Chapter 146
Chapter 146
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 146
Chapter Title: Fugitives (2)
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In the end, we attended class as announced, but without any particular plan, we just filled our seats and sat there.
The Wooden Cross students seemed generally delighted by the unexpected break in lectures, but Theodore and I, who had come from the Thorn Crown House after experiencing one bizarre incident after another, felt differently.
"What a mess."
"..."
Nothing in this academy ever ran properly.
But more than anything, I couldn't believe that I had attended this academy for ten years without a single suspicion.
On top of that, these innocent cadets were a major concern.
'This is weird. Even if they don't know what happened to the professors, they must have heard the alarm go off.'
What was with all this innocence?
I scanned the about twenty cadets sitting in the classroom with me, one by one.
Innocent expressions that were hard to believe belonged to future soldiers.
"Is the Thorn Crown House like this too?"
"Like what?"
"They get excited easily and then calm down just as fast, and act all innocent like this in unexpected ways."
"Well..."
Theodore glanced around the classroom interior and then spoke.
"Fundamentally, everyone here is missing a screw or two. Compared to the Wooden Cross class... they don't quite have that sense of living with death right around the corner."
"I'm not sure which is better."
Living as an eccentric close to death, or as a capricious and innocent fool.
It was a fierce dilemma.
Instead of wasting time sitting idly with Theodore, we each passed the time reading a book we'd borrowed from the library.
The book Theodore had picked was titled *The Psychological Foundations of Black Mages and the Symbolism of Magic Circles*, which was just a tad more interesting than my choice, *101 Amphibian Dishes from Hazard Island*.
***
The next day.
The professors still hadn't returned to their lectures.
One day, two days, three days, four days... It wasn't until a full week had passed that the Wooden Cross cadets began to slowly realize something was wrong.
It was a realization that came far too late, but at least it was reassuring to know that my comrades in arms weren't complete idiots.
"Executor, sir—"
And it wasn't all that surprising when one of the cadets who had been hovering around me hesitantly finally approached.
I was the top-year student on the verge of graduation, and not all of the group that idolized me as the "Executor" had vanished completely.
Given that he'd approached while Theodore was away, he was probably one of the "Executor zealots" for sure.
On top of that, he happened to be the son of a modest family whose name I'd memorized.
"Call me by name, Cadet Annabelle Lucien."
"How could I possibly!"
"Even if you're in the graduating year, you're still a cadet like the rest of them. So, what's on your mind?"
Who knew that asking to be called by name could make someone shiver like that.
I smiled at Annabelle, who was fumbling around without even meeting my eyes, to help him speak more comfortably.
Annabelle paused for a moment, then bowed his head and whispered in my ear.
"Executor, sir, Cadet Emily went to paradise, right? Even though she failed the mission."
"...Paradise?"
With each passing day, the Executor group was taking on more and more of a religious form.
In other words, the things I did or experienced while under the Guardian Angel's influence were being interpreted by them as even more auspicious than they actually were.
'Emily... I've heard that name before.'
I racked my brain to recall the name that was on the verge of slipping away, and finally remembered that one of the four recently expelled "Executor zealots" was Emily Louise Hollis.
"What did Cadet Hollis say?"
"She said she was going to exterminate the demons. That this time, she could restore your glory, Executor, sir—"
"Glory, huh."
How could I exorcise these followers possessed by Arma Cruise, Executor of Aegis?
Since it started with me, maybe they could just punch my shadow or something.
It was annoying and tiresome, so I shut my mouth, and Annabelle stared intently at me.
"Cadet Annabelle Lucien."
"Y-Yes... sir!?"
"Go tell your friends."
"W-What should I tell them..."
"Arma Cruise is not the Executor of Aegis."
It was obviously just preaching to the deaf.
But Annabelle seemed to think for a moment, then nodded with a serious expression.
"We will never cause you any trouble, Executor, sir."
"Got it."
I was at my wit's end now.
The uncontrollable misunderstanding had reached a point where it was impossible to clear up.
And in the current situation.
With the adults vanishing one by one, and only youths and adolescents left on this island, things could only get worse, not better.
'Ha. Me too, acting like a child...'
I'd unintentionally vented my frustration.
Thinking I might as well get some fresh air, I stood up from my seat.
Theodore, who had just returned from his errand, followed behind me.
"Arma Cruise. We've already taken attendance, so how about heading back to the dorm?"
"That sounds good. But we still need to eat lunch."
"..."
"Don't make that face..."
The reason I actually welcomed the task of supervising Theodore—who reverted to his absurd routine of four hours of sleep, one meal every two days, followed by sudden binge eating the moment I looked away even briefly—was that the academy's situation was far from ideal.
We all kept our seats at the start of lecture time to comply with the attendance rule, but that didn't last long, and soon everyone scattered in all directions.
'If only they'd just sleep quietly during that time.'
Based on the pattern so far, the cadets seized every opportunity to go astray.
Were the souls suppressed under strict discipline, adults, and the student council rebelling in this way?
Even so, I was just a high-year student on the verge of graduation with no real authority, so all I could do was stare blankly at the chaotic scene.
'What is Makina doing?'
She'd been temporarily stripped of her council president position due to disciplinary action, but given the nature of the student council, a vacancy wouldn't last long.
In a situation like this, the student council was the only entity that could wield any power.
At this point, you'd expect the student council to step up first, so why hadn't we heard anything from them yet?
"You seem to be thinking too much."
"Hm?"
"Compared to last year, your expressions have changed a lot."
"My expressions?"
Had I been walking around with a grumpy face without realizing it?
Theodore moved his usually motionless facial muscles to mimic the expression I supposedly wore all the time.
"Is that what I look like? Haha!"
The imitation Theodore made of me looked like a child suffering from a toothache.
As Theodore said, I needed to stop worrying.
Theodore's sleepwalking was a bomb, but the thing lurking in my soul was no less of one.
"Alright, got it. Sorry for worrying you—"
"Ugh..."
-Thud.
The moment I consciously tried to relax my expression so he wouldn't worry anymore, one of the cadets walking ahead collapsed to the ground.
"Are you okay?"
The path to the cafeteria doubled as a walkway through a maze-like garden.
With the lowest landscaping reaching up to calf height, collapsing like this in the middle meant a high chance of going unnoticed.
I rushed to the fallen cadet and checked his face—it was a young, unfamiliar low-year boy.
"Hey. What's your name?"
"Ugh... uuuugh. Ugh, uh..."
"Your name!"
I slapped the cheek of the cadet whose eyes were rolling back, on the verge of passing out.
Jolted by the shock, he briefly regained consciousness and said his name was Adam Peacock before finally fainting.
"Theodore, give me a hand."
I hoisted the limp cadet onto my back and headed toward the infirmary.
Unconscious people are really heavy.
Their limbs are long, and they don't dangle in the direction you want.
Sweating profusely as I carried him, Theodore picked up our belongings and Adam's, following lightly behind me.
"Medical staff—someone suddenly collapsed and..."
But the infirmary we arrived at was in quite a state of disarray.
For starters, half the medical personnel guarding it were gone.
"...What in the world..."
There wasn't a soul around to even register a patient.
The nurses and doctors were all busy with their own reasons and wouldn't spare a glance at a new arrival.
"Another patient? Unconscious, high fever, coughing symptoms?"
"Yes? Oh, no. No cough—"
*Cough, cough.*
"He's coughing now."
Is the flu going around or something?
At my words, a petite nurse came dashing down from the second floor, pushed a haphazardly placed bed from a corner of the hallway, then hurried back to her original spot.
"Does that mean lay him down and go?"
With Theodore's help, I placed the collapsed Adam on the bed and looked around.
Adam had orange hair and yellow eyes, looking no more than about twelve years old.
His face, slick with sticky sweat from groaning in pain, made it hard to guess what kind of expressions he usually made.
"D-Don't go."
"Should I stay?"
"Don't go—."
"Alright, I won't."
At that age, being alone was scary enough on its own.
They didn't have much experience living independently, and being sick made them even more sensitive.
Logic wouldn't work anyway, and I didn't want to leave a bitter memory for a sick person.
"Theodore, I don't know what's going on, but you head back for now. It might be contagious."
"If it's contagious, then Arma Cruise should go back too."
"I've already carried him."
"You're reckless in these moments."
Theodore chided me loud enough to be heard.
Humans live full of contradictions, but I knew this kind of behavior looked strange to others.
Still, this time, I didn't want to hold back like usual, no matter what.
'He's a sick kid.'
A kid in so much pain his mind wandered literally didn't understand words.
They didn't have more patience than adults, nor were they trained to hide their true feelings.
Surprisingly, soothing such a child was easy: just have one person to indulge their whims.
If the pain exceeded what they could endure, it all went to waste, but having someone to whine to versus not was worlds apart.
"Could you check if Adam Peacock has any family or acquaintances? And stop by the student council to let them know about the infirmary situation."
"..."
He clearly didn't like the current goings-on, but soon Theodore nodded and left the infirmary.