episode_0119

“She’s from the Empire, but… why does the Academy’s registration list say she’s a noble young lady from the borderlands of Nifrantz?”

Jane’s eyes shook violently.

Seeing her whole body trembling, a certain object sprang to Nari’s mind.

The vibrator—now christened ‘Nari mk. 2.’

Yuri had procured it from a red-light district shop in the capital a few days ago… It seemed they’d both thoroughly enjoyed it with Gronix while she was away.

Dismissing that thought.

The next point that came to mind was that Jane seemed unable to hide whatever it was she was hiding, not of her own will.

As if she didn’t want to do this but was being forced to.

“N-no—! W-well, no, it’s just that I misspoke—! I used to go down to the Karmoer region a lot when I was little, I must have had cake from the Golden Palace there once, yes, haha…”

A patently obvious lie.

Besides, isn’t it true that nonverbal communication carries more weight than verbal expression?

Her profusely sweating palms, not to mention her trembling hand holding the fork.

It was enough to make one wonder if she was acting.

It couldn’t be helped.

Unlike the highly trained elite errand runners of , Jane was just an ordinary noble young lady.

A poker face was out of the question in this critical situation.

“Hmm… I see.”

“Yes, yes—! I’ve been so busy lately, I’m— a bit out of it… hehe…”

Nari smiled like a devil.

‘No, no…!! She’s definitely not buying it…!!’

Her hands, trembling too much to hold, were briefly resting on the table, when Nari gently clasped them.

That touch, usually warm, felt cold, hard, and heavy like the hand of a grim reaper.

This was her last resort.

Jane finally drew in a large amount of dark mana.

As she had done during the Academy entrance ceremony and mid-term exam season.

She slowly activated the advanced mental manipulation magic spell her father had taught her.

[Deep Sleep]…!

A type of hypnotic spell that worked unconditionally on anyone, however magically talented, who hadn’t trained their mental abilities or cast resistant magic.

A spell that, it was said, could put even an elephant to sleep in a single second, she slowly channeled it through Nari’s palm.

Ssssrruuu—

And a moment later…

Nari smiled like a devil.

“Hey, what’s wrong?”

Heeeiiik…!!

What, why isn’t it working…!!

It worked perfectly before, but why… why!!

Could it be… that in this short time… she’s gotten stronger…?

Jane’s hand vibrated strongly, like ‘Nari mk. 2’ at full power.

“So… this is how it’s used. Thank you, I’ve learned something new. I’ve always been curious about the common structure of the mental manipulation magic that Nix used.”

Snap!

The gentle touch truly transformed into the touch of a grim reaper.

“Wh… what…”

“Sleep well, Jane.”

Her eyes… slowly closed.

This was an effect Jane knew better than anyone.

[Deep Sleep].

A spell that took three whole years to master, Nari had grasped with just a touch, without even studying the incantation.

‘Mon… ster…’

Thud-

Jane collapsed face-first onto the table.

.

.

.

Jane Lester.

Real name, Jane Phryne Darius.

The eldest daughter of the Duke Darius family, located right next to the capital city of Ubiet.

Because her family was always in turmoil, she had developed sharp instincts from a young age.

And she quickly realized that what her father was teaching her wasn’t ordinary magic.

“I… I don’t want to do this…”

“Jane, what nonsense is this? You are my proud daughter. You will become a truly outstanding black magician, inheriting the family and organizational duties—!!”

Jane saw madness in his eyes.

Those greedy eyes, burned black from seeing too much.

And she felt it.

That if she rashly went against her father, she would disappear from this world without a trace.

No matter how… close the family ties.

To survive, she only had two options: become a member of as her father wished, or escape his intricate web.

But she absolutely did not want to join that shadowy organization.

The only thing Jane hadn’t inherited from her father was his heart.

Her chaotic childhood had given her a kind heart that sought peace, and she didn’t want to see a single drop of blood, let alone commit crimes.

So she decided to run away.

She made plans to secretly leave for the kingdom with her loyal servants.

But her desire to get everyone to safety became her downfall.

“Your Highness… I’m fine, please… please live a peaceful life—”

Crack-!

Her long tail was eventually caught by her father.

As a result, she lost her maid, who had been with her since childhood, like an older sister.

“Waaaaah—!!”

“Yes, Jane… I couldn’t help it. Seeing this piece of meat’s heartbreaking loyalty, I’ll give you one chance. Go to the Nifrantz Academy. But…”

Into the hands of the now distraught Jane, Duke Darius placed a parchment with a list of names.

“Keep an eye on all the people listed there. Report at regular intervals… and if you show even the slightest sign of negligence—”

The maid’s head dangled from the Duke’s grasp.

“You, will share their fate, as will your remaining servants.”

It… really couldn’t be helped.

To survive, to protect those who survived.

She had no choice but to help .

So Jane approached key figures in the kingdom from the list, put them to sleep with magic, and extracted information bit by bit.

She had to deliver that information as ordered by her father—no, Duke Darius.

But the shackles around her neck wouldn’t come off easily.

“That’s not what was agreed upon..!! If we just hand over information about these people, we’re supposed to be set free—”

“The information isn’t enough. I’d like you to continue working as you have been doing. And…”

From the hand clenched tight to its nails, blood dripped.

“I have a feeling things are going to get interesting… kkk…”

Jane looked down at her own hand in despair.

A hand stained with blood.

She could no longer cleanse her soiled hands.

She had fallen to the rank of a disposable informant for .

She had no face to show the loyal servants who had followed her.

She collapsed, her strength drained, her head bowed in tears.

She slowly tasted despair.

Then, one day.

“Hey, look up and listen carefully. If you continue like this, you’ll have absolutely no hope for the final exams.”

When she suddenly looked up.

There stood Narias Philbrogue, a ‘special student’ whose information she had to extract first.

“What… were you crying? Sorry… I didn’t mean to scare you that much.”

With a bright, warm smile, as if it would cleanse all the blood.

.

.

.

Nari retracted her mana and removed her hand from Jane’s head.

“…Those bastards again. Anyway… whenever there’s a problem, when you get down to it—”

It’s those bastards.

Because of their arrogance, believing they’ve seen the whole truth, they treat everyone else as fools, idiots, consumable items… complete trash.

During Akasto, she just chuckled “tsk… those troublemakers” and brushed it off.

This was Nari’s reality.

Though they hadn’t fully shown themselves yet, the day she even caught sight of a hair of those bastards.

She had firmly resolved to kill them all.

Kuuuguugu—

Due to her excessive anger, the entire teahouse building began to shake.

“Gu… guest…!! What’s happening…!!”

The owner, scrambling, had to kneel down and appease Nari.

“I’m so sorry, it’s just that I remembered my brother ruining my breakfast this morning…”

“Oh, oh… what a terrible brother—”

“Only *I* can mess with my brother.”

The owner’s back bent at a 90-degree angle.

After a brief struggle, silence returned to the teahouse.

The sun, as if standing atop the heavens, poured down its hot rays.

The flimsy awning fluttered gently in the breeze, doing its best to block the light.

Whether it was because the sun was stinging her eyes, or because of the [Memory Reading] a little while ago.

Jane still wore a slightly uncomfortable expression even in her sleep.

“…phew. You’ve had it rough.”

Nari placed her hand on her head again, wrapping Jane’s fragile body, trembling for a different reason than before, in aether.

The wavering form of the soul.

This meant the mind was unstable.

Carefully dispersing the dark mass in her heart, and removing unnecessary energy.

Jane fell back into a peaceful sleep.

“If she’d found out about this contact… she wouldn’t be fine either.”

This encounter had to be forgotten.

Nari scattered aether throughout the teahouse, and even the nearby streets of the capital.

[You didn’t see me or this child today.]

The owner and the staff flinched for an instant.

“Y-yes… I saw nothing today…”

“Me neither…”

That dealt with the evidence destruction.

Now that she’s found the suspected mastermind, it was time to start preparing countermeasures.