༺ Confrontation ༻
“So Conrad just let it go easily? Do you often get misunderstood for saying strange things?”
“I don’t think so.”
“Then you probably have a terrible sense of perception. There’s already a few such incidents from what I’ve seen.”
“…”
“Be careful with your words. The way I see it, your campus life will be riddled with all sorts of disasters because of that.”
Well, that was a bit harsh.
I thought while Percy flipped through the production draft I had prepared.
Percy Siston Levantin, the Magic School’s Dean, is a competent researcher recognized by the Mage Tower.
The humankind in the world of Sera had achieved most of their technological development through magic engineering alone. Therefore, being recognized by the Mage Tower, which was the hub of such technology, was a remarkable feat in itself.
I didn’t know if it was because of her achievements in magic, but despite her approaching the age of showing hints of grey hair on her head, she looked no different than a woman in her late 20s.
Well, anyway…
“Are you crazy?”
“…”
“Why would you ask me to make something like this?”
It was, without a doubt, a weird request.
“This is more like a cannon than a bomb. I already thought you went crazy asking for a weapon that could explode the entire Academy. But you also want me to make it all focus on a singular point?”
A valid point, understandable.
It definitely felt more like a portable cannon than a bomb.
Rather than covering a wide area, I wanted it to hit a precise point at the right time.
“The actual production will be done by the internal workshop of the Crafting Department. I just need the Dean to design the explosion source and an outer shell to contain it.”
“That’s the hardest part. It’s already a challenge to prepare that much firepower. Now, you also need a strong container to store that amount of force. Student, do you think I’m a god or something?”
“But you’ve already made something similar before.”
Percy frowned and shut her mouth after hearing my words.
Among the weapons that this person produced at the Mage Tower, products with similar performance had even gone into actual production.
But it was scrapped due to some kind of accident.
After a brief state of silence, Percy said with a hint of difficulty.
“I don’t know how you know that. It was a long time ago.”
“You were a god of magic engineering, so, what happened?”
In fact, if it had not been for this accident, she might have risen to become the successor of the Mage Tower.
No one would be able to complete this request other than Percy.
She was not the Magic School’s Dean just for show after all.
“Frankly, I don’t know if I should say this.”
“…What is it?”
“Well, it’s not like the Dean is the one suffering the most.”
“…”
Percy couldn’t help but clear her throat when I just went straight for it.
And the faces of the students who were working nearby turned pale.
Wherever you go, most of the time, it was the front liners under the managers who got handed a pile of work and suffered the most.
“Anyway, production aside. What are you going to use this weapon for?”
Percy asked with a solemn expression on her face.
This was a valid question. I may have the wish ticket, but if a student asked you to make a destructive weapon, it was natural to be wary.
Actually, its usage was quite simple.
Sera’s chapter bosses tend to come out with all kinds of dirty gimmicks. And in the case of the Purifier, he got especially annoying in the final phase.
They were infamous for constantly troubling players in all sorts of ways. They never seemed to stop no matter how much you thought you had beaten them enough, akin to tenacious cockroaches.
With that being said, this was my solution.
“I need to take down something in one shot.”
“…”
“Well, it’s just that I need to clean something quickly before it becomes a nuisance.”
“…Student, you’re really bad at explaining, aren’t you?”
“…”
I do think I’m being very vague here.
“But there is a reason…”
“I’m sure there is. Alright, I’ll make it for you.”
“…”
Seeing Percy accepting it just like that left me speechless.
As I blinked awkwardly, Percy swept her hair with a sigh.
“Well, the Headmistress has instructed me to cooperate with you, so I’ll be listening to what you say… And I don’t think you’ll misuse it.”
What’s with this high evaluation all of a sudden?
With my eyes wide open, Percy continued with a smile.
“Normal students may not know, but there are quite a few faculty members who knew of the feat you did during the previous monster incident. It’s something that can’t be done with just ordinary courage and skill.”
“… Is that so?”
“Yes. I guess the Headmistress was planning on putting you in some youth love drama, aside from saving the world…”
However, Percy suddenly stopped mid-sentence and shut her mouth tight.
Her complexion immediately changed. As though she had said something she shouldn’t have.
What?
“…Youth love drama? The world, yes?”
“Ah, no, ah, I, I said nothing, nothing! You didn’t hear anything! Forget everything I said!”
Why was she so flustered?
Although her character was a bit clumsy, seeing her act like that made it seem like she had said something she really shouldn’t have.
“More importantly, what about the materials to make this thing!?”
Then Percy hurriedly changed the topic.
“We would need the internal explosives to act as gunpowder. And we need a material that has good strength, junction and elasticity, and magic conductivity for the outer shell! It’ll be really difficult to find them!”
“…For now, please calm down. I’ll pretend I didn’t hear anything.”
I sighed and spoke out.
Although she said those words to change the topic, the point itself was still valid.
The material for the explosion and its container were both important.
‘We should focus on this.’
I fiddled with the black card I received from Atalante previously. It was the key to another world.
If I could get inside, it shouldn’t be that difficult to find the materials that Percy requested.
Surviving inside would be a challenge in itself, but…
‘For that…’
I only needed two things to help me get through.
“Dean, didn’t you say something else when you gave me the wish ticket before?”
“Yes, yeees?!”
“…Didn’t you say that the Hero candidate and I can each pick an item from the Vision Warehouse?”
It was a privilege obtained by breaking the mock battle record.
“Then can I ask you for the items we can take out?”
I wrote the names of two items on a piece of paper as I spoke those words.
These two are subtle when used separately, but had an extreme effect when used in junction with each other.
I may be asking on Iliya’s behalf, but I was carrying her during the mock battle. If she had any complaints, I had my say as well.
“…”
And when Percy saw the item names, she finally regained her composure.
The reason was that it was too absurd.
She might have already understood the reason for taking out these two items.
“… Have you really gone crazy?”
“…”
Ma’am.
Why would you ask me something like that?
Elfante was actually not as strict as one might expect, especially for freshmen.
They guarantee the students the right to self-study rather than forcing them into a confined class. Either way, what they achieve solely depended on them.
‘… It’s quite large.’
That was why I could slack off like this.
Strolling with aching legs, I walked down the hallway.
I was looking for Iliya. I’ll be using the key that Atalante gave me tomorrow, and her cooperation was essential to my plan.
‘Maybe…’
She was probably in the Monster Research Department club room. In the original game, she was a junior in that Department.
But this place was really too damn big. My legs were hurting already, yet there was still a long way to go to before I reached my destination.
As I was musing to myself…
“Ah, are you Dowd Campbell by any chance?”
Someone suddenly called out to me, which sent chills running down my spine.
Turning to see who it was, I saw a man dressed in formal wear approaching me.
He had a polite smile, a kind-looking face, and a gentlemanly demeanor.
He looked like a successful young entrepreneur.
“…”
However, I knew for a fact that this was all on the surface.
Insidiousness disguised as courtesy, malice wrapped in benevolence, and hostility masked using politeness.
“I was looking for you, but it’s a coincidence to meet you here.”
Bullshit.
He must have been monitoring my every move. The odds of such a coincidental meeting with this person occurring in a hallway with no one around were next to none.
“… Do you know me?”
“Ah, forgive me for the late introduction. I am Galdier Riverback. I run a charity foundation called the House of Purification.”
He handed me a business card while speaking those words.
Oh, I know you, alright.
Marquis Galdier Riverback.
The big boss of Chapter 1— the Purifier, and the leader of the devil-worshipping cult PURIFIER.1 There are two “Purifier” but they are spelled differently in Korean so I’ll just capitalize the cult name like how the author spelled out the word.
The charity foundation was just a money-laundering front for the cult.
…
Yeah, whatever.
What’s important here was why he suddenly appeared in this place.
What does he want from me?
“I have had a great interest in Mr. Dowd Campbell for some time now. I have been wanting to contact you, but the opportunity never presented itself.”
Despite not having said a word, Marquis Riverback had already led the conversation in his direction.
“I have a story I would like to share. Would you mind joining me for a meal sometime?”
“… It’s fine, you can just say it here.”
“That won’t do, unfortunately. It’s for charity. The House of Purification supports talented students so that they are not constrained by things like finances.”
Marquis Riverback smiled, and even bowed slightly. His courteous attitude remained despite my rough response.
“… My reputation isn’t really that good, I’m sure you’ve heard of it.”
This was what the Academy was promoting and disguising my reputation as. I was sure that the truth hadn’t leaked and the knowledge of it was limited.
However, Marquis Riverback continued to smile without hesitation.
“It is a feat in itself to attract public opinion to that extent.”
“…”
“Our foundation can definitely provide Mr. Dowd Campbell with a great opportunity. Could you please reconsider?”
I rotated the business card in my hand several times without answering.
How sus could you be by saying that having a shit reputation was a skill?
It was a proposal that didn’t make any sense other than showing interest in me.
‘This.’
This event was also present in the original story.
Marquis Riverback did this same thing to woo someone. In the game, Iliya got involved in this too, which led to an important branch of the chapter.
And now it was happening to me.
I didn’t know the reason, however.
“… I’ll think about it.”
Marquis Riverback grinned at my reply and politely bowed again.
“I look forward to a positive response.”
Watching the polite man’s departing back, I turned over the business card I had received.
3 days later. Twilight Iris. A high-end restaurant located inside the city area outside the campus.
It looked like he rented the whole restaurant. Marquis Riverback was quite famous for his wealth after all.
“…”
I silently weighed the situation in my head.
Avoiding events tied to the main scenario would result in a significant penalty. There was virtually no option for me but to go through it.
“…”
Why did I always end up like this?
Was the whole world banding against me?
I massaged my head. I’ve been having frequent migraines as of late.
‘… I’ll have to prepare everything I can.’
Well, there was no point in weighing the options now. As usual, it was do or die.
I still had 3 days to spare. Until then, I needed to think of what I could do.
Gathering the information I know and applying it to the current situation.
Calculate the risk. Calculate the returns.
‘…It’s not impossible.’
The plan itself would not change much. I still needed to go to the other world with Iliya tomorrow and collect the materials.
Then I just needed to wait for the thing to be made and strengthened.
But, after that…
“…”
I needed one more thing.
I changed my course. There was someone I needed to find first before going to Iliya.
Soon, I arrived at the infirmary and knocked on the door.
“Eleanor. Are you there?”
“… Dowd?”
Eleanor’s startled voice came from the inside.
I heard that after fighting the Dean and passing out, she was attached to the bed the whole day.
“…What is it? Hold on. I’ll be right there.”
“No need, please rest easy. It’s just a simple matter.”
“What is it? Is something the matter?”
“Are you free in three days?”
“…Eung?”
“Can you go somewhere with me? It’s at Twilight Iris.”
Eleanor went silent inside the room.
There was a long silence along with heavy breathing.
Then, a slightly trembling voice sounded.
“… Isn’t that the famous dating place, no, a very expensive restaurant? Why would you go there…”
“Nothing in particular, I just wanted to go there with you.”
There was a loud sound from inside the room; as if something had fallen.
“…”
Why was this person acting like this?
“…Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.”
“…”
Right. That was a relief.
“Then I’ll see you in three days…?”
“…Okay.”
I stepped back after hearing her voice which sounded a bit different than usual.
‘…But I’ve secured the most important person.’
The rest was just gathering the means to use in the plan.
All right.
It looked like the next three days were going to be pretty busy for me.
Footnotes:
