Chapter 379

“What do you mean ‘what’? Are you deaf?”

“W-Who are you? Who are you?! Are you the president’s secret twin sister?”

Armin was so flustered that he even brought up the possibility of a secret twin sister.

It would have been a comedic turn of events if it were true, but of course, it wasn’t.

*Tick-tock.*

The clock struck 1:10.

And at that moment,

“Ah, never mind. Go ahead. Go to the restroom.”

Elaine’s attitude changed abruptly.

Her voice even trembled slightly.

It seemed like she was nervous after acting so out of character.

And Armin noticed.

“W-Wait a minute. No, wait!”

His expression stiffened.

His facade of a model student crumbled.

“…What did you do?”

“W-What are you talking about?”

“What did you do?!”

*BOOM!*

A chilling aura washed over Elaine.

It was Armin.

It had happened in the blink of an eye.

But almost simultaneously,

*Crash!*

The closet door burst open, and a figure shot out like lightning.

Max, who had been holding his breath and observing the situation from inside the closet, had sensed something was wrong and immediately jumped out.

– Instantaneous Slash.

*Whoosh!*

His blade scraped against the scabbard.

The concentrated frictional force was released,

Like a flash of light.

The fastest sword draw in the Baker swordsmanship style.

It was just fast enough to intercept Armin’s attack.

*BOOM!*

Max’s blade clashed against Armin’s aura.

It had all happened in an instant.

“Kyaa!”

Elaine screamed a moment later.

Max grabbed her and quickly retreated.

“What are you doing? It’s over for you, you sneaky spy!”

Max shouted, glaring at Armin.

“Ugh, you’re calling me sneaky? You’re the one who’s cheating on your fiancée with every woman you meet!”

Armin retorted, glaring back.

“W-What are you talking about?! I-It’s a misunderstanding! A complete misunderstanding! E-Elaine, it’s a misunderstanding, so…”

Armin had accurately targeted Max’s weakness, leaving him speechless.

…As expected of the second-in-command of an evil organization.

“Pfft, you’re still trying to manage your image at a time like this? Are you targeting the president now? Well, she’s quite a catch. Beautiful, capable, and kind.”

Armin taunted, enjoying his victory.

“M-Max isn’t like that!”

Elaine shouted before Max could even react.

She looked furious.

Armin clicked his tongue.

“You’re so naive… “

“It’s true that Max has a lot of women, but he’s not just some horny animal! He’s sincere!”

“Pfft?!”

“Cough, cough, cough, cough!”

Both Armin and Max were shocked by Elaine’s words.

It was even more shocking because it had come from the mouth of the model student council president.

“S-Snap out of it, President! Don’t fall for that scumbag’s tricks!”

Armin sounded like he was giving his older sister a heartfelt advice, warning her about a playboy.

It was a bizarre sight.

…Max felt like he was the bad guy.

He quickly interjected, “S-Stop it, you bastard! Your cover’s been blown. What are you doing here?!”

“Oops!”

“…”

“Ugh, I won’t forget this humiliation!”

*BAM!*

He kicked the door open and ran out, leaving a villainous warning.

“There he is!”

“Catch him!”

“Don’t let him escape!”

Shouts rang out from outside.

The Saint’s men had successfully surrounded the building.

Max wiped the sweat off his forehead.

“Are you alright, Elai… Cough!”

He was about to ask Elaine if she was alright when he realized that he was still holding her tightly. He tried to let go in a panic.

But she grabbed his hand.

“Huh?!”

*Thump-thump.*

They could hear each other’s hearts pounding.

Max’s face flushed.

Elaine’s face was also red.

“Y-Yes, I’m fine.”

“A-Ah, that’s good.”

“…Don’t worry about what he said.”

“O-Okay.”

“I know what kind of person you are, Max.”

“T-Thank you.”

Elaine was surprisingly calm, while Max was the one who was flustered.

It seemed like she had become more honest with her feelings after her outburst earlier.

“Shall we go?”

“Huh?”

“It’s not over yet. We have to do what we can.”

“A-Ah, right.”

Max finally snapped out of it.

Luring Armin into a trap wasn’t the end.

They had to finish the job, whether it was capturing him or killing him.

Max had been planning to join the chase from the start.

He had just been too shocked to react.

“But Elaine, you don’t have to…”

“No, it’s fine. I’ll come with you. We don’t know what might happen.”

“…Alright.”

He nodded, seeing the determination in her eyes.

And so, they left the room together.

* * *

“Damn it.”

Armin cursed.

The encirclement was airtight.

(TLN: sigh… social media ruined my brain)

He had never imagined this would happen.

Why?

Because his true identity couldn’t have been exposed.

It was a secret that only a handful of people in the organization knew.

Outsiders couldn’t possibly know.

And yet, his identity had been exposed?

It was impossible.

Unless someone had leaked it.

But there was no one who could have…

Wait!

Leaked?

His eyes widened.

He suddenly realized something.

‘Could it be… that woman?!’

There was one person who had been bothering him.

Riviera, the Blood Witch.

She was an eccentric girl whose thoughts were impossible to decipher.

But one thing was certain.

She had feelings for that womanizing bastard, Max.

Otherwise, she wouldn’t have been clinging to him and acting all lovey-dovey.

It wasn’t in her nature.

*Grit*

“Ugh, that woman…!”

He was certain now.

Riviera had told Max about his true identity.

The Heavenly Lord had been wrong.

He shouldn’t have trusted her.

And he had even given her the mission to eliminate Max?

It was absurd.

And that might have been what triggered her betrayal.

“Damn it!”

She was dead meat.

He would make her pay for this.

“He’s this way!”

“Block all exits!”

Another encirclement appeared before him.

They were closing in on him from all sides.

He realized how meticulously planned this trap was.

Could he break through this alone?

His face contorted in frustration.

A man appeared before him.

He had a sharp look and an extraordinary aura.

Armin recognized him.

Esron, the principal’s, or rather, the Saint’s, confidant.

He was one of the Guardian Knights, although Armin didn’t know which one.

He was a formidable opponent.

“It’s over, Red Rain spy.”

Esron said in a dry voice, placing his hand on the hilt of his sword.

He was surrounded by soldiers who appeared to be Holy Knights.

Armin could have broken through them if they had been alone, but the presence of a Guardian Knight was a problem.

He was confident that he could defeat a Guardian Knight in a one-on-one fight, but this wasn’t the situation for that.

‘Tsk.’

And the other exits were probably blocked as well.

They must have stationed strong fighters everywhere.

“Choose. Surrender, or die resisting.”

Esron gave him a final choice.

But both options were unacceptable.

Armin’s face contorted in a struggle.

It wasn’t because of the choices Esron had given him.

It was because of his trump card.

Red Rain is everywhere.

It was the Heavenly Lord’s favorite saying.

And it wasn’t an exaggeration.

There were Red Rain agents hidden everywhere, even here in the academy, in the Holy Church, and throughout the Holy City.

If he used them, it wouldn’t be impossible to escape this crisis.

The problem was,

That it would expose all the agents who had been secretly planted in the enemy’s territory.

It meant that the foundation he had meticulously built in the Holy City, a foundation that allowed him to gather information and carry out covert operations, would be destroyed.

That’s why he was hesitating.

But in the end…

‘I can’t die yet.’

He chose to prioritize his own survival.

He couldn’t die until he had taken revenge on the Saint with his own hands.

He took a deep breath.

And then,

“I, Armin, the Hero, the second-in-command of the great Red Rain, command you! All agents, rescue me now! Now!”

He roared, his voice echoing through the air.

Esron frowned.

“What trickery…”

It was then that,

*Stab! Stab!*

“Ugh?!”

“Argh?!”

Screams rang out from the Holy Knights who had been forming a tight wall.

They had been attacked.

By their own comrades.

It was an unbelievable sight.

“Ugh?! Even among the Holy Knights?!”

Esron’s eyes widened in shock.

He realized that the enemy’s agents weren’t just limited to the academy.

“Red Rain is everywhere!”

Armin shouted triumphantly and charged towards the wall of Holy Knights.

But the wall had already crumbled.

They couldn’t stop him.

“Damn it!”

Esron’s face contorted in anger.

Armin broke through the wall and escaped.

Esron shouted a moment later.

But it wasn’t a shout of pursuit.

It was too late for that.

“Kill all the traitors! Don’t hesitate! They’re no longer your comrades! They’re enemies! Kill them!”

The chaos started to subside.

But it was too late.

The same thing was happening all over the encirclement.

* * *

“Max, this is…”

“…They’ve drawn their swords openly.”

My face hardened.

I hadn’t expected this.

I hadn’t thought he would sacrifice all his agents just to save himself.

And,

I hadn’t known that Red Rain had infiltrated the Holy City to this extent.

They were a more terrifying organization than I had imagined.

But,

“He made a mistake.”

My eyes gleamed.

An exposed spy was no longer a spy.

They were just enemies.

Identified enemies.

If we could eliminate them all now…

It might be an even bigger achievement than capturing Armin.

No, it definitely would be.

But I hadn’t given up on catching both rabbits.

“Elaine.”

“Yes?”

“Can you cast a flight spell on us? I want to see what’s happening from above.”

I wanted to track Armin’s movements from a high vantage point.

“Ah, yes.”

She understood and immediately started chanting a spell.

And a moment later,

We started to rise into the air.