“Please, lend me your strength, everyone. This country is sick. Now is the time to join hands with our neighbors, not just fight. Only His Highness the Crown Prince can save this country now. I hope that all of you with pure hearts will make the right decision…”
In front of the devout nobles gathered at the Temple, a young girl was giving a “sermon.”
However, it was a sermon in name only, and its content was clumsy… a childish idealism. Yet, many nobles gathered because the girl was a “Saint.”
“…”
Alicia Melsys, the Baron’s daughter, wanted people to listen to her as “Saint Lichia.” Nasanitaru, who had heard her wish, watched her from the shadows of the stage wings.
Nasanitaru thought that Licia was the true Saint.
Raised with deep faith, he never doubted that the teachings of God preached by the Holy Church were the truth of this world. However, that absolute value was shattered by the pink-haired girl who was Princess Elena’s guard.
But it was Licia who saved his wounded heart. To Nasanitaru, who was troubled by the fact that his values were only those of the narrow world of the Church, she affirmed everything about him, saying that his way of thinking was not wrong, and that the world that could not understand his pure heart was the one that was distorted.
It was… like a sweet “poison” that eroded Nasanitaru’s heart, and he became devoted to Licia as if he had returned to being an infant. Licia accepted all of Nasanitaru’s demands, who had lost the opportunity to grow as a human and had become merely spoiled.
This is not good… Nasanitaru worried. Both the Crown Prince and the King’s younger brother were devoted to Licia. And, perhaps, Licia also thought of them with affection, just as she did with Nasanitaru.
If that were the case, there was a possibility that Licia would become the Crown Princess. Continuing this relationship, which was contrary to the teachings of the Holy Church, was not a good thing.
However, after the Dungeon was cleared, Licia declared that she had obtained the “qualifications as a Saint,” and he convinced himself that the kind Saint had accepted Nasanitaru with her saintly love, and he drowned even further.
When he actually met Licia, the anxiety and doubts he had felt until then disappeared, and only love for her filled Nasanitaru.
Licia, who made his anxiety disappear and enveloped him only in comfort when he looked at her face, was now worshiped by Nasanitaru like a goddess.
That was probably the love of a “Saint.” As proof, his grandfather, who had only seen her as a collaborator of the Crown Prince until he met her, recognized her as a Saint after actually meeting Licia.
(…Wonderful, Licia.)
And the nobles of the Royal Capital who had gathered at the Temple had initially gathered out of faith, but after seeing Licia’s figure and hearing her voice, their skeptical gazes disappeared, and now they were directing fervent gazes at Licia as if they were in a fever.
Licia is a necessary existence for this country. By becoming the Crown Princess and eventually the Queen, this kingdom will become a wonderful country filled with God’s love.
But in order to do that, there were those who would get in the way.
Clara Dandole, the leading candidate for Elvan’s official wife.
Elena Claydale, the First Princess, who was trying to take the Crown Prince’s seat from Elvan by newly welcoming a great noble who had been Elvan’s confidant as her own.
But the biggest problem was the existence of Aria Leighton, the Baron’s daughter who protected the Princess, and Carla Leicester, a dangerous person.
If they could eliminate at least these two, the biggest obstacle to Licia becoming the Crown Princess would be gone.
(…)
Even now, his face ached every time he remembered Carla. The scars burned by Carla’s flames had healed on the surface, but he could not make expressions well, and he sometimes frightened the children of the believers.
(I won’t forgive you…)
Nasanitaru could never forgive those two girls who had engraved fear into him.
The humiliation and fear that Aria Leighton had inflicted had broken Nasanitaru’s heart.
The pain and fear that Carla Leicester had inflicted had driven Nasanitaru’s spirit to the brink.
Normally, he would never have thought of opposing them. But Licia had removed all of that pain from his heart.
“…You understand, don’t you?”
At Nasanitaru’s muttered voice, three black shadows emerged from behind him.
Nasanitaru, who had reached the depths of the Dungeon, sought the power to stand beside Licia, who would become a Saint.
His ability was equivalent to level 2 Light Magic, and although he was excellent as a student, he was not on par with the Saint. The Spirit of the Dungeon, who heard his wish, promised that even if it could not give him the same power as a Saint, it could grant him something close to it.
However, the Divine Protection (Gift) given was far from what Nasanitaru had wished for, as it was in accordance with Nasanitaru’s wishes.
Even so, it was a power that could be used in the current situation where there were enemies. While feeling disgusted by the existence that had possessed him, mediated by the Spirit of the Dungeon, he convinced himself that bearing the sin himself was “dedication to Licia,” and thought that it was a trial given to him by God.
“Licia… for your sake.”
Hearing that mutter, the three shadows chuckled faintly so that Nasanitaru would not notice.
The Magic Academy, where we would be second-year students, had begun.
Because of the disturbance involving the Evil Race last year, I thought that there might be some new students who would decline to enroll, but this year, the same number of students as usual participated in the entrance ceremony, and a new school life had begun.
“Well, it’s like this. As long as you’re a noble, you won’t be recognized as an adult unless you graduate from the Magic Academy, so the nobles are desperate.”
“I see.”
While walking around the Academy with Viro, who was disguised as a janitor, to check the security of the Academy, I nodded at his explanation.
The security was stricter than before. The number of Academy Knights had not changed much, but the upper-middle class noble families had increased the number of guards, and the number of Shadow Unit personnel had also increased.
In addition to the Royal Knights, Rookwell Dandole, who became a guard knight this year, had joined Elena’s guard. As a combat force, he was equal to the Royal Knights, but just having him, a high-ranking noble, could deal with those who bothered Elena, so I could move more freely.
The nobles’ guards were all skilled, and some of them were Rank 4 with a combat power of nearly 1000. The reason why Viro and I were going around the Academy this time was to find out which camp the Rank 4s were in and where they were mainly located.
And also to have the Shadow Unit personnel in the Academy remember “her.”
“…Even so.”
Viro, who was walking while erasing his presence to the extent that he would not be remembered, turned his gaze to Jesha, who was walking silently beside me.
“Your existence is so out of place, Jesha.”
“I know that!”
Jesha had joined the guards in the Academy this year. It was something that had been planned, but as a result of Mira drilling her in etiquette so that she could at least appear in front of the nobles, Elena, who seemed to know her well, got carried away and forced her into the Academy as a new student.
I’m glad that they seem to know each other well. If we have Jesha, who is Rank 4, I can move around with a certain degree of freedom. If we have Elena, who is a Rank 3 Magician, and Rookwell, who is a Rank 3 Knight, we should be able to hold our own even against a Rank 5.
Jesha is not an adopted child of the Leighton family like me, but is enrolled as an adopted child of Dolton, who has officially become a Baronet. There have been demi-human students before, but her appearance was so conspicuous that Viro did not even feel the need to avoid attention.
“Why is she Dolton’s daughter? And in this outfit…”
“It suits you… pfft.”
“Don’t mess with me, Viro. I’ll blow you away!”
The reason why they were saying such things was because Jesha was wearing the Magic Academy uniform. Jesha, who is a mountain dwarf, is the same height as me, but weighs three times as much, and most of that is muscle, so it’s no wonder that Viro, who is used to seeing delicate noble daughters, would have such a reaction.
But more than that–
“Jesha, your language.”
“Aria…”
When I warned her for fooling around, Jesha looked at me with a pathetic face.
I have no right to talk about others, but Jesha will now be seen as a straightforward deterrent as the First Princess’s guard. Elena probably wouldn’t mind if it was just among friends, but a loud and rough way of speaking would be a problem.
I am an easy-to-understand “bait.” Because of that, I may have to leave Elena’s side, so I want Jesha to do her best in various ways.
“–Viro, Jesha.”
“What’s wrong? Aria.”
“Jesha, concentrate. You understand, right?”
Viro must have noticed it too, as Jesha also sensed the presence upon hearing Viro’s warning.
“…What is this unpleasant presence?”
The Magic Academy is surrounded by a deep forest. There is no flat ground where a group of people could pass, and intelligent monsters don’t approach places with many people.
In the first place, except for low-level monsters with high reproductive capabilities, they are usually subjugated around the academy, and Nero is somewhere in this forest, so even if such monsters were to sneak in, they would be defeated.
Therefore, if there is a monster there, it must have suddenly appeared. Viro seemed to share the same opinion, as he called out to Jesha instead of me.
“Jesha, be on guard near Princess (Your Highness). Aria and I will handle this.”
“Why just me?”
“Jesha, you don’t have your weapon, right? Either way, someone has to go back, so please understand.”
Our priority is to protect Elena, and in that case, Jesha’s main weapon, the Two-Handed Axe, is in Elena’s mansion at the academy, so it’s best for Jesha, who only brought a small Hand Axe, to return.
Viro and I both came to that conclusion, and although she probably wanted to fight, she rationally agreed.
“Alright, I’ll leave the Princess (Your Highness) to me. Both of you, be careful.”
“Understood.”
As Jesha rushed back to Elena, Viro and I concealed our presence and plunged into the forest.
The reason we sent Jesha back was because we thought she wouldn’t be able to perform at her best in the dense forest. In that respect, Viro and I wouldn’t be at a disadvantage due to the terrain.
She probably understands that herself, but even with comrades, this kind of exchange is necessary.
“This ain’t no living thing.”
As soon as we entered the forest, Viro frowned at the drifting presence.
“Undead?”
“…It might be more troublesome than that.”
Undead are moving corpses born from defilement.
Aside from higher-level beings like Vampires, who are born from curses and are indistinguishable from humans in appearance, generally, human corpses are animated when “Miasma”… Mana Particles with negative emotions, combine with strong resentment.
Undead have no intelligence or wisdom, and there is no soul within them.
There are also cases where they are incorporeal, like evil spirits, but they don’t occur in large numbers because the original human must have a Magic Stone, and there is rarely such a high concentration of Miasma for Undead to spontaneously generate.
So, if Undead were to appear, it would either be in a place where a large number of living things died, or they were intentionally created by someone like a necromancer.
“Here they come.”
“…………”
I found nearly ten corpses walking from the depths of the forest. But they weren’t human. They were Goblin and Hobgoblin zombies, which are occasionally sighted in this forest.
“Viro, I’ll leave this to you.”
“Hey, wait.”
Ignoring Viro’s complaint, I leaped over the heads of the rotting Goblins.
Monsters like Goblins don’t become Undead even if there is Miasma. That’s because monsters have less obsession than humans. My master taught me… if there are monster Undead, there is someone manipulating them.
And the unpleasant presence I felt isn’t these guys.
Whoosh!
Still in my uniform, I leaped through the trees, and as the two Pendulums I released while concealing my presence tore through the darkness, a figure in tattered robes appeared from within.
So, it was there.
“Who are you?”
“…………”
It didn’t answer the question, and as if it had no weight, it danced through the forest, firing Dark Magic bullets like [Dark Gimlets].
“–[Levitate]–”
Using Levitate, I kicked off the tree trunks to evade the Dark Magic bullets, then unleashed Dark Magic towards the one trying to escape to a safe area.
“–[Corrosion]–“
“–!?”
The Level 5 Dark Magic [Corrosion] reduces the target’s HP by 1 per second for several dozen seconds. But in the case of a spiritual life form, it erodes the outer layer that serves as a substitute for HP, reducing their Mana Capacity.
I wasn’t sure. But I had a suspicion.
Perhaps it was also part of its outer layer, as the hood of the corroded robe collapsed, revealing its face.
“…A demon?”
“…………”
The leaves of the surrounding trees lost their color due to the enormous Miasma leaking from its face…
The one with the face like a monkey’s skull distorted its bones as it chuckled silently, then disappeared into the depths of the forest.
…It seems like it’s going to be troublesome, just as Viro said.
The first volume has been reprinted. Thank you.
I have also posted a new cover image in the activity report.
Nasanitaru obtained something closer to a curse than Divine Protection. It is the result of the Dungeon Spirit’s kindness.
Next time, Academy Life
※The demons in this story are not related to wakame processing artisans from another world.