<735 – Who Said That (6)>
“If you want to protect your friend, show that guts to the principal just like you did to me.”
The message sent through Professor Sadako’s magic watch to the students from Class 981’s Catacomb Expedition flipped their world upside down.
“Is this a joke? Oknodie is in such a crisis? That’s impossible; he’s such a strong kid!”
“No, it makes sense.”
In front of the mob seeking wisdom, Jaku couldn’t hide his bitter expression.
“Did you forget that the source of that guy’s mysterious knowledge and strength is the Foundation?”
“That…!”
“You didn’t forget the power of the Foundation that we saw during last summer vacation, did you?”
“Well… but Oknodie defeated it!”
“The Foundation deployed on the cruise ship is just one professor-level scholarship student and a subordinate-level force protecting the ship. It’s an ‘insignificant’ force at best.”
“Even so, Oknodie defeated it. Professor Jonnas, Professor Reap, and even Professor Sadako, who has kindness towards Oknodie—why didn’t he ask anyone for help!”
“… It’s a large-scale invasion on the scale of the Northern Demon Realm. Professor Sadako warned us about this. So, do you know the tale of how the Northern Demon Realm first came to be?”
The mob shook his head.
Jaku recalled the historical texts about the Demon Realm he had found in the ‘Library’.
“The Demon Realm was birthed by a student who had immense resentment towards the Gift Academy and the principal. Many professors recognized the student’s talent and showed kindness, but in the end, that child rejected all kindness and help and instead engulfed the Northern Continent with the Demon Realm.”
“A current student, like Oknodie… created the Demon Realm?”
“That’s right. And that guy became the Demon King. Oknodie has a special title, the Dark Princess. There’s no rule saying that kid can’t become the second Demon King. The principal won’t repeat the same mistake.”
The principal possesses a [World Domain] that can shake the natural environment across the continent, changing the seasons at will. Once the principal sets his mind on it, there’s no way Oknodie, who lacks his own [World Domain], can survive.
“Oknodie is… as good as dead.”
“Why are you giving up on your own!”
The mob roughly grabbed Jaku by the collar.
Jaku didn’t want to waste his passion on a game that had already ended. He owed Oknodie for losing, but this was beyond the point of repayment.
“This is different from when Professor Sadako was around. I’ll give up.”
The mob’s fist struck Jaku’s face.
Looking down at the Jaku who fell without resistance, the mob turned around violently.
“I won’t give up.”
“You dumbass.”
After the mob left, Jaku grimaced at the aching joints in his body as he stood up.
“He’s gotten ridiculously strong.”
The secret scholarship society, the organization that plays with Oknodie.
Scholarship students liberated from the Foundation’s orders revealed themselves on the walls, behind rocks, and through building windows.
“Are we just going to let the mob go like that?”
Jaku, spitting blood, turned his cold eyes towards the second-in-command of the secret scholarship society.
“That guy’s growth rate is higher than ours. I won’t let him get caught in this pathetic death. It suits us, as alumni from the Foundation, to handle dirty work.”
“True. What kind of task would you want to assign to some rookie who’s never even received an order?”
“As an executive of the organization that plays with Oknodie and the first-in-command of the secret scholarship society, I command you. Retrieve the fragments of Oknodie’s soul, which are locked away somewhere in the Foundation’s headquarters, at the cost of your life.”
Jaku and the scholarship students of the secret scholarship society declared war against the Foundation and began their operation.
—
Rosgini could hardly hide her disbelief as she read the letter from the Magic Tower.
“Did you see this, Sandkooker? When they praised the leader of the Red Flame School, they told us not to provoke or stimulate the principal. How foolish I was to seek help from such people.”
“The Yellow Magic Tower is even worse. They said if we try to take action, they’ll expel us, telling us not to set foot in the Yellow Magic Tower ever again.”
“Well, I can understand the Yellow Magic Tower since they got heavily damaged because of Oknodie. But the Red Magic Tower shouldn’t be doing this!”
Rosgini and Sandkooker had consistently played a part in helping Oknodie on his journey.
Thanks to Oknodie, they gained knowledge, easily procured various magical potions, and greatly improved their standings within their respective schools.
Although there was a significant difference—one group had displayed a spectacular flame show, while the other had seen upper-class magicians fainting from anger and magicians dying in droves during the Underworld invasion!
“I thought it was strange. Oknodie doesn’t seem like that weak and timid kid; he looks completely drained. He must have known everything. The reason he’s gloomy isn’t because of the professors, but because he’s aware of the fate he has to return to the Foundation!”
“What are you going to do? Are you going to help him again?”
“Of course! How can I stand by and watch as we end up hindering him from returning to the Foundation? He’s not someone who could be overlooked; he’ll face the raw threats of the ‘Foundation’ rather than being like those who turn a blind eye under ‘Professor’!”
“True. But… as you said, we ultimately couldn’t provide decisive help in the Catacomb Expedition.”
“…!”
“If we show hostility towards the Foundation and protest in front of the principal only to face real hostility, do you think we’ll come out of it in good shape?”
Rosgini could not believe her boyfriend’s words.
“Are you suggesting we just back out now, knowing Oknodie’s situation?”
“To me, you are just as precious as Oknodie.”
“Sandkooker…”
Exceeding boundaries of danger crushes a person’s courage.
Sandkooker had become someone crushed by that.
For him, his role as ‘Rosgini’s boyfriend’ and her existence held an immeasurable part of his life.
Rosgini was different.
She was the great disciple of the leader of the rising mainstream faction of the Red Magic Tower and was someone who had to showcase her vision while leading the Red Flame School.
She was also a figure that the border magicians looked up to, someone who should set an example for the future everyone dreams of, and she owed a great debt to Oknodie, someone to whom she had received immense kindness.
The weight of feelings between Rosgini and Sandkooker was not the same.
“Alright. Then let’s break up.”
“What?!”
“I’m going. To the very end.”
“Don’t do something like that…!”
“Don’t say things like it can’t be done. If you approach it with a half-hearted determination, you’ll end up being targeted as an official by both the principal and the Foundation. If you deny cooperation as my boyfriend, I’ll reject you as your girlfriend.”
No more cowardly excuses of stepping back out of concern for each other.
She would end up in danger one way or another.
Now it was Sandkooker’s turn to decide.
Rosgini slowly turned her back and began to walk away.
“…”
It was twenty steps to the door.
With every step she took, memories of the past surfaced.
Rosgini’s pace slowed under the increasing weight of those memories.
Her reluctant step approached the threshold.
Sandkooker didn’t stop her in the end.
Rosgini hurled her rising sorrow into the furnace of her heart.
This is where we part ways.
With a silent goodbye in her heart, Rosgini stepped over the threshold.
But that didn’t mean their hearts, which had diverged in order to look out for each other, had met a tragic end.
“Won’t you regret it? Letting her go like that?”
“Rosgini said it herself. If we maintain our relationship with half-hearted determination, we’ll just put both sides in danger.”
A traitor of the Yellow Magic Tower and a master of Earth Magic.
The magical warrior Astarot, from the war generation, recognized Sandkooker’s resolute mindset more than he had expected.
“If you’ve sorted out your feelings, follow me. We’re going to rent the Foundation’s secret non-fair flight, as well as the forces crafted in secret by the senior members of the Magic Department and Production Department, in exchange for the legacy of the Yellow Magic Tower. Are you ready to become a traitor of the Tower?”
“Losing Rosgini is far better. If there’s a question, it lies with you. Why are you going to such lengths to help Oknodie when you’re just a transfer student?”
“Because he provided me with the opportunity to topple the stale elders of the Yellow Magic Tower and approach the deeper mysteries of magic. I feel a sense of gratitude.”
“… You’re quite a peculiar one.”
“Haha. That’s not something I want to hear from a guy who’s dating such a cute girlfriend.”
As Sandkooker and Astarot headed to the Magic Tower to swallow the remnants of the Yellow Magic Tower’s legacy, a multitude of senior members from the Magic and Production Departments followed behind them.
—
“I knew this would happen. Sigh.”
Professor Mahabharata discovered the second-year classroom, which should have been full, looking desolate as if it had suffered devastation.
True to the learning attitudes of the students from Class 981, most had vanished somewhere.
Among those remaining was Oknodie, who insisted on attending the lecture with Titosso, even though he hadn’t signed up for the course.
The child, who is essentially at fault here, raised his hand with an innocent expression.
“… What’s going on, Oknodie from the second year?”
“Is there a new sweet event I didn’t know about? Where have all the students gone?”
“Tsk. It’s not like I’m teasing people…”
Having received Professor Mahabharata’s sharp glare without understanding, Oknodie looked as if he was about to cry in disbelief.
