“Give me back my house!”
Oknodie grabbed Orcnodie who was coming out of the Plant Club with [Fierce Grape Vines], [Thorn Tyrant], and [Root Scorpion], shaking them back and forth.
“Ugh, why are you doing this to me!”
“The Man’s Representative came to mess with me. The Mirror Dungeon is completely destroyed. Take responsibility for my home!”
After the death of the God of Void, all Magic Backpacks had their capacities reduced, causing the [Possessed Writing Tools], [Brilliant Golden Spoon Set], [Paper Airplane Aircraft Carrier], and [Origami Snapper] that were stored in their pockets to tumble out.
Orcnodie pouted, shocked at how Oknodie could do something so harsh, while Oknodie picked up the scattered items, sweating coldly.
[Auto-Cleaning]
[Auto-Washing]
After casting a spell to clean them up, Orcnodie stuffed the discarded junk into their Pocket.
Having experienced loss, Orcnodie understood how sad it was to have things spill like that, and considered how devastated Oknodie’s heart must be after losing their home, so they decided to be generous.
“How can I help? Should I restore your home? Or should I build you a new one?”
“Revenge!”
“Revenge?!”
“I want to teach the Man’s Representative a lesson. Give me information about the Academy’s Exit Permit and the Isolation City!”
“Ah… that’s a bit…”
It’s not an easy task.
Oknodie was cute in appearance, resembling the original closely, and had the adorable hobby of collecting all kinds of jewels and mini metal crowns in their Magic Backpack, but that didn’t justify allowing the Doppelganger Queen to escape her isolation zone.
It was far more likely that Orcnodie’s exit request would be accepted over Oknodie’s.
Of course, that’s just a possibility.
Due to frequent outings, it wasn’t easy for Orcnodie either.
If they ventured out now, it wouldn’t be strange for a ruthless professor like Professor Weird to accompany them as their supervising faculty member.
‘But I’m not going out, so is it really a problem if the professor goes along?’
As the voice of conscience clashed with the voice of corruption debating whether it’s inappropriate to do that to orphaned Oknodie while also wanting to fulfill their own wish, Orcnodie felt torn.
The heart of a girl, swaying like reeds in the wind, swayed chaotically between the voices of conscience and corruption, flipping from one to the other.
While Orcnodie was locked in fierce inner turmoil, Sing gave a hint.
“Jiang’s here.”
“Wow! How did you sense the Assassin’s presence?”
“Did you not know? That kid deliberately reveals their presence around you.”
Like advertising to the whole neighborhood, “I have no intention to harm you, we’re BFFs!” their invisibility is dropped only when they approach Orcnodie!
Of course, Titosso is a close friend too, but out of the fun of teasing, they keep their invisibility around him.
Successfully hiding from the light of the light stands contributed to the exponential growth of their experience points as well.
Orcnodie occasionally hides with Jiang, so they could relate.
“Jiang! What’s going on?”
“You’re checking out the organization that suffered an accident, right?”
“Exactly!”
“There’s still a place you haven’t gone. Just thought I’d let you know.”
“Really? I thought I knew everything about campus life.”
“There was an Assassin who had received the blessing of stealth.”
“Got it!”
Still, it’s strange.
If the attack came from such a threatening ability, the damage would surely be significant, not slight, so how did they avoid Orcnodie’s perception?
It would be puzzling from the standpoint of obtaining information by pretending to be decorative paper flowers, paper streetlights, paper benches, or a paper clocktower, placed all over the campus.
However, upon hearing Jiang’s answer, it all began to make sense.
The Assassin had even touched a very unreasonable organization.
“The Dark Cult was attacked.”
“Yikes! That’s insane!”
“I’ve always been curious, but what do the seniors over there do?”
“If you’re curious, just join!”
“I’m not that curious.”
The Dark Cult has Senior Felix, who is the boyfriend of Head Sister Nepher-tem, who has suffered quite a bit from the rune of misfortune.
The senior, who first met them as the owner of the Red Fanged Mushroom Secret Breeding Ground, is now in their fourth year, about to graduate. It would be great to run into them to say hi after such a long time.
Upon hearing Jiang’s news, Oknodie energetically patted Orcnodie’s shoulder with a flagpole they pulled out from their backpack.
“My problems come first!”
With a frying pan pulled from their backpack, Orcnodie responded sharply.
“Got it! You can head out in my name!”
“Really?”
“I was actually wanting to sneak a peek at the main branch of the Dark Cult. If they think I’m not on campus, that’ll be good for me too!”
“Really? Thank you! As a reward, I’ll give you a precious item from my collection!”
Balancing a mini crown made of red ruby on their head, a red aura shot up behind Orcnodie.
“Whoa! What is this item?”
“This item is…”
“This item is!”
“It sets the mood perfectly!”
“What a great item!”
It was a decorative item that a transformation tool like the Doppelganger Queen would genuinely appreciate.
Oknodie filled up Orcnodie with fake backpacks similar to their own, lent out the paper airplane aircraft carrier, and packed various equipment, making them look just like Orcnodie.
Since the original is identical, it’s almost impossible to distinguish differences in appearance.
“Sing, this way!”
“…Sorry, I got a bit confused.”
As Sing was trying to shift position in the shadows, they halted, realizing they couldn’t be wrong about the location of the ‘Origin’.
Sending a suspicious glance while stopping in the dark, Oknodie chuckled.
“Oops. You’re not falling for this!”
“Wow. If even Sing almost got tricked, then everyone else would be completely fooled.”
Oknodie, pumped with excitement, dashed toward the principal’s office.
Sing warily watched their retreating figure.
“Is this really okay? The assassins who attacked the Academy have clearly deployed in the Sacred Area, and with the Man’s Representative’s terrorist actions, it’s evident that Oknodie is following the tracks of such strong enemies.”
“Whoa. Are you worried about another woman besides me right now?”
“…That’s not what I meant…”
“Giggle. It’s just a joke, so don’t get tense. If it’s Oknodie, it’s fine! But really, it’s okay. Someone stronger than Sing or me will follow them.”
Only then did Sing realize that Oknodie would have a professor-level guardian following them.
Orcnode’s gesture of mercy was practically just passing an annoying burden onto Oknodie.
In reality, until Oknodie returns, they could slip out from the attached monitoring of professors, skip lectures, and roam freely on campus!
“Such a clever one. You’ve pushed Oknodie, who has suffered a heavy loss, into an even more difficult situation. Don’t you think the mob is going to be sad?”
“If Oknodie gets seriously hurt, then yes.”
“Are you so sure they’ll be safe?”
“The Man’s Representative has lost a lot of power, and they’re heading toward our stronghold city, plus a solid professor is accompanying them. The chances of Oknodie getting hurt while breaking through this are nearly nonexistent, don’t you think?”
“I hope so.”
Now it’s up to Oknodie to handle themselves, and the focus shifted to the Dark Cult.
“Can I go with you?”
“Sure!”
Sneaking away from the professors, Zhuang had a moment to chat as they carefully made their way, unable to even jump out.
Her gaze remained fixed on the subtle energy swirling around Orcnodie.
Having grown through various events, her senses detected someone hidden in the stealth zone.
“So who is that?”
“Oh? You sensed that?”
“Hmph. You aren’t the only one who has grown through different experiences.”
Zhuang’s dagger sliced through the space of the stealth zone.
Standing up to block the dagger with her own sword, Sing stepped out into the open.
“That person, was that Sing’s sister?”
“Correct. It’s Sia!”
“Then why is Sing’s sister still here?”
Sing looked troubled at Zhuang’s questioning gaze.
“Hmph. They’re just taller than me. Low body compression rate.”
“My swordsmanship is superior.”
“…Shape-shifting?”
“!”
“Did something happen to your vocal cords? I’m the better one at body management.”
Feeling nervous about being revealed, Sing, who had been sweating coldly, opened her eyes wide in surprise, as her ego pricked.
“Did she compress her chest or something? That’s not very feminine of her.”
“…Orcnodie. Can I scold Sing’s sister a bit?”
“Just stay calm, so the professors don’t catch us!”
The bizarre showdown between the two women unfolded as they entered the secret passage of the Dark Cult.
Orcnode could quickly find the place.
The backside of an elf assassin who had touched the wrong place and the members of the Dark Cult burning the assassin’s flesh in the torture chamber with branding irons came into view.
“I ask again. Why did you target us?”
“Ugh! I-I already told you! The ‘Dark’ Princess surely has connections with the ‘Dark’ Cult, that’s why we attacked!”
“We are a harmless organization. We have no relations whatsoever with the Dark Princess. You carry a grudge against something that doesn’t involve you.”
“Then just let me go without torturing me!”
“That’s problematic. Because the unnecessary stealth penetration has allowed you to see things you shouldn’t have seen. Since you’re aware of our plan to corrupt the seal stone of the Gift Academy, which has been sealed for hundreds of years, to awaken the first president of the Dark Cult, you can’t leave alive.”
Zhuang and Sing exchanged glances, asking each other, “Didn’t we just hear something we shouldn’t have?”
They instinctively thought to escape.
Orcnodie awkwardly laughed, as though stepping back through the way they came after stepping into this absurd event.
But just as they were to retreat through the secret passage, a loud bang sounded as the entryway suddenly closed, and with a whirring noise, shady figures cloaked in black surged out from various facilities.
“Looks like there was indeed a comrade. Someone has invaded our secret passage. Find them.”
“What about the hostage?”
“That one has already outlived their usefulness. After serving as bait, they must be killed.”
A member of the Dark Cult twisted the elf assassin’s neck.
