Episode 142. The Eve of the Storm (3)
After coming out of the waiting room, Nebia walked along the path connected to the playground.
Normally, it would only take a minute to walk that path and get to the platform. But now, to Nevia, it felt like an hour, not a minute.
I’m still nervous now. If I don’t get elected, I won’t be able to avoid being kicked out of the city.
If you want to survive, you must not hesitate to use trickery.
Because that’s how I’ve survived so far.
The desire to survive, even if it means eating others. It wouldn’t be strange for the arrogant Nevia to have such thoughts.
‘Yeah, I’ll just live and see. I’ll just try to get out alive somehow.’
Nevia arrived in front of the stage after walking a distance that was neither too short nor too long.
The podium with only a podium looked strangely strange for some reason.
Just coming up here, the chairmanship seemed like a tempting prospect.
First, I got up and sat down with my back against the desk.
At that moment, the playground, which was filled with students, came into view. Various sounds could be heard from Nebia’s developed ears.
The most obvious one among them was the reaction to oneself. Surprisingly, there were not many negative reactions.
Even though the cookie incident happened back then, it’s still like this. Those Royal Guard guys definitely handle things like that.
It would have been a good contractual relationship even if I hadn’t been manipulated.
‘I really regret it.’
Their sounds were varied.
Among them, most of the cadets waiting to vote with anticipation were looking up at themselves.
If we do well here, we can crush the other candidates!
[First year, Magic Class A. I am Nevia Cromag.]
The first greeting proceeded according to procedure. Then, most of their noisy mouths fell silent.
The professors sitting next to the podium also quietly look this way.
The voices in their hearts are also clearly audible. They are filled with anticipation and anxiety.
[I would like to thank everyone who came here.]
Thanks to my education as a saint, giving a speech like this was a piece of cake.
And then suddenly familiar faces came into view.
Jenny Chainsilver, Ruska Mad-Eye, and Mary Ludciel. Still making sounds full of hostility.
And Lyman Begilius.
‘It’s ominous.’
Lyman was also negative, but something felt different. He had a synthetic golem by his side.
I don’t know what it is, but I decided to finish my speech anyway.
[Although I am a saint before I am a student, I will create an academy where everyone is equal and has stable discipline…]
At that moment, I saw Lyman slowly tilting his lips and trying to touch the golem.
And then my mouth started moving on its own.
[…I have no thoughts.]
A word that came out instinctively. Even he himself couldn’t understand why he said that.
But somehow, I didn’t regret it at all. Rather, I felt relieved and was able to continue talking.
[Because I… did something that I should not have done as a saint and as a cadet.]
A sudden, out-of-the-blue noise rang out. The already chaotic atmosphere in the playground became even more chaotic.
Reactions such as “What are you talking about?” erupted from both professors and students alike.
‘What is he saying all of a sudden?’
Even Lyman was left breathless from the considerable shock.
The evidence of the atrocities and identity of the Royal Guard led by Nebia is all contained in the golem next to him.
It was collected without anyone knowing during the holiday season.
Originally, I was planning to quietly reveal the evidence now.
But for some reason… I had a feeling that there was no need to do it right now.
[Let me cut to the chase.]
As the waves of controversy began to surge, an even more thunderous sound was heard.
[I resign from this position.]
Those words alone silenced the crowd.
Jenny, Ruska, and Mary’s reactions were beyond words… Lyman also tilted his head in doubt.
And protests came from many quarters.
“What are you saying all of a sudden, Saintess!”
“You’re taking this joke too far!”
Several of the priests guarding her came up onto the stage and began to scold her.
Moreover, even Slave, the leader of the guard, hurriedly approached her and asked.
“Why are you doing this after doing so well so far! Are you thinking of giving up the position you worked so hard to achieve?”
The guy who usually speaks in an arrogant and polite tone is speaking formally here.
Nebia saw him and said with a smile.
“You say it was a difficult position to get to? You’re absolutely right.”
“yes?”
“I… just happened to be chosen by the Light, and just happened to run for office. Just like Instructor Jason put you in that position.”
“what…?”
Is this woman in her right mind? The slave felt dizzy.
Even someone who doesn’t know the secret would react by saying they don’t understand why this is happening all of a sudden.
I tried to calm her down somehow, but I started to cross the line.
“You too must have become an abnormal being through magical treatment. Just like Instructor Jason and the guards.”
“Don’t open your mouth any more!”
In the end, we ended up giving up on honorifics.
If it’s magic treatment, it’s a crime that’s strictly forbidden in the world. If it fails, there’s a high chance that you’ll die or turn into a monster.
It’s one of those secrets that should never be told.
For some reason, that conversation was reaching everyone’s ears.
This was also Nevia’s ability. She spread the sound widely so that everyone in the playground could hear the conversation clearly.
“Besides, I don’t know what’s sacred when you’ve come into contact with that cult group of Doomsday.”
“stop…!”
Of course, that wasn’t what Nebia had to say.
First of all, I was the one who gave in to their suggestion and ended up bringing about this situation.
But it didn’t matter anymore what anyone said.
Strangely enough, until just a moment ago, all desire to live had disappeared.
“Is this okay? I could lose everything I have.”
Of course, life is included in that.
but…
“Either you die now or die later. It’s all the same anyway.”
“what…?”
“I was thinking about living until just a moment ago… but it just didn’t work out. I already knew that from when I talked to you guys yesterday.”
Eventually, one day, those guys will kill themselves.
Being elected president would only postpone his death.
It was thanks to Jason that I was able to figure that out.
Jason’s mental state that day was unusual. It seemed as if he would kill himself at any moment.
That is why I laid out my true feelings like flowing water.
‘By the time this speech was over, I would have been brainwashed.’
Naevia, who has absolute hearing, can pick up on the nuances in human conversation.
Jason, who was not in his right mind, was unable to control the temperature of the conversation even though he knew of her abilities.
Jason said Nebia is still useful.
It’s not a lie.
Because it had the nuance of making them soulless beings or using them as hostages when things get worse.
“If a saint-like being were to be taken hostage, wouldn’t it be obvious what kind of trouble would occur?”
“What on earth is the reason for this!”
The woman who used to be obedient has now become confident.
When the slave pressed her about it, she replied,
“Why? Because I’m a crazy woman.”
“what?”
It was another random comment.
But something felt familiar.
I’m sure I’ve heard this somewhere.
Yes! That woman who carried out the bloodletting operation during the holidays. That’s what the girl wearing the rabbit mask said!
“Then surely…!”
“Hehehe… If you guys are going to rob the archives, you guys should do it well among yourselves.”
I found out that the unidentified girl and Nevia were the same person.
The reason he couldn’t recognize the disguise was probably because he was a priest who didn’t go through the formal procedures.
“You… You…!”
A slave whose eyes become bloodshot at the fact that he was completely fooled.
But Nebia, unconcerned with the immense murderous intent, cheerfully descended from the stage.
And then he walked along a path where cherry blossom petals had fallen like corn. He looked refreshed, as if he had finally been freed from his shackles.
Slurp-
A wind filled with the scent of spring blew. The hems of neatly dressed school uniform skirts fluttered.
Cherry blossom petals fluttering in the wind sweep past my hair like grass.
The moment the flower petals brushed my eyes, the world looked different.
The road that had just connected to the playground had turned into an endless path lined with cherry blossom trees.
The petals seemed to glow pink as the sunlight hit them directly.
‘Am I dreaming?’
The scent of flowers is so strong that it can be called a dream.
There was a moment when I thought, ‘Then is it a hallucination?’
Suddenly, I looked back and saw something vaguely on the path I had walked.
There, very familiar scenes began to appear with each step I took.
-A chronology from the moment of birth until now.
Of course, I don’t have any good memories of my childhood.
The only good thing was after she was chosen as a saint, and then her past of being reduced to a puppet was revealed.
‘Spring goes by so quickly.’
It was spring when she arrived in Kreuz after being chosen as a saint. However, the flowers soon withered and she began to miss spring.
Whenever I said I didn’t want to die, I ended up trying to get spring back, even if it was just this.
Although spring was short, it was more beautiful than any other season.
Rather than being dragged around my whole life and dying in the cold, I would rather die in a place filled with warmth.
Maybe that’s why I can see the past beneath my feet.
“You came really quickly.”
“….”
Jason, wearing a black uniform, was standing in front of the spring road.
Even after seeing that grim sight, Nebia smiled brightly and said.
“Are you here to kill me?”
It was Jason who blocked her path. He asked with indescribable anger.
“Before that, let me ask you one thing. Why did you stop fearing death?”
It seemed like only yesterday that he was trembling in fear of death, but Jason coughed in vain at the tremendous sense of disconnect.
Yes, Nebia is a coward.
A traitor who threw away his own beliefs because he didn’t want to die.
Because I realized that early on, I gave up and was eventually able to realize my true nature.
Even so, other people just see you as trash.
However, I wanted to make that ‘exceptional being’ my own.
It was only because he was there that I could worry about how to live… but what’s the use now?
It was not because of anyone else that I was able to go through all these experiences…
“It’s all thanks to you.”
-Thank you so much for letting me know. I won’t forget.
The girl smiles brightly.
Cherry blossom petals soar into the sky in the spring breeze.
Even the flower petals fluttering in harmony…were not as bright and beautiful as her smile.
She couldn’t be just a girl.
She was a being worthy of the title of saint.
And the saint wanted to atone for it with everything she had.
“Okay, kill me now.”
“you…!”
Originally, the plan was to leave her alive and only torture her. If they took her, a saint, hostage, even the church would be at a loss.
But this saint before my eyes will not spare her life.
She is a being who has been reborn as a true saint of faith, not a false saint of disbelief.
“I will kill you as painfully as possible.”
Jason was as out of his mind as he was yesterday.
I was shocked to learn that my loved one had another partner.
He is on the run, running wild, like a being who doesn’t care about water or fire.
“Painfully!”
There is no way that the saint in front of him can purify his heart.
If it’s useless, the answer is to throw it away.
There is no need to directly apply blood to kill the scorpion once it has been consumed by the scorpion.
Swish-
Jason makes strange hand gestures.
With just a gesture, he ordered the bloodthirsty insect to slowly suck his blood.
“….”
“….”
Swish-
“….”
“…?”
Swish-
Swish-
“….”
“…??”
Nothing happened.
Nebia, who had been freely closing her eyes, slowly opened them and asked.
“Are we there yet?”
“Why are you suddenly like this?”
Swish-
“….”
“what are you doing?”
This can’t be happening. The initiative of the Thousand Blood Clans is clearly in your hands.
It was when an earthquake occurred in Jason’s pupils in an impossible situation.
“What are you doing here?”
Then a voice was heard from behind.
I wondered who it was, it was Radon Crawler.
“Radon! What are you doing here?”
“What is it? I came to see how it was going… Fortunately, there were no problems.”
Jason thought that although he didn’t know why he was here, it wasn’t a bad situation.
Because Radon is the successor of Elder Enviel…
“Instructor, are you having trouble with the bloodworm?”
“How don’t you know that?”
“Of course I know. Because it’s in my hands.”
Radon took out a small box.
The box was the one containing the cure for the bloodworm that was supposed to be hidden in Jason’s lab.
“Why…you…“
“This allows the owner to freely control the Thousand Bloodstains?”
What does that mean?
This meant that Jason was no longer able to control the celestial worm inside Nevia’s body.
Because the ownership passed to Radon.
“Instructor Jason.”
The corners of Radon’s mouth go up in a sour tone.
Hearing that voice, Nebia analyzed Radon’s nuances… and eventually laughed in vain.
“Thank you, it was fun.”
Swish!-
After saying those words, Radon disappeared along with Nevia.
The floor they were walking on had some kind of transparent card on it.
“….”
Jason still doesn’t understand what’s going on.
He stood there in a daze.
Surviving as an Academy Fraudster
