NOVEL ONLINE FREE Chapter 41
After Ryuren vanished leisurely, it was me and Leticia who were responsible for managing the emergency at the academy. Although there were other professors, they were all busy in their respective positions, so it naturally fell to Leticia and me, who had directly fought the intruders.
Moreover, Leticia had captured one of the Mazoku intruders.
Claiming she would personally take charge of interrogating that Mazoku, Leticia vanished with a satisfied smile, as if my desperate explanation had affected her immediately after Ryuren’s disappearance.
It was a relief in a way.
I couldn’t bring myself to admit that I had used a trait to seduce a woman. If I had told the truth, I might have been banned for life due to the characteristics of being a yuri (lesbian).
After Leticia disappeared using teleportation, I finished a brief meeting with the Chancellor, who had rushed to the academy after hearing the news of the Mazoku’s attack. I then locked myself in my office, frowning as I wrote a report on what had happened at that time.
First of all, it was a major issue that the Archdemon, known as the right hand of the former Demon King, invaded the academy with subordinate Mazoku, but the bigger concern was that the Mazoku had been allowed to infiltrate the academy, which is one of the centers of the Empire.
‘…They must have infiltrated the Empire using spatial magic. However, it’s unlikely that they could evade the eyes of the wizards from the Magic Tower or the Emperor’s hunting dogs, even if regular knights and civilians wouldn’t notice. If there had been even the slightest anomaly in the spatial magic, the spatial mages would have noticed.’
However, if the magic was so intricate that even Leticia couldn’t detect it, it made sense that they wouldn’t notice.
“The magic used while escaping at the end. It was definitely a portal,” I muttered.
Even to someone as ignorant of magic as I was, it seemed quite sophisticated, with a well-structured spell.
Leticia only said that it was magic connecting spaces, meaning it wasn’t a prohibited spell but simply connected to their hideout, although she mentioned that she couldn’t ascertain the precise coordinates.
This meant they could move back and forth between the Empire and their hideout at any time, which was a big deal. Even if it wasn’t at any time, the fact that they could invade the academy was itself a problem. If Ryuren were to come back with an army next time, a war would break out right in the middle of the academy.
“I need to act as soon as possible.”
The Empire had just regained peace.
It hadn’t been long since people had found their laughter again; now it was war once more.
A war of taking and being taken.
I grimaced as I recalled the blood that had stained my hands. I couldn’t let that peace be shattered just because of those bastards.
“Since the Demon King has been notified, if he has any thoughts, he’ll move too. If I can root out the insurgents moving from the Demon King’s territory first, things should get easier.”
The opponent was an unknown organization that Ryuren belonged to. It could be a small organization or an unimaginably huge one.
Thus, rash movements would only be harmful, and I needed reliable information.
Moreover, if there were Mazoku fanatics hiding within this Empire, trying to assist the rebels and incite war, things would get troublesome. I felt tired from the worst-case scenarios running through my mind, pressed my fingers against my eyes, and sighed deeply at the complexity of my thoughts.
“Their goal is certainly the war between humans and Mazoku, so that doesn’t concern me… but this incident can’t be quietly covered up.”
After all, the academy, known as the finest prestigious institution in the Empire, had been invaded.
It was fortunate that there were no injuries or fatalities, but the academy had lost its airspace, and if things had gone wrong, it could have escalated into a major incident. Additionally, the intruder Ryuren had used a portal to evade capture and disappeared.
This incident felt like it wouldn’t end easily.
“Ha—.”
After the attack, Leticia explained to the Emperor’s knights from the Chancellor and the wizards from the Magic Tower, as well as to Leo, the Hero, and his wife, the Saint, and the Archer, in my stead.
Leticia, noting that the magic was so intricate that even she couldn’t ascertain the exact location of the portal, caused them to be shocked yet accepting.
It was not surprising that they felt a sense of urgency upon hearing that even Leticia, who was known as a Sage, had failed to grasp the situation. Dismayed, the knights returned promptly to report the situation to the Emperor, while the wizards from the Magic Tower remained to investigate the scene here at the academy.
Unlike Leticia who moved to a different location with Leo for a detailed explanation, the previous colleagues who had come along with Leo said:
“Pfft, ha ha ha!!! I haven’t laughed this hard since Leo turned into a woman. I heard Leo say you really became a woman? You’ve completely turned into a different person! The fact that Damien Redius has become a woman—Leo too, you’re really out of luck!”
“It’s amazing. A curse I can’t even fix with my divine power—it’s a bit frustrating, but it’s my first experience since Leo. The fortunate part is that both Leo and you are fine physically. Hmm, by the way, with this, our hero party has no men and is made entirely of women. Should I be happy about this…?”
“You’re fine physically, right? Then it’s all good if it’s fun, right, Chloe? Ah, now it’s not a mixed party of men and women anymore. A party made entirely of women… Those insects who looked down on a member of the hero party being a woman will be shocked. The best swordsman of the age, known as the Heavenly Ghost (天鬼), is a woman—where could you find anything more amusing?”
While I had finally obtained the sofa in the Chancellor’s office, I was now sitting down, trying to hold back my irritation as they enthusiastically bantered and tested my patience.
“Seriously! You two, shut up. Can’t you see I’m busy right now?! I’m already annoyed to death because of Ryuren, that woman…!”
I glared at the Saint, the Archer, Chloe, and Irina from the former hero party, expressing my annoyance.
“How could you not have changed at all while I was gone? Hmm? And when our only companion became a woman, isn’t it normal for you to doubt it and point your weapons at me or be on guard?!”
“That would be a normal reaction.”
“Initially, we didn’t believe it either. When we heard Leo’s words, we thought it was just some audacious woman impersonating you, but if that were the case, Leticia wouldn’t have let it go.”
Above all, since Leo had asserted it, if it had been a fraud with a thick face acting as you, Leticia, Leo, or one of us would have dealt with harsh consequences by now.
Irina, with her eerily beautiful face, smiled as she added:
“We were in a better position. Leticia declared that anyone impersonating Damien would be torn limb from limb and fed to the monsters, so we had a hard time stopping her.”
“…I’m sorry about that.”
“It’s fine. I’m just glad you’re back now. Though I can’t forgive you for becoming a woman and leaving us without any word.”
“The more unforgivable one would be Leticia. Eating and throwing away her lover—how terrible.”
Amid the merciless verbal attacks from Chloe and Irina, I clutched my dizzy head and waved my hands at them, issuing a dismissal.
“Get out.”
“That’s too harsh. You’re kicking out your precious colleague whom you haven’t seen in a long time?”
“How cold, Damien. Or should I say Charlotte now? If you kick us out like this, it would cause more troublesome incidents, you know?”
“If you wander around, what’s the harm? All the students are either evacuated from the academy or returned home… No, I had just spoken to the Chancellor about how we can’t take a break from the academy due to this incident…”
A few students returned home at the request of their parents, but the number of students remaining at the academy was far greater.
In this situation, what would Chloe and Irina, treated as legendary heroes who drove the Demon King away, wandering around the academy grounds, incite? It would certainly stir rumors in several ways.
I continued, weary.
“You guys just stay here. The fact that the former hero party is all gathered at the academy will stir unnecessary rumors.”
“Don’t take it seriously; I’m kidding. If I had my way, I’d want to see the faces of our juniors, but it’s not a leisurely situation to do so.”
Chloe said with a stiff expression, looking slightly angry.
“I didn’t expect this situation to arise so soon after the Human-Mazoku War ended. What a peace Leo worked hard to establish, and now they are trying to break it.”
Chloe was correct. The Empire had only just found its stability. Most of the nobles, having strengthened the imperial power of the newly crowned Emperor, prioritized the Empire’s stability and peace, which was truly fortunate.
The previous Demon King, pursuing war, had been dethroned by the newly chosen Demon King, who aligned with Leo’s thoughts and achieved peace.
The church, having sanctified the war against the Mazoku as a holy crusade, had fallen to Chloe’s hand, so war was no longer necessary.
“By the way, Damien, I hear you’re the teacher for the new candidates for the hero party? I thought there would be no hero parties after us… Haah, truly, you never know what the world will turn out to be. How are those kids?”
“Now it’s Charlotte. Hmm, I’ve only been here for about a month, so honestly, I don’t know them well yet, but those kids are…”
They were almost like golden eggs. I smiled.