Chapter 152
Chapter 152
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 152
Chapter Title: The Dean Without Breath
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I let out a deep sigh, and Evan's expression changed.
“You’re not about to bring up something trite like morality, are you?”
“Sorry, but I am. And I’m going to curse a bit too. Hey, you crazy bastard. Does it make any sense to kill first and check later when nothing’s even certain yet?”
“I just explained the reason.”
Evan looked puzzled, if anything.
“There are over a thousand current students at Cartel Academy right now. Add in the faculty and staff, and you’re looking at at least half again that number, even if not quite double.”
“I know.”
“Sacrificing two to save fifteen hundred— what reason is there not to? Ah. Though the odds are low, if you’re a die-hard royalist…”
I cut off Evan’s nonsense with a sigh.
“What if neither of them turns out to be a cultist?”
“Those two are priority zero suspects, and there’s a list ready from priority one downward. We just proceed sequentially.”
“Keep killing until we hit one?”
Evan raised both hands with a bored look.
“I admit it’s a radical approach. But within the time we have left, it’s the only way to reliably save everyone.”
That was when I burst out laughing.
“There’s more than one or two things I want to pick apart, but let’s start with this.”
“Go ahead.”
“If killing them resolves the situation, why ask for my help?”
“What?”
“The prince and princess. You could handle killing those two on your own.”
“…”
Evan shut his mouth.
“Want to hear my guess? Killing the prince and princess is just step one—or zero—of your plan. You’ll need my help starting from what comes after.”
“…”
“Plus, if we share the crime of royal murder, even if I blab about your identity, no one will believe me, and you’ll have dirt on me too. Two birds with one stone.”
“Tch.”
Evan smacked his lips and scratched his cheek.
Somehow, his poked-and-deflated look overlapped with the Evan I knew, stirring odd feelings.
A moment later, he shrugged.
Silent affirmation.
Irritation surged, making me consider smacking his head, but I held off and asked what I was most curious about first.
“What’s the next step?”
“After killing the high priest?”
“Why a high priest all of a sudden.”
“Ah. Just a provisional name for the one who summoned the Demon King. Whatever the case, it’s clear a sacrificial rite happened here.”
“…Fine.”
I was tired of nitpicking, so I let it slide.
“Strictly speaking, killing the high priest after the Demon King’s descent is cleanup. If a forest fire’s already raging, putting it out won’t undo the burned parts, right?”
“So?”
“But you can stop it from spreading further. In the same vein, killing the high priest means the Demon King won’t get any stronger, at least.”
“…Stronger?”
“Yeah. Sure, it’d need periodic sacrifices to sustain itself, but…”
Evan continued.
“Honestly, even now, our odds of beating the Demon King are near zero. Killing the high priest ASAP is the only way to secure even a sliver of a chance. Got it so far?”
“Yeah.”
“So you’ll go along with me?”
“No.”
I shook my head, and Evan sighed in disappointment.
“Fine. Then let’s hear your thoughts. Got another option?”
“There’s one thing I want to ask first.”
“Shoot.”
“What exactly happened to you in the research wing?”
“Hm.”
Seeming to find it a fair question, Evan nodded.
“To keep it simple… the twelve buildings in the research wing might as well be cult territory. They’re not too dangerous during the day, but come nightfall, it’s a different story. High chance of getting sucked into the shadow world.”
“Sucked in?”
“Yeah. But after that, my memories get fuzzy. Like a dream world, hazy sensations… Anyway, I’ll tell you everything I remember.”
What followed from Evan was absurd.
He said that after passing out, he awoke in the academy at midnight under a blood-red moon.
That place was the shadow world, apparently.
“I remember there being a lot of other people too. Can’t recall faces, but mostly students, some professors.”
“That’s… weird.”
“A lot” meant at least a dozen or so…
As I’d said earlier, the academy was a place where tracking people was far easier than most.
Missing even one registered class got noted in the attendance log immediately.
If it happened too often, the instructors would notice something off.
Evan was a special case, able to revive even after death.
“Hardenaihar’s a Demon King who loves games, so there are probably rules in the shadow world too. Unfair ones, but that means a chance—not zero—of returning to the real world.”
“Hmm…”
“Anyway. The three keywords I clearly remember from that world: [Doll], [Search], and finally [Blood Moon].”
“…Doll, huh.”
The Perist Princess holding a doll did come to mind… but it felt oddly off-putting.
What to call it.
All the evidence pointed to the princess as the culprit, which conversely made it feel suspicious.
Of course, as Seren said, this world wasn’t a novel.
Suspicious people did suspicious things, so they were suspicious.
That aside, I decided not to ignore the discomfort I felt now.
“I get the gist of what you’re saying. So your real goal is—”
“Kill the high priest, head back to the shadow world, and take down the Demon King together.”
“Hm.”
I nodded.
“I think I’ve got the picture. But doesn’t it seem too much for just the two of us?”
“Agreed. The more allies, the better. Personally, I’d say five is ideal…”
Evan glanced at my face and asked.
“Why the face?”
“…Nothing.”
I shook my head.
It was because Seren’s words had flashed through my mind just then.
—Anyway. Her Highness wants to recruit up to five club members. Don’t know the details, but yeah.
The princess wanting to secure five members.
Evan saying at least five were needed to beat the Demon King.
Just coincidence?
“Got anyone worth recruiting? They have to be trustworthy, first off. And not half-assed in skill. Hector and Karon, who hang around with you, are out.”
Hector and Karon were fine at the hero level, but definitely short for Demon King combat.
Seren Goodspring came to mind first…
But right then, someone far more helpful sprang to mind.
“Yeah.”
“Who?”
“Dean Alderson.”
The academy’s master.
We needed to share the situation with the Archmage of Violet and get his help.
* * *
“The dean is currently in the [Tower of Trials]. Truth be told, he spends more time there than in his office.”
We rushed to the main building’s dean’s office, but a man who seemed to be his secretary replied thus.
Normally he wouldn’t reveal the location, but flashing my special student ID and adding some flair got that out of him.
Thanks to that, Evan and I left the main building right away for the [Tower of Trials].
Walking the dusky academy, the streetlamps felt dimmer than usual today.
I glanced at Evan following silently behind and thought.
‘Should I arrange a meeting with Leone?’
Leone had definitely said she’d share more info if I brought the sub-priest…
Still unsure.
I didn’t even know why Leone was looking for another sub-priest to begin with.
Who knows.
She might have shady motives too.
Like hijacking the sub-priest’s body?
‘Hm…’
Truth be told, by that logic, the Evan trailing me now wasn’t fully trustworthy either.
‘…Agh. My head.’
What a clusterfuck. A sigh escaped.
Ordinary folks might never glimpse a cultist, let alone a high priest, in a lifetime…
Here I was, sandwiched between sub-priests, dying inside.
But brushing them off recklessly wasn’t an option.
The Demon King had descended, after all. Evan’s help was essential to break the situation.
“You know about Dean Alderson?”
I asked, hiding such thoughts.
Evan replied casually.
“The Archmage of Violet, right? Of course. But I doubt a figure like that would easily buy some random hero’s word.”
Fair point. A Demon King descending in the capital? No sane person would buy it.
Still.
“If it’s from me, he probably will.”
“The Bednicker name carries weight, huh.”
Evan’s voice lacked tension.
‘…Maybe just throw the two together without saying anything.’
Their reactions as sub-priests might reveal things I didn’t know.
We soon reached the Tower of Trials.
The tower soaring high at midnight evoked a lighthouse on the coast.
Which floor was the dean on?
If the top, did that mean climbing from the first?
Such worrisome thoughts crossed my mind when…
Whooo—.
With a light breeze, Dean Alderson appeared.
“What brings you two here in the dead of night?”
He said “you two,” but his gaze fixed solely on me.
I met his potentially burdensome stare naturally.
“There’s something I need to discuss.”
“What is it?”
“…Could you summon Leone first?”
Regardless of Evan, I wanted to ask Leone about what was happening in the academy too.
“Hmm… Follow me, then.”
As Alderson waved his hand, the scenery shifted.
It was a treasure vault, somewhere.
Alderson looked at me.
“Asking for Leone means… you’ve made some progress, I take it?”
“For now.”
“Hmm…”
After eyeing me briefly and nodding to himself, he extended one arm like last time.
Clack…
And from under his arm appeared a wooden doll on strings.
“Oh…”
As Evan let out an admiring voice, the dean’s mana flowed into the doll.
The blunt wooden doll began to change.
Still an astonishing sight.
Its featureless face soon gained eyebrows, nose bridge, lips…
Moments later, a [Leone doll] emerged—far more precise and lifelike than the princess’s, indistinguishable from a real person outwardly.
“…”
I watched Evan’s expression closely then.
To catch the subtle change when he first saw Leone’s face.
Contrary to expectation, no real reaction.
Does he truly not know?
Or is Evan craftier than I thought.
“…Hmm.”
Leone made a nasal sound.
Her striking looks, memorable eyes, ambiguous smile blending confidence and vagueness—it still didn’t seem like a doll.
Leone ignored the dean entirely. Eyes open, she looked straight at me, then glanced at Evan behind.
“…”
Her smile deepened slightly, it seemed.
Rumble…
“Hm…?”
Suddenly, the entire tower trembled faintly.
Not a major quake, but not negligible either.
“This is… the armored soldiers acting up again, it seems.”
“Armored soldiers?”
“The trial on the fifth floor—another of my masterpieces. I’ll check it out briefly, so talk among yourselves. Leone stays.”
Snap—.
Alderson vanished like mist.
Left alone in the treasure vault with three, Leone burst into laughter.
“Long time no see. Faster than expected.”
“You sense the flow of time too?”
“Of course. Different texture from yours, though.”
Giggling, Leone walked toward me.
Even simple steps exuded elegance—hard to pull off, but she did.
She circled me lightly, then spoke with a smile.
“Your expression says you’re finally grasping the situation…”
“…”
“Child of Bednicker. Do you know?”
“Know what.”
“How to tell human from doll.”
What the hell?
Puzzled, I stared—then Leone approached to within breathing distance.
Her eerie red eyes bored into me, soon curving like crescent moons.
“…”
That was when I realized.
‘This guy…’
Isn’t breathing.
Obvious, really.
No heart, veins, or lungs—why would a doll breathe.
“…Even crawling insects, swimming sea creatures, roadside weeds—they all breathe. Thus, breath is the surest proof of life.”
Leone brought her lips to my ear.
“Among dolls, my kind is quite rare. Others never realize they’re dolls. Puppets on strings mistaking it for their own will—ah, how laughable…”
“…”
“Young Bednicker and sub-priest… A nostalgic combo that stirs my spirits. A bit of fun. Here’s some advice.”
Her cold whisper, devoid of breath, chilled my ear like ice.
“Doubt everything. Shed needless preconceptions. If deceit and suspicion still drape all around, then close your eyes and ponder endlessly.”
“What?”
Hated vague bullshit.
I glared lightly; Leone smiled brightly and stepped back.
No malice in her beaming smile.
“What’d she say?”
Evan, unable to hear the whisper, tilted his head—but instead of answering, I…
Scanned ‘Evan Helvin’ thoroughly.
Naturally, no one checks if others are breathing normally.
Unless gravely injured.
“…”
Faint chest rise, pulse, airflow near the throat…
Evan was breathing.
Snap—.
Dean Alderson returned.
“Sorry for stepping out suddenly. It’s handled.”
“…”
“Now, where were we?”
Alderson asked with a kindly smile.
“Ah.”
I stared at his face briefly, pretending to gather thoughts while counting seconds inwardly.
“Basically…”
Alderson reappeared: now 5 seconds.
10 seconds.
15.
…20 seconds.
“…”
No inhale, no exhale.
Not a twitch from the chest beyond his beard.
Beside the dean stood Leone, smiling faintly…
A chill raced up my spine.
No need for “surely” qualifiers.
It was plain as day.
Dean Alderson was a doll.