Chapter 147
Lecture room on the 4th floor of the Magical Engineering Hall.
A chill so cold it could freeze one's bones blanketed the entire classroom. As she stepped across the frost-covered floor, a girl with sky-blue hair let out a faint breath.
All the plants guarding the Desolater had either been neutralized or frozen to death by the extreme cold. Maelyn stepped lightly over the slippery ice.
Then, she successfully retrieved the Desolater located at the back of the lecture room and placed it into her subspace.
“Clear.”
She exhaled and firmly pressed a small button beside the frame of her glasses. She had agreed to signal Kajan through this button once her mission was complete.
Having done her part without issue, she straightened her back proudly.
“A-Achoo! Atchoo!”
And then, she sneezed repeatedly. Stroking her goosebump-covered arms, she trembled with her knees tucked together.
“Ugh, I caught a cold. Is ice magic really my calling?”
Though she had completed her mission beautifully, it was a bit of an ungraceful exit.
Maelyn dashed out of the frozen lecture room in quick little steps.
* * *
First-year boys’ dormitory storage room.
“Hey, hey! There’s another plant over there!”
Dick was clapping his hands and shouting. Inside the classroom filled with plant-type monsters, nearly ten Keyzen students were tangled together, engaged in a fierce battle.
And from the back, comfortably seated and observing the scene, Dick stroked his chin.
‘This is getting kind of fun.’
He pulled out a golden egg-shaped ornament from his pocket, tossed it toward the vines, and said,
“It’s a golden egg! That’s a golden egg worth 5 gold over there!”
“What!?”
“Where is it!?”
The students rushed forward competitively. The obstructive vines were slashed by swordsmanship students, and the plant monsters were burned to ash by Darkness Flame students.
Keyzen is Keyzen, after all. Dick nodded with satisfaction.
“Ah, but why do I feel like a side character?”
A student who had been weakening the plants with curses looked over at Dick.
“Hey, isn’t this too unfair for a Katarology major like me?”
Dick shrugged.
“After it’s over, go demand your share. You’re winning thanks to your curses, so they should at least give you some spare change, right?”
“Hmph.”
With the combined efforts of a dozen or so Keyzen students, the plant-type monsters in the storage room were quickly taken care of. Meanwhile, Dick put on Kajan’s glasses and strolled over at a leisurely pace.
While the students, fooled by Dick’s silver tongue, were fighting hard, he safely retrieved the Desolater hidden by perception magic and stored it securely in his subspace, then pressed the button on the glasses.
‘Heh, clear with ease!’
“Ugh! Hey! This stuff’s actually poisonous!”
“Cough, cough! I’ve got rashes on my skin!”
Suddenly, chaos broke out behind him. Dick grinned and pulled out the antidotes he had bought in Rochest, pouring them onto the floor.
“They’re plant-type monsters, of course they’re poisonous! Here, here, drinks for all my guests!”
The students flocked toward the antidotes.
“Just so you know, each bottle is 100 silver, alright?”
“……You bastard, seriously?”
* * *
Second floor of the Study Hall.
Splat! Thud! Crack!
A scene of one-sided slaughter was unfolding here. And watching this unfold with trembling legs, his back glued to the classroom wall, was a male student.
It was Toto, from Class A of the first-years.
‘……What the hell is this guy?’
A boy wearing a crown on his head was casually walking forward, ripping through vines and plant-type monsters with overwhelming power. In this situation where such might could easily be directed at him, Toto was slowly being consumed by fear.
[Hey! You nerd!]
The boy’s gaze turned toward Toto.
[If you run away, I’ll kill you myself!]
“Y-Yes!”
Prince was tearing through the plant-type monsters with clear emotional fury.
[I obviously thought you’d join me! And now Zombie Prince gets stuck with this kind of trash cleanup!? Tch!]
It was a time of brutal one-sided violence. In barely five minutes, the situation was over. All the plant-type monsters lay limp across the classroom floor.
Prince put on Kajan’s glasses, which he had received from Simon, and pressed the button.
[Nerd. Get over here.]
Prince gestured. Above all else, valuing his own life, Toto rushed over.
[Put this in your subspace.]
Prince waved his hand through the air, and a pitch-black box popped into his hand. Toto’s eyes widened.
[Hey, are you ignoring me?]
“N-No, sir!”
Following instructions, Toto placed the box into his subspace. Prince grinned and threw an arm around his shoulder.
[Yeah, just keep listening like that, and everything’ll end without a hitch. Got it?]
“Y-Yes!”
[Next question. What subspace item are you using?]
“This bracelet, sir.”
[Take it off.]
Toto flinched and clutched the bracelet to his chest.
“No! This is precious to me…!”
[You won’t hand it over?]
Prince raised a fist with a “You little–!” tone, and Toto, on the verge of tears, had no choice but to surrender the bracelet.
[Ah, stop crying! I’m not stealing it!]
As Toto’s big teardrops rolled down his cheeks, Prince snapped.
[It’s for your own safety. I’ll return it to you tonight.]
“R-Really?”
[I promise. On the honor of the Zombie Prince.]
‘Zombie Prince…? What even is that?’
Anyway, if it meant getting his subspace item back, Toto was fine with whatever. But letting him go like this felt a bit unsettling.
He didn’t seem like a completely bad person, but something told him this guy would probably forget. Yet if he tried to ask for collateral, he’d probably get punched.
Resigned, Toto held out his pinky.
“T-Then please promise.”
[…]
Prince gave him a dumbfounded smile.
[Kids these days, honestly.]
Prince crouched down and hooked his own pinky around Toto’s.
Thinking that this much should at least make him remember, Toto was about to pull his hand away when Prince suddenly barked,
[Hey, what are you doing!? You didn’t stamp it!]
“Huh?”
[You said promise, right? You gotta stamp your thumbs together after the pinky swear, then sign it, and laminate it too!]
“No, that’s really just something little kids do…”
Prince shouted, “Waaagh!” in a fiery outburst, and Toto fell flat on his back.
“I-I’ll do it!”
He had gotten involved with a weird one.
And so, Toto carried out the bizarre promise ritual exactly as Prince demanded.
But then, Prince scanned Toto’s outfit from top to bottom.
[Hey, that uniform of yours looks kinda nice, doesn’t it?]
“Y-Yes?”
* * *
At the same time.
Simon finally joined up with Feer and Erzebet in the courtyard.
“I was so nervous the whole time. Why is everyone so late?”
At Simon’s question, Feer, clad in plate armor, scowled.
[Damn it! After getting through the fog, there was another barrier.]
Erzebet nodded.
[Yes, a massive barrier covering the entire Keyzen first-year campus. Even I, with my stealth abilities, couldn’t get through. It seems to be a type that completely blocks outside intrusions.]
So the barrier was already that complete. Simon rubbed his forehead with a grim face.
“Then it’s up to us to resolve this incident.”
[Keh keh keh! Exactly!]
Simon turned his head and looked northward for a moment.
‘I hope Kami made it out safely.’
If Kamibarez managed to get to the Necropolis and summon the professors, that would give them a new option. But for now, Simon thought it best that he and Kajan handle this themselves.
Re-entering the Toxicology Building, Simon descended into the basement where Kajan was on guard. Passing through a dark corridor, he arrived at the secret hazardous materials storage.
“You’re here.”
Kajan’s voice rang out from the darkness. He dropped silently from the ceiling.
[Ugh, it’s this guy again.]
Erzebet said with a tone of exasperation. Simon gave a wry smile and looked at Kajan.
“What about Francesca?”
“She’s not out yet.”
Kajan shook his head and continued.
“But we’ve got some good news. All your teammates successfully neutralized the four Desolaters.”
“That’s great!”
Now the basic condition to confront Francesca was finally in place.
All the Desolaters were stored safely in individual subspaces, and wouldn’t detonate upon Francesca’s ignition signal. She couldn’t threaten them with explosions anymore.
And most importantly, the fact that a massive explosion would no longer happen was a huge relief. Simon could finally let out a mental sigh of relief.
The catastrophic future had been averted. Now, depending on how Simon and Kajan proceeded, things could turn out far better.
“Oh, and I also found Professor Lang’s diary and faculty ID in his office.”
Simon said as he took out Lang’s ID.
“I gave the diary to Kamibarez, who’s heading to the Necropolis where the professors are. Now, with this faculty ID…”
“We can go in and arrest Francesca.”
The two nodded at the same time.
“Erze.”
[Yeeees~]
Erzebet spread a web wide over Simon’s uniform. The threads transformed, and Simon was now wearing a new navy outfit.
“Feer.”
[Let’s go!]
Feer, now without his armor, broke down into hundreds of bones that attached themselves to Simon’s body.
A cloak wrapped around him, a skull formed a helmet over his face, and the greatsword was perfectly grasped by Simon’s right hand, connected through Feer’s skeletal arm.
‘Overlord check, all good.’
Everything was ready.
Simon took a deep breath and held Lang’s faculty ID to the black magic circle.
Wuuuuung!
Lang’s faculty ID was sucked straight into the wall, and with a series of clicking sounds, the wall and door transformed into hundreds of blocks. They rose and sank like piano keys, and soon, a gap opened to form a passageway.
Just knowing Francesca was in there brought a wave of tension. Simon held his breath and followed Kajan, who took the lead.
Secret hazardous materials storage, that name was fitting. The dangerous materials here were sealed under dozens of layers using alloys and magical restraints. At first glance, the place looked like a room full of barrels.
Then, Kajan, walking ahead, signaled with his fingers.
‘……?’
When Simon turned to look, he saw four empty spaces where something clearly should’ve been.
The black magic seals had been removed. The surrounding area was covered in dust, yet the floor in the center was clean in a perfect square.
Someone had taken the items recently.
‘Desolaters were stored here!’
Seeing exactly four empty spaces gave him a great sense of relief. He had been worried he hadn’t properly confirmed the explosions from the future.
The two moved forward again. Just then, Kajan, walking in front, raised his clenched right fist.
“They’re coming.”
Buuuuuuuuung!
A black cross soared through the air.
“Back up.”
Kajan’s arm muscles bulged threateningly. He didn’t dodge the incoming cross but instead threw a punch straight at it.
KWOOM!
The black cross collided directly with Kajan’s fist. Cracking sounds echoed from his arm, but the cross crumpled like a tin can and shattered into fragments.
“Tch.”
Kajan clicked his tongue and shook out his arm. Simon gasped.
“C-Couldn’t you just dodge it?”
Kajan silently pointed behind him. At his fingertip, Simon saw what looked like a storage tank.
Simon understood instantly. If the cross had crashed into that storage tank… it would’ve been horrifying.
‘As expected of Kajan. His experience is on another level.’
Simon was impressed and widened his awareness. Kajan said,
“Get down.”
“!”
Simon, Kajan, and Erzebet immediately dropped to the ground, lying flat. Crosses flew in from three directions, collided above their heads, and crumpled, scattering into the air.
A brutally savage attack.
[……A mere priest dares.]
Erzebet, radiating killing intent, raised her head.
[There’s no way we’d fall to this kind of attack. Now, why don’t you show yourself?]
Superb.