The Saintess's Escape Plan
Anyway, time to escape! As the minutes ticked by, Arie's expression grew increasingly stiff. Since the headmaster had left his office, there was no real chance of him flying back here immediately, so there was no need to be overly tense. The security device I'd tampered with was nothing more than a simple alarm—it wasn't the kind that would send a direct alert to the headmaster. Until he returned in person, he would have no idea an intruder had ever been here. Of course, Arie, who had mindlessly disabled every security measure without a second thought, remained blissfully unaware of that fact.
"Let's start by looking for any gaps in the barriers. I'll try to find a way to break through the ward."
"Understood."
Arie began examining the ward while I pretended to inspect the room here and there. She was trying not to show it, but I could clearly see how flustered she was. Hmm, how should I put it… She was fun to tease in a completely different way from Hestia. Yeah, up until the second round, I'd had a blast playing around with Elisha too… but ever since she started showing signs of obsession, I'd been the one dodging her most of the time. Her thought process was so unpredictable it was honestly terrifying…
In that regard, Arie was surprisingly easy to handle. She seemed like she'd be the most annoying, but her facial expressions were actually the easiest to read. Aside from the occasional sharp remark thanks to her quick wits, she was the most comfortable woman to be around.
"Ughh…"
Even now, the way she stood there with both hands trembling as she pressed them against the ward made her emotions easy to guess. She was starting to get impatient. Arie had been so certain her plan was flawless that she probably never imagined a situation like this. If I hadn't deliberately triggered that alarm, we would've escaped without any interference, just as she'd planned.
Heh heh, suffer a little, why don't you.
I mocked her inwardly as I checked every passage in the headmaster's office. I'd already guessed there wouldn't be any unblocked routes, so I was really just going through the motions…
"This… doesn't seem to be working."
Arie let out a sigh after trying various methods to pierce the ward. The emotion I sensed in her resigned tone was unexpectedly guilt.
"I'm really sorry for dragging you into all this trouble… Assistant…"
"You can say that again."
"……When someone says that, you're supposed to tell them it's not their fault, even if it's just empty words."
"Is that so? My social skills aren't exactly top-tier… Sorry about that."
"It's fine."
Arie slid down to sit with her back against the window, and I took a seat beside her. Was failing her plan really that shocking? I honestly couldn't relate, so I was still trying to figure out how to comfort her when she spoke again in a gloomy voice.
"…You don't have to worry about getting expelled. I'll speak with the headmaster and somehow make it work."
"Ah, yes. Thank you. That takes a load off my mind."
"……Never mind."
Arie hung her head low. Was it guilt? She'd caused trouble without thinking, but now that things had gone south, she seemed sorry for dragging me all the way here. She knew that if this ended badly, I would be the only one taking the hit.
……Knowing that, it was pretty shameless of her to drag me into breaking into the headmaster's office in the first place.
I still wanted to tease her more, but unfortunately, someone might show up any minute now. It was time to head back.
"Boss."
"…What…?"
"The ward seems to have weakened a little."
"Huh?"
Arie's eyes, which had been downcast in melancholy, flew wide open. The rare adorable sight almost made me laugh, but I barely held it in and pointed toward the open window. Just as I'd said, the ward had grown noticeably fainter than before.
"Wait, why all of a sudden…?"
"This isn't the time to analyze it! We need to escape right now!"
I cut her off before she could dwell on the reason and hurried toward the window. Seeing my urgency, Arie scrambled after me in a panic.
I struck the ward with my fist first.
— BANG!
"Ow ow ow…"
But the headmaster's barrier remained rock-solid. I clutched my fist and put on a show of being in pain from the recoil. Arie, completely unsuspecting, shouted at me.
"Assistant, get back!"
"Y-yes…"
At her command, I obediently moved far away from the window. Soon, divine power began gathering in both of Arie's hands. The more it accumulated, the sharper it became. Unlike the rounded form it had taken when we first entered the office, it transformed into a long, sharp spike.
Her precise control that never lost balance… As expected of the Saintess, she had completely mastered the art of handling divine power.
Arie hurled the sharpened divine spike straight at the ward.
"Pierce."
⟨ Divine Spike ⟩
— CRAAAAACK!!!
The collision between the ward and the spike produced a sound like shattering ice that echoed through the headmaster's office. Despite the loud noise, the barrier didn't appear to have changed much on the surface… But both Arie and I could see faint cracks forming in it.
"Hehe… If I throw a few more, I think I can break it."
"Whoa! Now we won't get expelled!"
"……Assistant, stop with the unnecessary acting and get behind me."
Arie, who had regained her composure, beckoned to me. She must have thought I wouldn't be able to handle the shockwave from her attacks. It was ridiculous, but since she was worried about me, I decided to take it positively.
After confirming I was right behind her, Arie began drawing out divine power once more. This time, the spikes formed at an incomparably faster speed. What was even more surprising was how their number had increased to an absurd degree. At a glance, there were easily over thirty of them…
……She wasn't seriously planning to throw all of them at once, was she?
No matter how precise Arie's control was, one mistake could blow the entire headmaster's office to pieces. Fortunately, my anxious prediction was wrong.
— BOOM! CRASH! BAAAAANG!!!
Arie threw the divine spikes one by one with pinpoint accuracy. The way she relentlessly targeted the same spot reminded me of a skilled archer piercing a shield with nothing but a bow and arrows. The fact that she could skip the entire aiming process using senses that bordered on transcendence was astonishing even to me.
— CRACK!
Around the twenty-first spike, a sound like something splitting came from the ward.
"Boss! It's almost down!"
Since it had been quite loud, I could safely pretend to notice. Arie glanced back at my voice and gave a small nod. She was probably telling me to stick closer because the final blow would be stronger.
With my absurdly sharp intuition, I immediately understood her intention and pressed myself completely against her back. Her body flinched for a moment, but I paid it no mind and moved even closer.
"A-Assistant? Maybe move back just a little…"
"I'm ready, Boss! Fire away!!!"
"…Hehe… Just trust me!"
The remaining nine spikes floating around Arie merged into one. Though combining nine had only doubled its size, the density of divine power had increased dramatically, making it feel far more solid and razor-sharp. It was an attack that could inflict critical damage even on Elisha or Hestia. Breaking through a fading ward like this should be child's play.
Arie pointed her fingertip at the cracked section of the barrier.
"Finish it."
At her command, the spike shot forward at blinding speed. The moment it made contact with the ward…
— KRRRRRRRACK!!!
The spike pierced straight through the barrier and flew out of the headmaster's office.
The instant the headmaster's ward was finally broken, a fleeting look of relief crossed Arie's face. I pretended not to notice and exclaimed in awe.
"Th-the ward is broken!"
"Hehe… There is no such thing as the unexpected in my dictionary. Actually, this was all a test for you, Assistant…"
"Hold on, Boss. Look over there."
Before the now-confident Arie could start spouting more nonsense, I cut her off and pointed at the ward. She made a pouty face for a second, but the moment she saw what I was indicating, her expression instantly changed to one of shock.
Because the ward was slowly repairing itself…
Watching the barrier gradually return to its original form starting from the outer edges, Arie shouted at me.
"Run!!!"
At her command, we leaped straight out the window.
* * *
The headmaster's office was on a high floor, so jumping out like that could easily lead to serious injury. If we landed headfirst, even an Academy student wouldn't escape instant death…
Fortunately, it seemed our dear Saintess had no desire to watch me fall to my death.
"Phew… Thank you, Boss. I almost kissed the ground there."
"…That's an interesting way to put it. Yulia would probably be horrified if she heard…"
There I was, floating in the air beside Arie, trading silly jokes… Thanks to her divine power holding me up, we'd landed safely. I would never forget the look in her eyes as she watched me plummeting toward the ground. The way it shifted from confusion to pure horror in an instant was truly a work of art…
Arie tilted her head and asked me.
"Why can't you fly through the air, Assistant?"
What a crazy deceiver! It wasn't that I couldn't fly—I just chose not to—but if an ordinary Academy student had heard that, they would've been so depressed they couldn't even eat properly.
"…Flying through the sky is difficult even for Academy students. Stepping on empty air is another story, though…"
"Then why not just do that?"
"I'm not very good at that kind of thing…"
"…I see."
Arie looked at me with a doubtful expression before turning her head away, hands clasped behind her back.
"Anyway, you worked hard today, Assistant…"
"Yes, I had fun too."
"…Fun…?"
"Ah, no! I meant it was very educational."
I'd accidentally let my true feelings slip, which was dangerous, but fortunately she only let out a soft laugh and didn't react any further. I breathed a sigh of relief inwardly as I watched her.
Her usual gloomy expression was the same as ever, but this time it contained a genuine smile. Yeah, as long as she's satisfied, things should be fine for a while… I just hoped Arie would stay quiet until the big event that was coming soon.