Chapter 326: Daily Life at The Society (1)
Chapter 326: Daily Life at The Society (1)
Tea time concluded with the end of my final story.
After listening to my account, Macbeth assured me that he would lead the pro-faction within The Council to support me. He left me with the word that he would begin gathering supporters, and in the meantime, I should either rest or do something about the humans lingering on the campus.
As that long yet short tea time came to an end, I stepped out of Macbeth’s laboratory and let out a deep sigh.
…In the end, I couldn't tell him.
I hadn't brought up a single word about the Demon Train, The Queen, or the endless Otherworld.
To be more precise, I glossed over them.
What kind of experiences I had, and what they felt like.
I said nothing about the world where I had experienced everything, nothing about Zess, and nothing about Al’shel.
Countless worries had swirled in my mind.
Even setting Al’shel aside, was it right to speak of the Demon Train?
Of course, I was on friendly terms with the people on the Demon Train, but they weren't necessarily people I was obligated to protect.
And even if I did mention that place to Macbeth, it wasn't as if something terrible would immediately happen.
In that case, for the sake of our world, wouldn't a brief mention be alright?
Despite those many agonizing thoughts.
Ultimately, I kept my mouth shut.
I simply told him that in a place I could not name, I had witnessed the end of a world similar to ours.
That I had seen the demise of an endless succession of the strong.
Vague, hazy words woven into overly abstract sentences.
Sentences that even I thought would fail to earn Macbeth’s understanding.
And yet, Macbeth had nodded.
As if he understood.
And from there, the conversation had flowed in a positive direction.
…It should be fine.
It’s not like I told a lie.
I just hid a small part of the story.
It weighed on my mind a little, but…
I’m used to lying, aren't I?
For some reason, I deceived the conscience pricking a corner of my heart and strode down the dark corridor.
Night had fallen, and darkness draped the interior.
Though the hallway I walked was lit only by dim night-lights, revealing nothing but the faint outlines of the corridor.
If I turned my head just a bit, bright lights were scattered here and there.
Brilliant light spilling through the cracks of various laboratory doors along the hallway.
Light streaming like a lighthouse from another building across the window.
And the campfire symbolizing youth that was still burning on the campus even now… No, wait, those were the flames of a witch hunt.
Just how much energy and free time do those guys have to still be participating in such a bizarre religious event?
Of course, the number of people had decreased significantly compared to earlier, but seeing those who were supposedly master’s and doctoral students wasting their time like that made me fear for the future of magical science.
Anyway, setting aside that final bit of madness.
Seeing the lights from countless laboratories illuminating the vicinity of The Society made me feel that these people were still trying to move forward.
“The data isn't coming out… The data…”
“Professor… I want to go home…”
Strange voices mingled with that light.
But even those experiences would one day become a page in the book of their youth.
Youth is supposed to be painful, after all.
I mean, not deadly painful, obviously.
Aren't the ones who experienced deadly pain in their youth people like me, or those guys conducting a witch hunt on campus, or the kids holed up in the Management Bureau doing nonsense?
One must experience just the right amount of pain to become a decent adult.
We’re already beyond help.
I wished I could tell them that, but since the people screaming and wailing in those labs weren't my disciples, I couldn't.
Thinking that I should tell my own disciples that when I saw them…
“Senior! A paper with the exact same topic as ours was published by the London Society!”
“What?!”
Leaving those screams behind, I continued down the dark corridor.
* * *
The guest quarters where we would be staying starting today.
This room, which appeared to be a quad, exuded a sense of luxury unlike other Management Bureau lodgings.
If the standard lodgings provided by other Management Bureau branches were like 1 or 2-star hotels, this place could be called a 3 or 4-star hotel.
Of course, that’s excluding the dormitories that are basically just studio apartments.
Aren't the dormitories for general Management Bureau staff always so poorly constructed that you can hear everything in the next room?
It’s not that the Management Bureau lacks money, but to cram so many employees into those narrow buildings, they inevitably end up cutting costs like that.
Of course, the official residences for the high-ranking officials are a different story, but they have reasons like personal protection, so I’ll let that slide.
Anyway, the important thing right now was that this lodging was luxurious.
Well, there are several reasons.
Magical science has such a massive and broad impact on society that branches related to magic are flush with funds. The Geneva Branch also has a high volume of people passing through, so they shifted toward operating large-scale accommodations rather than staff dorms. Plus, a lot of outside personnel related to magical science, who aren't part of the Management Bureau, come here.
In fact, all those reasons combined could be explained by the fact that they outsourced the work to a hotel company to build a large-scale lodging facility.
And what does that mean?
“It means it’s not free. Right, Un-ho?”
“Squeaaaaak!”
My partner let out a scream as he was wrung out like a rag for the first time in a while.
Naturally, I had stuffed his mouth full of cobalt-colored leaves.
It seemed he had tried to skip today’s portion of leaves while I was away, but not a chance.
“Squaark!”
“Oh, right, it’s not that expensive? True. It’s not a lodging directly managed by the Management Bureau, but through a hotel company, but it’s still a public facility within the Bureau. It wouldn't make sense if it were expensive.”
Of course, someone with no connection to the Management Bureau would have to pay a pretty hefty room rate.
But as Heroes, we receive a significant discount.
“That’s not… Squeaaaak!”
“Ah, so you mean we won't end up paying for it anyway? That’s also true. We are on official duty, after all.”
Money had just left my bank account, but once I filed for reimbursement after the mission, it would return to my account.
So, there was essentially zero burden regarding the room rate.
Even if my disciples had taken the liberty of booking a rather fancy quad room while I was gone.
I had naturally assumed they would book two doubles or three singles.
But since they’ve been running around with me so much, they apparently took it for granted that they should book a quad.
As for the price, since the disciples probably didn't know about the reimbursement, they likely chose a reasonably high-class room considering the discounted price.
Therefore, the reason for my anger was not a money-related issue, contrary to what Un-ho thought.
“Then why on earth…”
The rag-like Un-ho managed to squeeze out intelligible words between his screams.
“Why? Because you’re insane, you idiot.”
Angry at Un-ho, who didn't even know what he had done wrong, I twisted his body once more.
There’s the issue of the ancestral blood sleeping within Un-ho, so I’d prefer not to use this kind of corporal punishment, but given what this guy did, I had no choice.
Thus, I spoke up, intending for the two disciples who were staring out the window pretending not to notice to hear as well.
“Un-ho. You’re my partner, right?”
“That’s, squeak! Right? Squeak!”
Indeed, an irreplaceable partner.
But here’s the thing.
“Then why did my partner leave me behind and run away when I was in danger?”
Flinch.
I could feel the bodies of the two disciples looking out at the campus from the window momentarily stiffen at my words.
The muscles of Un-ho, twisted in my hands, also froze.
“Oh, of course, I’m not criticizing a strategic retreat. Tactically and strategically, running away was definitely the right move there.”
Honestly, even I was overwhelmed by that massive horde and ended up getting captured.
So, I wasn't going to say anything about the act of running away itself.
It wasn't as if that situation was a life-or-death crisis or a threat to the world; running away was perfectly fine.
“But you know. Wouldn't there have been enough time to say at least one word, kids?”
Crack.
Along with the sound of something twisting in my hands.
“Squaark, I’m dy— gulp.”
Un-ho’s movements ceased.
He let out a melodramatic, stage-like line before falling silent.
Hmm.
He’s dead.
I stuffed one more blue leaf into the mouth of the now-incapacitated Un-ho, tossed him onto the bed, and moved toward the disciples.
One step, then another.
With every step closer, I could feel their bodies trembling.
Finally standing behind them, I looked past the plate glass window at the night view—specifically at the center of the campus spread out below, where my effigy and the wooden cross were still burning—and spoke.
“Now, my dear disciples. Don't you have something to say to your poor, betrayed Master?”
I could feel them shaking.
However, one of those tremors soon stopped.
“I was the one who suggested we run away first! Master!”
Baek Si-hyun raised a hand high, speaking with a voice devoid of fear—one that actually sounded courageous—as she turned herself in.
Ho-oh.
Stepping forward boldly is praiseworthy, Si-hyun.
Indeed, self-sacrifice is a basic quality of a Hero.
But then.
What about the other one?
Disciple #2, Miss Han A-bin, who is still shivering even now.
How does it feel to have your comrade, Baek Si-hyun, lie for your sake?
Honestly, there’s no way those words are true.
Si-hyun isn't crafty enough to act like that, nor is she the type whose brain works fast enough to assess a situation that quickly.
The one who led this Great Escape was undoubtedly Han A-bin.
And the changes in Han A-bin’s physical reactions also proved that hypothesis.
Therefore, just as I was about to open my mouth to scold her.
“It wasn't Si-hyun, I was the one who suggested running! Si-hyun was just dragged along while mindlessly eating tonkatsu!”
Fortunately, Han A-bin turned herself in faster than my scolding, seemingly aware of her guilt.
In other words, there was no longer a need for her to receive the full brunt of my massive wrath.
However, there was one thing in A-bin’s words that caught my attention.
“…Only Si-hyun?”
“…Huh? Ah. Yes.”
“Then what about Un-ho?”
“…I’m not sure about him either…”
Oho.
So Un-ho, that guy, ran away of his own volition.
“Right. Isn't it so much better when you’re honest? I’ll let today’s matter slide.”
Since things seemed settled, I took my hands off the disciples and turned back toward Un-ho, whom I had tossed onto the bed earlier.
Unlike the disciples, Un-ho had shown no sign of remorse.
The ultimate traitor of the day, and the one who would receive my anger.
As I moved toward my partner, I felt a sigh of relief escape from behind me.
“Oh, of course, we’re scheduled for sparring tomorrow, so be prepared.”
I threw that out there, letting the disciples know that their punishment wasn't entirely over.
Honestly, there’s no way my anger would vanish with just a few words after such a cruel act of betrayal.
Thus, just as I took a step to vent my remaining fury on the unrepentant partner…
Clonk.
Suddenly, I felt a weight and a sharp pain on top of my head.
What on earth was this?
I hadn't sensed any attack coming from anywhere.
With that thought, I raised my hand to identify the object still resting on my head.
What I held was a hard, dusty object.
I knew what it was the moment I saw it.
“…A ceiling tile?”
Why would something like this fall on my head?
Thinking that, I looked up at the ceiling.
The disciples, who had been watching me, also shifted their gaze to the ceiling in confusion.
And there, we saw an unbelievable sight.
“…What is that?”
“Uh… it looks like the ceiling collapsed?”
“It’s a ceiling tile, Master!”
Right, so I haven't finally gone insane.
With that thought, I looked at the object in my hand.
The tile fragment that had shattered upon hitting my head.
There was a square gap in the ceiling, exactly where it had fallen from.
Because of that, the anger I had been directing at the disciples shifted elsewhere.
“Is this shoddy construction?!”
What if a civilian had been hit instead of me? How could they manage the place like this!
I was already angry, and now this?
Fine, you hotel outsourcing staff, just you wait. I’m going to take my Official Duty Permit and give you a piece of my—
Just as I thought that and swung the door open to leave.
Gack.
I felt something strike my side with immense force.
“Kyaaaaah! Guest!”
“Master!”
The moment my light body was sent flying, I realized what had hit me.
A commercial-grade mechanical scrubber, as large as a cart and mounted on wheels.
For some reason, it had charged at me with the speed of a car and mowed me down.
…Can those things even go that fast?
As I went flying after being hit by the scrubber, that question crossed my mind.
Along with a firm vow that I would definitely lodge a complaint about this mess.