Old School Building's Underground Library (3): I Can't Tell You That
"I can't tell you that."
Such evasive phrasing might seem perfectly logical and natural from the speaker's perspective, but to the listener, it's enough to make their blood boil with frustration.
But what if one key setting were added to the mix? Apostle of the gods. Someone who descended to this world bearing an extraordinary mission. Frame it that way, and the impression shifts entirely.
Where does the air of mystery surrounding someone like Phoenix originate? Because he's an apostle of the gods! Why does his combat prowess seem unreadable at a glance, yet he never appears particularly threatened in battle? Because he's hiding his power! Then why doesn't he step forward with that strength? Because revealing it could unleash something catastrophic!
With that, I could easily conceal my true identity. Even if they grew suspicious and tried to dig deeper, the folks in the Old School Building wouldn't pry into every last detail.
"I trust Phoenix."
Especially in Unia's case.
"I've come here on a mission of my own, and it overlaps with Phoenix's in some ways."
"Miss Unia?"
"Sorry. I've kept it under wraps as much as possible until now, but Phoenix and I might share... perhaps even the exact same purpose for entering the academy."
This was unexpected.
"My master commanded me to find a 'hero' at the academy to prepare for a potential apocalypse threatening humanity in the future."
Unia revealed the circumstances of her enrollment—not at the start of her freshman first semester, but toward the end of her freshman year. And she was sharing it now, of all times?
"You don't have to cover for me like that, Miss Unia. You could get dragged into this mess too."
It was to protect me.
"It's fine. Our paths differ, and there's plenty we don't know about each other, but we're walking the same road at the academy, heading toward the same goal."
"To stop the apocalypse of the future..."
"And to find the hero who can prevent it, right?"
Rydmila and Evangeline exchanged glances before asking, and Unia nodded vigorously.
"Yes. And my master told me this too: if I study hard at the academy and reach a certain realm, I'll learn who you are."
"Miss Unia's master... the one who taught you about non-attribute mana?"
"Yes, Miss Rydmila. Not just non-attribute mana, but the one who guided me onto the path of magic. I knew she wasn't ordinary, but..."
Unia reached out toward me.
"Her words echoed what you say, Phoenix, so I had a hunch. Maybe others have sent their own arrangements, just like my master did."
"Phoenix. Do you know anything about Miss Unia's master?"
"Be honest?"
"Yes."
"I do."
I couldn't deny it.
"But I can't say. Revealing it myself would be..."
"Not allowed."
Unia clenched her fists and nodded firmly.
"The 'realm' my master mentioned is probably S-rank. Reaching that might reveal something about her identity."
"You don't know exactly what that something is?"
"No, not yet."
Unia looked at me, then crossed her arms in an X shape and shook her head emphatically.
"No spoilers, Phoenix. Got it? You could get stuck obsessing over it."
"Roger."
The moment Unia hits S-rank, the Ash Witch will come to the academy herself.
"So, Phoenix, which god gave you your mission? Wait, don't tell me—"
"That could be blasphemy, so keep it secret, please."
Evangeline seemed to have caught on a bit, but I decided to tell the truth.
"It's not the Goddess."
"...!"
"That's part of why I can't reveal everything."
Even if the Church of the Goddess doesn't crack down too harshly on non-believers, claiming another god exists when the Goddess is real would definitely cause issues.
"But rest assured. The god I follow is no mistake. The Church of the Goddess might brand it heresy, but..."
"The Church of the Goddess?"
"Yeah. The church."
I emphasized the word deliberately. Whether Rydmila, Evangeline, or even Unia, their minds must be spinning now. What god does the church deem heretical? Has Phoenix been brainwashed by some otherworldly impostor claiming divinity? Or is there another god we don't know about?
"If it's still hard to believe, let me put it this way: I'm an apostle of the Sun God, worshipped over there."
"The Sun God."
"Something like that. Or you could say I follow the now-obsolete 'spirit faith'?"
"You're talking about the shamans of the northern tundra and southern deserts."
"...Ah, got it. So this 'god' isn't the Goddess, but could be the Sun God or just nature spirits. That's the gist, right?"
"Exactly, Miss Evangeline."
As long as I don't say it's a demon god, we're good.
"What Miss Unia's master foresaw doesn't perfectly match the knowledge passed to me by my god. But the essence is similar. Beings on earth... at the S-rank level, will start rampaging like mad."
"Beings."
"Yes, Miss Rydmila. That's why we're building our strength—to confront them."
"Um."
Evangeline cautiously raised her hand.
"From now on, if there's a mission like that, could you lead with that part?"
"Why?"
"Because you jumped straight to the money without mentioning it!"
Evangeline's face flushed red. The order had gotten flipped, and she seemed embarrassed about bringing up financial rewards before the fate of humanity.
"Got it, got it. But I don't think your attitude was wrong, Miss Evangeline."
"What?"
"I said it when we enrolled, remember? Why did you join the academy?"
It was yelled in front of the whole school at the entrance ceremony, but they'd heard about it.
"Harem, you mean?"
"Yep."
"Wasn't that just a front for a sleazy playboy chasing skirts?"
"You really think that, Miss Rydmila?"
"...A front, right?"
Rydmila smirked confidently.
"You're building a harem, sure, but not whoring around with 50 or 100 women, right?"
"Ahem."
"...Right?"
"That's a bit too many. Like 17... no, max 20... wait, no."
I did a quick mental tally.
17. 7. And those connected to them, plus potentials.
"How about compromising at around 30?"
"Not 3, but 30?"
"Nothing weird about it. In some worlds, academy professors build harems with 30 undergrads from their department!"
High school, magic teacher or not, a harem was a harem.
"God's mission or not, I'm not giving up my dreams and hopes. I'm not sacrificing human desires for selfless living, or throwing my life away penniless for some noble cause."
If I had to classify it, I'd be an MZ hero.
"Save humanity, then live large as reward. If you give to people, you deserve compensation, right?"
Humanity saved. That demands a proper Reward. Obvious.
"Worst case, imagine Miss Evangeline becomes the hero who saves humanity, but the di Ershi Empire falls."
"I don't even want to think about that analogy."
"But what if you save humanity and the di Ershi Empire grows rich and powerful? Escape Silverstar Group's capital takeover as a reward for saving the world?"
"......."
"Same for me."
"Harem as reward?"
"Less a reward, more... after fighting side-by-side to save humanity, it's a shame to end as mere comrades. Anyway, that seems convincing enough..."
Their initial distrustful gazes now held some understanding.
"Time to talk about how to enter the High Library. Oh, don't ask where it is. You'll know soon enough."
"Part of the divine plan too? Got it. So, what's the method?"
"You become 'spirit bodies.'"
"...Spirit bodies?"
"Yeah. More precisely, 'ether bodies.'"
I reached out to Unia and placed both hands on her crown.
"Extract the spirit from the flesh, let the soul separate and act independently."
"...Is that possible?"
"It is. Because it's me."
Not even as Phoenix. This was magic even the body I possessed, Regiph Hapsderk, could perform. The difference from common necromancy—tied to black magic—is that this draws from ether and spirit arts.
"Miss Unia. Trust me?"
"I do."
"If anything goes wrong, I'll take responsibility."
"I trust you."
Unia relaxed and closed her eyes.
"Here goes."
I thrust my hands upward from her crown with full force.
Shwoooosh!!
A massive liquid-splashing sound erupted from Unia's body, and something emerged from her crown.
[...Huh?]
A spirit in Unia's form.
That spirit was—
"Kyaaah!!"
"So that's what you meant by needing swimsuits."
Stark naked.