episode_0011

“Ah… .”

The kobold’s dagger pierced his abdomen precisely.

However, no red blood flowed from her body, and there was no pain at all.

The very moment it realized that she had allowed the attack, the kobold’s form collapsed.

The stuffy air surrounding me became lighter again, and the dark and stuffy space disappeared like melting snow.

“Phew… .”

A deep, endless sigh burst from her lungs.

This is already the third time, and I have been retired from the lowest tier, tier 1.

What she, Claire, was busy doing was practicing for the practical evaluation.

A mock dungeon conquest was being carried out using illusion magic at the academy’s training ground.

Of course, the test would come in the form of a different dungeon, but in the academy’s training hall, we could only practice that type of dungeon.

So, today, when the practical evaluation was decided to conquer the dungeon, many cadets along with her were busy practicing.

“… .”

However, unlike the serious appearance of the other cadets, Claire was not able to concentrate on practice at all.

In fact, the first tier was a place that any decent cadet could pass through with ease, and of course it was not a place that posed any threat to a top tier cadet like her.

But she slipped from the first tier. And that too three times in a row.

It was a rare mistake for her, or to be honest, it was hard to even consider it a mistake. In cases where it appears impossible unless it is intentional.

The reason why Claire did that was simple.

Her body was right here at the training ground, but her mind was far away. It wasn’t a situation where I could concentrate.

“Ha… .”

Deciding that it was impossible to proceed any further, she sat down on the floor.

I decided to take a break, and my goal was to regain some of my concentration.

“Claire, are you really okay? It’s better not to overdo it.”

“My complexion is not good. If you’re tired, why don’t you go and rest?”

“That’s right. They say that trying to force something is actually poisonous.”

Several cadets who had finished practice gathered around her. And most of them were full of concern for her.

“… no. I’m okay. It’s okay, so don’t worry about it and just go practice.”

She smiled at them. To the point where it seems a little excessive.

I felt like I could avoid having my rotting insides discovered that way. I thought that way they wouldn’t hate me.

“… After all, it’s because of that kid, right? That rapist bastard!”

However, despite her efforts, there was someone who still raised their voice.

That’s Rigel.

He was the eldest son of the Count Wright family, and was also a cadet with enough skills to rank in the top grades.

As he raised his voice to the fullest, the other cadets around him gave him a look of resentment.

Are you really clueless? I know she’s having a hard time, so why do I bring it up in words?

However, Rigel did not give in to the reactions of those around him at all, and instead uttered one more word. No, he scolded me very much.

“Why? That’s right! Claire, you’re having a hard time right now because of that bastard. That crazy guy is the reason I can’t concentrate!”

“Hey! stop! Claire says it’s okay, but why on earth are you like that?”

“What did I say wrong just now? It was that bastard who did the wrong thing. But you can’t say anything if you did something wrong? And it’s true that Claire is having a hard time because of him!”

“… … .”

Now Rigel and Claire have started arguing with the other cadets, and Claire’s feelings have become even more complicated.

She knew why Rigel was acting so excessively.

His eyes were always filled with wrong desire whenever he looked at her. It was a feeling that was too cloudy to be considered pure liking, and it was severe.

In the past, when Cain was officially her fiancé, she had been quiet.

It’s not that he didn’t have any obsession with her, but thanks to the huge and strong being that was Cain, his influence on her was actually minimal.

However, from the very moment Cain was completely erased from Claire’s life, Rigel’s attitude changed drastically.

He revealed his interest in Claire more directly, and his obsession increased. Rigel no longer had any courage in front of her.

Even though Claire, who hated that kind of behavior, secretly avoided him, Rigel’s interest in her did not show any signs of cooling down, and in fact, the situation was getting worse day by day.

“I can’t do it. I should just beat that bastard to death so he can’t even come to the academy.”

And since Rigel was trying to cross the line, Claire had no choice but to dissuade him.

“Stop it. Rigel. I’m really fine. So there is no need to do that.”

“Claire, are you still taking that bastard’s side? Please, why don’t you come to your senses?”

“Ha… It’s not really like that.”

“Yes, I guess so. But Claire, you are mistaken. It’s right to just erase that bastard.”

“… … .”

With those words, Rigel left the training ground.

The airflow around her completely froze, and the other cadets noticed her and slowly moved away from her.

She was left alone again and looked sadly at the entrance to the training ground.

She looked for quite a long time, not at the place Rigel left, but at the place where someone in her heart might come.

It was an unconscious action that she herself did not know exactly why she did it.

But of course, the person in her heart never came to visit.

**

While all the cadets were busy preparing for their practical exams, I visited the library.

I did it because I thought I might be able to find a clue here.

What I am trying to find among these numerous books is my entrance album.

When I recalled the album I was given, there was clearly a photo of all the enrolled students on the last page.

“… I found it.”

[XXXX Year XX Saint Academy Entrance Ceremony]

And fortunately, I was able to find entrance and graduation albums from all years in the corner labeled ‘Memories’, and of course mine was there too.

I immediately picked up the album and flipped to the last page.

And without a moment of hesitation, he started counting all the students.

“1… 2… 40… 98… 122…”

I couldn’t make any mistakes, so I concentrated as much as I could and counted it out step by step, and I was finally able to reach the end.

“305… 306… 307.”

And the ending was 307. 307 cadets were admitted, not 308.

No matter how many times I counted again, wondering if my calculations were wrong, the result was the same. 307 cadets, including me, were photographed.

I was wondering if there were any cadets who had not attended, so I checked the front and became more confident.

[Entrance score 307th: Armi]

The lowest rank among incoming students was 307th. In short, there were a total of 306 classmates who entered school with me.

“… … .”

So, were the records in the archives manipulated?

No matter how much there is a principle that records in the archives should contain only the truth, in reality, the principle is just a principle.

If you wanted to, if you were confident that you wouldn’t be caught, the manipulation itself would have been possible.

This means that the leadership can arbitrarily add one student who does not have enough students and at the same time have them drop out.

But even so, something was strange.

The reason it was strange was because I knew all the faces drawn in the records I copied.

There wasn’t a single face I didn’t know, and that meant I had seen them all in person.

Doesn’t that make sense?

If the academy really admitted/withdrew a ghost cadet, I shouldn’t have known that face. Because it’s a cadet that doesn’t actually exist.

But I knew. why?

――Gegegegegen!!

I immediately dragged the wheelchair and headed to the dormitory.

It was the fastest speed I’ve ever achieved.

I had to check the original immediately. There was also a good chance that there was an error in my memory.

“… young master? You came early today.”

There was no time to respond to Cecil’s response.

I immediately opened the notebook and looked at each person’s face as closely as possible.

But there was still no face I didn’t know. No matter how many pages I turned, only familiar faces appeared.

Even though I got to the last page of the note, nothing changed.

“Wow… .”

What on earth happened?

Not being able to understand anything, I just stared mindlessly at the last page.

“Oh… ?”

But as I was looking at the face of the person written on the last page, the cadet whose admission number was 308, something flashed through my mind.

That cadet was also a face I knew, and even a person I knew well.

Only then did I realize it.

As if I had found a missing piece of a puzzle, all the circumstances began to come together naturally in my brain.

“That young master… ? Where else… ”

I hurriedly turned the wheel. Towards the place where the 308th student is. And I can assure you that it was much faster than before.