Episode 166. The Escaped Prisoners (1)
I managed to get rid of two of them, but it was a bit difficult because one was left behind.
Acra, realizing that his two comrades had been attacked, aimed his bow at me. However, his movements were not busy reacting to the threat and trying to deal with it.
It feels more like trying to deal with a bug scurrying around next to you rather than trying to kill your enemy.
His actions were questionable from the start, but thanks to that, he had a clear opening. He was followed and fell by the alchemist and the top student who approached him without anyone noticing.
“Don’t forget me.”
He looked at me and spoke as he was doing something for the first time in a while. I couldn’t help but flinch at the very sad expression on his face.
Come to think of it, when I explained the plan a little while ago, I only explained it to Refrain and Trisha, and that guy wasn’t there.
I felt ashamed because it was no different from bullying someone on my own.
“Yeah, thank you very much, Baemin.”
“Baemin?”
What? Is the name wrong?
Let’s just wait. It was definitely a bee or something…
“Baemin Dreadnought… right?”
“…?”
Isn’t that it too? I suddenly can’t remember.
I was quite embarrassed. The rest of his face looked quite pitiful, as if I didn’t know.
What should I do with this? I’m sure I know this guy, but I don’t know his name.
From what I remember, that guy is also a character. He is a character who occasionally appears as a supporter and supports the battlefield, but because his performance is not that good, he is often forgotten by users.
Even the weight of the story was not even a speck. It was to the extent that the word ‘air’ would not be an exaggeration.
“Stomach… stomach… that’s why…”
“….”
He was looking at me without saying a word. At first glance, his face looked indifferent, like a mannequin’s, but there was something about it that was about to bubble up.
Please don’t cry. The more you do, the more sorry you’ll feel.
Just bear with me for a moment, I’ll remember. I’ve been playing this game day and night for 10 years, so remembering it is a piece of cake.
Yeah… that guy’s name is definitely…
『Bayman Dreadnought.』
“Yes! Bayman! It’s the Bayman Dreadnought!”
“….”
Finally, I remembered. It was thanks to the momentary help of the savior. Thanks to that, Bayman’s babbling stopped.
Thank you, Muto! Thanks to you, a man was able to save face.
“Is Radon okay?”
At that moment, Refrain came running towards me with a dagger in his hand. It seemed that he had succeeded in killing Lima.
“I’m fine. Did you also defeat one of the four priests, Senpai?”
“It was just a surprise attack. As you said, I ended up giving in to my instincts in order to survive.”
“Well done. Senior Trisha over there also took out one in a similar way.”
Trisha, who had just turned the enemy’s neck, walked over to me.
“Is everyone okay?”
“Fortunately, there are no major problems. Let’s first get the others up and move them to a safe place.”
“Okay, I get it. But he…”
Suddenly, Bayman caught their eyes. The two seniors stared at him and spoke.
“Who was that?”
“I know.”
In the end, it was Bayman who was shedding tears once again.
You all are really too much.
Thud thud-
At that moment, the sound of footsteps could be heard from somewhere. It was the sound of huge footsteps that could not be called human footsteps.
It certainly seemed certain that there were spirits wandering around here. I had to hide quickly in case I was attacked, but it was still difficult to carry the fallen mercenaries.
Just as I was pondering what to do… the sound of huge footsteps stopped. I wondered if the spirit had not recognized us.
Chock, chock, chock-
But this time, the sound changed to small footsteps. The sound of feet pressing on grass was clearly human.
I was very wary, thinking that maybe it was one of those four priests again.
“Who’s there!”
But the voice coming from that direction startled the group. Still, there was a possibility that it was fake, so I looked through the ‘Ma-an’ and… I couldn’t help but be surprised.
The first person to emerge from the fog was a man wearing a prison uniform.
The number is 456. The mercenaries were surprised to see the object they had been looking for, but our cadets were even more surprised.
“Who are you? How did you get in here? And you…”
He was very surprised when he suddenly saw a cadet in an academy uniform. I approached him and said,
“It’s been a while, Principal.”
“No… you!”
I greeted Heidern, the former vice-principal of Alighieri.
There was no need to worry about him being fake like the four priests a little while ago, because I knew he was real through the ‘Maan’.
* * * * *
The person we’ve been desperately needing to meet has finally appeared.
The mercenaries’ mission was none other than to capture all prisoners, including Heidern, and our cadets were tasked with assisting in their capture.
However, I can say that I came here only to meet Heidern, leaving everything else aside.
Although it could be dangerous to confront prisoners carelessly, Heidern could be assured of safety.
Because he looked very comfortable when he was being taken away. It was as if he was grateful that they stopped him.
There was little chance that he would be hostile to us, and he certainly had the will to talk to us.
“In short, you’re saying that they’re mercenaries who chased us here to catch us? And these guys were sent out on a mission to help you.”
“If you guys are caught, this will end smoothly. I don’t need to tell you what will happen if you resist, do I?”
The conversation between Tariel and Heidern continues. The mercenaries, who have barely regained their senses, have completely surrounded him and are aiming their weapons at him.
Even though a conversation has been established, Heidern is clearly an escaped prisoner. And since the magic nullification handcuffs are gone, there is no telling what kind of surprise attack he might launch.
“Of course we have no intention of resisting. We have absolutely no intention of fighting you.”
“How can we believe that? It doesn’t make sense to overturn a train and say there is no intention of resistance.”
Tariel shoots sharply. Even though he was exhausted from fighting, the aura of his presence made even Heidern shiver.
He is a strong man with no weaknesses at all. It is understandable that he was one of the four priests in the past.
But Heidern said without being frightened.
“It’s true that it was overturned, but no one was harmed.”
“What the heck is that…!”
“If you really want to know, follow me.”
“What did you say?”
When Heidern suddenly stood up, the mercenaries’ weapons moved more sensitively. Even though the sharp objects were aimed at vital points, Heidern’s expression did not change.
Rather, he just speaks calmly.
“Aren’t you curious in the first place? How can we walk around safely in such a dangerous place?”
Tariel had a lot to say.
Starting with why the train overturned… and even why they had to come into the spirit king’s territory… there was more than one thing to find out.
But they are prisoners. The words of those with a criminal record tend to be less credible.
Perhaps the intention is to lure us into a trap and silence us.
There was constant suspicion about them.
“Let’s believe it once.”
Then a boy intervened from behind. It was Radon Crowler, who had helped defeat the ghost of the Four-Star Palace a moment ago.
His judgment helped him avoid the crisis, but what he had just said was hard to accept.
“Are you serious about that?”
“We’re already exhausted from the battle we just had. Even the strongest of us probably doesn’t have the strength to fight right now. And yet, this guy isn’t attacking us.”
Heidern is a powerful man who has been appointed as the vice principal of Alighieri. No matter how strong Tariel is, he will not be able to deal with him once he is exhausted, and he will end up annihilating us all.
Therefore, aiming his weapon now would be practically useless. But Heidern remained silent.
It was clear evidence that there was no intention to resist.
“First of all, we’re not going to take just this one person.”
Besides, the strongest among the group of prisoners would be Heidern. If he has no hostility towards them, it is likely that the prisoners under him will also have the same.
“What do you want to do?”
“….”
When Heidern asked one last time, Tariel finally made up his mind.
In the end, we ended up following his lead. Just in case, we tied Heidern’s wrists with a rope.
After walking a little bit, I could see a giant turtle-shaped spirit.
The upper spirit of the forest, `Camelon`.
The source of the huge footsteps a little while ago was this guy, and Heidern was riding around the area on the back of this camel.
“Originally, this spirit was hostile to humans in this realm, but with the help of a collaborator, I was able to control it.”
“Who is that collaborator?”
“You’ll know when you go.”
There were still a few people who couldn’t move. In addition, Cameron’s back was wider than expected, so it was possible to lift several people.
Trisha and I placed the unconscious Mary on the turtle shell.
Cameron, who had all the people on his back, started walking slowly. He was bigger than we thought, so he didn’t fall behind us.
“It’s been a while, Radon Crowler.”
“If I were to ask how you’ve been… that would be very rude, right?”
“No, it doesn’t matter. I’ve already gone as far as I can go.”
I walked alongside Heidern, who was walking while bound. Tariel was glancing at me from the side, but he didn’t really tackle me.
“I don’t know why I applied, but I guess I’m just unlucky. This place is like the afterlife. It wouldn’t be strange if a dead person from the past popped out.”
“Then, then the four priests…”
“If there is a dead person in your memory, it will be realized based on that. The reason the four priests appeared is probably because of that person.”
Heidern pointed at Tariel indirectly. Tariel furrowed his eyebrows with a displeased expression.
“But those ghosts only attack those who remember them. That’s their biggest weakness.”
In fact, the four priests were aiming for the direction where Tariel and Mary were. That was the proof that they were not ‘real’ but ghosts.
“But don’t worry. If you’re with me, you won’t have to encounter those ghosts.”
“Is that also thanks to the helper’s power?”
You’ll know who it is when you see it.
Then Heidern looked at Mary lying on the camellia and said.
“By the way. Why did that kid come here?”
“You said you applied to meet someone. Do you know who it is?”
I gave him a knowing look, giving the impression that I already knew. Heidern, who was quick-witted, wiggled his eyebrows.
While Heidern was in office as vice principal, he checked on Mary’s condition from time to time. Thanks to this, he knew what was sleeping inside Mary, and that is why he committed the atrocity of kidnapping Mary in the main story.
“The one who checked his own body frequently was the vice principal… But since his body suddenly became strange, Mary had no choice but to look for him.”
“Hmm… Have you found out anything about Mary?”
Heidern asked with a ghostly gaze. He was a man with innate insight, but it was a shame that he had chosen the wrong teacher.
“I’ll tell you when I get there.”
I said let’s go there and let them all out at once.
To begin with, there are too many eyes and ears to talk about here.
It was even more difficult to speak with Tariel right next to him.
“But you’ve been calling me vice principal for a while now.”
“Ah… I see. That’s true.”
Maybe it was because I was so used to it. The title of teacher just suited my mouth.
But he was no longer a sympathizer or anything.
In addition, there was an entity without even a name.
“And I am not `Heidern`. I am not even `Lawrence Marruk`.”
Heidern is a name given to him by his teacher, Enviel.
Ron’s Maruk was the name given to him by his parents.
However, both of these beings were monsters wearing a cloak of kindness.
Having been betrayed by the world twice, he had no more name to call his own.
Because all those who gave him his name were evil people.
“Then what should I call you?”
“Call me what you want. Son of a sinner, disciple of a monster, madman…
“….”
“Ah, this would be more appropriate.”
[Number 456]
He pointed to the prisoner number on his shirt: 456. No title could be more appropriate for a nameless prisoner.
“Then I won’t use the word ‘communication’, Mr. Heidern.”
“Well, I told you not to use that name.”
“You told me to call you whatever I wanted.”
“….”
Heidern walked on without even being able to refute. Then we were able to stop at the bottom of a hill.
The fog that had been obscuring our view had cleared considerably, and we were surprised to see a village at the bottom of the hill.
“You’ve arrived.”
We carefully descended the hill and arrived at the village.
To my surprise, there were people living there, and they had prisoner numbers on their clothes.
In addition, there were even engineers who drove the trains and drivers who took prisoners away, who were not even prisoners.
It was when we were all lost in thought about what was going on.
“Hello, everyone.”
The being who had taken care of them all safely appeared and greeted us.
Surprisingly, it was a face I remembered.
Surviving as an Academy Fraudster
