Chapter 71: Labyrinth and Puppet (5)
by fnovelpia
“This doll is still alive?”
I wondered if I’d struck two people with Baldo, or if I should count it as 0.5 each since their mind and body were separate, making it one person in total.
“It’s convenient that pregnant women count as 1.5 people, so it divides easily…”
“Pregnant women? Ian, what on earth are you talking about?”
Lost in the profound mathematical problem of Baldo, I’d inadvertently voiced my thoughts aloud.
The non-Baldo user couldn’t possibly understand my dilemma, so I mumbled vaguely:
“It’s nothing. But… where should we send this now?”
The doll lying on the ground… or should I call it a body since it was still alive?
If it had been a lifeless machine, I wouldn’t have cared how it was treated, but as long as life remained, I felt hesitant to handle it carelessly.
“Since it’s still alive, should we send it to the temple?”
“…Even the temple would struggle to restore such a damaged body. As much as I’d like to give this person peace immediately…”
Ending it out of pity might have meant losing crucial information.
Swallowing hard and steeling herself, Marina spoke with determined eyes:
“It’s regrettable for him, but he’ll need to remain in this state a while longer. That will also be a way to honor him.”
“Yes, then you’ll take charge of this doll… body, Headmaster…”
Two tasks remained: using the name Ganryu as a lead to find information about him, and uncovering who leaked my information.
“I’ll investigate the name Ganryu. First, Ian, did that name ring any bells for you?”
“…I think there was an island by that name among those belonging to the country of Hinomoto.”
“Hinomoto… I see. And the remaining issue is the possibility of a spy within the Academy.”
A barrier covered the entire Academy grounds, blocking detection magic and primitive magic from outside.
Of course, there was a high chance the enemy mage had broken through the barrier if they were more skilled than Marina, but that didn’t rule out the possibility of a spy.
“He didn’t know I use reverse-edged swords. So at least it’s not someone close to me.”
“Your reputation has spread beyond the grounds, so we can’t even narrow down suspects to current students. It’s troublesome.”
“Wait, it’s spread that far?”
Yet no students came to learn Baldo from me. It looked like changing the perception of Baldo would take quite some time.
“Let’s strengthen security for the Academy and surveillance of resident civilians.”
“Alright. By the way, may I investigate this katana? There’s somewhere I’d like to take it.”
“Somewhere you’d like to take it?”
A skilled craftsman like Otar might be able to discern something from this katana.
Marina, who knew about Otar despite being a mage, nodded with an impressed expression.
“He certainly might know something. But Ian, I’m surprised you have connections with someone like that.”
“It’s only natural for the strongest swordsman to have an excellent swordsmith.”
Later, as Marina left the labyrinth, she turned back just before parting:
“For some reason, from what I’ve heard, it seems the enemy’s target is you, Ian. Take extra care of your safety from now on.”
She also offered to assign bodyguards if I wanted, but knowing the level of bodyguards the Academy could hire, I declined.
“They probably won’t attack again on the same day they failed, but still be careful on your way back.”
“Yes, I’ll stop by briefly and then head straight back.”
Leaving the park, I headed directly to Otar’s workshop with the katana Ganryu had been holding.
Hadi, who had helped forge Wolffang, was still there, apparently not having left yet.
“Hmm… I understand the situation. We’ll investigate among ourselves and send a letter if we find anything.”
“An attack on the Academy… Interesting things are happening. I should’ve enrolled if I knew it’d be like this.”
“How is this interesting?!”
Leaving Hadi nursing the bump on her head from Otar, I headed back to the dorm as the sun was setting.
Wondering if the cafeteria was still open, I spotted a curly-haired figure anxiously pacing at the dorm entrance.
‘Jessica?’
Hurrying over to the nervously pacing Jessica, she noticed me and cried out with tears in her eyes:
“W-Where have you been?! You weren’t at the temple or back at the dorm, so I’ve been here…”
“Were you worried?”
“N-No, that’s not it…! Ugh…!”
Instead of just honestly admitting she was worried, Jessica furiously messed up her hair while denying it.
“Jessica, what are you doing?! If you do that, your curls will come undone!”
“Who cares about that…!”
“Isn’t your curly hair your true form? Won’t you die if it comes undone?”
“I won’t die!! No one would die just from their hair coming undone!”
Jessica shouted, then rubbed her throat as if it hurt from yelling too much.
Then she approached me and, noticing the blood on my uniform, asked worriedly:
“A-Are you really okay? Nothing happened after I left, right?!”
“Nothing…”
I was about to say nothing happened, but seeing Jessica’s eyes trembling with anxiety awakened my mischievous side.
“…So much happened after you left, Jessica. It was really tough.”
“S-Something did happen?!! Then you should go rest quickly, what are you doing out here?!”
“Well, you were blocking the way. And I was just joking, don’t take it so seriously.”
Realizing she’d fallen for my teasing again, Jessica’s face turned bright red.
“Y-You, playing jokes at a time like this…!”
“Don’t be so serious. I did almost die, but I managed to overcome it somehow.”
“Ugh…!”
Jessica’s face clouded with worry again at the mention of almost dying.
How could I stop teasing Jessica when her emotions showed so clearly on her face?
“…Are you really okay?”
“I’m fine. But is that why you came looking for me?”
“I… I wanted to at least say thank you. Since you almost died because of me…”
I did take a hit shielding Jessica, but against an opponent of that level, I probably would’ve taken a hit eventually anyway.
“It’s no big deal, don’t worry about it. Even if things had gone well, he wasn’t an opponent I could’ve beaten without injury. If you really feel bad, you could take Baldo lessons with me from now on…”
“No, I don’t want to do that.”
Jessica flatly refused, her guilty attitude from moments ago vanishing.
“Isn’t there… anything else you’d like? Money, for example…”
I was at a loss for words at this truly noble young lady’s response of offering money as thanks for help.
“No, money is a bit…”
I couldn’t find the words, since anything Jessica could give me I could easily obtain myself if I wanted.
As I stared blankly at Jessica, unable to speak, her lips began to quiver anxiously.
After contemplating while continuing to stare at Jessica, I finally pointed to her hair and spoke:
“Then, can I touch your hair?”
“W-What?! My h-hair…?!”
“Yeah, I’ve been wanting to touch it at least once for a while now.”
Jessica’s face reddened at those words. She stroked her tangled curls before finally opening her mouth.
“That… it’d be a bit awkward here… if it’s somewhere with fewer people…”
“Really? I didn’t expect you to agree… Then, shall we go to my room?”
“R-Room?! N-No, not there!! Somewhere else…”
Seeing Jessica hesitate, I figured it would take quite some time. I grabbed her hand and headed straight for a deserted alley.
“Eek…! I-If you’re going to hold my hand, at least say something first…”
“I’ll do that next time if there’s a chance. So, can I touch it now?”
“…Yes.”
Jessica closed her eyes and leaned her face forward. I slowly reached out towards the curls on both sides of her head.
“Ngh…!”
Did I pull too hard? Even though hair shouldn’t have sensation, Jessica’s brow furrowed slightly.
“Sorry, did that hurt?”
“I-It’s fine. If you’re going to touch more, hurry up and do it…”
“Okay…”
Enjoying the feel of her tightly curled hair, my hands gradually moved upward.
The higher my hands went, the redder Jessica’s face became, like a fully ripened apple. Seeing her like that somehow made me feel embarrassed too.
“Haa…”
As I dug deeper into her hair, Jessica’s heated breaths began to brush against my neck.
Her breathing grew rougher as my hands finally reached her scalp after burrowing through her curls.
I’d felt it from the moment I first touched her hair, but why did a human body feel so different just because of gender?
Feeling her silky hair, marshmallow-soft skin, and seemingly sweet breath with my entire body, I asked Jessica:
“Um… can I touch the hair on the side too? It’s… close to your face, so I wanted to ask first…”
“I-It’s okay…”
With Jessica’s permission, I gently stroked the hair near her cheeks.
As I caressed her glossy locks, my hand occasionally brushed against her baby-soft, rosy cheeks.
Feeling Jessica’s body temperature rise each time my hand touched her face, I reluctantly withdrew my hand from her hair after thoroughly stroking the sides.
“Haa… Haa…”
Jessica gazed at me with eyes that trembled more than when we’d met at the dorm entrance earlier.
Feeling uneasy under that gaze, I hastily tried to leave.
“Ngh…!”
Jessica gripped my jacket sleeve between her thumb and forefinger, looking up at me as she spoke:
“…Is it okay if we do… do more?”
As Jessica’s eyes, seemingly holding a small flame, turned to me once again, I found myself unable to speak for some reason.
Not knowing what to say, I simply nodded and slowly reached out towards Jessica’s hair again.
“Watching that made me nervous.”
The first thing I heard upon regaining my senses was a complaint and the cold face of a girl.
Her expression remained as motionless as if she wore a mask, but her words carried a sharp, poisonous sting far worse than rose thorns.
“If he had died during that, how did you plan to take responsibility?”
“…If he died from just that, it’d mean he wasn’t worth much anyway. The boss probably wouldn’t have said much either.”
This time I tried to look down at her by quickly rising from my bedding, but she denied me that by floating into the air.
“Doctor… you have some surprisingly childish sides.”
“I’m simply matching eye level to make conversation easier. So, how was his skill?”
“I could tell the moment our swords crossed. His mind may be gone, but his swordsmanship has already surpassed that of a Swordmaster.”
Though misguided, his Baldo technique, honed to the extreme, had already reached a realm unattainable through effort alone.
With his swordsmanship already outstanding, all that remained was to train his body and increase his energy reserves.
Doing so would undoubtedly elevate him to the same level as myself or the boss in no time.
“I’m not well-versed in swordsmanship, so I can’t say for certain, but if you say he’s surpassed a Swordmaster, it must be true. It seems he was quite satisfied as well.”
Even hearing he was satisfied, I honestly couldn’t imagine that old tree of a man wearing a pleased expression.
“That’s good to hear. But can’t the puppets be improved further? Everything else is fine, but the energy they can squeeze out is too weak…”
“That’s a material issue, so it can’t be solved through improvements. Besides, it doesn’t seem like we’ll need to use puppets for the time being anyway.”
“If we won’t need them… does that mean we’ll just observe for now?”
“That’s right. There are signs of an event that will foster his growth without us needing to intervene.”
“An event?”
“Yes, there’s been a small disturbance at the grave of Ray von Pierre, a possessed individual from 200 years ago. It should reach his ears before long.”
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