The Destroyer verified the information obtained from Professor Pinkberry.
– There’s a city that’s soon going to be blasted away by a volcanic eruption caused by the Magic Tower. If that city goes down, not only the Magic Tower but the Foundation might benefit as well.
Information from Professor Pinkberry.
A city that will be hit by a volcanic eruption from the Magic Tower.
The name of the city wasn’t given, but there weren’t that many cities located near volcanoes to begin with.
“Nature Mana is concentrated, making it a great environment for training specific attribute affinities. So, a magical city would form there, attracting practitioners, and as it grows, it would also attract businesses—there aren’t that many of those, are there?”
The coastal city Hercoleneum.
The steel city Oplontis.
The tourist city Stabiai.
And the temple city Pompeii.
“Among those, there’s really only one city that stands out like a thorn in the Foundation’s side.”
The Southern City-States Federation, where the Twelve Benevolent Deities and Twelve Evil Gods fiercely compete for every inch of land, uniquely has the temple city Pompeii that worships the main deity, Sofemia of the Sun.
The Foundation aims to wipe out Pompeii using the Magic Tower as a pretext for a volcanic eruption.
It’s to combat one of the colossal forces, the Multicolor Magic Tower, that they wouldn’t dare challenge in a normal heroic way.
“Are you planning not to inform the Current Hero Ishtar about this incident?”
“If we plan to kill the hero, it doesn’t matter if she finds out. That kid isn’t ripe yet. If she gets caught up in such a large incident, she will most likely lose her life.”
Knowing won’t help; it’s a trap that Warrior Ishtar should never find out about.
“How is the Magic Tower involved?”
“They sell a volcanic disaster insurance service that suppresses volcanic eruptions and ensures the safety of the four nearby cities while maintaining the total amount of Nature Mana.”
“Also, they take advantage of the training of Red Magic Tower mages? That must have been a beneficial environment for them for a long time, but why would they want to cut open the goose that lays the golden eggs?”
The leader of the Thief Guild’s Volcano branch, Shu Churros, confidently answered.
“This year’s first half of 981, the Dragon Principal orchestrated a Weekly Event or the Spirit Realm Bombing Incident involving Fourth Year Magdonar, leading to a significant number of plants turning into monsters.”
“Really? Was that the cause of the incident back then?”
“As a result, the temperature in the forest has risen dramatically, and Flame Herbs and Flame Vines have been appearing all over the world, drastically increasing the training grounds for Red Magic Tower mages. They no longer need to be tied to just one volcano.”
He understood why the Magic Tower has turned traitorous.
Still, the Destroyer had lingering questions.
“The volcanic disaster insurance they contracted… As long as this service is maintained, if a volcano erupts, the Red Magic Tower has to pay a hefty insurance fee to the four cities near the volcanic region, the Volcano Four. If all this still happens, what picture do you think is being drawn?”
It’s a bizarre question with the order of things reversed.
It implies that a volcanic eruption is assured, and it asks how they would shoulder the responsibility.
However, in the affairs of heroes, monumental incidents often happen that go beyond common sense; if one is bound by reason, they will always act a step late.
Ever since losing Havi, the Destroyer keenly felt this reality.
That’s why he could freely accept the opinions of the free-spirited and creative leaders of the Thief Guild.
“If the cities that are supposed to pay the insurance disappear, then there will be no one to demand compensation from the Red Magic Tower, even if they fail to take responsibility.”
An outrageous notion that if all customers who contracted life insurance were to die in a massacre, no payments would be required!
With the Foundation also using the high-ranking scholarship students planted within the Red Magic Tower to launch a full-on offensive, the power to prevent this incident would be greater than ever.
“Are you really going to step in?”
“Absolutely. I will personally participate in this operation.”
“This will be your first heroic act since retirement. Is there any particular reason you’ve decided to step back into the fray?”
Amidst the faithful inquiry from Shu Churros, the Destroyer mumbled with a solemn expression.
‘I can’t reveal that!’
It was something he could never confess to Professor Pinkberry, that he had set out to thwart the schemes of the Foundation and the Red Magic Tower to prove he wasn’t a child fan.
Shu Churros thought to himself, as he usually did, ‘Wow, the hero has a very intense atmosphere.’ and just followed along.
*
Professor Pinkberry was about to lose it.
“What’s going on? That kid suddenly got caught by Professor Destroyer and is being dragged off, and now what’s he doing during the exam?”
With the interference from Professor Destroyer, the conversation between the two was completely blocked by the barrier, adding to her anxiety. Just as she exited the barrier, she was spotted by Professor Minerva, disguised as a maid, and the shadowy Professor Bronze.
Her disguise was incredibly well done, but ironically, it was so good that it made Professor Pinkberry even more anxious.
“Ugh! What the heck! If I have conversations with so many professors with my face, what am I supposed to do as an outsider?”
Like Princess Masugaki 2, she shared a similar personality but lacked the generous disposition.
To her, communication was something too nauseating to even attempt.
“Geez! If I talk to them, I won’t even be able to set foot in the staff cafeteria for a while!”
Suddenly, she imagined Professors Minerva or Bronze approaching her, going, “Hey, remember we talked at our dance?” and it made her feel sick to her stomach.
It wasn’t until long after the test time ended that Oknodie finally left the ballroom.
“Professor! How did I do?”
“Scoring is done! Go back!”
While casually tossing scores to Jiang, Professor Pinkberry keenly followed Oknodie’s movements and quickly followed him outside.
“Hey!! What kind of long conversation did you have with the professors without my permission!!”
Did all of them only talk about things they didn’t want others to know? This was infuriating because she couldn’t hear anything clearly due to the barrier.
To make it worse, the way Oknodie shrank away like a pitiful mess when called upon just fit in too well, adding to her frustration.
“Professor… I didn’t mean for it to turn out this way…”
“Just spill it! If you said something ridiculous with someone else’s face, you have to clear up the misunderstanding!”
As she raised her voice and shook him back and forth, a nearby Third Year screamed as they walked by.
“Aaaaah!! Professor Pinkberry is choking the Doppelganger!!!”
“What?! Which lab did that precious experiment subject come from? Are you trying to kill it?!”
“I don’t know! I feel bad for it! How could you kill it without even capturing it? Professors, you’re going too far!”
Seeing her classmates leaning out the window, whispering away, Professor Pinkberry dragged Oknodie to her office in a huff.
“Alright, now that there’s no one to disturb us, spill it. What did you talk about?”
“All the others asked what the Destroyer Professor and I talked about…”
“So what did you discuss with Professor Destroyer?”
Oknodie did his best, but with a resigned look, he confessed.
“I was confessed to about the Destroyer Professor’s twisted castle walls…”
“…What?! Are you messing with me right now?”
“It’s true! The professor said they loved children, well, more accurately, they love poor and adorable kids. I didn’t know how to respond, it was so embarrassing…”
Professor Pinkberry’s mind went blank.
Loving children?
That sounds incredible… could they be talking about me!!
At 144 cm tall, even when she went to the staff cafeteria, the head chef sometimes served her a kid’s meal, and she even got a 20% discount meant only for kids!
It was nice that it saved her points, but no one would believe her when she denied she wasn’t a child.
‘And poor little kids? That’s definitely about me too!’
Caught in the Dragon Principal’s antics, Professor Pinkberry had to help out the upperclassmen once a week.
Being told to try this and that, and being tested on how far she could keep up, who wouldn’t feel miserable about that?
‘Adorableness, well, I am cute, so that makes sense!’
As a result, the claims of dejection, adorableness, and being a child all applied to her!
Professor Pinkberry was at a loss at the indirect confession attack she had received.
“Professor Destroyer! That was too much! To suddenly drop such a confession without giving me any time to prepare!”
“Right? That was so wrong!”
“What else did they say?”
“They said they had been watching me all last semester. They said the decision was the result of long thought and consideration.”
“Ugh… I feel like my hands and feet are going to twist off. How could they say something like that?”
“That’s right!”
“What about the other professors?”
“Whether it was because of my chest or my height, they asked about it.”
“You saw them confessing, huh?!”
Professor Pinkberry’s face turned a bright crimson, like red dye splashed onto water.
“I don’t know! How am I supposed to show my face in the staff cafeteria starting tomorrow!”
“I’m even more distressed! How am I supposed to eat starting tomorrow with all this embarrassment!”
“What are you distressed about? Just eat! Anyway, I’ll take care of this so forget it for now!”
“Really?”
“Just leave it to me, and you go back. And once again, forget everything that happened today!”
With that, Professor Pinkberry almost pushed Oknodie out, it was that assertive.
As she plopped down on her office chair, Oknodie’s words began to linger in her mind.
– They said they had been watching for a long time. After much thought, they came to that conclusion.
Bang, bang, bang!
Her small fist pounded repeatedly on the cushion.
“You idiot. King idiot. If you wanted to confess, at least do it discreetly! How am I supposed to handle this outsider attention?!”
Burying her well-defined face into the cushion, she groaned, gradually lifting her gaze towards the door.
“Well, it can’t be helped.”
When in these situations, outsiders have a secret weapon ready.
“After finals, I’ll make all the remaining classes self-study!”
Unlimited absence.
No going out orders.
From today onward, the outsider Professor Pinkberry entered complete hermit mode in her office, avoiding the rumors until they blew over.
What about Professor Destroyer’s confession?
The method of retreating from reality was clear.
“I don’t know! I just don’t know anything!”
Fleeing from the situation.
Easily set, it would be Oknodie’s fleeting cosplay as Professor Pinkberry at that moment.
