Became an Academy Self-Inflicted Blackmailer

29 – Preparation (1)

Heading to the depths of the underground where the demonic sword was sealed was scheduled for the weekend, and there are two days left until that weekend.

‘Two days, two days.’

It is neither long nor short.

As far as preparations go, I only need to get a brooch, so the equipment is perfect and the plan is all set.

It was not difficult to enter the upper floors. Researchers and professors also frequented the place, so entering through the main building was rather simple with a pass (brooch).

It wasn’t uncommon for students to come in and out, so there shouldn’t be any problems as long as we don’t show suspiciousness first.

What you need to pay attention to is rather what happens after you go beyond the upper layer.

Even if the roads were connected, Tsumei did not allow others to approach the depths where the demonic sword was located.

Except for Helena, who can be said to be her closest aide, almost no one knew about the existence of the depths in the first place.

The fact that the members of the Holy Church, including Beatrice, were able to be sure of the demonic sword’s existence was thanks to the unique characteristic of the power called ‘divine power’, not because they were particularly outstanding.

At this point, Beatrice probably only guessed about the existence of the demonic sword and that there was ‘something’ in it. I wouldn’t know any more information than that.

There will come a moment when you will learn the true identity of the demonic sword someday.

‘In fact, I’m going to pull that timing with my own hands.’

I clicked my tongue for nothing.

It’s something you’ll find out anyway, but I’m in a position to know how much Beatrice suffers from that inconvenient truth. It was impossible to feel comfortable.

But I couldn’t help it either.

It wasn’t just because she was aiming to destroy the demonic sword that Beatrice was involved in this, even through fraudulent ways.

From my point of view, where I have to hold on to both Tsumei and Beatrice in the end, ‘resolving the conflict without any conflict’ was an overly ideal wish.

When the time comes, discord will arise, and if it is impossible to stop it from happening, at least mediation should be attempted.

And I think the surest way of all was at the end of the road I’m looking at now.

First, approach the place where the magic sword is sealed.

Slowly, unraveling the mysteries related to him.

Next, you will have to try persuasion.

The reason why Beatrice tried to destroy the demonic sword was because she thought that the demonic sword would eventually come back as a great disaster.

‘It’s not a bad guess, but it’s not like there’s no other way than destruction.’

For me, if possible, I wanted to pass without breaking the demonic sword.

Because that is a direction that will help me, Tsumei, and ultimately the world.

That’s why I had to accompany Beatrice.

Her way of persuading her is to remove the seed of her disaster carried by her demonic sword.

To do that, he ironically needed Beatrice’s help.

She is the absolute divine power that she possesses as a holy woman.

In order to remove the danger of the demonic sword, that holy power was needed.

The reason why a demonic sword is called a demonic sword is because of a certain dragon sleeping inside the blade.

It was the energy of the ‘devil’, and nothing else, that endowed the dragon with dangerous properties.

*****

What is a demon?

“A creature literally born with evil. Nothing more, nothing less. The criteria for defining it may vary, but you probably don’t need to know the details of the conflict between the Divine Church and the Society.”

The theology professor said so.

Devils are creatures born with evil.

That was not wrong.

For a simple definition, surely there is no sentence as clear as that.

However, it is a little different.

Not that the truth is different, but that, as the professor of theology adds, no other factor has been added to the explanation.

Generally, students view the existence of demons as simple monsters that are superior to each other.

Compared to other monsters, they are a little stronger and have a little more intelligence, and have a human appearance.

In other words, a mere creature.

They won’t know.

The devil is not something that can be taken lightly.

It was hidden for various reasons, but it was deeply related to the demons even during the Gaebyeok Day incident decades ago.

The aftermath of the incident, such as the fall of the dragons, was an open story that everyone who could know the truth already knew.

The final targets this world had to defeat were also demons.

Although it’s complicated in many ways to say it’s a threat limited to them.

Anyway, that was the reason why the Holy Church had such a great influence on the continent.

Authority comes from necessity.

The greatest weapon that humans could use to stop the demons from doing so was, after all, the power of the gods.

Divine power was the most effective energy to deal with the demons, and it goes without saying if it was a saint.

I was thinking of purifying her demonic sword using her holy power.

‘Jeong-hwa’ sounds strange.’

Still, there is no other expression that fits so perfectly.

The ‘Demonic Sword of Flügel’ contained the soul of a dragon that is now considered extinct.

The truth is quite different from the way the world points to Tsumei as the last dragon.

It wasn’t completely wrong, but to be precise, there is only one more object left.

A being that can be called a dragon in this world.

A life that should have already disappeared, or a child of a blue dragon who survived against the mandate of heaven.

Tsumei knows of her existence, so she has been guarding the demonic sword.

Because she couldn’t bear to let the daughter of the object she followed like her sister die.

Because I wanted to fulfill the blue dragon’s last request.

And.

As much as I took the life of that blue dragon with my own hands, at least to take care of its flesh and blood.

‘It’s unfortunate.’

It was nothing new that he had come to accept various things more emotionally after falling into this world, but among them, the story about the demonic sword was definitely that much.

Not just Tsumei, but also Beatrice.

When Beatrice hadn’t yet awakened as her saintess, that is, when she was only about ten years old.

It was none other than the work of the blue dragon that burned down her village right in front of her eyes.

It was a daunting task.

Even knowing her past, I had to stop her, really.

It’s not like I didn’t think there was another way, but there was no better way than this.

From a grand perspective, the demonic sword is something that should not be destroyed without any countermeasures.

Even if you think the other way around, breaking the demonic sword will eventually have a bad effect on both Tsumei and Beatrice.

Should I say it’s a little overly radical?

The problems of the demonic sword are so complicatedly twisted that Beatrice will also regret it in the future if she simply destroys it in physical form and ends it.

Such a result had to be prevented somehow.

I can’t guarantee that my plan will always bring good results, but it’s better than just destroying it.

I let out a short breath and crossed my arms.

It was complicated in my head, but let’s take a break or not after dealing with the magic sword problem.

‘First of all, I want to bring Beatrice right in front of the demonic sword and hope that the persuasion works well… ….’

It was then.

Tuk Tuk-

“?”

“Hey.”

Someone tapped me on the back of the head, and I blinked and turned my head at the voice I heard.

As expected, Beatrice was standing there.

‘Am I the door? Knock on the back of the head.’

I was a little upset, but I didn’t say anything.

Instead, when I asked with a look in my eyes, Beatrice shrugged and chinned her head.

“Professor is out. When it’s all over, why do you always sit there blankly by yourself?”

“…… Ah.”

Only then did I realize that the theology professor had left the classroom.

Did I get lost in my thoughts too much?

Beatrice put on a puzzled expression at my bewildered appearance.

“Sometimes, you look like you have a lot of needless worries. What have you been thinking about for so long?”

I frowned for a moment, then replied a beat late.

“Think of you.”

“…… Under.”

Beatrice immediately let out a blank laugh.

“Now that it’s beyond unpleasant, I’m not surprised again. At this point, are you deliberately teasing and enjoying yourself?”

‘That’s right.’

I nodded my head internally, but instead of affirming it, I quietly got up from my seat.

Her Beatrice, who caught a glimpse of me getting up, turned her body first, and I naturally followed her.

It was lunchtime. Because the class is already over.

In fact, even if it was a class, I didn’t really listen to the contents such as the introduction to mana science or the history of the continent.

It was also because I didn’t have basic knowledge in the first place, but I’m not familiar with the original body theory…….

It was absolutely not that I stayed away from studying. I just didn’t quite understand.

Really.

“Hmm.”

On the way to the student cafeteria for a meal, a thought came to my mind and I turned my head slightly to look at Beatrice.

As if she had noticed her gaze, Beatrice raised her eyebrows as she made eye contact.

Seeing those eyes that seemed to ask, ‘What are you watching?’, I smiled and listened.

“I have a question.”

“What is it?”

Beatrice didn’t think much of it, and I added a word without much thought.

“Do you have any friends besides me?”

Stand up!

Beatrice stopped and stood up.

She was slightly ahead of me, so she stopped me too and turned around, but her expression was as puzzled as someone who had been hit by an unexpected blow.

The way she opens and closes her mouth seems to be searching for something to say, but in the end she can’t get her voice out.

Looks like he’s bewildered or angry.

She tried to refute, but couldn’t find the right words, so it was obvious that she was confused.

I only threw out one word, but a very interesting reaction came back.

I deliberately tilted my head and continued.

“No, that’s right. It seems like it’s taken for granted that we go out to eat together every time, but other than that, I’ve never seen you hang out with other kids.”

“…… No, that’s it.”

Beatrice immediately pursed her lips, but she just rolled her eyes as if she couldn’t remember what to say.

Couldn’t she have wanted to do something strange even to herself?

It’s like going to a restaurant with me every time it’s lunchtime.

Beatrice seemed to be constantly rolling her head in that short amount of time, and soon she raised her voice as if she had come up with a rebuttal.

“…… Well, that goes for you too.”

“Oops.”

I reflexively let out a sigh.

The best thing I could think of was, ‘Aren’t you on the same level as me?’.

‘I’d rather deny it.’

It’s true that I brought it up with the intention of making fun of it, but at this point, I felt rather sorry.

I looked at Beatrice as I would look at a poor person in the world, and, of course, she blushed at that.

“Don’t look at me with those eyes!”

“Okay, I’m sorry.”

“f*ck off that pitying tone…… !”

I raised both hands in surrender.

I didn’t know that her thoughtless words would hurt her so much.

I came up with these words because it was both strange and strange that I was waiting for them to move together even though I was in a daze like today.

It’s not that there’s no particular reason, it seems like he really didn’t have any friends besides me.

I shrugged her shoulders and turned around first.

“Listen, it’s not that I don’t have friends, it’s just that I didn’t bother to make them. It will interfere with our mission!”

“………… Okay!”

“Don’t answer delicately at intervals! Kill them?!”

My face was so hot that I felt like it was about to explode.

I was in the mood to knock one down, so I quickly ran towards the restaurant.

“Huh?”

Exactly.

I was trying to run away.

As I was moving at a brisk pace, there was a sight that caught the edge of my field of vision.

“You…… !”

Beatrice, who then followed me with her eyebrows raised dissatisfiedly, also looked in the same direction as me and blurted out her words.

Questions began to appear in her eyes and mine.

“That…… ?”

Woong Sung Woong Sung-

A group of people gathered in one place and were talking.

Looks like the bulletin board next to the student cafeteria.

Me and Beatrice exchanged glances once, then moved closer to them.

It was out of curiosity, and at the same time, it was a choice that could not be called good.

We listened to the conversations of the students without much thought…….

“What happened?”

“Why, there is a professor’s office building in Building E.”

Concerning the content of that conversation, we couldn’t help but flinch.

“I heard there was a thief there?”

My body and Beatrice’s bodies trembled at the same time.

“Thief? In the professor’s office? …… Uh, why?”

“I don’t know why. I don’t think they stole anything.”

“Why are you a thief when you haven’t stolen anything?”

“They said they were wearing suspicious masks, both of them.”

“Ah.”

The conversation that succinctly summarized the reason for the students’ gathering came to an end.

When I glanced up, I could see a large handout attached to one side of the bulletin board.

[Looking for witnesses]

What that meant was clear.

Aria seems to have informed the academy of how Beatrice and I were dressed at the time.

“But could there be outside intruders in the academy?”

“I don’t know, it might be an inside job. The upperclassmen didn’t look too surprised. Isn’t it rather an occasional thing?”

I looked up at Beatrice, and Beatrice looked up at me too.

After a short silence, we averted our eyes without anyone saying anything first.