Joint Class, Part 5
"Oh, no!"
Amidst the pouring deluge, the princess let out a sigh of despair.
"A-An attack? A terrorist strike? Looking at the way this rain is coming down, it has to be a Behemoth, right?"
Zenia replied, her usual playful smirk completely gone, replaced by a dead-serious expression.
"Yes. It seems the fools who wish to prevent our reconciliation have stretched their evil clutches even into the Academy."
The princess let out a sigh of relief. Fortunately, their enemies were incredibly foolish.
For over two whole minutes since the Behemoth's appearance—an eternity in battle—the terrorists had done absolutely nothing, wasting precious time.
"Whew..."
Yet that brief respite, conversely, forced the princess to make a difficult choice.
"First, we must find Wade and Claire."
"Are you insane?"
Zenia shrieked in shock.
"You don't seriously think the Behemoth is the only thing waiting for us back there, do you?"
The princess bit her lower lip.
The Behemoth was undeniably powerful. It was a monster that ordinary students stood absolutely no chance against.
However, this one was surely a newborn. While far more dangerous than a mere manticore, it was not an opponent they couldn't defeat if they risked their lives.
"I am not alone. You are here with me now."
"No, I know that, but still..."
With the princess stranded in the middle of this tempest, the instructors at the foot of the mountain wouldn't just sit idly by and watch.
If her only goal was to buy time, the risk she had to take would be significantly reduced.
"Do you really think they dropped a massive beast like a Behemoth here for no reason?"
It was a formidable magic beast. A vicious, horrific monster that run-of-the-mill terrorists could never easily acquire.
But those capable of wielding such a creature would never use a Behemoth simply for mindless slaughter or violence.
"There has to be more to this!"
The Behemoth's storm destabilized mana, disrupting communications and location tracking.
If not for those interference factors, the knights guarding the princess would have rushed to her side in the blink of an eye.
"But I cannot simply abandon them—"
"Be rational! It's a Behemoth. Not some ordinary magic beast, and not a monster devoid of demonic energy—it's a Behemoth! Do you really think a dark mage could move freely in its presence?"
Zenia's words snapped Yurisia back to reality.
Wait...
The law of submitting to a being with stronger demonic energy did not apply only among dark mages.
"If they have been dominated..."
If that were the case, running off somewhere made absolutely no sense.
The moment they succumbed to fear and were dominated by the demonic energy, they would have been swept up in the Behemoth's madness and wrath, turning their hostile clutches toward Zenia and the princess.
"Did they flee? No, that is also strange..."
If they had managed to retain their sanity, there were only two possibilities.
Either their demonic energy was miraculously resilient enough to resist the Behemoth's influence, resulting in a clash of wills, or, conversely, they were the ones controlling it.
But if a clash of wills were occurring, they wouldn't have fled like that. The very fact that they had moved proved they possessed the presence of mind to look the Behemoth in the eye and seek a way out of the crisis.
If fear hadn't paralyzed them, they would have logically chosen the path with the highest chance of survival. They would have called out to the princess and Zenia.
Not out of loyalty or devotion, but simply because it was the most rational choice for survival.
Although highly unlikely, if they were actually controlling the Behemoth, that would be an earth-shattering revelation in its own right.
If they... are controlling it...
It was not a creature a mere student-level dark mage could handle. The possibility of them controlling the Behemoth because they "harbored miraculous hidden potential" was virtually zero.
Rather, the possibility that they had hidden their strength for this very moment—
"Let's head down first. We need to assess the situation. If we're really unlucky... it'll already be too late even if we go now."
The princess could not find the words to refute Zenia.
"If they're still alive, we need to bring back priests who specialize in healing and purification magic to handle this safely."
"...Very well."
Yurisia nodded reluctantly. Leaving the tent behind, the two of them dashed down the mountain.
"Where are you?!"
"Your Highneeeess!"
Burying the doubts in her heart, the female knight screamed at the top of her lungs.
So it was true?
Her meeting with Katarin, and the information she had received.
She didn't know where the truth ended and the lies began, but at the very least, the warning that something dangerous would happen today was real.
"Something has happened on the mountain. Summon the knights immediately!"
A dignified voice echoed from beyond her field of vision.
"Ah! Y-Yes, Your Highness!"
The princess had spotted the female knight first.
Even in the torrential downpour, the brilliant light in Yurisia's eyes remained undimmed.
She was holding back. Even though the princess herself was in the most danger and had the most reason to be displeased, she was putting others first.
"F-First, we must head down..."
"There are still survivors up there! My companions! We must gather the Academy's knights and mages as quickly as possible and prepare to rescue them!"
"It is too dangerous right now! You must evacuate until the situation stabilizes..."
"I cannot do that."
Looking into the princess's eyes, the female knight realized something.
She wasn't throwing a tantrum.
She wasn't merely expressing a wish, nor was she trying to negotiate.
She was simply stating a plain fact: she could not do that.
"..."
A small spark of jealousy flared in the female knight's chest.
She knew all too well that she wasn't special.
It was only natural for promising young knights to enroll in the Academy alongside royalty or high-ranking noble ladies.
Those who entered this way formed cliques, serving the noble heir to bask in their reflected glory.
Yet the princess had no need for any of that.
Even without servants, the princess was still the princess. Anyone who looked at Yurisia knew with absolute certainty that even if she were to lead a pack of dogs, horses, orcs, and goblins, she would never lose her royal dignity and authority.
But her followers were different. The ones who had followed the princess to the Academy did not possess that innate grace.
The princess disliked unnecessary pampering, nor did she enjoy traveling in large crowds.
She treated any student who approached her with kindness, but she never promised them anything special.
Ah...
Still, she had thought this time would be different.
While the collapse of the Saint candidate, Stella, was tragic, it had presented an opportunity for them.
Even if the princess was reluctant to accept their aid, they believed she would have no choice but to rely on her loyal followers in a crisis like this.
They believed they were the only ones loyal enough to cast aside their assigned teams without a second thought and throw their lives away solely for her sake.
Why, even now... does she put them first...?
Yet the princess had chosen a nameless dark mage.
Without any proof of loyalty or guarantee of skill, she had chosen a woman who was so incompetent she couldn't even save her own team at the last moment.
"..."
The female knight believed in the princess. Her loyalty would never waver, no matter what.
But that loyalty and devotion could not entirely erase the jealousy she felt toward others.
"They..."
What she was about to do was a clear sin. A crime.
It was a despicable act for which she could offer no excuse, even if she were questioned later.
Even so...
The female knight rationalized her actions.
It was for the princess's sake. It was advice born out of concern for her safety.
Even if this became an issue and she had to pay for her crime, she would say it again and again for the princess.
And it wasn't as if she had no reason. Katarin had claimed her suspicions lacked evidence, but there was no way that vicious, venomous woman would speak without some basis.
The methods she used to obtain that proof might have been excessively wicked and cunning, but Katarin had undoubtedly fed her the information with absolute certainty.
"They have already descended."
"What?"
A mix of bewilderment and relief washed over the princess's face.
"Is that the truth?"
Perhaps sensing the fear and anxiety in the knight's eyes, the princess pressed her.
"W-Well, there was no one else up there besides Your Highness's party, was there?"
"...That is true."
"A man and a woman. I did not see them myself, but when I ran into another team searching nearby, they said they saw them together—"
The lie snowballed, growing larger and larger.
It couldn't be helped. Whether those two were the masterminds behind this incident or merely victims caught up in a massive disaster, this was the right thing to do.
Nothing was valuable enough to be weighed against the princess's life.
If they died, it would simply be a tragic accident. It wasn't as if she was the one killing them, so she had no reason to feel guilty.
"What a... relief."
"Y-Yes, indeed."
Still unable to relax, the female knight nodded hastily.
"Of course, a mere magic beast like that could never stop you, Your Highness, but this is the Academy. Why not let the administrators handle their duties?"
"..."
The princess stared back up the mountain with lingering regret. But soon, she shook her head.
"You speak the truth. Zenia, what are your thoughts?"
"I agree. Let's secure our safety first, then slowly stabilize the mana storm before searching for anyone left inside."
It was over. The female knight let out a quiet sigh of relief.
Completely erasing the dark mage named Katarin from her mind.