Chapter: 201
After the dramatic return of Evil God-chan, we began preparing for our journey.
“Are we suddenly going on a trip?”
“Yep. I received a reply from Bennett after sending him a letter, and it looks like there’s a festival happening at the Holy City, Trumpet Hall? He seems to be inviting us to check it out.”
“…Why do you say ‘seems’ like it’s an invitation?”
“Well, he wrote a bit ambiguously.”
That seemed natural enough. The Academy is more about teaching how to fight than promoting literary skills, after all.
In a fantasy world filled with beings that threaten humanity, it’s hardly surprising that the meta of focusing on physical strength is in vogue. Especially for Bennett, a former Black Mage and current Hero candidate.
If he spent time reading books to improve his writing skills, he’d probably end up splitting his head open instead. Wouldn’t it be better to swing a sword a few more times in that time?
But it did seem correct that he hinted at inviting us.
He didn’t provide an answer to my question about how to straddle both sides, which implied he wanted to tell me in person rather than write it down.
This was a good opportunity. We desperately needed a break after the exhausting battle with the Succubus Queen.
“…Is loafing around now not considered a form of rest?”
“There is a world of understanding we can’t grasp as mere information.”
“What on earth are you talking about, you organic mass?”
What I really wanted was a more intense form of relaxation. Instead of melting into the couch like this, I wanted to have fun at a water park, shooting down waterslides!
Coincidentally, a festival celebrating the Hero selection tournament is being held in the Holy City where Bennett is staying. The entire city is reportedly abuzz; perhaps we could create some fun memories there.
And not to mention, Bennett, who seemed to be in quite a bind, could also use our help.
Plus, we might finally receive some training from the expert in straddling both sides.
While I was lost in my inflated dreams, Pinvalez expressed his concerns.
“But crazy wizard, do you really think it will just end with a festival? This is a tournament for selecting a Hero. There will be significant political and physical changes.”
“Well, as far as I looked into Heroes… they are righteous beings that appear when the world is in crisis, right? I heard they show up about once every hundred years. Isn’t that beneficial?”
It seems it’s not a matter of being summoned to another world. One person is chosen by the Goddess to gain power and fight evil, or so it goes.
Then again, if the Goddess has any sense in her head, wouldn’t she pick someone decent?
She wouldn’t choose someone overflowing with greed who would wield power for selfish ends or someone who thinks they can just create a harem, knowing full well they would be self-destructive.
I have no idea how Tara ended up like that…
Spouting such optimistic conjectures made Evil God-chan give me a look, as if she were a child who had just found out Santa Claus wasn’t real, suppressing laughter.
“Do you really believe in talk of world crises…? Hehe, are you stupid? Who would believe such nonsense?”
“What sweet words.”
“Being a Hero is nothing special. If you just absorb a lot of the Goddess’s power, you become one. She’s not as clever or intricate as you might think.”
“Are you saying that as ‘that’? Be careful what you say. If you say something harsh, you might just end up splashing your face in the River Styx.”
I warned firmly. Evil God-chan waved her hands casually, as if she knew it well, but she couldn’t hide the tremble in her body. She understood that my warning was serious.
Just as I have a black box, Evil God-chan has her own black box. A firmly locked memory vault that isn’t easy to open. I know it contains secrets from all worlds and precious information, but…
The only reason I haven’t fully dissected Evil God-chan to extract information and knowledge about ‘that’ is simple.
‘That’ has a characteristic that makes it grow stronger the more others learn about it. It’s similar to my Illusion Magic that converts others’ beliefs into power.
There’s an ironic trait that extracting information to counter it only makes it harder to resist. So consequently, I need to cover my ears whenever Evil God-chan tries to share something.
Thus, I gave a warning. If you happen to spill the full name of ‘that,’ you better watch out.
Evil God-chan squinted and appeared to be deep in thought. She seemed to be choosing her words carefully. After a short silence, she spoke.
“The Goddess and ‘that’ are clearly different beings, but their birth methods are the same. You could say they belong to the same race and obviously share many commonalities.”
“…”
“So conversely, if you investigate the Goddess, you’ll learn about ‘that’ without side effects. You’ll be able to infer from it.”
I checked. Is there something wrong with the dark hemisphere of my mental space? No, there isn’t. I don’t feel any increase in the mass of ‘that.’ The monitoring module is reporting normal levels.
This meant that Evil God-chan was truly offering a ‘safe’ hint.
I took a combat stance and asked.
“…Why are you suddenly being nice?”
“Daddy, aren’t we family now? I’m just trying to get closer to you, since I don’t want to get hit 3000 times anymore.”
That’s a lie.
That creature could endure any horrific torture or even the sensation of being struck 3000 times. Their capacity to endure pain is entirely different from that of a human. It’s the total opposite of my soft mental state.
So I had been leaning towards feelings of shame and humiliation rather than pain. Thus, that act of pretending to be weak must be a lie.
“Enough with the toothy grin. Speak honestly.”
“I want to straddle both sides.”
Growl Yuna threatened menacingly.
“Explain. Before Yuna blasts you with a death beam.”
“You’re definitely a monster. 93% of my memory is stuffed into your head, so while I can’t say I know everything… Even with just 7% of data, it’s more than enough. But after looking everywhere, there’s no monster quite like you. So…”
Evil God-chan, having observed me closely, declared that it became impossible to predict who would win this battle, ‘that’ or me.
Now separated from its original form by Yuna, Evil God-chan decided to play a cheeky strategy, betting on both sides instead of putting all her chips on one.
With a proud expression, she said, “You have well-defined rules. The more I give, the more you’ll want to give back, right? I’ll occasionally drop hints in exchange, so tolerate me. Raise me up.”
“So… if your original form wins, you’ll merge with them, and if I win, you’ll keep on living like this?”
Snap.
Evil God-chan snapped her fingers, but no sound came.
“That is correct.”
I understood why Evil God-chan made this decision at this timing. If the previous Evil God-chan had lost, it would have been the beginning of an endless hell.
She was a being created solely to derive joy from committing evil. If I were to monitor her all day while beating her up, she would spend all her moments in boredom and pain.
It must feel like struggling in a white room with nothing. So she could only hope for her original form’s victory.
However, Evil God-chan has now tasted the sweetness of doing good. She took her first steps in learning how to live in a bright world. Thus, she finally felt assured that if she turns to the path of virtue, she could live joyfully even under me.
Isn’t she adorable? This change is certainly positive. With a satisfied heart, I hinted at a complete shift.
“Hey, bats can’t become founding fathers. If you’re going for it, go all in!”
“Look at you. How can I go all in with a fool who still hasn’t even gotten a fable!”
“Ugh…! What do you mean it doesn’t work?! Tickle Attack!”
“What is this?! Hahaha! This is so unfair!!”
How dare she touch my sore spot.
I left Evil God-chan, who was forced to laugh uncontrollably, and finished packing my things.
===============================================================
This time, I filled out the form for the strategic weapon relocation correctly.
Superhuman beings have to submit a form a week in advance detailing where they came from, where they’re going, and how long they plan to stay, but Yuna has been sneaking around all this time.
This is indeed the overwhelming power of Illusion Magic.
Other tower masters like the Blue Tower and Red Tower have to play by the rules, as being caught would make them quickly exposed, but with Illusion Magic, I can take care of everything with just one spell.
Truly, the Magic Tower is the strongest utility Magic Tower by far.
But this time I wanted to ask for permission without any anxiety and enjoy myself. I wanted to show my face officially, go to parties, and have fun, so I submitted the form.
When I brought up this topic, Yuna turned into a pout and whimpered.
“So, does that mean I’ll have to wait for a week…?!”
“Of course not. We’re all going on a trip together; we should leave together.”
That made Evil God-chan angry.
“What, are we just going to leave Elmest Territory waiting for a week?!”
“No way. If we did that, that boy or whatever might vanish from existence, so we need to go now.”
So, I intended to set off early with faith that the relocation request would go through. Irid would probably take care of it well, right?
“…”
“Of course, they’d grant us permission since we’ve done something significant. Look at our party!”
What have we accomplished?
As a result of the Tower Master’s stealthy infiltration of the Academy, all the Black Mages were wiped out, one insider switched sides, and a new faction emerged within the Church of the Goddess.
As a result of the Tower Master’s covert operation at Crownhall, the drug traffickers under the Red Duchess were taken down, another insider defected, and a magical girl now keeps the peace in the capital.
We even managed to hunt down the ‘Maiden of Pleasures.’
Thus, I think…
“If we act like there’s an urgent matter and leave first, they’ll think we discovered a Black Mage in the Holy City. They’ll cover for us nicely, right?”
“Wow… you really are quite skilled. What a scammer.”
But there can’t really be a Black Mage in the Holy City, which is the Church of the Goddess’s main base. So, we could enjoy all the fun and then leave saying, ‘Oh, we thought there was one, but there wasn’t!’
“In that sense, we need an official identity for our Eternal Dark group. Does anyone have any ideas?”
“Didn’t we decide on the illegitimate child title?”
“If I become a man with a child, then who will be my wife?”
As soon as I said that, I felt a tug on my sleeve.
“I should be your wife since we made it together, right?”
Shifty-eyed. Yuna gazed up at me, trying to hide her embarrassment. I could almost hear her heart racing in my ears.
Or maybe that racing sound had transferred to me, making my heart beat faster.
Then the other sleeve was grabbed. I turned my head away to avoid looking out the window where… Yury Randster was deliberately avoiding eye contact. No words were exchanged.
Normally, I would have linked arms or at least held hands. Just sleeves. But does that mean we’re getting a bit closer?
Evil God-chan was watching our scene with an expression that seemed ready to get sick.
“Damn it…”
“Are you jealous? Would you like me to set you up on a blind date? There’s even a guy by the name of Hihyung-hyun or Namgoong-cheonghwi, whom we could hook you up with.”
“Who do you think you’re dragging me toward? There’s a time and place for everything; you trying to bite my groin?!”
“Go ahead, you punk!”
While I was growling with Evil God-chan, I heard a small voice from Pinvalez.
“I’d like to bite too…”
“…!!”
Is this a suggestive remark? A sign of foreboding!
You want to bite me too? I turned towards Pinvalez, filled with joy. Are you finally giving that to me? After all this time?
“I want to bite…”
She couldn’t quite get the words out. Maybe it was just my imagination, but her ears looked a bit red. Was she feeling out of her element after so long? I sent silent encouragement her way. You can do it, Pinvalez. You can do this!
These naughty jokes have been our ongoing theme! Isn’t it proof of our friendship!?
Since Pinvalez had been keeping quiet all this time, I felt awkward too and couldn’t just blurt it out. But… I still dream of going to see a waitress in a short skirt someday.
“You can do it, Pinvalez. You can do it…”
“I—It’s nothing.”
“Gahhh!”
My delicate heart ached. Is it still too early to be so close? I just don’t get it. I became too familiar with her far too quickly, forgetting how to slowly get closer to her.
Just as I was moping, Yuna suddenly pressed the accelerator.
“Can I ask too?!”
“You’re not the type to pull that off, are you?”
“I can… change, can’t I?!”
Yuna’s face looked like a ripe tomato. Even though she was incredibly embarrassed, it seemed she had gathered up some courage. I instantly pulled her into a hug and showered her with affection.
“Thank you for comforting me. You really didn’t have to worry. You’re so cute.”
“Ugh…”
And then I quickly let go.
“…? ”
Yuna had a dazed expression, with a question mark hovering over her head, like a child who had just had their milk taken away after only one sip.
I feel a desire to hold her again.
These days, I have been gradually abandoning the regimen of emotional suppression. Thus, I wasn’t using the desire-suppressing module at all. So, any contact lasting more than a certain amount of time could trigger an accident.
I’m keeping a kind of safety distance.
“…Ah, I see. That’s true… hehehe.”
When I explained my reason, Yuna’s face lit up with relief as she smiled brightly. I almost activated the desire suppression.
After 30 minutes of discussion, Evil God-chan’s external identity was set to be my relative. More like a cousin sister type.
That personality suits her perfectly, being twisted after all.
I finalized our travel itinerary.
“The first target is to reach the Elmest Territory. After settling the aftermath of what Evil God-chan has done, we’ll head to the Holy City, Trumpet Hall, to enjoy the festival.”
“Sounds good. I need to change into travel clothes.”
“Um, should I try wearing a dress or something?”
“Hey, what about your classes? Aren’t you a professor?”
About that. I’ve hired a lecturer during my absence. While I enjoy life, she will take care of the Academy students on my behalf for a little while.
===============================================================
“Nice to meet you, Academy students. I’m Luce, studying at the Purple Magic Tower for six years… I may not be as good as your senior, but I have many interesting techniques to share with you. Say hello, my darling♥”
– Hello, students. We will be teaching ‘Illusion Magic Response’ for about a month. Please don’t fall for my honey’s beauty.
Watching the temporary professor start up with an exclusive performance from the platform, scattered sighs echoed through the students. On the other hand, there were a few who seemed to lose their words and fell into a stunned silence.
Among them, Selvier muttered in disbelief.
“…Isn’t that an illusion?”
“W-What do you mean? Selvier, what are you saying is an illusion…?”
“Your Third Prince. ‘My Darling’ is an illusion too! This is a one-person act!”
“…?!”
With the crazy wizard away on a journey, the Academy was kicked off into a horror special!
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