Chapter 47
Find Laplace's weakness.
But I'd been looking only through the gallery for eleven hours now...
“...There isn't one.”
Laplace Mayflower
In other words,
MagicalGirlOfJustice■
had no weaknesses.
HolyPowerStorageTank■
had never posted lewd photos,
nor had OnlySayNiceThings■
ever made an inappropriate remark.
Rather, even in the gallery, she proclaimed ‘justice’ and performed something akin to an administrator's role while I was away.
Of course...
[
MagicalGirlOfJustice■: A third-rate copycat work that appeared after Magical Girl Urara became popular, riding on its popularity.]
She had lost her head and spammed the gallery a little whenever ‘Magical Girl Urara’ was involved, but there was no way something like that could be a weakness.
‘What am I supposed to do now?’
Even so, I couldn't commission a background investigation in real life just to get a hold of Laplace's weakness.
Time and cost were problems, but above all, Laplace Mayflower was the Second Princess.
Unlike digging through the gallery, a real-life investigation could require me to put my life on the line.
‘Do I have no choice but to sign....’
I couldn't think of any other way to protect Iveline.
As Laplace had said, Iveline was the only daughter of an aristocratic family.
If a rumor spread that she had been expelled from the academy for engaging in lewd acts...
the pain Iveline would suffer would surely be incomparable to my own.
“...No, something's odd.”
At that moment, I felt as though I'd grasped a clue to the case.
‘Do you even know how many people Lady Laplace has expelled so far?’
There was a simple reason the normally confident Iveline feared Laplace so much that she even looked ready to cry.
Laplace, when enforcing her
‘justice,’
would disregard
'gender,' 'species,' and 'status,'
and expel students from the academy.
Naturally, among those expelled were
'nobles of the Empire'
aplenty.
“Justice that discriminates between opponents isn't justice...”
After expelling other nobles time and time again, how could she suddenly treat only Iveline specially?
It didn't add up.
‘There’s definitely something here.’
I was certain that if I dug into this point, I could uncover Laplace's weakness.
Tick-tock─ Tick-tock─
The problem was time.
It was good that I'd found a clue, but there were only about two hours left until I had to leave for school.
‘I can't be absent.’
If I skipped the academy today, Iveline would surely realize that something was wrong.
No, more importantly, Laplace wouldn't give me extra time simply because I'd been absent.
‘...I have to find her weakness somehow within the next two hours.’
Rustle─ Ssswish─ Rustle─
But even after combing through the gallery several times, I still couldn't find anything unusual besides her excessive love of ‘Magical Girl Urara’.
Just in case, I checked the guestbook one more time....
[Magical Girl of Justice Guestbook]
MagicalGirlOfJustice■: Urara Episode 8 (Link) ★★★★ - Private post
MagicalGirlOfJustice■: Urara Episode 9 (Link) ★★★ - Private post
MagicalGirlOfJustice■: I achieved another form of justice today. May tomorrow be another righteous day.
MagicalGirlOfJustice■: Urara Episode 17 (Link) ★★★★★★ - Private post
MagicalGirlOfJustice■: Urara Episode 28 (Link) ★★★ - Private post
MagicalGirlOfJustice■: Practicing justice is always a pleasant thing. May I always be just.
MagicalGirlOfJustice■: Urara Episode 33 (Link) ★★★★★ - Private post
...
..
.
As expected, there was nothing.
At most, they were short diary entries or ratings for Urara.
No weakness was visible.
“...Is this really where it ends?”
Click─
[Magical Girl Urara Episode 17 (UraraIsFuckedSheCanNeverWin)]
Fearing that there might be a clue in the highly rated episodes, I checked them too, but I couldn't find anything special.
Click─ Click─
[Magical Girl Urara Episode 69 (UraraNoonaGetsBeatenByGoldenSunAgain)]
[Magical Girl Urara Episode 74 (UraraFinallyWinsAndAchievesNirvanaLol)]
The other episodes with ratings were the same.
Even after checking them all, I couldn't find so much as a common thread.
No, I could find a commonality, but it was only natural for the same comic to have similar content in the first place...
“...Huh?”
For an instant, I felt as though the scattered pieces of a puzzle had all fallen into place.
“...No way!”
Tap─! Tap-tap─!
[Urara Episode 1] [Urara Episode 2] [Urara Episode 3]... [Urara Episode 223] [Urara Episode 234]
I laid out Magical Girl Urara from the first episode to the latest one, then displayed Laplace's guestbook beside it and compared them one by one to test my hypothesis.
Tick-tock─ Tick-tock─
Fifteen minutes before it was time to leave for school.
“...Found it.”
I had uncovered Laplace's seemingly flawless secret.
***
After school.
I told Iveline and Estelle that I was submitting some paperwork and went to see the disciplinary committee once again.
“...You came.”
Thud─
Laplace, who had been polishing a camera, tossed some documents and a pen in front of me.
“Then sign.”
“I'm sorry, but... I didn't come here to sign.”
“...Then are you saying you wish to be forcibly taken away?”
“That isn't it either.”
“....”
Laplace slowly blinked and looked at me with emotionless eyes.
“Ian, I don't like wasting time.”
“Neither do I. So please give me one chance.”
“What chance?”
“I will prove that I did not violate the school rules.”
“How?”
“I'll show you at the scene itself.”
“Haa....”
Laplace tapped her temple with her long fingers as she spoke.
“Fine. But if you were planning to stall again this time, you'd better be prepared.”
“That won't happen, so you needn't worry.”
“Quite confident, aren't you? Fine. Let's go.”
With her coat draped over her shoulders, Laplace took the lead and walked toward the old school building.
‘So far, so good.’
I had succeeded in taking Laplace to the old school building alone, the first step of my plan.
All I could do now was hope that my hypothesis wasn't wrong.
“Well, as you wished, I've come to the scene. How will you prove it now?”
A short while later, in front of the duty room in the old school building, Laplace folded her arms and asked me.
“Please wait there a moment.”
Creak─ Creak─
Perhaps because I was nervous, the sound of the wooden floor seemed especially loud today.
Just as I thought I'd put enough distance between us...
Gulp─!
I emptied what I had prepared into my mouth, then turned around and glared at Laplace.
“...Don't tell me? I didn't think you were that stupid.”
“What?”
“So now we're speaking casually... Haa... Ian, may I take it that you want a fight?”
“And what are you going to do about it?”
“How foolish. You think you can beat me alone?”
“Alone? Anyone listening would think you had several people with you. You're alone here too, aren't you?”
I clenched my fist and tried to keep my voice from trembling.
‘Don't be afraid. It's over if you get scared!’
The secret of Laplace I'd found by searching through the gallery all night.
Urara Episode 8 ★★★★: Punch in the face + nosebleed
Urara Episode 9 ★★★: Broken arm
Urara Episode 17 ★★★★★★: Gut punch (uterus shown)
Urara Episode 33 ★★★★★: Gut punch (uterus not shown)
Urara Episode 28 ★★★: Nail extraction
Urara Episode 69 ★★★★★: Slap + pussy kick
Urara Episode 74 ★★★★★★★: Gut punch + choking (uterus and convulsions shown)
...
..
In the episodes that had ratings in the guestbook, Magical Girl Urara was brutally beaten by the villain Golden Sun.
“...This is absurd. You think you can win if you're alone?”
“Shut your fucking mouth. You walked into the trap on your own like an idiot, and now you're acting tough.”
The truth was, I was the one acting tough.
Why?
Because ‘Magical Girl Urara’
had been beaten down by
‘Golden Sun,’ who
had this kind of personality.
If my guess was right, Laplace's taste in men would lean toward this sort of frivolous man.
It probably didn't mean much, but if I wanted to raise my odds even a little, I had to do whatever I could.
“If you insist on physically experiencing the judgment of justice... very well.”
『As long as one's convictions remain unbroken, justice will not be defeated』
Fwoooosh─!
As Laplace traced a cross and recited an incantation, a white halo appeared above her head.
‘Judgment’
The blessing had been activated.
Even the effects that were widely known included multiplying physical abilities severalfold, significantly amplifying magical power, and granting innate healing.
It was a cheat-like blessing that displayed overwhelming effects in both short and prolonged battles.
‘...As expected of the top-ranked third-year student.’
My mouth went completely dry.
My opponent was a genius who had entered the academy at the age of eighteen.
Naturally, there was no way an ordinary academy student like me could have any chance of winning.
“Ian, I'll make one final offer. Kneel right now and sign the expulsion papers.”
“Fuck you.”
“...A vulgar man to the very end.”
Shraaak─
Laplace drew the sword from her waist, took a stance, and spoke.
“Don't worry. I haven't sharpened the edge. It'll end with a few broken bones.”
“Fuck, you've been jabbering annoyingly loud for a while now.”
“...You bastard.”
In a fight where my odds of victory were zero, there was only one thing I was counting on.
【Lucky Sukebe Potion】
I hadn't expected to use it so soon, but that was a hundred times better than saving it and regretting it later.
‘...Here I go!’
Bang─!
I kicked off the ground and charged at Laplace by surprise.
‘Let it work!!’
Judging by its name alone, it probably hadn't been made for combat, but
‘Lucky Sukebe Potion’
had been made personally by the Goddess Ellis herself!
Rather than trying to control it myself, I figured a randomly thrown punch, trusting the potion to somehow do its work, would be more effective!
“Pathetic... Was that all?”
But was the difference in our basic abilities simply too great?
It didn't seem to have any effect on Laplace.
‘I'm screwed!’
Just as I braced for the impact when I saw Laplace grip her sword.
Craack─!
“...!”
The wooden floor suddenly shattered, throwing Laplace off balance, and
Whooosh─!
“...Ugh!”
sand flying in through the broken window obscured Laplace's vision, and
Whirrr─!
a flying splinter knocked over the trash can, sending a used condom straight beneath Laplace's feet.
Slip─!
“...Ngh!?”
Even Laplace hadn't anticipated a situation like this, and the moment she bent forward to regain her balance,
Crack─!!
I felt a strangely familiar sensation in my fist.
!?!♥
3.8 centimeters below Laplace Mayflower's navel.
Her Highness the Princess, struck by the gut punch I'd thrown with all my strength exactly where the uterus was located...
Twitch─! Twitch─!
clutched her stomach and trembled.