A member of the Dark Cult scolded Oknodie with a stern face.
“Have you reflected on your actions?”
“Yes…”
“If you sneak snacks at night, you’ll get cavities. Those black spots on your white teeth will hurt, and you won’t be able to enjoy your favorite food.”
“Hmph. I used Clean Magic.”
“How can tooth brushing with magic count as brushing? If cavity bacteria lurk at the restoration point without you knowing, using Clean Magic won’t save you from being back to square one with cavities.”
“Yes…”
“Moreover, if you begin stealing things at such a young age, what will happen when you grow up? You might end up stealing my stuff and even the Academy itself.”
“I’ve reflected…”
“I sincerely hope you’ve changed. Reflection time in the Punishment Room is over. Come out.”
As soon as the door was opened, Oknodie stretched his eyes with one hand and cheekily stuck out his tongue.
“Ugh, really! Are you not going to stand there?”
Oknodie quickly ran away, using telekinesis to pull down nearby candlesticks and frames in his wake.
While I was agonizing over that troublesome little brat, the members who had welcomed Jiang and Sia into the Dark Cult emerged from the training room with cheerful laughter.
“How’s Oknodie doing?”
“Absolutely the worst. I wonder how Executive Felix manages to handle that brat’s recklessness.”
“Seriously, you should have chosen his training partner more wisely. Jiang is incredibly well-behaved. She’s not just doll-like in appearance; her demeanor truly reflects that of a lady. Here’s our Foundation’s Agassi, and isn’t Oknodie a maid?”
“Is she really like that?”
“She walks so gracefully that you can’t even hear her footsteps, and manages the underground creatures tangled in Dark Mana without bothering others. She voluntarily cleans ventilation shafts, air purification spells, emergency exits, and self-destruct devices. Isn’t she impressive?”
“…You better not open a fish shop when you graduate. You’d get raided by Cat Beastfolk.”
I felt that Jiang was a better match than our little brat when it came to handling responsibilities.
“What about Sia?”
“She’s already a complete swordsman. She can hold her center and adjust her focal point with every movement. She even surpasses human limits and uses dimensional slashes to leap short distances, overcoming training courses in no time.”
“So she’s passed the advanced training course for when our Dark Cult members’ identities are exposed to the gods?”
“She has indeed passed.”
“Impressive. A competent person following in the footsteps of that Eastern Swordsman Sing.”
“She’s particularly interested in secret techniques that permanently change the human body or grow parts of it, but it’s common for women to have such desires.”
Even the supervisor, who thought Jiang was an easier candidate, had to concede defeat to such a level of femininity.
Among the three supervisors, the last victor was the one in charge of Sia.
Although winning didn’t really mean much. It just felt good.
As Darknodi awakened as the Demon King, the three members continued their steady training at the Dark Cult, gaining invaluable tips from their seniors that they couldn’t hear outside.
“When you go outside, keep an eye out for the Dark Cult’s emblem. They won’t be harsh or dismissive since you share the same struggles with us.”
“If you give everything away, what will be left?”
“Only trusted comrades will remain.”
“!”
“I’ll copy the necessary class notes from the Dark Cult’s archive and hand them over. If you feel like the church is on to you, just take the path leading to the library. Our people will hold back those following you, and in the gap, you can rendezvous. Just know that the rendezvous point may call on you for internal missions later.”
Jiang revealed a cold smirk, sensing the wicked intentions.
“What are the types of internal missions?”
“Helping the lower-class citizens who were affected by Dark Mana but didn’t receive purification from the church. Preventing indiscriminate murders of Dark Mana victims, ensuring safety around secret strongholds, and educating problem children in educational institutions or workplaces that trouble our organization members.”
“…Is that it?”
“Ah, there are occasional special missions too.”
As Jiang confronted the essence of the Dark Cult by witnessing their true nature, the façade of humanitarian acts fell away.
“Isn’t this just a kind organization?”
“I agree.”
Both Jiang and Sing held severe doubts about the Dark Cult’s identity.
Why do these good-hearted beings go and name their organization something that sounds so suspicious?
While I could understand their activities involving the rescue of people affected by Dark Mana, it was hard to shake off the feeling of needless hardship.
“Are you here?”
“Oknodie, is your time in the Punishment Room done?”
“Hehe. It was a bit tough. How were you two?”
“Now it feels like home.”
“Oddly enough, there weren’t many wicked visions of darkness here. They’re not bad people, but I was a bit disappointed.”
Though they wanted to stay indefinitely, Oknodie, coming from a meeting with the tyrant, revealed to them the reason they couldn’t remain here forever.
“Professor Mahabharata has returned outside!”
“That professor? The one known as one of the few restraints on the Three Great Luminary Professors?”
“Wait. Then who will handle the principal’s weekly event from now on?”
A perplexed smile spread across Oknodie’s face.
Only then did the two realize how serious the situation was.
The survival difficulty of the Academy and the maintenance of world peace would spike even more.
Now the world would realize the harsh weight of the log named Evil Dragon Omoshiroi that Mahabharata alone had been holding up.
When that log falls, the first victims will be the Academy’s students.
“We need to persuade the other professors to lift the log or everyone will suffer!”
“I’ve got a route planned for an emergency escape in case something happens. If the self-destruct device goes off, people will have to flee through the emergency exit whether they like it or not.”
Jiang held up the remote hacking switch for the self-destruct device timer, which he had secretly attached while pretending to clean.
“With Dimension Cutting and Space Jump, I’ve figured out the facility’s structure while deceiving the Watchers. As long as we can make it to the exit, we can escape without escalating things.”
Sing too had completed his preparations for breaking through the facility with his refined swordsmanship.
“You all prepped so well!”
“You weren’t really planning to go to the Punishment Room just to have a snack, were you?”
“Hehe. You caught me.”
Oknodie pulled out an emergency power device he had dug up from the Punishment Room floor.
All three had devised their escape plans from the hospitable training facility of the Dark Cult, albeit in different ways.
“Why were you getting ready to leave? You wouldn’t lose anything just staying here.”
Jiang and Sing replied nonchalantly.
“You never know when someone might poison the food they serve you.”
“There wasn’t a satisfactory spell. I couldn’t care less about studies I’ve already thrown away.”
After living at the Academy for a while, they weren’t fooled anymore.
Oknodie smiled with satisfaction at their responses, filled with suspicion and pragmatism.
“Hehe. With such enthusiasm, we can leave right now. Shall we depart?”
Following their imposing steps, the two thought that something about the direction seemed off.
“This isn’t the way to the exit.”
“Well, we’re not going to the exit.”
“…Then where are we going?”
“If there’s no professor, we have to fetch a new one!”
Jiang froze as he realized the direction we were headed.
“You’re not thinking of going to the facility where the president of the Dark Cult is sealed, are you?”
What was he even thinking?
“What do you mean, Jiang? We’re obviously off to fetch the founding president—strong enough that everyone in the cult wishes for their resurrection—taken from the assembly of verified good people, right!? That’s why I set up the self-destruction device to chase everyone away; isn’t that the whole point?”
“That was meant for our escape!”
“Besides, with Sia’s Space Jump, I can immediately pop up in front of the corpse and grab it since the guards will be fewer!”
“…I didn’t train to steal corpses though.”
“I have pills for breast enhancement!”
Sing dramatically rested his hand on his sword hilt.
“If it’s an emergency, I might just steal a corpse.”
The plan to secure a reliable lumber carrier, as dependable as the kind and capable first president of the Dark Cult like Professor Mahabharata, was complete.
While the organization of the Dark Cult may not be kind, the president must surely be kind. If that person is revived with my help, won’t everyone in the cult be glad?
Sure, I might witness the first president becoming the principal’s henchman instead of focusing on their revenge against him, but I trust they will overlook such minor issues.
“Alright, let’s go. We’re off to create a new professor!”
The trio of the resurrection kidnapping professors’ selection team was underway!
