Episode 126
"Ugh, ugh..."
Fierce and ferocious birds are grabbing my shoulders from both sides and dragging me somewhere.
"Gugu!!"
"...Sigh."
Being dragged around by a pigeon, let alone an owl. Just how weak have I become?
"Kania, help me out."
Thinking such thoughts as I absentmindedly let myself be dragged by the birds, I eventually had no choice but to request help from Kania, who was quietly following behind me.
No matter how much I, the empire's greatest scoundrel, might benefit from losing face, I didn't want to be seen being dragged around by birds by other people.
"...Understood."
Hearing my words, Kania began to approach the birds with a rather tense expression.
"P-please step away from the young master."
Soon, she began poking the owl's side with a timid voice.
'Does Kania have ornithophobia?'
It might just be my imagination, but somehow Kania seems to be afraid of the owl.
"Kuu."
"...Mm."
It doesn't seem to be just my imagination.
When the owl let out a low cry, Kania started breaking into a cold sweat.
In her current state, she should be able to handle most upper-tier monsters with ease. So why is she cowering before a single owl?
"Um, sorry but I'm running out of breath right now? So could we rest for just a moment?"
Anyway, having failed to get help, I began pleading with the two birds with a desperate expression as stairs appeared before me.
"...Kuu."
"Gugu."
Then, the two birds that had been continuously flapping their wings and moving forward stopped their actions and perched on my shoulders.
"Young master, are you alright?"
"...More or less."
Of course, I wasn't injured anywhere, but my pride was slightly hurt by the fact that I had been dragged around by birds for a while.
However, since it was awkward to show that, I opened my mouth while forcing a calm expression.
"So, where are you trying to go?"
Then, the two birds simultaneously raised their wings and began pointing somewhere.
"...Huh?"
I tilted my head for a moment and then went to where they were pointing, only to find a wall.
- Whoosh!
And at that moment, they bent their wings to point to the side.
'...Just what exactly are these things?'
I even felt some suspicion toward the two birds who were suspiciously intelligent, but I soon hardened my expression and began following their guidance.
"...They shouldn't fight."
Muttering with a rather worried expression.
"Are you worried that the two of them might fight?"
Then, Kania, who was following close beside me, asked a question.
"At this point in time, there's no reason for the two of them to fight. So wouldn't it be more accurate to say that some threat to their safety has occurred instead?"
Hearing those words, I chuckled and said.
"For a threat to their safety to occur when those two are together, the Demon King would have to show up."
"...Ah."
Serena is someone who can subdue people stronger than herself with a single finger, and Perloche is the strongest in one-on-one combat.
Therefore, if something happened while the two of them were together... it must surely be some trouble that occurred between them.
At this point, only Serena and I know that Perloche is hiding something.
And seeing that the birds are also trying to drag me somewhere, whatever happened must have occurred within the academy.
So, whatever it is, if I just go quickly, I should be able to stop...
"Sure enough, you seem worried?"
Kania, who had been wearing a dazed expression, soon looked at me fixedly and spoke.
"Lately, it feels like you know me too well, Kania."
"Thank you for the compliment."
Looking at her just as fixedly, I sighed and hurried my steps as the birds were glaring at me.
.
"This place is...?"
"The academy basement, I see."
After walking diligently for quite some time, the place we arrived at was the entrance to the academy's basement.
'Why did they guide me here?'
The academy basement, where not a single ray of sunlight enters, is quite an intriguing place.
Normally empty and deserted, it occasionally serves as a training ground for应对黑暗 situations, and the events that occur here are quite significant.
If you don't follow the villain route, a personal event with Perloche occurs here during the first year.
According to the prophecy book, it's quite a heart-fluttering event, but of course, such things are a luxury for me right now.
Anyway, during the academy siege event that occurs in the second year, this place becomes the students' forward base.
If I survive until the third year, I can spend intimate time with one of the heroines here.
This basement, where quite a variety of miscellaneous events occur, may seem unremarkable but is actually quite an important location.
"Anyway... we should go in, right?"
If so, what exactly happened in this event-generating basement that caused the birds to react this way?
I don't know for sure, but without going inside, I won't be able to find the answer.
"...Hah."
Thinking such thoughts, I took a deep breath and slowly pushed open the basement door with a nervous heart.
- Creak...
The old, rusted door opened, spreading an unpleasant sound throughout the area.
"...Hah?"
I was swallowing as I watched, and then my jaw dropped at the sight of the basement that entered my field of vision.
"What is all this...?"
Everything is in chaos.
The few pieces of furniture that remained in this basement, either rusted or rotting, were mostly smashed to pieces.
Large cracks and pits had formed on the basement floor.
Around the basement, dense moon mana filled the air, along with divine power so intense that Kania beside me couldn't endure the tingling sensation and hid behind me.
"........."
And in the center of it all, there was Serena, covering her face with a fan and looking coldly at Perloche.
And Perloche, likewise raising both hands and glaring at Serena.
"What..."
Due to the shock of all those scenes entering my brain at once, I couldn't think properly for a while.
"...You really fought?"
I soon muttered with a frightened expression.
Serena's posture is one she takes when simulating a fight with her opponent in her head, and Perloche's posture was also a scene taken when smashing something to pieces.
"No, why on earth...?"
Thanks to that, I was seriously considering whether to escape this basement immediately or risk my life to stop those two.
"...Frey?"
"Ah! You!!"
Suddenly, both of them looked at me at the same time and began to show expressions of joy.
"You, I missed you."
"You really came to this place! I knew you would!"
I was stepping back hesitantly, but the two women began speaking with smiles on their faces.
What is going on?
"Were you two... fighting?"
"Yes, we were fighting."
I asked with a sour expression, confused by the suddenly changed atmosphere, and Serena answered with a gentle smile.
"Of course, it was at the level of training, though."
"...Training level?"
When I tilted my head, Perloche joined the conversation with her characteristic foolish and naive smile.
"Serena-san was training me!"
"Training you?"
"Yes! Serena-san is truly a kind person... no, more importantly, why did you come here!!"
"These guys brought me?"
Hearing that, I looked at the birds perched on my shoulders with a dumbfounded expression.
- Flap flap!!
Then they all flew up at once and returned to their owners' shoulders.
"...Kuu."
"...Gugu?"
Soon, the owl began quietly avoiding my gaze, and the pigeon started tilting its head as if asking what was the problem.
Staring at them with a dumbfounded expression, I soon sighed and began asking questions.
"So, why were you two here?"
"I already said, didn't I? We were training..."
"Is there really a need to do training here?"
Even in Sunrise Academy, corrupted by malfeasance, it is still a prestigious academy with a thousand years of history, so naturally, there are training facilities.
In other words, there's absolutely no reason to train in a dark and musty basement instead of a spacious and comfortable training facility.
"You're right, Frey."
When I expressed such an opinion while looking at the two suspiciously, Serena began answering with a smile in her eyes.
"However, the training we were doing was a bit special."
"A bit special training?"
"Yes, I mean 'overcoming darkness' training."
Saying that, Serena glanced at Perloche, who was still wearing a foolish smile beside her.
"You know well that Perloche-san fears darkness, don't you? That's why it was necessary to train especially in a dark state."
"...That's right! Since I never know when you might exploit my weakness, Frey! This is special training I'm doing!"
I looked blankly at Perloche, who was revealing the fact that she's doing training to overcome her weakness out of fear of what I might do, and then sighed and spoke.
"Then why was Serena your partner? Aren't you closer with Klana?"
"The light Klana-san emits is too bright! So there's no point in training! And..."
Perloche, who paused while speaking to steal a glance at Serena, finished speaking with a bright smile.
"Serena-san said that she is the most outstanding and intelligent person, so she's the best candidate to fight me!"
"...I didn't say it that directly."
Well, for one-on-one training with Perloche, it would be impossible unless it was someone of Serena's caliber.
She has the Sun God's blessing, which makes her virtually the strongest in one-on-one combat, and one needs to actively adapt to her unpredictable behavior.
And if that's true, then Serena...
Could naturally investigate Perloche.
"...Well, I get it. Then there doesn't seem to be any further business."
Having finished that thought, I opened my mouth with an expression of lost interest.
"Make sure to manage your pets properly so this doesn't happen again."
"Yes."
"Don't scold Gugu! It's at the age where it's eating and growing well!"
After giving that advice with a hint of sincerity, I headed toward the exit while listening to Perloche's shouting as she talked back to me.
"Ah, Frey."
"...Yes?"
Suddenly, Serena grabbed me,
"Chup."
".....!"
She slipped her tongue in.
"...Goodbye."
After that eternal-like moment, Serena, who licked away the saliva that had connected our lips,
"I think I'll be able to give you good news soon."
Quietly whispered that in my ear.
"Frey!!! What are you doing to Serena-san!!!"
"...Then, goodbye."
"Oh, by the way, did you see the letter I sent you!? If you did, please write a reply...!!!"
Soon, she separated from me as Perloche shouted, and waved her hand with a smile in her eyes.
"...Ugh."
"Kania?"
I had been wearing a dazed expression and turned to head for the exit, but I tilted my head seeing Kania suddenly dry heaving beside me.
"...Are you sick somewhere?"
"N, no."
"If you're sick, rest a bit. Even if just for the slave market liberation mission that will open in a few days."
"...Yes."
Worried about such a Kania, I patted her back, and with her expression having softened, we began returning to the dormitory.
The slave market mission is now right before our eyes, so I should get sufficient rest.
.
"...Hmm."
After Frey left the room opening the door with Kania, Serena's expression, which had been smiling with her eyes, froze cold.
"Just what could it be?"
"......."
Perloche, who had entered Serena's sight, was sitting on a chair that had been rolling on the floor at some point.
"She suddenly loses her mind and acts wildly."
Instead of her usual pure and bright expression,
"She becomes perfectly fine as soon as Frey arrives."
She had decadent and sunken eyes.
"Just what... is your true identity?"
Serena asked such a question to her with wary eyes, but.
"...The next trial is crucial."
Ignoring her and leaving the basement, Perloche muttered with a cold voice.
"At that time, I must reveal the truth."
Perloche was already wearing a bright smile on her face again.