Chapter 157
Chapter 157
Quite a lot of time had passed since Villed was swallowed by the monster.
Villed being eaten was not a meaningless event.
After that, the monster lost its large teeth, claws, wings, tail, and mane.
The monster’s once massive body also, for some reason, gradually grew smaller. Its ferocious movements stopped, and it became motionless.
It was true that changes were occurring within the monster.
……However, one crucial fact did not change.
Villed was still inside the monster’s stomach.
If time continued to pass like this, Villed would melt away in its stomach…… ah, no.
Elined, who had ended up imagining it, covered her mouth with her hand.
Her head hurt. Nausea rose up. Just thinking about it was horrifying.
Unable to wait any longer, Elined finally picked up her sabre.
“Elined. Put the sword down.”
The Princess, having noticed, tried to stop her.
If it were the usual Elined, she would not have defied her words.
That was only natural.
The Finjer Duke Family and the Astrid Empire’s imperial family were extremely closely connected.
Moreover, Elined was in a position where she aimed to become Finjer’s successor.
If she were to oppose a member of the imperial family, her political standing would be severely shaken.
Elined knew that very well.
But she was different from usual.
“If this keeps up and Villed really dies!”
Elined shouted at the Princess.
……I had finally found a companion I could truly trust.
I had found a true companion, and we had even promised to increase our companions together from now on.
Villed was the first companion I had found.
……I could not lose him here of all places.
Elined clenched her teeth and continued.
“Will Your Highness take full responsibility?”
Rudeness beyond discourtesy.
If this were outside the academy, it would have been an act that would cost her head.
Curio opened her eyes wide and glared at Elined.
But the person concerned, the Princess, did not get angry. She knew.
That even if Elined committed rudeness, she desperately wanted to save Villed.
However, the Princess also could not back down. She was certain, because she had seen Villed’s eyes.
……Because of that.
“Yes. I will take responsibility.”
The Princess replied calmly.
“Your Highness!”
Curio cried out in shock, but the Princess shook her head.
“Elined. If anything happens to Villed, I will take responsibility for every problem that occurs here.”
“…….”
Elined’s breathing trembled.
“So please, wait.”
“Ah…… ah…….”
Clang-.
Elined threw the sabre down onto the floor and crouched as if collapsing.
Then she clasped both hands together.
If the Princess came out that resolutely…… there was nothing more that could be done.
All she could do was pray that Villed was alive.
Ren stood beside the Princess and quietly looked at the motionless monster.
Just as the Princess believed, that Villed was alive.
As Villed had instructed, simply waiting silently.
……It was then.
A minute vibration ran through the monster’s body, which had been stiff like a statue, and it began to break apart little by little.
Crack-.
At first, it was a fissure as thin as a strand of hair.
But that crack instantly spread, branching out like a spider’s web.
Thud, thud…….
Fragments from the cracked areas began to fall away.
Like a bird breaking its shell to hatch…….
Light leaked out through the gaps where the pieces had fallen away.
Something was awakening inside.
Meanwhile.
Yggdrasil Academy main building, faculty wing, Ruber’s laboratory.
“…….”
Professor Ruber, who had been organizing documents alone, turned his gaze toward the window.
Just now, he had felt a powerful wave of mana.
The location was…… the top of the Clock Tower.
It was a wave that ordinary students could not produce.
Ruber stood up from his seat and walked toward the window.
One step, two steps, just as he approached the third.
The window had already changed into the entrance of an underground passage.
Both the floor and the walls were built of rough stone.
Being underground, there were no windows, but torches were placed along the walls, so it was not dark.
This was a virtual secret passage formed of mana.
It was practically a shortcut that shortened long distances.
It was while Ruber stepped into it and was walking.
……He heard another set of footsteps. They were even running urgently.
There was someone else in this passage.
The owner of those footsteps soon became clear.
“Professor Ruber!”
It was Professor Hilda, with long black hair covering one eye.
For this round of the top departments, the Finders interview had been conducted by Ruber and Hilda.
Since the only professors who had stayed behind at the academy without leaving work were Hilda and Ruber, their meeting here was not strange.
Hilda stopped in front of Ruber, panting for breath.
“Professor Ruber, you noticed it too!”
“Yes, it would have been impossible not to.”
After answering like that, Ruber turned his gaze to Hilda’s hand.
“Professor Hilda, that hand?”
“……Yes?”
Only then did Hilda look at her little finger.
It was slightly cut, with blood flowing.
“Ah, I must have cut it on the railing while rushing here.”
Hilda immediately healed her finger with magic.
“…….”
Ruber merely watched silently. After the healing finished, Hilda spoke urgently.
“Professor Ruber, there’s something more important than my injury.”
“Yes, let us hurry.”
The two ran through the passage at a quick pace.
The top floor of the Clock Tower.
Just as the monster’s body was about to break apart further.
Crack-!
This time, a fissure appeared in midair.
“……Ha, honestly.”
What emerged from that fissure was Narrow-eyed Luga.
His left arm was stained with blood.
“Luga!”
The Princess ran over to him.
“I’m sorry, Your Highness. I ended up letting it slip away.”
“It’s fine. Hurry and treat the wound first.”
Curio and Ren supported Luga.
The Princess cast basic healing magic on Luga’s arm.
The torn wound was regenerating.
“…….”
Luga quietly watched it.
Then he turned his gaze toward the monster.
“Your Highness, there are many matters I need to report regarding that Witch. But first…… why did that monster end up like that?”
When Luga asked, Ren opened his mouth.
“Well…… it’s complicated to explain, but after Mister Villed was swallowed by the monster, it ended up like that.”
“Dedenkman?”
It was just as Luga narrowed his eyes and asked back.
Paaat-!
The monster’s body completely shattered, and a brief radiance spread out.
And at the center of that radiance……
“Ah, Mister Villed is……!”
Ren smiled.
The Princess and Elined held their breath at the sight.
Truly, he was alive.
Villed was standing there in perfect condition, without a single wound.
And in his arms, Lapin—whom they had thought had turned into a monster—was also being held.
“…….”
Luga looked at Villed.
……This time as well.
Amidst a massive incident, Villed would suddenly appear and always occupy the center.
Was this a coincidence again?
No.
A continuity of coincidences.
If coincidences continued, they would eventually become inevitability.
Villed being here was not a coincidence…… it was his will.
……However, there was still no proof that Villed belonged to the enemy group.
Moreover, this time as well, rather than helping the group, he had instead interfered with them.
Then was he an ally?
……No.
That also could not be proof that he was an ally.
Rather, this could be a deliberate trap designed to gain trust as an ally.
Villed’s level of planning and meticulousness was endless, so Luga could not help but remain suspicious until the very end.
……Still.
This was only a hypothetical, but.
If the reason he had come to the academy was to eliminate the ‘group’…….
No, was that interpreting it too favorably?
What most students first associated with Villed was the fact that he was the son of a high-ranking noble.
But Luga no longer paid attention to his status.
His family was merely the tip of the iceberg.
It would not be an exaggeration to say that nothing about his truth had been revealed except his family.
The incompetence attributed to him in public was a lie.
Though Luga had not directly seen his abilities with his own eyes.
He became curious about what kind of ‘specialness’ Villed possessed.
A person who needed to be watched going forward.
If an ally, a being that must be recruited at all costs.
If an enemy, a being that must be killed without fail.
Luga clearly recognized that point.
“……Everyone!”
Someone shouted at this place.
When they turned their gaze there, two new people appeared.
Hilda, and Professor Ruber.
……In the end, I had returned.
When I opened my eyes, I realized that I had somehow come back to the Clock Tower.
Neither the Witch nor the monster was anywhere to be seen.
Instead, Ren’s group and two professors were around.
Everything had unfolded exactly as in the game.
But the difference from the game was…… that I, Villed, who should not have been part of the main story, was here.
And that Lapin was being held in my arms.
‘It’s a scene that deviated from the canon, but it doesn’t matter.’
……I had ultimately saved Lapin, who was destined to die.
Lapin, cradled in my arms, looked up at me.
I smiled silently as I looked at Lapin.
Even though everything had returned to normal, neither Lapin nor I could separate ourselves from each other.
Regarding this incident, the Princess carefully explained everything to the two professors.
The two professors also seemed to have accepted what had happened.
“Mister Dedenkman.”
Ruber called out to me.
“You didn’t forget about tomorrow’s interview, did you?”
“Of course not.”
“Then that’s fine. You may go.”
Ruber turned his gaze to someone else.
……It was Lapin.
“However, Lapin. You are to remain here.”
“…….”
Lapin’s gaze as she looked at Ruber trembled slightly.
Ruber’s stance was reasonable.
Since it was Lapin who had led Ren’s group here, it was only natural to judge that she might be a subordinate of the enemy.
It was a situation where everyone here had no choice but to suspect Lapin.
……But I knew that Lapin was not an enemy.
That was why I stepped in front of Lapin.
“I will go along as well.”
“Mister Dedenkman. There is no need for you to do that.”
“I also bear responsibility, since I was the one who reverted Lapin after she turned into a monster.”
“…….”
Ruber closed his mouth.
He looked at me steadily, then soon nodded.
“If that is what you want, then so be it. Follow me.”
……And so.
We separated from Ren’s group and followed Ruber.
Ruber led us to the underground level of the main building.
With iron bars standing everywhere, it looked like a prison.
“I will say this again, but you do not need to come this far.”
“It’s fine.”
I voluntarily entered the prison cell.
Judging by the sound of a lock being fastened nearby, it seemed Lapin had been placed in the cell next to mine.
“Then, see you tomorrow.”
With those words, Ruber disappeared.
After some time passed, Lapin’s voice came from the next cell.
“……Villed.”
“There won’t be any problem. When tomorrow comes, we just need to tell the truth.”
“Yeah.”
Perhaps reassured by my words, Lapin did not speak anymore.
Professor Ruber.
Though he was a blunt person, it was unlikely that I would end up opposing him under normal circumstances.
Even if Lapin honestly revealed everything, no harm would come to her.
‘But he will probably keep his guard up.’
It was at the moment I fell into thought about how to resolve this.
Click-. Click-.
The sound of footsteps, ringing out rhythmically, slowly approached from the damp end of the corridor.
A woman with long black hair covering one eye, giving off an unusual aura.
……It was Professor Hilda.
“Student Villed.”
Hilda approached close to the bars and stared at me with her exposed eye.
“I clearly told you not to do anything dangerous.”
That single eye stared at me sharply.