Off to School for a Field Trip!
"Ding!
The Wish of the Cat Who Loved Her Master, "Sugar"
"Waaah... Sugar...! You were such an awesome little guy... Sob sob."
Embarrassed as hell, but I was desperately holding back my sniffles. The image of that mewling furball swallowing poison without hesitation to repay the favor of being saved... How could any story be more heart-wrenching? And on top of that, using her one and only wish just to pass on a message to protect Lea!
"Haa... It's been forever since a story made my eyes well up like this."
I wiped the tears streaming down my face with both hands, trying to play it cool.
"Whew, anyway... Sugar gave us a ton of crucial info. Time to sort this out step by step."
Based on the info I already had and the new memories I'd gained, I needed to piece together the events of Lea's past in chronological order.
All pieces of memory surrounding the girl who harbors destruction, "Lea", have been gathered.
The system had declared that all the memory fragments about Lea's past were now complete. Which left just one thing...
Obviously, just like with Luna, Lea's probably gearing up to sprout that seed of destruction.
"Alright, let's start by organizing the new info."
◇ Existence of the Holy Sword (Excalibur)
◇ The Knight King must be chosen by the Holy Sword
◇ The 12 Knights are plotting rebellion
◇ The ringleader feels like they're being manipulated
"That's about four points...
Now I just need to add one more figure to complete the past: the goddess's knight, Lucifer. From Ciel's story, he was definitely poking around investigating something behind the scenes. What if what he was digging into was the 12 Knights' rebellion and the shadowy mastermind?"
"Then it'd go something like... this."
Scribble scribble—I jotted down my conclusions on the scattered papers around me and organized them.
Shadowy figure manipulates the 12 Knights → Rebellion plot → Poison assassination blocked by Sugar → Resort to force → Some incident causes Lea to fall into destruction
The key here was that 'some incident' and what happened to Lucifer in it.
Just a guess, but... Lucifer probably died or ended up in a similar state because of that incident. And once Lea found out, she fell into despair and destruction.
"Haa, I was really hoping it wouldn't be such a tragic tale..."
Why do my gloomy premonitions always hit the mark?
Pat pat.
I stroked the soundly sleeping Lea's head a few more times, then made a firm vow in my heart.
Sugar, don't worry anymore. I'll definitely protect Lea.
The next morning.
The news that Phantom had stormed Dawn's Light had already spread like wildfire across every media outlet and the internet.
"Hey, heard the research wing at Dawn's Light got almost totally wrecked last night?"
"I saw that article too. But get this—the crazy part? It was Phantom who did it!"
"What? Isn't Phantom on our side?"
"You idiot! Why the hell would a ghost story be on our side? He was biding his time, and now he's showing his true colors. Saw the gallery yesterday—everyone's saying the same thing."
"Dude, lay off the communities already."
The streets were buzzing with debates over 'Why the heck did Phantom do that?'
And the internet was no different.
Wild, unchecked rumors without any fact-checking were steadily spreading online. The government and Monster Countermeasure Headquarters were pleading for restraint via texts and broadcasts, but the public had zero intention of dropping such juicy gossip.
"Ugh, my head hasn't hurt like this in ages."
Dawn's Light's master, Do-jin, let out a deep sigh.
"Did Master Chris head back to the US?"
"Yes... But he leaked info to the press and media before leaving. Our intel and PR teams have been pulling all-nighters since dawn."
"Haa, just like dealing with his country's president. Tell the heads of intel and PR they'll get special daily bonuses and performance pay. Might give them a bit of a boost."
"Got it."
From Chris's perspective, it was a reasonable move.
Dispatched to Korea and gets attacked—who wouldn't be pissed?
But there was one slightly nagging detail.
"The info Chris fed to the press didn't mention Lea at all, right? That's confirmed?"
The vice-master pulled some documents and handed them over right away.
"Yes. Info on a suspected mengmang-grade ghost story in Korea is super sensitive, but I have no clue why Chris held back on it. Our sources couldn't figure out his motives either. It was a golden chance to undermine Korea's rep."
The US led the world in military might thanks to their ghost story awakeners. Naturally, they didn't look kindly on rising nations.
The US is obsessed with that #1 superpower title.
And in that context, Korea—with apocalypse-grade powerhouse Seo Ji-hoon, plus talents like Kang Eun-ha and Han Do-jin—was a thorn in their side.
"And yet he didn't spill on Lea... What a inscrutable guy."
Do-jin and the vice-master didn't know the full details of what went down between Phantom and Chris.
That single line from Phantom was why Chris spilled nothing about Lea—a fact Do-jin had no way of knowing.
No point dwelling on what I don't know.
Do-jin decided to focus on running the guild over Chris's intentions.
"How's the research wing holding up? I know it looks bad at a glance, but I need the numbers."
"Good news is the building itself won't collapse. But the sensors and research equipment took unavoidable damage. It'll take at least three weeks—maybe two months—to get back to full function."
"Got it. Thanks for checking."
"Hehe, it's my job, after all."
The vice-master smiled lightly at Do-jin's praise. He had no idea the whole mess started because she'd signed off as proxy on those documents, and he gently patted her head while thinking,
Man, I sure was born under a lucky star with people skills!
"Anyway, research wing aside, has Lea's isolation been lifted?"
"Yes, got a report from Researcher Emilia this morning. Still no clue why Noblesse is emitting ghost story energy, but since she can't actually use any power, it should be fine."
"That's a relief. If we hadn't lifted it, that Si-hyun punk might've shown up swinging a wooden sword. Haha."
"Oh, he actually dropped by this morning, FYI."
...That was a joke, but it was real? And he just left? Si-hyun wasn't the type to turn back empty-handed after reaching the master's room door.
"That guy's not one to just turn tail... He really came and went?"
"More precisely, 'came on his own two feet but got intercepted by someone else and couldn't get in.'"
"Intercepted?"
"The one person in the world the master fears most dragged him off."
Flinch!
Do-jin knew exactly who had nabbed Si-hyun the second the vice-master said it.
Honey... what are you up to now...?
A certain café in Seoul's Seongsu-dong.
"Lea-chan~♡ Did you know tying a cherry stem into a knot with your tongue drives guys wilddd~?"
"Munch munch... I-is this how you do it...?"
"Huaaah~ Our Lea-chan's got quite the tongue on her~ So cuuute~♡♥︎"
"Mom, please don't teach Lea weird stuff."
"Hing~ This mom's just teaching her so she'll be loved by our boyyy~~"
I was having a leisurely lunch with Eun-ha and Lea.
"So, Mom, why'd you suddenly wanna meet up with me and Lea?"
"Hehe, sweetie~ Don't you wanna see Lea-chan in a cute school uniformmm~?"
School uniform out of nowhere? Eun-ha's words were so random, I tilted my head.
"Mom, you're not trying to teach her cosplay, are you?"
"Nothing like thaaat~ What Mom means is, wouldn't it be nice if Lea-chan came for a little school tour~?"
The place where Eun-ha taught was a specialist academy for awakeners— a prestigious one mainly for those under 20. The kind of 'academy' you see in novels all the time.
But taking Lea there all of a sudden?
"They're detecting faint ghost story energy from Lea-chan, right? So Mom was thinking maybe she's awakened after aaaall~~"
"Guess you don't think Lea's a ghost story, huh? Everyone else is at least suspecting it."
"Hehe, how could such a cute Lea-chan be a ghost story~♡"
When Mom finds out Lea really is Noblesse... will she faint?
I couldn't stop Eun-ha from taking Lea to school anyway. Korea had a law mandating that all young awakeners get tested and enroll in school. Making excuses to block it would just heighten suspicions about Lea.
"Mom, just one thing to confirm. You're not enrolling her today, right?"
"Nopeee~ Just a simple little tourrr~"
"Haa... Fine. I'll come along."
"Hehe, good choiiice~♥︎"
I grabbed Lea's hand and followed Eun-ha to the school.
Well... Lea seems excited, so it'll be fine.
But.
At this point, I had no idea.
"Haa... haa... Teacher Si-hyun... P-please warm me up quick... "
—Crack.
That the snow woman harboring a frozen heart was waiting desperately for my arrival at the school.