<701 – Poor Child (1)>
The Demon King’s Four Kings Red Tide found himself in a pitiful state, chased not only by the butler of the Wahyhiemhai Foundation, part of the director’s elite, but also by Oknodie.
Especially alarming was the fact that the Oknodie, who had been helping the Four Kings escape, had changed his mind and decided to capture him, intensifying the threat to the Four Kings’ safety.
“Wait, please take us with you!”
“I’ll do anything you ask. Just don’t abandon us!”
“If we just leave like this, we’ll end up as experiment subjects for the Golden Dancer!”
Offering the Oknodie fine golden coconut juice and premium steak, Riske treated him with utmost respect, as if he were the master of her master. But to mere adventurers, she displayed a coldness far harsher than a 10-year veteran wife ordering them to fend for themselves in the fridge.
As soon as Oknodie set off to catch the Four Kings, the adventurers could easily predict the fate awaiting them without needing any observation magic.
“If managing you is bothersome, leave it to me. I can help and manage in your stead.”
“Wow! Automated management! Middle Manager! But who are you?”
“I’m a thesis thief, an alumnus of the Gift Academy, and I’m being chased by the Professor Weird.”
“Holy moly, you stole a thesis? With all the stuff to steal, why would you choose a thesis? You’re not even a patent thief. What a pointless waste of trash!”
“….”
“Whose thesis did you steal?”
“Professor Weird’s.”
“For world peace, some must become evil. As an apprentice of the rogue Professor Bronze, I will bless your righteous thievery to carry on!”
The favorability of the thesis thief skyrocketed at a terrifying speed, surpassing that of a new player who could gain a level 100 jumping character with just one click to attract new users in a game opened for years.
As the thesis thief’s annoying actions awakened new possibilities for the [Origin Area], Sing appeared to connect the [Spatial Cut] and [Hide] spells, having temporarily isolated their presence from the entire world.
“Don’t trust someone just because they’ve stolen a thesis. What if they see your graduation thesis later and decide to steal it?”
“I’ll just get Darknodi to make one for me.”
“…Darknodi will cry.”
“Yikes, that’s a bit much.”
Oknodie shot a judging glance at the thesis thief, as if questioning how they could commit such a heinous act, prompting the thief to apologize for a crime not yet committed.
“Sorry. But I’m not just any thesis thief.”
“Oh, really? What kind of thesis do you prefer?”
“I’m a thesis thief who steals the work of a rotten professor who torments students and exploits them for his own data. I can’t allow the results obtained through such dishonest research methods to be treated as a remarkable step in magical science as long as I live.”
The only graduate Oknodie knew was the VIP receptionist, Valefor Wasabi, from the Ghost Hotel and Collection City. But hearing the courageous declaration just now, a new face was saved in the graduate category of her mental database.
“What’s your senior’s name?”
“Kiote.”
“So, could you have Senior Kiote manage those newbies over there?”
He was an ideal senior to take care of newbies who had grown too old and had little potential for growth.
Now, several choices opened up before me.
Catch the Demon King’s Four Kings Red Tide and deliver him to the Golden Dancer Riske.
Dig into Cruel’s secret information and tour the Foundation Secret Facility.
Further investigate how the warrior Alpha from the Previous Hero Party crossed paths with the secrets of the Previous Hero Ni’alatotep.
Swoosh.
As a bonus, confuse the fake Lin, who mistook her brother for her sister, by letting her know this person is indeed Sing!
“Look at those fierce eyes and gloomy expression. That’s gotta be Sing, right?”
“…!”
The fake Lin wandered around Sing, feeling reassured.
“…What on earth is happening to my image?”
“I think it’s already too late to worry about that!”
What worried me now wasn’t Sing, but the friends who were still at the academy.
‘Is Darknodi up to something weird?’
Upon further reflection, I realized I was more concerned about Darknodi’s safety than the potential danger Darknodi might pose to my friends.
What would happen if Professor Plato or Professor Weird, who had been rummaging through the campus looking for me, discovered Darknodi?
Professor Weird might be fine since he could just happen upon the Golden Magical Girl Avalon, but I didn’t think Professor Plato would hand out such appealing toys.
‘He wouldn’t just end up trapped and forced to endure relentless physical training, returning to being a Marine who Specializes in Strength All-in, would he?’
The very thought of the professor, who was like the creator of an all-in beast obsessed with strength, made me uneasy about Darknodi’s attitude, which sought to harness the knowledge and experience held by the original.
Imagining a 230cm hulking Darknodi and disposable shield friends hung around his limbs… just the thought was frightening.
Indeed, I couldn’t leave things be.
If I accidentally freed a candidate for Great Evil, who had once fed on me, Darknodi might also wreak havoc at the academy!
“Can I borrow some leftover gear from the treasure hoard?”
“Permission granted.”
After receiving Riske’s approval, I dismantled a useless treasure, using the massive amount of mana released during the destruction of the magic tool to activate long-distance observation magic.
Although the Nature Mana of Gift Island wasn’t quite as potent as that found within a Magical Territory, it was substantial enough, and avoiding the gaze of Principal Omoshiroi, the island’s owner, proved to be even more challenging.
[What is it, mouse? Peeping in strange places at the academy? I’ll request rescue from a cleaner place than that fourth-year dimensional refugee.]
If peeking was tough, couldn’t I just get permission from the person involved?
But when I thought to boldly approach within the principal’s detection range, knocking on the door of magic for access permission, I heard the principal’s incredulous voice.
Wasn’t there a distance of thousands of kilometers involved?
His voice was sharper than an international call and strangely disconcerting.
“Principal! I’m worried my doppelganger left at the academy isn’t up to anything strange, so I’d like to observe. Could you grant me permission to do so?”
[Does a doppelganger have a self?]
“Sure?”
[Do they feel emotions?]
“They can get sulky too!”
[So, you applied for classes and then dumped everything on your doppelganger and fled?]
Oops.
It wasn’t until I heard the principal that I realized I had signed up for an enormous number of classes this semester.
[You applied for twelve third-year classes and even four more to take with your friends, then piled it all on the doppelganger?]
Even the principal, known as the Evil Dragon, was astonished by my unintended mischief.
[I’m indeed curious about what results your devilish wisdom has triggered. If it’s okay to view it together, I’ll allow you to peek.]
The principal willingly granted permission.
It seemed Sing, curious about my privacy, crept closer.
Noticing my gaze, Sing fidgeted, trying to remove Lin, who poked at her chest with an uncomfortable expression.
“The fake Lin wants to see the goo. She seems worried since we’re in the same room.”
“Then let’s all take a look!”
“I demand. Cruel wants to see Jonnas.”
“Cruel, come here too!”
“…That video has piqued my interest.”
Even Alpha begged to see, and Rosinante, who had fallen to the bottom of the hierarchy, seemed to exhale with curiosity as if fuelled by interest.
“How about we just watch it together?”
Bothered by asking for individual permissions, I transmitted the observation magic through a massive 200-inch screen, measuring 443cm by 249cm.
All of a sudden, we transformed into an audience of a movie, lined up side by side, but if the original piqued your curiosity, you could peek into the daily life of the doppelganger!
Everyone sat together to play the video, but strangely, the screen appeared pitch black.
“What’s up? Is it night?”
“Isn’t the academy’s lighting fairly decent? Even at night, this seems weird.”
Sing’s observation was accurate.
Unless it was a student council set on committing wrongdoing, such a poorly lit room couldn’t exist.
It couldn’t happen without someone of higher status or authority intervening.
Who could hold higher authority than the student council?
Usually, it would be a professor.
What purpose might a professor have?
It would surely be a lecture they didn’t want to advertise…
Suddenly, I felt a chill as if listening to a horror story in the middle of summer.
Who on earth was Darknodi taking lectures from at this moment?
Dudududuk…
A faint vibration shook our vision, and the sound began to draw nearer.
As if breaking an egg and hatching a chick, the dark view split open, drastically altering our sight.
“New, burial alive?!”
“That… was underground?”
“Shock. Cruel does not know such lectures.”
Well, it was no wonder she wouldn’t know.
Students attending that professor’s lectures were few and far between…
The pale hand gripping the person, shaking them like a rag doll, definitely belonged to Darknodi.
Of course, it was none other than the perilous Professor Sadako, infamous for being as dangerous as Professor Weird.
“You made me stay at the academy… and while skipping lectures, you made a run for it… I can’t forgive you. Tomorrow, I’m putting you through two hours of special training during sleep time. If you run away… I’ll make sure you never see the sun again.”
The flickering bright red pupils from her jet-black hair, long and seaweed-like, were terrifying enough to spook a monster emerging from an abyss, shaking in fear as if it mistakenly arrived at the wrong address.
“Should we stop watching?”
“I didn’t want to learn something like this…”
“Peeping into someone else’s private life isn’t right.”
We unanimously resolved to respect Darknodi’s privacy and ended the observation magic.
