Episode 157. Crazy Personality
The atmosphere in the student cafeteria was peaceful today.
It may seem like they served some rare, delicious food, but the atmosphere was not adjusted by just one menu item.
When you own a kitchen filled with chefs of moderation, taste becomes meaningless.
Even if you don’t have an appetite, there are times when you stay in a restaurant for a long time because you are engrossed in conversation. To do that, you need someone who can create a good atmosphere.
A table exclusively for the honor students. Laughter bloomed like flowers in the seats where only the top students could sit. Since the water upstairs was clear, the water downstairs also had to become clear.
The princess and the princess were already close and smiling at each other. It seemed as if they shared something in common from their pasts.
The young lady of the target group who saw the sight bit her handkerchief in jealousy, the short wizard tickled the black-haired girl of the Yoho tribe, and the two saints laughed at the sight.
And the commander’s son stopped the little wizard and the alchemist and the head cadet quietly ate their meal, ignoring everything.
Overall, it was a shame to ruin the fun atmosphere. No matter how noisy it was, as long as no one behaved in a way that violated the rules, it was okay, so there was no need to stop them.
The eyes of the artificial golems watching over the restaurant catch them, but they pass by unnoticed.
No matter how influential they may be to the empire, we must not forget that they are just boys and girls.
The Academy exists solely for their youth. No matter how many demons descend, they will never be able to ruin it.
So the devil moved places.
* * * * *
“Tell me. How long have you known?”
Lyman speaks forcefully. It’s an attitude he’s always shown, but today it feels particularly awkward.
Because he must be considered a completely different being, not as a ‘human’ but as a ‘devil’.
“….”
I couldn’t speak.
The arms and legs were just floating.
No matter how much I whipped him, his body showed no sign of moving.
It’s not that strange.
Even if someone else, let alone Principal Keiten, were to bring it, I wouldn’t be able to resist without my body freezing just like I did.
But I was more afraid of him than anyone else. Because I was weaker than the principal? Of course, that was part of it… but it was also because I knew everything about him.
What do you like?
What are you reluctant to do?
What is the purpose?
How much power?
“Speak quickly. At least that way I can survive.”
And how terrifying it is…
Jeobuk-
The devil’s single step made my breath catch in my throat.
The opponents I’ve met so far have been able to figure out a way to get through them, but… nothing exists for him.
There is no need to talk about power. No matter how many variables you use, if the difference in power is too great, it is useless.
Escape? If I escape by ‘switching’, I’ll be safe for now. But he’s an academy cadet like me.
You can create a moment like this any time.
“Then you… how did you notice?”
There’s no way this can be covered up with lies.
It’s like taking a question as a question, but no matter what you do, everything is the same in front of him. From the point where he’s already caught, no matter what you say, he’ll only show one reaction.
“How would you know…?”
“…?”
“If you leave traces so blatant, isn’t it stupid not to notice them?”
The guy who had been standing in front of me was now standing behind me. Then he poked my back with his finger, causing my whole body to stiffen.
Plus, he can no longer use his magic power. Considering that he can render someone magically incapacitated with one long hit, it’s a pretty easy feat.
Now, even running away was not allowed. At least the fact that his mouth was moving meant that he had the will to talk to me.
“You would know. I was the one who brought up that screen during the student council president’s speech.”
“….”
“At that time, I tamed a spirit and made it watch over Jason. After all, if it doesn’t have the ability to sense, no one can see it.”
There are surveillance magic tools in the academy, but Jason would never have taken that into consideration when he was appointed as an instructor.
So, a spirit that is usually not conscious was the right choice. Lyman could control the spirit like a projector.
“In the process of making a video of what the spirit witnessed, I was able to discover a part that was cut off somewhere.”
At first, I thought Ju-ryeong blinked and almost let it go. I initially took that into consideration and mobilized Muto to temporarily block Ju-ryeong’s vision.
After all, he’s a spirit who can’t do anything other than watching.
“I asked about the cut part and the spirit said this.”
He added that although it was an animal-like barking sound, it was not unintelligible.
-It was a peculiar smell of magic! It was the smell of magic of a human who was at least 90 years old!
“smell…?”
I was wondering what this meant.
The spirit he used was clearly the skeleton bird ‘Karon’
As far as I know, Karon is a spirit that can’t feel anything except sight. Even Lyman must have weakened it as much as possible while training it to prevent its presence from being revealed.
Then, it would be even more necessary for Carong to have a deteriorated sense of smell. It doesn’t make sense to say that he has a great sense of smell.
“Why is it strange that the spirit has a sense of smell?”
“….”
“You suddenly became sensitive?”
I never said, ‘This spirit has a defective sense!’ I just happened to react sensitively to that part without thinking.
“You don’t have to hide it. You know what spell I used.”
“I’m a sucker for spirits. It’s only natural that bone bird wouldn’t feel anything.”
Lyman snorted in response to that.
“I modified it temporarily. I’m just sharing some of my power with it.”
“Why did you go through all that trouble?”
-Why on earth?
It is true that in the main story, the Karong is modified to be used as a projector. That’s because with that content, it was possible to carry around the spirit like a pet.
However, the part where the senses are modified is not shown in the main text. It was I who explained it.
“Why? At first, I didn’t want to do such a cumbersome modification. But since you’re a shaman, you’d understand.”
The spirit can control entities weaker than itself.
“And then a guy who made a contract with a spirit more powerful than Karon appeared.”
Although his five senses are weak, his Karong is also quite powerful.
The fact that he has turned into a skeleton bird is simply a result of Lyman’s modification. As he was originally a violent spirit, he is more powerful than the spirits that the few cadets have tamed.
-Except for the snake guy who made a contract with me.
“So you’re saying that because of me… you gave me a sense of smell? But there’s no guarantee that Karon smelled me. Do I look over 90 years old to you?”
“Yeah, that 90 year old thing is what makes you suspicious.”
At best, this body is 17 years old. It is impossible for the magical power of someone over 90 years old to come out.
But there wasn’t just one person inside me.
“I’ve watched you fight many times. Especially when you fought Kent during the practical exam, you used subtle techniques. I know because I’ve fought guys who use such techniques.”
“….”
“Elder Enviel, you ate it, didn’t you? With that snake spirit?”
The old age discovered from magic cannot be explained unless it was something I ate.
It was Lyman who gave Caron that special sense of smell, so there’s no way he can’t smell it.
“You monopolized that damn elder I missed, and now you neglected me even though you knew I was plotting the projector.”
I couldn’t help but look suspicious, knowing all the information that only he knew.
“One last thing. Remember that King Talema? The bastard I crippled?”
What’s wrong with that guy? When I asked him that, Lyman recalled that time and said,
“You know how everyone was scared when I cut that bastard down? What about you?”
Lyman could see everyone’s faces at that moment. They were all frozen in place, but one person was playing around alone.
“It was a situation where even the principal was scared… but you were so calm?”
-As if he knew who I was and felt relieved.
So, what this means is that I know that Lyman was a ‘devil’.
Just looking at this fact, I have nothing to say even if I am labeled a dangerous person.
“What I want to say is simple.”
Lyman, who had said that, lifted my collar in an instant. Lifting my body with one hand, he ran somewhere in an instant.
My feet were floating on the lake, and the guy was standing with his feet on the lake as if it were the ground. The guy who carried me to the other side of the lake finally asked,
“What is your identity?”
It was a split second for me. In that time, I had crossed the depths of the lake where I could have drowned.
And on the surface of the water, a huge shadow was swimming. Since it was connected to the sea, it was an environment where fish monsters could live.
If it’s him, he’d be more than enough to get me into this place. He’s the kind of guy who starts investigating things as soon as he senses even the slightest hint of something suspicious.
Envy and Jason both failed like that… so it’s my turn next.
“First of all, I understand that he is the eldest son of a family that has fallen into ruin. His family consists of his parents and one younger sister, and he currently resides in the Dukedom of Chainsilver.”
It seemed like he knew a little about me. However, it’s hard to understand whether he knew my true identity as a ‘demon’ based on that alone.
In this world, there is no way that the eldest son of a fallen family would know the truth that only a very few people know.
“Speak quickly. If you don’t want to see your family suffer.”
The main character is a threat… It’s really amazing.
Moreover, he looked more frightening than the Demon King, let alone a warrior, so he looked like he would really cause harm.
But there’s no need to be nervous. Just as his power is scary, I also know his inner thoughts well.
“You wouldn’t call that a threat, would you?”
“….”
“If you really wanted to harm me, shouldn’t you have broken my arms and legs first?”
He hasn’t done anything to me yet. Even though I look suspicious, I haven’t been exposed for any evil deeds.
Therefore, all the talk about ‘family troubles’ and such is nonsense.
Lyman Vegilius, that guy is definitely crazy. I’ve never seen a guy who got on his nerves and still had his limbs intact.
But in the end, he is also a ‘protagonist’. He is a fictional protagonist who was born from people’s ‘wish’, so there is no way he would betray that ‘wish’.
-Acting Lv7
“My identity?”
Everyone has different wishes, but Lyman was a popular protagonist.
It wasn’t just because they were munchkins and caused a stir that they became popular. It was because they had a ‘past’ that solidified them, along with ‘morality’.
“I am…”
So I decided to take a gamble. The guy realized that I was not of this world.
There is no room to hide any longer.
“You’re an anomaly. You know most of this world.”
“….”
When Lyman heard that, his eyebrows went up and he fell into deep thought for a moment.
An anomaly? I’ve lived for 300 years, traveled all over the world, gathered information, but I’ve never heard of anything like that.
Are you perhaps the Creator? No, if you were, you wouldn’t have been caught so easily.
Above all, his power is much weaker than mine. He knows a secret that should never be known, even though it is nothing.
The more I think about it, the more suspicious he becomes. To that extent, it’s safe to assume that he’s the mastermind behind the scenes manipulating the incident.
“You really know everything… Is that it?”
“huh.”
[Erosion rate reduction: -6%]
[+600 Credits]
The erosion rate decreases as you nod and groan. It seems that it is considered false because you don’t know ‘everything’.
Actually, what I said was ‘mostly’.
Whoosh!-
“Whoa!”
Suddenly, my body traversed the air and found itself back in front of the lake. There was still a trace of vacuum from the lake I had just been in to here.
I thought I had used teleportation to get there, but it felt like I had just run.
And at the same time Lyman released the hold he had on me by the collar and returned to his ‘human’ form.
Is this kid finally going to have a conversation with me? Ouch! – I exclaimed in anticipation, my butt slumping.
Slurp-
“Huh?”
Something like a rope snaked around one wrist and wrapped around it. Upon closer inspection, I saw that it was a noose, and I could tell at a glance what it was.
“This is….”
“If you know anything, you know what that trap is.”
Lyman said, tying it to his wrist as well.
‘The Noose of Pain’, the weapon used by Lyman, who remained as a clone, to ‘snatch’ the Shadow Troopers.
It is a weapon commonly used to attract objects, but its true ability is different.
Swish!-
Lyman suddenly takes out a small knife and stabs himself in the back of his hand. It was an unexpected self-harm, but he wasn’t the only one feeling the pain.
“Ugh!”
I felt a sharp pain as if my right hand had been pierced. The pain he had suffered was transmitted to me as well, and this is the true power of the ‘Nose of Pain’.
But only the guy gets hurt.
“Ahhh!”
The pain was felt again as the guy pulled the knife out of his hand.
개 같은 새끼가. 미리 말하고 뽑지!
“I don’t need to explain what the situation is, right?”
“So what are you trying to say?”
-This crazy kid.
I wanted to swear at him once, but I held it back with superhuman patience.
– Feelings towards the user: Hostile (against)
Because the guy’s suspicions were far from over yet. Lyman said, performing a trick of spinning the knife he was about to pull out with one hand.
“You know everything. Doesn’t that mean you know the future too?”
Then he put the knife to his own neck. My heart sank as I realized what he was trying to do.
“Do you really think that the information you know includes me committing suicide here?”
Lyman laughed jokingly and left a scar on his neck.
If you really are an anomaly… If you know everything, then your attitude was to quickly stop me.
I clenched my teeth in pain and touched the tiger’s nose hair for the first time.
“You son of a bitch.”
Chomp!-
The knife cut a semicircle with tremendous force. Lyman’s neck, which was cut within that range, fell to the ground like a basketball.
At the same time, the main body fell down like a marionette whose strings had been cut off, and I also fell down with my eyes losing focus.
Surviving as an Academy Fraudster
