<428 - Hostage-less Hostage Situation>
“Charlotte is as puzzling as ever. Of all things, she decides to become a member of that unreliable Warrior Party.”
“You’ve seen the Warrior?”
“While looking at you, of course. When she was on the wall, I had the urge to keep an eye on her. And… I don’t actually dislike her that much.”
Alice’s senior words were rather unexpected.
I thought a kind senior wouldn’t like Ishtar, who easily gives up on people.
What is it about Ishtar that attracted Alice’s senior?
“When my followers insulted Hestia, she looked at them without a single prejudice regarding status and class. If the Warrior had agreed with her followers, her influence could have been three times bigger now.”
“Oh, really? I see. She’s definitely not a fundamentally bad person!”
“Yet you are looking too fondly at Ishtar, aren’t you? She’s the one who has blocked your way several times and taken down your friends.”
“Ishtar is a poor person with a lot to do. Naturally, I have to cheer her on!”
“Defeating the Emperor and the Demon King… Do you really believe she can do such a thing?”
“Of course!”
When I chose the playable character Ishtar, I actually played her. Since I did, there’s definitely potential within her.
The question is whether this NPC Ishtar can emulate what I achieved.
*
“Well… Summer Vacation has boosted growth in the Tower of Training, so it should be fine for now!”
Alice’s senior, explaining what was bothering her, asked once more.
“Why should she even do such a thing, regardless of whether it’s possible or not? The Demon King won’t act unless provoked. The Emperor is doing a decent job managing the massive violence of the Empire.”
Leaving things as they are should be fine.
Why go out of the way to suffer?
Alice’s question was valid.
“If the situation doesn’t change, then sure!”
“…Something major seems to be coming that will shake the continent.”
“Want me to tell you?”
“No thanks. I don’t want to turn into a fanatic like Dobi.”
“Then I’ll go ask Jonnas about Charlotte’s Butler!”
“And once you get the information, you plan on confronting that Butler?”
I pondered with my finger on my lips.
“Umm… Maybe?”
“That’s unrealistic. The Butler is strong. You have to think of them as at least ‘Graduate’ level.”
“But I still have ideas!”
There are more ways to annoy someone than just stabbing them in the belly, right?
*
Charlotte thought of the cheeky youngest lady from the Foundation.
“She was fearless. Her skills were considerable, and above all, her approach was entirely different.”
No lady had approached the Warrior thus far.
That’s only natural.
To become strong as a lady, one inevitably reaches out to Dark Mana.
It’s a power that contrasts sharply with the Warrior.
To put it simply, the lady from the Foundation becomes a target for the Warrior’s hunting squad the moment she steps outside the Academy.
Charlotte was no different.
Still, thinking about why she hadn’t used Dark Mana when battling Oknodie made it even more significant.
“Do you know? Not a single speck of Dark Mana exists in my body.”
The lady from the Foundation, Charlotte.
Her nickname is the Noble Rose.
In those high eyes, a principle of hierarchy is strongly embedded, and there’s no room for the sinister power of Dark Mana.
A few years ago.
In my first year just after enrolling in the Academy.
Ever since experiencing a battle with Alice, who sent shivers down my spine with pure talent and ability, that determination has never once faltered.
“Strength isn’t everything. You can only become truly strong with a perfect power that can be controlled, no matter how small and insignificant it may seem.”
Alice almost surpassed her with what was clearly less strength and Mana.
I broke through the wall of that time, while Alice couldn’t go any further.
What determined victory or defeat was merely the presence or absence of enlightenment in actual combat.
Even now, facing the wall of realization where no further enlightenment can be achieved, my convictions remain unchanging.
As long as I rely on external power, I will not touch Dark Mana.
That girl, as if she knew everything, is urging the recruitment of the Warrior Party.
I felt a slight chill.
“Maybe I should have killed her.”
Hmm, that’s still a long way off.
Becoming a comrade of the Warrior Party is ultimately a matter that only happens after giving up on Bivo.
For now, I can’t afford to give up.
“If a formidable rival falls, then even more so.”
The Murderer Urgas, draped in a hundred Lost Items.
For some reason, half of those Lost Items were charred black and rendered inoperable. Urgas, who would normally be Charlotte’s natural enemy…
“A third, as weak as that, is just a stepping stone for Bivo Recovery.”
“Gah! C-Cowardly creatures… Using the Foundation’s power to whittle down my strength and even ambushing me…”
Infamous Urgas was dead.
He had acquired the key Lost Item he held.
Now that I have the Golden Apple that controls the owner’s surrounding space, there’s no foe left using artifacts that could block my pinpoint attack.
At the same time, utilizing the spatial affinity enhancement effects of the Golden Apple makes offensive actions even easier.
“The last words that Urgas left behind are somewhat bothersome, though.”
With the Foundation’s power, he had his strength diminished.
I can’t expect that kind of skill from my Butler.
Could it be the doing of that [Sticker] hiding in the Student Dormitory Zone?
No, they’re not that aggressive.
The person that comes to mind is a short, pretty girl.
Did she defeat Urgas?
It’s too unsettling for it to just be a misunderstanding, and if it were true, it would urge her to quickly fail the Bivo Recovery and join the Warrior Party.
Either way, one feels a certain maturity that can be compared to a seasoned old Butler.
The one behind Oknodie.
Has Jonnas Wahyhiemhai, the Butler who sent her, become capable of frighteningly lethal maneuvers in just a few years?
But more than that, what’s truly unsettling is the lady who carries out that intention.
Those long sleeves that cover her hands because she’s petite.
Those thin arms sticking out from the wrinkled clothing.
That innocent, cherubic face making absurd proposals.
“What a creepy girl.”
Jonnas Wahyhiemhai.
I became a little afraid of what kind of monster he has raised.
*
“Didn’t the lady say she went on a trip with Professor Destroyer before?”
“Yup!”
“Do you remember the identity of the Foundation Executive who lost their life at the professor’s hands?”
Today, I sought out Jonnas to beg for information about Charlotte’s Butler.
“The Director?”
“Correct.”
“Gah! Then does that mean Charlotte’s Butler is already dead?”
Jonnas pressed his forehead with one hand, calming his throbbing headache.
“That’s unlikely. The Director usually holds a rank that manages the Foundation’s Butlers. Charlotte’s Butler wasn’t originally a Director either.”
“Could it be that the previous holder vanished and left the position open?”
“Correct.”
“Wow. So someone got promoted thanks to that? I should treat them to a unique dish as a reward.”
“The Director is not in a position to treat the lady to a meal.”
“Ugh. The previous person gave me plenty until they passed away.”
“Regardless, it’s undeniable that the new Director is in debt to the lady. If you want a reward, I’ll arrange a meeting.”
I believed Jonnas’ promise and returned to focus on my studies.
I believed Alice would soon contact me if I waited.
One week.
Two weeks.
Before I knew it, three weeks had flown by.
“You were deceived.”
“Waaah! There’s no way Jonnas would deceive me!”
“Jonnas lies a lot. He told me eating bell peppers would make me taller, but I didn’t grow at all.”
It’s genetics that makes you not grow, you know!
“Jonnas, this is a different promise! He said he would give me a chance to meet the Director!”
“I’m sorry. I tried to schedule a meeting, but an issue has arisen.”
“What kind of issue?”
“The Director is actively refusing to meet someone who seems scary, since they ended the previous Director’s life.”
Uh-oh.
The scary child’s infamy has made them too afraid to meet me!
“Then we need to throw out some bait!”
“If you’re planning to pull another ridiculous incident like the baby Kraken, please refrain. Thanks to the incident you caused, your dedicated surveillance level has greatly increased.”
I know that much! One peeking from the ceiling, one spying at the window, and two disguised as students lurking in the hallway. Right?”
When you level up your concealment skill, it becomes evident where to hide.
“You missed them all for the Professor level ones.”
“Professor level ones?”
“Not only is the Instructor in the ceiling, but Professor Destroyer is also, and beyond the window is Ranger Minerva, plus Myung So, who’s disguised as a placid lake in the hallway.”
“Huh!!”
“It’s unlikely to cause an incident through such surveillance. At the very least, you should postpone the meeting with the Director until after the vacation.”
“I got it.”
If Jonnas is saying that, then it can’t be helped.
“I’ll give up on going to see her.”
“…It sounds like you have a secret plan to make the Director come to you.”
“Of course I do!”
Charlotte is in the Student Dormitory Zone.
Communication with the outside world has been completely cut off.
Considering that we’ve secured Charlotte’s safety, we should have enough grounds to make that judgment.
“Tell the Director that if she doesn’t come by the end of this week, I’ll kill Charlotte!”
The hostage-less hostage situation has begun.
