Chapter 15
Chapter 15
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 14
Chapter Title: Secret
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The four people who entered the room could only stare blankly at the notes that had burned to ashes and were scattering in the air.
What the hell is this situation?
[Hehehe.]
A girl's voice echoed even though no one had spoken. The first to react was Professor Per, who seemed the dullest.
“Kyaaah! Again! It’s out again! It came again!”
She immediately plugged her ears and curled up, screaming. Erika hurriedly embraced her, but it had little effect.
“Let’s get out for now.”
What if the door was locked?
Erika had that fleeting worry, but fortunately, the doorknob turned properly, and they were able to step outside.
“What is going on here?”
“The girl in the lab. It seems like she’s up to something.”
Gideon and Keren appeared quite composed.
Especially Keren, who had just lost the key to solving this incident moments ago, had already returned to her usual demeanor.
Click-clack.
As the four stepped into the hallway outside the room, a hard sound echoed. It rang out in a steady rhythm, making it clear it was footsteps.
[Hey, kids.]
An old woman with a hunched back stood at the staircase leading down to the lower floor.
The moment Keren saw her, she knew instinctively.
“Professor Erika. Try a hallucination dispel spell.”
“Restore flesh and soul to wholeness, twist and expel the rotten filth, purify.”
A clean incantation unraveled like thread, naturally forming magic that enveloped the four.
However, even this spell didn’t make the old woman vanish. She lifted her head toward them.
Where eyes should have been, only a vast darkness like an endless ocean remained.
[Want some candy?]
The exact same line the students had mentioned. They’d heard that soon the body would stiffen and force-feed eyeballs.
“I have no intention of getting rattled by something like this.”
Gideon, feeling humiliated at being caught in such a trivial situation, finally couldn’t hold back and stepped forward.
He placed his open palm by his waist. With his other hand, he took a stance as if drawing a sword.
Whoosh!
In an instant, a flaming sword appeared, lighting up the fourth floor like a beacon. The heat pressing down on his whole body warmed him fiercely.
Gideon charged with the sword of flames drawn.
Unlike the students, he had no trace of fear and intended to end it immediately.
But.
He stopped abruptly.
The old woman cackled as she approached Gideon, who had his sword aimed at her neck.
[Yes, do you want to eat it?]
Splurt.
Her long tongue easily touched the cold floor. And on top of it lay the old woman’s eyeball.
Gideon tried to swat away the monstrous tongue right then, but his body wouldn’t move at all.
“……!”
He couldn’t even speak properly. He couldn’t swallow saliva, and the quiver in his throat had stopped. It was a world frozen with only his consciousness remaining.
In that moment, the health teacher spoke up.
“I’ll eat it.”
[Hmm?]
The old woman’s gaze turned to Keren. More precisely, she rolled the eyeball on her tongue toward her, but anyway.
“I want to eat Grandma’s candy.”
The moment those words ended, the old woman had already passed Gideon and stood before Keren.
She smiled brightly in satisfaction, slowly taking Keren’s hand and placing her eyeball on it.
Keren put it in her mouth without hesitation and swallowed.
Gulp.
“……It’s delicious.”
Erika beside her grimaced in disgust, and Per had already puffed out her cheeks, likely holding back vomit.
At Keren’s response, the old woman stood blankly for a moment before smiling contentedly and hugging her tightly.
[Yes, as long as it’s delicious.]
With that, the old woman vanished.
“Urp!”
Per rushed to the corner of the hallway and began vomiting properly, while Erika, sweating coldly, asked Keren.
“Are you okay?”
“No problem. I’ve eaten it before, back in the day.”
“……Pardon?”
Erika doubted if she’d heard right, but Keren just shoved her hands deep into her pockets and clamped her mouth shut.
She seemed lost in deep thought, but soon opened her mouth with a splutter.
“Ugh, it reeks of fish. Need to rinse my mouth first.”
Keren headed to the nearby bathroom. Erika was surprised; she’d heard Keren was a monster who’d crossed countless brushes with death as a mercenary, but her tolerance was beyond expectation.
“……Damn it.”
Gideon, who hadn’t resisted the old woman at all, clenched his fist in frustration and headed straight down to the first floor.
Erika paid him no attention and cleared away Per’s vomit with magic as she thought.
Life at the academy from now on would be incredibly tough.
*
“…….”
The path down to the Verdi Family’s underground was more thoroughly hidden than I’d expected.
If anything, it was underground of the underground.
The first underground floor was for the servants—dormitories, kitchens, cleaning rooms, and such.
A place to prepare to serve us upstairs and the guests.
Past that, in the storage room, there was a door leading even further down.
It was blocked with multiple layers of wooden planks, as if sealed.
I crossed my arms as I looked at it.
“What’s this?”
I glanced sideways, my eyes landing on Pindenai standing next to me. She wouldn’t know, of course, so I shifted my gaze one more spot.
The butler who had accompanied me down, insisting on serving me, looked flustered as he explained.
“W-We haven’t been told the details, but we know it’s where the Verdi Family’s ancient history slumbers.”
“Ancient history?”
“Yes, so it’s been forbidden to even approach for ages.”
The butler glanced at me—the Verdi Family’s second son—with eyes saying he shouldn’t be ignorant of this.
I told him he could leave now and subtly reached out to touch it.
Thud! Thud thud!
Immediately, black ripples poured from the door and plank gaps.
“Hmm? This mansion’s more fun than I thought?”
Pindenai snorted with considerable interest, looking around. She couldn’t see spiritual entities, but her beast-like senses picked up the ominous vibe.
I rested my chin on my hand in front of the door, impassively watching the black ripples leaking out.
They writhed as if possessing self-awareness, furious and ready to drag me in if I touched them.
“Hmm.”
After a short exhale.
I extended my hand slightly. Scrall, who’d been hiding, immediately brought my staff and placed it in my grip.
The one I’d used climbing the North Wedden Mountains last time.
“Summoning a staff…… Can’t quite gauge our master’s skills.”
Ignoring Pindenai’s mutterings beside me, I tapped the ground with the staff and said.
“Pindenai.”
“Yes?”
“Break it.”
Normally, anyone would ask again upon such an order. Like Scrall, who was a ghost yet startled and stared at me.
But Pindenai was different.
“Okay!”
Without a hint of hesitation, she planted her foot firmly and smashed the door as if shoving it.
Craaaack!
The old door shattered pitifully into wooden splinters that rolled across the floor.
Dust billowed out along with swarms of insects.
Servants, startled by the sudden commotion, rushed into the storage room, but it didn’t matter.
I covered my mouth with my sleeve, frowning without sparing them a glance.
‘The energy is intense.’
More than the dust and bugs, the evil spirit energy squeezing my entire body made even breathing uncomfortable.
‘It’s not a spirit beast, but it rivals one. Yet it’s ambiguous to call it a land-bound ghost either.’
Land-bound ghosts usually wield explosive influence in their domains, but this felt different.
If Grandma were here, she’d have given the answer instantly.
A bit regretting that, I still stepped forward.
“Hm? You’re going in?”
“No answers come without going.”
“True enough. Our master’s bolder than I thought.”
Pindenai, pleased, followed behind me. I lit a small flame at my fingertip and descended the stairs.
The repelling force grew stronger the deeper we went. Still, I pressed on. In such intuitive power struggles, the living struggle against the dead.
We have mass, after all.
Step step.
The underground stairs seemed endless. Midway, some noise came from above—probably Darius or Deia cursing me out.
“But doesn’t our master know much about his own family either?”
“I’m not the head.”
Truthfully, it’s less because I’m not the head and more because I’m not even Deus anymore. It’s only been six months; what would I know?
Full of ignorance about the family. And the Verdi Family oddly hid a lot.
“Urgh, you’re way different from the rumors.”
“Rumors?”
No point wasting time on the long stairs. Curious about the rumors, I asked, and Pindenai shrugged as she replied.
“Nah, I heard from the working maids you’re a total womanizer.”
“…….”
“They said you make the maids wear trashy outfits like this. But you don’t actually touch them?”
It’d be ridiculous to call myself changed, and saying it wouldn’t change anything.
Pindenai was the type to trust her own eyes, ears, and gut over rumors anyway.
Instead, I offered advice.
“Spreading the maids’ gossip to the master isn’t wise.”
“I’m not sticking around here forever.”
“Still, better be cautious. The maids are Northsweden’s info hub. Befriending them won’t hurt.”
“…….”
Especially for someone who worked as a scrap merchant, info gathering is crucial—I didn’t need to add that.
Even Pindenai would get it.
“Oh yeah, that reminds me. I ran an errand outside today?”
“……?”
“Some woman all dolled up asked if you were back. Said she’s your girlfriend.”
“……Sigh.”
“Didn’t peg you for it, but you must hit the brothels a lot. She said she’s waiting tonight. Full service. Even offered to rim you.”
No anger.
Just a flat exhale, suppressing the throbbing headache.
How far had this damn body stirred up trouble? Fixing one thing brought another popping up.
‘Now that she knows these rumors, maybe that’s why she kicked me out.’
Perhaps Erika Bright, my fiancée, expelled me from the academy because of these bad rumors.
No divorce request from the Bright Family yet—maybe they’re dragging it out to save face?
‘No need to hesitate.’
Thinking it pointless courtesy, I reached the bottom of the stairs.
Pindenai, finding my silence odd, asked in surprise.
“What, you’re really going tonight?”
“Haah, no.”