He Who Gazed Into the Abyss (1)
-Cain. You okay?
[...]
Silph carefully checked on my well-being, her tone laced with worry.
The other spirits were quietly observing me too, watching my every reaction.
Dainsleif’s ego had awakened far faster than I’d anticipated. The thing was supposed to need the blood of hundreds before it stirred, but this was completely off-script.
By keeping my distance from the gate and handing over the demonic sword instead, I’d only accelerated everything. Unlike the game where the corruption happened at the end of the semester, Shube’s situation right now was already dire.
Whispering knowledge from the Otherworld must have been an unbearable temptation for her. The demons had lost their homeland to that very invasion, so of course she’d be drawn to what it offered.
To be honest, I’d gone into this expecting her to weaken somewhat if she fell.
But when she said she would bear it all with her own will and willingly accept the Otherworld’s knowledge, I realized it wasn’t just about monitoring or controlling her.
Shube had said she trusted me.
I’d been viewing her as “possibly the final boss of Act 1,” but she had accepted me as a friend she could rely on.
I didn’t want to betray that trust.
That was all there was to it.
Even though the situation was spiraling in a bad direction, I was confident I could overcome everything.
No big deal. Okay, there is a big deal, but it’s something I can fix as long as you guys are with me.
-Cain! Just believe in us!
Yeah. I might not be the protagonist, but I am the chosen one.
Thanks to this bizarre skill I’d never seen in my entire life, I’d made it this far even with a body that was basically a walking disability course.
Without the spirits’ help, I never would have met Eve or gotten close to Shube.
Not to mention Dorothy or Panzy.
“Your face looks terrible~”
“Ah, Senior.”
When I sat down without a word, Dorothy took one look at me and tossed the comment out casually.
Eve had also sensed something was off and was waiting for me to speak.
I could trust these two.
Well, I had no idea where this dense saint might leap off to, but at least when Eve went berserk I could keep her somewhat under control…
“Um… This doesn’t seem like something I should say in a crowded place.”
“Don’t worry.”
Dorothy lightly waved her staff, creating a transparent barrier around us.
It was noise-blocking magic. With the assurance that no one would overhear us, I relaxed and told them everything that had happened with Shube.
That her condition had worsened significantly. That the demonic sword from the Otherworld had contaminated her mind far more than expected. And that despite all of it, she had trusted me and willingly shouldered the burden.
At that last part, Eve’s face twisted for a brief moment while Dorothy’s eyes flickered with admiration, but neither of them said a word.
I didn’t reveal that I had already known Dainsleif was a demonic sword.
Of course I’d have to confess it myself someday, but I wasn’t ready to face Eve’s fury just yet.
Besides, it was obvious she’d demand to know how I’d figured it out, and saying I came from outside this world wasn’t exactly something she’d believe.
Spouting knowledge of future events was dangerous.
“We finally meet again and you’ve been cooking up something insane, huh, junior?”
“I really did plan to just go with the flow… Haha…”
“Hmm~ A demonic sword from the Otherworld… Is this something Dorothy Gale should be thinking about?”
She meant the student council or the academy as a whole should handle it.
If that happened, saving Shube would become nearly impossible.
I shook my head and pleaded earnestly.
“Yes. I’d appreciate it if Dorothy Gale could handle this. After all, I’m friends with Shube.”
“Hmm~ Then we’ll need to revise our contract a little~”
“Contract? Cain. You made a contract with Senior? What the hell have you been doing while I wasn’t around?!”
Eve glared at me with wide eyes.
I officially retract my statement about living life by going with the flow.
I’ve just been causing incident after incident. Only now did I realize I’d been so busy I hadn’t even had time to properly curse.
Somehow the conversation had turned into an interrogation, with Eve grilling me while Dorothy watched on with clear amusement.
After Dorothy had enjoyed the sight of Eve’s furious questioning until my eyes were practically spinning, she clapped a hand on my shoulder and stood up.
“Then I’ll be on my way~”
“Eh? You’re not staying? The duels for today will be over soon.”
“You said you wanted Dorothy Gale to think about it~ So I need to think too. Oh, and there’s the matter of our contract.”
“Uh… But we don’t have a contract directly between us, right?”
“Of course we do~ Not with me personally, but there’s a contract that requires my involvement.”
“Ah.”
Urd Destin.
Dorothy was probably heading to the headmaster to report the situation and keep an eye on things.
When it came to a demonic sword, it would be far more discreet for the headmaster or Dorothy to handle it rather than the academy.
This was exactly when the headmaster connection was priceless.
I will remain eternally loyal. Loyal, loyal.
“I know what you’re thinking, but if this blows up, even we won’t be able to completely cover it up.”
“Ugh… I know. I can only pray it doesn’t come to that.”
“Well… I have a mountain of questions, but let’s stop here. The headmaster is currently on the battlefield.”
“The battlefield?”
What the hell was that bastard doing on a battlefield?
Dorothy hesitated for a moment before answering.
“A massive number of gates have appeared outside the empire. It’s become a global issue, so archmages from every region are being pulled to the front lines.”
“Then how will you contact him?”
“I’ll have to fly there. It’ll take some time. Communication magic can’t reach that far. Really… Making a senior as lofty as the sky suffer like this~”
Dorothy spoke playfully, dispelled the barrier, and vanished without another word.
Eve immediately demanded to know what kind of relationship I had with Dorothy that let us have entire conversations she couldn’t follow. I explained that we were simply working together on a “decent business idea” and that it was nothing serious.
But seriously… why the hell did I have to explain this to her?
I was starting to feel dizzy from Eve’s nonstop chatter when I finally heard that today’s duels were ending. I nearly cheered out loud.
“Hey… you!”
Eve jabbed my side pretty hard with her finger, but that level of pain was nothing.
Freedom!
Cain will not become a slave to nagging!
***
Just watching Class E’s duels took up an entire day.
When I thought about the remaining D, C, B, and A classes, it felt endless. I’d been rubbing my temples in the dormitory when I realized the classes were structured like a pyramid and broke into a wide grin.
Class E would take one day, then D and part of C would test, and if B and A went together, the entire duel evaluation would wrap up in about three or four days.
Just thinking about my duel with Panzy made it impossible to lie around in the dormitory.
The spirits seemed to follow my lifestyle pattern—sleeping when I slept and waking when I woke.
Sigh. Yeah, what am I doing lying here? Time to train.
I threw on some clothes and headed out to Demeter Park.
The night air was pleasantly cool with summer just around the corner.
The spirits, excited by this rare nighttime outing, chattered away while admiring the scenery.
Listening to their lively voices and breathing in the fresh air felt wonderful.
If there was one thing overwhelmingly better than the world I came from, it was this air.
Maybe it was the mana mixed into it, but just breathing made me feel refreshed and lifted my mood.
I had just arrived at the park and started loosening up when a familiar voice called out.
“Cain? As expected, you don’t neglect your training.”
“Panzy. Is your body feeling better?”
“Yes. Much better.”
She smiled brightly and patted my shoulder a couple times.
Before the duel she hadn’t looked particularly cheerful, but now she seemed genuinely excited.
Did something good happen?
“You look happy.”
“Ah, well… watching the duels made my blood boil too. Seeing everyone strive to prove their strength and devote themselves to improvement… it inspired me.”
“I see…”
I had actually been bored out of my mind and dozed off.
I’d yawned, gotten interrogated by Eve, and generally zoned out.
But I couldn’t say that to someone radiating pure passion.
Even I had that much tact.
“You came out for the same reason, right?”
“Well, judging by your outfit, it seems so.”
Panzy appeared to have come straight to the park wearing light armor layered over her clothes.
Between swordsmanship and everything else she wanted to try, the way she kept shifting her weight from foot to foot made her look exactly like an excited seventeen-year-old girl.
“As expected, I didn’t misjudge you. I’m truly happy right now.”
“Haha. Even a lion gets serious when hunting rabbits. Guess I should be a little nervous?”
“Hm? No. If anyone should be nervous, it’s me, Cain.”
She hesitated, then her cheeks flushed slightly as she gave an awkward smile.
“I still have no idea how to deal with your mysterious power. Choosing Alex as your training partner instead of me was an excellent decision.”
“Ah… Alex… Now that you mention it…”
A question I’d been holding onto resurfaced.
The injury she’d sustained while clearing out the violence circle.
The reason she hadn’t let me visit her while she recovered.
I opened my mouth to ask about it.
“Last time—”
“Shh.”
Panzy smiled shyly and pressed a finger to my lips.
Was she telling me to shut up because it was embarrassing?
I stared at her with wide eyes.
She turned away, took a few steps, then looked back at me over her shoulder.
“After this duel is over. It’s really nothing special, but I want you to focus only on me without worrying about unnecessary things.”
“Is this a promise I have to keep?”
“A knight’s promise is more important than any contract. I promise.”
She smiled again.
Then she reached out, took my arm, and led me deeper into the park.
“Shall we train together after so long? You haven’t forgotten the Vlad family’s training methods, have you?”
To her laughing question, I gave a polite noble bow and answered playfully.
“It’s embedded so deeply in my body that it won’t come out. Lady Vlad.”
“Hehe. Then let’s see just how deeply it’s embedded.”