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166. Escaping Prisoners (1)

I managed to take down two of them, but one remained, leaving me feeling a bit awkward.

Akra, realizing that our two comrades had been taken out, pointed his bow at me. However, his movement was more akin to dealing with an annoying insect rather than a response to a threat.

His actions raised many questions, but it did create a clear opening, and before he knew it, he was ambushed and taken down by the top student from the Alchemy Department.

“Don’t forget me.”

He said to me with a rather sad expression after finally doing something noteworthy. I couldn’t help but flinch at the sight.

Now that I thought about it, when I explained the earlier plan, I only explained it to Riplain and Trisha, and he was nowhere to be seen.

I felt quite embarrassed for leaving him out like that.

“Yeah, thanks a lot. Baimon.”

“Baimon?”

What was that? Did I get his name wrong?

Wait a second. It was clearly B-something…

“Baemon Dreadnote… right?”

“…?”

Is this not it either? Suddenly, I couldn’t recall.

I became rather flustered. It was as if I was looking at a face that seemed very pitiful because I couldn’t remember his name.

What should I do? I clearly knew the guy, but I just didn’t know his name.

As far as I remember, that guy is indeed a character. He mainly appears as a supporter, helping the battlefield occasionally but is so underwhelming that players tend to forget him.

He even had almost no weight in the story—one could say he was like “air.”

“Ba… Be… so that’s…”

“….”

He was staring at me without saying a word. His indifferent face vaguely reminded me of a mannequin, but something was welling up in those eyes.

Please don’t cry. The more you do, the guiltier I feel.

I’ll remember your name, just hang in there a little longer. I’ve played this game day and night for ten years, so remembering shouldn’t be hard at all.

Yes… his name is definitely…

『Baimon Dreadnote.』

“Yes! Baimon! Baimon Dreadnote!”

“….”

Finally, I remembered. It was thanks to a moment of divine intervention. Fortunately, Baimon’s eyes stopped welling up.

Thank you, Muto! Because of you, I was able to save a man’s face.

“Radon, are you okay!”

At that moment, Riplain rushed over, holding a dagger. It seemed she had succeeded in taking down Rima.

“I’m fine. Did you take out one of the Four Saints, Senior?”

“It was merely a surprise attack. I surrendered to my instincts to survive, just like you said.”

“You did well. Over there, Senior Trisha took down one too in a similar way.”

Just then, Trisha walked over after twisting the enemy’s neck.

“Is everyone alright?”

“Fortunately, there are no major issues. Let’s first help the others up and move to a safe place.”

“Okay, got it. But what about him…”

Suddenly, both of them spotted Baimon. The two seniors stared at him, then spoke.

“Who was that guy again?”

“Right?”

And so, once more, Baimon was on the verge of tears.

Everyone is really being too much.

Thud, thud—

At that moment, we heard footsteps from somewhere. These were footfalls of a giant that couldn’t possibly belong to a human.

It was definitely a Spirit roaming around here. We needed to hide quickly in case of an attack, but it was difficult to carry the fallen mercenaries.

As I was contemplating what to do… the massive footsteps suddenly stopped. Could it be that the spirit didn’t notice us?

Taptaptap—

But then the sound changed to smaller footsteps. The sound of grass being crushed by tiny feet was clearly human.

Could it be another one of the Four Saints? I was filled with tension.

“Is there someone over there?”

However, the voice from that direction startled us all. Despite the possible chance that it was fake, I checked through `Maan`, and I couldn’t contain my surprise.

Emerging from the fog was a person wearing a prison uniform.

Number 456. The one we had been searching for had appeared, shocking the mercenaries, but what startled our students even more.

“Who are you guys? How did you get in here? And you all…”

He was suddenly taken aback upon seeing the students in the Academy uniforms. I approached him and said,

“It’s been a long time. Vice-Principal.”

“No… you are!”

I greeted Heidern, the former vice-principal of Aligieri.

Unlike the earlier Four Saints, there was no worry of him being a fake. Thanks to `Maan`, I knew he was the real deal.

*

The person we needed to meet had finally appeared.

The mercenaries’ mission was to capture all prisoners, including Heidern, and our students were tasked with aiding in their capture.

However, I could say that I came here solely to meet Heidern.

Even though facing a prisoner can be dangerous, I could guarantee safety when it came to Heidern.

He looked rather comfortable during the arrest, as if he was thankful for being saved.

The possibility of him being hostile towards us was low, and indeed, he showed an willingness to talk.

“So you’re saying the mercenaries chased after us to catch us? And these kids are here on a mission to help you?”

“If you all surrender, this will end smoothly. I don’t think I need to say what will happen if you resist?”

The conversation between Tariel and Heidern continued. The mercenaries, having just regained their composure, completely surrounded him and aimed their weapons.

Though a conversation had been established, Heidern was undeniably an escaped convict. Furthermore, his mana-neutralizing cuffs were removed, so we didn’t know what ambush he might pull.

“Of course, I have no intention of resisting. We have no desire to fight you.”

“How can we trust you? Saying you have no intentions of resisting after overturning a train doesn’t make sense.”

Tariel shot back sharply. Despite being exhausted from battle, his intensity still made even Heidern feel a shiver.

He was clearly a powerful opponent with no openings. It made sense that he was one of the previous Four Saints.

However, Heidern remained unfazed.

“While it’s true we overturned a train, no one was harmed.”

“What kind of nonsense…!”

“If you really want to know, then follow me.”

“What do you mean?”

As Heidern suddenly stood up, the mercenaries’ weapons became even more alert. Though sharp points were aimed at vital areas, Heidern’s expression remained unchanged.

He continued speaking nonchalantly.

“Aren’t you curious? How we are able to walk around unharmed in this perilous place.”

Tariel had a lot he wanted to say.

From why the train was overturned to why they had entered the Spirit King’s Realm. There were many things he needed to clarify.

However, they were prisoners. Words from those with a history of crimes tended to lack credibility.

Maybe they were trying to draw us into a trap.

The doubts against them persisted.

“Let’s give it a chance.”

Just then, a boy interrupted from behind. It was the Radon Crawler who had assisted with taking down the specter of the Four Saints a moment ago.

His judgment had helped avert a crisis, but accepting what he just said was hard.

“Are you for real about that?”

“Look, we just fought a moment ago and are quite exhausted. Even the strongest among us probably has no fighting strength left. Yet, this person isn’t attacking us.”

Heidern, who was powerful enough to become the vice-principal of Aligieri. No matter how strong Tariel was, given his exhaustion, he couldn’t face Heidern, who could wipe us all out.

Hence, threatening him with weapons was practically pointless. Yet, Heidern remained still.

This was clear evidence that he had no intention of resisting.

“Besides, we’re not just going to take this guy and leave.”

Moreover, the strongest among the prisoners was likely Heidern himself. If he held no malice, it was highly probable his fellow prisoners shared the same demeanor.

“What will you do?”

“….”

As Heidern asked one last time, Tariel ultimately made a decision.

In the end, we followed his lead. For safety’s sake, we tied Heidern’s wrist with a rope.

After walking for a bit, we could see a giant turtle-shaped spirit.

The upper spirit of the forest, `Kamelon`.

It was this creature that had made the huge footsteps we heard earlier, and Heidern had been riding on Kamelon while roaming the area.

“This spirit used to be hostile to humans in this realm, but thanks to the help of a collaborator, I can command it now.”

“Who’s that collaborator?”

“You’ll find out when you get there.”

Just then, there were still a few people who hadn’t regained their movement. Moreover, Kamelon’s shell was surprisingly wide, enough to accommodate several people on it.

I and Trisha placed the unconscious Mary on the turtle’s shell.

With all the people on its back, Kamelon slowly began to walk. Its size was larger than we expected, allowing us to keep pace.

“Long time no see, Radon Crawler.”

“If you’re asking me how I’ve been… that would be quite rude.”

“Not at all, I don’t mind. I’ve already made it to the end of my journey.”

I walked alongside Heidern, who was constrained. Tariel would glance sideways, but he didn’t obstruct me.

“I don’t know why you supported us, but what a stroke of bad luck. This is a kind of netherworld, after all. It wouldn’t be strange for figures from the past to pop up.”

“So that’s why the Four Saints…”

“If there’s someone dead in your memories, they can manifest based on that. The reason the Four Saints appeared might have something to do with this person.”

Heidern subtly pointed to Tariel. Tariel grimaced and twitched his eyebrows at that.

“Nevertheless, those spirits only focus on attacking those who remember them. That’s their greatest weakness.”

Actually, those Four Saints seemed to target where Tariel and Mary were. That was proof they were “not real,” but mere specters.

“But rest assured. As long as I’m with you, you won’t encounter those spirits.”

“Is that due to the collaborator’s power as well?”

You’ll find out once you get there.

Heidern then looked at Mary who was lying on Kamelon’s back and said,

“By the way, why is that girl here?”

“I heard she came to support to meet someone. Who it was… well, you know?”

I implied I already had an idea, casting a knowing glance. The perceptive Heidern twitched his eyebrows.

During his tenure as vice-principal, Heidern had checked on Mary’s condition numerous times. Thus, he knew what was dormant within her, and that’s why he had committed the heinous act of abducting her in the main story.

“Since you were often checking her body… it had to be that something suddenly became strange, so Mary had no choice but to search.”

“Hmm… do you happen to have any information about Mary?”

Heidern asked with an eerie gaze. Though he’s a naturally perceptive individual, it was unfortunate he’d suffered from having the wrong mentor.

“I’ll let you know when we arrive.”

I suggested we should address everything once we got there.

After all, it was hard to speak with so many eyes and ears around.

Moreover, Tariel was beside me, making it even more challenging.

“But you’ve been calling me Vice-Principal since a while ago.”

“Ah… now that you mention it, it seems so.”

It’s probably because I’m so used to it that it rolled off my tongue smoothly.

Yet, he was no longer a vice-principal or anything anymore.

Along with that, he was a being without a name.

“And I am not `Heidern`. Nor am I `Lawrence Maruk`.”

Heidern is the name given to him by his mentor, Enviel.

Lawrence Maruk is the name bestowed upon him by his birth parents.

However, both were essentially monsters wearing the mask of kindness.

Having been betrayed by the world twice, he had nothing left to name.

All those who had given him his name were all wicked beings.

“So what should I call you?”

“Call me whatever you like. The son of a criminal, the disciple of a monster, a madman…

“….”

“Oh, this might be more fitting.”

[Number 456]

He pointed to the prisoner number attached to his clothing. 456. There couldn’t be a more fitting title for a being without a name.

“Then I won’t use the term Vice-Principal. Heidern Uncle.”

“Well, I told you not to use that name.”

“You did say to call you whatever I wanted.”

“….”

Heidern walked along, unable to provide a rebuttal. Then we were able to stop at the bottom of a hill.

The fog that had clouded our view had thinned considerably, and we were amazed to find a village at the foot of that hill.

“We’ve arrived.”

We carefully descended the hill and reached the village.

Surprisingly, it was inhabited, and the people there bore prisoner numbers on their clothing.

In addition, there were even train conductors and knights who had taken the prisoners into custody.

As we were all collectively lost in thought, wondering how things had come to this,

“Greetings, everyone.”

A being who had safely watched over them appeared and greeted us.

Surprisingly, it was a face from my memory.

Surviving as the Academy Scammer.

 

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