148. Tell Me Your Wish (3)
148. Tell Me Your Wish (3)
Was it better to stop something before it blew up, or to let it blow up?
That was the dilemma that had been lodged in my head lately.
Both approaches had their merits, so it was bound to be a dilemma.
If I stopped it before it blew up, there wouldn't be any victims at all, and I could monopolize the reward in the Secret Archive.
But the Secret Archive reward wasn't all that appealing to me.
I already knew the true nature of the "wish-granting object," and I also knew I couldn't use it even if I got my hands on it. There was no reason to covet an item you couldn't use unless you met its conditions.
Ideally, slipping it to someone who could use it would be best... but that was hardly easy.
To slip someone the object, I'd ultimately have to get involved in the incident somehow—which meant letting it blow up.
Conveniently, this episode belonged to a sub-story that veered slightly off the main story, so its scale and difficulty weren't too harsh. Of course, this was reality, not the game, so there was a high probability of unpredictable variables, but if I set my mind to intervening, it wasn't impossible.
It was an early-game episode, after all.
[Contractor, three on your right.]
I stretched my stiff neck, sore from maintaining the same posture for so long, and looked to the right. The jackals eyeing an opportunity to approach Karina met my gaze and retreated with awkward expressions.
If they wanted to talk to her, they could go through the proper channels.
These damn fanatics didn't know the meaning of moderation.
They weren't even assassins, so where did they get off bringing things like disguise cloths? The first time I saw them, I seriously thought they were assassins and nearly drove my shovel into one of their necks. I stood down because the other theology students vouched for them, but when I saw the way they looked at me as though they were some kind of martyrs, I thought I should have gone through with it.
They seriously made my skin crawl.
How was it that the Theology Department kids were more dangerous than the other department students? Since the danger came from good intentions rather than malice, the means I could use to respond to them were limited.
Push them back just enough, glare at them to chase them off, or use brainwashing magic to send them back to their seats. Even that was barely worth the mana, since the theology students, minor clerics as they were, could only be brainwashed for about ten seconds.
[That such perverts are theology students is knowledge I never wanted... Two on your left.]
Rue's lament, once again functioning perfectly as a theology-student-detection radar, reached my ears.
Tenacious bastards.
Break time had turned into a zombie-defense game. Karina was surely exhausted beneath her veil. Her condition was already poor because of the curse, and being subjected to this pressure that wasn't really pressure couldn't have improved her mood.
It was so utterly understandable why Karina found the title of Saintess burdensome that I was nearly in tears.
So this was the life of a superstar whose mere existence drove fans and haters alike insane.
Karina would have to live like this her whole life.
At least I could treat her normally. Even the most exalted person in the world sometimes needed someone who treated her like an ordinary woman.
"...ello, everyone. Another day of fine weather, I see. Please don't fall asleep just because it's warm. Heh heh... Let's begin the lecture."
Was class finally starting? Watching the jackals return to their seats, unable to hide their reluctant expressions, I whispered quietly behind Karina.
"You did well, Karina."
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"Yohaan~"
A sudden heavy weight pressed against my back. Without turning my head, I called the name of the creature clinging to me.
"Millia. That's dangerous, so don't do it."
"But it's Yohan."
...What the hell was that supposed to mean? I sighed as I felt Millia's breath against me, both arms wrapped around my neck as she clung to my back. This happened almost every time I ran into her on the way home.
Lately, she'd been going around with several friends, but for some reason she was alone today. Without letting go of the wheelchair, I spoke to Millia.
"Where are your friends?"
"They all scattered!"
"I see."
Well, there was no reason for them to mob around together every time.
I left Millia clinging to my back with no intention of letting go and headed toward Dawn Hall. Karina, apparently tired from the day's classes, had leaned back in the wheelchair and was nodding off.
"Yohan, Yohan, I heard a really fun story from Charlie today—"
"Millia. Lower your voice a little. Karina's asleep."
"...'Kay."
Millia's voice dropped until it was barely audible to me. In that lowered voice, she chattered away incessantly.
Millia cheerfully told me all sorts of things: Sion had dozed off in class and been caught, earning a barrage of questions from the professor; rumors about the library's Secret Archive had become a hot topic among her friends; and some of them were even suggesting that they go search for it themselves.
"Karin says her dream is to get into the Imperial Personnel Department. She said it's every administrator's dream."
"The Imperial Personnel Department..."
So being a public official was the big thing here, too.
Well, if you were good enough to work in the Imperial Administration, you were the cream of the elite. Your path would be set, and you could rake in plenty of honor and money.
The problem was that the Empire itself was in terrible shape.
Thinking of the incident that would occur the year after next, that female student named Karin—was she definitely a female student? Anyway, her dream would be crushed like a weed trampled under a carriage wheel. I almost let that fact slip out of my mouth before I shut it.
No spoilers. No spoilers.
With Millia hanging from my back like a bag, Dawn Hall steadily drew closer. Listening to her chatter as I walked made the building seem to go from a distant dot to right in front of us in an instant. As I looked over Dawn Hall, I belatedly noticed two figures standing before the entrance.
"G-g-good e-e-evening..."
"Oh my... Good evening."
Elisa and Martina.
An odd pair stood before the door: Elisa, her face flushed bright red, and Martina, wearing a foxlike smile.
Why would these two be here? I pushed the wheelchair and approached them.
"Good evening. What are you both doing standing here?"
It was Martina who answered.
"Ah, we were just taking a walk and having a little chat."
Martina smiled gracefully, her elegance evident on her face, then whispered something to Elisa, who was hesitating beside her with a flushed face.
"...n't easy, but still... you do have some advantages... so try it once, just as I told you..."
What were they up to?
Scheming right in front of me.
"What, are you two having a fun conversation by yourselves? Let me in on it!"
"Millia, this is a secret between ladies. We can't let anyone else hear it."
"I see~"
Millia, unable to contain her curiosity, let out a disappointed sigh. She really was like a puppy who wanted to join in on everything.
"Millia. Walk properly from here."
"Can't you take me all the way to my room like this?"
"No."
I firmly refused to indulge Millia's whining.
It was only natural.
Giving in to her whims would only spoil her.
"Elisa, Martina, if you plan to talk more, come inside and do it."
"However curious I may be about Dawn Hall, entering without a formal invitation would breach proper etiquette. I'll return to the dormitory now. Elisa, Millia, I'll see you tomorrow... and you as well, Karina."
Martina turned promptly and disappeared into the sunset. We watched her for a moment, then turned and entered Dawn Hall.
And so, today's schedule came to an end.
--------------
"Y-y-yohan..."
It was late at night, after dinner. Elisa stopped me as I was about to return to my room. Since it was rare for her to approach me so directly, I turned and looked down at her.
Her face, tinged with a reddish hue as usual, was as beautiful as a rose.
"Do you have something to say to me?"
"Um, well... w-what, what kind of person is your, your ideal type, I... I-I was wondering..."
Ideal type?
The unexpected question made me stare at her. Elisa's face looked ready to explode. I folded my arms and thought it over, but I couldn't make sense of why she was asking.
"Ideal type, huh..."
Ideal type, ideal type... Honestly, I'd never thought about it during my ten years living on that uninhabited island.
On an island where one wrong move meant becoming friends with zombies, to hell with ideal types. My days had been spent wondering how to increase my food supply or whether a shipwreck might wash ashore, not thinking about women.
As such, I couldn't answer that question.
"That's a sudden question."
"B-but, still, p-please..."
Elisa looked up at me, fidgeting frantically with her hands. Why was she asking despite being so embarrassed? Since she seemed serious, I couldn't give her a careless answer, so I told her the ideal type that vaguely came to mind.
"I'd like a woman I could feel at peace with."
Yeah. That one thing would be enough.
At my answer, Elisa let out a sigh of relief and lowered her head.
"Th-thank you. I-I'll be going then..."
"Elisa, your room is in the opposite direction..."
As if her usual sluggish body had gone somewhere, Elisa vanished in an instant.
Left alone and standing awkwardly in the hallway, I tilted my head, pondering the meaning of Elisa's question.
What a strange question.
I decided not to dwell on it and went to bed.
I turned and walked toward my room.