Chapter 26
"Demon! Demon!"
"Yeah~ Yeah. I'm going to meet her today. So calm down, parrot."
As soon as I stepped out of the dormitory, I was greeted by the welcoming parrot.
I understood its feelings, but it needed to be calmed down a bit.
The chance of success for today's strategy was fifty-fifty.
"You've held on well for 20 years, haven't you? Surely, you can endure just one more day, right?"
A passing student looked at me with a 'he's crazy' expression and quickly walked away.
But my actions were not strange at all.
After all, this parrot can understand human speech.
The parrot, looking straight into my eyes, shouted gracefully.
"Demon!"
"Keke, good. Follow me slowly."
The parrot spread its wings and began to circle in the sky.
As I said earlier, the chance of success for today's strategy was fifty-fifty.
I wanted to eliminate as many variables as possible, even if it was a parrot.
'The Demon's Shard is no joke.'
The Demon's Shard is powerful. It means one could really die.
I had set up a few safety measures, but this kind of strategy was a first for me.
And to think, it was a challenge for Episode 1.
My body was trembling.
'It's going to be fun.'
Of course, it was a tremor of excitement. The thought of devising an unprecedented strategy that no one had ever attempted before.
Using it for the first time.
Even the extreme environment where no mistakes were tolerated.
I couldn't help but feel elated.
It's not that I'm a pervert, but anyone who's a veteran would feel the same.
'You've come out quickly.'
In the distance, I saw Luna.
Luna, with a real sword at her left side.
As expected, Luna looked best in that appearance.
"Luna."
"Hey! Why are you so late? I thought I was going to die of heat."
Certainly, Luna was dripping with sweat.
I was not late. In fact, I had come out 10 minutes early.
Then, how long had Luna been out here?
"How long have you been here?"
"Huh? About three hours ago... Ah, no! I just came out!"
"Aha, I see."
"No, really! Why? Did you think someone was looking forward to playing with you?"
Then why have you been here since three hours ago?
Did she think I would leave without her?
And unlike usual, she wasn't even throwing a tantrum.
She must have been looking forward to today.
'It's not a feeling of love.'
It's definitely on the side of friendship.
She must have really enjoyed playing with the kids in the square last week.
From Luna's perspective, today is the second day of playing with a friend.
Thinking this far, I feel a bit sorry. Today's meeting wasn't for playing.
"Hmph! Be thankful. I'm giving you my precious weekend to play."
"Keke, so you're playing with me not because of my request? Then I guess I don't need to give you a question."
"Huh? Of course, it's natural. Why would I want something in return for playing with a friend?"
"..."
Right, that's how it is. It's a bit strange to have a transaction between friends.
The problem is today's play is Demon hunting (?).
Keke!
Um, guilt pricks at my heart.
I tried to dismiss it as play, but what doesn't work, doesn't work.
"I will give you a question."
"Huh? No, I don't need that."
"No, please! Ask a question after today's play!"
"Ah, I don't want to! Why are you like this! Stop clinging to me!"
I started to plead, clinging to Luna's leg.
Luna began kicking to shake me off.
Hmm, something feels strange. It's like I'm about to discover a new taste...
Beep-!
"Unhealthy opposite-sex relationships are a reason for demerits!"
Rodelin appeared at just the right time.
Thanks to her, I didn't have to discover a new taste.
"It's just him clinging to me. Look."
"Hmm, it's definitely a different situation than usual. Zero, get off her. Only perverts grab a girl's leg."
"He does seem like a pervert, senior."
"Um... he does, doesn't he?"
Luna and Rodelin began whispering to each other.
Contempt flickered across the faces of the two looking down at me.
Hmm, it felt like I was about to discover yet another new taste.
Before that, I quickly stood up. I'm not a pervert, after all.
"Keke, I'm glad you welcomed me so warmly. Thank you."
"Personal and professional matters should be kept separate. Well, it's my mistake to respond to such exaggerated and delusional remarks."
The rumor that the Lucid family was cursed by a demon.
For Rodelin, it was an unavoidable and alarming question.
It was a secret known only among the Lucids, something that must be kept hidden at all costs.
"I should reflect on this. Such occasions will be frequent in the future. It seems I let my guard down for a moment. I am grateful to you for that."
The Lucid family, to which Rodelin belongs, is among the elite of the elite.
A distinguished family that maintains its position as one of the pillars of the empire, without forming factions.
Rodelin must be feeling both pressure and responsibility.
"Keke, that's why I hope you understand that I have my own reasons that I can't speak of."
"Of course. Responsibility is not a privilege exclusive to the nobility. You must also be shouldering something."
Good, very good.
I knew she was a character of integrity and rationality, but I didn't expect this level of respect.
It seemed like from now on, I could get away with a lot just by saying 'keke, it's a secret.'
"Hmm, let's move on to work matters then. I've been patrolling and looking closely, but I couldn't find any signs of corruption."
"Keke, actually, I'm in the same situation. So, how about following up on rumors?"
"Rumors?"
"Yes, rumors about corruption or demons."
"Hmm, but that's too vast. Even if we limit our search to the academy... it's too vast."
I pretended to be lost in thought for a moment.
The process of deducing where the 'Demon's Shard' might be.
I knew the progression route perfectly.
All I had to do was to naturally feed this information to Rodelin.
"Keke, what if we limit it to people from 20 years ago?"
"...20 years ago?"
"Yes, you know the parrot has been around since then, right?"
Now it was Rodelin's turn to ponder.
Her mind was probably like this:
We don't know when the prototype of the corruption was made, but it somehow leaked out and left traces on the parrot.
The parrot appeared about 20 years ago.
Its words were demon, danger, protect, save me, help, etc.
Unique words, but among them, 'Demon' is particularly unusual.
What if the parrot had encountered a being it could call a demon and was asking for help?
But it's impossible to talk to animals.
Then...!
"Getting information through events or people at the academy around 20 years ago, that's what you're suggesting."
"Keke, precisely. You're truly remarkable."
Her reasoning deserved applause.
"You gave the hint, didn't you? It's a very simple deduction that anyone could make after hearing that."
I silently looked at Luna.
She was still tilting her head in confusion.
Yep, there she is. A kid who can't even make a simple deduction.
'Just grow up healthy and strong.'
Once again today, I felt like a father raising his daughter.
* * *
Conversation with the building manager.
"20 years ago? It was total chaos then. The Sacred Sword suddenly disappeared."
"The Sacred Sword of the hero, you mean?"
"Yeah. The Sacred Sword that hadn't been pulled out for over 100 years disappeared without a trace. All that was left were the marks of the sword being pulled out. I don't know if it's still there. It's been a restricted area for a long time."
Conversation with the steward.
"This is a rumor from back then... but they said a student went missing too."
"Missing? Does that mean they still haven't been found?"
"At that time, the investigation teams were completely focused on finding the Sacred Sword. Moreover, it was just a rumor..."
"What was the name of the student presumed missing?"
"I can't remember. It was so long ago..."
Rodelin let out a sigh.
Not being able to properly determine even one student's disappearance.
"What were the student council members doing at that time...!"
Rodelin rummaged through the documents.
Information about people who had been working since 20 years ago.
Being the vice president of the student council, she had easy access to such information.
'Well, I can find it without such things.'
It's the route of the hidden piece I've repeated thousands of times.
Now, the last step was to talk to an unidentified old lady.
"This is the last part. The person who has been at the academy the longest."
"That seems to be the person over there. Hmm...?"
The old lady standing by the flower bed. And next to her was.
'Raymon?'
Pure evil Raymon was tending the garden.
"Raymon?"
"Oh... Ze, Zero! Hi! He, hello, senior!"
Raymon bowed deeply.
A polite young man. Of course, his mouth wasn't.
"Hey! Am I invisible?"
"Ah... Lu, Luna! Sorry. You're so small that I..."
"Yo, you! Do you really want to die!?"
"Why, why are you angry... I, I was just telling the truth. You're really small."
Luna started to shake Raymon by the collar and swing him around.
Rodelin tried to calm Luna down.
Hmm, well it wasn't my concern.
"Hello, grandma?"
"Ho ho, lots of visitors today. Nice to see you all."
"Do you remember anything from 20 years ago? About a demon... or a Sacred Sword..."
"20 years ago... There were rumors about a demon."
"You said demon just now?"
Rodelin hurriedly approached and asked.
"Yes. Many people said they saw something black and spiky. It quieted down as no traces were found."
"I see. There was also a presumed missing case, right?"
"It wasn't a presumption, it was a real disappearance."
"Really?"
"I saw that child often."
"What! What's the name?"
"He didn't tell me his name. He was a mysterious child, always wandering alone. He used to be with a parrot."
Rodelin's gaze drifted to the parrot floating in the sky.
A smart child, indeed.
"Why didn't you report it!"
"I did, countless times. But no one believed me. The records in the student department disappeared. Someone must have tampered with them."
"That can't be!"
"Do you really think so? A missing case at Annwood Academy is a huge disgrace. Especially if it's a student that needs to be protected. Anyone would have wanted it to disappear."
"That's... terrible..."
Rodelin couldn't continue her words.
Dirty people exist everywhere.
Erasing a single student's record to protect their position, they could easily commit such an act.
"You're part of the student council, aren't you?"
Rodelin, trembling, covered her student council badge with her hand.
Though it couldn't really be concealed.
"There's no need to be ashamed. It's not your fault, is it."
"Still... I'm sorry."
"If you bury this matter even after hearing it, then you should be sorry. So, will you believe this old lady's words and find that child?"
"Of course. I swear on my name as vice president... no, on my own name."
"Thank you. Now I feel a bit relieved."
As soon as we turned our backs on the old lady, Rodelin's expression turned fierce.
She must have realized that the people who covered up the student's death were nobles.
'Now it's just a matter of putting the pieces together.'
After gathering and deducing the information, it's time to head to 'that place' and start the battle.
It was when I was about to leave.
--TL Notes--
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