NOVEL NEXT Chapter 48 - When You Target Someone, Your Back Is Exposed☆ (2)
On the ether train heading to
Screech―
The ether train suddenly stopped with a sharp metallic sound.
Though it was an exclusive train that didn’t accept regular passengers, so only a few passengers were on board. We were wondering why there was no announcement from the conductor explaining the reason for stopping.
The sound of passengers in the front cars panicking.
We were sitting in the rearmost tail car where no other passengers had boarded.
“…”
“…”
Freya and I quietly met eyes, and then opened our mouths guessing why the train had stopped.
“Ahaha―☆ It seems like… that, doesn’t it?”
“Haah… H-How far will they lower… the school’s reputation… Even b-beggars wouldn’t…”
“Hey―☆ Even beggar schools wouldn’t do such a thing―♪”
“Th-That’s true. For s-students of a prestigious magic school to now do such delinquent-like acts…”
“The so-called noble children are instead rowdy girls―☆”
“Th-That’s right… Th-This is why the noble faction…”
Freya naturally took out her wand with one hand, while pressing her brow with the other. Her ugly purple cat ears were folded vertically and trembling with anger.
Shaaah…!
Kyaaah…!
The throat sounds bursting endlessly from Freya’s slender neck.
“St-Student Council President Frau… When I g-go back… I’ll shave off all the remaining fur on her ears… and make her crawl naked down the long corridor… to the u-underground solitary cell…”
“Heek…?!”
Rota trembled as if she had heard a terrifying curse. She hid her pretty orange cat ears with both hands and broke out in cold sweat.
I also swallowed hard inwardly hearing that muttering.
‘The alley cat sincerely hates lowering the prestige of the magic school, separate from being an outsider at school…’
Shaving off the remaining fur on animal ears. And making them take a submissive posture while naked. For beastkin, that was truly an expression of serious anger… that would only be done to ancient war slaves.
‘The alley cat has really become mortal enemies with the noble faction… I wonder if those kids can handle this…’
Simultaneously with my thoughts, Freya quickly chanted her characteristic magic activation signal.
“[Eternal Spinning Wheel] Memorize small-scale activation― Set radius, standby, delay firing time.”
A mechanical voice as if an automated voice response had been turned on. And as she lightly swung her golden wand, purple-colored ether began to surge.
Magic seeping in as if it had always been part of the train’s wallpaper. The purple ether instantly flies in a shape like circuit board circuits, lurking throughout the tail car we were riding in.
Shashashash―
The train instantly became a fortress under Freya’s control. This was why you shouldn’t give [Purple Spinning Wheel] time to prepare spells.
‘It’s nice to see it again after so long…’
I recalled my experience dealing with magician-type students.
‘Even if they’re [Unique Ether] ability users, magicians have the weakest physical abilities… but they’re the most troublesome when they set traps or cause large-scale incidents like this.’
The purple ether Freya suddenly released.
The cold silence just before a commotion breaks out.
My juniors seemed to understand the situation now too.
Rota and Kara look around startled.
“…!”
“…I see.”
“Then…!”
Judging that a vanguard was needed in front of the magician.
Alvit tried to quickly block us while drawing her sword from her waist.
“We must go out and fight right away…!”
“Yes~☆ Stop―♡”
But I grabbed Alvit’s hand holding the sword hilt and pushed it back in. The blade of the dark red longsword was half-drawn, then meekly went back into its scabbard.
Clang―!
Gazes exchanged along with the clear sword ringing sound.
Alvit looked at me with bewildered eyes.
But I winked and restrained her hand.
“Senior?!”
“Shh―♪ Stay still☆”
“…?”
I pulled Alvit’s hand to gesture for her to sit down. And she glanced at Freya before slowly sitting down.
“…”
“…”
A silent conversation exchanged through gazes.
I sent a signal with my eyes to Alvit sitting down. Alvit quickly caught that signal and accepted the conversation.
-Shh, stay still… my little Liu Bei―♡
-Senior, what are you suddenly saying?
-Let’s let the alley cat rampage alone and calm down a bit―♪
-Just Senior Freya alone?
-If we step in now, we could fall victim to cat hysteria―☆
-…
Alvit seemed to fully understand that signal and nodded. Then she tapped Rota’s arm and implicitly conveyed the agreed upon content through her gaze.
“…”
“…”
Nod
Nod
Rota and Alvit nodding.
Rota also put away her wand and sat down obediently.
‘Kuh… This is the best harmony seniors and juniors can show.’
We communicate like sisters born on the same day and time.
But unfortunately…
Kara didn’t catch the signal and was awkwardly standing alone holding her flag.
“…?”
“Just sit down.”
“Ah.”
Kara alone didn’t understand the eye language and only sat down after hearing Rota’s interpretation.
At the same time, the presence felt beyond the door drew closer.
-Hmph, as expected of vulgar plebeians from the central area… There aren’t many train passengers.
-Isn’t it the plebeians’ consideration to reduce our search time?
-That’s true. Haah… What if our skin gets damaged while wandering around in such rough wilderness…
-If it weren’t for Lady Frau’s great cause, I wouldn’t have followed.
-Hoho, that’s quite a reasonable thing to say.
Voices endlessly muttering.
As if not caring about revealing their own position. Thanks to their ceaseless conversation, we could tell their location in real-time since earlier.
“…”
I felt the memories of
‘Right… This is the true nature of the furr… beastkin students of the academy city.’
Rattle―!
Seven furry beast train robbers entering through the partition door. As if they had memories of being mocked for having low noses, they all held their heads high in arrogant postures.
Twitch
Twitch
The animal ears of the female students with cat, wolf, and fox ears were very lush and beautiful. And their hair also flowed like silk, and they were decorated with luxury items down to their feet.
But I didn’t particularly feel like touching their animal ears or rubbing their faces.
‘Ugh… The perfume smell is really strong. Are their ears some kind of diffuser?’
Students wearing
Young ladies with various animal ears entered with haughty steps and spoke:
“Don’t move! You plebeians! This train will be occupied by the noble faction of our
“Can’t you kneel and show respect!”
“The stench of plebeians is reverberating all the way here!”
We blankly stared at them who couldn’t see Freya’s figure because they were holding their heads so high.
“…”
“…”
“…”
I let out a dry laugh seeing that sight.
‘They’re all just incompetents barely using 2nd stage ether.’
Incompetent young ladies who seem to be imitating villain princess characters from some cartoon entering with model walks and elegantly declaring train hijacking. This was the average of the furry beasts.
‘Damn it… I really tried not to call them furry beasts…’
Was it because of our silence with no reaction?
A female student with bright vermilion fox ears looked down with arrogant eyes at us sitting still.
“Are you plebeians unable to understand words? Hurry… Um… Hm… [Spinning Wheel]?”
And Freya sitting next to us as well.
“…”
“…”
Freya silently stood up from her seat.
And slowly started walking towards them.
Seeing that sight, the female students all gaped in shock.
We watched intently while hiding firmly in our seats.
Thud
Thud
The vermilion fox-eared girl pointed her wand with trembling hands and spoke. But her legs were trembling even more pitifully than her hands.
“[Purple Spinning Wheel]?! Why are you here?!”
“You… you crazy bitches… Y-You dare ask that? O-Of course it’s because you burned all my luggage.”
Freya seemed unable to contain her suddenly rising anger and breathed heavily with tears welling up.
“M-My most treasured books were in th-there…!! There were a-also lots of d-draft papers to submit at the upcoming conference…!!”
The few words that followed ended almost at the level of a scream.
“Heek…!”
“Wh-What should we do?!”
Perhaps overwhelmed by that momentum, a white-haired wolf-eared girl in the group instinctively defended herself.
“Th-That wasn’t our doing!! Lady Frau told all the 2nd year noble faction members to patrol!!”
“Oh, oh… Th-Then you kn-kn-know wh-who d-did it, right? Right? Grr!! E-Everyone… If you d-don’t want your ear fur to f-fly off, tell me everything…! Tell me now―!!”
“Heeeek―?!”
Freya’s activated ether skill [Eternal Spinning Wheel].
A large spinning wheel turns behind her back activating stored skills. And the train’s tail car also glowed purple emitting endless killing intent.
Tatatatatak!
Due to anger beyond the critical point, Freya endlessly gnashed her teeth and stuttered. The sight of her approaching slowly while emitting intense purple eye-light was terrifying.
“Sh-Shoot!! Subdue her!! Subdue her!!”
“Since Lady Frau has gained enlightenment, [Purple Spinning Wheel] is now just a has-been!!”
“Th-That’s right!! Shoot her!!”
I said inwardly watching that sight.
‘What does your boss gaining enlightenment have to do with you…’
But the incompetent noble faction female students couldn’t control their fear and fired magic. Red 2nd stage ether advanced from the wands they were holding with pathetic momentum like streams of urine on a winter day.
“Golden armaments, be created according to my command…!”
“The very first armament shall become anger…!”
What was fired was the basic magic left behind by [Golden Witch].
The five stages possessed by the armaments of truth made of ether.
Stage 1, dagger form.
It was magic even Rota who dropped out after just 1 week could use.
Fwit―!!
Fwit―!!
Fwit―!!
“Hm…”
Freya moved her fingers as if dozens of daggers shooting at her were nothing. Then circuits activated from the train walls, and hundreds of purple daggers poured out.
Ting! Ting! Ting! Ting! Ting! Ting!
A wave of purple daggers swept away the red daggers.
Freya negated dozens of spells shot by seven people by just twitching her finger once.
“Heeeek?!”
The group of female students desperately chanted spells seeing that. Their faces looked like they might wet themselves, and their legs were shaking like branches in the winter wind.
“…”
Freya paid no attention to that sight and lightly swung her wand like an orchestra conductor.
And armaments filling the purple space.
Countless daggers pour out, becoming waves. Thousands of longswords pour out, becoming wind. Hundreds of greatswords pour out, becoming mountain ranges. Dozens of spears pour out, becoming pillars.
A single giant bow watches over everything looking down.
An endless flow of armaments.
Freya moved the spinning wheel on her back that had stored magic in advance, filling it with purple armaments as if conducting. They started binding the female students with momentum like a prison.
One female student shouted as if screaming with a voice about to tear. And she frantically moved her wand to shoot an emergency signal outside.
“Visaaang―!!!”
Then the train’s roof was destroyed with a thunderous sound.
A huge suit of armor invaded through the thick dust and debris.
It was a magic weapon endlessly painted with gold patterns on a black background.
I inwardly marveled seeing that.
‘Isn’t this a final weapon-class magic engineering puppet from
To think they’d be generous enough to give these riffraff a weapon capable of tanking even adult chaos insects…
Ziiing―!!
The huge armor emitting red eye-light.
After a stable landing uncharacteristic of its 3-meter-tall massive build.
The magic armor puppet charged at Freya making operating sounds.
Wooong―!!
Overwhelming momentum enough to shake the train’s tail car with a single step.
The momentum towards the small and slender girl was far too ferocious and fierce. Like the appearance of a huge boulder charging at a chick.
“…”
But even seeing that, Freya just merely raised a finger and muttered.
“Activate.”
The purple bow was fired.
Boooooom―!!
A laser fired from the purple bow shot towards the black armor puppet. And the armor puppet flew out through the hole created in the train with a huge explosion.
Rumble…
After the faint destruction sound heard far outside the railroad, no sound could be heard.
“…”
“…”
“…”
In the space filled with silence.
Freya spoke while holding a purple dagger in her hand.
“If y-you speak now… I’ll only sh-shave the fur on one ear…”
“…I-I’ll speak.”
Rustle
Rustle
For a while, only the sound of female students’ fur being cut echoed inside the train.
* * *
Bell rushed out of the garrison office and said:
“Oh my…! I thought we were in big trouble when
Female students with one ear becoming bald.
Looking at the students bowing their heads and bound by Freya… we could only laugh.
“Ahaha…☆”
“It was an interesting sight to see.”
“Yeah, it was very educational.”
“…?”
Bell tilted her head seeing us like that.