Vol. 1 - Ch. 26 - What happened at the Thanksgiving Festival (1)
The Worldview Where Everyone is Destined to DieThis chapter is broken. Please report this on discord.
This chapter is broken. Please report this on discord.
There was a lot of trouble. Every time I went outside, problems seemed to follow, and I started to think that staying in my room might be a better idea.
Enoch calmly called in student council cadets to clean up the scene, making me wonder if he was losing touch with his emotions. Arthur, despite not feeling well, went to gather information, and Theodore followed him to fix the damaged engraving.
And here I am, back in the hospital wing---again!
"I'm not hurt at all!"
"Please understand that cadets who come into contact with Demonic beasts will have to undergo the quarantine period, and it is mandatory."
Even though I questioned the doctor and listened to the answers, nothing changed. I had no choice but to nod and follow their rules, so I stretched out on the fairly clean mattress.
Plop!
The mattress seemed clean enough, and not much dust rose as I plopped onto it. I looked at the dust particles sparkling in the sunlight and sighed.
'Even a gun is useless against a Demonic beast.'
Things might have been a bit better if I had a musket instead of a pistol. Even so, after being shot twice at close range, it still moved.
It just seemed like a waste of time.
"There are eight more..."
While one could apply for more bullets, the key issue was whether I could order them without my family knowing. Cadets' daily needs are usually provided by their homes, except in special cases.
If I were an idiot randomly shooting guns around the academy, it wouldn't have been an issue, but it wasn't natural for someone doing well in school to beg for additional bullets to be sent.
'I don't want them to worry.'
I already committed enough unfilial actions when I was young. I wanted to avoid any further requests from them. My plan was to quietly graduate from the academy, help my mom run her business, support the household, find an optimistic and healthy wife, and start a big happy family...
I washed my face to drive out the drowsiness that came.
"Nice. Let's see this through to the end."
Was the beast that targeted me the same one that killed Kale Ace? Even so, this beast must also be a disposable card. Otherwise, those behind it wouldn't have sent such a creature to an academy filled with well-trained individuals.
'The evidence must have been destroyed. Is this a plan to keep provoking the student council?'
Of course, the council would respond in this case as well, attempting to identify the culprit they deemed most likely. But I didn't believe the real culprit would be caught so easily.
"Cadet Arma Cruz. I am coming in."
As I rolled on the bed in frustration, Enoch, who had finished reporting, entered the hospital room.
'I am fed up with this!'
The room was empty, with Enoch Clark, a white ceiling, white wallpaper, and a checkered floor. This scene, which I had been staring at tirelessly all week, was repeating again in just half a day!
"Are you hurt?"
I noticed a white bandage around Enoch's arm that I hadn't seen before. While lying in bed, Enoch extended his hand.
"Just a light scratch, but since it was a demonic beast, a blessing was enough for this wound."
"Even if it's just a scratch from a demonic beast, they're putting me in isolation without me even touching it. And you have a scratch too; it's still a serious injury."
I held onto his arm as he tried to stop me and rolled up his shirt to check the extent of the bandage. Of course, I wasn't an idiot who takes off bandages; I just checked for any swelling or blood.
"So, any news?"
"No, the beast wasn't owned, and it was impossible to find out who was handling it. It was an individual that mutated for a short duration, so we were able to catch it without much loss."
"True."
I could see Enoch's green eyes behind the bangs, trembling in confusion. Though he handled the situation with dignity, it seemed like this incident had put a bit of a burden on Enoch.
"It looks like I am going to be the gossip again. Is this that kind of year? I should just live quietly."
"Ah..."
"Hmm..."
"I don't think an 'hmm' works?"
Enoch pulled his arm away from me and cleared his throat.
"It's just that I think you're taking it a lot more calmly than I expected."
"Ah, well, there's nothing shocking anymore. How long do you want me to stay here?"
"For tonight. I also have to quarantine myself, so another cadet will come once I leave."
"Cadet Enoch---um, can I call you that? Anyway, Cadet Enoch, you worked hard today. I'm sorry it ended up like this."
The recent trend in my speech is offering apologies.
Apologizing has become a skill I can even use in my sleep.
I decided to appear cheerful and shake off any negative thoughts trying to take over my brain.
Enoch mentioned that Arthur and Theodore were also in quarantine, like me, and that Theodore would be hospitalized for an extra day because he needed to get the engraving redone.
"And the engraving?"
"Yes."
"Does Cadet Enoch have it too?"
In my words, Enoch lifted his hair and showed his neck.
"In a tattoo form. Special students who don't like having jewelry on them get separate procedures like this."
I don't know how others with magic skills might feel, but to me, it seemed like he was showing off his neck.
In any case, Enoch's imprint would change into a different form when magic is used, so it might not be visible to all now.
"Isn't it a bit dangerous to have it around the neck?"
"It is on the epidermis layer, and mine isn't as strong as Cadet White's, so there is no problem."
"Hmm."
The engraving is a type of magic detection thing.
It is different from the normal restraints that the student council gave me when I was first falsely accused of murder.
The restraint is a control device that prevents magic from being used, and the engraving is a simple tool that detects magic and reports any violation.
"Then Theodore's engraving... is his bracelet any different then?"
"Yes. The strength of it increases in proportion to the magic possessed by its wearer, and in the case of Cadet White, the strong bracelet broke off, and he got injured."
"What was made to control the strong turned to poison."
As I had little to no magic knowledge, I didn't know about using magic. So, like the other cadets, I didn't have to wear an imprint or engraving.
A magic swordsman can at least protect their body with the swing of a sword, but a mage must be careful and suppress their innate instinct, which will be inconvenient in many ways.
"Will cadets get penalized for this?"
"If we consider this quarantine as a penalty, it will be that."
"It's a blessing in disguise."
Enoch answered seriously that he was not unhappy with this, then bowed his head. I also bowed deeply, as if I were bowing to Enoch, and waved until he left the hospital room.
What followed was a struggle with boredom. It was fortunate that, among the misfortunes, the only class I had was the introduction to theology. As soon as I opened the book, I fell asleep.
The next day, late in the morning, close to noon, after being diagnosed with no problems and returning to the dorms, I was finally able to lie down comfortably. I slept quite a bit, but I couldn't get rid of my fatigue. Holding onto my throbbing head, I groaned.
"The next lecture... none. This is good."
My condition was the worst, but I felt like I couldn't even think about it anymore. I got up and took out a book and the writing equipment hidden behind the board inside the desk drawer. When I opened the first page and looked at it again, I saw this messy stub that looked like crazy writing.
The first thing I had to do was verify the authenticity of this, and there was too little information at the moment.
Moreover, it wasn't a normal one; it used a drug Theodore created for self-hypnosis, making it impossible to redo the task on my own.
"Theodore, the medicine you made truly sticks to my mouth. Can you make me something to drink?"
...couldn't be told to him. I didn't know why my clumsy attempt at this hypnosis was easy to get. Maybe I have the talent of a psychic or something. In any case, I didn't want to go back to what had already been a successful method. So, I had no choice but to figure out if there was a way to get Theodore to make me this special thing one more time.
But the problem was solved sooner than expected.
"S-senior!"
White silk draped over sparkling purple hair, clear to the amethyst waving before the eyes. The appearance of Shirley, beautifully dressed as this mythical Aegis, was a mess now.
"Arma! Get yourself together!"
In my fading consciousness, Judith and Shirley were calling to me one after another. Shirley, not caring about her dress turning into a mess, was trying to stop my stomach from bleeding, which continued to gush out.
"W-who did this?"
Every time I lost consciousness, the cold hand of Judith slapped me.
"Arma, who is the culprit? Who?"
Culprit...
I don't remember though.
It's like my memories of the time have vanished.
I marveled at Shirley's strength in stopping the bleeding in my stomach and suddenly remembered I only had seven bullets left. I asked about the bullets, who took them, and babbled about things that weren't important.
My consciousness wasn't under my control at all.
'Ah, I was shot.'
When I thought about it, being framed for murder must have been the most unique and enjoyable event of my life.
It has been less than 3 days since I got treatment for the stone at the head, and now I am ready to die with a hole in my stomach.
If only I could turn back time to the student trial, I would dance with Machina on my back.
"R-rather, being on trial... was comfortable."
"Arma! the one who made you like this! Who is he!?"
The guy who made me like this?
Well, I have not reached a point where normal thoughts are difficult to remember. It is hard to believe that it is my blood on Shirley's clothes.
'Right, surely....'
Is this a temporary delusion because of the failed hypnosis?
As the blood at the stomach and the bullet wound were being stopped, I felt like time had gone back 3 seconds before I got shot. But that wouldn't happen.
Everything was just my mind playing tricks.
In my fading consciousness, I remembered that the person pointing the gun at me was 'Arthur Usher'.