The Academy’s Crude Pink-Haired Martial Artist

Two days passed since the final exam.

All the students who witnessed Clavel’s transformation had died, and there was no trace of Clavel’s corpse left either.

Naturally, this meant no one learned that Clavel had become an Apostle of Gluttony.

Even I, the only person conscious at the scene where the Apostle rampaged, faced no inquiries or investigations.

Two of the Six Pillars were surrounding me, so even the investigators sent by the Royal Family couldn’t come looking for me.

However, the fact that I had subdued the Apostle became an open secret among the professors.

Yurasia, having moved to the meeting place, apparently drew her sword and shouted at the professors that I was trapped inside the barrier.

It would have been great if it could remain a complete secret, but well, with everything that has happened, I guess there’s no helping it.

And honestly… it doesn’t matter much now.

After experiencing this fight against the Apostle, I surmised that unless it was Leona, the Flame Sovereign, Sedil, Adelia, or Wivir, I could probably take down most professors in a single blow.

If they were going to kill me, they should have done it before I reached the 6th Rank.

And of course, the Academy was in chaos.

There were more than thirty professors watching over the exam site. To prepare for any potential situation, about twenty professors were waiting outside the Anketin Mountain Range.

So, something happened in an exam location where over fifty professors were stationed.

And not just any ordinary incident.

The rampage of an Apostle possessed by the Remnants of Gluttony. As a result, over forty students died, and two professors were killed.

A massive incident that couldn’t be covered up.

As a result, many students withdrew from the academy, and it was reported that there were students who developed PTSD and had seizures just at the sight of a tree.

That said, it’s not like only bad news was circulating.

Thanks to the professors present at the scene and a handful of students, there were quite a few voices encouraging them for minimizing the damage.

However, behind all that loud noise, a quiet investigation began.

The seed of this incident was Nucleksyrol. Even if no one else knew, I did.

There’s no reason to hide it. If I held back, this kind of “incident” would only happen again.

So I spoke out, and based on my testimony, well-regarded investigators were dispatched.

Of course, I don’t trust those investigators.

There might be decent humans among them, but the ones I saw 400 years ago were all worse than beasts.

Those bastards were just out to make results.

Or perhaps they were fanatic lunatics.

I thought they would just catch some easy targets and be done with it.

“So, what you’re saying is… the Remnants of Gluttony are mixed in with Nucleksyrol?”

“Yes.”

So I told Leona and the Flame Sovereign everything, including what I kept hidden from the investigators.

Information about Clavel that I received personally from Fabiana. Her friend, Gailan.

And about the oddly weak Apostle and the barrier amplifying magic spread across the Anketin Mountain Range.

Of course, I passed some of it off as hearsay and mixed in some lies saying I heard it from Dad.

“Why?”

“Why are you asking me? I’d prefer to ask you, Master. You’ve been to the Demon Realm often, haven’t you?”

“I don’t know. These days… even if I went to the Demon Realm, there wasn’t time to think about that.”

“If you don’t know, then…”

I turned my gaze while lying on the bed, munching an apple.

Leona, too, shifted her gaze to match mine.

“Um…”

The serious-looking Flame Sovereign cleared his throat.

“When the main Flame Sovereign was in Gebihenum, a certain rumor circulated.”

“A rumor?”

“Near the Demon King’s fortress, there was a rumor that Nucleksyrol contained the Remnants of Gluttony. The main Flame Sovereign also heard the rumor but thought it couldn’t be true.”

The Demon King’s castle is right next to Gebihenum.

And if it’s the Berburk Hills, that’s very close to the fortress. If you were to measure it, it’s just around the Holy Kingdom’s area.

In terms of the continent, it’s quite a distance, but in terms of Gebihenum, you could say it’s the front yard.

“Based on what the main Flame Sovereign knows, it takes a lot to embed the Remnants of Gluttony into something as trivial as a drug plant. In the first place, to complete that, the corpse of Gulaka of Gluttony is necessary.”

“That doesn’t mean it’s totally impossible.”

“Uh, well… it’s not completely impossible as you said, but if you ask if it’s feasible… the main Flame Sovereign would shake his head.”

The Flame Sovereign opened a notebook he pulled from his pocket.

“Leona, as I’ve said before, I can read the memories of the past. Naturally, I have faint memories of the battle that took place 400 years ago—the strike against Gluttony.”

Leona’s expression turned complicated.

I thought about the beastmen who were there when we went to deal with Gulaka. How many beastmen were there then…

Most of them were dead, and those who survived were probably less than a hundred.

No matter how I think about it… I don’t see Leona’s face among them.

Could she have been so ugly that she had to change her appearance?

“Even the noble and brave heroes could not purify the remains of Gluttony. However, it was not in a state that could even be ‘reused.’ Of course, it could be that the main Flame Sovereign’s level is lower than that of the noble and great heroes, so he couldn’t perceive it. But from my judgment, the remains of Gluttony were in such a damaged state that they were unusable.”

Noble and brave.

Great and exalted.

Hearing that… I felt a strange, itchy sensation in my body and a flush of warmth spread across my face…

Still, it was both ticklish and refreshing.

Embarrassing yet pleasant.

Clichéd yet thrilling…

Such a strange… a very strange feeling…

“The Apostle of Gluttony has been hunted down by numerous humans over the last 400 years, and the servants of Gluttony are also sleeping deep within the Demon King’s fortress. Furthermore, the magic of Gluttony is just scattered across the world. But even that was purified by the Saint shedding her holy blood in the pursuit of the continent’s magic.”

“Umm…!”

“…What is it?”

“Oh, it’s nothing. I just got a little distracted. Please continue.”

“Um, let’s do that.”

I nearly burst into laughter. I had to forcefully clamp down on my twitching lips and stuffed an apple into my mouth.

Holy blood for purification, huh?

They should at least keep the embellishment reasonable.

Yeah. Luna did spill some blood during the purification work back then.

“Don’t worry, my brothers and sisters. This is… yes. This is just holy blood for purification.”

“I’ve never seen someone bleed holy blood from their nose; what the hell?”

“Shut up, Ronan.”

The day they decided to purify the magic spread across the Anketin Mountain Range, that Luna was at a gambling den. She spent all night drinking, saying she needed to win back the money she lost, and she was still playing cards until noon the next day.

In the first place, we didn’t need the money.

We could have gotten an enormous amount just by asking passersby for it.

Yet Luna, stubbornly claiming she had to win back what she lost…

I had to drag her to Anketin after beating her up.

The blood she spilled was from us hitting her.

“I could have recovered everything with just a little more effort, but you messed it up.”

“You’ve been saying that for six years now.”

“That six years’ of debt was paid back today!”

“No way, that’s just plain insanity. And why do you keep complaining about money? We have no need for it, right? We only need to buy a few consumables, not much more.”

“That’s not just simple money like you think.”

“Fine, but how much are we talking here?”

“Probably around three hundred and twenty thousand sel… or was it four hundred and twenty thousand?”

“I’ll give you five hundred thousand. Just wait. Hey, you, priest! Come over here. Oh, and you too, knight. Don’t just pretend you don’t see me. Yes, you! Surprise! I’m the so-called hero you keep talking about. Would such a hero do something foolish? Come on, hurry up while I’m being nice.”

“What are you calling them for?”

“Just wait a second. Ah, yes. Nice to meet you. What’s your name? Sir James? And you are… Priest Johan? Well, nice to see you both. Now, let’s see about the money you have. While you’re at it, how much do you want for that armor, the sword, and that necklace? An heirloom from your mother? An antique, perhaps?”

“Ronan, you freak! What are you doing?!”

“Why are you hitting me? I was just trying to help—”

“Shut it and just watch. Sir James, Priest Johan. Ignore this foolish person. First… Sir James. You seem to have some shadows on your face. Has there been a death in your family…? Ah, your mother. Yes, it seems Heaven says your mother has not ascended to Paradise.”

“Hey… you shouldn’t touch family. Aren’t you a saint? Isn’t this just a bitch?”

“Be quiet. Ahaha, no, it’s not. Of course, it’s only natural that I’d pray for a blessing for you, Sir James. However… during the process of praying for that blessing, just a moment, ahaha. Thank you! This donation will be used for a special divine purpose… Ah! A ruby! An heirloom with a ruby…! Ah, yes, I will use this as a jewel to protect Sir James’ family and descendants. So… how about you, Priest Johan? Are you suffering from nightmares these days?”

Looking back now, Luna was a bigger psycho than I was.

At that moment, I was aware that I was doing bad things. But Luna wasn’t.

Luna didn’t even realize it, just saying it was the will of heaven and robbing the believers.

And lost it all to gambling.

And while doing so, she had the gall to claim it was heaven’s will and a new guidance as she borrowed money from me.

Crazy woman.

Crunch crunch – Munch munch

As I finished the last apple and put a new one in my mouth, the Flame Sovereign wrapped up his statement.

The conclusion was that, in any case, the remains of Gluttony could not embed Remnants of Gluttony into Nucleksyrol.

So then.

“What about the Labyrinth?”

“Hmm?”

“The Labyrinth. If you stuff the remains of Gluttony in there and leave it for 400 years… wouldn’t even a garbage-like corpse become somewhat usable?”

“The Labyrinth of Sloth. But you know there is a common theory that the commanders of Gebihenum keep a check on each other while coveting their own territories. So the possibility of that is…”

The Flame Sovereign paused for a moment.

Leona also composed her disheveled expression and stood up. I gulped down the apple I was munching on and flopped down onto the seat.

“Let’s talk about this later. I will also look into this matter thoroughly.”

“Please just look after the kids.”

“I understand.”

I wanted to personally check on the kids but couldn’t do that right now.

No… it’s not that I couldn’t, but for the kids’ sake, it would be better if I didn’t meet them just yet.

The Flame Sovereign nodded and snapped his fingers.

With that, whoosh – her body vanished in a small spark.

As the faint smoke rose, Leona shot me a glare.

“Eliaernes. I keep telling you, you… really shouldn’t say unnecessary things, got it? I’ll handle it, so just lie there quietly.”

“Hey, I got it! Do you not trust me?”

“Nope.”

“Oh come on. My dear disciple might be a little hurt.”

“Hurt? Nonsense. Your personality is just too intolerable. You keep barking and it just makes me angrier!”

“Well… does that mean you’re not like that?”

“What? What did you say?”

“Shh! Someone’s coming!”

As I pulled the blanket up to cover half my face…

Knock knock – the door to the hospital room opened.

“Nice to meet you. I am an investigator dispatched from the Pranecia Holy Kingdom. I’m the Captain of the 4th unit, Executioner Miki Dochaf.”

Among those bastards only out for results and the lunatic fanatics.

Among the crazed lunatics, we have the heretical inquisitor from the Pranecia Holy Kingdom.

The Executioner has come to see me.

But this guy barged in without asking for permission.

Hmm… well, since Leona told me to keep my mouth shut, I shouldn’t say anything.

I forcibly swallowed the words stuck at the tip of my tongue and looked sideways at the woman who introduced herself as Miki.

Miki stared at me intently.

“Uh, did I make some kind of mistake?”

I stared back, tight-lipped, and replied.

“I just naturally open my eyes this wide.”

“Oh, then that’s a relief. I thought I offended you by opening the door without permission.”

“Hmph… if you knew, you should have asked for permission before entering.”

Miki’s lips trembled.

Swish – Leona shot me a glare.

“Ah, damn it.”

Didn’t I tell you to be quiet?

I smiled sheepishly and diverted my gaze.

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