Chapter 164
Chapter 164
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 164
Chapter Title: The Saint's Blood
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The reason I drew my blood in front of everyone was, of course, to prove that the circulation device was actually functioning, but also to present a blood sample in real time.
The illness circulating through Aegis Academy was not a typical contagious disease transmitted through humans, but one spread via magic tools.
This epidemic had a fatality rate no worse than the flu for healthy adults or mages with magic resistance, but it brought deadly results for some unlucky non-mage adults or children.
As a result, Ivy had died, but Alex and I survived without dying, leaving behind this evidence.
‘Damn, it’s dizzying after all.’
If I stopped the machine or halted the blood draw midway, they’d make excuses claiming my blood had been tampered with, so I went through with it, but honestly, I regretted it.
“Since we’ve come this far, stand straight, Arma.”
As I staggered briefly from dizziness, Judith, who had been glaring at me the whole time, grabbed me from an unseen direction and propped me up.
“If you collapse, all of this will be meaningless.”
“…Yeah.”
I had willingly made a fool of myself, using the saintly reputation I never wanted, and now I had to remain Aegis’s executor until the very end.
To be honest, it was all bravado.
Bravado to stay at the center of attention for at least a while.
My face was already pale, my movements a beat slower, but in this chaos, it would be enough to fool them.
“Y-You, you damned, damned brat, just because some snot-nosed kids of your age are cheering you on… G-Give it here!”
Sir Reynolds’s reaction was as good as admitting he was deeply involved in this incident and knew exactly what was in my blood.
-Clang!
Cadets drawing their weapons blocked the staggering Sir Reynolds as he advanced.
“Step back.”
Now the Student Council pressed the employees and Sir Reynolds even more aggressively.
No matter that the employees were specialists hired for situations like this, they couldn’t withstand this many opponents.
‘And from here on, the Student Council can really flex their power.’
Sir Reynolds would face at least excommunication.
Assuming this incident wrapped up properly.
“Please give me that cup.”
Because we had dragged it out too long, Makina took the cup overflowing with blood, now soaked through.
Makina’s white hand was instantly stained red with blood.
“Is Cadet Adrian Nell Elman of Silver Chalice House present?”
Makina, holding the blood-soaked cup, called out loudly toward the cadets facing off in the chapel.
No response came.
“As expected, he’s not here. I didn’t expect him anyway. Then, if there’s a cadet from Crown of Thorns Class who can use <Analysis>-series magic, please step forward to help.”
Several cadets volunteered and stood up.
Theodore was among them, and given how he responded to every suspicious summons like this, his future held promise in various ways.
“We need to divide the sample.”
They had their own procedures, bringing glass tubes and such of similar sizes to split my blood into portions.
“It’s impossible to prove the facts right now, so let’s analyze it first. We’ll also need to draw blood from ‘John’ with his guardian’s consent.”
My blood, which had filled a mere palm-sized cup, was now divided into five small containers.
Sir Reynolds watched the process with a face flushed with rage, then unwittingly stepped forward.
At that, the two Student Council cadets standing at attention behind Makina moved with speed that could only be described as faster than light, pressing blades to his nape.
“Eeeeek, you snot-nosed whelps who haven’t even shed blood yet!!”
The cadets murmured at Sir Reynolds’s hysterical outburst.
His vulgar transformation was so repulsive it was hard to watch with eyes open, making his previous feigned composure seem laughable.
“For your information, Sir Reynolds.”
“Shut up! Shut up! Heh, heh-heh! You insolent brats. I took in worthless scum like you who deserve to die—”
“No matter the circumstance, shouldn’t we maintain some dignity?”
Makina remained steadfast.
Whether when Sir Reynolds insulted her, wielded his authority with unfair punishments, or now screamed like a madman with bloodshot eyes.
“—Thus guiding the wandering souls to peace.”
This was the prayer Makina had chosen during the student trial for the Kail Ace murder case.
It was a prayer stripped of all rites, but those gathered here understood its meaning instantly.
With this, Makina had effectively brought sacred closure to this chaotic scene of accusation.
“Then, everyone. This concludes the proceedings. We promise to uncover any remaining accomplices through interrogation and punish them severely as a warning.”
“Makina Christi! You dare!”
Sir Reynolds had completely broken down rationally, and this also revealed that some experiment using this artificial soul circulation device had taken place at the academy.
Though I had to don the mask of a saint myself, it allowed me to bring Ivy’s death to the surface.
‘Makina won.’
So why did that thought cross my mind at this moment?
The thought that ‘Makina’ had won, not ‘us’….
***
Things progressed swiftly after the accusation.
We proved that my blood and Alex’s showed an immune response to the same antigen using the serum extracted from them.
However, not everything was perfectly resolved.
As buried memories from the past resurfaced, I couldn’t shake free from that day.
-Knock knock knock.
“Executor—”
And from that day on, strangers began knocking morning and night.
Sometimes politely calling me ‘Executor,’ other times pounding the door with fists, yelling that if my senior didn’t come out, they’d smash it down.
“What should we do?”
Whenever that happened, poor Theodore White was the one greeting the visitors in my stead.
“Sorry, just send them away.”
“Yes.”
Of all times, this mess started right after I’d strong-armed Theodore into coming with the wooden cross.
I was resisting a sudden onset of lethargy without warning.
“There’s another pile of bouquets out there. What about these?”
“There’s no space left… These guys really.”
My room, windowsill, living room by the fireplace, and desk were already filled with bouquets from anonymous senders.
I learned today for the first time that a jumble of flower scents could induce nausea, yet they left more bouquets.
“I’ll tell the Student Council.”
“I’ll go. If that’s alright with you.”
“Oh, yeah, that’d be a huge help.”
You don’t know until you experience it, but Theodore’s mechanical diligence and industriousness were a big help to me.
‘I’ll snap out of it by dinner.’
I set a mental deadline for the lethargy and watched what Theodore did.
Theodore came in hugging another armful of bouquets from outside, pondered briefly, then crushed them all flat.
“Oh.”
Noticing my reaction, Theodore glanced at me and belatedly justified it with something absurd like, ‘They could be used as bookends.’
“No, whatever. Good job. Thanks. Bookends? Not sure about that, but at this rate, I’d have to sleep on bouquets.”
Theodore, pleased inwardly by my approval, nodded and neatly shoved the flattened piles under my bed.
“Phew—”
I let out an involuntary sigh, and Theodore sneaked a glance to gauge my mood.
But that would be too difficult for Theodore.
Even I had no clue why I’d fallen into this lethargy so rapidly.
“What’s the status on Sir Reynolds?”
“He’s denying everything to the end, but since he couldn’t coordinate with the detained professors, inconsistencies are appearing in their testimonies.”
“Then the Healing Guild is the only issue left.”
The three professors led by Sir Reynolds would surely pay dearly for trying to use the ‘artificial soul circulation device’ on cadets at the academy.
The problem was they refused to explain ‘why’ or ‘what their goal’ was, right up to the end.
“The professors seem content to just go quietly to prison like this.”
“I think so too. But even if they hold out now, they won’t manage it on the mainland.”
“True.”
Sir Reynolds, virtually the highest authority at Aegis Academy, couldn’t be judged here on Hazard Island.
He had to be referred to military court first, and even for someone as capable as Makina Christi, directly trying someone of higher rank like Sir Reynolds wasn’t easy.
“Will you keep pursuing Life and Greenmeet?”
“No, that’ll be tough. With graduation this year, and any Healing Guild civilians probably long gone by now.”
“But leaving it like this—”
“Feels unresolved. They were probably after me.”
Or more precisely, after someone like me who survived such an ordeal.
Figuring out why they revived that failed experiment now, and why they came to Hazard Island risking exposure to me, seemed hopeless.
Just like with Logan, no actual noble victims had emerged.
“It’s settled that we’ll escort Arthur during his promotion exam on the way back.”
“Huh? Is that about me? …It’s about me, but you guys decided without me?”
“Yes.”
Given everything, it was true I had no say this time.
I nodded with a sour expression and sprawled out on the sofa I’d dragged bedside.
Spring breezes began filtering through the window, sunlight stretching long across the room.
“Shall I let you nap?”
“Oh, no. I’ll stay awake. Actually, wake me if I doze off.”
“Understood.”
Theodore asked a few more questions, then bustled around the room.
Since I lay there doing nothing, tasks like clearing bouquets or reading Student Council reports all fell to him.
“The Executor—”
“Is lying down right now.”
“Huh? Is he unwell or something?”
“Health is fully recovered. He’s just lying down.”
Even then, he handled the followers trying to barge in intermittently.
I spent a lazy half-day staring out the window.
Many people knocked, but the one I waited for never came, and the day slipped away.
“What about Dylan?”
“—Still no contact.”
Because Dylan, who had gone to persuade Collette, had vanished.
Precisely, both Collette and Dylan.