Chapter 85: The Battle for Isaac (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 85: The Battle for Isaac (3)
Atla Hall, moments before Luce summoned the Thunderbird.
Eva Hielov, the four-eyed student, sat frozen in her chair. She was utterly baffled by the surreal scene unfolding in the hall.
Everyone’s memories were fractured and distorted. Worse yet, bizarre rumors about Isaac were spreading like wildfire.
A degenerate? A flirt who hits on anything with a pulse? Ridiculous.
‘He took on a demon! A demon, I tell you!’
How does nobody know what he actually did?
Whatever. Talented wizards were notorious for their lack of common sense anyway. Trying to understand them was like trying to cover the entire ocean with a single palm—fundamentally impossible.
She repeatedly glanced at the women Isaac had supposedly "harassed." However, Kaya Astrea was nowhere to be seen.
Keridna Whiteclark, the girl with the pink bob cut, was busy interrogating those around her.
"Isaac came onto me…? Why am I only hearing about this now? Show me! Show me what you saw right now!"
It seemed she was in the dark as well. As for why she seemed so desperate to see it… that remained a mystery.
Meanwhile, Lisetta Lionheart, her orange hair tied in a ponytail, was still busy tearing into the meat in front of her. As expected, she didn't seem to know a thing. More importantly—just how much was she planning to eat?!
Eva’s entire body trembled in disbelief.
Isaac… has he been protecting people like this all along?
‘I’ve messed with the wrong person.’
Realizing the gravity of her mistake, Eva buried her face in her hands and began to mess up her hair, oblivious to the eyes around her. She wanted to crawl into a hole and die.
[What’s wrong?]
“…!”
Suddenly, a familiar, feminine voice rang in Eva’s ear.
Eva stiffened as if she’d heard a ghost.
It was a white cat with a pink ribbon tied to its tail—Ella, Dorothy Heartnova’s familiar. It was a voice she could never forget.
[It’s been a while, hasn't it, friend?]
“Ah, ah…”
[Do you remember what I told you before? I believe I said to keep what you discovered a secret.]
“I’m sorry, I’m sor—!”
Using Dorothy’s mana, Ella pinned Eva down just as she instinctively tried to bolt from her seat.
Creak—
“Heuk!”
[Can you stay still for a moment?]
A crushing force pressed down on Eva’s thighs. She couldn’t move an inch.
Eva looked at the white cat standing beside her with pure terror.
[Something strange happened here, didn't it? Everyone is telling different stories. And yet, you… you seem perfectly fine.]
“Pl-please, don’t hurt me…”
The pressure on her legs felt like an unassailable wall. It was as if an impossibly heavy weight was concentrated entirely on her lap.
Eva swallowed her tears and began to plead with Ella.
[Don’t worry. I don’t mean any harm. More importantly, there’s something Dorothy is curious about.]
“I can’t say anything…”
[What?]
Ella had come here because Dorothy wanted to ensure that information regarding Isaac wasn't being leaked.
From the students' chatter, Ella gathered that Isaac had indeed been at Atla Hall.
Out of everyone, Eva was the only one who seemed "normal," which was why Ella had approached her. While the other students were babbling nonsense as if their memories had been fabricated, Eva sat in terrified silence.
Because of that fear, Eva paradoxically appeared the most sane.
Inferring from the situation, a mysterious phenomenon had occurred in Atla Hall, and Isaac likely had a hand in it. Judging by how he had forced Eva into silence, it seemed it was Isaac’s intention to keep the truth buried.
[On the contrary… Isaac knew his information was going to be sold and turned it to his advantage…]
Ella’s monologue was muffled, kept low enough so that Eva couldn't overhear.
It seemed unbelievable, but Dorothy had claimed that Isaac—who looked mild and weak—was actually much stronger than her.
Dorothy was someone who could see the essence of all things through the power of [All In the World]. There was no chance her eyes were mistaken.
Therefore, it wouldn't be strange at all if a man who had reached greater heights than Dorothy was playing with the lives of ordinary people.
The force weighing on Eva’s legs suddenly vanished.
Eva let out a sob of relief, her face tear-stricken, but she reflexively held her breath the moment Ella spoke again.
[I don’t want to disturb Isaac, so I’ll let this go.]
“Ah…”
[Still, my friend, let’s not act out of line, shall we?]
Ella dissolved into mana and vanished.
It took a long time for Eva to stop her body from trembling.
‘Let’s get this straight.’
What a messy night.
I wonder if this is how a fighter pilot feels when their cockpit canopy is ripped off. While enjoying the gale-force winds whipping against my face, I lost myself in thought.
High above the academy, I was currently holding hands with Dark Kaya as we flew at breakneck speeds via wind magic.
Behind us, Galia and Luce were in hot pursuit, like dogs playing fetch.
Kaya’s memories had clearly been altered when Marlog was defeated. I assumed that, in her version of events, I must have made some embarrassing show of affection toward her.
That was likely why she had snatched me away from Luce and was now attempting to seduce me.
‘It’s true I managed to escape captivity thanks to her, though.’
If it weren't for Kaya, my wrists would probably still be shackled to Luce.
Even so, it wouldn't have been a deal-breaker. All I would’ve needed to do was play along with Luce for a bit and I would’ve been free in no time. That was why I hadn't taken her handcuffs too seriously.
Not that I have a thing for restraints. That’s definitely not my kink.
After the Elt Island incident, I’d given Luce a stern lecture on ethics regarding how "it’s wrong to suppress the freedom of others." As a wise teacher, I’d kindly instructed my cherished student, yet it seemed my lesson had gone in one ear and out the other.
‘Should I teach her through actions instead of words?’
I really needed to teach Luce the meaning of putting yourself in someone else's shoes soon. If I tied her up, wouldn't she finally understand how I felt?
‘…Maybe that’s a bit much.’
Well, I don't need to go that far.
Luce wasn't in a state extreme enough to trigger Extra Bad Ending No. 13 「Bird Cage」 yet. Even in ❰Magic Knight of Mären❱, she didn't keep the player captive after the ending…
…I’ll choose to believe there’s still plenty of time for re-education.
‘Anyway.’
Back to the present.
When it came down to it, the situation wasn't actually that dire. Both Kaya and Luce were just overreacting because they were drunk on their own emotions.
For now, I needed to escape this chaos and find an opportunity to talk to them calmly.
‘I should clear up Kaya’s misunderstanding first.’
We approached a tall clock tower surrounded by a cluster of buildings. The moment we passed the tower, we were briefly obscured from Galia’s line of sight.
‘Time to drop.’
「Ice Generation (Ice Element, ★1)」
Timing the fall perfectly, I reached my free hand down and manifested a handle-shaped block of ice. I gripped it tightly.
From there, I rapidly added mass to the handle, creating a massive, heavy block of ice.
This should do it.
“Ahhk!”
Kaya let out a scream. Due to the sudden weight of the ice block, both of us began to plummet instantly.
Levitating a body with wind magic required incredibly fine mana control. If a massive weight was suddenly introduced while maintaining such a difficult spell, the balance would shatter.
Kaya, who was used to accounting for her own weight, lost all control over her mana.
As we fell, I immediately dispelled the ice block and thrust my arms upward, venting icy blue flames with immense force.
「Frostfire (Ice Element, ★4)」
Fwaaaah——!!
“Sir Isaaaaaaaaac?!”
Since [Frostfire] could double as a thruster, I’d used it many times in the past to accelerate or decelerate. As a result, Kaya and I shot toward the ground at a frightening speed.
Seeing her so flustered is almost cute. I guess I got my revenge without even trying.
It definitely feels better to be the one dragging someone around rather than being the one dragged.
“…!”
When we suddenly vanished, Luce and Galia were stunned. Galia screeched to a halt in mid-air, creating a massive gust of wind with a flap of its wings.
If they looked around for even two or three seconds, they’d see us falling vertically.
However, the area around the clock tower was dense with buildings. There was no room for Galia to squeeze his massive frame between them, and there was no way they’d choose the extreme option of demolishing the school property.
In the time it would take Luce to unsummon Galia, I planned to take Kaya and duck into the clock tower.
“Kaya, I’m trusting you with the landing!”
“Oh, yes!”
「Wind Generation (Wind Element, ★1)」
Fwooooo——!
I immediately cut the [Frostfire] and left our safety to Kaya’s wind magic. We slowed our descent and finally touched down safely.
“I was so surprised…”
“That’s it. Follow me!”
“What? Oh!”
Luce was already descending vertically, still riding Galia.
Seeing her relentless pursuit, I grabbed Kaya by the wrist and sprinted into the clock tower.
All I wanted was enough time to talk to Kaya. I had to clear up her misunderstanding before I could even begin to deal with Luce.
‘Ah.’
I’d forgotten in the heat of the moment—I was actually quite strong and fast. If I gripped Kaya’s wrist this tightly while running, I was probably hurting her.
I relaxed my grip slightly and glanced back at her.
“Sorry, Kaya! Are you okay?”
“I’m not okay, I’m happy!”
“What?!”
[Kaya Astrea]
Psychology: [The thought of being forcibly dragged away by you is making her incredibly excited.]
I’m seriously going to lose my goddamn mind.