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246th Chapter: Train Journey

An irregular soul writhed inside the capsule placed on the table by Grisha.

The owner of that soul is said to be the Demon King Makia, who has usurped Emperor Karis.

Harkel continued to gaze at the capsule with an expression of wonder.

Even though the other collaborators had stood up and stepped out for a moment, he remained here, intrigued by the capsule.

“Still curious, are we?”

Of course, Grisha, the one who brought the capsule, also stayed put.

Seeing his unusual obsession, a smile broke across Grisha’s lips.

“Is this really the soul of Makia? That guy must surely….”

The real Makia was said to be locked up deep within the underground prison of the Imperial Palace.

Although it could not be said that he was living in a pitiful state, one couldn’t say he was dead either.

How would one even extract Makia’s soul from such a heavily guarded place where even Elder Enviel stood watch?

That was one of the many mysteries.

“Yes, extracting another’s soul is never an easy task. Even if it were possible, there’s no way I could reach the prison on my own.”

Still, how was this soul extracted? The method was rather straightforward.

“In fact, I didn’t do much to retrieve this soul. It just sort of… automatically came into the capsule, if you will.”

Grisha had merely been holding the capsule from a distance.

Then, as if drawn to something, a soul swept into the capsule like a raging current.

Whether the capsule was acting in a special way was uncertain, but it raised another question.

“Then what about Makia, who remains in prison? Wouldn’t it be as if he’s dead since his soul has escaped?”

“No, he hasn’t died.”

“What?”

“Though I call this his soul… it’s likely only half of it at best.”

Makia was undoubtedly rotting in that prison.

However, he stubbornly denied the reality of his downfall, having lost consciousness.

Yet, that made little difference. Trapped in that cramped space with shackles, what difference would it make?

Rather, it was just beneficial for the guards that the noisy fellow had quieted down.

“But nobody will know! No one will realize that as soon as he lost consciousness, a part of his soul slipped out of his body.”

His resentment towards a world that ‘does not acknowledge him’ was monumentally strong.

Moreover, Makia was already a being accustomed to astral projection via possession, making it apt for his soul to escape.

Though he hadn’t died, the mental shock alone could facilitate a fragment of his soul sliding away.

“Honestly, it’s a bit ambiguous to call this a soul at all. It’s merely a part of his powerful grudge that has slipped out of his body.”

Since it wasn’t a complete soul, there was no consciousness residing within that spirit.

It was a disadvantage for Grisha that he couldn’t converse with that soul.

“Of course, even this scraps of a soul is sufficient to move the body of the Destruction God.”

Upon hearing those words, Harkel regarded Grisha with a sense of wonder.

What exactly was this person, who seemed to know information that they were unaware of?

He truly felt like an absolute being guiding them.

“You don’t seem like an ordinary person.”

“Heh heh heh. I’ll let you know that when the opportunity arises. By the way, have you captured that boy I mentioned?”

“Boy?”

As if questioning who that was, Grisha pulled out a flyer.

He was referring to the Aligieri student known as ‘Radon Crawler.’

“Oh, that boy.”

“Well… it seems you haven’t captured him yet.”

“Capturing him is hardly an easy task. My fellow nobles and I are working together to distribute flyers about this little brat. But….”

“But?”

Harkel trailed off, looking troubled.

For one, there was no public justification for capturing Radon Crawler, the boy in question.

After all, it only bordered on the act of turning an innocent person into a fugitive, a shameful attempt to skew public sentiment.

Should word of this reach the royal family, they would be unable to defend themselves. Fortunately, the royal family didn’t exist at this moment.

Currently, there were not many forces capable of stopping the Viole Family or Papias.

Thus, they were hell-bent on capturing the boy without much concern.

“It seems like Chain Silver and the Sect are keeping a close watch. Our side’s distribution of the flyers is being thwarted with full force.”

“Hmm… those two?”

“If they merely criticized us publicly, it wouldn’t have been an issue. But to actively prevent us is a bit unexpected.”

Given how upright both groups were, it wasn’t too odd for them to try to stop wrongful acts.

Harkel had anticipated that there would be groups opposing them, yet he still did not hesitate to try to capture the boy.

After all, once the Destruction God was resurrected, everything would be over.

At that time, he would become the master of the new regime.

Thus came the question.

“But what does capturing this boy have to do with the Destruction God’s descent?”

Grisha insisted that he must capture this boy.

So they were passionately cooperating in that endeavor.

It was likely part of their plan to summon the Destruction God.

“To be honest, the boy fits the mold quite well, but compared to the body of the Evil God slumbering in Papias, it falls short.”

“Then why are they trying to capture him?”

Was it perhaps a precaution against failure in excavating the corpse?

While those speculations circulated, Grisha spoke with a serious expression.

“Do you believe in the existence of an Irregular, Duke?”

*

At the border of the Divine Empire lies the Papias Kingdom.

It’s a place where fights break out regularly, boasting a rather closed-off atmosphere.

Of course, being a region fond of hiding things, it didn’t support any Warp Gates.

Nevertheless, the Magical Train was operational, so we would arrive within 24 hours.

Seated on the train, we leisurely admired the view outside. The riverside bathed in moonlight was quite beautiful.

Outside looked so nice… yet inside the train, there was an uncomfortable factor.

-This is an announcement aboard the train heading to the Papias Kingdom. Passengers may find a flyer attached to their seat.

-If you capture the boy depicted on the flyer, we will reward you with 10,000,000 credits.

The announcement echoed from the magic stone embedded in the train car ceiling.

Perhaps because all the crew members were affiliated with Papias, their intentions to capture me were laid bare.

My rising bounty was just an added bonus.

I gripped the flyer stuck to my seat and sighed deeply.

-That’s all. Enjoy your journey.

Enjoy? What the hell! Is it fun to cast an innocent person as a fugitive?

Indeed, I couldn’t just let these guys be.

I wanted to go there personally and crush one by one those who concocted this plan until I felt better.

“They’re crossing the line now.”

“But how did our friend become famous enough to be plastered on a flyer?”

“I was thinking the same thing, Mary.”

She, too, who boarded the train with me, felt uncomfortable.

I couldn’t escape the rage at how they treated an innocent person as if they were a criminal.

Papias, the Viole Family, they were all crazy.

“Is this what it’s like with the royal family absent? Just running wild like untamed colts.”

“Because of this, Radon will find it hard to lead a normal academic life. We need to go check the truth ourselves.”

For sure, the Academy must have been informed about this.

Moreover, through the Totema, Shaikar, as well as Spike disguised as Enviel must also have been alerted, meaning I had plenty of allies nearby.

Nevertheless, the reason I was recklessly heading toward Papias was because of that dream.

The mysterious woman who appeared in my dream warned me.

-You cannot afford to be relaxed.

-There’s no time to return to the Academy.

-You need to hurry to Papias and stop them.

She then showed me a horrific scene.

If I did not follow her instructions, the scene that would unfold!

It was of a great demon awakening within the earth of Papias, engulfed in explosions, alongside the rending open of a black crack in the sky, heralding the descent of the Destruction God.

Following this, everyone vanished before the power of the Destruction God, which turned everything to naught.

Even Lyman couldn’t properly utilize his power and was defeated.

If that were truly the case, now was not the time to leisurely return to the Academy.

“Hey guys! But doesn’t this picture look odd to you?”

While I was spacing out, Mary called us with a surprised expression.

What could be strange about it? It was just my face.

But then Mary compared my current face with that in the picture and said,

“They don’t look alike at all.”

“Of course! I’m clearly in drag here!”

My real face was currently known.

To hide my true identity, I had transformed into a woman once again through the Ceremony of Flash.

“Ugh… how many times has this been?”

“It’s still okay! You don’t look that bad right now!”

Jenny cheekily wiggled her eyebrows.

That sultry expression made me feel a strange fear as if she might make some odd gesture toward me.

“Honestly, I actually like how I look now….”

“What the hell, man?”

This time, Luska made a chilling remark outright.

Was she implying that I had an open mouth to spew out such nonsense?

“Radon, can’t you do this more often?”

“Yes, exactly. This way, you won’t have to feel the pressure of being the only guy among a bunch of girls.”

“It’s just burdensome listening to you guys talking like this.”

Anyway, I was thoroughly annoyed with the drag.

I was wholly filled with the desire to quickly end this and return everything to normal.

But then why did I keep feeling a twinge of disappointment?

Yet beside me, Mary chimed in cheerfully.

“Hey, friend! Honestly, tell me, you don’t actually want to go back, do you?”

“Shut up! Just because I’m like this doesn’t mean my lower half and breasts have changed!”

“But my chest is small too….”

“Shut it! I’m a man no matter what anyone says, so you all better remember that. Got it?”

At my vehement rebuke, they all nodded meekly.

In the meantime, I could sense Mary acknowledging that she was small. That truly touched me, to see her grasping reality.

“By the way, Mary.”

“Yes?”

“Time’s up.”

“Wahh… I wanted to stick with my friend a bit longer.”

“Promises must be kept.”

Mary pouted her lips and stood up.

Reluctantly shifting seats with Jenny, clearly sad at being separated from me.

“Heehee, now it’s my turn.”

“….”

This time Jenny sat down next to me, just like Mary did earlier.

Then came Luska, followed by Mary again… they decided to swap seats back and forth.

I understood their intentions well.

I was pleased that they were sharing time equally among themselves in such a fair manner.

But then…

“But guys, it’s time to sleep now. Aren’t you starting to get drowsy?”

“I’m fine. I trained myself as a night owl since childhood.”

“Luska, you shouldn’t overdo it, right? I’m planning to fall asleep just like this.”

Jenny leaned on my shoulder, blatantly indicating her desire to spend the night with me.

“Hahah… is that so? Then I can just switch while you’re asleep.”

Luska shot back with an expression suppressing her rage.

Typically, one sleeps for over six hours, so it wouldn’t sit well with Luska that Jenny was taking all six.

“It’s your own fault if you end up face down on the floor while you’re sleeping.”

“Why so sneakily mean? You’re already sharing a room with Radon.”

A fierce psychological battle began to unfold, with sparks flying from their gazes.

It felt like a tightrope walk where the first one to close their eyes would lose.

Fairness? Please. This was just how they lived their daily lives.

Since there was no sense of discomfort, I decided to doze off first.

And the next day.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Upon waking, the train had already arrived at its destination.

Mary and I stepped off the train, greeting the refreshing sunlight.

But the other two were coming down while pinching each other’s cheeks and growling.

“You bastard! Daring to stuff me in the cargo hold?! I thought I was going to suffocate to death while sleeping!”

“It’s you who froze my entire seat? I almost caught a cold while sleeping!”

Just as I’d feared, chaos had ensued while they slept.

Now, Jenny and Luska began to tug at each other’s hair. At this point, they were basically a duo reminiscent of Tom and Jerry.

I tried to intervene and calm them down with a quick flick to the forehead.

“Kyaaaah!”

Just then, a bizarre scream echoed from somewhere at the station.

Naturally, not only I but even the feuding girls turned their heads toward the shriek.

A boy, who looked oddly familiar, was shrieking like a beast and rampaging around, making it impossible for us to not be shocked.

“How dare you try to take my brother-in-law?! Keeeck!!!”

That boy was using a golem he summoned to take down a mercenary group.

Surviving as an Academy Scammer.

 

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