– Teiron, are you sure you handled it?
– !!!!!!!
Starting with that one phrase recorded from Melissa,
– Yes, miss. As the raid leader, I will take full responsibility and resign…
– Lady Melissa, do we really have to go this far…?
“Hey, wait a minute! This can’t be happening!”
“…Lady Melissa…?”
Teiron, followed by Aveline’s voice, began to spread throughout the committee room.
It wasn’t manipulated; it was a genuine conversation between the three.
Thus, the expressions of the three who were initially surprised started to fade into ashen hues.
– The 5,6 Party members were from Eternal Flame and Divine Valhalla, so it was easy to silence them…
‘H-How…? How…?’
Surely, the place where Melissa had the mishap was an S-rated personal training room.
Since it was just before the break ended, no one had made recent reservations.
How in the world did they find out about the meeting place?
Only the thought of ‘I’m doomed’ consumed her.
“Stop joking, just stop…! Lev Denec, I said stop!”
The communication and recording magical item Lev splurged on in Hwangdo, unfortunately, did not have voice recognition.
“What on earth are you doing right now!”
“L-Lev!! I’m serious! Please! Just hear me out!”
Thus, no matter how much Melissa and Aveline flailed, the magical item wouldn’t cease its operation.
Lev simply responded with a calm expression. “Shh, I can’t hear you.”
– Then all we need to do is prove that our intentions were public and not a surprise action, right?
This time, Aveline’s words passed by.
If this keeps going, it will also be revealed that they collaborated.
– Clunk!
Cornered, Melissa immediately stood up and shouted at Lev.
“Lev Denec, you…!”
“Ms. Melissa, the committee isn’t over yet. Please take your seat…”
“Don’t you know this is a violation of school rules? Recording someone else’s conversation secretly is forbidden! You’ll be punished! If you stop now…!”
“I know.”
Even with Melissa’s flurry of protests, his tone remained calm.
And with those four words, Melissa found herself speechless…
– Teiron, what are we supposed to do?
– It’s simple. We need to… persuade Lev Denec.
– If it’s proven that the actions of you and Aveline were a scheme to provoke Lev Denec, both of you will be recognized for your contributions and be pardoned.
– Right, this isn’t the time to consider pride… Teiron, you take responsibility as much as you can.
– Yes, miss.
– Aveline, just follow my lead and don’t say unnecessary things.
– Ah, got it! Do you think I don’t trust you?!
‘W-What a mess…’
Her own shortcomings started to be laid bare for all to see.
– Shiver…
Melissa’s legs weakened,
– Thud.
and she collapsed to the ground.
*
– …This matter will be referred to the higher-ups, and a third disciplinary committee will be convened later. Also, the punishment decision for Aveline and Melissa will be… temporarily postponed until the next committee meets. That is all.
– L-Lady Melissa…? What will happen to us…?
– ………
The committee… ended like that.
Even if we assume that there was no malice in Melissa and Aveline’s sudden actions, it is undeniable that they conspired with raid leader Teiron to avoid punishment for breaking the raid’s regulations.
Additionally, the attempt to silence the 5,6 Party proves there was already collusion between the two guilds, which contradicts Teiron’s claim that nothing like that happened in the first committee.
In short, they would be subject to harsher penalties.
Of course, considering the worst-case scenario, they could bribe the higher-ups and somehow cover it up with the guild’s background…
But since the magical item reliably recorded mentions of the de Crescent household, Violet, who listened in real-time from the same location, wouldn’t just stand by idly.
It was no longer possible to brush it aside.
It was a complete checkmate; Melissa was caught off guard trying to pull a fast one.
– …
Leaving her there, stunned and motionless, I stepped out of the Administrative Hall where the committee room was located.
…
The darkened sky met me with a rather chilly air.
I wondered if the fanfic writer was indeed Korean, as the setup was that the second semester begins with the onset of autumn.
‘…That writer…’
Once again, I had disrupted a character created by that writer with my own hands.
In fact, while Caeran was one thing, Melissa and Aveline were a bit ambiguous.
Anyway, they were influenced by Caeran and hadn’t directly tried to harm me.
But, it’s tricky.
I had no idea how they would react if left alone, and if they managed to grow stronger, it would make things way too hard for the original heroines who hadn’t even received their narratives from the start.
And even if both got harsher penalties, it’s uncertain whether they would get expelled.
“Well, at least we bought some time.”
Now that Caeran’s group had temporarily withdrawn, I intended to take this opportunity to grow Yeriel, Aria, and Selena as much as possible.
I aimed for them to be strong enough that they wouldn’t be overshadowed by other heroines even in my absence.
‘So, let’s check on this first.’
I popped up the reward status window.
– Ding.
[Elapsed time until the reward of the Avenger’s Essence: 23 hours: 40 minutes]
‘About a day, huh?’
As seen in the main story, the Avenger’s Essence, symbolic of the Pitbit Jae, doesn’t drop immediately.
It appears right where it is, like resurrection in a sanctuary.
So as long as I went there at the right time, that would suffice.
And the destination…
Just like how I absorbed the essence of the Black Dragon into Edwin,
‘This time, giving it to Yeriel would be perfect.’
Perfect.
Rather than just growing myself, spreading the investment would be better.
Just then,
“Did your plan work again…?”
“……”
At this point, it was a familiar situation.
The owner of the chilly voice from the side was the Half-Elf, Selena.
Thinking back, she was a key figure in this “Pitbit Jae” episode…
Yet, for some reason, there hadn’t been any appearance of the Dark Elf targeting her.
That was good for me, as it meant less trouble.
“Thanks for your concern… but do you like me or something?”
Ignoring my question, Selena went on.
“You already knew, right? The Wind Archery you possess is dangerous… at least to that extent.”
“…”
“And yet you managed to use that power to take down a demon… I can’t wrap my head around it.”
“? Is there a reason to have when dealing with enemies?”
“…”
At my nonchalant response, Selena looked taken aback for a moment, holding a brief silence.
“You’re right. I must have misunderstood a bit.”
In the [Reincarnated Academy], she tends to not easily open her heart to others.
She neither acknowledges nor accepts…
However,
What I encountered next was an elfin smile harmonizing with her platinum hair.
“…I apologize for the previous assumptions I made. And…”
“…”
“Indeed, you feel… different from ordinary humans.”
Her snow-white skin and finely shaped eyes were enchanting and mystical.
“…In what way am I different?”
To say I’m different from ordinary humans felt like a dangerous statement to me.
– Thud.
As I stepped forward, she matched my pace and began walking beside me.
‘Well, whatever.’
For some reason, I felt relieved by her smile, which was the first time I’d seen it.
After a few steps, Selena asked me with a somewhat playful tone.
“By the way, what about the reactions of the two? I gave them a little… nudge.”
“The two? Reactions?”
“…?”
Suddenly stopping, Selena furrowed her delicate brows, looking puzzled, then tilted her head to the side and laughed as if losing the wind.
“If you don’t know… then it’s fine.”
“?”
In the moonlight, she simply maintained a smile full of mystery.
*
In the Student Committee Room of the Marksman Department.
After the disciplinary committee inquiry, Violet returned to her study and sifted through all the records on Lev Denec.
‘Lev Denec…’
Memories of him flickered by like a film reel.
There were many points to touch on regarding him, and not a few.
First, he took down the Pitbit Jae.
Doing so through an immensely risky solo action that spared everyone from suffering was quite the feat.
His judgment was beyond what one would expect from a first-year student.
– From now on, only listen to me.
It was as if he had participated in the assault on the Pitbit Jae multiple times, perfectly grasping all of its behaviors and exploiting them.
In contrast, Violet had done nothing.
She was able to regain her composure thanks to his help.
And what about that final blow?
It is hard to comprehend that a human could use Wind Archery, but looking at the projectile’s air pressure level, it was an attack beyond simply being a Marksman.
In other words, it was the level of a grand spell.
Moreover, the Pitbit Jae was consumed by Dark Magic, and he wouldn’t have been able to inflict damage without a strike imbued with Sacred Power.
There was a reason why Instructor Sylvester and Professor Diana wanted Lev Denec to be nominated as a candidate for the hero.
“Phew.”
The problem is, this is all based merely on viewing his combat abilities.
His true nature didn’t end there.
What he showed in today’s disciplinary committee was even more unexpected.
‘This doesn’t make any sense.’
He somehow cornered Aveline and Melissa perfectly, no matter what means he used, while knowing that Divine Valhalla and Eternal Flame were involved.
Of course, Violet remained neutral about what she had witnessed, pursuing justice.
In other words, she had no intention of letting this slide.
Since the magical item he recorded had mentioned de Crescent, to completely draw a line, she had to address this.
“But…”
It feels as if this too was part of Lev’s scheme.
The Denec family has produced mages to some extent, but that was all it was, nothing more, nothing less.
Moreover, the recent information indicates that Lev Denec is in a temporarily suspended state.
In other words, looking at this incident, it means there’s nothing to aid him except for the de Crescent household.
If that were the case…
‘Could it be…?’
If the involvement of de Crescent was all part of his calculation…?
In that instant, shivers ran down Violet’s spine.
‘…There’s no need to jump to conclusions.’
– Smoothly.
As Violet leaned back in her chair, her lavender hair fanned out like silk.
It might not have been just a coincidence that he survived through the Great Demon Incident that occurred during the festival period.
‘What are you…?’
The one thing she was certain of was that she couldn’t just leave Lev Denec alone like this.
Violet assessed that his level had already far surpassed rank B.
Or? She couldn’t be sure yet, but she instinctively thought that a day would come when she would need him.
Especially in the hero party she envisioned for herself.
