Chapter 27
Chapter 27
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: uly
Chapter: 27
Chapter Title: Doppelganger (2)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
I've thought about it for a while now, but the rulers of this world have a bad habit of trying to erase painful history all too easily.
Normally, when a hero party defeats the Demon King, wouldn't it be natural for epic tales to spring up and for them to become legends passed around among the people?
Nova and I hail from regions other than Penheim or Monarch, so we never even had a chance to step into the spotlight, but the other three were different.
With someone like the Great Mage Terra, the White Knight Whitelett, or the Saint Eris, shouldn't there be statues in the streets and festivals on their birthdays?
Yet, no matter where you look in Pharenchia City, you won't find history books chronicling their exploits—or even 1/10th-scale figurines, no matter how hard you search.
Sure, forgetting the wounds of war has its merits, but the problem is the backlash seeping into public education.
If you plucked a single student learning magic at Apas Hall over there and dropped them at the entrance to Helzev, how long could they survive?
I'd guess about five hours.
Even with the best luck, they'd eventually run into a monster or demon, and if not, they'd starve and eat whatever they found, rotting their esophagus from the inside in agony.
Pharenchia Academy barely covers Helzev at all, especially anything related to demons.
I get it, though.
How many professors from the magic towers actually know much about Helzev?
The Great War ended just ten years ago, but 99% of those who experienced it never advanced three steps beyond the forward lines in the Raviere Mountains.
Within Pharenchia, the only one who could boast knowledgeably about that hellish land is probably Lehel.
Anyway, that's why I want to share what I know about Helzev with the students whenever the opportunity arises.
Someday, that knowledge from me could save their lives.
It's not something you can learn anywhere else, no matter how much you beg.
I'm definitely not some nagging old fogey.
"But what should I teach them?"
Distinguishing poisonous herbs from medicinal ones is too basic.
Should I teach them how to reliably kill demon minions like the Witch of the Black Night or the Necromancers of Baragal?
But to do that, they'd need to find them first...
Oh, right.
I have the perfect teaching aid in the basement.
It's not extremely dangerous, but a single backstab from it is a huge pain—and if mishandled, it could topple a nation. The perfect in-between monster and demon: a foreign entity.
"Where did I put it...?"
I opened the basement door for the first time in ages and stepped inside.
A heavy box on the back of the shelf.
Crack!
Ripping off the thick clasp by hand released a musty stench.
"There it is."
Inside, glass vials slightly smaller than standard potions were carefully stored to avoid breakage.
I took out about ten of them, then closed the box and put it back on the shelf.
Inside the clear bottles, something like withered, twisted fingers floated lightly: doppelganger larvae in a dried-out state.
"This'll do."
What I wanted to teach the students was how to distinguish doppelgangers.
Probably not many know this, except for a few experts on the demon realm.
A little gift for the next generation, I suppose.
The freshmen will love it for sure.
The garden opposite Bayu Hall, which boasted the academy's finest landscaping, featured a beautiful artificial pond at its center.
There, Erzebet kept her promise to Kal by introducing him to Aberret, the knight who had accompanied her to the academy as her guard.
"Kal, this is Knight Aberret. She's a member of Penheim's strongest knight order, the Hooksclo Knights."
"I'm Aberret Windgard. Pleased to meet you."
"K-Kal Isola. It's an honor."
Kal swallowed hard, tense in the presence of Aberret.
True to her selection as royal guard, her formal demeanor and flawless movements immediately stood out.
The Hooksclo Knights, from Captain White Knight Whitelett to the newest recruits, were the ultimate unit in group combat, masters of both offense and defense.
The margrave's hounds still fighting for humanity on Helzev's front lines.
Facing one in person sent shivers down his spine.
"From now on, Knight Aberret will personally instruct you for two hours a day. I can't neglect my own protection, so the timing will be flexible to suit her schedule. Is that alright?"
"Y-Yes! It's the greatest honor!"
"No need for that. You two chat more. I'll take a stroll through the garden."
Erzebet rose with a gentle smile.
Aberret started to stand as well, but Erzebet stopped her.
"I won't go far, so don't worry."
"But, Princess..."
"Piy's with me, so it'll let me know if anything happens. Right, Piy?"
"Piy—."
Aberret nodded reluctantly, and only then did Erzebet leave with a much lighter heart.
The weight on her shoulders felt a little less heavy.
Even as royalty, did she really need a guard escorting her everywhere in the academy?
Erzebet yearned to Liv freely, like Piy soaring through the sky, so she occasionally slipped away from Aberret's watchful eyes.
As she wandered the small garden, she spotted a familiar silhouette.
"Adella?"
"Ah, h-hello?"
Roshiar's second daughter, dragging her beautiful aqua hair along the ground.
She was plucking flowers from a deer-shaped topiary—tamed by the gardener Jean Pierre Barturnu Granui's expert hand—and sucking the nectar from inside.
She even had one tucked into her hair.
For a split second, "flower-in-her-hair idiot" popped into Erzebet's mind all too naturally, but she gritted her teeth and ignored it.
"Wow, want some, Princess?"
Adella, slurping nectar like a hummingbird, offered the purple azalea she'd just been licking with trembling hands.
Erzebet shook her head without hesitation.
"No thanks."
"Okay."
Adella let out a sigh of relief.
Once, Erzebet had suspected Adella might be faking her ditziness on purpose.
After enrolling in Pharenchia Academy, professors or students eyeing Roshiar's unique magic circuits might send dark hands her way.
But seeing her like this, that suspicion seemed foolish.
Adella Sylvestra. Even without a flower in her hair, her head was already a flower garden.
Erzebet was about to brush past her dismissively when she noticed a purple bruise on Adella's nape.
"Wait, Adella."
"Yes?"
"Come here. What's that injury?"
"I-I tripped while walking."
As if.
What acrobatic stumble bruises your neck and chest?
This was no mere accident—it was clear evidence of assault.
Erzebet couldn't let this slide.
Not because of Adella's Roshiar lineage, but simply as a friend.
"Who did this? Tell me."
"I-I don't know!"
"Don't give me that! I'm Penheim's princess. No matter what grudge they hold or intentions they have, as long as I'm here, they won't touch you again."
"......"
Erzebet fumed as Adella clammed up.
Just then, Aberret and Kal finished talking and headed their way.
"Come on. What was your next class?"
"Uh... Professor Vincent's, but right now it's..."
"Perfect. We'll skip, file an absence form, and report it to the guards."
All crimes in the academy were first investigated by the student council.
But with tangled noble family politics, investigations dragged on with half-hearted responses.
Especially after the canteen incident got the council dismissed— no telling when they'd start or catch the culprit.
Better to go straight to the guards.
The academy's security guards were an armed force under Pharenchia Luhillen Viscountcy jurisdiction.
You couldn't station royal troops in another noble's territory.
With a little cooperation from Viscountess Luhillen, they could quickly identify and at least exile the perp from Pharenchia lands.
To get permission to skip class from the professor, Erzebet dragged the reluctant Adella to the lecture hall.
But the room was empty when they arrived.
"Huh? Where is everyone?"
"Let me go!"
"Ow! Why'd you bite me?!"
"Piy—!"
Clutching her bitten hand, Erzebet spotted writing on the blackboard at the front.
By the time the four reached the small clearing behind the school building, the other students were already squinting in the midday sun, grumbling.
—What's this class about?
—Dunno. Why'd they call us out here?
—Feels like PT. Non-knight track can skip, right?
—Where's Professor Vincent?
—Last time at the salon, he stood in front of a newbie's magic demo and got blasted out the window. Ah, here he comes...
Ansen stood there too, annoyed, legs spread wide.
Erzebet gripped Adella's hand tight as she tried to sneak away, waiting for the guest lecturer.
When the person finally appeared, she was stunned.
"Louis...?"
His usual slovenly attire, the only difference a battered backpack slung over his shoulder.
"Ah, Teacher~."
Adella yanked free and ran to him first.
Erzebet approached Louis belatedly.
"Don't tell me you're the one giving the lecture?"
"Yeah, pretty much."
"Sorry, but Adella and I can't join."
"For real?"
Adella shook her head vigorously at Louis's question.
"Dunno."
Erzebet carefully turned Adella so other students couldn't see, then showed Louis the injury on her neck.
"Something's definitely wrong with Adella. We're going to the guards to catch the culprit."
"......"
"Louis?"
"Just stay here."
The moment his gaze shifted to Adella's exposed skin, Erzebet sensed raw, chilling terror in his voice.
Shing!
Her body jerked back. Aberret had half-drawn the three swords at her waist and yanked Erzebet away.
"Princess!"
Aberret herself seemed startled by her instinctive reaction.
Ignoring them, Louis looked up at the gathered students.
Strangely, those complaining about the heat moments ago now stared at the ground in silence.
"Well, anyway..."
Louis pulled a small vial from his bag.
"Everyone's here, so let's start the lesson.