Wise University Life (5)
Wednesday. After receiving a report from Sonia that Ire Haslen had awakened, I rushed to the Southern Holy Sanctuary as soon as classes ended.
“Sonia!”
“You have arrived, sir?”
I used “Hug Me” on Sonia.
“I was lonely.”
“Please refrain from saying such cringeworthy things.”
Sonia buried her face in my chest and sniffed.
“……This smell. Cellulose. What exactly is it? Did you sleep under a thesis instead of a blanket?”
Busted. Sonia sighed and gave me a light shake.
“There is no need for you to tidy up before I arrive. Attending to a deficient young master is a maid’s duty, after all.” Her lips twitched.
After that, I followed Sonia’s guidance to where Ire Haslen was. When I entered the recovery room, I found a girl who seemed to be enjoying some bondage play.
“Mmph, mmph.”
A gag in her mouth, a blindfold over her eyes, earplugs in her ears. Her hair was tied up with something resembling wire. The sight was… quite something.
“Sonia, explain.”
“She appeared highly likely to attempt escape, so I restrained her just now.”
“Who told you to go this far? This is basically kidnapping and imprisonment!”
“Even so, I could not strike an unconscious stranger until she lost consciousness. What if she later demands compensation? This measure was taken with both you and the family in mind, so I ask for your understanding.”
She had a point. I couldn’t logically refute it. Still, this state wouldn’t do. Not only could we not communicate, but it would only heighten Ire’s hostility toward me. I decided to remove the restraints from her face first.
When the blindfold came off, moist eyes were revealed. When the gag was removed, sticky saliva stretched in a thread. Panting, she slowly opened her mouth.
“……Kill me.”
Protagonist, what are you saying? Do you really think I would release a walking bundle of opportunities carrying 880,000 regressions’ worth of knowledge and know-how? You ran once, so I won’t let you run a second time.
Of course, since the protagonist was highly likely to be hostile toward me, I had prepared several necessary items before coming here.
“Sonia, wait outside for a moment.”
“Understood. However, just in case, please take this.”
Sonia handed me something. A small plastic object.
“What is this?”
“A personal alarm. If you pull here like this—”
Beep-beep-beep-beep-beep-beep.
“The sound can be heard outside. If a dangerous situation arises, please pull it immediately. I will come and handle it.”
She’s treating me like a child. Ridiculous.
“Then, I wish you luck.”
Once Sonia left, the atmosphere grew heavier. Ire was still glaring at me with resentment.
“Sapaul, kill me quickly. I don’t want to see this guy suffer. Absolutely…!”
Her desperate struggling was pitiful. Yet time did not rewind as she wished. Because this was the Southern Holy Sanctuary, where Outer Gods could not exert their power.
Watching the spirited Ire thrash about, I sat down on a chair. My eye level was now lower than hers, who remained standing and restrained. When she slightly lifted her head to look down, tears of blood began to drip from her eyes. She looked utterly frustrated.
“Are you okay?”
“……”
“Guess not.”
“How can you say that while keeping me tied up like this…!”
“Sorry about that. But compared to the pain you suffered at the hands of the Outer Gods, isn’t this much more comfortable?”
“……”
Ire simply closed her eyes. She hadn’t suddenly fainted. She just didn’t want to talk to me.
“……Just end it already.”
“End what?”
“You know what…! If you’re going to do it, just finish it!”
What exactly? The conversation? Or was she asking me to end her life because it was too hard? If it was the latter, request denied. Without her, I’d have to grind through this world alone, and that simply wouldn’t do. They say happiness grows when shared and pain shrinks when shared, right? So let’s share some pain together.
Of course, to make her my comrade in suffering, I first had to open her heart. I needed to convince her, completely and without a shadow of doubt, that I was not the Idel she knew. It was time to execute the prepared operation.
“Heh heh heh.”
I set the bag I had brought down in front of the desk. The heavy thud made Ire’s expression crack slightly. Yes, she must be surprised. Now, behold. The comprehensive gift set I personally prepared!
In a hazy state, she had infiltrated the college under a false identity to monitor Idel and Zernya. Then, on orientation day, an incident occurred. Idel von Rheinland. That guy had knocked her out with that bizarre tool just like last time and dragged her to the Southern Holy Sanctuary to imprison her.
When she came to, she was restrained. Shortly after, Idel appeared with a sly smile and asked how she was doing. Naturally, her mood soured. Various thoughts raced through her mind. Why hadn’t Idel been expelled from the family? Why was he still with Zernya? How much of that smile was an act? And why had the Outer Gods ordered Idel’s elimination?
Her mind grew foggy from the mental tug-of-war. Eventually, Idel grinned and set down a black bag.
“I prepared a gift for you.”
So it’s come to this.
“It’ll be very fun.”
“Kuh.”
“Though it took a bit of time to prepare.”
For a moment, she considered biting her tongue. Even though it would hurt terribly, it was the best way to avoid humiliation if done right. Unlike in dramas or movies, suicide wasn’t easy, but when pushed to the brink of violation, she could do it as many times as needed.
Just as Ire was about to slightly open her mouth—
The radio on the desk played on. Most of the news was good. The southern war had ended, the Ether Belt was expanding, the Outer God forces were faltering—and was that even possible? In all her hundreds of thousands of regressions, this had never happened even once.
No, she still didn’t know. Maybe she was seeing a mirage.
Next, Idel neatly arranged paper, notebooks, and a tablet PC on the desk. Finally, he took out writing utensils, alternated between the tablet and notebook, and began scribbling equations on blank paper.
“What exactly are you trying to do…….”
“Shh!”
Idel brought his index finger to his lips.
“From now on, I’m going to make a gift for you.”
Scratch scratch.
Only the sound of the pen scratching echoed softly in the quiet recovery room. A question mark floated above Ire’s head. What on earth was Idel von Rheinland plotting?
She was curious, but managed to endure the first thirty minutes without asking. However, after an hour passed without being able to discern any pattern in what he was doing, she grew restless. Were the characters he was writing even human language?
Flip—
One hour in. Unlike the motionless Idel, Ire faced a new crisis. She needed to use the bathroom.
“…Kuh.”
She could endure this much. Even if she had to ask, she would request it from the android, not from that third-rate scum famous for his perverted personality across hundreds of thousands of regressions. It wasn’t a rational reason—just pure instinctual disgust.
Yet this guy showed no sign of switching shifts. How could a person stare at books and notes in the same posture for three whole hours? He didn’t even glance her way once.
Finally, at the four-hour mark—
“Phew.”
Idel finally stood up.
“I’ve finished organizing my ideas.”
“?”
“Now I have to write the thesis.”
Idel pulled out a laptop.
Tap tap.
The gentle, steady sound of the keyboard, like a smoldering campfire, shook the very last bit of Ire’s soul loose.
“Ah, uh, excuse me.”
“Hm?”
“For a moment, the restraints.”
“What?”
“Please… loosen the restraints……”
“No. You’ll run away.”
“That’s not it, that’s not it!”
Another hour passed—five hours in total. Under the pressure of the restraint suit pressing on her lower abdomen, Ire flopped about like a fish before finally begging that she absolutely wouldn’t run away, and was allowed to use the bathroom.
“……Haa.”
She wanted to die from shame. However, because the newscasts coming from the radio were all unprecedentedly hopeful, Ire couldn’t easily discard this worldline.
Idel’s eccentric behavior continued past the weekend.
“Can I drive it in here?”
“Yes, that’s fine.”
Startled awake by Idel’s voice, Ire lifted her head in surprise. Idel was hammering a nail into the wall with a screw in his mouth.
“Nail’s in. Now I just need to hang it.”
“Young master, what madness are you committing now?”
“Can’t you tell? I’m hanging a blackboard.”
“Did you rent the entire Southern Holy Sanctuary?”
“No?”
“Then why are you damaging someone else’s property?”
“Sorry for the misunderstanding. I didn’t rent it—I bought it outright.”
“?”
“?”
“This place is now the Southern Holy Sanctuary under the jurisdiction of the God of Education and Graduate School.”
In short, a private study room—that was what he meant.
While Sonia and Ire were left speechless by Idel’s declaration, he took out several sheets of paper and began transferring the equations written on them onto the blackboard one by one.
Around that time, Sapaul, who had been quietly conserving strength, began to stir.
“Ah, fuck.”
Seti spat out a curse.