<506 – From Today, We're a Community of Fate>
“W-We have to run…”
The remnants of the Revolutionary Army quickly escaped through the Dimensional Gate that the Boundary Mage had opened at the cost of his life.
Lilia hesitated as she saw the wounded Destroyer, but the remnants wouldn’t let her be.
Now that they had lost their center and many of their strong members, they couldn’t afford to abandon a promising master like Lilia.
“Destroyer…”
“Snap out of it! You’re a Revolutionary now. If you don’t leave here, there’s nowhere for a betrayer like you to survive!”
Persuaded, Lilia followed them with a stiff expression.
It was a shame to let so much experience slip away, but with the sudden appearance of [Strength All-In Champion], and Destroyer Professor vomiting blood and collapsing, there was no time to stop those fleeing.
“Professor!”
Holding his chest, Professor Destroyer desperately rotated his Mana Flow Technique.
Having so much Dark Mana, he disregarded mana suppression and unleashed his full power.
“What are you doing pushing yourself when you’re already unwell?”
Placing her delicate hand on the professor’s back to assist him, Myung So gasped.
“Are you unaware that interfering with someone else’s Mana Flow Technique recklessly can endanger both of you? Quickly take your hand off… Huh? Huh?? Why is it perfect???”
Suspiciously, I was perfectly assisting the mana flow!
Of course, it was because I already knew the Destroyer Professor’s Mana Flow Technique.
Plus, I’d sneakily stolen a bit of his Dark Mana, making it a double win!
“Cough!”
Maybe his blood was stabilizing, Professor spit out a blackened blood.
“Whoa!! Is the crappy professor going to die…?”
Masugaki Princess meekly stuck her head out from behind a pillar.
“Oknodie… You, just now, that man…”
“Ah, that… I should say it’s hard to explain…”
“It’s your mentor, right…”
Huh?
“The man I saw in my nightmares… The one who obliterated that high-ranking monster in the Spirit Realm with a single blow… An unstoppable force that compares favorably to my full power… There can’t be anyone else like him…”
“…Golden Answer!”
“I’ll ask about the situation later. For now, use the Teleportation Array to return to the Academy…”
The professor coughed up blood.
Masugaki Princess was on the verge of tears.
“Is the crappy professor really going to the afterlife…?”
“I can’t tell if this is politeness or just plain foolishness… Cough. Myung, take him with you.”
“Will you be okay alone?”
“I still need time. If I enter the teleportation array in this condition, I’ll die right there…”
Even with Mosquito Toxin not allowing singular use of the teleportation array, it was out of the question for the professor in his dark mana overload condition.
I also wanted to take some time admiring the experience points piled up from this incident, but a rather unfortunate situation was unfolding.
Thud. Thud.
The entire underground tunnel trembled with uniform footsteps.
What should properly be called a formation spread as the Great Army moved.
Bang!
The one who burst through the door in front wasn’t 230cm tall but surely looked to be at least 210cm – a massive man.
“The appearance of Eungchilgeom. Those rebels who detained Her Highness the Princess should come quietly to receive punishment!”
The elite troops in uniform halted in unison and stomped their spear tips on the ground.
Clack!
Taking a step forward with a spear held at the ready, it displayed the demeanor of a prepared army ready to charge at just a command.
With the battle already draining our strength, Myung So thought he couldn’t leave the kids with that fierce-looking army and its commander, so he stepped forward himself.
“I am Myung, a professor at Gift Academy. I assure you I am protecting Her Highness, so please don’t worry.”
“Denied. There is no mercy for those who detained the Imperial Princess for a month and then went missing.”
Surprised, Masugaki Princess jumped out in shock.
“What kind of manners does a crappy general think he has? Don’t you know that only students can badmouth the professor? Such rudeness ♡ Learn some manners ♡ And your height is uselessly too tall ♡ It would hurt your neck, so come back 30cm shorter.”
“Masugaki first-year…”
Myung So seemed quite touched by Masugaki Princess’s changed attitude, who would usually whine about the crappy professor.
Indeed, when someone acts kindly after being bad most of the time, they’re forgiven more easily.
I should also try to follow Masugaki’s example and call the professors ‘crappy professors’ from now on!
“Your Highness!”
“Eek!”
“Does the one descended from the Emperor not realize how precious her own life is? Do you have any idea how much blood we’ve seen to reach this place?”
“I wouldn’t know…?”
“Precisely eight hundred and twenty-one drops of blood.”
“…!”
“Among the 8 councilors responsible at the diplomatic office in Kanelle City, where Her Highness was last seen, we’ve executed six with lax discipline and took down the chief councilor who colluded with the Revolutionary Army. We’ve slain his soldiers and bribed officials and exterminated the brokers assisting in the escape.”
“Is that my fault…? Isn’t it the lousy diplomats’ fault for their corruption?”
“It is your fault, Your Highness.”
The massive Eungchilgeom stated resolutely.
“It wasn’t fitting for a princess of the Empire to step into a rotten city that made even Empire diplomats fill their pockets, nor is it appropriate for someone blessed by the Emperor to skip classes at Gift Academy.”
“W-Well… I wouldn’t say I don’t understand, but I want to argue that I had my reasons…”
“That’s a beating!!!”
“Yiya!!”
Startled, the princess shrieked dramatically, her legs giving way as she crumpled to the ground.
“If the slightest injury had occurred to your noble body, we would have had to call blood from all of Kanelle City in the name of Eungchilgeom. With your hasty actions, so many people could have suffered and died, yet how can you give such long excuses?”
“Ugh… I-I’m sorry…”
“Or do you think that since Kanelle City was so rotten that the Revolutionary Army roamed its streets, you intended to have us obliterate it thoroughly with Eungchilgeom’s power, so it wouldn’t be mentioned again in the Southern Sacred City-State Federation?”
“Hah?! Why would I want something so dreadful? I have enough trouble nurturing and recycling my lousy followers; why would I commit such horrible acts against citizens of a lousy city-state that’s not even mine?”
“Then you should have been more careful! Due to your actions, we have no choice but to detain witnesses, including the Imperial Professors, to investigate the truth of what happened to you here.”
The soldiers pulled out handcuffs that looked familiar.
With the appearance of control cuffs that suppress mana usage, Masugaki Princess shouted.
“Our professors haven’t done anything wrong! They fought hard to protect Oknodie and me!”
“Right! Our professors were just fighting hard until a moment ago, and now they’re resting while you guys, who just dropped in during the chaos, are making a fuss!”
Masugaki Princess got support as I spoke up, but Myung So, Masugaki, and even Destroyer Professor threw me looks that screamed, “Who do you think you are?”
Why…?
Why are these harsh glares directed at me alone…?
I really have no idea…
“Don’t worry, child of the Foundation. Along with the professors, you won’t be able to escape detention either. It would be wiser to worry about yourself instead.”
“Ah.”
So we’re all getting dragged together.
Just as I was about to nod in acceptance, yet another cowardly figure appeared to defend me.
“It cannot be allowed. The Foundation won’t easily hand over the lady’s safety to the Empire.”
“Rei!”
“Destroyer. You must not remain silent and give up so easily. The remaining elites of the flying thieves’ guild will do everything possible to secure your exit.”
“Shu Churros…”
Even amidst the chaos with the underground tunnels burning and the Revolutionary Army’s powerful members storming in, those who barely kept their lives showed their faces.
“Lady. I’ll guide you on the Return Path. So don’t worry. Let’s go to the teleportation array together.”
“Who said anything about sending me on my way?”
The massive Eungchilgeom barked ferociously, but one of his companions in blue uniform intervened.
“That’s as far as you go. Release her.”
“They are the ones who detained Her Highness.”
“And the inheritor of the Foundation, alongside the legendary hero who is sponsored by the Thief Guild and a professor of the Academy.”
“They are all utterly exhausted.”
“Then you should be even more grateful. If the Emperor hears the news of the Revolutionary suppression, letting them go would be easily overlooked.”
“Why are you so keen on letting them go?”
“A wounded beast tends to be the most ferocious.”
The blue-uniformed man was clearly on high alert against Destroyer.
Even though he was the one who had been hurt the most in this situation, if Destroyer Professor decided to cross the line, he could make quick work of those two.
“…I don’t quite feel like it, but you have never made a wrong judgement. Very well. I will let them go.”
Phew.
The massive Eungchilgeom reached out firmly to the relieved princess.
“Of course, Her Royal Highness is an exception.”
Using the art of suction, he instantly grabbed the princess from a distance.
“Let go of that hand right now! What kind of impertinence is this? Pervert♡ Lecher♡ You deserve ten lashes for disrespecting royalty♡”
“I have the Emperor’s decree.”
“Hik?!”
“Masugaki Princess is to be summoned to the palace.”
“And then…?”
“The Academy games and the Dark Mana games shall no longer be allowed to be played freely.”
The princess’s eyes widened.
The emotions filling her enlarged eyes were undeniably fear.
“Failing to conduct oneself properly because of her royal status and not showing the example expected of a royal, she shall be confined to the palace for her indiscretions.”
“I can buy my way out with points for low grades… I have plenty of allowance… Can’t we work something out??”
Despite the lousy princess’s plea, the massive Eungchilgeom firmly pressed down.
“Please plead directly to the Emperor.”
With shoulders slumped like a convict, Masugaki Princess was dragged away.
Rei patted my shoulder and whispered.
“I’m glad you’re safe. It didn’t turn out well for your friend, but it’s a royal matter. Don’t think too much about it; let’s head back.”
“Listen to the maid from the Foundation. A VIP from the Guild was seriously injured. We can’t protect you any longer, so you need to return to the Academy.”
“Listen to them. My thoughts align with theirs. The remnants of the Revolutionary Army might be hiding somewhere, waiting for revenge.”
Rei, Shu Churros, and Myung So all echoed the sentiment, urging Masugaki Princess to turn away.
“Hmm… that won’t do!”
“Lady?”
“Ha. It’s just like her mentor and her apprentice. Ignoring advice is the trend, huh?”
“Oknodie first-year!”
No matter what is said, it’s futile.
“When the Revolutionary event is over, it’s time to take the princess route. How can I abandon Masugaki?”
“Lady…?”
“Am I not just like her…?”
“Oknodie first-year…?”
In front of everyone’s doubtful gaze, I proclaimed confidently.
“If Masugaki doesn’t return to the Academy, I won’t either. From now on, we are a community of fate!”
“Oknodie…!”
The lousy princess, with an evidently touched expression, ran to me and embraced me.
