#110
“What?”
“The basement we went to during the entrance ceremony incident.”
It was where Ramtel had drawn a magic formation using Mujin’s blood. Tus might be there. As soon as that thought crossed my mind, I tried to run to the old school building. If not for Rikin grabbing me again.
“I’ll go. Ana, you stay here.”
He seemed to think that since it was a place with a magic formation, it would be better for Rikin to go alone rather than me. Rikin’s judgment wasn’t wrong. It would be less burden on me, and if Tus really was there, Rikin could rescue him.
However, Tus was currently in such a cornered state that he was rejecting even Yutis’s goodwill when he had offered to help. Even if Rikin went now, Tus might not come along willingly, and something serious might happen. Somehow, I had that “feeling.”
The premonition that flashed through my mind didn’t disappear but remained fixed in place. I made a quick decision on the spot.
“No. I need to go.”
I couldn’t know exactly where Tus was, but I felt I had to be there. In the end, Rikin couldn’t break my stubbornness and said he would come along this time too. If anything unexpected happened, it would be reassuring to have Rikin by my side.
I headed to the old school building with Rikin. I quickened my pace, hoping Tus would be there.
* * *
In the game, the old school building was a place you didn’t need to visit unless it was for a hidden event. That made sense since classes weren’t held in this old building, and all the teachers’ offices were in the newly constructed buildings, so there was no need to come here without a special reason.
If not for the investigation of the entrance ceremony incident, I wouldn’t have had any reason to come here either.
As soon as I opened the door to the old school building, I saw the dusty interior. It was inevitable since it was a place people didn’t visit. But the floor was different. Several footprints were visible, as if someone had passed through. These weren’t footprints from when people were moving around at the beginning of the semester. They were too clear for that. And these footprints led to the very path that led to the basement.
Without hesitation, I went down the stairs and opened the basement door. Rikin followed behind me. As soon as the door opened, what caught my eye was Tus, tied to a pillar and crying.
With his face in disarray, Tus was looking at me.
“Huh? Andel, lion?”
Tus called my name with a dazed face. There was no time to answer. I immediately ran to untie the ropes binding Tus.
“Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?”
Tus just stared at my face blankly and shed tears. Then his panting grew more intense, and he burst into a cry that was almost a scream, unable to answer. I couldn’t say anything and just looked at Tus, then patted his shoulder with trembling hands. Tus grabbed my collar tightly with shaking hands and trembled.
I wasn’t sure if I was qualified to comfort him, but this was all I could do right now. Rikin also stood and waited until Tus calmed down. It wasn’t too late to ask for details about why he was here and who did this after Tus was okay.
Just as I was stroking Tus’s shoulder, I heard the sound of stones colliding and something slowly opening. I was startled and turned my gaze toward the sound. Rikin also heard the sound and stood in front of me, glaring at the wall that was slowly opening.
That wall definitely led to the underground space where the magic formation had been drawn. I needed to hide before that wall fully opened. It would have been right to shake off Tus’s hand that was gripping my clothes, even now. I had that feeling.
The trembling tips of Tus’s fingers came into my field of vision. “I” knew exactly what I needed to do right now. Even if it wasn’t what I wanted, “I” was acutely aware that it had to be done.
But despite knowing…
I placed my hand over Tus’s. I held it tightly, hoping his trembling would subside even a little. Then I fixed my gaze on the opening door.
I felt like I knew who would come out from there without even looking.
“Oh? Who do we have here?”
Ramtel Ion.
“Isn’t it our Young Master and the young master of the Parten family? Have you been keeping well?”
I silently stood up and moved Tus, who hadn’t grasped the situation, behind me. As much as I wanted to push Rikin back too, this wasn’t a situation where I could do that. I quickly assessed what I could do.
My mana was sealed. Even if it wasn’t sealed, I couldn’t use it with Kuatrin present.
“There’s no need to be so wary. I just stepped into my old workplace for a moment. I didn’t use the main entrance, but surely you won’t make an issue of that? After all, I’ve been keeping our Young Master’s ‘secret’ well.”
As expected, Ramtel hadn’t told Kuatrin everything. I wanted to know why he had done that, what his ulterior motive was, but first I needed to find out why he was here.
“Are you trying to pull the same stunt as during the entrance ceremony?”
“Oh come now, I’ve already confirmed its power back then. I wouldn’t bother doing the same thing again. We have a more grand plan. And for that, we need our Young Master, but…”
Before Ramtel could finish speaking, Rikin created a sword with magic.
“No, it’s the person above me who wants it. Not me. You should listen to people until the end.”
“Fine, then tell us to the end. Why are you here?”
“My, addressing a former teacher as ‘you’? It’s sad, but what can I do?”
“Cut the chatter.”
Rikin’s blade pointed at Ramtel, who kept buying time with wordplay. I glanced back at Tus and gestured with my eyes toward the exit from the basement. Tus, who didn’t fully understand what was happening, shook his head, terrified.
However, I couldn’t keep Tus with us given Ramtel’s unpredictable nature. I pointed more clearly to the exit. Tus looked back and forth between Ramtel and us, then somehow managed to get up on his trembling legs and ran toward the stairs.
Ramtel just watched Tus escape without stopping him, smiling as if amused.
“Oh, is it okay to let him go? To that student, I’m just a teacher who suddenly quit. What if he misunderstands?”
“Just answer the question.”
“Well, you see. Since the person above me personally scheduled a visit, I had no choice but to come along.”
“If that were the case, you would have come as an attendant. Not sneaking in like this.”
“Well, given what I’ve done to the princes and young masters, I couldn’t come openly. Of course, the person above me knows nothing about it. Aren’t you grateful? Honestly, you think I’m helpful, don’t you? If I had told everything…”
Ramtel looked at me standing behind Rikin and grinned. Unlike his upturned corners of his mouth, his round eyes were glowing intensely.
“Our Young Master wouldn’t be able to play school here.”
Rikin quickly approached Ramtel and pressed a knife to his nape.
“Shut up.”
“Have you lightened your burden? It must have been difficult for the heir of the Parten family. Back then, it was possible because there was a villain like me, but without me, it would have been hard. After all, accepting a demon as a friend is quite difficult, isn’t it?”
We shouldn’t continue the conversation with this person. It felt like sinking into a swamp, making us miss the important parts. I threw an arrow made of magic power directly at Ramtel. As soon as the arrow grazed past, a red line appeared on Ramtel’s cheek. Blood dripping from the line fell to the floor.
Ramtel looked at me without blinking and smiled deeply.
“Alright. Fine. I’ll be honest. The person above me is quite suspicious, you see. No matter what I do, they don’t trust me, so… I tried to cause trouble in a different way.”
Sensing a suspicious atmosphere, Rikin subdued Ramtel and knocked him to the ground. He didn’t resist at all and just lay there. Even while pinned down, Ramtel giggled as if something was funny. Lying face down, Ramtel looked up.
“I don’t mind if you take me anywhere, but…”
Whispering in a low voice, Ramtel gestured with his eyes toward the ceiling above us.
“You should be careful of what’s above your head.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Rikin and I quickly looked up at the ceiling. There was a large magic formation on the ceiling, created who knows when. I had to hold back a curse when I saw the ceiling coated in red blood. I had no idea when it had been drawn.
“Bang.”
As soon as Ramtel finished speaking, an intense light burst from the magic formation. I quickly shielded Rikin’s body and created a barrier. However, the barrier made of magic power couldn’t withstand the force from the magic formation and broke, sending me, Rikin, and Ramtel, who was subdued below, flying far away. My body, unable to withstand the vibration, couldn’t regain consciousness.
“Ugh!”
Through my blurring vision, I saw something crawling out from within the magic formation. It was the magical beast I had seen during the entrance ceremony.
I couldn’t lose consciousness now. I needed to inform the students of the situation and tell them to evacuate as quickly as possible…
But my body couldn’t hold out any longer, and I lost my grip on consciousness.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
