Chapter 91 – Whereabouts

000

A dark space where no light comes in from outside. Decorating the place are, as always, three stone slabs.

These ancient beings, called the Black Warfare, have existed since the Academy was founded, or, to be exact, long before the Academy was established.

A man standing between them speaks to the rail.

The man’s left arm had been replaced by a mechanical steel one from his shoulder.

The blue slabs speak.

“How about a new arm? It’s an arm of an object that was sleeping in ‘Vytos’ warehouse’, so it’ll be more useful than the weak one before.”

The erosion of the black magical energy rising from the shoulder area sometimes made Rail suffer, but he squeezed and opened his hand as if satisfied.

“I’m completely used to it. Thank you for your consideration, Master.”

“You still have work to do with that arm, you know?”

The woman’s voice that came out of the green slab sounded like it was criticizing the rails.

“The factor of Demiurge you brought is at most 20%… I haven’t even gotten my hands on the vessel of the gods yet. The story doesn’t end with the academy expanding your realm.”

“…I know. We’re tracking the magic swordsmen who escaped using automata, so there will be a response soon.”

“Are there any countermeasures against the vessel of the gods?”

At the voice that came out of the red slate, Rail fell silent for a moment before answering.

“As for her god vessel her, she still takes a chance … But she still has a lot of hands around her to protect her.”

“Ha. The cause is that you spread the brainwashing area in the form of maintaining the current state of the academy for your personal purposes.”

As the green slabs lash out at Rail once again, the red slabs guard her rails.

“Big plans require a motive of unshakable conviction. This child has done well for a human being. She complied even though she knew that her actions betrayed everything up until now.”

“…Thank you, Master.”

“But if you think your beliefs are a problem with the plan, we will take back all the graces we have bestowed upon you.”

When the words of the red slate are finished, the slabs lose all color again and become quiet.

The rail standing in the middle is a blue glass sword that shows no reaction and is stuck in the ground as if it were dead in front of its eyes her.

He clenched his fist as he gazed at the skein of thread floating in the air, waiting for the owner.

001

`Damn it.`

Swearing inwardly, Cleon thinks to himself.

I never thought I would have to do this again.

He recalls the story he heard from Beatrix before coming here.

[At the border of the academy, the realm of Demiurge now spreads. It’s okay for those who go inside, but what effect it will have on your mind when you go outside… They’re trying to stop them from going from the inside out and asking for help. Besides, bringing the situation of the kingdom into the academy is not such a wise decision. After that, the kingdom’s influence could interfere with the academy’s intentions-]

‘It means we have to do something by ourselves.’

“Eh-Today, this is Ms. Leona, who came on a field trip to the swordsmanship department. She is said to be an adventurer and has a lot of experience, so everyone, please don’t disrespect her.”

A tall, long-haired female swordsman with black hair, dark eyes, and white skin.

As Cleon uses polymorph magic to transform her, Iona smiles with a smile next to her.

Some of the imprints of Cleon’s dominion that had been scattered as Iona returned and blended her and her body back to Cleon.

Thanks to this, she borrowed her Luti’s magic through Iona, and if she was close to her, she could use high-level magic even if she did n’t consume her as much as she did when she was with Galatea.

If she uses polymorph magic, she has little fear of being discovered that she is Cleon, so she came to check on Rail or Aruru with Iona.

However, even Cleon was reluctant to assume the form of a woman, no matter how much she needed it.

More than anything, she remembers the greasy gaze Eusthes sent her, and goose bumps run down her spine.

Taking advantage of the fact that Iona was originally a knight of her kingdom, she easily entered the practice room of her swordsmanship department under the pretext of a field trip.

Not to mention Rail, she couldn’t see the Aruru that Cleon remembered.

When she asked a passer-by about rails, she heard that such a student would answer first that she didn’t know, and her face hardened for a moment.

More than that-

“Hey! Leona-san, where did you go on an adventure?”

“Did Leona-san also aspire to be a knight?”

Perhaps, the catchphrase of a talented female adventurer and swordsman was well liked by the female students.

Cleon was in trouble as he cut off the questions of the students who were actively asking him questions.

The male students who were watching her from a distance seemed to envy her, and whenever they sent her eyes to Leona (Cleon), they laughed and sent silent pressure, and they were pushed away by Iona’s spirit her.

“I’m sorry, but there’s someone I’m looking for… Aruru.”

“Aruru? Aruru over there…”

The female student who was talking to Cleon raised her finger and pointed at the girl practicing her practice her, swinging her sword happily at a distance from her group her.

Standing there was a blond-haired girl wearing a training uniform no different from the other students.

However, if there is a difference between her and her in Cleon’s memory her, her dignified spirit her enough to overwhelm male swordsmen, and her dignified posture her are nowhere to be found.

Her posture her, as if she had n’t held her sword for less than a year, showed a girlish smile appropriate for her age her.

Cleon realizes that the reason he could n’t find her was somewhere because of her stereotypes about who she was before.

[Aruru Tromeia. There is no doubt, it matches the impression I had in my memory.]

Even before she came to Elesia, if it was Iona, who was active in her royal capital her, there was nothing strange about her even if she knew her her and her acquaintance her.

At her telepathy her, Cleon silently nodded her head, but like Cleon Aruru, it seemed that even her perception of her as someone else had been altered.

“I heard that she is the head of the swordsmanship department…”

“Is it Aruru? No way. The head of the swordsmanship department has been vacant for a long time. It seems that there is no one with the right skills…”

At the students’ words, Cleon shut her mouth for a moment.

`This world is a world where Rail’s wishes are reflected. Is that what he wanted was her now… ?`

“Aruru~! Do you think Leona wants to talk to Aruru?”

“No, wait. That means…”

Was it because she was acting out of the girlish wayward nature, or did she just want to look good to her?

Anyway, when she heard the voice her calling her her, Aruru stopped swinging her sword and wiped away her sweat as she walked closer.

Seeing her up close, she was such an ordinary girl that one wondered if she really was the hero, Aruru.

Cleon was pondering what to say to her for a moment.

Iona sees her gap her and talks to her instead of her.

“Are you Miss Aruru?”

“Yes! It’s called Aruru Omnia!”

[Omnia is her mother’s main family her. Although it is a noble family, it is not a high-ranking family]

At Iona’s voice her, Cleon nods her head and opens her mouth.

One of her biggest goals her in coming here was to get Aruru to sense something about her her holy sword her, to find out the location of her sword engagement and whereabouts of the rails.

But she thought it looked hard given her condition her, Cleon thought.

So she decided to ask another question.

“… Is Aruru satisfied with her current life at the academy?”

“…? Yes. Of course. I have friends, and the lecturers are kind. There are many interesting things in the free market. When I was living in the capital, my mother was strict and didn’t let me go to the market.”

Watching Aruru answer with her smile her, Cleon shuts her mouth and makes her smile bitterly.

[Cleon…]

[Sorry, I know.]

Cleon didn’t look where Iona was, but Iona must have read Cleon’s thoughts a bit of her.

She, who was special since her birth, gained ordinary happiness by forgetting her specialness her, which was difficult to obtain due to her birth her.

As long as she exists as `Aruru Tromeia`, she has not been able to fulfill her daily life her.

But even though Cleon knew that, he thought he had to destroy the distorted world.

Certainly, the current Aruru may be happy, and she should be satisfied with her current life.

However, it is an illusion created by a selfish person who ignored the will of her former Aruru and ignored her thoughts that she had.

Even this could be his own selfishness of her, Cleon thinks.

But Cleon also has comrades he needs to get back.

He had promised Beatrix that he would do anything for him.

“Aruru. I’m sorry for the suddenness, but do you know anything about the holy sword?”

Wanting her to remind her of something even a little bit, Cleon tells Aruru.

“A holy sword… Is it? Except for the holy sword used by the warriors… Well.”

“To me, you look like a warrior too.”

“Me, me? I’m just an ordinary swordsman! I made a promise to my friend Cecil to become an adventurer after graduating from the academy…”

Really, does she know anything?

The holy sword and the demonic sword are not affected by Demiurge’s brainwashing.

And they are connected to their masters, the warrior and the magic swordsman.

Even in a special situation like Galatea, who is wrapped in a barrier, the connection between souls is not severed.

So, Cleon guessed that Aruru also had a connection with the holy sword Arondite.

Aruru, who met her eyes with Cleon, also closed her mouth for a moment, then she slightly looked away, and she opened her mouth again.

“…I don’t know if it’s related… I heard a voice calling me in a dream recently…”

Aruru continues talking as if she is embarrassed.

Certainly, she is a little sick child somewhere if she tells anyone that she had such a dream… It would be treated as a kind of delusion that boys often do in the stormy days of puberty.

However, Cleon hears the story and grabs Aruru by the shoulder of her.

“Really? Where were you in the dream?”

“Uh, I’m not sure where it is. It’s always coming from a dark space… It might be somewhere underground…”

Listening to her story her, Cleon organizes her thoughts for a while.

`Is the holy sword sending a vision of the space to its master? But that alone…`

“Oh, and. I saw three large stone slabs around. Red, blue and green…”

Certainly, it was not a sight that could be found anywhere.

Aruru was still blushing as if she felt ashamed of telling others about her own delusions of her.

[Can you guess?]

[…No. But I know where there are guys who might know where it is.]

After quietly answering Iona, Cleon talks to Aruru.

Cleon’s expression her was mild, but her eyes her showed firm trust in Aruru.

It was because the time he spent with her and the humanity that Aruru possessed made Cleon keenly aware of it.

She was more than any other human that Cleon had ever seen, a hero who stood tall as the people’s ideal.

Even if we only talk about ‘heroicness’, she was more like a hero than ‘Lesia’, the object of Cleon’s longing for her.

It is not a false appearance born of ostentation or expectations from the surroundings.

She humbly accepts her role

Protect people as a warrior

As a senior, set an example for others

It was because she had the pride of doing her duty as a noble.

And- Cleon knew that there was a girl hiding behind it.

“…That dream is not a delusion, Aruru. You… Have the power that you are proud of.”

“…Leona-san, what the hell…”

Aruru answered in bewilderment as if she didn’t know. But she was agitated by the words being handed to her.

Even though it must have been the first time meeting her, I felt her pounding heart her from the first time I saw her, the feeling as if she had forgotten something I should n’t have forgotten about her.

When the heartbeat grew so much that she couldn’t stand it, Aruru also turned around and ran away from Leona.

It was an act of defense, as if the body, unable to accept the unbearable truth, was trying to protect itself from danger.

Demiurge’s brainwashing had restrained her own will her to that extent.

The students, Cleon, and Iona all look at Aruru.

Cleon quietly clenched his fists and dealt with the students moderately before exiting the building of the swordsmanship department.

002

A huge structure resembling a temple made of white marble.

At the entrance, there is a giant golem made with the motif of an ancient guard.

Everyone who passes in front passes cautiously, feeling a little fear at the daunting scenery.

The supreme power of the academy, and the de facto rulers who have the right to decide everything in this educational facility.

The ‘Coffin of Monad’, where the 12-seat Senate resides, was the most secret space in the academy where not only ordinary students but also professors who received special permission were not allowed to come in and out at will.

Just being at the center of the academy, it shows its presence in everything around it and gathers information about everything that happens within the academy.

A few fearless students approach the entrance to confront the Senate directly, but are unable to deal with the golem blocking their way.

There were often scenes of trudging through bitter experiences.

And a woman stands at the entrance of the monad’s coffin.

She was unarmed, but the armor on her body made it known that she was her, she was not her student her, she was an outsider.

The golem does not forgive her intrusion of her, even by outsiders, and she stands in her way of her.

They turned the visitor away by repeating the prescribed words.

[Visit by unauthorized person is unacceptable.]

Being three times the size of a woman of quite stature, she looks up at her talking golems as they surround her with her body her.

The woman quietly opens her mouth.

“In the name of God I cast this, for you are guiltless.”

A calm female voice echoed among the golems, and the golems paused for a moment.

It was to move away from the woman and get out of the way to make my way through her entrance.

As always, those who thought the visitor would be kicked out approached the golem in amazement and asked about the woman.

As soon as the woman passed by, the golems returned to their original state, blocking them and expelling a sense of intimidation, driving away the disorderly.

In the meantime, the woman passes through the marble hallway and proceeds to an inorganic space without any decorations.

The surroundings of the huge space were like the grandstands of the Colosseum, and the white walls reflected the sunlight coming from the sky in all directions.

Veils were installed in the stands to keep people on the other side from being seen.

And a shadow appears from beyond the veil.

“How did this happen?”

The man’s voice sounded a bit flustered. Although it was rare for a person who was equal to an elder of the academy to be embarrassed.

This is because the visitor who came to them was a different person than expected.

In turn, the figures of the Council of Elders appear as silhouettes beyond the veil surrounding Cleon.

There were not only feminine silhouettes, but also silhouettes that looked very young.

“That passphrase was previously prepared for ‘Lyla Flamewatch’ and handed over.”

“How come an outsider like you know that phrase?`

Is it a characteristic of such a group that several people share what one person can say?

A woman with a smile on her lips stood between them. Leona.

No-, Cleon looks up at them and opens her mouth.

“On behalf of Lyla Flamewatch, I’m here to talk to the incompetent, cancerous old folks at the academy.”

And the effect of the transformation magic that had been wrapped around the body disappeared, revealing its original appearance.