmm… prepare in… ahhh… so good…”

“Either sniff or talk, just one at a time. We still have plenty of time.”

“Mmm…”

As if she’d been waiting for those words, Priscilla rubbed her cheek against mine a few times before burying her face in my neck again. Her body trembled against mine as she took deep breaths.

“Mmm… mmm…”

After keeping her face buried in my neck and inhaling for a while, Priscilla lifted her head with an almost intoxicated expression. Her trembling fingers unbuttoned my dress shirt.

The pale skin near her collarbone was revealed first, followed by black lingerie of a design and coverage that would have definitely been cited for indecency if there had been a disciplinary committee here.

With her dress shirt unbuttoned and pulled down to her elbows, Priscilla hugged me tightly.

“Hick… this feels good too…”

Her voice sounded half-entranced. Her arms wrapped firmly around my back, her soft thighs encircled my waist, and her ankles crossed near my tailbone.

I leaned back against the bed, trying to relax my body to avoid showing any reaction in my lower half. She had often done this before, claiming she wanted to feel my warmth, but recently her symptoms had become much worse.

It was partly because she couldn’t have physical contact during the day due to others’ gazes, but I suspected the decisive factor was hearing that I might become a murderous fiend.

‘I hope she finishes before midnight—’

“Mira Crate? Are you in there?”

With a knock, the Sword Saint’s voice came from outside. Both our bodies froze stiff. Priscilla, who had been in the middle of sniffing me, lifted her head and looked at me with anxious puppy-like eyes.

“W-what do we do?”

I’m not sure. It’s not like I have any brilliant ideas either. Why is she even coming here at this late hour?

“You don’t have to open right away. I’ll wait outside, so take your time and resolve whatever you’re doing.”

She probably genuinely meant it was fine, but I wasn’t fine with it. I quickly racked my brain. How could I hide Priscilla?

Existence Erasure magic? No. Priscilla had said it wouldn’t work on warriors above a certain level, so the Sword Saint would definitely detect her. She would clearly sense the flow of mana too.

But if I tried to hide her clumsily, we’d be found out immediately.

‘Wait a minute.’

My eyes fell on the wardrobe. I had a good idea. I lifted Priscilla up and took her to the sofa next to the wardrobe. She obediently sat down as I led her.

I flung open the wardrobe doors and pulled out all the neatly arranged clothes, throwing them onto the sofa. The clothes piled up high on top of Priscilla.

The mountain of clothes that Beatrice had boasted would let me change twice a day without repeating an outfit all semester completely covered Priscilla. No one would imagine there was a person underneath.

“Stay still. Can you do that?”

“…Yes.”

After scattering some of my underwear around the pile of clothes, I finally opened the door. The Sword Saint, who had been swaying her body slightly with her eyes closed as if keeping rhythm, opened her eyes when she heard the sound.

“Have you been well? I’m sorry for coming so late at night.”

“What brings you here?”

“I have something to give you, and also something to discuss. What were you doing to have such an expression?”

“Ah, I was just organizing my clothes.”

“Clothes?”

I moved aside slightly. The Sword Saint looked at the mountain of clothes piled on the sofa and chuckled.

“That must be tough. Good luck.”

“Thank you. Anyway, I’m sorry for opening the door late. The room is in this state, so I wanted to tidy up a bit before letting you in, but I thought that would keep you waiting too long.”

As I spoke, I casually covered some boxer shorts on the floor with my coat. The Sword Saint politely averted her eyes.

“What did you want to discuss?”

“Let me give you this first. Here, take it.”

The Sword Saint pulled out a pendant from her wide sleeve and held it out. I was startled as soon as I received it. In my palm lay a pendant with the emperor’s insignia.

“…What is this?”

“A permit that grants access to the imperial treasury. I received it a while ago but never used it. Ah, it can only be used once, so use it wisely.”

“…”

It was something I’d never heard of before.

“Why would you give me something so valuable…?”

“I tried to kill you all, even if it was a pretense. Shouldn’t I pay a proper price for that? I plan to give one each to Leona, Aria, and your girlfriend too, so don’t worry about accepting it. I still have three more left even after distributing them. I’ve received quite a lot over the years.”

The imperial treasury, huh. I should ask Priscilla or Rosaria what’s inside. If there’s nothing specific to bring back, I could at least grab an elixir as insurance.

“And the thing I wanted to discuss. Do you happen to have any free time?”

“I’m free most of the time. I don’t have much to do. Why do you ask?”

“I wanted to suggest a brief visit to the imperial palace.”

“…Did you say the imperial palace?”

“I want to show you directly why I was so wary of the possibility of you becoming a murderous fiend.”

It was quite an appealing proposal. I was curious too. What exactly was this “murderous fiend” that accumulated karma, that made her emit such chilling killing intent the moment she saw me?

“Alright. When would you like to go?”

“The sooner the better… would tomorrow evening work for you?”

“Yes, that works.”

“Then I’ll come pick you up then.”

The Sword Saint smiled and was about to leave with a “see you tomorrow,” but she came closer and whispered in a small voice.

“I’m sorry for unintentionally interrupting your pleasant time. I’ll continue to keep it a secret, so please tell your girlfriend not to hate me too much.”

“…”

Before I could respond, the Sword Saint gave me a wink and departed. I glumly watched her back as she disappeared down the corridor in just two steps.

Well, as if I could fool the Sword Saint’s senses with just a pile of clothes. I felt embarrassed for making such a fuss trying to hide Priscilla.

“Priscilla? Are you okay?”

After locking the door firmly, I returned and called out to Priscilla as I removed the clothes piled on top of her.

“Mmm… huh?”

Priscilla was hugging one of my shirts, her body twitching with an ecstatic expression on her face.

“I didn’t know such a place existed in the imperial palace.”

“Not many people would know about it. At most, the imperial royal guards and a few organizations.”

The following evening, Wednesday, I was following the Sword Saint down to a basement within the imperial palace. We seemed to have descended about 6-7 floors by my estimation, yet the stairs showed no sign of ending.

“What was this place used for?”

“A torture chamber and prison.”

A torture chamber and prison located beneath the imperial palace. I could roughly picture it in my mind.

After descending deep underground and passing by seemingly endless rows of cells on both sides, we finally stopped in front of a thick iron door located at the very back of the prison area.

“This is it.”

With a slightly troubled expression, the Sword Saint gathered mana at her fingertips and inserted it into the keyhole. The door seemed designed to open in response to mana of a specific form.

Soon after, the door clicked open.

—Grrrr! Kyaaaak!

As soon as the door opened, a beast-like sound came from inside. It was an unpleasant voice that sounded like it was scraping its vocal cords raw. The Sword Saint gave a bitter smile when she saw my expression.

“It’s noticed that humans have arrived. These beings move only on instinct, without any rationality.”

The Sword Saint’s left arm tensed. The door, which must have been several finger-widths thick, began to push inward. Soon the door opened completely, revealing what was inside.

Her thin finger pointed to the opposite wall.

“That would be the murderous fiend I mentioned.”

Inside the door were four layers of iron bars as thick as an adult man’s wrist, and behind those bars, chains were attached to the wall. They were meant to thoroughly restrain someone’s body.

The creature inside, upon seeing us, began to struggle wildly, making strange noises despite being wrapped in chains.

“Kyaaak! Kyaaak! Kueeeeee!”

—Clang! Clang!

The chains securing various parts of its body shook incessantly. The beast-like sounds scraping through human vocal cords and the noise of chains restraining the beast echoed throughout the prison in a disturbing chorus. It was quite an unpleasant noise.

“…”

I carefully observed what the Sword Saint had introduced as a murderous fiend through the iron bars.

The hair, which was probably silver when it was still human, was now matted and dirty, wrapping around the entire body and spreading onto the floor. It was completely naked, having apparently torn off all its clothes, and its skin was filthy with blood and dust.

The eyes occasionally visible through the hair had no focus. There was only the murderous intent and instinct to kill the humans before it.

“Kyaaaaaaak!!!!!!”

“This is a human who couldn’t bear their own karma.”

The Sword Saint slowly caressed the iron bars thicker than her wrist, looking sadly at the being that was closer to a beast than a human.

“This was also my first disciple.”