Chapter 152: Iona's Observation Diary (7)
Chapter 152: Iona's Observation Diary (7)
Do you know the saying "First to cry wins"?
"Pervert! Stalker! Criminal! You're planning to use my weakness to do something lewd, aren't you?! Just like in an erotic novel! ...Just like in an erotic novel!"
From this moment on, I was the victim.
"W-what nonsense are you talking about, Student Yandel!"
"Am I? If not, then why did you just leave me be? Why did you leave your diary out in the open like that?"
"That's..."
Iona's voice trailed off, as if she really did have a guilty conscience.
Even if she wasn't planning to hold my weakness over me to make me do things, it seemed certain that she had intentionally left the diary for me to read.
But why? Was there a reason?
...No. The reason wasn't important right now.
I thought back to the time I accidentally dropped a bag of freshly bought bungeoppang all over the floor, and my eyes began to well up with tears.
"I trusted you! I trusted you, Professor...!"
"No, no! Calm down! Isn't something strange here? The intruder wasn't me, it was you, Student Yandel!"
"Yandel doesn't know anything about that! I'm about to be pounced on by the professor! I'm going to be turned into a mess by all the desires you've bottled up!"
"You're throwing a tantrum now?! And I can't even tell if you're asking to be pounced on or not!"
Flustered by my sudden regression into a toddler-like state, Iona fidgeted with her hands, unsure of what to do.
Good. Now was the time to seal the deal.
I flopped down onto her unnecessarily large desk and slowly turned my head to the side.
A single, sorrowful teardrop was the finishing touch.
"I-if you want to do it that much, then just go ahead and do it!"
Perfect. Having gone this far, the focus of the conversation was bound to shift.
My mind was filled with a mix of guilt and self-loathing, wondering if this was really the right way to go about things.
But once you've decided to turn a situation into a total mess, you have to see it through to the end.
Since the emotional power of the bungeoppang was wearing off, I steeled my heart by recalling the tragic ends of various other street foods: chicken skewers, egg bread, walnut cakes, tteokbokki, and hotteok.
Drip—
Just as that single tear dampened the desk...
"...Fine. You gave me permission, Student Yandel."
Huh? What? This wasn't the reaction I was expecting.
Startled by Iona's unexpected remark, I peeked one eye open.
Slide. Thump.
There was Iona, licking her lips as she climbed onto the desk, looming over me as if she were about to pounce.
Though our skin didn't touch anywhere, I could clearly feel the chill unique to vampires.
And perhaps because of her suppressed Charm, there was a faint, lingering sweetness in the air.
Iona's presence swelled, firmly taking root within my senses.
Good heavens, what was happening?
Half anticipation, half worry, half excitement. My heart, currently overheating at a total of 150%, barely had time to calm down.
Suddenly, Iona's blood-red eyes flashed sharply, as if she were looking at prey.
It was as if she were saying that none of the things I was imagining were going to happen.
...Oops!
Did I push her so hard that she actually regained her senses?
There are types who, instead of panicking in a crisis, find their brains working much better than usual.
It seemed Iona was exactly that type.
Now that she had grasped the situation, no more shaking her up would work.
Still, just in case, I winked and spoke in a playful voice.
"Ehe."
"My, my. You must still be half-asleep, aren't you? It's okay, Student Yandel. You'll be fine once you've had a good night's rest!"
With those words, Iona raised the erotic novel.
"Uh, wait a second, Professor. I'm sane now. I won't say any more nonsen—"
"Iona Punch!"
Whack!
"Gack."
Before I could finish my sentence, I was struck on the head with the book.
That wasn't even a punch...
As my vision faded, only a sense of injustice remained clear.
*
When I regained consciousness, Iona was right in front of me.
"Hello! Hello! You're finally awake!"
"......?"
What was this? Deja vu?
I was sure something like this had happened before...
I tilted my head blankly, but as soon as I saw the book with the familiar title lying next to Iona, everything came rushing back.
"Ah!"
Seeing my flustered state, Iona's smile grew even wider.
"Hey, hey! You're going to tell me the truth this time, right?"
"...Yes."
I really, truly had no choice. The moment I tried any more "First to Cry Wins" nonsense, I'd probably just get knocked out by that book again and again.
I had to be honest now.
Yada yada, platypus, whatever.
"And that's how it happened."
As I finished my explanation while carefully gauging her reaction, Iona began to tremble.
What was it? Was she angry? Was I screwed?
I cautiously began to gather mana, preparing a shield, but then...
"Pfft. Hahaha. Ahahahaha!"
For some reason, Iona began to laugh loudly, stomping her feet.
What the hell? It was even more unsettling when she just laughed without saying anything.
Is this what they call sitting on pins and needles? Unlike the giggling Iona, I found myself fidgeting quietly.
Noticing my discomfort, Iona wore her usual mischievous smile and began to pat my shoulder vigorously.
"It's okay! It's okay! You really wanted to get one over on me, didn't you? I like your enthusiasm! Yes, yes! Professor Iona really likes students like that! ...Though it seems you're still a long way off! Ahahahaha!!"
"Guh. Geck."
My body shook every time she hit my shoulder. How could a mage have this much physical strength?
Was it because she was a vampire?
As vampires rise in rank, they become stronger both physically and magically. Since Iona was Lord-class, her basic physical abilities must be considerable.
Only after I had offered up my shoulder for so long that I started wondering if I'd get a bruise did Iona's laughter stop.
"Oh, of course, that's one thing, but trespassing into my lab and snooping around is another matter entirely."
"Don't you think you're partly responsible for that, Professor Iona? You showed it to me on purpose!"
"The way you put it makes it sound weird! Well... as for the diary, you're right. I did intend to show it to Student Yandel."
"As I thought, your goal was my body..."
"No! No! I'm sorry for making it look like a trap! But it's really not like that! Why are you so full of confidence in your own body in the first place?!"
"Well... I suppose it's a judgment based on my experiences so far?"
Lately, Carla had been openly touching my face, and her hands had a tendency to sneak further down.
As I nodded to myself, Iona, for some reason, widened her eyes and began to gently pat my shoulder.
"There, there... it's okay! It's okay! You're an Academy student now, right? The Academy will protect you. And so will I."
"???"
Ah.
Was it that? Sometimes commoners born with exceptional looks find that their beauty becomes a curse that ruins their lives.
Did she misunderstand me in that way?
While I was debating whether or not to clear up the misunderstanding, Iona continued with a serious expression.
"Anyway, back to the main point. It's true that I showed you the diary. But I'm not trying to make you do anything strange. I just have something I want to ask."
"If that's the case, you could have just asked."
"...Oh? Really? Really? You'll just tell me if I ask?"
"Depending on the content."
When I shrugged, Iona blinked blankly.
Although the Eurelia continent was quite developed for a fantasy world... it didn't have anything like the internet.
Naturally, information was still highly valuable.
She must have thought I knew something after seeing me reveal the Authority of Boiling Silence.
And now, the opportunity had come.
I could pretty much guess what Iona was going to ask.
"You're probably more interested in the cult branches than the location of dungeons."
"Right, right. Especially if it's a follower of Narrow-minded Usurpation."
"I do know a few places..."
"But if you happen to know Ayla's location, I'd like you to tell me that first."
"......"
What?
"You don't mean that younger sister mentioned in your diary, do you, Professor Iona?"
"Yes, yes."
"...Is she still alive?"
"I'm sure of it, I'm sure of it. I met her myself about ten? Twenty? Around that many years ago and even cut off one of her arms!"
"Could that Ayla be the Ayla I know...?"
"That's right! That's right!"
Iona smiled as brightly as ever, but with a somewhat chilling aura.
"The Cardinal of Narrow-minded Usurpation. I want you to help me find Gazing Ayla."
"......"
Gazing Ayla was a boss who appeared in the late-game Academy total war event.
Of course, I only knew she existed; the protagonist never actually fought her. She didn't even have a character model, so I didn't know what she looked like.
At that point, the protagonist was too busy fighting Apostle-class enemies one after another, rather than Cardinal-class ones.
So, who was it that defeated Ayla? That was Iona.
To be more precise, it was a group of professors and students led by Iona.
Regardless, it was a fact that Iona stood at the center of it.
The scene of Iona's heroic exploits, which appeared briefly as a cutscene in the late game, happened then.
Those crazy developers.
To think it was connected like this?
Why on earth didn't they include this story in the main H&A game? It's clearly important content!
No, wait.
H&A was always full of stories where the player's choices could save someone who was meant to die or awaken a buried talent.
In other words, it only showed things that could be changed for the better through my choices.
But in the case of Iona and Ayla, it was a problem that would be resolved naturally even if I didn't intervene.
Was that why Iona's story wasn't covered in H&A?
And was she unromanceable because she was a character who completed her own arc without anyone's help?
The hypotheses assembling in my mind were almost overwhelming.
Perhaps she took my frozen, bewildered state as me being deep in thought, because Iona interrupted my musings with a somewhat urgent tone.
"I-I'm not asking for free. Not only will I bury the fact that you broke into my lab today, but I'll also actively help you with whatever you do in the future!"
"Uh..."
"I-is that not enough? Then, should I give you all the points I can, under the pretext that you provided me with vital information? You want something you can get with points, right? I'm sure it'll be a big help!"
"The thing is..."
"Even more?! I have nothing more I can officially give you... Ah! Should I make blood crystals for you periodically? Or... gasp! Don't tell me you really are after my body, Student Yandel..."
"No. I was going to say that I don't know the location of Gazing Ayla either."
"Ah..."
Iona let out a hollow sigh of disappointment.
But it was too early to be disappointed.
Ayla was indeed a boss who was only mentioned by name in the main H&A game. There was no information to deduce her location.
All I knew was that Gazing Ayla had received several Magic Eyes as her Authority, fitting her title.
"But that doesn't mean there's no way to find her."
After all, wasn't Ayla a Cardinal belonging to the Cult of Narrow-minded Usurpation?
"If we raid the branches of Narrow-minded Usurpation one by one, something is bound to turn up, don't you think?"
"...Eh?"
I grinned at Iona, whose mouth was hanging wide open.
This was a perfect chance for achievement hunting.