༺ I Became a Suspicious Person of the Academy ༻
Time remaining until the first class── 5 days.
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It was the dawn of a day with pouring rain, roaring thunder, and strong winds.
Niolle Lestman woke up in her bed. It wasn’t a nightmare or the noisy sounds from her surroundings that woke her up. She just naturally opened her eyes. It was quite a rare occurrence.
Despite waking up early, she didn’t feel tired at all. On the contrary, she felt more energetic and clear-headed than ever. She felt like she had slept soundly for at least ten hours.
The dormitory room was dyed in a deep, depressing blue. Looking around, she could see her roommate with red hair lying on the bed opposite hers. She was chewing on her strangely braided bangs in her sleep.
This place was a two-person dormitory at the Academy and the girl opposite of her was Niolle’s roommate.
Even though she had only met and exchanged greetings for a day, Niolle knew her roommate was a good person, albeit full of ambition. The fact that her roommate was a commoner didn’t matter. The Lestman Viscounty had long been in decline, after all.
Cool torrential rain poured outside the window.
Occasionally, the wind would blow, causing the windows to shake slightly, but no clattering sounds were made. It was thanks to the protective magic surrounding the Academy dormitory’s outer walls.
Suddenly, Niolle decided to change into her outdoor clothes. She felt like she wouldn’t be able to fall back asleep and she didn’t want to disturb her roommate’s sleep either. She planned to go outside and explore the Academy, or if time allowed, go jogging until the sun rose.
Niolle’s gaze landed on a small whiteboard leaning against her bed.
“⋯⋯⋯⋯.”
Ah. Ah.
Niolle inhaled, opened her mouth, and exhaled the air through her vocal cords. However, only the sound of wind whistling could be heard, with nothing that could be called speech coming out.
She was unable to speak.
Therefore, the whiteboard was essential. The whiteboard and pen were her vocal cords. Only by writing down what she wanted to say on the whiteboard could she finally communicate with others.
However…… It should be fine for now. After all, it was dawn and it was raining, so it was unlikely that she would meet anyone else.
Thinking this, Niolle turned around, carefully opened the door, and left the dormitory. She thought that walking around the Academy’s premises clockwise and then counterclockwise would take just the right amount of time.
She visualized the Academy’s map in her head.
(▲ Map of the Academy)
(▲ The route Niolle visualized in her head)
Perfect. Let’s go.
Niolle told herself this and began to run through the rain.
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It was exhilarating. It was refreshing.
Whether it was the rain that seemed to wash away the world. Or the sound in her ears. Or the sensation of heat generated from running being cooled by the rain. Everything felt great.
The only inconvenience was having to tightly bind her chest with a compression bandage.
Every time she ran, her center of gravity shook far too much. She thought of it as training to maintain her body’s balance, but still, it definitely was more comfortable without it.
Splash, splash.
Niolle ran straight through puddles, splashing water everywhere. She laughed out loud with joy, but instead of ‘HAHAHA!’ only a ‘Heuh…….Euh……’ came out. Even so, it was fine.
Niolle wanted to purely enjoy this moment. Moving her body, accumulating skills as much as she moved, and then being able to move even more freely. This virtuous cycle.
With every splash of the raindrops, Niolle’s figure was reflected on them. Her shoulder-length bob cut, chestnut hair, round eyes, and the faint presence of a pattern within her pupils.
About 20 minutes into her run, halfway through the lecture facility area, it happened.
CRRRRACK-!
Lightning struck. And then, a suspicious voice carried by the wind reached her.
“……really need to do this…dead of night………, ……..izard.”
“…….., …….. ………………without getting caught.”
Two people were talking while digging the ground.
Niolle stopped running and held her breath. She then carefully climbed up a nearby tree to hide herself; judging by the atmosphere, it seemed like getting caught would be a bad idea.
Why would they need to dig at this late hour, in this pouring rain? Harboring a slight fear and curiosity, Niolle swallowed hard as she looked down.
Flash. CRRRACK-!
One was a wizard wearing a hood. The distance was quite far and the falling rain made it hard to see clearly. His features were blurred like a shadow. Moreover, the fact that he was a male could only be guessed from his voice.
The other person was a woman dressed in a suit. Her sensual yet slender figure was fully revealed through the thigh-fitting suit. She seemed more suited for a ballroom than digging in the ground at night. The combination of a wizard and a beauty was oddly mismatched.
Mounds of dirt were visible around them. With each scoop of the shovel, dirt poured into the pit. It was the opposite of what she had thought before. They weren’t digging the ground; they were burying something.
Thud. Thud.
The pit was being filled.
Due to the distance and darkness, it was hard to see what they were burying. Furthermore, the height of the tree Niolle had climbed was a bit too high, thus making it difficult to look inside the pit. Niolle widened her eyes and focused. An eerie tale she had heard somewhere echoed in her mind.
The Academy ostensibly denied any disparity in social status. As such, nobles and commoners were equal within their walls…….was what they said, but…That principle was seldom upheld. After all, the real world was outside the Academy. In the end, they couldn’t help but to heed those in power.
Therefore…
The tales of high-ranking individuals arranging for students they disliked to be killed and rid of were not uncommon. Such dead students were disguised as either accidents or quiet disappearances.
Flash!
Lightning struck. The world was momentarily illuminated. In that instant, Niolle saw the wizard’s ominously shining red eyes and…something that resembled human eyes within the pit, though she wasn’t certain.
Niolle covered her mouth with her hands.
“………. …. entire body……….. …………….hasn’t it? ……even……see……”
“In my eyes………”
They looked down into the pit, speaking as such.
What about the entire body? What did they mean? What exactly did they see? Was it a grotesque sight, something that should never be exposed? The person in the pit, that is.
No…….
It must be a misunderstanding. She must have seen it wrong. If it were truly about burying a dead person, they would simply take it to the forest beyond the North Gate. After all, the monsters inhabiting the forest would clean up a corpse overnight. There was no need to bury it within the Academy grounds.
She decided to return and sleep as if nothing had happened. It was probably nothing anyway. Niolle consoled herself and was about to descend from the tree to return to the dormitory.
-…………Master…… ….., I m………
That was until she heard such a sinister voice coming from the pit.
As the wizard waved his hand, the voice quickly ceased. They had done something. A person. It was a person. They were burying a living person. Niolle was certain. She trembled. Why, why in the world……
A perfectly calm voice could be heard. After covering the pit and patting it down with their feet, they spoke in a plain tone. This nonchalant manner stirred various emotions within Niolle.
“Yes, ……used……. ………didn’t want to………”
“No wonder……….. ……..couldn’t see……..”
What did they use to kill? Was it a special weapon worth mentioning? Didn’t like something? Was it a grudge? What did they not see? Was it implying disappearance?
The two finished their work and walked into the darkness while dragging their shovels. The pouring rain erased their traces. No one would know what had happened here. If Niolle stayed silent, that is.
“⋯⋯⋯⋯.”
Niolle bit her lips hard.
She needed a diploma from the Academy. Getting involved in such a suspicious incident was not good for her. For her own safety, perhaps it was better to sleep under her covers with her eyes closed tight, pretending to see and hear nothing. But…
But……. what if they were Black Wizards hiding in the Academy? Then, this might be preparation for an act of terror, so she should inform the school. Their attire was indeed a bit too suspicious for such an act, but…….
Above all else──, she did not want to forgive the fact…that they took a life so lightly.
Niolle waited in the tree while being drenched by the rain for a long time. The refreshing feeling of the rain was gone. Her thoughts became cluttered and complicated. First, she needed to find out.
Who they were. Whom they had gotten rid of.
After a long time, Niolle ran back to the dormitory like she was fleeing.
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Pink-Haired Lesbian grumbled as we buried the Demonic Sword.
“Do we really need to do this in the dead of night, Mr. Crazy Wizard.”
“Pink-Haired Lesbian, it’s precisely because it’s the dead of night that we can do it secretly without getting caught.”
In this dawn, with the pouring rain, no one would be loitering outside. It was the perfect time to hide a Hidden Piece. After all, being caught digging during broad daylight would ruin the novelty of this act, wouldn’t it?
“It is raining. My entire body is soaked through. My button-down shirt became half translucent, hasn’t it? You can even see my bra.”
“In my eyes, I don’t see anything.”
I glanced over. It was half out of reflex. Beneath the clothes stuck to her body were just two flesh-colored watermelons. And the straps on her shoulder were not visible.
-Are you my new Master? To think that you would awaken me, I must commend such reckless boldness!
Perhaps triggered during the burial, the Demonic Sword spat out its saved dialogue. I flicked my finger, putting it into a week-long hibernation mode.
The work was completed.
It was well buried. We also stomped and patted down firmly with our feet. Now, it was just a matter of timing. By that, I mean the right time to scatter a ‘treasure map that marked the location of the Demonic Sword hidden by a Black Wizard who had infiltrated the Academy before dying’.
With the completion of our work, Pink-Haired Lesbian proudly revealed her…fashion.
“Yes, I used the Intangible Sword. I didn’t want to wash my favorite underwear, you see.”
Basically, she was saying she wasn’t wearing any.
“No wonder I couldn’t see the lines over your suit pants.”
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The morning was bright.
Red Tower Wizard, Selvier, got up and stretched. It was a refreshing morning. In just a few more days, school would start. She looked forward to learning a lot from the famous professors she had only heard of in stories, thus gaining the opportunity to aim for a higher realm.
And if she became stronger and more famous, thus becoming a disciple of the Red Tower Master…
She would use the ‘wish ticket’ that the Red Tower Master gifts to his disciples and ask him to find her childhood friend.
She wasn’t particularly worried about whether her childhood friend was alive or dead. She remembered him as being clever from a young age, not the type to die easily, like a hero from a story. He was definitely doing well somewhere.
Maybe. Just maybe, he was living as a wizard, just like herself.
Feeling that the day of their reunion was drawing near, her heart raced. Selvier resolved to work hard today as well and cheerfully greeted her roommate.
“Niolle, good mor…… Why is your expression like that?!”
“⋯⋯⋯⋯.”
Her roommate, who until yesterday had definitely been as excited as her and had discussed what lectures they would take at the Academy for about five hours… had turned into a zombie overnight.
[Good morning.]
Niolle showed her a morning greeting written on the whiteboard. Perhaps it was just a feeling she had, but even the writing seemed gloomy and twisted. Selvier imagined the most serious situation she could think of.
“Did I perhaps snore last night……?”
[No, excuse me, I have something I want to ask.]
“Y-Yeeees…….”
[Do you perhaps recognize someone who looks like this?]
Scribble, scribble.
The duo Niolle drew looked familiar. The newly appointed professor of the Purple Magic Tower and his secretary. They denied it, but they were an SM couple. Their every action was so memorable that they couldn’t be forgotten even if she tried to.
“Yes, they are the newly appointed professor and his secretary. And he’s a wizard from the Purple Magic Tower. They are a bit…….No, they are really strange, but not bad people. They helped me in my hometown, you see……No seriously, why is your expression like that?!”
After much contemplation, Niolle explained everything. It was a story about how she had gone out for a walk at night and saw them burying a person. Selvier listened quietly and then smiled slightly.
“You must have been mistaken. Niolle. Although we haven’t known each other for long, they were probably just……playing some meaningless prank, you know?”
[Selvier, are you perhaps hypnoti…..]
“If you’re that worried, why don’t we check?”
Niolle held the whiteboard with both hands, ready to conduct a primitive method of testing hypnosis.
“No, I didn’t mean for us to check if I was hypnotized……! I was talking about what they buried. It must have been some meaningless toy. We have a busy morning with course registration and all, so if we have time, we can check tonight, right?”
Niolle hesitated for a bit, before mustering courage and nodding.
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That night, Niolle revisited the spot once more.
The pit had been dug by someone and there were bloodstains left inside.
“⋯⋯⋯⋯!!”
