Chapter 93
Student Council President Election (6)
It is foolish to throw one’s head headfirst into an impossible task.
If it is impossible to jump over the wall that blocks your eyes, there are many other ways, such as bypassing or giving up.
A wise and experienced person will somehow find another way.
There was a reason why everyone in the world said it was impossible.
*
-Too-duk-to-duk.
Raindrops flowing down the roof of the hut cannot withstand the weight and fall to the ground.
The girl who was sitting against the outside wall looked up blankly at the sky and let out a long yawn.
It’s obvious why you don’t go inside the hut, but rather sit against the outside wall and look at the edge.
The girl is waiting for someone to return home.
I don’t have any business to do, and it’s not like I’d say hello to you very warmly if I met you.
Lucy Mayril used to wait for Ed for no particular reason.
Watching him sit guarding the house makes him seem like a gatekeeper. In fact, she’s closer to a downtrodden diner than a gatekeeper, but Lucy doesn’t really realize it herself.
It feels amazing to spend time idly with my gray hair, which has become dull due to humidity, and holding a witch’s hat.
For Lucy, who is lazy in everything, the act of waiting directly leads to boredom.
However, as I sit leaning against the outer wall of the cabin and quietly wait for Ed, I feel a sense of calm comfort rather than boredom. This is probably because the meaning of this camp space is very special to Lucy.
Ed’s daily life is always changing and turbulent, but the place he finally comes to rest in is inside the camp’s cabin.
Ed’s daily life always ends at this camp. It’s not hard to imagine that.
After trudging through the grass and checking the extinguished campfire, I will kick the wooden reinforcement bar a few times to make sure it is strong.
I’ll go to the drying rack and take care of all the wet laundry, and among the tools I’ve taken out outside, I’ll push all the rusty items under the tent.
Then, shaking off the water from his clothes, he came towards the cabin and asked Lucy how she was doing… and she nodded and accepted it.
I would put a fire in the fireplace inside the cabin, light the magic engineering lamp, and then sit down at the desk and start reading the magic engineering books.
Then, Lucy sits down by the fire, wraps herself in a blanket, and falls asleep.
The sound of rain hitting a window or a fireplace crackling. I listened to the sound of the pages of Ed’s book turning once in a while.
– Ta-da-da-da-da-dak!
– Hwaaaaaaa!
Suddenly, I felt a sign of presence in the grass beyond. The traces of magical power did not belong to just one person.
Lucy, who was sitting blankly leaning against the outside wall, had the tip of her nose tremble for a moment.
“…”
Rarely do people come to this camp deep in the northern forest. Moreover, it is late at night and it is raining.
If Ed said no, I wonder what he was doing… but Lucy wasn’t the type of person to be curious about such things.
However, it is not very pleasant for someone to approach the camp unnecessarily.
If Ed, the owner of the camp, gives permission, Lucy doesn’t really react. However, there is no way that someone will sneak in and do something stupid while he is away.
In fact, when Lucy was sleeping in the wooden shelter, Assistant Professor Claire sneaked in without her knowledge and tried to touch her.
Basically, Lucy hates strangers. This is especially true if that person is sneaking into Lucy’s nest.
“Hmm…”
It was surprising for Lucy, who was indifferent and bothered by everything in the world. I got up from my seat, shook off my baggy school uniform a few times, and threw myself into the rain.
In any case, there is no harm in chasing away useless intruders. I think that if Ed comes back, he will pat me on the head and say thank you, so it’s not a bad deal.
I ran at a light pace in the direction of the grass where the sound came from. Although it was more than a hundred meters away, it was a distance that Lucy could narrow down in an instant.
There were two people beyond the grass.
“Ugh!”
A rugged middle-aged knight was sitting in the grass, holding up a knight who was covered in blood and unconscious.
“Ugh…”
“…?”
“You…you…!”
Cardek and Nox, who were subdued by Ed, managed to escape from the coastal cliff area and were fleeing to the living quarters.
Coincidentally, the route passed near Ed’s camp.
The fishy smell of blood stung Lucy’s nose.
“Help me…! I got seriously injured…! I tripped… I lost my foot in the forest and fell down the slope…!”
“…”
“Besides… my colleague encountered a wild animal and had his neck bitten off…! Please go to the living quarters and receive medical assistance… please help…!”
Lucy stood still and looked at Nox. There were scratches all over the body, but most of them were more like burns than scratches or bumps.
It clearly looked like it had been hit by fire or explosive magic. This article is lying to Lucy.
People who are in an extreme situation usually don’t go to the length of lying to ask for help.
At that point, Lucy noticed an eagle insignia visible through Nox’s torn robes.
“The Rosstaylor family.”
As Lucy whispered softly, Nox took a deep breath.
However, after quickly coming to his senses, Nox spoke again with a stern expression.
“This is Nox, a vassal belonging to the Rosstaylor family. We are not suspicious people. He is a person who went through the permission process and entered the academy in order to serve as an assistant to Tanya Rosstaylor.”
“…”
“If you help us, we will give a fair reward to the Rosstaylor family. Could you please allow us to return to the living quarters?”
This is more troublesome than you think. Lucy sensed that fact.
Although she didn’t want to get caught up in trouble, the name Ross Taylor tickled Lucy’s ears.
This is the same family that Ed Rosstaylor once belonged to. Even though she was now excommunicated and living a completely separate life, Lucy thought she had a special relationship with Ed, so the name did not easily get off her mind.
As she was wondering what to do… Lucy caught the eye of the unconscious Kadek’s neck.
It is different from a typical beast attack. The magical power of the water spirit centered around Kadek. Although it remained only at a slight level, it was clearly captured by Lucy’s sensitive magical senses.
Even at first glance, the two knights don’t seem to have the ability to sense spirits. The spirit energy in his body… is probably a trace of having fought a battle with a spirit warrior until recently.
Lucy’s gaze goes to the blood stains all over Nox’s body.
It’s a sign that he was caught in an explosion spell in the first place. It’s not a stab or scratch wound, but the blood stains are in a strange shape.
Traces of blood splattered from the inside of Nox’s body towards the outside. It feels as if blood has been splattered from the front.
What can be inferred from that is that the blood is not Knox’s own.
Vassals belonging to the Ross Taylor family who excommunicated Ed.
Traces of battle with the spiritist.
Blood stains.
And the unnaturalness that appears in this place at this time.
Eventually, my eyes landed on the wound on the side of Kadek’s leg. It is a wound that appears to have been pierced by something that looks like a sharp point, along with traces of magical power.
─For example, an arrow.
As soon as the thought reached this point, a shiver ran down Lucy’s spine.
-Whaaah!
Just by clenching your fist, your magic moves like a part of your body. Mana sensitivity that has reached a level beyond its limits allows one to handle magical power as if it were one’s own body.
“Ugh wow!”
Nox’s body is lifted into the air as if he has been grabbed by the collar.
Lucy, who trudged in through the rain, looked up at Nox and questioned him.
“What are you…?”
An ominous feeling sits heavily in the girl’s heart.
“What have you been doing?”
I can’t breathe properly. Nox became dizzy.
Even Nox, who is not very versed in magic, can feel the amount of magical power rising from the girl’s body.
It is a magical power that is manipulated through pure receptive power without any chanting or tools to help with magical power tuning. That’s how enormous it is. It evokes a primal fear beyond understanding.
You could really die.
He has overcome the danger of death twice and managed to escape to the northern forest, but this time he is an opponent he truly cannot defeat.
“Say it straight.”
If your sensitivity is low, it is difficult to feel the magic power itself. If Nox’s poor sensitivity alone is enough to make the magic in the air feel thick and heavy, then he is truly a wizard at a level where he would have nothing to say even if he lost his life with a single wave of his hand.
“If you’re honest, I’ll help you. Anyway… you can’t do anything on your own.”
Just a little bit of tolerance at the edge of such fear.
This is Nox, who has already overcome and survived so many trials. My mind was also quite worn out.
The last word of conciliation offered in the face of death, repeated several times… was an offer that could not be refused.
In the end, Nox ends up making a choice he should never have made.
“I… killed… a person….”
*
On the edge of a cliff amidst wind and rain.
Flavin, a senior professor of demonology, picked up the dagger that was at the scene. When I take it out of the scabbard and look at the surface, the dark red afterimage of the engraving clearly remains.
“It feels like accidents like this only happen when I’m on duty.”
He scans his unshaven chin and analyzes the engraving pattern. It is a trace of high-quality engraving that is almost impossible to see in real life.
‘The imprint of extreme poison’. Once stabbed, death is certain. Judging by the fact that no magic power is felt and only traces of the imprint remain, it has already been used.
That means… there have already been deaths. Flavin sighed deeply. After all, this is a major accident.
These days, accidents have been happening constantly in Sylvania, so it feels like an accident so big that it’s hard to handle happens at least once a semester.
On the cliffside at the northern end of Aken Island, four or so academic staff members, including Professor Flavin, were present in their robes.
Most of the faculty members who had been working overnight at the Trix Building came out to ask for help from 3rd year Magician Yenica Palover.
Among them, the fact that Professor Flavin, who was the most responsible person among those who stayed overnight today, even came out showed that it was not an incident that should be taken lightly.
“So when you arrived at the scene, it was already…?”
“Yes…”
Was it a big shock?
Witness Yenica Palover… did not even show her expression as she lowered her head beneath the robe the school staff had covered her with to protect her from the rain.
Since he is a famous student, Professor Flavin knows him well. She was always a lively and lively girl who was loved not only by students but also by professors.
It was very difficult to see a girl like that with her head down, barely able to speak. I can’t really see that expression, though.
“Okay, to sum up the situation… I made an appointment to meet here to help student Ed with his elemental arts training… and when I arrived on the scene, student Ed had already been stabbed… is this it?”
“Yes… that’s right.”
“Besides… it’s the mark of extreme poison… even if you look at it, it’s a thoroughly planned murder.”
Near the cliff, there was a bow that appeared to belong to Ed and a frayed school uniform coat. It was a trace of resistance.
“I will report the body to the academic department and search for it when the sun rises, but… the chances of finding it are low.”
The rushing waves were crashing against the cliff. Professor Flavin summarized the situation well and put it into his head, then looked back at Yenica again.
The sight of Yenika with her head down was very heartbreaking.
“But the truth will be revealed soon. You saw the real culprit’s face?”
“Yes…”
Yenika spoke clearly with her head down.
“They are Kadec and Nox, vassals of the Rothtaylor family… That’s exactly what they said.”
“He wouldn’t have been able to escape far. From the looks of it, he must have been injured, and it wouldn’t be easy to leave Aken Island while avoiding the eyes of the bachelor. Student Yenika seems to have been very shocked, so please go back and rest now.”
Flavin took the dagger, put it in his chest, and decided to finish checking the scene.
“As soon as the sun rises, I will report to the Dean of Students and then announce this matter. The student council president election is just around the corner, so it is noisy, and the academic environment will become even more chaotic. Let’s conduct a basic search among ourselves until the sun rises.”
“You’re going to lose your mind, Professor Flavin.”
“It’s okay, Assistant Professor Max. This is a manageable workload. It’s important to get things done right away, so let’s not think about that.”
It was the moment when I came to that conclusion and was about to return to the academic headquarters.
The entrance to the forest far away on the other side of the cliff. Professor Flavin clearly saw someone standing upright.
*
It is subtly different from living.
What stands out in the sight of a girl standing in the rain in the forest far away is… cold anger.
Anger that goes beyond its limits is cold rather than hot.
“Um.. is that student…?”
The assistant professor who was with her also noticed the girl in the distance and turned to Professor Flavin.
How long has that girl, standing still with her witch’s hat pressed down on her, been there?
I walk forward in the driving rain and wind, holding my hat down. When walking quickly, the stride length is ridiculously wide compared to the height, so it seems as if gravity is not affected.
“Lu Lucy…!”
Yenika stammered and called out the name of the girl who had approached the cliff. The eyes peeking out from under the hat are cold.
The eyes, which always looked drowsy and listless, are sharp as if they were cut as if they had never been that way.
“You… here…!”
Yenica stumbled over her words.
When I talk about the truth of the incident, there are too many listening ears around me. It’s not a good time to talk to Lucy about Ed right now.
Lucy put her hat down again and made her way through the staff and stood at the edge of the cliff.
Waves are crashing on the cliff overlooking.
If you look at the edge of the cliff, you can see the bow Ed used lying around. A blood-stained coat is a bonus.
If you even think about being stabbed by a dagger with the imprint of extreme poison… the probability of survival is infinitely close to zero.
I don’t even feel magical power. It would be natural if the body was washed away by the waves.
In reality, Ed’s magical power was completely exhausted due to using legendary magic engineering supplies. Unfortunately, there was no way Lucy could even take that fact into account.
Yenica looked at Lucy while shedding a cold sweat. The ghost energy in her body was already clearly indicating that Lucy’s condition was completely different from usual.
“…”
Lucy checked the state of the scene and picked up Ed’s bow that was lying on the floor. The recurve bow with its weak magical power was too large compared to Lucy’s body.
Lucy took Ed’s bloody coat along with the bow and looked at the bachelor with cold eyes.
“Lu Lucy… Calm down… Do you want to go back to camp and listen to my story…?”
“I caught the culprit. I captured him alive.”
Lucy, paying no heed to Jenica’s words, spoke quietly to Professor Flavin.
“What…what…?”
“Kadek and Nox. The murderers who killed that child. The vassals who were attached to Tanya Rosstaylor under the pretext of assisting with military affairs.”
Surprisingly, it seems like things will be resolved quickly. Professor Flavin looked surprised and tried to say something to Lucy… but when he saw Lucy’s appearance, he swallowed his dry saliva.
Lucy still… there is no change in her expression. She wears the witch’s hat tightly with one hand… and just speaks coldly.
“Lu Lucy…!”
The images of Tanya, who had a burning desire for revenge against Ed with everyone she met, are engraved in Lucy’s mind.
It could be dismissed as simply a fight between siblings, but Lucy’s keen senses clearly felt a certain level of sincerity.
However, Tanya’s power was extremely weak and Ed himself did not seem to care much, so he just left it alone.
It was natural for Lucy to act as she had a temperament to not get involved much if Ed didn’t care much.
However, the line was crossed too clearly.
No matter how much I tried, I never thought there would be an assassination attempt. In this sloppy and obvious form.
It’s not just an unexpected act, it’s downright crazy.
All the circumstantial evidence points straight to Tanya Rosstaylor.
If you think about it with common sense, there is no way that Tanya’s vassals would do something like this without Tanya’s permission. At least it can’t help but seem that way to Lucy.
This is because there is no way that Lucy is aware of Crepin’s influence behind it.
“Lucy!”
Yenika’s cries were meaningless as magic began to swirl around Lucy.
– Kwaaaaang!
Yenika quickly tried to grab Lucy, but when she came to, Lucy was already gone.
“What…”
There was nothing where the strong wind blew. Lucy and Ed’s belongings.
Yenika came to her senses amidst the wind and rain… and quickly put on the hat of her robe. Professor Flavin was very embarrassed to see his surprisingly calm expression, although he thought he would be very timid.
“Student Yenika, what is this…”
“We have to go after Lucy right now! Right now, before this gets worse!”
*
– Quang!!
The Ofilis Pavilion seen from above is in the form of an arch that gently surrounds the rose garden.
The tall building is 6 stories tall including the rooftop, and its area is so large that it is magnificent. It is not one of the landmarks of Sylvania Academy for nothing.
Even in the rose garden that Ophelis Hall embraces, two people fell into the wide open central square and rolled on the floor.
-Crashing
“Chu… huuuu… clack clack clack.”
The new recruits were Kadec and Nox, who had been restrained by Lucy’s magic. Kadec was still unconscious, but Nox remained conscious.
A rose garden in the rain.
If you look up, you can see the full view of Ofilis Hall.
Among them, the room in the corner of the third floor is Lucy’s room, and the room next to it is Tanya’s room.
Lucy suddenly typed the sub-explosion magic ‘Explosion’ into the window.
– Kwaaaaang!
An explosion sound out of nowhere. The Ofilis Pavilion’s automatic defense magic is activated, but it is nothing more than a piece of paper in front of the power of Lucy’s magic.
As it was, one wall of the room collapsed and the rain and wind blowing through the rising dust drenched the inside… but Tanya was not seen. Tanya was not in the room.
It was fully expected.
Lucy looked up at Ofilis Hall without erasing her cold expression.
– ‘Ugh! ‘What did you just hear?!’
– ‘The maid! Bring the maid Chang! ‘Something’s happening!’
– ‘What is it? What is this, an attack?! Should I run away now?!’
Screams that predicted chaos could be heard from the windows inside the Ofilis building. It was natural that one side of the building exploded.
After receiving the report, Belle Maia, the head maid in charge, quickly ran out to the rose garden… and swallowed dry saliva when she saw Lucy’s appearance.
Rainy rose garden.
The central square that can be seen from all the windows of the Ofilis Building.
There is a girl standing, wearing a hat pulled down and wearing an old, shabby men’s school uniform coat. In one corner, a handmade recurve bow is floating in the air.
The girl who was getting caught in the rain without even showing her expression… occupied the square and quietly looked at Ofilis Hall.
“Miss Lucy…? What on earth is this…?”
Even as she spoke, Belle had a vague intuition. This is the maid who has been taking care of Lucy’s clothes longer than anyone else.
She is a girl who lives a lazy and indifferent life to the point where you wonder if this is really okay, but she never crosses the line.
Although he was born with greater magical talent than anyone else, he never treated maids carelessly and never used his great power to persecute or attack others.
So, if you watch the sudden action of hitting the Ofilis Pavilion with explosive magic, you can clearly know Bell Maia even if no one else knows.
She looks calm, quiet, and demure…
but now that girl has lost her mind.
The reason is not yet known. However, the ghostly spirit flowing out from under the deeply pressed witch hat… makes it impossible to predict what will happen if you make a mistake.
Belle raised her hand to block the maids who all came out holding rapiers.
“Miss Lucy. Why are you doing this?”
Lucy stands in the rain… speaking softly with her hat pressed down.
“Bring Tanya.”
Magic power blooms once again, and the collars of the two retainers are pulled up into the air.
“Kuhuhuh.Ugh!”
Leaving behind Nox, who was struggling in the air, Lucy kindly spoke one more time.
“Bring Tanya.”