Chapter: 472
Under the desert, after a commotion had settled, the skeleton gazed at the clearly visible night sky and smiled at the scenery he faced after such a long time.
Gasp! How wonderful! Was the night sky always this beautiful?
The original would have engraved memories of the night sky as nothing more than a mark of dreadful misfortune. So why does the night here sparkle so vividly?
Maybe the original didn’t want me to be curious about the world outside.
If I were curious about the outer scenery, I might try to leave this place behind.
The skeleton thought that Erginius’s worries were not unfounded.
If he had etched that scene in his mind and remained here for a long time, he would have surely sought ways to escape this place.
“But Erginius, why didn’t you take the fairy’s memories from me? If you wanted me to guard this place forever, you should have taken those happy memories too.”
If that were the case, he wouldn’t have felt as eager as he does now. A little chuckle escaped the skeleton as he turned his gaze from the night sky to the ceiling.
“That scene from just now…? No matter how many times I think about it, I can’t understand it.”
I get how they increased the explosive power by tying together various bombs and scrolls. I can also guess that something influenced the scroll due to the shock from the explosion.
But why did that influence break Erginius’s magic and lead to a result that would destroy a ceiling that should remain intact amid any disaster?
“Lord Jushin, what on earth did you tell that kid?”
With a headache creeping in, the skeleton let out a lament and created an illusion in the void.
A painting capturing the scene of destruction remaining in his memories.
With a few months still to go, he should analyze this or that.
I can’t let an unknown phenomenon exist without understanding it.
At that moment, just when the skeleton felt a rekindled competitive spirit to immerse himself in his world, he received news that someone had entered the entrance of the dungeon he lurked in.
Hah! It’s a place where someone might enter once every several years, and now two groups show up in one day?
It mustn’t be a coincidence, and are they following that cocky brat?
Ruel. That kid! He’s always next to that brat, and he couldn’t even catch something like this?
How come certain things have aged with time while his stubbornness remains?
Thinking to tell him how pitiful he is the next time they meet, the skeleton grabbed his staff.
From the aura leaking from the intruders, they seemed like lackeys serving the Void Evil God. How convenient.
After all, that modern wizard just taught me something fresh. If I use that, I can easily toy with them.
“Should I take out my irritation on them that I got from that brat?”
The skeleton moved his feet with a playful laugh.
*
“…Is it alright to receive such rewards when we’ve done nothing?”
The mercenary captain showed a cautious attitude upon seeing the gold coins I presented.
He said they initially didn’t expect any reward. They hadn’t done anything, so receiving such a large sum would only make things awkward for them.
As I watched him wave his hands, I nodded while pulling out a few more coins from my pockets.
“Y-Young Lady?!”
“What? Is this not enough?”
“N-No! It’s really fine! We simply…”
“Umm. Fine, I’ll generously become a sucker for the greedy uncle. Take as much as you can!”
“P-Please! Lady Allen! If you keep this up, I won’t be able to face Sir Benedict!”
In a bizarre situation where one side insisted to give more while the other implored not to, it was ultimately the mercenary captain who surrendered.
Realizing that adding more words would only complicate matters, he reluctantly accepted the money I offered with his pale hands.
“Look at this! Saying you don’t need money, but once it suits your taste, you take it eagerly! How low of you to bully a weak girl for money!”
“…No, I said I didn’t need it, but the Young Lady insisted.”
“Exactly! I voluntarily gave it! So please don’t get angry. I’m really scared. Are you running low on money? If so…”
“I don’t know what crime I committed, but please spare me, Lady Allen. I feel like I’ll be ripped in half by Sir Benedict at this rate.”
Seeing the sight of a man who commands numerous mercenaries kneeling and begging was painfully amusing.
Isn’t bullying people with money something only those with a fitting personality can do?
“Just take it as I give. Don’t start acting all innocent talking about gratitude. A mercenary living mad about money pretending to be a knight is just ridiculous.”
“…Even so, this is too much.”
“Why?”
“No, thank you for your advice. I’ll remember it.”
When I slipped in formal language, the mercenary captain recoiled in horror and shook his head. If only he had acted this way sooner.
“Next time I call, come running immediately. If you don’t, I’ll tell Papa that you threatened me.”
“I’ll respond to the call even if it costs me my life!”
After parting ways with the mercenary captain and returning to my friends, I found Arthur and Joy looking at me with awkward expressions.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“As far as I know, the Allen family isn’t that wealthy, so I was just wondering where you got all that money.”
“I’m curious about that too. You didn’t have to give us money, yet you handed out so much gold.”
Hmm. It’s true that the money I just gave away was far too large for a young lady of a noble family to casually distribute.
If someone who didn’t know the circumstances saw this, they might suspect I got tied up in something strange, right?
After all, just a few months ago, I wasn’t wealthy enough to throw around this much money.
Until that Perverted Apostle handed me that ridiculous sum, that is.
“You’ve probably heard, but the accessories featuring the Young Lady Allen are selling so well that we can’t keep up with the demand even while pouring all our efforts into production. Thanks to that, our believers are happily dying.”
“If the Young Lady hadn’t kindly allowed it, such miracles wouldn’t have occurred. So, it’s only natural for us to give back a portion of the profits we made from the accessories to the Young Lady.”
“You don’t need to worry about petty things. We’re just giving you the leftover profits after using what we need from the pure profits.”
The money the Perverted Apostle gave me wasn’t in gold coins.
It was platinum coins. A ridiculous amount of money where ten gold coins lumped into one. And I had five of those in my pocket.
The moment I saw the coins sparkling in my pocket, I couldn’t help but start suggesting making more accessories.
No! Think about it! The money to operate a large territory for a whole year just came rushing in! If I just hold back my embarrassment for a moment, how much I could earn!
The Perverted Apostle was more than willing to accept my suggestion and mentioned he would call me once everything was perfectly prepared afterward.
Seeing the passion in his eyes, I couldn’t help but think I might’ve said something unnecessary, but at that point, it was already too late to take it back.
…That Perverted Apostle, what on earth is he preparing that he hasn’t contacted me for so long?
As time goes by, my unease grows. Is this what it feels like to be a prisoner awaiting execution?
Anyway, I explained that I had earned profit from selling accessories, and my friends easily accepted that explanation.
To them, it must have seemed incredibly fast how my accessories were spreading.
“If you’ve made so much money, why not spend some on us?”
“Are you asking me, who earned money by selling my body, to spend it on the pitiful prince? Guess there’s no choice. A powerless noble must kneel before royalty…”
“What do you mean powerless? With the determination, I could wipe someone like you off this world!”
As we bickered with my friends and returned to the academy, I headed straight to where the Headmaster was.
To interfere with the barrier that the skeleton told us about, I needed the Headmaster’s permission, as he held the decision-making power.
I didn’t think it would be hard to obtain his permission.
After all, he had a collar around his neck. How could he refuse my request?
“I’m sorry, Lady Allen. It might take a little longer.”
However, the Headmaster’s response was different from what I had expected. He was sweating profusely and showed a sign of difficulty.
“Have you too aged so much that your memory is starting to fail? Do you need me to remind you what kind of collar is hanging around the neck of that senile grandpa?”
“I would like to grant your request immediately, but as you know, way too many things are involved with the academy right now.”
If the situation in the academy were as it used to be, the Headmaster would have willingly allowed me to intervene with the barrier.
But now, the situation had changed drastically. The current state of the academy, resembling a proxy war between the First Queen and the Second Queen factions, had stripped the Headmaster of many of his rights.
“Please give me a bit of time. By the time of the midterms, I will guide you to where the barrier’s magic is located.”
The headmaster’s desperate words didn’t just sound like an excuse.
Is it physically impossible? I could force my way into the barrier in a rather twisted way if I wanted, but committing such insanity while there’s a normal route available feels wrong.
Besides, there isn’t that much time until the midterm period.
“Ah.”
Sleep…
Just a moment…
How much time is left until the midterms?
…
Two weeks!?
Only two weeks left!?
Realizing this shocking fact, I abruptly stood up and rushed out of the Headmaster’s room.
This is a big problem!
This time, I actually intended to study to raise my intelligence!
If this keeps up, I’ll have to live with an intelligence of 58 again!
That can’t happen!
This is a matter of my pride!
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