Random Encounter (8): Faye's Surprise Return
"Faye! Why did you come back?" I nearly jumped out of my skin when she suddenly popped out right beside me. I'd heard someone running over, but I never imagined it would be her. If I'd stopped to think about it, I probably could've figured it out, but the situation was so chaotic I didn't exactly have the bandwidth for deep analysis.
"Hehe. I wanted to fight with you guys too... Was I just getting in the way?"
"No way! You were a massive help. I'm so glad you showed up!"
If Faye hadn't pinned down one of the monster's arms back there, who knows what would've happened. Honestly, it probably wouldn't have been a fatal issue. Just because the thing yanked the spear out of its own chest didn't mean it could suddenly pull off some masterful spear technique. But we definitely wouldn't have been able to land a clean finishing blow. It would've just been a solid hit, nothing more. The fight would've dragged on, and things might've snowballed into a real pain in the ass. So yeah—Faye showing up was a huge relief. For real.
"Claire did great too. Theo told you to track down the black mage, right?"
"Yes. I pursued the black mage in accordance with Theo-nim's orders. I apologize for initiating combat without permission!"
"Hey, no need for that. You stopped someone who was trying to run away—that was the right call. Who's going to blame you for it? I was literally about to tell you that you did a good job."
"Thank you!"
Claire stood ramrod straight and answered with military precision. Faye, seeing Claire's holy knight mode for the first time, stared with wide eyes like a startled deer.
"Ehh? Claire, what's with the sudden attitude? Did you hit your head or something?"
"Ah. I'm sorry. It's become a habit, so it's hard to break."
"Faye, Claire's like that because of her old habits from the Holy Knight Division. She didn't get hurt, so don't worry."
"Ohhh, that makes sense!"
Faye nodded, looking fascinated. But... wasn't that a bit much? Asking if she'd hit her head?
"Did you wait long? Let's go."
Theo returned after briefly asking us to wait because he had something to take care of.
"Theo. Are you done with your business... Whoa. What the hell is that?"
In Theo's hand was something grotesque that I couldn't even identify. Looking at the monster's corpse behind him, which had been torn open like a ravaged piñata, it was probably some kind of internal organ. But thanks to the berserk drug, it was so horribly mutated that I couldn't tell which organ it used to be.
I found the thing so repulsive I didn't even want to touch it, but Theo casually pulled out a container from his bag and stuffed it inside.
"This? How should I explain it... Claire. What do you guys call this?"
"Let me see it for a moment. Ah. It's a nucleus of black mana."
"A nucleus of black mana?"
"Yes. When you defeat a reasonably skilled black mage, one is occasionally found inside the body. The Church's directive is to destroy them immediately whenever they're discovered."
"What? You smash this thing? Why?"
Theo asked, genuinely surprised.
"I'm not entirely sure myself... Perhaps because leaving it alone would scatter black mana into the surroundings?"
"That can't be the reason. If you have a container with even basic magical treatment, it can be stored safely."
Theo held up the container with the nucleus inside. Its silhouette was visible through the translucent material. Ugh. Still disgusting.
"If you're not going to throw that away, at least put it away. I don't exactly want to keep staring at it."
"Ah. Sorry."
"And while we're at it, let me ask you something. Why do you want to keep that nasty thing anyway?"
Theo put the container back into the bag he'd brought as he answered.
"It's worth researching. If I examine this, I can figure out what kind of black magic that guy learned and what it could do. If I dig deeper, I might even discover its weaknesses."
"Oh. Weaknesses too?"
"Yeah. That's why I'm keeping it. It's not like I think it's pretty or anything."
With a thud, Theo slung the bag over his shoulder.
"Anyway, let's get moving. It'll be trouble if we run into a professor after staying here too long."
"Right. I forgot about that."
Whether it was a professor coming to rescue Faye's party or one coming to eliminate the attacking black mage, running into either would be bad for us. We hadn't entered the academy dungeon through the official transfer array, after all. If they asked how we'd gotten in, it'd be awkward to answer. Theo's hypnosis ability doesn't work properly if there's too big a gap in power levels. How ironic that we have to avoid the diligent professors who are just trying to save students.
We quickly headed for the escape point. We parted ways with Faye midway. Since the noble lady's party and ours had entered the sixth floor from different locations, it couldn't be helped.
"U-um, what do I do? If they ask why I came back alone and so late, what am I supposed to say?"
Faye belatedly started worrying, but we didn't have any clever solutions either. We could only hope her party would come up with a good excuse. They were nobles too, so they'd probably prepared something plausible. If not... well, we'd just have to wish her luck.
We returned straight to the dormitory. Even though I'd put the monitoring academy staff under hypnosis, another employee might show up. We needed to get back before that happened. Fortunately, it seemed no one had noticed we'd disappeared. At least not the staff.
But my roommate was a different story.
"Luna! Where have you been? I was worried sick!"
I got completely busted by my roommate. It couldn't be helped.
"I was with my party. That way if anything dangerous happened, we could fight right away."
"What? Are you crazy?! If you run into a black mage you should run away, not think about fighting!"
My roommate launched into a lecture after my answer, but she didn't doubt the part about me being with my party. Which was true. The part about fighting when things got dangerous was also true. Of course, I wasn't about to mention that I'd voluntarily run straight into the dangerous place.
"Casey. Was the dormitory okay? No danger?"
"We were perfectly safe. From what the kids were saying on their crystals, there were guards everywhere, both inside and outside the building."
My roommate Casey was the type of character every game has at least one of—the well-connected information broker with ears everywhere. It's funny because there wasn't a character like this when it was just a game. Interesting how things change.
From what Casey told me, it seemed safe to assume the dormitory was fine. Since this was neither a main event nor a sub-event but a random one, it made sense that it wasn't too dangerous. Even though Faye's party had nearly died. Speaking of which, why were they on the sixth floor anyway? Maybe because Faye had gotten too strong too fast? If they'd planned to recruit her later like originally intended, they probably wouldn't have taken her to the Goddess Dungeon, and she would've been weaker. Maybe Faye had carried them so well that the others got cocky thinking, If it's our party, we can do even more!
"...Pfft. No way."
It was my own thought, but it was such a ridiculous delusion. No way that happened. I'm not an idiot. Enough pointless speculation—time to focus on what I need to do.
"Casey. Mind if I use the crystal? You're not busy, right?"
"Nope, go ahead. I'm just chatting anyway."
Casey, who had been sitting at the desk, gave up her seat. I sat down and looked at the crystal panel on the desk. It looked like one of those nameplates important people keep on their desks. It was a magic tool called a 'Crystal Messenger' that could send messages over long distances—commonly known as a 'crystal.'
When I first heard the name 'messenger,' I thought it might be like a smartphone app, but it was actually much simpler. All it did was send short messages to someone. No call function, no long texts, and since it was an installed device, you couldn't carry it around. Still, it was definitely better than nothing. And because it was installed, even someone like me with rock-bottom magic stats could use it without issues.
I sent everyone a message saying, Let's have the party tomorrow. It was already getting late. Even if we started preparing now, we'd barely finish around midnight.
Replies from Theo and Claire came back quickly. It looked like both had returned to the dormitory safely. But there was no reply from Faye. Maybe she was being questioned about the attack or something. Well, I'd find out once she got back to the dorm.
"All done with the crystal. I should wash up now."
I'd rushed back to the dormitory, so I couldn't enjoy my usual bath at the secret base. I'd only managed to wipe off the mud and blood with a damp towel. It felt gross. I got up from the desk and headed to the shower room. Today I'd wash properly and sleep. Tomorrow I'd buy ingredients in the morning and prepare for the party at lunch. That way we could start the party before dinner. I'm already looking forward to it!
An old man emerged from a room. The moment he stepped out, the painfully bright light made him scrunch up his face. Even though the only illumination was a single candle so dim it was hard to read even one book properly, it felt blindingly bright compared to the room he'd just been in.
A subordinate who had been kneeling and waiting for the old man to emerge spoke up.
"Reporting in. All members of the assault team failed to return and lost their lives. The damage inflicted on the academy side amounts to only a few staff members."
"Hmm..."
There was a very brief silence. The subordinate trembled, not knowing what words might come from the old man's mouth. Given the old man's personality, it wouldn't be strange if he killed someone just to vent his anger. No, perhaps death would be a relief. He certainly didn't want to end up like those things visible in the corner of his vision.
Unlike the subordinate shaking in terror, the old man did not get angry. He hadn't held any expectations in the first place.
"I see. At least the initial infiltration was successful?"
"Y-yes! Yes! One person was infiltrated on each floor from the sixth to the tenth floor of the academy dungeon."
"Tsk. Disgusting bastards, but it seems their information was accurate. Understood."
Even though things had gone exactly as planned, no kind words came from the old man's mouth. His tone suggested he found the other party repulsive no matter what they did. Even if it had benefited him.
When the old man turned his head elsewhere, the subordinate hurriedly left the spot before the old man's mood could change.
"Aaaaaaaagh...!"
A low scream echoed in the ears of the subordinate fleeing without looking back. The sound coming from inside the room the old man had emerged from contained a horror that was difficult to put into words. The subordinate had heard countless screams—enough to fall asleep using human cries as a lullaby—yet even he felt a chill run down his spine.
"It seems it's about time to proceed with the plan."
The old man murmured, dismissing even those screams as if they were nothing out of the ordinary.