Chapter 24: Debt

The reason the academy is easily breached is entirely the fault of Academy Head Savina.

If she hadn’t neglected the defenses normally, this wouldn’t have happened!

“……”

Well… that was half a joke, but seriously, the Academy Head has many reasons to feel wronged about this incident.

First, her barrier is exceptionally powerful.

Its defensive capabilities are outstanding, and its ability to detect what has passed through the barrier is also excellent.

However, even that versatile barrier had a vulnerable point…

That was, if an intruder’s level was low, they could pass through the barrier without issue.

While it might seem like a fatal flaw, its impact was surprisingly not significant.

Savina only guarded against beings who had reached transcendence.

To her, other intruders were merely insects.

Therefore, the barrier she designed was specialized in dealing with high-level beings or those imbued with strong power.

Savina’s confidence remained firm even through minor incidents because she had always successfully fended off transcendent beings.

Unfortunately, a recent unpleasant incident had put her in a difficult position, but the academy’s barrier was still intact.

Since it was an intricate barrier Savina had meticulously created, normally, even if an intruder completely hid their aura, it would have easily caught them…

Unfortunately, this time the opponent was not ideal.

The Myers family’s heirloom has a long history.

For beings who have reached transcendence or objects imbued with an aura close to it, history is power…

The dagger’s abilities, present since its initial creation, had been enhanced alongside the history of the Myers family.

As a result, the heirloom’s power to ‘conceal one’s presence’ became strong enough to deceive Savina’s barrier, leading to an unforeseen incident.

“Ugh, h-huh…”

Moreover, the barrier had been shattered recently, causing Savina significant damage and leading to physical exhaustion from repairing it for a long time…

With multiple misfortunes compounding, she eventually fell into Kal Myers’ trap and ended up sealed.

‘I’ll have to compensate her someday, won’t I?’

I carefully supported Savina’s falling body.

“Oh, Academy Head? What are you doing here?”

“……?!”

Perhaps due to my sudden appearance, I felt a slight tremor in the part of her body I touched.

I pretended not to notice and lifted Savina into my arms.

– *Shatter!*

With a cracking sound audible only to me, the pitch-black space began to crack.

Simultaneously, the black void, where nothing was visible, split open, and the world reappeared.

“Ugh, huff, huff…”

Leaning against me, Savina gasped for breath.

Her condition didn’t seem fully stable yet, but if I let her rest for a bit, she would recover quickly.

By the way, those Myers guys are truly malicious…

It’s a good thing the seal was shoddy; what if they threw someone whose senses were restricted into a space filled with demonic energy?

If Savina hadn’t been a transcendent being, she would have collapsed on her own, relying solely on her mental strength in a space where nothing was visible.

“Wh-who are you…?”

Once she had calmed down somewhat, she asked me in a trembling voice.

“I am a student taught by the Academy Head.”

I vaguely mumbled that and then immediately set her down.

I didn’t want to waste time as there were still a few things left to do.

“W-wait a moment…”

Just as I was about to leave, Savina gripped my collar tightly.

I was going to ignore her and continue on my way, but a sudden thought made me stop.

‘Hmm, it would be more gentlemanly to have her sit, wouldn’t it?’

I led her to a nearby park bench.

“Please rest here for a moment.”

Savina sat down, following my guidance with a dazed expression.

She looked up at me with a face full of questions, but since her vision hadn’t returned yet, I didn’t have to worry about my identity being revealed.

“Tha… nk you.”

“No need for thanks, Academy Head. Well, I’m busy, so I’ll be going now.”

“Uh, uh? Wait…!”

As I was truly about to leave, Savina grabbed my arm again.

There was no real reason to wait for her, but her somewhat desperate appearance was pitiful, so I reluctantly stopped again and listened to her words.

“What’s your… name…? I’ll definitely remember it…”

“……”

‘That’s an awkward question.’

First, I should give a vague but impressive answer so I don’t get caught later.

“You may call me whatever you wish.”

“…? Wh-what do you mean…?”

“Because my name isn’t very important.”

Savina, her curiosity unsatisfied, tried to grab me again, but this time I dodged her hand and leaped onto a building.

She, still unable to see, seemed to be searching for me while seated, but I had no intention of being caught again.

Because now I truly had to move.

Perception.

[Monsters within the barrier lose their sense of smell.]

Cognition.

[Demonic energy within the barrier does not mix with the world.]

For the safety of the students, I’ll just set these for now.

If I had my way, I’d blind all the monsters, but since many of them have jumbled appearances, it’s better to mess with their sense of smell instead.

Moreover, if I messed with their vision as well, it might strain my stamina…

And the reason I tampered with the demonic energy a bit… they’ll find out soon enough.

First, let’s go find the Holy Maiden.

****

It was a bit later than expected, but nothing much had changed.

Since the third regression, Elisha had always handled things well, so there was no longer a need to rush Arie’s involvement.

In the first regression, when Elisha knew nothing, she didn’t get close to the center of the incident, so I led Arie and Hestia, making them resolve it naturally together.

In the second regression, when Elisha began to move actively, Hestia and Elisha had already set off, so I ended the incident by sending Arie separately at the last minute.

However, from the third regression, perhaps thanks to Elisha’s improved skills, she and Hestia calmly resolved the incident by themselves.

From then on, instead of having Arie join them, I guided her to handle other matters.

This was because I judged it better for her to help the students until Kal Myers fully entered the academy.

Of course, there’s Yulia, a nuisance, so I have to shake her off well…

That’s a very easy task.

“Hehe, what brings you back?”

“……”

“Oh dear, it seems the holy relic you took last time wasn’t to your liking. But unfortunately…”

“Savina and Paeren aren’t coming.”

“……”

“That means stop wasting time with meaningless stalling.”

“Hoo… hoo…”

Arie chuckled softly, as if hiding her bewildered emotions.

Separating her and Yulia is simple.

All I have to do is make Arie come to me on her own.

If I, who stole the holy relic, appeared again, it was obvious she would approach alone, considering Yulia’s safety.

Well, conversely, from Yulia’s perspective, she’d be more concerned about Arie’s safety, as Arie is her escort target…

Arie, rigid, forced a smile.

Her effort to maintain her usual expression was admirable, but the tension hidden within couldn’t deceive my eyes.

She still seemed to fear me.

“…Your acting skills are still the same.”

“Pardon?”

“I’ve told you before, your acting is quite watchable. Unfortunately, it seems you don’t have a talent for hiding your true feelings…”

“……”

For just a moment, Arie’s lips twitched.

She was clearly suppressing her anger without a word.

‘Tsk, did I tease her too much?’

It seemed to have wounded her pride that her true feelings, which she had hidden so well even from Yulia, the closest person to her, were suddenly exposed by someone like me, who appeared out of nowhere.

Did she think she was quite good at hiding them?

Indeed, considering how well she hides them from others, it’s highly possible she actually has a talent for acting.

As for me, I already know Arie is acting, so perhaps that’s why I perceive it as clumsy…

“…Anyway, it would be best not to tell anyone that I was here.”

“Why?”

I didn’t answer her stiff question and simply sealed my lips, indicating that she should figure it out herself.

There’s no grand reason; it’s just obvious that if she gets too involved with me, she’ll unnecessarily draw suspicion.

Perhaps having grasped my intention, Arie quietly nodded and said,

“Hehe, it seems you’re quite shy.”

“……”

“Now that I think about it, my assistant also has a similar tendency…”

– *BOOM!!!*

Just then, a massive roar echoed from afar, and a dazzling pillar of light appeared.

Arie and I simultaneously turned our heads toward it.

“That’s…”

“Probably the Hero.”

Judging by the strong smell of blood, it seems Pascal, overflowing with demonic energy, is rampaging.

While Hestia and Elisha deal with him, I plan to take Arie and destroy the magic circles hidden throughout the academy.

They serve to transmit the spilled blood of people to the core, while also injecting demonic energy into the monsters.

To prevent them from becoming even more violent, I must deal with them beforehand.

“Since we have some time, I’ll show you something interesting.”

“……?”

While Arie was distracted by the pillar of light, I subtly touched the ground with my hand.

– *Crack!*

Then, cracks began to spread around the spot where my hand touched, radiating outwards.

Perhaps thinking it was dangerous, Arie tried to step back, but she stopped when she saw a small magic circle appear.

“Do you know what this is?”

“Hehe…”

“…To explain it briefly, it’s a magic circle that excites monsters. I simply brought out what was hidden here.”

“You said it was hidden… So someone installed it without the Academy Head’s knowledge?”

“Yes. It’s probably related to the monsters that suddenly appeared.”

Perhaps unable to easily believe my story, Arie quietly nodded with a thoughtful expression.

Trust aside, the one bringing this up was the thief who stole her holy relic, after all…

It’s natural for her to be suspicious.

“Why are you telling me this?”

As expected, her response was nothing but cold.

Well, I suppose this part is unavoidable.

My goal, after all, is to move with Arie, not to gain her trust.

So, there’s no particular need to give her the answer she wants.

“I showed it to you because you were nearby.”

But if I had to find a reason…

“And don’t trust Savina too much.”

“Are you trying to sow discord? Hehe, unfortunately, I already know the Academy Head is a good person.”

“More precisely, I mean don’t trust her abilities too much. To you, this incident might just be a rare accident, but from now on, even more chaotic things will happen.”

“Hehe, is that… a terror warning?”

‘No.’

“…I’d prefer you think of it as a warning… If the academy is precious to you, destroy similar magic circles whenever you see them.”

“How would I find something that even deceived the Academy Head?”

“Hmm, that’s true, isn’t it…?”

I pretended to ponder for a moment, then casually threw out to her,

“Follow me.”

“Hehe, what if I don’t want to?”

“In exchange for taking the holy relic, I’ll specially make Savina indebted to you.”

“……Huh?”

“It means that once this is over, you’ll have a chance to claim compensation from a transcendent being.”

Before Arie, who tilted her head with a look of confusion, I quietly smiled.