Chapter 75
"―――That concludes my report on the incident."
"...I see."
Toka Igarashi was listening to the students' reports in the student council room.
They concerned the Dark Wolf's attack earlier.
She listened closely to the details of the damage and compiled them.
"How are Tanaka-kun and Kato-kun doing?"
"...Both of them are resting in the infirmary for now. However... I think they'll have difficulty managing their daily lives from now on. After all, both of them... well, they've lost their legs below the knees..."
The male student who had come to give the report wore a pained expression.
The two students he had just mentioned were the ones Rikka had rescued when they were about to be swallowed by the 'Darkness' during the Dark Wolf's attack.
Of course, the price of that rescue had been their legs.
She knew that the two of them would have died otherwise, but that didn't make it any easier to come to terms with emotionally.
"Understood. Thank you for the report."
She thanked the male student and sent him out of the room.
Then, with only the student council members left in the room, President Igarashi let out a heavy sigh.
"You look tired."
The female student serving as secretary, who had been compiling the reports beside her, spoke up.
"Well, it would be a lie to say I'm not tired. I'm only human, after all..."
It had already been four days since the monsters appeared.
She had barely slept during that time.
All instructions and policies for the school as a whole were carried out through her and the student council.
She left a certain amount of discretion to those in charge at each site, but she held the final decision-making authority.
Food, sleeping quarters, supplies, and countless other things. There was a mountain of work to be done.
There was no time to rest.
Without 'Fatigue Resistance' and 'Stress Resistance,' it would have been perfectly understandable if she had collapsed by now under the relentless workload she had shouldered day after day.
(Even so...)
As she compiled the students' reports, Toka Igarashi considered the matter.
The attack this time.
(There are so many oddities about it...)
When she put the reports together, several unnatural details stood out.
The monster had appeared suddenly, then retreated just as easily.
It had already been wounded.
Despite having a habit of forming packs, it had been alone.
There were several points that concerned her.
(...There are various possibilities. But most likely―――)
As she organized her thoughts, someone knocked on the door.
When she gave permission to enter, a male student came into the room.
He was a nervous-looking student in glasses.
"Excuse me. I've just returned."
"Oh, Miyamoto, Vice President. Good work."
"I'm not tired at all. You're far more exhausted than I am, President... What's that document?"
"It's a report on the monster from earlier. I was compiling it just now."
"...Leave it to her and me. You've been working nonstop, haven't you? Please get some rest."
Igarashi gave Miyamoto a wry smile as he admonished her.
After all, the female student serving as secretary had just said the same thing to her.
Did she really look that tired?
"Hehe, I'll accept your concern. But I'm fine. I'll get some proper rest once this is finished."
"You promise? We can't afford to have anything happen to you. Besides, if we'd properly defeated that monster in the first place, we wouldn't have had to spend so much time cleaning up afterward. But that Nishino ignored my orders... Honestly, this is why I hate delinquents..."
"You shouldn't speak ill of him. He may not look it, but he's a very capable student."
"...You certainly hold him in high regard, President."
Miyamoto's face openly twisted in displeasure at her defense of Nishino.
"Yes, I do. Nishino-kun and Aisaka-san attended the same middle school as I did. He was well known even back then. He always ranked first on the regular exams, was serious and proactive, and was highly regarded by the teachers. Not a single person in his class disliked him."
"...Is that really true?"
Miyamoto wore an expression that said he couldn't believe it.
Seeing his expression, Igarashi laughed in amusement.
"Hehe, everyone says that. But it's true. Come to think of it, Aisaka-san's appearance has changed quite a bit too. Her hair was black back then, and she wore glasses... Ah, those were the days."
"...The past is the past. The present is the present, isn't it? It doesn't change the fact that he's a delinquent with poor conduct."
"Yes, but I believe that's only superficial. A person's true nature doesn't change so easily. He will undoubtedly become a valuable companion to us."
"Tch... P-President! Are you saying Nishino is superior to me?! That's impossible! Delinquents are people who only care about themselves! They're in a completely different league from people like us, who bring everyone together and lead them! The people around that guy are all good-for-nothings too! We should throw them out immediately―――"
Miyamoto screamed hysterically, apparently having reached the limit of his restraint.
But,
"―――Miyamoto, Vice President."
Miyamoto flinched.
For an instant, he felt as though the temperature in the room had plummeted to absolute zero.
Her voice was so chilling that it seemed to freeze him to the bone.
Her brows were drawn together in displeasure.
"I will not tolerate any further remarks disparaging my companions."
"Tch... I-I'm sorry."
Miyamoto obediently lowered his head.
The pressure she exerted was overwhelming and left no room for argument.
Seeing that, she broke into a bright smile.
In that instant, the tense atmosphere dispersed as if it had never existed.
"Please don't worry so much. Just because he is capable doesn't mean the trust I've placed in you has disappeared. I will continue to rely on you, all right?"
"P-President..."
Those words immediately put Miyamoto in a good mood again.
Igarashi inwardly smiled at how easy he was to manipulate.
"Then this matter ends here. Now, let's get back to work. I have a small favor to ask."
"What is it?"
"Pick out several members of the exploration team and have them search the area around the school. Even the smallest detail is fine. Have them investigate whether there is anything unusual."
"...What do you mean?"
Apparently unable to gauge Igarashi's true intentions, Miyamoto asked for clarification.
"...I believe this monster attack was caused by human action."
"What?!"
Miyamoto and the other student council members were stunned by her statement.
A commotion spread through the student council room.
"W-what do you mean, President? This attack was caused by a person?"
Miyamoto repeated the question back to her.
Igarashi nodded and slowly folded her hands on the table.
"Yes. If we assume someone was pulling the strings behind the scenes... then many things about this attack begin to make sense."
"Th-that's ridiculous... Something like that..."
"Can you say for certain that there are no Skills or Jobs that allow someone to control monsters? I don't know much about them, but I've heard that games commonly have Jobs and Skills like that."
"Th-that may be true... B-but if so, what would be the purpose?! What could anyone possibly gain by controlling monsters and making them attack people?!"
"There would be a purpose. 'Experience.'"
"Huh...?"
"When we defeat monsters, we gain experience. So isn't it possible that monsters, in turn, gain experience by killing people?"
"That... is certainly possible."
"This is only a hypothesis, but what if, when someone tames a monster, part of the experience it gains is distributed to its tamer?"
The tamer could leave all the fighting to the monster and leisurely accumulate experience from a safe distance.
If that hypothesis were correct, it would be an extremely effective means of leveling—apart from the fact that it was so vicious and utterly inhuman.
"No... If that's true..."
Miyamoto seemed to have realized how serious the situation was.
"Yes, there is a high chance that another attack will occur. That is precisely why I want us to take whatever precautions we can."
"Understood. I'll organize a search team centered around people with detection-type Skills."
"Yes, I'm counting on you. If you find anyone behaving suspiciously around the school, report it immediately."
"Yes. Then, if you'll excuse me."
Miyamoto bowed respectfully and left the student council room.
After assigning work to the other members, she was left alone in the student council room.
She thought in the silence that filled the room.
(Now then, I think I'll investigate the 'inside.')
She had suggested the possibility of an outside culprit and given them instructions accordingly, but she was also considering another possibility: that there was an enemy within.
In that case, everyone except herself was a suspect, including the members of the student council.
That was why she had not mentioned it in front of the others.
(Honestly, whoever you are, you've caused quite a bit of trouble...)
An outsider, or a traitor within their midst.
Either way, it was an extremely troublesome situation.
No, it was even more unforgivable than that.
(Ah, filthy, filthy, filthy. You goddamn beast. Who gave you permission to lay a hand on my precious possessions?)
Anger welled up inside her, along with a deep sense of resentment.
Toka Igarashi was a ruler.
She loved making people obey her and grovel at her feet.
Seeing others treat her with respect always sent a thrill through her.
Recently, when Nishino had submitted to her through her Skill, an indescribable pleasure had coursed through her entire body.
This school existed for her sake.
This Skill, the student council, the students, and the evacuees—all of them existed so that she could rule them.
To exist as a ruler, she spared no effort.
She considered it the natural duty of one who stood above others.
And precisely because of that, she could not tolerate anyone hurting those under her control.
She alone held all decision-making authority.
To cherish them, enjoy them, or hurt them.
The heinous criminal who had dared to defile and sully them.
She could never forgive them.
(Someone who tames monsters... perhaps a 'Monster Tamer.' I absolutely won't let you have your way. I'll definitely expose you.)
Burning with hostility toward the unseen enemy, Toka Igarashi began devising measures for what lay ahead.