Act As You Were Born (4)

How much mana can you extract from a single man? There's variation between individuals, of course, but it usually boils down to two scenarios.

Premise: When subjected to mana drain during intercourse, mana comes spilling out along with the essence.

Case one: All the mana gets drained away. You might survive as a male somehow, but in the world of magic, you're as good as done. From then on, you'll have to rely on mana stones or magic tools to draw external mana for the rest of your life. Mana doesn't have a mind of its own, but it's like an organic lifeform. The new mana that enters a man's body after a mana drain says, "Whoa, this place got robbed once," and bolts immediately. It's like a house that's been burgled.

So what about the second case? You barely preserve your mana, but as a male, you're squeezed dry and meet your end. In other words, death by exhaustion. "It's not quite 'on top' enough to call it that—maybe it's more accurate to say he was laid out and devoured."

Being mana-drained already implies someone pinned the guy down and extracted it relentlessly from above. And in those cases, the damage from mana drain usually plays out as many-against-one.

"Don't you understand what I'm saying, special class?"

Right now.

"If you all just hold hands with me, we can share that man's mana together."

Just like what that student Angelica was saying.

"So..."

Unia replied in an awkward tone.

"You're saying we should divide a custard cream pie like it's a sliced cake right now?"

"I don't get why your metaphor is a custard cream pie, but normally, no one eats a whole cake by themselves, right? ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠You slice it up and share with a group."

"......."

"Of course, some women might eat it alone, but excess is ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠no better than lack, as they say. Ohoho."

Angelica's eyes sparkled as she reached out toward me.

"What do you say? Shall we all strip that man bare together?"

"That's insane."

A sharp voice cut toward Angelica.

"Do you even know that's a crime?"

Of all people, Evangeline—the least likely—stepped forward with a face frozen cold.

"Trying to forcibly steal mana from someone who doesn't want it. Since when did Esdinas Academy become such a vulgar place?"

"Ha. It seems the newborn empire's princess views the world far too rosily. You might've become an empire, only to get overtaken by other nations in no time."

"You're calling me princess and saying that?"

Evangeline scoffed.

"What kind of backing gives you such overflowing confidence, huh?"

"Who knows? Maybe some folks holding tons of your country's debt, or the Church, or some kingdom or empire?"

"......."

Evangeline shut her mouth at Angelica's words. She couldn't guess the backing, but more importantly, the entities Angelica mentioned were sore spots for the di Ershi Empire.

Newborn empire. It drew envy from other nations, but building one required massive funds in the first place. If they'd covered it all with their own money, they'd have even more enemies. Borrowing from somewhere? That came with its own problems.

Even so.

"Listen up, Miss Angelica."

Evangeline planted herself right in front of me, chin held high.

"Forcing something on someone who doesn't want it is a crime. And even if this place doesn't protect you with school rules or laws, I believe we must uphold what needs upholding at minimum."

"Oh my, and what's that?"

"Conscience, obviously."

Conscience. In an instant, she'd painted Angelica as a woman without any.

"Ha. This is exactly why I can't talk to naive little kids who know nothing of the world."

"Wh-what...!"

"Doesn't matter. I wasn't expecting anything anyway."

Angelica clapped toward the back.

"Come out, Jane."

"!!"

As the woman named Jane stepped forward, Rydmila behind me advanced a step in reaction.

"S-senior...!"

"You...!"

A woman in uniform, same year as Angelica. But she was calling Rydmila—toward a freshman—"senior."

"Lately, even mercenary bands are pouring budgets into the academy for 'new talent development.' They even enroll those rookies here at Esdinas."

"You...!"

"You don't need to devour that man, but we're different. Right, Jane?"

"S-sorry! Senior Rydmila! B-but...!"

The woman named Jane barely met enrollment standards, but her path was clear.

"If I just devour that man, I can get even stronger than now...!"

"Instead of building your own strength...!"

"When there's a quick, surefire way to power right in front of you, it's weirder not to take it!"

From their perspective, I was a sort of 'cheat key.' Mana drain itself was a cheat method, but I was the most efficient, top-tier one. Like a weird candy that levels you up just by eating it.

"Even Senior Rydmila could hit S-rank if you devoured that man!"

"Ha, what nonsense..."

Rydmila sighed.

"If screwing around with men made you S-rank, I'd have been S-rank ages ago. Jane 'senior.'"

"Senior Rydmila...!"

"This is the academy, and Phoenix is my teammate and classmate. Special class operates in teams of four, so losing one would disrupt the semester schedule."

Rydmila slung her spear over her shoulder and extended one hand forward.

"If you want him, take him by force. That's it."

She crooked her fingers. Gale beckoned directly, and Evangeline beside her pretended to toss her bear doll forward as if to join in.

"Evangeline?"

"It's about showing strength, right? I can't just stand by. As princess of di Ershi Empire, and..."

Evangeline glanced at me and grinned.

"Since we're protecting your chastity, you owe us. Grant a wish later or whatever."

"I didn't ask for help—" If I said that, I'd get devoured by them right away.

I raised both hands to the two.

"Like I said earlier, let's do this within our limits."

"Great!"

Evangeline shouted energetically and hurled the bear doll forward.

"Go, Half Moon!!"

The moment Evangeline yelled.

Kyaaaooooong!!

The bear doll instantly grew massive. It looked like the doll just scaled up in size—

Thud—boom!!

But when it thrust a fist toward the ground, the earth trembled violently.

"If nothing that happens here legally counts as a problem!!"

Evangeline, who had leaped onto Half Moon's shoulder in a flash, crossed her arms and bellowed.

"Then it means I can smash you lot so bad you'll never think like that again!!"

True enough.

"Miss Unia."

Rydmila glanced at Unia, then subtly nodded toward me.

"Take care of Phoenix."

Whoosh.

Rydmila dashed forward in one breath.

"H-hey, you guys!!"

Angelica yelled from behind, and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠soon more female students stepped up.

"If we beat Gale, that man's mana is ours!!"

"You think we'd come planning to lose?!"

Clang!!

The battle began.

[Meanwhile, on the rooftop of the old school building.]

"If you're worried, why not go down and check yourself?"

"......I'm not worried."

Cardisha approached with her white coat fluttering, and Esta responded while arms crossed, gazing down at the battle site.

"As long as he doesn't die."

"Even if an arm gets severed or bones break?"

"As long as he doesn't die, the academy's medical staff can fix it."

"Sure, physical wounds."

Cardisha tapped her temple with a finger.

"What about mental trauma?"

"It's something they have to go through."

"What?"

"When kids set out to do bad things, they need a proper thrashing so they never think like that again."

Esta pointed to the female students getting overwhelmed by Rydmila and Evangeline.

"They're still young. Not even adults, yet acting like they are. And the reason they act like that is..."

"Because they're nobles, plain and simple?"

"Exactly."

Esta nodded heavily.

"Whether it's the kingdom, noble houses, or merchant groups, they have this naive belief that someone will cover for whatever mess they make. We need to shatter that mindset."

"Good thinking, but do you really think they came just with childish notions?"

"What?"

"Someone might've sent them as pawns."

Cardisha pointed toward the forest near the battle site.

"Plenty of eyes watching this place right now. Those girls are the vanguard. Sacrificial lambs."

"......."

"Outwardly, they're charging for the walking mana battery. But who are they really after?"

"The Gray Witch's disciple."

"Pretty much."

Cardisha fiddled with her wrist panel.

"If they can break through Gale and the Merhen Princess, securing the Gray Witch's disciple is a piece of cake. That's their thinking. Plus, they get that man with 'dragon heart'-like mana as a bonus."

"......."

"So what will you do, instructor? Stick to that old school building mindset that your disciples can overcome any crisis?"

"...As long as it's not S-rank, they can handle it. And you wouldn't know, but..."

Esta looked at Phoenix standing beside Unia and smiled faintly.

"If it were really serious, that guy would've moved already."

Attacks on the old school building were one of the recurring events. Academy students come at the old school kids for all sorts of reasons, letting the protagonist gain teammates or combat experience from the fights.

Rydmila was an A-rank adventurer anyway, and I wanted to gauge Evangeline's experience—

"Ahaha!"

Boom!!

Turns out, Evangeline fought better than expected.

'She's at least B-rank.'

I'd wondered why she brought the bear doll amid the chaos—it was her 'weapon' after all.

"Um..."

Unia ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠tugged my sleeve from the side.

"Leaving it to just those two feels iffy, but is it okay to keep standing here like this?"

"Depends on the opponents."

"The opponents..."

"They came thinking it was doable."

Unia swallowed hard, tensing up at my words. Even so, she drew her magitech bow, ready to fight anytime.

"Miss Unia."

I whispered softly into Unia's ear.

"No matter what happens next, stay calm, trust me, and move. Got it?"

"S-saying that...!"

Her face flushed at the whisper, but her eyes soon trembled with anxiety.

"That's basically prophesying something bad will happen...!"

"Ah, you caught on."

"Wh-what's going to...!"

"Aaaah!!"

Someone screamed.

"Aaaaaah!!"

Angelica clutched her head and suddenly started shrieking.

"Wh-what the...?"

"...Here it comes."

The angel.

Apocalypse.

If the angels descending on heroines were archangel-class, what about the lesser ones below?

'Not heroine-tier, but possessing sub-characters is no big deal.'

The less human, the easier to possess. Those acting inhumanely, unethically—they're prime targets for angels.

"!!"

The moment Unia widened her eyes in shock.

Flash.

Something like a circle shimmered above Angelica's head.

That was the root reason Unia had desperately entered the academy—and why I'd come here.

With the academy's opening, the goddess sends angels to earth to kick off full-scale world destruction.

Breadcademy. The main story begins.

Of course.

'Not heroine-tier.'

Compared to the apocalypse possessing types like Unia or Esta, the angel in Angelica was mild.

In other words.

Petit apocalypse.

"Let's go, Unia."

I grabbed Unia's shoulder.

"We have to stop it."

"...Yes!"

The moment Unia raised her bow.

"Um, over there."

Unia pointed below herself with eyes full of resolve.

"...Could you catch me?"

"......."