NOVEL NEXT Chapter 12 - Lip reading.
TN: Thank Clone Trooper for the chapter. Part 2
[We need something new.]
“Huh?”
Out of nowhere?
I unintentionally raised my voice loudly while listening to a boring mana studies lecture.
“What is it, Arte? Is there something you don’t understand?”
“…No, sorry. I was just thinking about something else for a moment.”
“Pay attention to the lecture. Now, mana circulating within the body results in less loss…”
With Ms. Claire’s voice as background noise, I listened closely to the Author’s words.
[You see, Reader, there’s been nothing happening lately, right?]
“…I suppose not.”
I lowered my volume so others couldn’t hear.
Doing this makes me feel like a magical girl or something.
It reminded me of the magical girl anime I secretly watched as a kid, with scenes of talking with a mascot character during class.
[Every day, it’s just lectures, lectures, and lectures. Just training and studying theory all day doesn’t provide enough material!]
“What about the swordsmanship classes?”
[That’s the biggest problem! Just dueling all day long. Boring!]
Didn’t you say there might even be a heroine candidate there before?
When I brought that up, the Author got quite upset.
[The first encounter is important for heroines! Meeting in such a boring way at a boring place doesn’t make her a heroine! Scrap it!]
“Ah, I see.”
So that’s how it is.
Then what was even the point of me joining the swordsmanship classes?
Besides, one notably pretty girl was there, fitting for a heroine…Wasn’t she a candidate? Did you just forget about her? Really?
[Anyway…! It’s an experiment, an experiment! I want to insert a new episode!]
“Oh, okay. What did you want to insert…?”
[Obviously, an attack on the academy!]
“…?”
Did I hear that right?
An attack?
[It might be a bit early, but… I’m going to insert an evil organization raid event!]
“That’s way too early.”
[Huh?!]
It’s not just a bit early. It’s too soon.
Are you kidding me?
“At the very least, write two or so more events before doing a raid on the school. It’s way too premature.”
[Tw-two whole events?! B-but I don’t have any material right now…]
As I thought.
I knew it was something like this.
They’ve run out of material, so they’re trying to fill the void, right? I understand.
But does that mean you have to use up the juicy academy attack premise already?
At least let it simmer more.
[But I really can’t think of any other material right now.]
“Why not? You can just make some up.”
[R-Reader?]
Thump thump.
I could almost hear that sound.
Even without seeing it, I could tell she was filled with anticipation.
She always ends up relying on me.
It didn’t feel bad.
Being depended on by others feels better than I expected.
“Before the raid, what do you think needs to happen?”
[Huh? …Um, I don’t know?]
“Preliminary investigations. They need to assess the opposition.”
It’s easy if I think about what counter-terrorism units do before operations.
In movies and such, the counter-terrorism squads always obtain building blueprints and such to study the information thoroughly, right?
“We need a spy.”
[Ah…! Th-that’s right! A minion planted by the evil organization! As expected from you, Reader…!]
The academy has extremely tight security.
Not only would hacking the databases be impossible at an ordinary level, but even suspicious access attempts would be traced back instantly, turning you into a criminal before you knew it.
It’s an academy that can’t be breached.
While having a spy inside could be seen as a plot hole, it’s quite the opposite.
The evil organizations in academy novels tend to be world-threatening types.
For ones like that, infiltrating wouldn’t be too strange.
The saying goes that even the highest security in the world has a way in, after all.
[But who should we have as the spy? Too ordinary might be a bit…]
“Wasn’t there a good candidate among the students?”
[…?]
Yes, there was one.
Someone the Author had no interest in but who had some connection to Yu Siwoo.
Plus, she had an extraordinary appearance and was worthy of being an ex-heroine candidate.
“If you can’t use her as a heroine, you should at least use her as a villain.”
It’s best to use up all your resources.
I couldn’t help but smile, feeling my earlier actions in swordsmanship class weren’t meaningless after all.
Well, villains need to be pretty these days.
Having one pretty spy shouldn’t be too bad, right?
***
“Something feels off.”
“Yeah, I sensed it too.”
Yu Siwoo and Amelia were secretly watching Arte behind Ms. Claire’s back.
“There’s no way Arte would randomly fall asleep and raise her voice like that. …Something’s up.”
“She hasn’t taken any action these past few days, so maybe she’s about to move now that we let our guard down.”
Yu Siwoo agreed with Amelia’s words.
A few days after joining the club, they were on high alert.
Just when the tension was dissipating as nothing happened, making them think they may have misjudged the situation–
Arte started acting strangely.
“She seems to have been contacted. It must be that ‘Author’ person, don’t you think Yu Siwoo?”
“That person is definitely behind this.”
“No doubt.”
Author.
A word meaning someone who creates their own works in the artistic field.
The word itself isn’t problematic.
But the way Arte referred to ‘Author’ seemed to mean something else.
Not creating artistic works but crafting something in reality itself.
“Disgusting. Causing incidents and treating it as art. …She’s deranged.”
He forcibly held back the grimace that threatened to show on his face at Amelia’s words.
‘You’re just as strange,’ he wanted to retort.
Considering criminal acts to obtain evidence of a crime is just as strange.
“…Wait, what is she muttering over there?”
“Can’t hear.”
“Too far away.”
Yu Siwoo was normally relieved he was seated far from her.
For the first time, he felt dismayed at the distance between them.
“…Swordsmanship classes.”
Huh?
Yu Siwoo was flustered by the words Amelia suddenly brought up.
What did she just say?
She intently stared at Arte’s face, so he figured something was up.
…Lip reading?
“Sorry. I didn’t properly learn it, so I can’t read it well.”
“You can lip read?”
“Just a bit.”
“Why, why would you…”
“…It looked cool in movies.”
Amelia’s face reddened in embarrassment.
She seemed embarrassed that she learned lip reading because it looked cool in movies.
More than that, he found it unbelievable she learned it just because it looked cool.
But now wasn’t the time to worry about that.
Why she learned it wasn’t important.
This was a chance to eavesdrop on Arte and that ‘Author’s’ secret conversation.
“She’s started talking more!”
“Wait. Early, raid, event…? Two events? Did I see that right?”
“…Amelia, that might not be what we need to focus on right now.”
“I know. She mentioned a raid. But it doesn’t seem like an immediate attempt, so we’re still okay. I’m not even sure if I’m reading this right.”
Early, raid on the school.
What is that about? And what’s this event she’s talking about?
It was completely incomprehensible.
I wish Amelia had just misread it.
“Why not, make… Ugh… I can’t make out what she’s saying.”
Her scrunched-up expression while staring at Arte might look like an angry glare to anyone else.
‘Since I can do nothing right now, I should at least cover her face so our classmates can take notes in peace…?’
“Academy, raid, preliminary investigation, assess…”
“What are you…”!
“Spy, student, heroine, villain…That’s it.”
The words coming out of Amelia’s mouth were shocking enough to make me freeze.
“I hope I just misunderstood. It’s a bit shocking.”
“Attacking the academy, it’s unprecedented. How could that be possible…?”
“I know. It’s never happened since the academy was founded. But she’s not ordinary, as you know.”
I didn’t want to believe it.
Attacking the academy.
Could she really be planning to attack the academy?
“It would be fortunate if I misread and jumped to conclusions, but what if I read it correctly?”
“…”
“The teachers won’t believe such a ridiculous story…we must stop it beforehand.”
Amelia was right.
If nothing happens, that’s good.
But if she read it correctly?
If she really intends to attack the academy?
It won’t end with just saying I didn’t know.
A bloody incident is sure to occur.
“You’re right. Even if we jumped to conclusions, it’s better to stop it beforehand.”
“Okay. Let’s go over what she said again.”
Putting the lesson aside completely, Amelia looked at the paper where she had written down the words by reading her lips.
Swordsmanship lesson, early, raid, two events, why not, make, academy, raid, preliminary investigation, assess, spy, student, heroine, villain.
“…It’s confusing.”
“Yeah. I really wish I had misunderstood.”
Yu Siwoo stared intently at the paper, practically burying his face in it.
And realized one thing.
“Fortunately, the attack won’t happen right away.”
“Really?”
“Look at the part after the second ‘raid’ here.”
Preliminary investigation, assess.
The meaning of these words was simple.
“The first ‘raid’ word came up with the word ‘early.’ She probably thinks attacking is premature.”
“I see. Then those words ‘preliminary investigation’ and ‘assess’…”
“It means finding the right time to launch the attack, doesn’t it?”
The meanings of the other words were hard to figure out with so few clues.
But just one phrase.
“Swordsmanship classes. The very first word. There must be a clue there.”
“…But I can’t attend because I’m in the spear class.”
“Leave it to me. I’ll try to find out somehow.”
“Be careful, Siwoo.”
Before they knew it, the bell rang, signaling the end of class.
The weapons class Yu Siwoo was supposed to attend was starting next.
He had to watch what actions she would take.
No matter how scared he was of her, he was the only one who could do something.
Translator’s Corner
Thank Clone Trooper for the chapter again. I’ll keep translating a minimum of one chapter per day; then I’ll just post whenever I have free time another chapter. There’s still a bunch to go, so I’ll try to keep up the pace.
-Ruminas