I’m the Slit-Eyed Character at the Academy, but I’m not the Mastermind

Chapter 276

The whole world was bathed in golden light.

It wasn’t a metaphor; it truly was.

While the sunset was painting the sky, the place we were at was a water. The reflected sunset light shone, creating a golden world.

Floating above it, it was natural for the whole world to look golden.

‘Beautiful.’

The [Water Shield] surrounding Mabelga burst, creating a water bomb.

It was a shock like a dam breaking, and we were naturally swept away by the water.

Well, there shouldn’t be any life-threatening injuries. I was the closest and was still alive and well.

‘Let's rest a bit. There are no more enemies now.’

The number of people entering Carpathia Castle kept increasing.

With their support, Adonis and Caron would soon remove the roots of the erosion.

‘That’s the story.’

Now all I had to do was rest, receive my reward, and return to Annwood Academy.

Even though the battle lasted less than a day, my body felt strangely exhausted.

It felt like I had been fighting for over a month.

‘Well, it must be an illusion.’

It could be because of running around the fourth area hunting demons.

Or it could be the satisfying feeling of ending a fight that had lasted for 18 years.

"..."

It was a quiet moment of floating on the water, enjoying peace.

Someone who had been floating far away started to rise.

A girl with hair like the night sky. It was Rodelin.

"Is everyone alright?"

"Ugh, senior! I feel like I'm going to die!"

"It seems everyone is fine."

Rodelin lightly ignored Raymon’s whining.

To be scolded by Rodelin. I’m a bit envious(?).

"Everyone, gather around. We need to check for injuries."

At Rodelin’s call, the children gathered one by one around her.

I moved while still lying on the water, using my newly acquired skill, [Wind], for a short sail.

That sail ended as I bumped into the lighthouse known as Rodelin.

Of course, I sank.

Glub-.

‘Control is harder than I thought. I need more practice.’

As I sank into the water, Rodelin’s voice reached my ears.

"Using the power of wind to sink yourself... I don't know whether to call it a skill or a lack thereof."

Rodelin looked down at me from above the water with her arms crossed.

A wonderful look of disdain(?).

I put strength into my legs and stood up. The water’s depth only reached my waist, so it was easy to stand up.

"Keke, it was just because I lacked strength. I used all my power to kill the demons."

"...I have many questions for you, Zero, but it’s better to treat your wounds first."

"I agree. I fought closest to the enemy and used the Ragnarok Blade, which consumes physical strength."

"Hmph! Who said I would treat you? Treating someone who uses dirty dark energy is impossible!"

Despite her words, Victoria was quickly walking towards me.

Victoria’s eyebrows furrowed slightly as she checked my body here and there.

"Huh? What’s this? There are no wounds."

"What? What do you mean..."

Yuridia grabbed my hand in surprise.

I was also startled. There were no large wounds on my hand.

Just minor scrapes and slight cuts.

‘Something’s strange.’

[Ragnarok Blade] has a penalty of reducing health by 20% per turn.

In the game, it was always described that Yuridia would have significant wounds on her hands whenever she used this skill.

It meant that big wounds would form on the hand that directly grasped the dark energy. But...

‘I didn’t get any wounds?’

I quickly analyzed the situation, checking my ‘skill window.’

In a situation like this, the most suspicious skill was...

[Demon's Blood: S]

Feel the dark energy.

Penalty from the opponent's dark energy -100%

Dark energy skill effect +50%

Holy skill effect -50%

[Demon's Blood].

It seemed that the anomaly was due to ‘Penalty from the opponent's dark energy -100%.’

The [Ragnarok Blade]’s dark energy was recognized as ‘opponent's dark energy.’

‘Interesting.’

For someone like me who had played the game for a long time, this was valuable information.

Several combinations of skills came to mind, but I just mentally noted it down.

Right now, the most important thing was to dispel the children's suspicions.

"Keke, I am a genius of magic. This much is natural."

"A genius, huh... That’s an easy excuse. Isn’t that right, Yuridia?"

[Victoria's suspicion has increased. If her doubts are not resolved, an ‘interrogation’ procedure will begin.]

Rumble-!

A guillotine appeared behind Victoria.

It was the effect of the skill, [Inquisition].

‘An incredible sense of intimidation...!’

Whether it was because I had the [Demon's Blood] skill or because I genuinely thought I might die, I swallowed nervously.

"If he’s a genius, it’s possible."

"Huh?"

Victoria let out a strange sound.

It was unbelievable that such a cultured person would make such a noise.

Sss-.

Realizing this herself, the guillotine effect quickly disappeared.

"Yuridia, what do you mean?"

"I heard that the stamina required to use [Ragnarok Blade] varies from user to user. I have low proficiency and compatibility, so I get wounded quickly. But a genius like Zero..."

It was possible for Zero to use [Ragnarok Blade] without getting hurt.

That’s what Yuridia was saying.

"...I see. But isn’t that an experimental spell? How would Zero know about it?"

"Actually... my family’s spellbook was stolen once."

"A thief?"

"Yes, there was a place where we kept failed spellbooks. Some spells leaked out during that process. They were just failed spells, so we didn’t pay much attention... It seems one of them reached Zero."

Victoria turned sharply to me. A gesture asking if this was true.

"Keke, I don’t know either. I learned the spell from a wandering mage I met by chance. I was also surprised to see Yuridia using it. I didn’t expect it to be a spell from the Rowntor family..."

Victoria raised her hand to cut me off.

Such disrespectful behavior.

I wanted to immediately channel my inner Confucian dragon and shout ‘Gal!’ but I decided to let it slide because I am kind.

Not because I saw the guillotine earlier. I’m letting it slide because I’m kind!

"How amusing."

"What’s amusing?"

"It’s amusing that such a powerful spell was considered a failure, and it uses dark energy? If it were me, I would have immediately tracked down the thieves."

Who knows when the spell was developed, but it must have been a long time ago when using dark energy was illegal.

Even if it wasn’t that time, developing a spell that uses dark energy could tarnish the Rowntor family’s reputation.

Not tracking the thieves was strange. That’s what Victoria was saying.

"It wasn’t necessary. It’s a hard spell to use, and as you can see, it’s a spell that uses the caster’s life force. Why bother tracking down those who would die on their own?"

"What if someone dies because of it?"

"That’s not our fault. It’s the ‘thief’s’ fault for not knowing the dangers of the spell."

"Don’t nobles have obligations? That’s too irresponsible."

"Then are all the deaths from potion misuse the fault of the Holy Kingdom? Why are you here then? Shouldn't you be stopping the sale of potions immediately?"

"Oh~ Hohoho! What a preposterous argument. Can you take responsibility for that statement?"

"Hohoho! Can you take responsibility, Victoria? You’re insulting an Imperial family. Such courage."

Sizzle-!

Sparks flew between Yuridia and Victoria.

A fight broke out because of me.

I felt like a tragic male protagonist.

Guys, don’t fight because of me!

- I wanted to shout and jump in, but I felt like I’d get burned, so I refrained.

"That’s enough. I didn’t order you to fight. I told you to check and treat injuries."

"Hmph!"

"Hmph!"

At Rodelin’s intervention, the two turned their backs.

Victoria began checking the other children’s injuries one by one.

[Inquisitor Victoria’s suspicion decreases.]

[Current suspicion level: 8%]

The suspicion level only rose by 1%, which was very well handled.

[Ragnarok Blade], [Darkness], Lucid family’s secret techniques, even running on water.

If any of that were discovered, it wouldn’t be surprising to find my neck on a guillotine.

"Let’s talk later."

Yuridia whispered as she passed by me.

Hmm, it seems she has her own motives for defending me.

‘Half of what Yuridia said was a lie.’

I didn’t know how things would proceed, but it was much better than being suspected by Victoria.

"Everyone has minor injuries. Treatment is complete."

"Hmm, thank you. It seems other places are also getting sorted out."

Several flags were raised above Carpathia Castle.

We hadn’t received training yet, so we didn’t know the meaning of the flags.

Of course, I, a veteran, knew.

‘During the decisive battle, avoid unnecessary risks, 6-star and above support, others standby.’

With many powerful people arriving, there was no place for Rodelin to step in.

Meaning we all lost our jobs(?). So we were just idly standing around.

‘By the way...’

I looked at each of the children gathered around the water.

Besides the battle, everyone was soaked from falling into the water.

We had long discarded our outer garments that hindered combat.

‘There’s a reason perverts like white shirts.’

The wet shirts clung to their bodies, revealing their figures.

Annwood Academy only admits those above average.

Perhaps due to rigorous training, everyone had a well-toned body. Even the small-framed Raymon had chocolate abs.

Everyone was excellent, but among them...

"Zero? What are you looking at? Is there something behind me?"

"...A huge mountain."

"Mountain? I only see the castle..."

No, senior. There is definitely a mountain. And it’s moving, two of them...

As I watched Rodelin look around for the mountain, someone’s body blocked my view.

It was Luna.

Of course, Luna was also soaked.

And our Luna...

Hmm, she’s just Luna(?).

"What are you thinking? Your gaze seems impure."

"Keke, it’s a misunderstanding. Luna, you’re in a perfect state morally, so don’t worry."

"That’s what I mean by impure! What’s wrong with me!"

What’s wrong? No need to explain.

"It can’t be helped. If there’s a huge mountain, there must be cliffs too. That’s the way of nature."

"You pervert! And look at your belly! Oh my, this belly fat."

Luna grabbed my belly fat and pulled. Hey, that’s my reserved pork belly!

As I dodged Luna’s hands, I bumped into something solid and huge.

It was Alex, the game’s protagonist.

"Zero, you did well."

Alex smiled brightly and swept his hair back.

The golden sunset, his handsome face, well-toned body, and water droplets splashing around.

Staying near Alex would trigger the ‘Bad Ending’ route where I turn into a squid and travel to the sea.

As I moved away from Alex.

"Huh? Rezé! Rezé!"

Luna waved and jumped. Rezé was running towards us, small sparks crackling behind her.

"Rezé, come slowly... Whoa!"

Was there a deep hole? Luna, who was jumping in the water, fell into the water.

"L-Luna! I-I’ll save you!"

Rezé, who was running, jumped into the water.

She began swimming vigorously with her arms and legs.

And as a result.

Glub-.

...Our rabbit drowned in the water.

--TL Notes--

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