<295 - The Heart of the Scary Child (not really)>
A professor at the Academy has been murdered.
Whether this is an unprecedented incident or not, it is undoubtedly a serious matter.
This could potentially trigger a full-blown conflict between the Foundation and the Academy.
The Warrior regretted it too late.
Should I have just let him live?
“Oknodie…”
“Yeah?”
“Y-you’re not planning to kill us too, are you?”
When the heat surged through his head, he had blindly decided to give the professor a hard time, but once the situation was over, he realized it was now his turn to be threatened.
Seeing the trembling voice of the Warrior, a cheerful smile blossomed on Oknodie’s face.
“Of course not! The Warrior has a lot to do! You’ve got to hunt down the regional bosses that appear in the weekly events, along with defeating the Demon King and the Emperor!”
“What do you think a Warrior is…”
Oknodie had no intent to kill.
But what about the Butler?
The competent person of the Foundation, who had made the biggest contribution to the professor’s death, looked back at the Warrior and the Saintess.
“Ishtar…”
“Relax. I won’t kill you.”
There was no intention to kill.
The moment their eyes met, that fact became clear.
“I have no intention of harming your friends, Agassi. You can rest easy.”
Even Jonnas himself said that.
However, his warning was just the beginning…
“Instead, remember this one thing. The moment you are not recognized as friends by our Agassi should never come.”
When that time comes, they might have to face Jonnas with their own strength.
The terrifying competent person who directly dealt with a professor-level figure from the Academy.
Even though the Warrior had helped, Jonnas’s abilities might have been enough to gain the upper hand without anyone’s interference.
The world is vast, and there are many strong beings.
Not only must he save his comrades, but the Warrior also has a long way to grow himself.
Brilliant auroras filled the mana-desolate uninhabited island as various attributes of Nature Mana gathered.
A scenery that would be revered for its natural wonders by ordinary villagers but warned of a collision of fearful powers among outstanding adventurers.
Until such sights become familiar, she would not stop her training.
With today’s vision etched in her heart.
“So, what time does the auction start today?”
“It starts in 15 minutes.”
“Whaaat!? Even after all this, you’re still holding an auction?”
For a brief moment, they witnessed a battle of beings vastly superior to themselves.
A sense of crisis hung in the air, and they felt exhausted from the tension, thinking they could very well die if they misstep.
They might wish to all return to the cruise ship for a comfortable rest, but that Oknodie was acting like it was none of his business while smiling.
Shivers
“Scary… that mental power.”
Being attacked by assassins aimed at the Foundation’s child—was that not surprising even if the target was a professor from the Academy?
“Uh, but I’ve been wondering about something since earlier… didn’t the auction supervisor say they wouldn’t intervene during any incidents affecting participants?”
“Ah, the current Saintess has a good memory. That’s correct.”
“But you intervened just now, didn’t you? To protect Oknodie. If the auction supervisor didn’t break the rules, then since the auction has ended, you should have been able to intervene, which means the auction was already concluded, right?”
Ishtar realized something after Jonnas’s smart comment. She understood why Yufi wanted to claim the auction was over.
“Yufi wanted to end this unreasonable auction before our weaknesses came up for sale.”
Jonnas nodded in agreement.
“According to the regulations, that is correct.”
“Phew. Then we just have to wait for the return ship to arrive.”
But their opponent was the Foundation.
Jonnas’s next answer was enough to plunge Yufi into fear.
“This is different now. I have deemed that I have failed to provide the participant Oknodie’s [Single-Use Assassin Detection Service] smoothly, so I upgraded it to [Single-Use Assassin Repulsion Service]. Thus, this procedure does not constitute a reason to halt the auction.”
“The assassin detection service turned into an assassin repulsion service…?”
The veins in Yufi’s hand clenched, gripping the staff tightly.
Ishtar could tell that her childhood friend was trying to hide her anxiety as she became extremely tense.
Her demeanor wasn’t different from how she had behaved while confronting Professor Raeb just moments ago.
The threat from Jonnas had diminished.
However, Yufi still felt it.
The same level of fear she felt during her confrontation with Professor Raeb.
“Calm down. There’s no point in panicking even if the auction continues. Oknodie’s preparation was just that thorough.”
Jonnas explained the upgrade to the assassin repulsion service.
The preparedness of having anticipated an attack and setting up a defense that even the Butler from the Foundation couldn’t perceive was seemingly deserving of respect despite being an enemy.
“Ishtar… This is a matter beyond that level.”
Yufi saw something more than just honest observations.
Unlike her own simple-mindedness, Yufi had developed insight thanks to her clever advisor, and Ishtar had received help from her numerous times.
No matter how absurd her plans were, Yufi always advanced them dutifully.
This was true during the encounter with Professor Raeb as well.
Even in the insane act of turning the Empire’s professor into an enemy, Yufi followed along without complaint.
She bought time for the Foundation and Oknodie to join while solidifying their defenses.
She naturally adjusted the flow of battle to steer it toward temporarily sealing the professor rather than eliminating them.
If Yufi were this afraid, then there must be a real reason behind it.
As Ishtar listened intently, Yufi whispered softly so only she could hear.
“The professor… Oknodie intentionally provoked things.”
“What?”
“The incident that became the first confrontation between you and Oknodie. The commotion when students fell into ice trap magic at the abandoned school. Oknodie was the instigator, and the opponent was that professor.”
“!!”
“Oknodie might have been planning very far back to bring the Warrior and the Empire’s professor here and create the current situation.”
Ishtar felt goosebumps rising on her skin.
“No matter what, that’s going too far.”
Yufi’s words were largely correct.
Understanding it only magnified the weight of her statement to a level that made her want to deny it too.
Yet Yufi did not retract her claims.
She didn’t laugh it off as a passing feeling.
In fact, it was almost as if she could now truly understand her growing feelings of fear.
“The Butler from the Foundation said, Oknodie purchased the [Single-Use Assassin Detection Service] because he was aware of the impending attack. ‘Aware’ means he intended to kill. You saw it too—how advantageous that Butler’s skill was on the uninhabited island.”
“Metal Attribute Mana Puzzle!”
“The Oknodie who lured the professor, the Butler who prepared for repulsion, and Oknodie’s ‘Papa’ who set the stage—they’re all in cahoots. The Foundation has plotted this grand design since the midterms.”
It’s vast.
The breadth of perspective differed from their frantic chase after the weekly event before them.
Not someone following the game, but someone who was designing it.
Such audacity to prepare and execute their plans even within the Dragon Principal’s Academy.
The Foundation’s ruthless plan executed in plain sight, and Oknodie’s actions, which no one noticed until now, all carried such weight.
Everything was too expansive.
Incredibly so for the actions and mindset of a child younger than herself.
Scary Child.
Imagining what wicked schemes that smiling Oknodie could be hiding within made her shiver.
“Don’t forget; we too have been swept up in the Foundation and Oknodie’s plans. The fact that we were present at the place where the Empire’s professor was killed.”
“What does that… mean?”
“It means various things. At the very least, what I can understand right now is… if the Academy learns of today’s events, they’ll regard us as potential allies of the Foundation. The Foundation could use this fact to complicate our situation by gaining support for the Warrior Party.”
Such a terrifying scheme had unfolded, and in just 10 minutes, the auction would resume.
An auction item that might reveal weaknesses of Ishtar or Yufi.
The vague sense of unease soon manifested into reality in the upcoming auction.
“I will now reveal the sixth item for the uninhabited island auction. Today’s item is [The Guardian Force of the Warrior Party].”
The troublesome future Yufi had feared came true in merely 10 minutes.
