episode_0046

“Alright. This one is very clever and admirable.”

Because Pisces, who came into my arms and acted so cute, was incredibly adorable, I willingly followed that suggestion.

As I gently stroked its head, the back of its head, and its nape, the creature let out a satisfied caw!

It seemed to secretly like Irha’s comment, ‘A crow-like woman,’ and it was cute how it kept acting this way since then.

Although it had a cunning and annoying side, this creature was extremely capable both before and after the regression, and as a result, I was able to properly hook Emma.

“Did you see her earlier? I really haven’t liked her since last time. I was so displeased with her coquettishness and excessive cuteness, as if she was trying too hard. And her chest is completely flat!”

The cute minion was indignant that Emma had flirted with Orca, a fictional figure who had illusion magic cast over my appearance.

But, even if you brought Emma’s boyfriend and asked who was prettier between the two, he’d secretly say ‘Pisces,’ that’s how different their levels of beauty are.

Anyone who turned their attention to someone like Emma while Pisces was next to them was scary in a different way and should be avoided.

“Was that worse than plotting to harm me and bringing in a request?”

When I asked playfully, the creature nodded as if it were obvious.

“Anyway, Boss isn’t someone who’d get even a tiny scratch from something like that. Boss is like a cosmic monstrosity… something like that.”

“It’s not that much….”

Somehow, Pisces seemed to be overestimating my power, so I slightly corrected it.

However, among all the humans and demons this creature had actually met, I probably was exceptionally strong, so… I could understand why it was acting this way.

I gave Pisces, who was burying its face in my arms and acting cute, a sudden reminder about a fact that came to mind.

“Anyway, all that’s left is to effortlessly prank them. Oh, and make sure Lergo’s breath is still attached. Keep an eye on him so he can’t do anything foolish.”

“Hehe!! Don’t worry. A black mage with all his magic circuits burned out… even if we put him with just anyone from our organization, he wouldn’t be able to lift a finger.”

That’s true.

No matter how famous Lergo might have been as a black mage, with all his magic circuits burned out, he’s just something slightly better than a frail elder.

Thinking of ‘Great’ Mr. Lergo, the black mage, confined to a small room, stripped of all physical freedom, I observed a moment of silence.

I wanted to kill him quickly and put him at ease, but the half-dead black mage still had a use, so he shouldn’t die carelessly.

“Well, I have to keep him alive until Emma comes looking for him again. Just suffer a little more… I should probably go in now too.”

“Heehee… But Boss, something’s weird. You’re the boss of the underworld, but you’re like, ‘Ah, it’s curfew, I have to go!’”

“…..”

The creature, who kept saying only correct things, was somehow annoying, so I pinched its cheek.

“Hehe..! Then come again. Pisces is always waiting for Master-nim so eagerly, it’ll stretch its neck off.”

Perhaps it was good that I visited often these days; Pisces wrapped its arms around my neck and hung there, showering me with all its remaining cuteness.

“I’m going. Well, I’ll be back in a few days, but if anything happens, contact me right away.”

After saying goodbye to Pisces, I scaled the wall like a seasoned escape artist and entered my dorm room.

It was late at night, so my obnoxious roommate was snoring in his sleep.

“From tomorrow, for a few days, I’ll have to play along with that naughty girl.”

Thinking of Emma’s excited expression, I also felt good.

This was because the essence of torment was to let someone enjoy small joys and hopes, and then make them feel great despair.

*

Monday dawn.

At the end of a dazzling adventure on Sunday night (though it was more of a scam than an adventure), Emma, who had completed her mission according to her master’s will, was filled with joy.

‘A skilled black mage… the Prince and Lizley guaranteed him, so there’s no way those rookies can escape his clutches, right?’

Although his dignity had faded slightly because of the man named Orca who appeared at the end, the majesty Lergo had displayed was something Emma had never experienced before.

Emma, carrying five crude dolls, headed to a corner of the rooftop and burned the dolls without a shred of conscience.

The dolls, seemingly made of highly flammable material, completely incinerated, leaving only a small amount of ash.

“Whew… That was easier than I thought. Now… let’s see if it’s as effective as that annoying nagging suggested.”

Emma descended from the rooftop, thinking that if it wasn’t effective, she’d have to go demand a penalty fee.

Perhaps because she saw the flames, Emma’s heart strangely fluttered as she recalled the strange atmosphere exuded by Orca, the fiery man she had met last night.

*

[Master-nim!! She burned them!! That naughty girl is quite diligent, even from dawn, isn’t she?]

A message arrived from Pisces at dawn.

As expected of a naughty and diligent girl, Emma woke up at the crack of dawn and unleashed a ‘curse.’

Of course, that wasn’t Lergo’s ‘decline,’ but an ‘alarm’ that sent a message to Pisces when the dolls were burned.

Our Pisces is also a proper black mage in its own right, so it has its own black magic theories and can use trivial black magic.

Anyway, they took action, so I should react a bit too.

The re-evaluation was after school on Wednesday.

We were already gathering before class to prepare for the upcoming evaluation, so the situation was perfect.

When we went out to the training ground, our enthusiastic teammates were already there, warming up.

I was planning to make the kids suffer for a few days starting now, and though I felt a little sorry, it couldn’t be helped.

But after a bit of suffering, the team members’ blocked skills would also break through considerably, so there was nothing bad about it.

“Here I come, Ras!!!”

After lightly snatching Shasta’s enthusiastically approaching spear, I quickly approached him and delivered a very shallow ‘palm strike’ to his solar plexus.

“Urgh!”

Eustace swung his sword, which I dodged like an afterimage using a footwork technique, then lightly, again, delivered a shallow ‘palm strike’ to the same spot as Shasta.

After meticulously and secretly applying the ‘palm strike’ to Pio and Irha as well, I continued the training pretending not to know anything.

After the morning training ended and we were heading to the classroom, they all started groaning collectively.

“Ugh… Guys, my body suddenly feels a bit hot? Why is this happening??”

Pio spoke first.

“Pio, you too? I also suddenly feel a surge of heat rising from my stomach…”

Following Pio, Irha also started groaning and struggling to speak.

Shasta and Eustace complained of symptoms exactly opposite to Pio and Irha, clutching their solar plexuses.

“It feels like a block of ice has settled in my heart… my body is heavy and stifling.”

“I’m cold. And my joints feel creaky, as if wind has entered them.”

Meanwhile, Shasta’s comment about wind entering his joints was somewhat novel even to me.

Just bear with it for a little while, guys.

If you can just hold out until after school on Wednesday, I’ll let you properly experience what ‘doping’ is.

“Ras, how are you?”

“Ugh… I’m cold, hot, and dizzy… Did we all catch some kind of infectious disease?”

“Big trouble…! Let’s go to the infirmary quickly.”

With Pio’s cry, we headed to the infirmary, and though I spotted Emma secretly peeking at us and giggling, I pretended not to know and continued groaning.

Yes, laugh a lot now, kid.

Because there aren’t many days left for you to laugh.

*

“What do we do..! We’re screwed.”

“No, what in the world is happening..!”

We rushed to the infirmary with our flustered teammates, but Rosalie Mama, who could cure unexpected ailments with overwhelming divine power, wasn’t there.

Our Mama had disappeared temporarily last week, leaving only a short message for me:

[Ras, I got a call from the Imperial Family for a moment. Don’t tell anyone around, only Ras should know, okay? I’ll probably be back by next Wednesday at the latest. I won’t be able to use magic tools once I enter the imperial palace. *Whine*…]

While I could guess why she had gone on a business trip to the imperial palace, I couldn’t be entirely sure, so I decided to ask Ms. Rosalie when she returned…

Anyway, except for me who wasn’t sick at all, the other sick kids didn’t see any proper improvement in their symptoms.

Our desperate team members were groaning while discussing what to do.

“Our postponement isn’t possible anymore, right?”

“Probably not. They’re already sending anonymous complaints about special treatment and whatnot.”

Five hundred twenty-four percent, I’m sure Emma sent them.

Towards our gloomy seats, unusually cheerful footsteps, making them even more ominous today, could be heard approaching.

“Oh my, are you all sick? Your complexions look *very* bad, don’t they?”

Emma approached us, unable to completely hide her amusement, and spoke.

Among them, I was the only one who could be considered to have a connection with Emma, so I feigned illness as much as possible and grumbled at her.

“Why? What’s it to you? I’m already in a bad mood, so don’t pick a fight and just go away.”

“Oh my. Ras… doesn’t it look so cheap to talk so roughly to a friend? These days, you’re also working Irha hard… I’m wondering if you’re suddenly going for a bad boy concept, but honestly, it just looks cheap.”

Since Lizley’s and my breakup was publicly rumored, it wouldn’t seem strange for Emma, Lizley’s best friend (read: maid), to act this way.

Of course…

“Ras isn’t working me hard? I’m the one asking him to do it? And Ras is a totally nice guy with status.”

Irha, annoyed because she was more unwell than usual, couldn’t hold back and snapped back at Emma.

“That’s enough. Irha, you have a fever, so don’t get angry unnecessarily.”

When I restrained Irha, who usually listened to me well, she huffed but turned her gaze away from Emma.

Anyway, Emma, seeing us looking very unwell, returned to Lizley with an annoying hmmm~ sound from her nose.

Thus, Monday, then Tuesday, and finally, Wednesday afternoon.

The condition of the children, excluding me, worsened day by day.

They were completely mentally broken, but with about fifteen minutes left until the exam, they were limp like squids, seemingly having no energy in their bodies rather than just being mentally drained.

“We… This semester is ruined.”

“We might fail from the first semester…”

Shasta and Eustace, letting out icy cold sighs as they planned their final strategy in the waiting room.

“Hing..! If this happens, I won’t even be able to go out during summer vacation because I’ll be scolded at home. Oh, Ras… I’m not blaming you..!”

“What should I do? Ras… I guess I’m doomed to be a first-class minion… I can’t fail..!”

Good Pio, who expressed hot sadness while also adding that it wasn’t my fault, and Irha, who was worried about her ‘minion power’ even in that situation.

Thinking this was enough, I gathered them.

“Stop your whining. Everything changes depending on your mindset. Let’s get some fighting spirit in us before we go. Come up one by one and quickly turn your back.”

“Back…?”

“I felt like I had to do something, so I looked through medical books here and there, and there was a folk remedy used in the old East.”

They looked bewildered, but they weren’t in a position to be picky, so they obediently followed my instructions.

First, I pounded Irha’s back with my fists, then tightly tied Irha’s thumb with a thin string I brought, and then pricked it firmly with a needle.

This was the so-called ‘finger pricking,’ a folk remedy often used for indigestion.

“Squawk!!!!”

Irha seemed truly startled by the sudden needle prick, letting out her characteristic seagull cry. And a moment later…

“..????? I feel refreshed..!”

She swung her arms around with a refreshed face and lightly jumped in place.

“Alright, no time, so you guys come quickly. It seems to be really effective.”

“Oh..!!”

As I pricked their fingers one by one, everyone’s complexion immediately brightened.

“Ras? You really have a lot of weird knowledge..!”

To the admiring kids, I waved my hand as if it was nothing.

Of course, ‘finger pricking’ didn’t produce this effect; it was merely me retrieving the cold and heat I had subtly injected into their bodies using my palm strike.

The cold poison and heat poison that had tormented their bodies circulated within them for several days, cleanly devouring accumulated waste products and toxins.

So now, our team members’ physical condition is beyond optimal, it’s like they’ve been ‘doped.’

“Anyway, you’re all feeling better, right? But hunch over slightly like sick chickens. That way, they’ll let their guard down. As for the rest, stick to our plan, understood?”

“Okay!!!”

Feeling completely relieved, they even acted like sick chickens with convincing skill as they slowly walked out to the exam hall.

*

At Leone, a re-evaluation was quite unusual, and moreover, since the exam was a battle where students fought each other, a tremendous number of students and professors came to watch.

Instead of my nervous teammates, I slowly scanned the spectator stands.

Leon, Emma, Lizley’s triangle of death.

Marisa, sending supportive glances with a calm expression.

Princess Skada, staring intently at me with a very curious gaze.

And…

“Ras~♥ You can do it!!! Teacher-nim will cheer you on from here!”

“Tsk, your desperate attempts at cuteness at your old age are quite unsightly, Rosalie. Ras, if you’re my best disciple, show a performance worthy of it!”

Receiving the different cheers from Ms. Rosalie and Professor Isera, I felt a surge of exhilaration and joy filling my heart.

It felt like returning to a hometown that was tiresome yet also missed.

“It’s good to be on stage after a long time.”

The current me is not Ras Etgard, the student of Leone Academy.

Ras, the predator of the Kashmir Underground Arena, had returned to my place after a long time.

Thus,

The battle began.