When the Head Suffers, the Body Suffers (1)
Arte had never once tried to grow stronger. She knew her elemental affinities, of course, but even if she raised her magical prowess, she had no confidence she could use it effectively in real combat. What she wanted to become was an educator, not a mage. The thought of wielding force with her exceptional mind had never even crossed her consideration. She was simply a woman who endured suffering without ever thinking of fighting back. Unfortunately, she truly was the fragile person Foelta described. But that was not what made her truly pitiable.
“I’m thinking of challenging a dungeon.”
Whether in the original flow of events or in this altered present, hardship would eventually come that forced her to shed that fragile nature. Whether this was growth or a rampage, no one could say for certain.
“A dungeon? Well, if it’s one designated by the Academy, we can get in pretty easily.”
“What kind of dungeon? We can judge whether it’s a good place for you.”
“Actually…”
Arte pulled out the documents she had brought so everyone could see. The information on the dungeon she intended to enter was…
“It’s a dungeon discovered early this year in the headmaster’s territory. The entrance appeared after an earthquake.”
“There was something like that?”
“Yes! Professor Nuo told me about it, saying my attitude in class was good. She said she’d accept applications from a few students and let them in.”
Was that dungeon really undiscovered until now?!
That was right. It was a dungeon that could only be found if one invaded the headmaster’s territory and smashed through mountains—something Luke had never done. If it’s Professor Nuo, she’s the only instructor among the first-year teachers with a personal connection to the headmaster. She was in charge of the teaching methods class. No reason for her to interact with Eres or me, so of course I wouldn’t have known.
He felt relieved that it was information he wouldn’t have learned even if he had paid attention in class, but a dungeon the Academy restricted to only a small number of people would be troublesome.
“If it was just discovered, wouldn’t it be dangerous? There’s no reason to choose that one.”
“Too many people would reduce efficiency. Besides, I heard the safety checks have already been completed.”
Bullshit! The walls collapse midway and trap people inside!
From outside the building, eavesdropping Luke realized he needed to get his hands on those documents somehow. Threatening Professor Nuo would only pass the information to them. More importantly, the Academy would try to stop him. If they found out he was targeting the dungeon, they might re-examine the interior and end up discovering the magic sword.
I need a way to make them leave the documents behind and step away…!
But there was no method. The only ideas that came to mind were things like Should I send Melina…? No, they already know it’s in the headmaster’s territory, so if they search the mountains… Both options were obviously difficult.
Wait, wasn’t there an easier way for me?
When the body is strong, the head doesn’t need to suffer. It was a twist on the proverb that a weak mind makes the body suffer, but even with a good head, there were times when the body had to pay the price.
“What happened? Why is there a hole in the dormitory courtyard?”
“Did someone mess up the coordinates while testing strategic magic? I’ll have to look into it later.”
“It looks like a bomb went off… They must have done it from quite a distance. With that level of stealth and power, it must be an incredible spell.”
Just because the body was strong didn’t mean the head never had to suffer. Damn it, he had succeeded in luring them outside, but they had taken the documents with them…!
This is bad. I came inside and now I’m trapped. How am I supposed to break back out?
The problems had doubled. Stealing the documents without being noticed and escaping from here. His current position after fleeing in a panic was the inner corridor on the second floor. To get out, he had to deal with the people down there somehow. Gathering on the first floor was fine, but why drag a table into the lobby to meet? Wasn’t the table right next to them before? Of course, he knew the reason. Eres liked the sofa in the first-floor lobby. But then shouldn’t they have moved the sofa and chairs instead of the table? They couldn’t move the protagonist, was that it?
Well, you can’t drag the protagonist around for the sake of side characters.
Eres herself wasn’t even here. So why were these people gathered? If they were going to hang out without Eres, they should just do it among themselves. Why leave out the owner of the place and chat happily by themselves?
Ah, I should have brought Melina along.
Recently she had been saying she felt like she was forgetting something. He had thought she might be feeling empty from not working and only watching his and Foelta’s training, so he had her clean the training grounds. If he had brought her, she would probably be cursing at his current state, but having someone beside him would still be reassuring. Not that Melina gave him strength. If she were here too, escaping would become impossible. He could have given up and just smashed through the wall.
Huh? Smash through?
Right. Now that he thought about it, there was a way to leave the dormitory without passing through the first floor. The right side of the third and fourth floors had burned in a fire and had holes. If he escaped through there, he could get away without causing a scene. At full speed, they wouldn’t notice. It wasn’t right next to them, and from up here it would work!
“By the way, Alto, are you okay after getting hurt yesterday?”
“I got treatment, so I just need to rest. I’m more worried about Tarle than myself.”
“Hmph. Someone who inherited the name Ripelreus making a fuss over a wound like that? It should be healed after one night’s rest.”
“Next time, either submit an overnight leave request or take the demerit points.”
Once the flow was broken, they stopped talking about the dungeon. The documents went back into the bag and didn’t come out again. But he only had today. As long as he found out before Arte went to the dungeon, it would be fine. She probably wouldn’t leave today. First, he had to escape. Later he could steal from Arte’s bag or search her room…!
I can do this. While they’re not looking this way, I just need to dash straight up to the third floor! With my leg strength, it won’t be hard!
Down below were Alto, Fria, and Arte. Pih was in the dining hall preparing dinner. It wasn’t hundreds of people, just three.
“By the way, where’s Eres?”
“She said she had someone to talk to and asked us to wait here.”
“Was it the person who sent the letter yesterday? We didn’t hear who it was.”
While they were talking and not paying attention to the upper floors—now was the time!
When the body is strong, the head is at ease. That said, when the body was too strong, that brought its own problems.
“What the hell is that? It’s been like this for a while.”
“The building collapsing inside is definitely strange. Is someone there?”
“C-could it be the dormitory ghost…?!”
He stepped forward to jump up to the third floor, but the floor couldn’t withstand the force and a hole opened beneath him. The hole wasn’t large, but it was enough to trap his leg and draw the people below.
My jump calculation was perfect… I never thought the floor would be this weak.
He managed to hide in an empty room right in front of him without being seen. It was fortunate this was an abandoned dormitory no one used. All the locks had been left open. Maybe he could use that to escape…
Why am I suddenly doing an infiltration mission…?
In the original game, whenever something like this happened he had thought, Can’t I just kill everyone and go? But apparently that wasn’t an option. Now that he was experiencing it firsthand, he understood.
Even an unused room kicks up a ton of dust. I should ventilate.
If he left it alone, the dust would make him sneeze and get caught again. Did they think he wouldn’t know? These days he had no reason to see such things, but in novels or manga, when the same pattern repeated three or more times in a row, he felt disgusted. It was a brain-dead development. They would do it again! If he kept messing around like this and got cornered, he would have to hide under the bed over there instead of the dusty room. This time he would do it properly.
No footsteps outside the room. Voices talking—far away. No breathing sounds. No one outside. If someone was there, it wouldn’t be human but something like a walking plant. Why would something like that be here~?
Confidently yet quietly, he opened the door.
“……”
“……”
“What are you doing there?”
“Eres, do you not breathe or something?”
“Mm… No.”
She was there. She was probably breathing. Or perhaps she had heard him and was pretending to breathe.
I’ve been caught.
He had caused a scene here just yesterday. What was the reason he was hiding here again today? How could he escape without losing dignity or looking pathetic? He needed to start talking, but when he opened the door, she only glanced at him briefly before lowering her gaze.
“Eres. What are you looking at right now?”
“Why did this hole appear?”
It was the floor he had broken while trying to jump. She should be complaining that someone needed to repair a place where people lived. No, that wasn’t the important part.
“Isn’t there something you should be thinking about before that?”
“What?”
“Me! I’m currently trespassing in your dormitory, and you’re worried about a hole in the floor?”
He still didn’t understand this changed protagonist very well. Even when he looked at her, he could never tell what she was thinking—that had always been the case since coming here. A little more and she should be burning with revenge and charging at him. If she stayed this detached, the reason for kidnapping Melina would disappear!! She should dwell more on her sister’s misfortune—
“Why is it trespassing? You’re a dormitory resident too.”
“Spring sunlight really is warm.”
Standing by the window, feeling the gentle sunlight and the occasional lukewarm breeze, he was reminded of a certain sage who had grumbled that spring was cold when he first enrolled. The man was completely wrong, but he was still called a sage because at least he was wiser than the current Luke.
Don’t want to be seen by the kids on the first floor? Then why aren’t you trying to leave through that window? Why couldn’t I think of opening the window for ventilation and going out that way? Especially when I used to enter and exit my own room through the window.
“I should… study a bit…”
“Eres, you’re back?”
“Did the conversation go well? Someone who requires a communication artifact to talk probably isn’t an ordinary person.”
“Mm…”
The people downstairs tensed when they saw Eres descend to the first floor. Unlike her usual expressionless demeanor, her brows were furrowed.
“Eres? Did the other person say something rude to you?”
“If that’s the case, tell us! No matter who it is, I’ll teach them a lesson!”
“That’s not it. That person was easy to talk to.”
“Ah… I see…”
The other party had been suffering, but for Eres it had been a comfortable and satisfying time. The reason her brows were furrowed was something else.
“I can hear you. How about coming out?”
When she came down to the first floor, she had tasted the metallic tang of blood on the tip of her tongue. As far as she knew, there was only one person who could do something like this.
“I was merely being a little cautious. It’s been a while, Lady Eres.”
A member of Nine’s Piece. The villain who had supplied Eres with materials under Luke’s orders.
“Someone living here called me over, but it looks like Pih is preparing dinner. Would it be all right if I had a meal today as well?”
He removed the disguise made from a sheet of metal scraps. In the middle of the dormitory, the King of Scrap Metal revealed his bare face.
“………Who?”
“……It’s Cardo.”
“Sorry. It’s my first time seeing your bare face. Could you cover it again?”
“……Please wait a moment.”
For reference, the one who had called him was right after the skill assessment. It was to punish him for neglecting Eres’s management and filing false reports!