Chapter 80
Meanwhile,
While students who had finished their school trip were returning to the academy, terrible screams were echoing through a cathedral located on the outskirts of the Empire.
"Ugh, kuk, uuk, kuguk...!"
"Kyaaaa!!"
"G-God... God..."
"We, we must, escape... Cough."
Liszt.
A gathering of clergy protecting the area.
Originally composed of devout believers, they were those who guarded the city they were in charge of, but now they were sunk in deep darkness to the point where such light seemed meaningless.
Priests who had lost consciousness were sprawled on the wide corridor floor.
They were all twitching while covered in blood.
"Haa, haa...!"
A woman ran while breathing roughly.
She seemed to be running away from something.
Air dyed with a terrible stench. The woman moved her legs with an expression full of fear.
Faint music was ringing in her ears.
"Ugh...!"
Her consciousness became hazy from the enchanting melody.
It felt like her brain was melting.
The woman gripped the rosary in her bosom tightly and regained her senses.
Following the softly blooming holy power, her hazy focus returned to clarity again.
But that too was only temporary.
"Ugh, haa...!"
The woman didn't stop her tired legs even while groaning.
She had to let the outside world know of this news.
Liszt was in a situation of annihilation.
Torn corpses rolled on the floor, bright red blood was everywhere, and pitch darkness that had descended on the cathedral blocked vision.
The priests exposed to the music had all strangely changed.
Their white priestly robes were dyed black, then they became monsters chewing human flesh.
Now only the woman maintained her sanity.
"I must let them know...!"
She ran while covering her ears.
The will to somehow alert the outside world of this danger.
But despite such will, before long the woman had no choice but to stop her steps.
A shadow was standing before her eyes.
"Ah."
Right after.
Thugs who had been hiding in the surrounding darkness revealed themselves one by one.
They were all wearing robes.
Figures that looked as if they had been waiting.
The woman unknowingly lost strength in her legs.
Thud-.
"God."
The woman who had fallen to her knees.
She grasped her rosary with trembling hands, then closed her eyes and offered a prayer.
It was a final meditation.
"Please... save us from evil."
The next moment.
A raging melody swallowed the woman.
***
The school trip where many things happened one way or another.
Several days had already passed since returning from the somewhat noisy vacation.
The students seemed to be preparing to return to their fierce daily lives again.
-Time really flies.
-Yeah. It feels like we just had the entrance ceremony yesterday... What did we do that it's already final exams?
-I'm already feeling overwhelmed. Looking at the announced scope, it's no joke.
-I want to go back to the school trip...
Perhaps it was because of the final exams approaching just a month away?
Library, training ground, lecture halls... The children were busily going around the academy, reclaiming the studies they had briefly put down.
It wasn't particularly different for me either.
Though I was confident in my grades, academy life didn't just go on by doing well on tests.
I had to at least fulfill the duties of my given position.
While other students were studying, I spent time in the research lab.
"Hmm."
Scratch scratch-.
Clear noise rang out every time the pen tip brushed over paper.
Following the continuing trajectory and drawing lines, the black ink soon remained as elegant handwriting.
I turned over the mountain of documents piled up beside me.
"Master? Here are documents that need review."
"Thank you, Student Yuda."
I was in the middle of helping with Selena's paperwork.
I classified the layered documents, and sorted out unimportant content separately to organize.
It was work that basically followed most head assistants.
"If there's any remaining administrative work, please pass it to me."
"I'm grateful for lending a hand... but you don't need to do this much."
"I'm fine with it."
Though I didn't need to be bound by work given our previous agreement, I still felt I should give this minimum help.
After all, it pricked my conscience to enjoy power without responsibility.
Moreover, it was also meant as thanks for Selena cleanly filling in the 3 days of attendance I was absent during the school trip.
'There should always be something returned when something is received.'
That's the interaction between adults.
I lightly twirled my pen.
As I was continuing to write letters like that, suddenly a call was heard from beside me.
It was a voice without even a trace of emotion visible.
"About the last school trip. I roughly handled the records. I reported that you went to obtain research materials following my instructions, so if other professors ask, you can answer like that."
"Thank you for your consideration, Master."
"It's nothing."
"Hmm... I thought you would ask about the reason for my absence then, but it seems you're less interested than I expected."
"Even if I'm curious, I don't intend to ask. That was the condition from the start after all."
Selena answered with an indifferent face.
Red pupils blinking.
As always, she was holding a bottle of alcohol in her hand.
The woman moistened her throat with a few sips of alcohol, then brushed back her purple-tinged hair.
Her red lips left one word of advice.
"I don't intend to interfere. But I'd like to say not to play too dangerously."
"I'm grateful for your concern."
"Because you're a student I'm teaching."
"You're kind, Master."
"...Today's paperwork is done with this. You should head back now."
Selena making an ambiguous expression.
The woman tilted her alcohol bottle while keeping silent.
She seemed to be lost in thought.
A faint smell of alcohol wafting. I left the research lab with that behind me.
I chewed over a monologue while facing the passing wind.
'As expected, it's not easy to get close, is it.'
Selena seemed to be drawing a line consistently.
Considering the events to come, it would be easier to narrow the distance more than now, but there was still no particular progress.
'It should be fine... There's quite a bit of time left too.'
I shook off the needlessly lingering idle thoughts.
As I was taking steps like that, I saw several people standing in front of the research building.
"Young Master...!"
"You finally came out."
"Good work."
Regia, Emilia, and Irene in order.
The three people who had been waiting to match the time work ended lightly waved their hands when our gazes met.
I approached them with a grin.
"I'm a bit late."
"You're 10 whole minutes late! Do you know how long I've been waiting?"
"Th-That's because we left the library too early. We had time to stay longer, but the Young Lady kept saying to leave quickly..."
"Commoner! Don't say unnecessary things!"
"Eep... S-Sorry."
Regia shrinking at the glaring gaze.
When the villainess suppressed the protagonist, this time the quietly standing fox gently added words.
It was a calm voice.
"The pink hair is right."
"Miss Irene?"
"The blue hair was the one who said to wait first. She dragged us out forcibly too."
"Y-You be quiet too! Don't speak up when you're just a servant! And I told you to use honorifics! I am the rightful heir of the great Beniti family...!"
"Yes, rightful heir. I've heard it enough today so stop."
"Eeeek!! That attitude is insolent!"
Emilia reacted intensely.
It seemed she had been properly scratched.
Perhaps bonds had built up while spending time together after the school trip?
It was too much to say they were close, but it wasn't the awkward atmosphere without a single word like before either.
I spoke while holding a pleased smile.
"It's nice to see you all seem to have gotten closer."
"Where on earth are you seeing that?!"
"...I don't need that. You're enough humans in my life."
"W-Weren't we getting closer? Or was it just my imagination... Uuu."
The reactions returned colorfully.
The narcissist freaking out.
The indifferent fox.
The pilot becoming gloomy.
It was truly a noisy atmosphere.
We crossed the wide, extended plaza while conversing like that.
A call that suddenly came grasped my sleeve.
"You... said you won't be going to the research lab tomorrow, right?"
"Since the exams are not far off."
"Then how about studying together? I think the commoner and I will be in the library."
"You're all diligent indeed. To prepare for exams so fiercely."
"Hmm... I might consider including you if you want."
"Th-That's right, Young Master! The Young Lady said she would teach difficult parts too!"
"Hmm."
It was a tempting proposal.
Since I already knew all the academy's academic content anyway, reviewing alone would just be boring.
It seemed like it would be fun to gather together like when doing assignments usually.
But there was one problem.
"I'll gladly accept the proposal."
"Then..."
"But it seems I won't be able to participate tomorrow. I'll join from this weekend."
"Do as you please. I suppose you have other plans tomorrow?"
"That's right."
I nodded my head.
I took Irene's hand beside me, then interlocked our fingers and swung them to show.
The other two girls were looking this way.
"We're planning to go out with just the two of us. You could call it a date."
A casually laid out sentence.
Following that sentence, the eyes of the two listening people widened.