Water Knows the Answer
"I will absolutely never speak!!!"
"I see."
I grabbed the Academy President's son by the hair and dragged him close to the lake. Even so, the only response was a few weak groans. He showed no sign of opening his mouth, as if he had resolved to stay silent even in death.
Don't worry. There are plenty of ways.
The other side had zero intention of talking. But there has always been one surefire method for discovering the truth, a technique our ancestors favored for generations. That's right. Water knows the answer.
I shoved the Academy President's son's face straight into the lake. He clearly hadn't expected it; his arms flailed wildly as he tried to break free. But Hye-ji was already standing on his back with crushing force, and I had no plans to lift the handful of hair I held.
"Glrrglglglglg!!!!"
When the bubbles finally stopped rising, I yanked his head back up. The President's son gasped for air like a man tasting oxygen for the first time in years, then looked at me with desperate eyes.
"I'll talk! I'll tell you everything I know!"
"Wow. Tough bastard. You really were planning to keep your mouth shut until the bitter end."
"No! I just said I'd talk—"
I plunged his head back under the water. Watching the violent bubbles surge up through his struggling, Hye-ji spoke with a hint of concern.
"Shinwoo, do we really have to do it like this?"
"You know that pattern with the orcs and the female knight you like, right?"
"Why the hell are you suddenly talking about my tastes, you fucking asshole!"
"The knightess says 'Kuh! Kill me!' but she doesn't actually want to die."
The President's son was exactly the same. His words said one thing, but his real intention was to stay silent.
He's been trained that well. As expected of the President's son.
When I pulled his head out of the water again, Elsia had appeared from somewhere with a handful of black powder and was sprinkling it all over the President's son's body.
"Elsia, what is that?"
"Pepper! You have to cover up the gamey smell when you're butchering a pig!"
"Make sure you get it everywhere."
"Yes!!"
"......In case you've forgotten, I am currently recording."
"I'll tell you everything! So please stop!"
I didn't believe a word of it, but I was curious what nonsense he would spout, so I decided to hear him out. The President's son knelt obediently.
I started the interrogation.
"Why were you committing bestiality here?"
"First of all, I'm not a bestiality freak. I'm an animal lover!"
After all that water, the first thing out of his mouth was still bullshit. Couldn't be helped. Help me out, Kyoka-mom.
Cosmo Blue Flash!
I kicked the President's son, submerging not just his head but his entire body in the lake this time. He really was covered in grease. The once-clear lake began to grow cloudy around his body, like a teabag steeping in hot water. The President's son couldn't quite reach the edge, flailed desperately, then sank with a final gurgle. When even the bubbles disappeared, I finally pulled him back out. This time he was completely unconscious, eyes rolled back showing only the whites.
Oh shit. I dunked him in a lake and it turned out to be the River Styx.
The President's son didn't look like he'd be waking up anytime soon. With a heart full of concern, I started going through his pockets.
I was worried the money would get wet and tear.
"Husband! I'll help too!"
"No secretly pocketing anything you find, got it?"
"Shinwoo, if money comes out, we split it three ways. Understand?"
"......Please give this one a share as well."
When there's a corpse, looting is only natural. The President's son wasn't technically a corpse, but close enough. While rummaging, I felt something heavy in the inner pocket of his outer coat. My instincts screamed that it was expensive. I thrust my hand deep inside and pulled it out, but it wasn't the cash we'd hoped for. It was a white lump tightly wrapped in plastic, about the size of my fist.
"Shinwoo, what is that?"
"No idea."
"Husband! Maybe this pig brought some rice cakes?"
When we unwrapped it, the white lump was definitely not rice cake. It was a clump of powder that smelled faintly of vinegar. We were still trying to figure out what the hell it was when a retriever suddenly appeared beside us. The retriever claimed it could identify the substance, then shoved its nose into the powder before we could even respond. A moment later it lifted its head and delivered the verdict.
"Drugs...?"
It was very different from what we'd expected. That was when I remembered what the lizard beastman had said that morning.
- Recently, a large number of students have been found unconscious or unable to regain their senses.
This is an academy, not a damn club, you crazy bastards.
Ignoring my stunned expression, the retriever turned and trotted away. Not a single grain of powder remained where it had been. It had sucked up every last bit.
......That son of a bitch snorted all the evidence.
The important thing now was the wallet. Elsia found it first. Inside were some slightly damp but still intact thick bills. There were about twenty, so we ultimately split them five per person. I hadn't planned to give any to Jung Ayeon, but—
"Lord Shinwoo..."
"What?"
"This one apologizes for the imposition, but could you perhaps divide a share for me as well?"
"You didn't do anything."
"I have suddenly developed the urge to release today's unedited footage everywhere."
"......Splitting it four ways is fine, right?"
A savage threat delivered in a crawling voice. With no choice, I gave Jung Ayeon her share too.
"At least we won't starve for a while."
"Husband! Could you give me some of that money?"
"...If you buy junk coins with it, you're really dead."
"No! This time it's a funding project from Nopia!"
"As long as it's not crowdfunding, I'm not worried. Here, take it."
"Thank you!!"
It's Nopia. I believe in our Nobel-chan.
Elsia was tapping away at her phone to proceed with the funding. It looked fine. At least until I saw the screen.
".......Elsia? Why the hell are you only dumping everything into the Elf set?"
"I'm an elf! Elves are the future!"
"At least buy the Theorad set next to it, you idiot."
"I already bought them all!"
"The legal wife is Esili, you fucking bitch."
Fuck. The Esili mouse pad is the best.
Still, an elf mouse pad wasn't bad. A side heroine was still a heroine. But then Elsia dropped a bombshell.
"Just in case, I'll be taking the mouse pad!"
"You son of a bitch!! At least leave one for me!!!"
"I'm taking it with tears in my eyes because I'm worried my husband might glance at other women!"
"No matter how much of a bastard I am, I'm not into NTR."
"Still, don't worry! I'll return it soon!"
Suddenly Elsia flashed a seductive smile.
"After I change it to a picture of me!"
"You shallow bitch. If you pull that shit, you're dead."
By then Hye-ji was glaring at Elsia with murderous intent. Her death sentence followed immediately.
"Shinwoo, if you accept that mouse pad you're dead. Throw them all away."
"Fuck."
It hurt my soul. At that exact moment, roughly ten students burst out from right beside us. They were all male but from various school years.
"Boss! Did you have some fun... Who the hell are you people?"
The group froze in place, clearly not expecting what they saw. We stared back at them, equally confused. Then one of the students pointed at the unconscious President's son and shouted.
"The vice-president of the Animal Lovers Club is down!"
Calling him an animal lover confirmed these bastards were bestiality enthusiasts too. And referring to him as vice-president suggested a connection to the President. The moment several students reached for the guns and blades they'd brought, dozens of sky-blue butterflies rose between them. Beautiful yet ominous sky-blue butterflies. They instantly began binding the students' arms and legs.
"Looks like we have quite a few beasts in heat."
The airheaded Elsia from moments ago had vanished. In her place was a cold, piercing gaze. With both hands making grasping motions, she controlled the butterflies. Seven of the ten students were caught completely off guard and bound on the spot. The remaining three, however, had moved preemptively to dodge. Numbers were already floating above their heads; they must have used regression to predict the attack.
Jung Ayeon couldn't use her powers while she was recording. That left me. I charged forward while calling out to Hye-ji.
"Hye-ji! Protect that pig bastard so he doesn't get hurt!"
"Can't I just beat him?"
"Your aim always goes straight for the head. How are you any different from John Wick?"
"I can kill everything without killing dogs!"
Not yet.
Hye-ji stepped in front of the President's son and began manifesting massive shields. One wasn't enough for her, so she created one in each hand. After confirming her position with a quick glance, I charged the leftmost of the three remaining students. The moment I closed the distance, I stamped my right foot half a beat early, twisted my waist, and threw a straight left punch.
BAM!
The student couldn't react in time and took the heavy blow directly to the face. His poor stance made it decisive. Using my right foot as a pivot, I leaped and drove my left knee into his chin. At the same time, I poured mana into the ten o'clock position of the Mana Tattoo on the back of my left hand and materialized a wire. I looped it around the student's neck, used his torso as a springboard, and launched myself at the next opponent.
"Wh-what the hell!"
The second male student finally noticed me. A number rose above his head at that exact moment. Since we were already close, the appearance of mirror fragments was inevitable.
It's advantageous to look during a fight.
My left eye throbbed. Then, just like before, a powerful light began pouring out of the mirror fragments.