NOVEL NEXT Chapter 12
Chapter 12
—–CROW—–
Lucia felt as if the air had frozen.
She couldn’t even respond to Oz’s cold gaze.
‘What did I say?’
For a moment, Lucia couldn’t tear her attention away from Oz, to the point where she even forgot what she had said.
He was that intimidating.
She had vaguely known since their conversation in the carriage that he was a dangerous person.
But this was the first time she had seen him express such blatant displeasure.
Lucia found it hard to breathe, as if his cold gaze had pierced her heart.
Demi-humans possessed senses more acute than other races.
Thanks to that, she could perceive and prepare for more than others… but it was different now.
Because of her sharp senses, she couldn’t even move.
“Ugh…”
Bang!
It was then, as Lucia teared up in fear…
Eleanor, who should have been copying the letter of apology, burst through the classroom door.
“Oh? What are you two doing here?”
“Nothing in particular.”
“Master Oz likes the phrase ‘nothing in particular,’ doesn’t he?”
“Is that so?”
Lucia flinched as she watched Oz seamlessly continue the conversation.
His shift in demeanor was as quick as flipping a switch.
Faster than even herself, who had received professional training as a member of
Lucia mentally revised her list of people to be wary of in
He was a monster.
“What are you doing, Lucia?”
“L-Look, Noah, I have a cramp in my tail! I can’t move~ Help me~”
“You get cramps even though you’re a cat?”
“…That’s prejudice, Noah.”
It wasn’t working.
Lucia started to feel bewildered, unable to compose herself and blend in completely.
And that bewilderment made her even more anxious.
If this continued, Eleanor might sense something was off.
A sense of違和感could easily turn into suspicion.
And suspicion could easily turn into distrust.
A single mistake could jeopardize their entire relationship.
With that thought, Lucia started looking around. She needed something, anything, to help her.
“Really? I see.”
But Lucia came to her senses at the slightly tearful voice.
She stopped looking around and focused on Eleanor.
“What…?”
Lucia was bewildered for a different reason.
Eleanor wasn’t looking at them properly.
Her eyes were brimming with tears.
‘What happened while I was momentarily distracted?’
Lucia unclenched her stiff tail and looked at Oz.
Oz hadn’t noticed the tears welling up in Eleanor’s eyes yet.
No, he seemed preoccupied with something else.
‘Anger? Confusion? No, that’s…’
The cold gaze and atmosphere he had exuded earlier were gone, but Oz’s state seemed clearly unusual.
‘Anxiety?’
Oz was acting strangely anxious.
She didn’t know the reason.
His demeanor had changed drastically right after the shift in atmosphere.
“…I’ll be going back now.”
“Ah, Master…”
“Later.”
Oz cut Eleanor off and walked across the classroom with hurried steps tinged with anxiety.
The faces of all the students he passed stiffened.
Lucia could guess Oz’s state.
He was acting like he had before.
He was moving with that cold gaze that seemed to pierce through everything.
‘Oh, honestly…’
Lucia felt a sense of dissonance.
She felt fear towards Oz, who could switch his demeanor at an unbelievable speed despite seemingly being unable to control his emotions.
She felt exhausted by Eleanor’s unpredictable behavior, which seemed to have been triggered by some incident while she was momentarily distracted.
There was nothing she could predict.
‘I want to quit this job.’
She started to consider changing careers.
* * *
It was dangerous. No, it still was. Dangerous.
I was momentarily swept away by a torrent of emotions.
Something unimaginable for my usual self.
I was strangely immersed.
[Contemplation – Activated]
Startled by Eleanor’s sudden appearance, I reactivated [Contemplation], which I had deactivated, and immediately checked the [Erosion Rate] displayed in the corner of my vision.
[Erosion Rate 20%]
20%. The maximum.
Even during the fight with the assassin, even amidst the magical bombardment, the [Erosion Rate] had never exceeded 20%.
I didn’t know the reason, but it seemed 20% was the limit of erosion I could handle.
“Damn it…”
But even that 20% was enough to dilute my sense of self.
It was me who had been approaching Eleanor with a gamer’s mindset.
I had no right to be angry at Lucia.
Moreover, even without my intervention, Lucia would eventually become Eleanor’s friend.
But I had forgotten that fact.
In this ‘world’ where everything revolved around Eleanor, I acted as a person, not a character.
[Erosion Rate] wasn’t something to be taken lightly. Even though it was a fluctuating value, I never knew when I might be consumed by it.
[Erosion Rate 20%]
I thought about the absurd magic system.
I thought about the unique skills of each individual.
I thought about how the nations continued as usual despite the ridiculous situation of the sky collapsing.
[Erosion Rate 20%]
I thought about the probability of Eleanor escaping from the dangerous Chrysos alone.
I thought about the setting where a single individual could keep a nation’s military power in check.
I thought about the vastly different levels of technology in each country.
Everything lacked plausibility.
[Erosion Rate 20%]
I absolutely couldn’t acknowledge this world.
If I did, I would be buried.
By Oz? Or by the world?
I didn’t know.
“Oh, there you are. Oz.”
At that moment, someone appeared out of thin air and pressed down on me.
Neatly braided red hair brushed against me like a tail.
The flow of mana was strange.
Gravity magic?
That thought briefly crossed my mind, but I soon understood what that flow of mana was.
It wasn’t magic, but [Dragon Language], the power of dragons, simpler than magic yet impossible for others to replicate.
Then there was only one being capable of this.
“…Headmaster?”
The [Dragon Emperor], with a wicked smile that was unimaginable for a childlike face, was looking down at me.
“The rumors of you walking around the academy with a murderous look have spread far and wide, you crazy bastard. You’re causing trouble again before the disciplinary meeting even ended?”
“…Me?”
“Hahahahaha!”
Headmaster Tia clutched her head and burst into laughter, as if in disbelief.
And at the same time, I lost consciousness.
* * *
I felt the cold touch of a wooden floor. I was tied up, though I didn’t know with what.
I opened my eyes, and the first thing I saw was a wave-like pattern on the floor. I didn’t know for sure, but it seemed to be made of high-quality wood.
“Are you awake?”
[Contemplation – Activated]
At the chilling words, I activated [Contemplation] and looked around.
Turning my head, I saw Headmaster Tia sitting in an antique wooden chair, crushing a candy with her sharp teeth.
As I was thinking that a bite from those teeth would tear off a chunk of flesh, Headmaster Tia muttered in a low voice, “Are you going to turn off the lights in your eyes?”
[Contemplation – Deactivated]
Since I aimed to be a well-behaved student, I deactivated [Contemplation] as Headmaster Tia instructed.
“So, go ahead and speak your mind.”
“Isn’t this treatment too much for a student?”
“Haha! I told you to speak your mind, not bark like a dog.”
Crack!
Headmaster Tia, finally crushing the candy completely, had a vein bulging on her forehead.
It wasn’t the cute cross shape you saw in manga or anime.
That thick, curved line looked like a mafia boss enraged after losing his subordinates to a cowardly trap during a gang war.
If I spoke carelessly, I might actually die.
“You little shit, you caused several incidents in this short time.”
“Yes?”
“You woke up early this morning and caused friction with the disciplinary committee.”
“There was a slight misunderstanding…”
“Shut up. I’m talking.”
There was a cliché that red dragons had fiery tempers, but it seemed a bit different.
This wasn’t just a fiery temper.
It was a cold, extremely controlled rage, beyond fire.
“And then, what was it? Nora?”
“It’s Noah.”
“Right, Noah. You caused a commotion with that kid, blowing up the hallway and the classroom door, right?”
“That’s an exaggeration. The classroom door was fine.”
“The hallway?”
“…”
“The hallway, you bastard.”
The hallway was slightly scorched because of the [Little Bomb] I set off.
Just slightly. But if I said that, I would die.
Unlike Noah, I was a man who could read the room, at least in my head. Although Oz’s body and mouth seemed to have a mind of their own… it was a task I had to work on.
“And lastly, you walked around the hallway exuding killing intent?”
“Isn’t that not really causing trouble?”
“What would you do if there was a lunatic walking around the streets brandishing a knife?”
“I understand.”
“Shut up.”
It seemed my existence itself was considered a weapon. Come to think of it, it was only natural.
Although I was currently a piece of junk who could only use basic magic and a random skill, my title was still [Successor of the Demon King].
That title alone made me a strategic weapon of sorts.
“Don’t you think you’re being outrageous?”
“…”
“I’m asking you.”
If I answered, she told me to shut up, and if I stayed silent, she pressed me for an answer. I didn’t know what she wanted.
“It just happened…”
“Just happened? Just… hap… pened?! You little… Ugh!”
Tia suddenly clutched the back of her neck.
If her anger was this uncontrolled, she should go to the hospital.
“Ahem! I can’t keep this up. Just shut up and listen. I’ll do the talking.”
“Yes…”
“I said shut up.”
“…”
“Good.”
Crunch! Crunch!
After confirming that I had closed my mouth, Headmaster Tia created a large amount of ice with magic and shoved it into her mouth, perhaps to cool down.
The ice started to get crushed like it was in an icebreaker.
“We’ve decided on your disciplinary action based on what you did during the practical exam and the other minor incidents.”
“Ah, yes.”
“First, you’ll investigate the dungeons that have recently appeared and see what’s inside. You might even end up managing them.”
“Giving such a task to a mere student…”
I closed my mouth at her silent glare.
I didn’t know this before, but Headmaster Tia was even scarier when she didn’t speak.
It felt like she could crush my skull with her silent pressure.
“Second, you’ll join the disciplinary committee. It’s like putting a leash on you.”
I wanted to ask, but I didn’t.
I could clearly see what would happen if I opened my mouth again.
“I want to give you other punishments, but the scale of your actions, your social standing, and above all, your power are too troublesome. Or do you want to clean toilets like a ‘mere’ student, as you said? Then you can be in charge of cleaning all the toilets in the academy by yourself for about two years.”
That sounded horrible.
Aside from the minor incidents I caused today, the terrorist attack during the practical exam seemed to have had a major impact.
Normally, I would have been expelled or forced to withdraw, but they seemed to be trying to cover it up, considering my social standing and symbolic importance.
“…I’ll investigate the dungeons. After checking what’s inside, can I completely destroy them?”
“If they’re of a suitable difficulty, we’ll use them for practical training, so leave them be.”
Dungeons were nothing special.
Just like in typical games, they were an absurd system where you cleared them and received unknown rewards.
That fact was probably preventing my [Erosion Rate] from rising, but it still felt unreal.
“Then where… where is it? Ah, here it is.”
Headmaster Tia rummaged through her desk drawers for a while and then threw a small scroll at me.
I unfolded it and saw a map of
It reminded me of the map from the game.
There were about six red dots marked on the map, which seemed to indicate the locations of the dungeons.
“This is…”
But the six marked locations were familiar to me.
“Headmaster, have you ever been to these places?”
“No, I’m certain they’ve become dungeons, but when I went to one of them, there was nothing there. I don’t know if they’re hiding in response to my presence or if there’s something hidden, since I haven’t checked yet.”
“Why didn’t you check the other places? Such important information…”
“Because of you! You bastard! You’ve been causing trouble nonstop since before the semester even started! How could I possibly have time to check?!”
“I see…”
I nodded in understanding and got hit.
Perhaps she was being considerate, or perhaps it was because of Oz’s high defense stat, but it didn’t hurt much.
“So, do you understand?”
Headmaster Tia floated up, rested her chin on my shoulder, and looked at me with narrowed eyes.
She seemed interested but too lazy to check herself.
An indifferent attitude.
“…I have a guess.”
“Then hurry up and take care of it, and report back. Don’t waste time.”
“It will take at least a week.”
“Yeah, that’s up to you.”
Headmaster Tia took out a new candy and twirled it.
It was a sign for me to leave.
[Contemplation – Activated]
As soon as I left the Headmaster’s office, I immediately activated [Contemplation].
I checked the [Erosion Rate], and it was 15%.
It wasn’t going down easily this time.
“Hmm…”
The six red dots marked on the map.
Headmaster Tia said there was nothing when she visited one of them.
It was probably just bad luck on her part.
These dungeons only opened on specific days of the week.
The six dots on the map corresponded to Monday to Friday and the weekend, a common feature in games.
[Erosion Rate 4%]
“Weekday dungeons.”
A must-do course for game users to acquire various resources.
—–CROW—–