Warrior Ishtar received an ominous communication from Instructor Hitler at the academy.
“Oknodie is looking for me?”
“It must be a trap.”
Saintess Yufi immediately expressed her disapproval.
“Real Nodi is presumed to have had her soul torn and is kept in the foundation’s heart. At such a timing, when everyone is joining forces to raid the now well-defended branch to gather the key spells, why would Ishtar suddenly be pulled away?”
Given the circumstances, it was indeed a suspicious timing.
After Prill had completely vanished, the defense levels of the foundation’s branches had sharply increased. Some branches, despite barely succeeding in their assaults, didn’t even have the key spells within the city.
The foundation had begun to collect and safeguard the key spells after noticing the attacks aimed at them.
“Yufi is right. The level of risk visible to me as an archer is also increasing,” Archer Skola chimed in, although her narrow-mindedness was offset by her broad perspective.
“Oknodie must be taught a harsh lesson. Rescuing Real Nodi is just a ploy to exploit us forever, so ignore Fake Nodi!”
“They say Nise hits 40% of the time!”
“That means she’s wrong 60% of the time…”
It’s true that priests who worship gods often become oblivious to worldly matters, too absorbed in listening to divine whispers.
Ishtar resolved to intercept Nise, who was preventing their return to the academy.
“Don’t worry, I’ll take care of it. As the party’s tank, the safety of the party members is my responsibility.”
“I’ll lead the elite guard well as their leader!”
Students and external organizations gathered for the major siege operation, combining the strength of several branches. With a significant battle looming, the other party members showed concern over Ishtar not participating, but the twin siblings, Tanker Vanilla and Guard Leader Vanilla, made a declaration of support.
“Thanks. If the operation starts before my return, you two protect everyone.”
The guard members and formal party members felt at ease with the Vanilla twins by their side.
‘This feels strangely unfamiliar.’
Returning to the academy after a long time. In reality, it hadn’t been that long, but it felt as though months had passed since her departure. How many times had Oknodie enjoyed such trips? How many times had she felt this strange sensation? What kind of expression should she wear in front of the Fake Nodi, now devoid of the essence of Real Nodi?
Had the torn soul of Fake Nodi truly summoned her to trap her? If that were the case, and if it was part of the foundation’s wicked plot, would she have to fight Fake Nodi? Inflicting wounds on that body would damage the flesh that Real Nodi could return to, so she couldn’t afford to let herself be hurt… but facing Oknodie wouldn’t be easy.
Thoughts spiraled out of control until they faded away upon confronting Oknodie.
“Wow! Ishtar!”
Hearing the bright cheer of “Wow!” which carries the meaning of a warm greeting in Oknodie, Ishtar awkwardly responded.
“Wow. Oknodie.”
“I missed you so much!”
“Me too.”
She missed the real Nodi, not you.
“Sorry for stealing your time! I’m in a hurry.”
“How urgent can it be?”
Is the fight about to begin? She needs to prepare mentally.
“I pushed the instructors away so they wouldn’t interfere. I don’t want to hear secret conversations that shouldn’t be known like from Instructor Hitler and then live in fear of an assassin for the rest of my life!”
“…Really?”
So it starts now. Conscious of the position of her sword at her hip, she steadied herself for an imminent draw; she tried not to reveal even a hint of the murderous intent or vigilance that simmered beneath the surface. It took considerable effort.
“Are you going to talk about secrets?”
“Right! I wanted to give you a special gift.”
To that effort, Oknodie replied.
“Just a little longer and the principal will come, so feel free to relax!”
“…What?”
A former discomfort turned into discomfort anew. Altogether, fear arose.
The principal.
In other academies, the principal is someone you only see during tedious speeches, and if you happen to meet them, they smile generously at students like a jolly grandfather from a franchised restaurants. The only time you’d see their face closely is when you achieve outstanding grades that bring glory to the school, or when issues like bullying or pregnancy arise scandalously tainting the institution.
Rumors swirl behind their backs, too. Principals might bribe teachers, or you get expelled if you don’t pay up.
[What are you looking at?]
[Shut up.]
[Want to try out a weekend event?]
The warm, ordinary, but shady principals only appear when there’s a matter. The one before them now, however, is the delinquent principal from hell, engaged in global villainous activities.
‘As for the raid on the foundation branch, who knows if the principal sees it as a notch in his belt or a blotch?’
This principal openly shows interest in fun and creates chaos whenever boredom strikes the academy.
Such tales about the so-called “Warrior” shared by seniors interested would also include stories about the principal.
– Last year? It was quite easy. It should be like that this year too.
– Why do you think that?
– The Dark Princess was so good at drawing attention. The principal became increasingly indulgent just watching her. Normally, two or more raid events would have occurred where students would have to band together for a hunt.
– …What was that raid event like?
– The ink gets possessed by a spirit and turns into a monster. To study, you must research monster sealing spells and repeatedly seal them while acquiring ink for that day.
– That’s crazy.
– You need to successfully defeat the Spirit King of Ink, or the issue won’t resolve. But the fourth-years are lollygagging until graduation, making it more difficult for the lower years.
Just hearing it is exhausting.
– Why does such a horrific thing happen?
– The principal is bored.
– …
An entity that can instigate suffering among students with only the thought of amusement.
– As a warrior, you should be sensitive to events like this and act swiftly. About thirty years ago, everyone ignored such things until slimes showed up 300 times more frequently, causing adventurers to run dry.
That very principal is showing interest in her. They are going to meet in person. It was hard not to feel fear.
[I have arrived!]
A shadow descended from the sky. Something went awfully wrong somewhere as the giant principal dove towards the ground.
KWA-A-BOOM!
The principal landed, throwing up dust everywhere, showing a dragon’s signature expression that was clearly spiteful and rotten.
“Wow! Principal!”
“Wow, Principal…”
[Chickies. So why have you called me?]
The sheer amount of mana filling the air was burdensome, reversing the spell of perception that constantly activated around him. Some sensations induced an intense fatigue just by being within their range. The principal was existence itself that triggered fatigue in every way.
“From now on, I’m going to!”
[What are you?]
“I’m planning to hand over the Dark Princess eradication spell to Ishtar!”
[Oh?]
“What? Wait, what does that mean?!”
Eradication spell? For the Dark Princess? You are going to me?
The wicked schemes within the foundation, the ambush of Fake Nodi—for all the chaos that led Ishtar back to the academy, this unexpected statement left her mind blank.
What is happening? What’s their goal? What do they want?
The principal was equally confused amidst the chaos.
[Did you suddenly get bored with the world? Want to stop living? Got tired of this easy mode and now want to switch to hard mode? I can relate; I feel the same when having fun. What are you, a hatchling?]
“Hehe. I wish! It’d be cool if my species stats went up. But I didn’t get bored, actually, I wanted to ask you a favor while letting you handle the documentation.”
Fake Nodi spoke with sincerity, presenting a proposal that seemed to offer no advantage to the foundation, but was clearly a disadvantage.
What could she possibly want in return? Just how big of a reward could she expect for risking her own life?
Without realizing it, Fake Nodi called out with a cheerful voice.
“Please save the warriors!”
[Huh. When did I ever say I’d eat the warriors?]
“But it could be a concern, right? If the professors are like, ‘Warriors or us!’”
There was no plot or trap in her words. It was genuinely a supportive gesture.
“Why, why are you going this far?”
Ishtar couldn’t understand. You’re not even Real Nodi. The kind-hearted Real Nodi who had built a special friendship was torn apart by the director.
Why would Fake Nodi, who could be conveniently used by the foundation, attempt to self-sacrifice to help her?
As Ishtar questioned, Oknodie tilted her small head as if pondering why it was so obvious.
“Ishtar is my blanket friend. We’ve shared nights and blankets. I must nurture my blanket friend more than my pet plant!”
“…!”
Ishtar finally understood.
No matter how much the soul was torn apart, Oknodie remained Oknodie. Even if her true essence was stripped away, Oknodie would still try to regain her humanity in the same manner, always striving to return her soul to its original form.
She may be fake, but she wasn’t merely fake.
The remaining few friends in the academy who abandoned the fake Nodi, despite everyone turning their backs on her, this fake Nodi managed to rediscover the kindness of Real Nodi that worried for everyone.
And why was this Real Nodi trying to gain the principal’s favor by handing over the means to kill her?
‘Perhaps, if one day the foundation’s schemes led to her irreversible corruption, she would ask to be put down…’
I couldn’t trust you, but you believed in me.
The weight of guilt was unbearable.
Tears of guilt overflowed from Ishtar’s heart.
“I was… I was the garbage. Huh, I’m sorry, Oknodie…!!”
In her arms, Oknodie patted her back with a puzzled expression. That small touch overwhelmed Ishtar with emotion, leading her to sob uncontrollably like Titosso.
In that moment, Ishtar remained blissfully unaware of the principal’s widening eyes, pondering what suddenly brought on this ridiculously entertaining event.
