Air Raid Warning (1)

Vivian.

The irreplaceable strongest being in the entire world of the web novel Protect the Academy! — and, at the same time…

"Answer."

…the person with the nastiest personality alive.

Which was why I already knew. If my reply came even a fraction of a second late, or if it was something she couldn't accept, there was a very high chance I would die. This was Vivian, after all — a woman who handled even the emperor who dominated the continent as if he were a child.

But I was different.

If you're not going to kill me right now, I'll be on my way.

…I'll be waiting.

A woman who had never retreated from a single thing in her life had not only let me live, but had been the first one to walk away.

In other words, Vivian needed me.

Which meant the Vivian standing here right now absolutely could not kill me. And that was exactly why I had come.

"I figured it out."

"What?"

"I said I figured it out."

Her brow furrowed and stayed that way, with no intention of smoothing out, as if to ask what the hell I was even talking about. I had no choice but to add the translation.

"The soot clinging to you here and there. That faint smell of scorch in the air. And above all — a Masterpiece craftsman."

"So what."

"So what? Where else would a blacksmith of that caliber be staying, if not here?"

Mount Ragna. The sacred ground of blacksmiths, where the most renowned master craftsmen on the continent gathered. Only a smith who had created a Masterpiece earned the right to set foot in this place.

Of course, I'd pieced that together thanks to the setting materials too.

But I had only become certain after seeing how Vivian was dressed that day, so it wasn't a lie.

"Am I wrong?"

"I understand. But."

Her purple eyes gleamed with a chilling light.

"A deal?"

The same crushing pressure as before. A hair-raising sensation, as if every particle of air had been given weight and was grinding my body from the inside out. She had to know it herself — that pressing a person with this much aura would pulp them in an instant.

Which was why the first thing I did was check on Rania.

"…Nngh."

Of course it was brutal. But she was holding far more firmly than when she'd struggled against mere residual traces.

"?"

Vivian registered her. First objective: complete. I opened my mouth at once.

"I've always thought this, but your personality is seriously the worst. The former Saintess would be thrilled to hear that."

The words were barely out of my mouth.

A hand was already around my throat. Vivian lifted me into the air without a shred ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of hesitation.

"Just die."

"I… knew… you'd… do this…!"

This, too, I had accounted for.

I copied the skill, forced a breath into my lungs, and looked down at her, barely managing to add the rest.

"Ariel… is alive."

The strength drained from Vivian's grip. I found the ground under my feet again.

"Cough!!Cough, cough!"

I gasped and hacked, and a startled Rania came running to my side.

"Eugene!!"

"I'm fine… cough! I'm really fine, so stay back for a second, Rania."

"But—!!"

"Now!!"

In that sliver of an instant, I whispered so that only she could hear.

"Red Heat Sword."

"…?"

"I'll give you the signal."

Rania read something in my eyes and fell back at once.

"…Ariel's alive?"

I watched Vivian stagger, and I was sure.

You can see it too?

What Vivian had asked me that day was whether I could see Ariel's traces.

The former Saintess, Ariel.

One of the Five Heroes of the Empire. The saint who had contributed more than anyone to ending the war against the demon race. And—

Vivian. Tone down that personality of yours.

Ah, Ariel!!

—the one and only friend Tyrant Vivian had ever had in this world. Her benefactor.

Officially, the records said she had vanished with the war's end twenty years ago. But the imperial family, the Five Heroes, and everyone else who actually mattered knew the truth.

In that situation, even Vivian would have died. And the Saintess — the one with the lowest combat power among them — had thrown her own body in the way instead.

Of course they thought she was dead.

But Ariel was alive. I was certain of it. She would be in hiding, in that place, scattering ciphers wherever she could.

And so far, only Vivian and the Six Apostles would have found those ciphers — and only partially decoded them.

Neither side would have managed a complete interpretation. Both of them had been sitting there sucking their thumbs, restless and getting nowhere. And then—

"The hint you wrote on the scarecrow. That was an imitation of Ariel's trace-cipher, wasn't it."

—I had shown up.

The moment the words left my mouth, Vivian's eyes went wide.

"…Talk."

"About what."

"The letters I wrote on the scarecrow."

I let out a short laugh.

The original text of the cipher ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Vivian had decoded from Ariel and written onto that scarecrow was this:

"It's Korean."

A brief silence followed.

"…So that's how it was pronounced."

Vivian lowered her head. I even kindly added the interpretation for her.

"It means: whatever it is — stronger than you — breaks."

"……"

Silence was as good as a yes. Every last deduction had landed.

Truth be told, I hadn't been certain either.

In the original story, Ariel barely survived and scattered her ciphers — and in the end, the Six Apostles captured her and murdered her in the most gruesome way imaginable. That was the mid-to-late stretch of the novel, when the cult surged in power and Rania became their target.

The only way to stop that was for me to secure Ariel's ciphers first and analyze them myself. Whatever she was leaving behind, I would find out the moment I started following Vivian.

But this was still the extreme early game. There was no method of meeting Ariel at this point in time anyway.

And besides… after Villainess Yuria came the ugly entanglement with the Ramis family and the cult backing them, the headmaster and faculty knotted up in it one way or another, and then everything that belonged to the final stretch — the Six Apostles of the Evil God, the Evil God's Descent… and, immediately in front of me, saving Vulkan.

Ariel's safety mattered. But the list of things that mattered more, and mattered sooner, was endless.

"Calmed down a bit? Right, then. Let's start over."

Which was why I had gone out of my way to find her.

"Let's make a deal. Grant me three things first, and I'll interpret every last cipher for you."

"…I."

After a short wait, the strongest being in the world agreed to negotiate.

"What do I have to do."

"First. Would you consider taking on a single disciple?"

"A disciple? You?"

"No. Not me… Ah, seeing it once would be faster than telling you a hundred times."

I smiled and added the rest.

"Now, Rania."

Swing like your life depends on it.

The instant I gave the signal—

I used Ian's Insightful Eye and looked toward where Rania stood. System windows unfurled in the same breath.

Status windows more detailed than anything I had seen on another person until now rose into view.

That's Rania's full output at this point in time.

The growth-type unique trait that was practically her symbol — Red Heat Sword — and Iron Will, which let her pour every last drop of her aura into it.

It's still F-rank, before it blooms. But if she burns every scrap of aura as fuel with everything she has… for a moment, she might even graze the edge of S.

The result: a skill belonging to a Rania at the entry level of Sword Expert Intermediate climbed all the way to the fully matured stage of Sword Expert Advanced.

A shame it didn't quite reach S.

But that much would be more than enough to catch Vivian's interest.

A blade of flame roared out at a ferocious clip and tore toward Vivian. Without Insightful Eye, I wouldn't even have been able to properly register the speed. She still wasn't at Cheolsu or Bright's level — but that one strike, at least…

There wouldn't be a single person her age who could keep up with Rania.

That ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was how Rania had been described in Protect the Academy!, and it seemed to be the truth.

Of course.

"Interesting."

A flick of Vivian's hand, and the flame scattered before it could even touch her.

"So close."

"What?"

"Nothing."

A faint smile touched Vivian's mouth, which had been set in gloom the entire time.

"Standing your ground earlier, and that strike just now. It's a mess — but you've got talent."

Good. The bait had landed exactly as planned.

"…If she does well, she might get as strong as Evan."

For the record, the Evan Vivian meant was not our classmate. She meant the former hero, Evan.

Well. She wouldn't have the faintest idea he ever had a kid.

Not important enough to bring up now. I filed it away to mention later.

"So. Will you teach her?"

Vivian turned her head and looked at Rania.

"Hah. Hah, hah…"

Even with aura exhaustion crashing over her, she was still on her feet. I huffed a quiet laugh.

"You. Name."

"…I am Rania Vulcanus."

"I heard. Rest."

The moment the words left Vivian's mouth, Rania collapsed.

"Next."

Asking for the next condition was the same as accepting the offer.

And with that, the hole in her growth from the Villainess Yuria arc disappearing is filled.

Rania would get stronger on schedule. Maybe even faster. So next up—

"Gimme a ride."

"?"

—it was time to put out the fire right in front of us.

"Please take us to the Vulcanus county estate."

This was, in fact, the biggest reason I had come to see Vivian in the first place.

From the imperial capital to the Vulcanus county was a two-week trip by carriage. There were plenty of ways to cut the time down. There was only one way to arrive in a matter of hours: the Blue Magic Tower's warp gate.

But the base fare started at a hundred gold, and once you stacked on all the extra fees? You'd blow past two hundred gold without even trying. And there were two of us. Even Rania did not walk around carrying the equivalent of thirty thousand dollars in her pocket.

But Vivian?

Vivian, who had arrived in Zion from this place in twenty minutes flat after the scarecrow ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was destroyed?

"Taking her too?"

"Yes."

"Fine. Let's go."

"Huh?"

I'd figured she had some kind of method. I had not figured that the method would be—

"Hold on tight."

—picking up the unconscious Rania in her left hand, grabbing me by the scruff of the neck with her right, and then—

KAAAAAAAAANG……!!!!

"GUEHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!"

—just… running. Brutally, stupidly, impossibly fast.

The ground fell away into a dizzying distance. We shot past gliding birds as if they were standing still, treading on empty air without the slightest hesitation.

If a carriage was a car and a horse was a motorcycle, then Vivian was a Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird.

In other words—

"Vivian's engineering is number oooooooooooooone in the wooooooooooorld!!!!"

—the fastest combat aircraft on the planet.

Several hours later.

The Vulcanus Count Estate, peaceful as ever.

"A-air raid warning, air raid warning!!! This is bad, Acting Matriarch!!!"

"…What is the matter?"

"An unidentified flying object of enormous power is falling toward the estate!! It appears to be high-level aerial assault magic!"

"Captain of the Guard. Please remain calm."

The current Acting Matriarch, Hestia Vulcanus, asked again with a grave expression.

"What is the estimated time of impact?"

"Th-that's!! F-fi…!!!"

"Five minutes? Fifty minutes?"

"Four…!!!! Three…!!! Two…!!!"

"Eek?! A-air raid war—!!"

KAAAAAAAAANG────!!!!