97. The First Move Assures Victory
97. The First Move Assures Victory
The incident caused by the seemingly blunt transfer student Casey was brief but incredibly potent.
She looked small and slight, so no one had expected it. But the story about how she'd ruthlessly crushed someone's nuts made everyone—though they couldn't say it openly—think of a certain someone in their class.
They were all thinking of that nightmare—a small, cute-looking figure that turns into a demon the instant you touch it, severing your leg without hesitation.
Everyone whispered about and shunned Casey, but she found that situation much more comfortable.
Atlas had told Casey that since she was at the academy, she should try making some friends, but Casey felt that as long as she had Atlas, she didn't need any other human relationships.
Being feared was better than being seen as an easy target.
Among those students, however, there was one person who confidently approached Casey.
"Would you have a moment to spare?"
"... What is it?"
At the academy, most people dressed in restrained attire, but this person pursued a slightly more flamboyant style, as if showing off.
Her hair, a light brown like Dorothy Woodville's well-dried timber, swayed in two pigtails, and her deep green eyes sparkled.
She looked at Casey with eyes full of confidence and immense curiosity.
"I wanted to build a friendship, you see. I won't be a bother, so shall we chat for a moment?"
"I'm not an amusing person, so you'll lose interest quickly."
Casey refused Woodville's offer.
Just earlier, she'd been asked to talk in a similar manner and had followed, only to get swept up in some bizarre trouble.
The female student who had tried to use magic was still glaring at Casey from a corner of the class even now.
"No, I'm certain we'll get along well."
But Woodville didn't back down.
"First... indeed. You seem to have gotten tangled up in a troublesome matter. Shall I make sure the flies don't keep buzzing around you? This isn't putting you in my debt—it's simply my gift to you."
Upon hearing that, Casey became even more wary of Woodville.
One of the things Atlas had always taught her was to be most wary of people who show goodwill on first meeting without asking for anything in return.
Looking back now, Atlas himself fit that description, so she wasn't sure what he had been thinking when he said that.
"I have nothing I can give you, and nothing I want to give you."
"It doesn't matter. I'm extremely fond of talented people like you."
Even after being rejected a second time, Woodville didn't give up and kept approaching Casey.
"It's nothing grand I'm hoping for. I just want you to be my friend. Let's have a conversation just once, and if you don't like it, you can ignore me from then on. That's perfectly fine."
"..."
Atlas had told her that, since she was here at the academy anyway, she should try making friends her own age.
'Would once be alright?'
After all, she'd said she could just ignore her from then on if she decided they weren't compatible.
"Once is fine."
"When is your next lecture? If the timing works, I know a nice place we can go."
Dorothy Woodville greeted her with a bright smile.
——————————————
I met Andy after a long time.
When I approached him with a menacing air, he dropped to his knees and begged before I could say a word.
"I only found out this morning too..!! The Director contacted me directly! What choice did I have, huh?!"
I had already deduced as much, so I didn't get angry.
After he explained the whole story from the beginning, I wrapped things up by having him neatly handle the incident Casey caused this time.
But wait, since he knew it was ordered by the Director, shouldn't he be handling it himself anyway? Is there any other option?
'Now that I think about it, that's even more infuriating.'
I'll have to work him even harder later.
After that, Andy filled me in on the details of that morning's meeting.
"The Hunting Festival?"
"We decided not to do the midterm skills assessment this time, right? A proposal came up to hold this instead."
A hunting festival was, generally speaking, a festival centered around hunting.
The Hunting Festival held at the academy was typically a festival where they divided the dangerous 'Black Forest' into zones and scored points by hunting the magical beasts naturally inhabiting it.
The professors surveyed the Black Forest in advance, then used magic or artifacts to set up a separate safe zone.
They released appropriately manageable magical beasts and let the students hunt within that zone—it was an incredibly enjoyable sport for nobles.
I had known it was held occasionally like a festival, but this was the first I'd heard of it being used as a replacement because the midterm skills assessment had fallen through.
"How long has it been since all hell broke loose with the demon terrorism...? Are they out of their minds?"
"Right? But there's some logic to it, in its own way."
Andy explained why the Hunting Festival was a reasonable idea.
"The Hunting Festival creates a festive atmosphere while still allowing for some degree of student skill verification. Replacing all evaluations with this is ridiculous, but it can grant some extra points to participating students."
"That only benefits the kids who fight."
Only students who directly studied combat could earn extra points from the Hunting Festival.
At an academy with a considerable number of students from the Five Pillars, like the Perdas or Phrygias, who had little to do with combat, the pen-pushers would hardly welcome achievements being handed only to the combat department.
"It's not necessarily only that. Since the Hunting Festival is a festival first and foremost, there's plenty to enjoy even if you don't hunt magical beasts.
"The Hunting Festival isn't that difficult, and they always only release magical beasts that can be caught with a bit of effort, so the combat students might see it as stress relief...
"Because nasty incidents keep happening one after another, they're probably bothered by it, no matter how unavoidable those incidents were. It seems they want to show that the academy is still going strong."
"What if that ends up causing another accident..."
Until now, every Hunting Festival was said to have been carried out under strict control, but there was no guarantee this one would be the same.
The accident that occurred in the dungeon happened because a higher-ranking entity appeared and overrode the supposedly perfect control, didn't it?
When I expressed my worry, Andy crossed his arms and leaned back.
"The Headmaster or the proposer will handle it. What's a peon like me supposed to care about..."
As if something at the meeting had upset him, Andy grumbled with a sulky expression.
"Who proposed it, anyway?"
"Professor Buckingham."
——————————————
I made time between lectures to have a private meeting with Shara.
I was really running around without a moment's rest.
In terms of actual time, it was only a few minutes, but I was constantly changing locations.
This time as well, it was held in an empty clubroom, and as before, simple refreshments had been prepared, though I didn't know by whom.
When I'd last asked her to just prepare a cup of warm milk, a perfectly warmed cup of pure white milk sat on the table.
'She remembered what I said.'
I grabbed the handle and took a sip.
The dangerously precise temperature, which could easily feel too hot if I wasn't careful, was exquisite.
"I prepared it as you instructed. Is it to your liking?"
"Mm, it's good. Thank you, as always."
"... It's simply what I must do."
When I thanked her, Shara's face turned slightly red.
"You know about the transfer student who came in this time, right?"
"Yes, I heard in advance. Is she perhaps... an acquaintance of yours?"
"She's like family to me, so just in case, don't get into any disputes with her."
"... I'll keep that in mind."
When I said she was like family, Shara's expression darkened.
If, by some chance, I hadn't mentioned it and Shara had tried to touch Casey the way she'd once tried to handle me, I would have no choice but to take Casey's side.
Shara seemed to understand the meaning behind my words, as she bowed her head deeply.
The angle was perfect.
"Good."
-Seukeuk
"...!"
As I stroked the hair of the bowed Shara, her shoulders flinched sharply.
It was a small round table, so it was well within arm's reach.
Shara's head was small and nicely shaped, and her long, abundant hair was fluffy, making it incredibly pleasant to touch.
"Shara, both you and that child are very precious to me, so you mustn't fight each other."
"... Yes... y-yes..."
She seemed to be holding back as much as possible, but I could see the corners of Shara's lips twitching.
After being stroked for a few seconds, when my touch stopped, Shara maintained her posture in case there was more, but once she realized it was over, she lifted her head smoothly as if nothing had happened.
"Then I'll get straight to the point. At today's faculty meeting, the 'Hunting Festival' was being discussed."
The corners of her mouth were gradually lifting.
"I just heard about it, too. Will that be a big problem?"
"The Festival being held isn't the problem. The problem is the person who proposed it."
"Professor Buckingham?"
"... Yes. There is a high probability that the Hunting Festival is a trap."
"It's a trap?"
I thought that old man was getting tired, but it seemed he was still full of energy.
"Yes. Professor Buckingham still harbors a grudge against you, Atlas-nim. He hasn't gained the approval of the other professors, but if he's cornered, he might run wild on his own.
"I thought he wouldn't do anything, but seeing him step forward himself and propose holding the Hunting Festival, it seems highly likely he has some other ulterior motive."
I had known about the Hunting Festival because I had to enter the academy, but I'd never actually heard of one being held.
Indeed, the flow of the original story had gone completely awry.
At this point, there was nothing left for me to reference except the rough character settings and general background knowledge.
"It seems the Headmaster took a liking to the idea, so the Hunting Festival will likely be held regardless... But since it's all just bonus points anyway, how about you simply not participate?
"If you, Atlas-nim, don't even take part, then whatever they are scheming won't even be set into motion."
"Mm...."
I thought it over carefully.
Seeing how strongly Shara spoke about this, it was obvious Buckingham was definitely plotting something.
Two incidents had already occurred at the academy.
Would simply not participating really make things all right?
If they were really targeting me, wasn't it possible that instead of canceling the plan because I didn't participate, they'd unleash magical beasts at a regular festival booth and cause a complete disaster?
While mulling it over, I reached a very simple conclusion.
"Well then... shall we strike first?"
"Yes..?"
I knew who was trying to pull something, so why should I sit still?