139. The Chairwoman in Crisis (1)
139. The Chairwoman in Crisis (1)
Chairwoman Rina returned to the flying ship with an exhausted face after spending a full week dealing with the aftermath of the S-Rank Gate explosion.
The moment she returned, she received shocking news.
"......So you're telling me, that vermin dared to hide themselves here...?"
Rina spoke in a stiff, rigid voice.
"Yes."
Baek Seol-hee nodded with the same indifferent expression as always.
Rina shut her eyes tightly.
'Damn it.'
This was a colossal blunder.
"I layered firewall magic upon firewall magic to secure the exam... and the enemy was on the inside all along."
Rina had been on guard against possible outside intrusion.
She had made it so that no one she hadn't authorized could even find the island, and even if by some chain of coincidences someone stumbled upon it, they could never set foot on it.
And following the exam's intent, she had cut off all external contact.
Which meant that, once she was far away from this uninhabited island, not even she herself could know what was happening there!
But she had never even dreamed that someone could have hidden on that island beforehand—let alone that the people hiding there were Demonized Humans.
'I confirmed there were no humans on the uninhabited island...! Did they possess an artifact that could evade even my eyes?'
She wanted to round up those demonized-human bastards and interrogate them right now, but that wasn't what mattered at the moment.
"......So. Casualties?"
Rina's voice trembled terribly as she asked.
The report she had received from Baek Seol-hee listed one AA-Rank Demonized Human, one A-Rank Demonized Human, and fourteen B-Rank Demonized Humans.
There was no way first-year cadets could be safe against opponents like that.
Calling it a simple blunder was not enough.
The lives of cadets and the lives of civilians.
Perhaps it wasn't right to weigh them against each other, since all lives are equal.
But those gathered here were the pillars of the future. Seeds who would face monsters and Demonized Humans, spanning Korea and the world.
Hadn't this year's first-year cadets been packed full of promising young people she'd had her eye on?
If, because of her blunder, they'd been killed by Demonized Humans before they could ever bloom... she couldn't even laugh it off as a joke.
Let it have ended with as few casualties as possible.
Rina looked at Baek Seol-hee with that desperate plea in her eyes.
"Fortunately, everyone is safe. There were a few cadets suffering from exhaustion, but it isn't life-threatening."
"......What!?"
Rina shot up from her seat, her eyes wide as lanterns.
And then she let out a sigh of relief.
'......It's Seol-hee. Seol-hee! If I hadn't sent Seol-hee back first, we truly would've been in serious trouble! Right, Seol-hee arrived in time and took care of all the Demonized Humans!'
In the middle of dealing with an S-Rank Gate explosion, Baek Seol-hee had suddenly said she needed to go back.
By the rules, Rina should never have permitted it, but she'd allowed it because of the strange unease she'd felt at that moment.
'Was this what that strange unease was about?'
"Thank you. Seol-hee, you saved the cadets."
Rina let out a long sigh of relief as she spoke.
However.
Baek Seol-hee's answer that followed froze her solid once again.
"I'm sorry, but it wasn't me."
"?"
"When I arrived, the dangerous situations had already been mostly resolved. And the remaining Demonized Humans were likewise on the verge of being eliminated."
"......Huh?"
Was Seol-hee joking right now?
The other Demonized Humans, maybe—but that one called Rebecca, who was AA-Rank... she was an opponent that first-year cadets could never handle at their level.
"Explain in detail...... No, I'll see for myself."
Snap!
The moment she snapped her fingers,
the bodies of the homunculi guarding the shops all over the uninhabited island turned hazy.
The homunculi, having reverted to the form of blue particles, returned to their original master who was aboard the flying ship.
Shhhhhhh—
Soon, having received all their memories, Rina slowly opened her eyes halfway.
"Ha...... Jin Yu-ha. Right. It's that guy again this time, huh......"
Rina covered her face with one hand and let out a dry, cheerful-sounding laugh of disbelief.
* * *
All of the cadets gathered at the very center of the uninhabited island.
The vast open field where the large-scale battle had originally taken place.
The cadets who had already been summoned to the flying ship and received recovery were gathered there as well.
"......Ha, it's finally over. That was seriously, insanely hard."
"You got on the flying ship early and had it sweet, you bitch. Do you have any idea how much shit we went through down there?"
"Uh...... Ahem! Well, we, we all took the Midterm Evaluation together! But is it true that Demonized Humans showed up this time? Sounds like bullshit......"
"Ha, bullshit? Open your ears properly. This big sis here is gonna recite the entire epic saga for you!"
Those who had been eliminated quickly in the early phase of the exam had no idea what had happened on the uninhabited island, so their eyes went wide.
So much had happened that the cadets were busy chattering away, and the plaza grew noisy accordingly.
Murmur murmur—
That was when it happened.
Rrrrrrrrrumble—
Suddenly, the ground beneath their feet began to shake as if an earthquake had struck.
"Wh-what!?"
RUMBLE!
And then, right in front of where the cadets had gathered, a perfectly rectangular slab of rock began to rise.
Stairs rose up beside it next.
A magnificent dais, embossed with artistic decorations, was created on the spot.
"......Seriously, no matter how much she's the Magic Emperor, that's just cheating! A shelter built with blood and sweat is true wilderness!"
Lee Yu-ri, standing beside me, vented some incomprehensible indignation, grinding her teeth.
'Hmm, well...... her hideout was all handmade, so......'
I should probably keep quiet about how I'd coasted through it using the camping gear I'd prepared at home.
Swish!
Chairwoman Rina descended from the air.
Floating lightly,
her body dropped swiftly but decelerated sharply near the dais, and then she lightly set her feet atop it.
Tap.
Hummm—!
Following that, the instructors were summoned behind her.
Every one of them looked haggard with exhaustion.
The cadets' gazes turned toward the dais.
"First, allow me to say that you have all worked hard to complete this Midterm Evaluation."
She opened calmly with words commending the cadets.
"The Midterm Evaluation will be graded fairly, and the results will be sent to each of you individually."
Next, she addressed the Midterm Evaluation itself.
And then Rina closed her mouth for a moment.
"......And I cannot simply gloss over what happened during this Midterm Evaluation without a word of explanation."
Rina parted her lips with difficulty and brought up the matter.
"Regarding the disgraceful incident that occurred this time, I, as Chairwoman of Velvet Hunter Academy, feel an immense responsibility."
She recited the sequence of events in a flat voice.
"Demonized humans infiltrated this place, and I and the entire body of instructors were absent dealing with the aftermath of a Gate explosion that occurred in Korea. And, in our absence, the Demonized Humans attacked the cadets."
Her gaze slowly swept across the gathered cadets.
A complex mixture of emotions seemed to swirl within those eyes.
"......No matter how urgent the Gate explosion incident in Korea was, and no matter that there were no cadets lost, this was an accident that occurred during a Midterm Evaluation held under my authority. This point is a clear blunder, and I acknowledge it as such."
Even Rina, of all people, spoke the words publicly acknowledging her own error.
"The academy has no intention of hushing up or hiding this incident. The entire situation will be disclosed to the public, and I intend to accept all criticism that comes of it."
Murmur murmur—
The commotion grew among the cadets.
There was none of her usual magic that would shut their mouths or freeze their bodies at times like this.
She merely allowed the cadets to exchange opinions freely.
"......"
After talking among themselves for a good while, the students fell silent one by one, eyeing Rina's reaction.
Confirming that, Rina spoke again.
"Therefore, separate from the Midterm Evaluation scores, all cadets will receive compensation at the Velvet Academy level. And to the cadets who handled this situation in place of my inadequate self...... As Chairwoman of the academy, I extend my deepest gratitude to all of you."
Rina bowed her head deeply toward the cadets.
Truthfully, since no one had died, if you packaged it well enough, you might have been able to sweep this whole thing under the rug.
But Chairwoman Rina was not that kind of person.
Contrary to her youthful appearance and the somewhat scatterbrained side she often showed,
she was someone who, while occupying the Rank 1 position, was worthy of being called humanity's hero.
Magic Emperor. Rina.
She never, ever evaded her responsibilities.
'Figured it'd go like this. Not a single cadet died, so I wondered if maybe...... But it's exactly the same as the in-game presentation.'
Velvet Academy was about to suffer considerable damage from this incident.
The fact that Demonized Humans had appeared during a cadet exam meant that safety measures had been insufficient.
In the original story, the chairwoman who led this Midterm Evaluation would come under harsh criticism and be called the "Cadet Killer."
'Of course, since nobody died this time, that won't happen, but......'
I watched Rina for a moment, then spoke quietly to Sofia, who was standing behind me.
"Sofia, are you recording properly?"
"Y-yes! Recording properly!"
Sofia nodded and aimed the camera lens toward the dais.
"Since all the cadets have achieved such a feat, I would like to call you all up onto this dais, but due to the limits of time and space, I will call up a representative."
Rina's silent gaze turned toward me.
"Jin Yu-ha, come forward."
With a face set into calm composure, I slowly climbed the stairs to the dais.
[ Jin Yu-ha, truly... thank you. This isn't gratitude from me as Chairwoman of the academy—it's my personal thanks. ]
Rina spoke into my head.
Her voice, uncharacteristically deflated, told me how heavily she was taking this situation.
'Hmm...... Originally I was just planning to make a follow-up explanatory video or something...'
I stared directly at Rina.
'Shall I lift our brat's spirits a little?'
"Cadet Jin Yu-ha, as Chairwoman of the academy, I sincerely apologize for this blunder. As compensation for this incident—"
"Hold on a moment."
I raised my hand, cutting her off.
Not having expected it, Rina's eyebrows twitched.
"Truly, was this incident a blunder?"
I tilted my head and asked in a loud voice that everyone could hear.
At that, Rina answered as though dumbfounded.
"......I-is that not obvious! That Demonized Humans appeared at an exam I personally hosted means—"
"Hm, well, that's strange then. If you, Chairwoman, hadn't been deployed to the S-Rank Gate explosion, everyone—all the civilians there—would have died. So, are you saying right now that you should have saved us and let the civilians die?"
Rina's eyes flew wide open.
[ You! Jin Yu-ha! What on earth are you—!! ]
I pulled up one corner of my mouth into a grin.
"Chairwoman, you knew, didn't you? That there were Demonized Humans here."
"......What?"
Rina reflexively asked what I meant, but—
"Oh, come now. Surely you're not telling me that the Magic Emperor couldn't detect a single intruder when Demonized Humans had snuck in here?"
In reality, Rina had not noticed the Demonized Humans' presence. Because of the artifact they'd received from the Demonized Human Society.
But I shook my head as if the very idea was absurd, a hint of laughter in my expression.
"However, it's also true that the S-Rank Gate exploded right when you did notice them. In other words, Chairwoman, you were put in a position where you had to choose between two things. At that moment, you judged that rescuing the civilians was more urgent than rescuing us... isn't that right?"
That statement was, if anything, one that cornered Rina even further.
"......W-what a thing to say!"
Rina wore a bewildered expression, unable to understand what Jin Yu-ha was trying to achieve with these words.
The muttering among the cadets grew louder.
What Jin Yu-ha had just said was essentially that she had given up on them to save civilians.
A few cadets even ground their teeth with a sense of betrayal.
However.
"So, you trusted us."
At Jin Yu-ha's smooth follow-up, everyone—Rina included—wore stupid expressions.
"......Huh?"
"You trusted us—the cadets of Velvet Hunter Academy, who have learned how to face Demonized Humans and how to face monsters. Didn't you?"
"What... What are you saying—"
"You're really going to do this? After you told me privately: 'Demonized humans are hiding here. Hold out until Instructor Baek Seol-hee arrives.' You told me that much and now you're going to pretend otherwise?"
I shrugged as I spoke.
"Otherwise, how could I have made a plan to save the cadets? It was possible because you told me everything."
At those words, a heavy silence fell across the wide plaza for a single moment.
"""......"""