Episode 161. An Unexpected Reunion
I just applied because I had a reason to do so. Although it was a difficult mission and would take quite a while, I needed to know at least a little bit about the outside world.
It’s now the prologue to Chapter 5. Each person is busy with various tasks such as preparing for the festival or exams.
Princess Mirona, who has become the student council president, is passionate about her work, and Lyman helps her with her work and coaches her to make sure she doesn’t go astray.
Jenny, Ruska, Angela, and Crona. They each have their own busy schedules.
In particular, Jenny and Ruska participate in the main event of the Magic Banquet, the ‘Tactical Demonstration’.
Perhaps because of this, when playing with two people, they become competitive with each other and don’t worry about trivial things.
So there’s really no room for me to get involved. Rather, it’s up to Krona and Angela to take care of them.
Other characters, including Kent, also get their own time.
Among the main characters, there was only one girl who was free. Mary Ludsiel, who sat next to me and looked out the window.
While everyone else is studying or doing various tasks, she is the only one who does it her own way. The reason is because she is Mary… If I explain any further, it will only give me a headache.
“What’s wrong with you?”
“huh?”
“By now, you should be playing with bugs and fish in the mountains and rivers. But why did you volunteer for this?”
Mary turned her head toward me, where the wind was blowing gently. She didn’t look too happy because I was asking her the same question she had asked a little while ago.
Was this the kind of person who would show such negative emotions on their face? That’s why I couldn’t help but ask more questions.
“Um… I just felt so suffocated just staying inside the academy. So I decided to go outside and get some fresh air!”
Mary tried to put on a bright expression as she spoke. She seemed to have brought out her usual boisterous spirit quite well, but she looked extremely weak. It was just that she reluctantly gave a vague answer when her friend asked her.
To be honest, even if I pretended like nothing was wrong right now, it didn’t seem particularly bright. Just a little while ago, when I shaved off Refrain’s hair, even though it was largely because of my complex being pointed out, I didn’t think I needed to act so coldly.
“Huh? Dude. Why are you suddenly asking that?”
“Is it really that suffocating?”
“….”
This time, Mary hesitated when asked in a flat tone. To be honest, I can’t imagine Mary feeling suffocated. It’s just a vague reason I made up because I had a reason to go on this mission.
“Are you having any worries these days?”
“Worries? No such thing!”
Even though he is lying, he must be quite distressed inside because he has realized what has been planted inside him.
The presence of this was enough to make even the always enthusiastic Mary depressed.
“But… he’s my friend.”
Mary called me with a hesitant mouth. As soon as she turned her head from the window sill, the carriage emerged from the forest.
The sunset, which had been dull and hidden by the trees, spread over the carriage. The yellowish sunlight dyed Mary’s pink hair, and she smiled as she turned her back to the light.
“We’re still friends, right?”
Mary, who only knew how to laugh like an idiot, now had a smile like a sunset and a blooming flower.
A gentle breeze occasionally blew as the carriage moved forward. The sunset glow seemed to dance among the fluttering pink hair.
It was only for a moment that the girl who had seemed so young suddenly looked mature. A girl who would change for the sake of her friends, even if nothing else. For Mary, this moment seemed like she was about to have a showdown with some kind of being.
He had a feeling that he had to do something about the sleeping being inside him, or else the people around him might be in danger.
Mary, who realized its existence, could no longer be a fool. That is why I must also respect her will.
“What am I if I’m not your friend?”
As I said that, Mary stepped away from the window sill and slowly moved her body towards me. Then she took my wrist with her fern-like hand and leaned her head on my shoulder. Then she hummed softly.
“Thank you, my friend.”
There was no lie in what I said, so the erosion rate remained the same.
I had to refrain from making vulgar remarks because I knew what would happen to Mary, who was quietly sleeping next to me as a pillow, later on. I couldn’t tolerate Mary being stressed anymore.
The girl’s smile was as bright as sunlight… but the more it shone, the darker the shadows beneath her feet became.
Mary’s shadow was so huge that its depth was unknown. This was because the ‘Demon King’ was sleeping within that abyss-like shadow.
* * * * *
30 years ago, Beelzebub, the Demon King of Paris, plunged the empire into a swamp of terror. The demon used vast magic to trample on people, and was a monster that would even prey on his own kind if necessary.
It is now known that she was beheaded by the combined efforts of the Great Wizards’ Alliance and the previous Saintesses. But what if she is still alive… or what would happen if it was discovered that she was reincarnated into a new body?
If that were true, the world would naturally be turned upside down, because the wounds the empire suffered from the Demon King have not yet healed.
Crops rotted and decayed due to the swarm of insects raised by Beelzebub, and many people’s family members and lovers died.
The wave of insects raised by the Demon King was a great trauma to the people of the empire. The group of great magicians and the previous saints who defeated the Demon King were truly objects of grace.
The magical group that gained strength from this great achievement eventually came to be called the ‘White Horse Tower’.
And in gratitude to the saint who cut off the devil’s head, most of the people of the empire became believers in the Order of the Holy Cross.
Beelzebub, who had such a huge influence. He has not yet disappeared from this world. This is because when he was reborn, he was reincarnated into the body of a genius magical girl.
And now the girl was walking next to me, smiling.
“Arrived~”
It was only in the afternoon, just before sunset, that we were able to arrive at the scene of the crime. As soon as Mary got out of the carriage, she stretched and exclaimed.
She was the one who tried not to forget her original intentions even though her inner self was annoying. Senior Trisha was right next to her.
“It’s been a while since we’ve been together like this. How have you been?”
“Yeah. I’ve been really good! How long has it been since the first year final assessment mission?”
“It seems like we always meet on our missions, so why don’t we take this opportunity to get to know each other better?”
“What are you talking about? We were friends from the beginning!”
“Hohoho! That’s amazing.”
As soon as they arrived at the village, they were walking to the scene, and their compatibility was perfect. Maybe it was because their personalities were quite similar. Trisha stroked Mary’s head as if to say, “Right, right,” and made a bright expression.
“Should I give you a new Nobel record as a gift later?”
“Wow! Thank you so much, sis!”
Is that woman crazy? What kind of crappy genre is she recommending to pollute her child’s mind?
I wanted to stop this black market by yelling, but… Mary’s eyes were too bright for that.
I’m worried that if I do something like that, the sparks from Baekma Tower will fly back to me.
“That child is that Tailly Ludsiel’s daughter.”
The Refrain Halo, who was walking beside me, looked at Mary and said. His head, which had a rather interesting expression, was still dazzling.
“It is an honor to carry out a mission with the blood of the great wizard who defeated the Demon King together with the previous saintess. Are you close with that child?”
“You could say that.”
“I’m really jealous. If only the art club schedule was tighter, we could have made friends.”
“Don’t you feel bad about having your precious head shaved?”
I don’t know what the principle is, but I can’t help but be angry at the fact that my hard-earned hair was cut off like a lawn mower.
How can hair grow easily? If it were me, I would have been miserable as if I had lost all my fortune.
“I told you before. I can make hair grow back. It’s already pretty cool, isn’t it?”
Is that cool?
Are you serious?
“Oh, yes… you’re really cool.”
[Erosion rate decrease: -1%]
[+100 Credits]
“I’ve seen it before, but it’s so much richer than I could have imagined.”
[Erosion rate decrease: -2%]
[+200 Credits]
“I know this is an exaggeration, but I appreciate it. But let’s stop laughing and talking. We’re about to reach a point where we won’t be able to laugh anymore.”
As Refrain had said, the place we reached at the end of our walk was a railroad installed on the outskirts of town. The sight of the magic train that was supposed to run smoothly on it collapsing horribly began to appear.
There, knights dispatched from the imperial court, bailiffs in charge of public security, and hired mercenaries were investigating the scene.
“Those uniforms… Are you perhaps cadets dispatched from Alighieri?”
“Yes, I am Refrain Halo, the representative.”
“Nice to meet you. I am Morax, in charge of this site.”
“I ask for your continued support, Mr. Morax.”
Refrain completed the first meeting with the person in charge very skillfully. The person in charge, Morax, accepted us while looking at his head curiously.
“I heard that a team is currently being formed to track down the prisoners.”
“That’s right. Our executive team analyzed the cause of the train’s overturn and predicted where those guys might have run off to.”
There was apparently no problem with the cockpit. There was no problem with the wheels, and the rails were not damaged or fell over.
Then, it was suspected that the prisoners had suddenly started causing a disturbance.
“Were the prisoners completely restrained? They must have been wearing magic-suppressing handcuffs in case they were powerful.”
“In addition, it is said that there were several skilled drivers guarding each compartment inside the car. How could the guys cause a ruckus in such a situation?”
There were no problems with the train, and the prisoners had no choice but to remain quiet. Even if there was an argument between the drivers and the men, it would be absurd to think that it would escalate to the point where the train would capsize.
It certainly seemed like there had been interference from a third party.
“Then what happened to the engineer and the drivers?”
“Everyone is missing. I think they probably took them hostage.”
Having overheard that conversation, I glanced at the train. Inside, the train had flipped over on its side, with seats pulled out and the wooden flooring torn off.
I can’t help but think that all the people riding inside were 100% dead.
“The train was in such a mess, surely they would have found a body?”
“No, there was no body. There wasn’t even a trace of blood.”
I turned my head at that unexpected remark. It sounded like there had been no casualties despite the terrible capsizing.
“There were even survivors. Do you see them over there?”
Surrounded by the mercenaries were people bound in chains. Judging by the numbers written on their unwashed rags, they were all clearly prisoners.
Unfortunately, it seems that there are no engineers or drivers among them.
“Is it okay if I take a look?”
“huh?”
“Ah. I’m Radon Crowler, a second-year combat student at Alighieri. Would it be okay if I checked their faces?”
“I’ll give you permission, but don’t expect much. I questioned them like I was interrogating them, but it didn’t work.”
“That doesn’t matter.”
I ignored the advice of the executive officer Morax and approached them. Perhaps among them there might be someone I am looking for.
Heidern, former headmaster of Alighieri. I must have seen his name on the list of prisoners.
Heidern might know about this incident. The prisoners who were captured were involved in a terrible accident, but their injuries were only serious.
Unfortunately, there was a moment when I was about to feel regretful that Heidern was not among them.
“Hey hey hey!! You, you!”
At that time, there was a prisoner who had a seizure when he saw me.
I too flinched the moment I saw his face.
“Radon Crowler!! I’m glad I met this guy!!”
The guy screamed my name, revealing his deep resentment.
Surviving as an Academy Fraudster
