Preventing the Assassination (1)
After finishing a quick shower in her room, Panzy Vlad let out a deep sigh and dried her hair. She had lived her entire life devoted to the path of knighthood, never imagining any romantic entanglements with men, yet yesterday had left her utterly flustered.
She felt her face burning and shook her head vigorously. Right. Something like that was perfectly normal between friends. She had simply lacked any immunity to it. Repeating that to herself over and over, Panzy finished drying her hair, flopped face-first onto her bed, and muttered.
Honestly, it made no sense. The academy’s perimeter was far sturdier than most people realized. Even from the perspective of a knight rather than a student, the guards on duty looked to be at least knight-level in skill. While the island itself was vast and had its limits, the areas where intruders could easily slip in were under extremely tight security.
Yet somehow, these impure individuals were still invading the academy…
Panzy hugged her pillow tightly, lay flat on her back, and stared at the ceiling. Cain was a peculiar guy. The day of the entrance ceremony, when she had helped him after seeing him staggering, her instincts had immediately told her he was a natural weakling. On top of that, she had learned that although he scored highly on the first test, his naturally low mana capacity had landed him in D-class.
Even so, the fact that he could cast magic without any incantation was astonishing. The spells activated exactly as he wished, without even needing magic circles. It made her question everything all over again.
Is he just pretending to be a weakling?
But if he were faking it, his body always ended up more wrecked than anyone else’s after any real exertion. It had happened during the Vermilion incident, and even during their joint training at the Herat Pavilion—he would collapse or reach the brink of exhaustion. Sometimes during sparring, he would stagger with a nosebleed in the worst cases. Her conclusion was that he wasn’t pretending to be weak.
If he had something to say, he would have asked her to come find him after classes tomorrow…
Unlike Eve, who was in E-class, Panzy had been placed in A-class, so visiting D-class would naturally draw more attention than if Eve went. Although the martial arts and magic departments were separate, they shared basic classes, which meant students’ perceptions tended to shift according to class rank.
One’s value can be raised at any time depending on how diligently one trains.
She clicked her tongue briefly and closed her eyes.
Those damn bastards. Those wicked people… As a knight, she could not overlook anyone entering the academy with impure intentions.
Panzy sighed deeply and tossed in bed.
Since it’s something Cain can’t handle alone, he must have asked me—someone he’s at least acquainted with…
.
.
.
.
.
.
Their plan was simple, yet complicated. To bypass the strict security, they would climb the island’s cliffs using enhanced holy power. One might wonder where the “simple” part was in that, but since there were no other behind-the-scenes maneuvers required, it could indeed be called simple. After all, they would waste most of their holy power just scaling the cliffs, leaving them significantly weakened for the actual fight. A kind of self-imposed penalty.
I was in my room, organizing the bastards’ plan on a sheet of parchment.
After infiltrating the academy via the cliffs, they would hide in the forest and track the Saintess’s movements. When she—on friendly terms with Alex—entered the woods as usual to exterminate slimes, they would launch their assault. If the Saintess died, they would use it as a pretext to ignite a religious war. Their religion had clearly gone off the deep end, which was why they were resorting to such extreme measures.
Honestly, the fact that they didn’t even see her as a proper Saintess anymore was ridiculous. Wouldn’t it make more sense to rally around her and start a holy war?
“Arpa wouldn’t have just stood by and watched. Maybe this was the predetermined sequence all along.”
Arpa needed to descend into the mortal world by borrowing her body. In a way, their actions were sabotaging a god’s plan.
So what should I do now?
To minimize variables, I needed to make sure Eve Abraham came near the forest. Once she revealed herself, I wasn’t sure whether I would join the fight or not, but the plan was for Panzy and me to ambush the enemies without Eve knowing. Since this was still only the first act, and I hadn’t been slacking either, plus I had Panzy with me, I figured we could somehow manage.
“Well then… shall we see how good Panzy’s swordsmanship really is?”
I smiled faintly and drifted off to sleep.
Panzy Vlad could not tolerate injustice. And she would pretend she couldn’t refuse a request from someone she considered—at least to some degree—a friend.
With that thought in mind, the next day I couldn’t help but grin when I saw Panzy standing awkwardly in front of the D-class room, looking unusually hesitant.
“Exactly. They’re extremely wicked indeed. Alright then, Dame Panzy Vlad, please follow me to a quiet place.”
I led her toward the commercial district without even trying to hide my cheerful grin.
Panzy, who stubbornly clung to the demeanor of a practitioner, rarely visited the commercial district. She handled daily necessities through the “delivery” function of magitech, so she had unintentionally become a hikikomori. Aside from the dormitory, classrooms, and training grounds, she had barely been anywhere else. Her eyes widened as she looked around in every direction.
“Is this your first time in the commercial district? Don’t worry about money—your family sends you plenty.”
Suddenly, something sweet filled her mouth. It was the whipped cream and apple jam waffle I had secretly bought and popped into her mouth just moments ago.
Panzy chewed with a slightly dazed expression, as if tasting sweets for the first time in ages. I grinned and pointed at the café next door.
“Do you like coffee? Let’s talk while we drink.”
I practically dragged the ultimate hikikomori—who looked awkward even entering a café—inside, ordered coffee and desserts using my past-life knowledge, then placed a sheet of parchment in front of her.
“This is…?”
“The route I organized for those wicked bastards. How did I find out? Trade secret.”
I smiled brightly. Trade secret. What a plausible, cool-sounding phrase. To some it might seem like the words of a con artist. And most people would probably see it that way—including the girl sitting across from me right now, judging by her expression.
“If they’re utterly ruthless terrorists, it does.”
A reasonable point. But she was overlooking the biggest reason I couldn’t ask the professors for help.
“Looking at your face right now, I think you can figure out why I can’t talk to the professors.”
“Eh? Ah… oh…”
Panzy’s face flushed as she realized her blunder. Still mindful of her appearance, she pulled out a hand mirror from somewhere and checked her face. I watched quietly as she set the mirror down and let out a long sigh, then took a sip of the coffee placed before us and spoke.
“Honestly, whether you believe me or not is up to you. But I don’t think there’s any loss in teaming up with me.”
“Why?”
“If those guys really show up, we’ll be carrying out justice. If they don’t? Well, we’ll just hunt a few slimes and get paid for it.”
It was an extremely logical reason. I couldn’t hide my satisfaction, so I straightened my shoulders and lifted my chin. If this world were a comic, a fanfare would have exploded behind me with radiant light. It was a little disappointing that it didn’t.
“I’ve heard the ‘entertaining’ part quite a lot. People say my random quips are funny.”
Panzy couldn’t hold back anymore and burst into laughter, clutching her stomach. Had I said something that funny? Unable to pinpoint her sense of humor, I decided to just roll with the shameless act. Nothing to lose. If they didn’t show, we’d hunt slimes and make money. If they did, we’d take them down and uphold justice. What a profitable deal?
“Fine. You’re not the type to lie to me. It’s a bit suspicious, but you even know their route. Then explain it to me. What’s their goal, and what exactly do we need to do?”
Panzy finally stopped laughing, gave a small grin, and held out her hand. I noticed it was trembling slightly, but since I didn’t know why, I simply smiled back and took it, shaking firmly.
“Strike while the iron is hot, as they say. Let’s confirm the location before the sun sets.”
I gulped down the rest of my coffee, stood up, and pulled her along by the hand. Her face flooded with panic and turned bright red, but I paid it no mind. She had agreed to join my plan—there was no time to worry about trivial things like that.
On the way to the forest, I explained to Panzy that the enemies were targeting the Saintess Eve Abraham and that the attack would likely happen in a few days, so we needed to prepare in advance. She was shocked once by the fact they were after the Saintess, then shocked again by the news that it would happen in just a few days. She looked like she had many questions, but she muttered, “I’ll ask after this is over,” and closed her mouth again.
There were plenty of suspicious parts. It wasn’t like I was some secret agent. But I didn’t want to see the bad ending where Eve Abraham died, and I also didn’t want to watch Alex—the insane psychopath—drag the world into ruin. Judging from his behavior, it was practically guaranteed that everyone, including Eve, Panzy, and Dorothy, would head toward destruction. That was why I had decided to clear this scenario my own way.
After entering the forest with Panzy and confirming the positions, I parted ways with her, promising to meet again soon.
A few days passed filled with classes and training. Finally, a message arrived announcing that the decisive moment had come.
Act 1 Chapter 3 - The Assault