Chapter 23: ○○○○ Monster (5)

Escaping from the auditorium itself was surprisingly simple.

Though the number of operatives wasn’t exactly small, it was still unreasonable for them to monitor every student and faculty member of the academy.

Moreover, their occupation of the academy wasn’t a meticulously planned crime to begin with— just a hastily thrown-together act of violence.

Rone and I easily slipped out of the auditorium through the bathroom window at the back.

Thud

As I brushed the dust off my pants after climbing out, I asked her a question.

“By the way, Miss Rone, even back with Scar, why are you so eager to get involved in these kinds of things?”

It was the same when dealing with Scar.

There was no reason for her to be so fixated on taking down delinquent circles.

If anything, you could say the bullies were the ones who had it coming.

Both with Scar and now this incident, her overly proactive attitude went far beyond that of an ordinary student.

At my words, Rone turned her head slightly, as if embarrassed, and answered in a small voice.

“W-well… because it’s the right thing to do.”

“‘For justice,’ huh… I never expected that answer. That’s really admirable. Ah—I’m not being sarcastic, I mean it.”

I genuinely praised her, lifting her up in my words.

At her age, my head had been filled with nothing but pointless thoughts.

Even in this life— before the endless loop horror— I acted like I was some kind of protagonist. 

Compared to her upright character, I could only feel ashamed.

Elaine was like that too, and so was Rone. 

Becoming a teacher has made me realize how much I have to learn from my students.

“…No, it’s not that big of a deal.”

But despite my words, Rone only seemed more embarrassed, turning her head away.

We didn’t have time to stand around chatting forever.

Now that we’d escaped the auditorium, there was no telling when they’d notice we were gone.

We had to act quickly.

“First, let me ask—do you have a plan?”

“First, we grab one of the operatives we run into, find out where Mucia is, then storm the place and finish things quickly.”

“…Let’s start by making a plan first.”

.

.

.

“…So what happened then?”

“The events that followed could be called long if you consider them long, or short if you consider them short.”

Rone and I systematically took down the members of Claw’s organization who had occupied the academy.

Rone wanted to charge forward openly and crush them all in one go, but of course, I couldn’t possibly allow such reckless and foolish actions. 

Our basic strategy was to identify the weaknesses of the organization’s members, exploit them, and gradually dismantle their cohesion.

Unexpectedly, Rone, despite being able to take down delinquents even when surrounded, seemed unable to activate her Gift for stealthy actions— making one basic mistake after another, the kind even I wouldn’t make.

But each time, with my support, we somehow managed to scrape through the situation.

And so, while avoiding drawing too much attention, we incapacitated the organization’s members one by one until only Claw’s boss, Mucia, remained. 

Rone and he faced off in a duel on the academy’s rooftop, where no one could see them.

Clearly, Rone possessed the Gift of “executing justice,” granting her power beyond that of an ordinary student— but the same was true for Mucia, the leader of Claw.

He, too, had a powerful physical-enhancement-type Gift that was no less formidable than Rone’s.

If they had the same type of Gift, the only remaining factor was the difference in pure physical ability.

And in that regard, Rone, with her petite frame— smaller than even the average female student— was at a disadvantage.

On top of that, whether due to exhaustion from fighting all day, Rone’s movements were uncharacteristically sloppy.

Still, she fought desperately, but the situation gradually turned against her.

Thud!

Yet, the moment Mucia tried to deliver the final blow to Rone—

At that exact moment, a surprise attack I had launched while unable to intervene in their fight struck Mucia squarely in the head.

The impact disrupted his posture for an instant, leaving him vulnerable—

And Rone seized that opening, turning the tide of battle in her favor.

In the end, Rone succeeded in defeating Mucia, the leader of Claw who had attacked the academy, and saved the occupied school.

However, the mastermind behind it all, Mucia, disappeared after falling from the academy building’s rooftop during their final confrontation.

Seeing Mucia fall from the rooftop, Rone and I rushed to the spot where he had landed— but there was no trace of his body, nor any bloodstains.

In the end, neither Rone nor I could uncover the true reason behind Mucia’s attack on the academy or his true identity.

The only clue left was the last words he spoke before falling:

“Don’t think this is the end. We haven’t given up on the academy yet. We’ll meet again soon.”

It felt like an ominous hint— that this incident was far from over.

…

…

…

.

.

.

“…This is the full story of what happened yesterday while I spent the whole day with Rone retaking the academy from the criminals who had occupied it. It was like something out of a shonen manga.”

“A shonen manga?”

“Yeah, that kind of thing.”

At my last remark, Elaine tilted her head as if she found it hard to understand, but aside from that, she seemed to grasp most of it.

She’s fairly sharp, after all.

The day after Rone and I— well, mostly Rone— saved the academy from Claw and achieved something heroic.

By now, whenever something unusual happened, it had become almost routine for me to discreetly exchange information with Elaine, avoiding prying eyes.

“Anyway, did you confirm whether that organization, Claw, attacked the academy because of the Rumor? Or did you fail to confirm it since you ultimately let Mucia get away?”

“No need to worry about that. Even though we did let Mucia escape, we observed him closely enough beforehand.”

I mean, Rone and I pulled off such a heroic feat yesterday, and all she says is ‘anyway’…

But I could understand Elaine’s reaction.

What really mattered was the connection to the Rumor.

And yesterday, while Rone was fighting Mucia, I had the chance to observe him more closely.

“But in the end, there was no information linking him to the Rumor. It seems he really attacked the academy of his own will, not because of the Rumor.”

“…Then what on earth was he after at the academy?”

“Who knows. But that’s not important right now.”

It was possible that there were others— individuals or organizations— who knew about the Outer God sealed beneath the academy.

In fact, it wouldn’t be surprising at all.

“The most important thing right now is that, whether he’s connected to the Rumor or not, this incident has finally been resolved.”

All that’s left is for Rone and me to be treated as the heroes who saved the academy.

Who would’ve thought that the fantasy I used to daydream about in middle school—  becoming the hero who saves the school from terrorists— would actually come true now that I’m a teacher?

It’s embarrassing, but not a bad story.

Beyond just feeling good, the reputation of being the academy’s savior will be a solid asset for my future activities here.

“Hehe. So? Jealous of Allen-sensei, the hero of this academy?”

“Not even a little.”

“Well, I should get going now. There’s a commemorative event scheduled to recognize our achievement in saving the academy. The main attraction can’t be absent, after all.”

“Ah. Yeah. Yeah. Go ahead.”

At my words, Elaine waved her hand dismissively with a smug, indifferent expression.

And then—

The academy was attacked again.

“Kuhaha! You’ve driven me this far, but this last desperate struggle will be your end! In truth, the criminal organization Claw was merely a subordinate group of the Anti-Human Liberation Front, Hand! From now on, Everlight Academy will be under the control of Hand!”

“Hand?! The international terrorist organization?!”

“I’ve heard rumors that even the communist revolution in the Renia Kingdom was secretly orchestrated by Hand…!”

And leading the terrorists who had stormed the academy was none other than Mucia Leoforte— again.

“Exactly! You’re well-informed. The communist revolution in the Renia Kingdom was just one of countless incidents manipulated by Hand. Not only that, but the criminal organization Claw was merely one of the many tools prepared by Hand to spread chaos across the world…”

Mucia, having brought his underlings with him, was busy delivering some grand speech to the crowd.

But I ignored his words, immediately grabbing Elaine’s hand and rushing toward a locked room on the fifth floor.

Elaine, while being dragged along by me as we ran to the fifth floor, asked with a bewildered expression.

“Don’t tell me that the criminal organization, Claw, and the terrorist group Hand were actually connected… What on earth could be hidden beneath the academy that….”

“No. That’s wrong. This is an urban legend.”

This was already the third attack on the academy.

By the time the same method is used three times, even a fool would catch on.

“An urban legend? Did you figure something out?”

“Those people were never a criminal organization like Claw or an international terrorist group like Hand to begin with. At this point, I’m not even sure if such organizations ever existed in the first place.”

“Did you observe something that revealed the truth?”

“Yeah. I observed it clearly.”

I explained to Elaine the contents of the status window I had seen.

[Mucia Leoforte]

[Classification: Human / Male / Criminal]

[Gift: Swift Feet]

[Characteristics: Leader of the international terrorist group Hand. He is a villain who stops at nothing to plunge the world into chaos. To sow global discord, he led the criminal organization Claw and manipulated the communist revolution in the Kingdom of Renia from behind the scenes, among countless other atrocities.]

“…At first glance, nothing seems particularly strange about this, does it? The fact that he led Claw and instigated the communist revolution in the Kingdom of Renia matches what he himself claimed.”

“It’s not that nothing seems strange at first glance—there’s genuinely nothing strange about it. There’s no hint of an urban legend, nor any contradictions with what others have said or what he himself has claimed.”

“Then why do you say it’s caused by an urban legend…?”

“The fact that there’s nothing strange is what’s strange! Because I was the one who stopped the communist revolution in the Kingdom of Renia!”

Among my many nicknames, “Friend of the People” was earned when I nonviolently quelled the communist revolution in the Kingdom of Renia, mediating negotiations between the nobility and the citizens.

“I know better than anyone that there was no such organization like Hand pulling the strings behind the communist revolution in the Kingdom of Renia.”

“How can you be so sure? Isn’t it possible that there was an unseen mastermind you weren’t aware of?”

“That’s impossible. Absolutely.”

I swallowed the words I couldn’t bring myself to confess to Elaine.

Because that communist revolution—

Was a staged act of my own making, designed to solidify the standing of Allen & Company.