The Greatest Magicmaster's Retirement Plan: Volume 3 E-Book

Izushiro

• Herausgeber: J-Novel Club
• Kategorie: Für Kinder und Jugendliche
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2019

Beschreibung

Godma Barhong, the mad scientist from Alice’s past, comes out of hiding with his experiments—the Dolls—and bares his fangs against Alus and the world.
As chaos engulfs the Institute, what will Alice do when she’s forced to face her past? And when Alus and Loki are assigned to eliminate Godma, will Tesfia’s feelings be able to save Alice from the darkness?
A mysterious newcomer, Melissa, makes her appearance as the battle against Godma and his Dolls begins in the action-packed third volume of The Greatest Magicmaster’s Retirement Plan!

Leseprobe

Tenth Chapter

A Strange Attack

With the extracurricular lesson behind them, the season was already starting to change.

That said—there wasn’t much that changed in the Institute. There was nothing to compare to the heat waves of the Inner World summers.

Babel’s interior, inside the barrier, was filled with human ingenuity, and weather manipulation and temperature adjustment were well within the realm of possibility. The temperatures only varied by five to ten degrees during the year, allowing for comfortable living, and all the weather patterns in the false skies were just artificial images.

Even the clear skies were just vividly colored.

Then again, it wasn’t overly unnatural. Those who lived before the disaster had almost forgotten what the real skies looked like, and had gotten used to their artificial environment. And those who only knew of the inside, saw the fake as real.

Ironically enough, this technology provided humanity with the means to sustain itself semi-permanently—if not for the external threats.

At the same time, it meant that interest in the Outer World was extremely weak. If the threat of Fiends was eliminated, this small world might be enough to satisfy the people forever.

Summer vacation had just begun for the Second Magical Institute that Alus attended.

Though it was vacation time, the students looking to become Magicmasters were exceedingly ambitious when it came to improving themselves. And the students were everywhere, still wearing their uniforms and studying on their own as if the meaning of vacation was lost on them. They were passionately asking teachers questions, or taking part in mock battles at the training grounds, pretty much the same way they always did.

Of course, there were also many students who visited home during this time. Speaking of passion, the noisy red-headed girl who was always dropping by Alus’ laboratory, Tesfia Fable, was also visiting her parents at home.

Perhaps that’s why Alus felt a sense of freedom like he’d felt when he stepped down from the frontlines, even if it would only last one week.

Incidentally, there was yet another girl as passionate as Tesfia. Though as this one wasn’t as noisy, she was much easier to deal with. But in the end, Alice was equally a handful.

While Alus had found these two to be a pain, lately he’d started warming up to teaching them techniques and knowledge.

* * *

Today the laboratory was filled with silence, perfect for training. It was a mixture of Tesfia’s absence and consideration being shown for Alus, who was still in bed.

He had come back from a preliminary look for an assigned mission, and finally gotten some sound sleep.

In the quiet laboratory, Alice’s training began with the usual: pinning down her mana. The stick she used for training repelled mana, making it perfect for practicing mana control. By now, she’d gotten used to the weird-looking stick, and she poured her entire focus into improving her technique.

Unfortunately, like Tesfia, Alice also struggled with this practice.

It wasn’t like she wasn’t improving at all; but she couldn’t feel herself getting better at the same pace as she had at first. So, she felt she was progressing slowly.

Unable to watch anymore, Loki curiously asked, “Ms. Alice, can I borrow that for a moment? ... To be honest, the military tends to not put much emphasis on mana control. And of course, they don’t have anything like that stick for training.”

Alice was surprised. “Really? I thought all Magicmasters in the military could do it easily.”

“That’s true... While there’s a bit of difference in skill, it is something they are all capable of. If not, they wouldn’t be able to survive in the Outer World. That’s why there are many Magicmasters practicing it on an individual basis. That’s the level of skill the two of you are trying to achieve.”

It seemed even active Magicmasters couldn’t do without mana control. Having reaffirmed that, Alice scratched her cheek and handed the training stick over to Loki. Apparently this wasn’t something one picked up in a day’s work. She was ashamed she’d thought so highly of herself, believing she would be able to do it quickly.

“I can indeed feel some repulsion just from holding it,” Loki said. “Having something like this would help in becoming aware of mana, and giving direction to it.”

The reason was because a minuscule amount of mana leaked from the hand. Moreover, once someone could give direction to mana they could intentionally stop that mana from leaking out. Since merely holding the stick would exert a force, mana unconsciously converged.

“Yes, I can kind of tell how my mana flows. But it’s only a feeling.”

“I don’t think there’s any problem with that. The two of you started your mana control practice by pinching each other. That’s because—method aside—a sense of pain or an emotional condition plays a big part in mana control.”

Next, Loki focused her mind on the stick and released her mana. The mana slowly stretched from her hand to the tip of the stick, with a destination in mind. “This certainly is...” Loki furrowed her brow.

Slowly but surely, Loki’s mana made its way to the tip of the stick, unlike Alice’s mana. At the same time, the mana undulated, going between being pinned down and repulsing, gradually covering the stick.

“That’s Loki dear for you!” Alice let out a small cheer of admiration.

With a soft sigh, Loki quietly undid the mana. As her focus disappeared, the mana still on the stick’s surface dispersed. “I’m sure Sir Alus would be able to enchant it much more efficiently...”

“Ah, yes... he showed us once before.”

Loki had boasted proudly about Alus as if she were talking about herself, while Alice nodded along. In Loki’s mind, Alus was the best, and the target of her admiration and respect.

“A-Anyways, I get it now. Ms. Alice...”

“Yes!”

Loki proceeded to give Alice some instruction. This time, Alice didn’t treat her as ‘Loki dear,’ but instead listened to her advice in earnest as her teacher. Then again, she could feel a smile coming on as Loki was being so cordial.

“There’s a proper balance to pinning down mana. Why not get a grasp for that first? But this is just my idea. My suggestion isn’t as appropriate as Sir Alus’ would be.”

“You still make sure to give Al respect, huh... but yes, in the end, my mana always runs out of strength and gets repelled. Even when I’m giving it my everything.”

“That’s not bad either, but the point of this training is to control mana. In other words, to learn how to efficiently handle your mana. So you have nothing to lose from grasping the directionality needed to pin down the mana.”

As Alice received the stick back from Loki with a smile, she immediately tried a different approach. “You’re right! But I have to use practically all of my strength to hold it down.”

“That’s because you’re still inexperienced,” Loki said, with a small smile.

Alice happily responded with, “That’s true.”

A somewhat frank mood filled the laboratory. Even in that atmosphere, Loki didn’t forget to watch the time. It was almost time to wake Alus up.

She wasn’t looking forward to it because she was uncomfortable being with Alice. If anything, she felt it would be even more enjoyable if Alus were here too.

However, there was no need for that—

“That was a terrible way to wake up.” Alus peeked out from the now-open door, brushing his hair aside. His mood could easily be discerned from the bags under his eyes.

It took Loki a moment to realize what Alus meant by terrible.

“Sheesh, what kind of idiots are these?” Alus tiredly leaned over at the window and stared outside.

Behind him, Loki accurately reported the results of her detection magic. “There are five intruders.”

“Huh? Intruders?!” Alice reacted to the word. She was confused and didn’t understand what they meant right away, repeating the word to herself.

So these must be humans...?

Currently, Fiends were humanity’s common enemy. And in that situation, there was nothing as pointless as fighting amongst themselves.

The military always manipulated information to keep the existence of atrocious criminals hidden. By directing all hatred towards the Fiends, humanity’s solidarity was strengthened. Everything the military did was for that cause.

Moreover, from a practical standpoint, there were major issues with deploying competent Magicmasters inside the nations as well.

In that moment, several explosions rang out. The building rumbled.

“Did they think the Institute would be short of hands because it was vacation time? Talk about a stupid bunch.”

While it may have been a while ago, the principal was once a Single Digit Magicmaster who alone could easily wipe out a mere five assailants. There were also several other formerly high-ranking Magicmasters on the school faculty.

However, the intruders’ goal was unclear. Were they after someone? Looking to destroy the facility? Or was it something else?

A few seconds later, a shrill alarm rang out alerting the Institute that intruders had entered the grounds. The announcement told the students not to leave their dorms until the threat was eliminated.

But Alus felt it was issued a bit too late. No, perhaps the intruders’ skills should be lauded for that.

He saw a single intruder approach the research building at a breakneck speed. The worn-out black robe concealed his or her physique. With a hood covering the head, the intruder looked rough despite the brilliant display.

As the silhouette reached the building’s entrance, a teacher blocked his path as if he’d been waiting for it.

“Hm?” Alus raised his eyebrows as the teacher politely gave the intruder a verbal warning, holding onto his AWR, but the way he was trying to pacify the assailant was too lax. “Idiot! You can talk after you’ve disabled him.” He was disappointed by how poorly the teacher was handling the situation.

“The intruders are splitting up and heading to the boys’ dorm, the girls’ dorm and the main building,” Loki told him. “Another is moving around the other side of that building. It may be a pincer attack. What do we do?”

“Hmm, well, let’s leave that to Sisty. The students have been told not to go outside anyways. Besides...”

Before Alus could finish his sentence, the intruder facing off against the teacher below pulled a short sword AWR out from beneath his robe, and unleashed a spell without hesitation.

The ball of light instantly created from the weapon’s blade flew straight toward the teacher.

“... Oh?”

His initiative taken away, the teacher responded, after a slight delay, by raising the ground to create a barrier. The protective wall of dirt—most likely created by earth magic—rose up just in time. When the ball of light touched the wall, it swelled up in size and burst.

A considerable amount of mana must have burst, as the earth wall was blown away by the blast. The teacher was slammed into the research building by the impact, and fell motionless.

That was the light attribute!

Having thrown the teacher aside, the intruder felt Alus’ sharp glance and looked up.

They exchanged glances. The intruder then marched inside the building.

“What a pain... he’s coming. Loki, you deal with it... but incapacitate him without killing him. There’s something on my mind.”

“I understand.”

Alus gave the instruction while leaning against the wall. He was also using this opportunity to confirm Loki’s resolve for the upcoming mission.

Perhaps Loki sensed this, as she immediately got ready to fight. That said, she still looked the same as always, remaining calm and dignified, like a longtime maid preparing to welcome a guest.

Suddenly, a worry popped up in Alus’ head. The intruder’s outfit reminded him of the bunch he’d encountered in the middle-class neighborhood last night. Then again, he could just confirm that later.

“As for Alice... you can come over here for now.” Alus invited Alice to stand by him, and she obediently came, her gaze on the door all the while. She looked worried that the intruder would come bursting through the door at any moment.

“Will Loki be okay on her own? S-Should I help too?”

“No, you just watch. This is something she has to do.”

Alice found that questionable, but chose not to say anything about it.

And since Alus needed to keep the circumstances hidden due to the secret mission, he’d explained himself in a roundabout fashion.

Alice, though, seemed to be feeling some fear. She anxiously nodded.

“Well, if something happens I’ll intervene, so don’t worry. I don’t want him smashing through the door, so lure him in and intercept him.” The last part was addressed to Loki.

“Yes...”

Alus had the door unlocked, to let the intruder enter. Loki then pulled out her knife AWRs.

And while it was a trivial thing—this also meant they wouldn’t go against the order given in the alarm. They wouldn’t be going outside.

“He’s coming!”

As Alice gulped, Alus and Loki spotted the intruder.

The intruder didn’t seem fazed by the unlocked door, as he or she sent a killing intent towards Alus.

As if to intercept it, Loki stepped in between the intruder and Alus. “You need to know your place if you’re trying to go after Sir Alus.”

“Ki... kill, Rank 1... found you... sei...ze y-your body... too?”

The intruder tilted his head and inhumanely and creepily spoke these grating words. The next moment, he held his short sword and moved on Loki as if she was in the way. His movements were strangely mechanic and difficult to fathom.

“I see, you’re crazy. That explains it.” Loki fought back with four knives between her fingers in each hand. She used a method she hadn’t shown during practice because this was a real fight. The knives were enchanted with electricity that would cause great damage if they made contact.

However, the intruder showed no hesitation and swung down his short sword.

A loud metallic clash rang out between Loki and the intruder. Electricity surged from the knives.

The electricity ran through the intruder’s short sword and into his body. “—!!” But there was no pain in the intruder’s expression.

Loki wondered if he even had any nerves from how little his expression changed, as he put even more strength behind his blade.

Eventually, Loki was slowly pushed back by that insane force. “Urgh...”

Surprisingly, the intruder broke the stalemate first. He let up on his pushing just a little, which ever so slightly threw Loki off balance as she was desperately pushing back.

The blades separated. The intruder’s blade swept back towards Loki.

Seeing that, Loki quickly pulled her upper body back. Of course, it wasn’t just to avoid the attack, but to counterattack. Something like this wasn’t enough to create a big opening.

Loki scraped her leg across the floor. Spinning around, she used her momentum to unleash a roundhouse kick that struck the intruder in the upper arm that held the short sword.

“—!”

While Loki’s body was small, that was taken into account as she kicked. With the power behind the kick, it wouldn’t be unexpected if it broke the arm.

Despite that, the intruder didn’t let go of the short sword. His arm and Loki’s leg clashed, resulting in a back and forth pushing.

The intruder’s expression under the hood remained unchanged, as he finally repelled Loki’s kick with just his arm.

What ridiculous strength...

At a closer look, the intruder’s physique was surprisingly slim. Just where did that slender arm hide such power...?

Loki jumped high up to dodge an attack, and threw her knives from midair. Her aim was true. The knives ran through the intruder’s feet, pinning them to the floor.

After Loki landed and backflipped, she couldn’t believe her eyes.

The knives had gone straight through the intruder’s feet and blood stained the floor red, but the intruder showed no signs of anguish. If anything, he forcibly pulled his feet out, worsening the injury when he could have just pulled the knives out with his hands.

That abnormal behavior didn’t just send chills down Loki’s spine, but Alice’s as well.

Then again—that wouldn’t stop Loki. Before the knives were completely out, she jumped up again.

Seeing Loki’s movements, the intruder brandished his short sword and constructed his spell like he had against the teacher.

Loki lightly shook her knife. A thin lightning bolt ran from the tip of the knife toward the ones in the intruder’s feet.

The bolt ran through the intruder’s entire body, the shock canceling out his spell.

Picking up even more speed, Loki drove her knee into the intruder’s chest. She could feel the bones crack. After confirming this, she quickly backed off to observe the results.

The force caused the knives to fall out of the intruder’s feet. He fell backwards towards the wall, next to the door. The air exited his lungs with a sound, and he collapsed on the floor, falling silent.

Loki watched suspiciously, waiting. She’d felt her attack work but it also felt strange, like she was dealing with someone who was already dead. Then again, after falling to the floor, the intruder remained unmoving.

Seeing that, Loki understood the fight was over. She glanced at Alus.

But in that instant—

“—kill, die,” the intruder said in a hoarse voice. He pushed his hand against the floor and unleashed a killing intent once again.

At the same time, the magic formula on his short sword that he’d held onto till the end activated instantly.

“—!!” Shocked, Loki turned around, but what she saw was the intruder’s hand crushed, and the short sword dropped to the floor.

That wasn’t because of something emotional like losing the will to fight, but a physical reason. His fingers were bent in unnatural directions, the bones broken. The hand couldn’t hold anything anymore. Even the palm was disfigured. It looked like something bizarre was hanging off the intruder’s wrist.

Without even sparing a look at his ruined hand, the intruder tried to pick up the short sword with his other hand.

But once his fingers moved, his body was pushed into the floor as if he was being crushed. The floor creaked, and an ominous sound came from his bones as well. Pressure was unnaturally being applied to select parts of his body.

As the intruder reached his limits, he spat up blood. His eyes rolled back, and he lost consciousness.

“Don’t let your guard down,” a cold voice said.

Alus had manipulated space to literally apply pressure to the intruder. This was a power that even controlled gravity. It was an application of the Gravity Cliff spell, but as this was an inferior version, it didn’t even have a name. That said, considering the complexity, it definitely belonged among the advanced spells.

“Forgive me,” Loki muttered, her eyes cast down. She reflected deeply on her blunder.

“Well, I still give you a passing grade.” As Alus made his way towards the intruder, he put his hand on Loki’s head as he passed her by.

Ultimately, he’d ended up finishing off the intruder. While he’d only applied pressure on parts of his body, it wouldn’t be strange if he’d broken some important bones. He’d left the arms and legs alone, but the joints had certainly been affected by the pressure. Even if he was lucky enough to escape with his life, he’d likely never walk again.

Either way—this was something Alice shouldn’t see.

But due to her military experience, Loki was quick to change gears. She knew what needed to be prioritized. “Sir Alus, this thing acted very strangely. Reaction to pain, and its reflexes seemed to be non-existent. Perhaps its nerves aren’t functioning properly.”

“Probably. Extreme excitement can let you ignore pain, but it wouldn’t stop your reflexes. His sense of pain... or rather his reaction to external stimulus in general seems to be mostly shut off. This is no normal human.”

Alus carelessly stepped next to the intruder and pulled off the robe. Hidden beneath—as he’d suspected—was your everyday slender woman in her early twenties.

Her cheeks were scrawny and her hair was tangled up, making her look weary, but that was likely because she wasn’t taking care of herself. She wore undergarments that clung tightly to her body. The robe she’d been wearing looked worn out, but it appeared to be made with magic-resistant materials.

Alus looked over her body closely before deliberately pulling up her hair, and staring at the back of her neck. There he saw what seemed to be stitches from an old wound. It was clearly the scar from a carelessly-performed operation.

“Al, is she dead?” Alice timidly asked from behind him.

“No, I didn’t kill her. Well, she’s in no position to move though.”

“... I-I see.”

Alus had felt a strange displeasure at Alice’s tone of voice, and said he didn’t kill her; but in reality she was on the ropes. It was possible she’d only last for a few minutes more.

Alice knew she couldn’t do anything either way, but managed to stop herself from asking if she could help, as she was unfamiliar with fighting people and seeing someone so critically injured.

Crouching down next to the intruder, Alice peeked at her face. “Are you sure that she’s not dead?” But carelessly getting close was a clear mistake.

“You’re better off not looking.”

“Huh—?!” Suddenly, Alice let out a short scream. The reason was that the intruder’s rolled-back eyes rolled forward again, the pupils staring at her.

After glancing at Alice, the eyes looked around in search of something else.

Alus clicked his tongue, forcibly pulling Alice’s arm. As he held Alice in his embrace, the intruder moved in a bizarre fashion, raising her upper body using all four limbs.

Using that momentum and posture, the intruder attacked a cabinet. The shelves with a glass door fell over, throwing the equipment that was inside out and across the laboratory. Documents and glass shards flew in the air, and using that moment when everyone was distracted, she charged toward the smallest of them all, Loki.

“Loki, move!”

Loki was already jumping aside by the time she heard Alus.

Behind her was a window that led outside. The intruder broke through the window with her head, and fell out.

After stopping Loki from giving chase, Alus looked down through the broken window.

It wasn’t suicide. Mustering up strength from somewhere, the intruder had scraped down the wall to slow her descent before landing lightly on the ground. She took off at an incredible speed, heading away from the Institute in the same four-legged posture. She was abnormally fast, making Alus wonder if she wasn’t actually a quadruped instead.

He sighed as he stared at her running away. “That... sure wasn’t normal,” Alus said in an exasperated tone.

Meanwhile, Alice, still in his embrace, looked more amazed than scared, holding onto him.

“Sorry, Alice.”

“Ah, no, it’s fine... I was just a little surprised,” Alice said, almost to herself in an effort to calm herself down. She joined Loki at the window, and the two of them scanned the surroundings. After all, there was more than one intruder.

While Alice had her back to him, Alus picked up a test tube and collected some of the intruder’s blood.

“Sir Alus, there are still two intruders on Institute grounds. What should we do?”

“I underestimated them. If they have to go up against those things, the teachers alone won’t be enough. Sorry, but can you back them up, Loki?”

“... Understood. If that is your order.”

He had indeed let his guard down. Looking at just their skill with magic from when they’d broken into the Institute, they weren’t very impressive as Magicmasters. The only unexpected thing was that abnormal tenacity.

In person to person combat, even the veteran teachers might find the tables turned on them. If those things put their incredible stamina to work, even the most experienced Magicmaster could wind up on the receiving end of an attack from an enemy they thought they’d defeated.

As Loki stepped onto the window frame, Alus gave her words of advice. “Make sure to properly finish them this time. Loki, go for the heart or head. They won’t go down otherwise... the trick is to not consider them human.” There was a bit of sadness mixed in as he said this. He’d worried that this was something Loki would have to confront ever since she became his partner.

Normally, this was something Alus should be doing on his own, but if Loki was going to stand by his side and fight ‘humans,’ this was a necessary experience. It would likely decide whether she lived or died.

And Loki would likely overcome it. She had the talent for it. Being able to make calculated decisions after encountering something only once before, meant she had the ability to separate emotion from logic.

Loki realized what Alus was thinking. “I will take that to heart,” she resolutely said. Completely disabling an opponent was far harder than simply killing them. She might have the rug pulled out from under her the way she was right now.

That’s why he’d said that... his advice was intended to make sure Loki protected herself.

Yet while she understood Alus’ hesitation, she was ready to push her will through. She had no problems dirtying her hands. That’s why she was sure she wouldn’t create a situation that would worry him.

She kicked off the window frame. Obeying Alus’ order, Loki headed out to aid the teachers, her figure disappearing into the distance.

Having seen Loki off, Alus expelled his worries with a sigh. For now, at least—“Alice, go check the lock on the door. I’m sure you can do it. I left it open before, but it’ll be needed for next time.”

Alice looked anxious and uncertain, but she wordlessly nodded and headed to the door to check the console that controlled the lock.

While she did that, Alus shifted his attention to the test tube from before. The intruder’s blood he’d collected would provide a clue. He already had what he wanted.

The intruder’s actions had come as a surprise, but he’d decided to let her go. It was clear she’d undergone some kind of body modification from the scar on the back of her neck.

He’d considered fully incapacitating her, but considering how bizarre she was he’d thought better of it. In the worst-case scenario, she might even do something as dangerous as self-destructing.

Alus felt something was seriously off based on the abnormal atmosphere around her and her flow of mana. Moreover, her goal was unclear. Looking at her crazy movements, it wasn’t unreasonable to assume her objective was something insane like indiscriminately killing everyone—but ultimately her true motives remained obscure.

Considering she made a beeline toward us, and the direction the other intruders went in... they even approached Sisty, so it seems they’re focusing on the main building.

Looking at it from another point of view, it was possible they were targeting the stronger people at the Institute.

But even then, their behavior didn’t fully make sense. Even if they used their overwhelming stamina to launch surprise attacks, anyone capable wouldn’t fall victim to something like that. In other words, it seemed like the intruders were attacking just to be defeated.

Meaning, it could be reconnaissance in force to gather information.

Considering that possibility, Alus letting her escape might not have been that bad after all. With the intruders’ body modifications, he wanted to avoid showing all of his cards. As there was no guarantee the intruders didn’t have cameras or other information-gathering devices or spells, he didn’t want to give too much away before he began his mission.

Most of all, that worn-looking robe and those bizarre movements reminded him of the strange group he’d encountered the night before. So they’re making their move.

Alus was all but convinced of his hunch, as he told himself this in his mind.

* * *

It didn’t take long to figure out the situation as to the rest of the attacking intruders.

Loki returned with the information. By the time she’d arrived, the intruders had all escaped. The reason they didn’t catch anyone was because of their stamina and movements, and because Sisty had shown earlier than expected. Sisty, having realized how absurd the intruder making his way toward her was, had immediately decided to deal with him herself.

The only damages suffered were minor injuries to two teachers and ten of the students.

The teachers that had been unable to stop the students from getting hurt made one question their abilities, but the real reason was that the students had ignored instructions and gone outside to fight. In other words, they’d gotten their just deserts, so the teachers really couldn’t be blamed for that.

Fortunately, that youthful recklessness didn’t end up harming the Institute. Moreover, the students ended up with minor injuries because the intruders didn’t take them seriously, as they weren’t interested in them. The reason was probably because the intruders were targeting the strongest, on top of some other objective.

Looking at the results, the five intruders all managed to escape. Of course, Magicmasters had been sent out to pursue them, but the Institute already had strict security to ensure things like this wouldn’t happen in the first place. As the intruders slipped through that check, it was clear who should be held responsible.

Shortly after Loki returned, it was announced by the principal herself that the situation was resolved and the threat was over.

Alus, Loki and Alice heard the broadcast from the laboratory. Details were omitted from the announcement. Instead, Sisty directly appealed to Alus to appear.

Since he’d confronted one of the intruders, Alus had expected this so he wasn’t surprised, but it was still a pain. Besides, he had other things to concern himself with... so he simply put the call in a corner of his mind. He gazed at the laboratory and said, “I have to clean this mess up first, huh.”

As he checked out the room, there were papers scattered about everywhere, along with glass shards from flasks and test tubes. Fortunately, none of the important machinery had been destroyed.

Alus’ honest impression of the intruder was that she’d rampaged through his laboratory before running away. He was likely going to be questioned for another reason, but if things were going to end up like this, he regretted his choice of not fighting them before.

Of course, there was still something gained. He stroked the test tube in his pocket, and let out yet another sigh.

“P-Please leave this to me, Sir Alus.”

“Yes, we’ll be done in no time.”

Sensing Alus’ feelings, Loki readily offered to clean up, while Alice rolled up her sleeves.

Loki in particular got to work immediately, perhaps regretting her inability to stop the intruder. Then again, Alus had been the one to pick the laboratory as the battlefield, so he wasn’t innocent either. He joined in with a “Let’s clean this up.”

Loki was in charge of putting the documents back in place, as she knew where they were usually stored, while Alice was in charge of cleaning up the floor.

Alus already had anything he didn’t want anyone else to see locked up elsewhere, so he had no problems with this. The only problem was the skills of these two girls who would put veteran housewives to shame. With them around, Alus, despite being the lord of the room, felt like he was only getting in the way of the cleaning.

He already knew that of course, since without Loki there probably wouldn’t be anywhere to stand with equipment and papers strewn across the floor at all times.

The laboratory was being cleaned up in the blink of an eye, like magic. In fact, it was even cleaner now than before the fighting broke out. That was something to rejoice over.

As long as you didn’t look at how useless Alus felt... “Sorry for making you do this.” At best, he could only thank the girls. He was half impressed by their cleaning skills, and half guilty over barely doing anything himself. In the end, he only put a plank over the broken window to seal it up.

After that hard work, though that might just have been how Alus felt, the three enjoyed some tea as if nothing had happened in the first place.

“Sir Alus, don’t you have to go to the principal’s office? It’s been about an hour since the broadcast.”

“Well, I don’t think Sisty will mind. She should have some paperwork to do because of this incident, and we’ve been cleaning up over here. She probably won’t complain,” Alus said in an attempt to avoid the whole thing... but it wouldn’t go the way he wanted.

A bell rang out. The signal that another announcement was starting.

“Alus Reigin. Come to the principal’s office right this instant. If you don’t, your credits will breathe their last!” Sisty was making the announcement herself in a clearly irritated tone, and for some reason there was a sound of tearing paper mixed in as well.

“Hey! What the hell!” Alus let out a shout by reflex, but now was not the time to make a fuss over abuse of authority. Witch Sisty could make all of his credits disappear from his report card with a snap of her fingers. “Can you really say ‘breathe their last’ when talking about taking credits back?”

“Of course not.”

Letting out the heaviest sigh of the day, Alus grimaced as he sipped his tea. His inability to calm down after finishing his tea wasn’t just because his credits were at risk.

Two stares focused on him, and he could more or less guess what they wanted to say.

“Sir Alus...”

“Al...”

“Ah fine, I get it, I’m going.” Alus put down his cup and stood up from his chair. “This is depressing. Well, I don’t know when I’ll get back, so can you escort Alice back to her dorm when she’s done training?”

“Understood.”

“I’ll look forward to it, Loki dear.”

Loki splendidly ignored Alice as she nodded to only Alus. Or perhaps their answers just happened to overlap by accident. It wasn’t like this was the first time he found something to be a pain. But this time, he wanted to get to analyzing the blood sample he got from the intruder.

The elements... they’re supposed to be scarce...

Alus’ mind was on the magic the intruder used. Dark and light magic were special attributes referred to as the elements. Unlike the other attributes learned after birth, an affinity for the elements was something you were born with.

Yet the intruder had used it. An intruder that had undergone body modifications, at that. He couldn’t conclude that this was related to his current mission.

But there was something that kept him from discarding it as unrelated.

On his way to the principal’s office, Alus ran through a number of ideas, but in the end the main building came into view before he could gather his thoughts.

Damage from the attack could be seen in the form of crumbled parts in the building’s walls.

Standing before the familiar office, Alus hesitated for a moment. What fate awaited him? He didn’t understand the mind of someone who willingly jumped into the danger. But in reality, he had no way to escape. It wasn’t until now that he understood how a student could feel nervous before facing the principal.

Anyways, he had a lot of bad memories of this place, especially with misbehaving students. At least Sisty shouldn’t have any prior engagements this time around.

Alus finally steeled himself. “I’m coming in.”

Inside, the elegant desk was piled with papers, and a fed-up face peeked out from that mountain. Principal Sisty’s furrowed brows showed how bad of a mood she was in. “You’re late!”

“I had something to do. Also, Institute-wide announcements draw unnecessary attention, so I’d prefer it if you didn’t do that again.”

“A principal’s orders should be prioritized above all else! And if you start showing up quickly after I call for you, I’ll think about changing my ways. Besides, you’re...” Pouting like a teenager, Sisty began issuing a string of complaints to Alus.

Alus gave her an insincere “I’ll do my best,” but it fell on deaf ears.

After enduring the barrage for a while, he moved to push the conversation toward the real issue at hand. “What’s that?” Alus said, pointing at the mountain of documents on the desk. They were stacked really high, and if they got knocked over and scattered, Sisty would surely want to cry.

“They’re reports on injuries, and information on the intruders. It’s all from the people who encountered them, so I still have to compile the information.” Sisty poked at the pile in a show of discontent. She was expressing her wish to push the problem away, but she still needed to report this to her superiors. It was boring but necessary work.

“And what do you want with me? I’m not going to help you with the reports, just so you know.”

“Is that so?” Sisty said, in a disappointed-sounding voice.

Did she really call him out to help with the reports? Then again, her expression looked a bit too put-on to be real.

“If that’s really what you wanted, then I’m leaving.”

“Well now. Have a seat.”

They were talking past each other, but Sisty was trying to drag Alus into her way of doing things. She’d learned that getting irritated at everything wouldn’t solve anything.

As if to escape her pile of work, Sisty got up from her chair and moved to the sofa, facing Alus. Her expression turned serious as she got to the main question. “So, who were they?”

“What are you asking me for? Weren’t they intruders?”

The principal’s eyebrows furrowed slightly at Alus purposefully dodging the question. Of course if he didn’t, she’d drag him into her pace.

She continued without changing her cheerful expression. Though she was smiling, Sisty’s pressure on him was palpable. “Are you messing with me? I’m saying they were no normal intruders.”

“So you noticed?”

Sisty glared after hearing Alus’ barefaced reply. Because she was the principal, she wasn’t going to let any more jokes slide.

“I honestly don’t know either. Did the one you dealt with use any magic?”

“Yes, he used the light attribute.”

“So did the one at my laboratory.” It seemed all the intruders had used the light attribute. Alus was deep in thought.

“No secrets, now.”

“...”

Sisty looked at Alus with a smile that left no room for negotiation.

Table of Contents

Cover

Tenth Chapter: A Strange Attack

Eleventh Chapter: Garden of Madness

Twelfth Chapter: Visit From the Past

Thirteenth Chapter: Appalling

Fourteenth Chapter: Sorrowful Arrival

Fifteenth Chapter: The End of the Horrible Dream

Afterword

Color Illustrations

About J-Novel Club

Copyright

Landmarks

Color Images

Table of Contents