episode_0009

Saint Academy.

The weekend has finally arrived here, where we’ve had quite an eventful week.

And the weekend was also the moment when the always busy academy finally became quiet.

All cadets are permitted to leave the academy premises only on weekends.

No matter how good the facilities here were, the restrictions on going out made the cadets feel a subtle sense of confinement, so most of the cadets left here on the weekends.

And that was a huge boon to someone like me.

It was never a rare opportunity to look around the academy without any interruption. I had to use it when I could.

Of course, Liz’s identity was not yet known properly, and unlocking the barrier in the club room was also going to take some time.

But even taking those two things away, there still seemed to be a mountain of work to do.

“Where are you going?”

It was Cecil who asked me as I was getting ready to leave.

There was still no expression on her face. If I look at her, it feels like it’s been a long time since I’ve seen her live her life, regardless of her expression.

I couldn’t find her sleeping or eating anything in my recent memories.

what… She will take care of herself. What’s the use of worrying about meaningless things when you’re too busy taking care of yourself?

“I wanted to go out for a moment.”

“… … .”

“Why? Follow me?”

“… … .”

She didn’t answer.

I just quietly turned around and expressed my euphemistic refusal.

However, I felt a strange sense of regret about it.

Why?

Maybe it was because I was facing her for a long time, unlike when I lived in an old mansion.

I thought I had already given up on having relationships with people, but it seems I haven’t completely given up on it.

――Kkiik

I left the room with my wheelchair companion.

He was a guy whose spitting noise got louder as the days went by. It seems like the recent overuse has had quite an effect.

The place I found was the Academy’s archives.

It was also a magnificent place that literally left behind all records since its establishment.

This was one of the few places among the academy’s facilities that was open to the public, and I think it was probably done to promote the academy.

I am trying to find a record of the events of that day here.

Even if it was erased, I think there might be some clue.

I started looking through the most recent records and was able to find one without difficulty.

[List of Academy Incidents and Accidents: Year xxxx]

I immediately checked the contents.

[Incident No. 002: Attempted rape and arson at the academy]

[The suspect killed his classmate on x day of x month… ]

[Case progress: Suspect suspended from school and victim dropped out]

The events of that day were briefly recorded.

To someone who doesn’t know the case, it was a really simple list of facts.

But for me it was a little different.

At the time, I was so preoccupied with the fact that I had been falsely accused, that I didn’t know exactly how this incident came to be.

It was only that Cecil later learned that it had been announced that I had attempted rape.

Originally, lies could not be written in this archive. Because that was the principle.

And that means the Academy would have tried its best to make this incident somewhat true.

That inference is what caught my attention in this record.

The fact is that the victim dropped out.

It was absolutely not something that could simply be recorded.

What it means that there is actually a cadet who dropped out.

There is no real victim, but the victim dropped out? And this academy that is hard to get into?

It was a very suspicious matter.

It is unknown whether he did so because of external pressure or because of a deal.

However, one thing was certain: if we found him, we would be able to obtain helpful clues.

It clearly said that the victim was my classmate.

Therefore, all I had to do was check the list of people who entered school with me.

This archive also contained all the cadets of the class that had entered so far.

Only names and faces were included, not very detailed personal information, but that was enough for me.

“308 people… .”

It was the number of cadets who entered school with me.

Because there were so many, it was impossible to memorize them in a short time. However, it wasn’t something you could borrow like at a library.

――Wow!

In the end, I decided to use magic.

In fact, using magic on the records here is clearly against the regulations. Because it was all clearly the property of the Academy.

But using it on my body is a different story.

I concentrated my mind and gathered magical energy into my brain. It was to use some kind of memory magic.

“… .”

Even though it was a very simple spell, cold sweat broke out on my forehead.

The reason was simple.

This was because magic power was leaking from the broken magic core. As a result, the efficiency of any magic drastically decreased and physical strength was consumed heavily.

In the first place, magic that strengthens one’s senses or physical abilities, like memory magic, was easy to use but very inefficient.

“Ha… .”

By the time I finished remembering all the information, my whole body was sweating.

The retention time of memory magic was not very long. Even if an archmage used it, the maximum was about 12 hours.

At best, 5 hours is the limit with my abilities right now.

Now that I was out, I wanted to look around more, but my priority was to quickly return to my room and organize my information.

So I left the records room and tried hard to turn the wheel of the wheelchair. But I couldn’t because there was something I stepped on in my field of vision.

“Kkiiing… .”

It was a cat.

Judging from its fairly small body, it does not appear to be an adult.

“Kkiing… .”

If it was just a cat, I would have passed by.

There were so many stray cats living within the grounds of this academy that it would make my mouth hurt to talk about them.

But I couldn’t help but instinctively become interested in him.

“Huh… .”

The animal’s hind legs sat down with no strength. It was crawling, whining, using only the strength of its front paws.

Yes. That little creature was completely of the same species as me.

“Kkiing whing…”

A guy who barely manages to drag his slender body towards me. Those sad eyes were crying out for help.

“… Poor thing.”

It barely reached my feet, so I bent down and picked it up.

In my mind, I’ve already made a decision. I decided to take him with me.

If comrades do not help each other, who will help them? It was obvious that if I left it as is, I would die, and that would only make me feel uncomfortable.

I placed the cat on my thigh and played with my arms. It was hard, but perhaps because I had a comrade, my body felt lighter.

**

It was a weekend that all the cadets were looking forward to, but she and Claire couldn’t do it.

It had already been five days since Cain came to the academy, but she still felt helpless.

Therefore, for her, the weekend was just like a long, long period of hard work.

Normally, I would have been busy studying for the test, but I couldn’t find the mood to do so.

――Quick!

After a meaningless and painful Saturday morning, she left the dormitory.

It was to follow someone’s advice to go outside when you feel helpless. Regardless of whether it is effective or not, I think that exposure to sunlight can at least improve your mood.

She walked around the campus, which was unusually quiet. I really liked how quiet and not noisy it was.

I must have enjoyed such peace… It contained a sound that was difficult for her ears to hear.

――Gigeek!

It was the sound of old iron colliding.

It was a type of sound that was hard to hear in this academy, but it was also a sound she had been hearing often lately.

Yes.

The voice of Cain. To be exact, it was the sound coming from the wheelchair that Cain was riding.

“… … .”

She hid herself as soon as she heard the sound. I don’t know the reason.

Even though she had clearly done nothing wrong, Claire’s body moved on its own.

――Gigeek!

Before long, Cain passed in front of her. Fortunately, it didn’t seem like he was aware of his presence.

Claire followed him carefully.

… There is no particularly impure intention. Yes, it was to keep an eye on him in case he did anything suspicious again.

Despite his small stature, Cain works hard in his wheelchair.

Just as he was about to feel some sympathy for her when he saw that, he stopped.

It was none other than the Academy’s archives office. He went in without hesitation.

Why did you go there? Maybe it was because he wanted to check the records of that day.

Has he still not been able to let go of his regrets?

Claire decided to hide behind a tree and wait for him to come out.

“… … .”

It was some time later that Cain reappeared.

In fact, Claire almost didn’t notice his appearance.

Because she dozed off while waiting for him. It was because I had a hard time sleeping last night, and if I hadn’t heard the sound of the wheelchair, I might have missed him.

Cain was staring at something.

Claire hid herself closer, wondering if she had been caught, but it turned out to be false.

What he was looking at was a cat.

It was not an ordinary cat, but a cat that had lost both legs like him.

He picked up the cat and went on his way with it.

Even though it was just a stray cat, it was a small animal that no one would care if it died.

“… … .”

A tingling sensation arose in a corner of Claire’s chest.

And that pain brought back a faded memory in her mind.

It was none other than Cain’s past. He loved animals more than anyone else.

It reminded her and she felt sick.

Is your personality still the same? Then why on earth did you do such a thing?

A question arose in Claire’s mind, but it ended there.

It was a question she would never know the answer to, anyway.