Misaligned Bonds, The Truth (3)

With the mysterious hitman gone, this was my chance.

I rose from where I sat and slowly checked my surroundings, finally grasping the situation with perfect clarity. While I had been helping Professor Enut, the eleven students who had arrived had all been reduced to scattered corpses. On top of that, the passage leading out of the warehouse was littered with the butchered remains of what looked like cartel members.

In the end, that hitman was exactly what I had expected—a skilled operative from a third faction who never appeared in the first episode.

“Aaah, I’m so smart after all!”

To figure out something this important on only the third try! And that chuunibyou hitman. The fact that he left without killing me suggested his goal wasn’t the total wipeout of Omega Team or my death.

Hmm.

What I could say for certain was that the hitman had known we would arrive at this place. So, well. The answer was pretty much clear. One of the staff adjusting the launch platform of the teleportation device had to be colluding with him.

“Umm, should I torture them one by one?”

See? When I stay calm and think it through, the answer just pops out.

“Ah, heeheehee… or maybe not? Did you help me, Professor? Are you listening? You’re not crying, are you? But did you know? Ever since I was little, I’ve wished someone would pour complete attention and affection on me the way the Saintess or you do. Ugh… maybe I got hit with this divine punishment because I fantasized too hard?”

Oops. This wasn’t the time. Time was racing by so fast I could feel the professor in my arms growing colder by the second. I needed to move quickly and wrap up this run before she froze solid.

“But Professor, do you see anything useful? I mean, they’re supposed to be a cartel. Why is everything so wholesome? …Hello? Could you answer me? Professor?”

I slowly walked the warehouse interior with her, yet nothing remotely helpful turned up. There was so little to look at that even the professor’s head lolled forward with a soft thunk, as if she were disappointed.

Well, I did find a few things. A dartboard hanging on the wall and empty liquor bottles—proof the workers had been goofing off instead of working. And inside the wooden barrel I had smashed while fighting the hitman, an unidentified liquid. That liquid was wine. Looking at the sugar sacks and oak-chip bags piled everywhere, I could roughly guess what they were doing.

“What the—it really is a cartel! You evil bastards!”

This world wasn’t Prohibition-era America. What the hell was the cartel boss thinking, stockpiling cheap wine and doctoring it into counterfeit bottles?

Wow. Truly vile! Rotten scum! They deserved to die!

“You know those nouveau-riche types who can’t even tell good wine from bad yet buy the expensive stuff just to show off? Heehee, I’m the same way, but… it’s perfect for scamming them, right?”

Considering how many of those rich idiots existed in this world, they were probably making a fortune. Maybe I could whip up something like “Academy Student’s Handmade High-Mana Special Limited Premium Wine!” and rake in cash myself.

“Huh, not a bad idea. What do you think, Professor?”

The thought lasted only a moment. In the end I still hadn’t found the drugs I was looking for. I had expected a slave dungeon, a brothel, a drug factory, or even a nation-toppling cabal hidden underground, and the complete betrayal of that hope left me feeling thoroughly cheated.

“…Aha? That’s right—there was a basement!”

I’m amazing after all!

“Heh heh, and I just so happen to have brought plenty of bombs.”

Thanks to the Academy’s support supplies, my inventory was stuffed with useful bombs and scrolls. “Professor, stay safely over there and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠watch.”

They weren’t even items I had paid for, so I felt zero guilt about using them freely. More importantly, everything would reset the moment I loaded a save, so there was no reason to hold back!

I rummaged through my inventory, struck a pose that practically screamed Explosions are art!, and yelled,

“Come out, drugs!!”

Eyes wide open for even a single handful of any kind of narcotic, I hurled bombs with both hands.

—Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh-whoosh-whoosh-whoosh-whoosh-!

Out of the inventory and into my hands. Out of my hands and onto the warehouse floor. Bombs kept flying without pause.

—Boom! Boom! Baaang! Baaaaang!!

The successive blasts shook the walls, roof, and floor; dust and splinters rained down in a noisy cascade.

“Whoa!”

My body trembled like a leaf and my legs wobbled from the shockwaves, but it was no big deal. If anything, the sight was rather pretty—wine exploding into blue sprays that painted the air, sugar cascading down like snow.

Wait, sugar?

I had deliberately avoided throwing bombs near the sugar piles because of that whole molecular-explosion or dust-explosion thing… right?

Don’t tell me…?

“Ehehehehehe! Jackpot!!”

I frantically stopped throwing bombs and dashed toward the spot where the mysterious powder had risen along with the wine. Beneath the place where the wine barrels had stood, another space was hidden under the floor—something my meager strength could never have opened under normal circumstances.

It wasn’t empty. Transparent bags of unknown contents filled the space. Anyone who saw them would grow suspicious; they were stacked haphazardly, as if someone had hastily stashed them away.

“Eheh, ehehehehe! How stupid can you get!”

Using wine as camouflage was almost praiseworthy, but it still wasn’t enough to fool me! I saw through that half-baked trick in no time.

Given the racket, cartel reinforcements could arrive any minute. Despite the risk of the floor or walls collapsing, I had no choice but to force my way forward. Honestly, once I knew the stuff was here I could always load a save and check again later, so I wasn’t particularly worried.

Maybe that carefree attitude helped. Even after I reached the bags that looked like drug packets, nothing went wrong.

“Hmm.”

But how was I supposed to check them? When I touched the powder scattered and piled everywhere, the grains felt a little thicker than Growth Powder. Roughly the difference between rock salt and flour?

Huh, that’s actually a pretty big difference. Is it safe to eat? For all I know this could be the bone ash of burned victims.

“Tsk, won’t this get stuck in my throat? Professor! Can someone choke to death eating sugar?!”

No answer came. I wasn’t even sure whether drugs were meant to be eaten in the first place. Some were injected straight into veins, others snorted. What if I ate it, got no effect, threw it away, and only later discovered it really was the real deal?

Aaah, if only Professor Enut were still alive right now, she would have given me warm advice like, “This drug works best when injected directly into a vein, dear.”

Well.

Nothing else for it. I’d just keep stuffing my face until something happened.

I grabbed a bag with both hands, ripped it open, scooped up a big pile of powder, and said,

“Well then, dig in?”

I shoveled a whole handful straight into my mouth and began savoring the taste.

“Mmm…”

It was thick and didn’t dissolve well. Was my mouth just dry? Determined to get it down somehow, I worked my tongue hard, chewed, and crunched the grains one by ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠one.

“…?”

Uh… wait?

Suddenly my vision flickered like a lightbulb about to burn out. The moment it returned, I was already sprawled on the floor, limbs thrashing in endless convulsions.

“Hic…? Hiiiiii!!”

Despite the spectacle, there was no pain. If anything, I felt almost nothing. My mind raced faster than ever, and a vast, unidentifiable sense of fulfillment swelled inside me—so complete that petty things like pain, fear, or ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠despair couldn’t even scratch it.

Well.

My limbs were thrashing as if a ghost had possessed me, yet it only felt like I was shaking someone else’s body, like a doll being jerked around.

And then…

My prediction had been right. In the original game, Growth Powder wasn’t a drug. For some reason, though, in this actual world it carried a drug-like addictiveness. Stories of addicts escaping one addiction by falling into another were common enough. I had simply succeeded with the same method.

Drugs are suppressed by stronger drugs.

In fact, the stats that had ballooned from Growth Powder seemed to have returned to normal; every time my thrashing limbs slammed the floor, cracks spread and noisy creaks rang out. The bombs had already weakened the structure, and now it couldn’t even handle my strength.

So…

I had learned everything I needed to learn. While Omega Team was being wiped out like this, I couldn’t guarantee that the other teams containing Novena or Hino were safe either. I had no desire to hear that they had fallen into danger too. It was time to go back.

And so I—

—Fwoosh!

For some unknown reason my nose erupted in a spray of blood. Feeling my consciousness blur, I loaded the save file.

“…?”

Huh.

“Adel?”

I definitely loaded the save, right?

“Are you all right?”

Professor Enut was alive and right beside me. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠So why… wouldn’t the nosebleed stop?

—Ssslick

Even though I was too confused to answer, Professor Enut stepped closer on her own and wiped the blood from my nose. She didn’t comment on my reaction; she simply continued with serious concern.

“Did you stay up all night worrying? Sleep is the foundation of stamina recovery. If the operation feels like too much, how about switching to rear support entirely?”

The nosebleed wouldn’t stop. My mind snapped back into focus. No. That was impossible. Blood kept streaming down. If I dropped out now… then Professor Enut… the blood poured endlessly… I would have to watch her die again, reduced to that miserable pile of meat.

“…Professor Enut.”

“Judging by the way you’re talking, you seem fine enough.”

So I smiled once more. The corners of my mouth and eyes trembled violently, yet I still smiled.

“I can do it. Could you give me some painkillers instead?”

“…You want an injection? Painkillers?”

“Yes.”

This was the alternative I had come up with. It was almost funny, but most of the painkillers used in this world were based on narcotic compounds. No matter how hard magic tried to scrub away the addictiveness and side effects, some fundamental addictive quality always remained. There were even nobles too broke to buy real drugs who hopped from hospital to hospital just for sleeping painkiller shots.

That ought to be enough to temporarily remove the debuff that was suppressing the power of Growth Powder.

“Haa… can you really fight after getting painkillers? They’re not as effective as you think. If anything, they slow your movements and judgment and could make things more dangerous.”

“It’s fine! I can do it.”

I answered Professor Enut’s worries with complete confidence, pressing my opinion. In an ordinary school infirmary on a peaceful day she would have refused without hesitation, but—

“Professor, full team departure confirmed. Alpha Team arrives on-site in 28 minutes. Beta Team in 74 minutes. Gamma Team in 111 minutes.”

—this was a quasi-wartime situation where every second counted. I felt a little guilty for using the circumstances to pressure her, but neither of us had a choice.

“…All right. We’ll talk about this later.”

“Yes!”

And so I—

“It’s a very mild one. It’ll sting a little.”

—Thwuck!

A sharp prick, followed by the foreign sensation of something traveling through my veins. Professor Enut herself administered the painkiller, and just as I had predicted, I escaped the withdrawal symptoms.

Only one hour of opportunity.

This time, I truly had to find a way out.