༺ Crossroads ༻
“Um, hey… kid?”
“I’m not a kid!”
After being dragged by the kid and running for a while, I started to feel out of breath.
“…Are you getting tired?”
Feeling my body weaken a little, Glare, who had been dragging me, tilted her head and asked.
“You seemed quite strong before…”
Indeed, someone who could even take on the second-in-command of the Demon King’s army heaving and panting was indeed odd.
But currently, I was purposely conserving my ‘Blessing of the Stars.’
I needed to recover and save my strength for the massive battle ahead.
“Huff.”
This kid, for some reason, was getting on my nerves.
She could be ‘a coincidence’ or a game-changer, but right now, she was just a headache.
If she kept sticking to me like this, it would be bad.
She was in the prime of her youth, she could get tangled in bad rumors and face difficulties when making friends.
And if she grew attached to me, this cute kid might get caught up in the Fourth Ordeal.
‘I can’t let this go on.’
I’ve let her be because of our past connection, and she reminded me of my younger sister, but I couldn’t let this continue.
For her sake and mine, I needed to draw the line now.
“Kid, listen.”
“I’m not a kid… I’m a big girl…”
I began talking with a cold expression, and she started to stammer.
“Listen.”
I grabbed her shoulder and pulled her towards me, then I whispered quietly as I showed her my left arm, which had been gathering dark energy.
“I’m not the pitiable or amazing person you think I am.”
“Is that so?”
“Enough, stop with your unnecessary meddling. I’ve been patient enough, but there’s a limit to my patience.”
After saying that, I turned around and sharpened my gaze.
“Now… it’s your turn.”
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})– Kwaang!!
Immediately after saying that, I grabbed my walking stick and slammed it hard on the ground.
“Argh…!”
“Kugh!”
“W-What is this power…!”
The students who had been following me stealthily collapsed all at once from the shockwave.
“…Sigh.”
There was no need for a finishing blow. With just one strike, all the students who were charging at me were subdued.
In the first place, the strong ones would’ve gauged my power and chosen not to attack recklessly, so it was only natural that only the weaker ones would be here. This outcome was somewhat predictable.
But wasn’t this a bit much?
I was outnumbered in the fight, but I subdued them all in one hit?
“…”
Feeling a strange sense of unease, I realized the students were giving me cold stares.
“What are you looking at?”
As I glared back at them even harder, their heads dropped silently.
“You all attacked at once and still lost. Shouldn’t you at least feel some shame?”
That was the reaction I expected and was hoping for, so the corners of my mouth twitched upward.
“You shouldn’t feel such petty anger.”
Saying this in a mockingtone, the students started to squirm.
But no one dared to step forward.
Because they had just been defeated by me in a single move.
“How pitiful.”
After firmly nailing down my point with a low voice to these eager yet inexperienced kids, I quietly pressed on my left arm.
– Sizzle…
Dark energy began to flow out of my left arm.
“Today, I will mark each of you with a slave’s seal.”
The students, who were watching me with dazed eyes, turned pale as I said this.
“T-That’s illegal…”
– Swish…
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})“…Ah.”
Before they could argue, the slave’s seal was imprinted into everyone’s arms, leaving a variety of expressions on their faces.
Needless to say, none of those expressions were positive.
‘Now that I’ve marked them with the seal of slavery, I can make them work hard.’
I quietly took in their expressions, planning how to educate them when the school reopened.
“Hmm?”
I felt someone running towards me from behind, so I tilted my head and stretched out my hand.
“Eek!”
Suddenly, a kid popped out from nowhere.
“H-How did you know?”
She clung to my arm and asked, her eyes sparkling with curiosity.
“Not many people can see through my stealth technique…”
“…Sigh.”
It was indeed an extraordinary stealth technique. In fact, it was nearly perfect.
Even I wouldn’t have noticed her if I hadn’t detected the faintest trace of her technique.
‘Could it be… she deliberately led those kids here?’
Now that I thought about it, it was her plan to grab me and take me here.
I thought she was just rushing somewhere, but she led me to a flat area, perfect for amplifying mana and shockwaves.
It could be a coincidence, but looking at her pleased smile, it seemed unlikely to be just that.
“What do I do now…?”
Despite dangling in mid-air, she smiled mischievously and then whispered.
“It seems I’ve lost to you, Professor.”
She looked up at me and cautiously tried to kick my stomach.
– Thud!
“Hehe… I can’t even resist anymore.”
But her small act of defiance was easily blocked by my other hand. She smiled awkwardly and scratched her head.
“So, am I Professor’s slave now?”
“What?”
“I heard that students who attack and lose to the Professor become ‘slaves,’ right?”
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"})With one of her arms and legs caught, she murmured with her gaze down.
“I’ve used up all my mana creating traps here, so I’m helpless now.”
“What are you…”
Contrary to her words, I could still feel an immense amount of mana from her, enough to surround the area.
It was so vast that any skilled mage might mistake it for the mana in the environment.
“I have no choice but to become a slave.”
I was about to ask what this was all about, but her words left me speechless.
“Please make me your slave, Professor.”
What should I do with this cheeky kid?
The answer was actually quite simple. Just as I made those who trusted me to turn their backs in the end, I needed to be cold to her.
I had only failed twice with this method.
Serena and Isolet were an exception. So, I knew very well how to deal with this kid.
“…Professor?”
But why was I hesitating so much?
I thought it was because I was inherently soft towards kids of this age because they reminded me of my younger sister. Or maybe it was due to receiving kindness for the first time in a long while, or possibly because of our past connection.
But it seemed like it was more than just that.
For some reason, I was instinctively reluctant to treat this child harshly.
“If I become your slave, Professor, what should I do first? Washing dishes? Cleaning? Running errands? Or maybe…”
Looking at her mischievous smile, something I remembered as ‘pure’ from the past, I kept thinking. Finally, I made up my mind and exerted force into my left arm.
– Sizzle…
Simultaneously, a dark energy arose.
“Hmm?”
But something was odd.
– Zzzzzz…
The dark energy leaking from my arm dissipated, unable to get close to the little kid.
“What is this…?”
At the same time, a faint but glittering light started emanating from her body.
“Indeed, looking into the Professor’s eyes reminds me of that person.”
In this situation, the kid now had a serious expression and whispered softly.
“The one who saved me that day…”
With that, cold sweat started to run down my face.
“Frey!”
A familiar voice rang out from behind me.
“…What’s going on?”
Confused, I turned around to see Clana, looking anxious.
“O-Oh no… if I lose to her too, it’s over for me…”
Almost tearful, Clana grabbed the hem of her skirt and rushed towards me, then quickly changed her expression as she started drawing attention.
“What misdeeds are you up to now?”
“…I’m just teaching them.”
“Don’t lie, you shameless human being.”
To the public, she was still my enemy.
Clana wanted to openly support me, but it would’ve halved her popularity, so I desperately tried to stop her.
“…Huh?”
Then, Glare looked at her with a strange expression.
“Didn’t you praise him the last time…”
“I-It can’t be helped now that it’s like this.”
When Glare muttered so, Clana quickly switched the subject with a coy look on her face.
“As much as I hate it… I have to take you away today.”
There was a moment of silence.
“So that’s how it is, the love-hate relationship of adults…”
“Oh, Glare? Hello?”
“Eek!”
Breaking the silence, Clana hooked her arm with Glare and smiled. Then she started talking with a confident and adult-like expression.
“Do you remember that we agreed to be friends last time?”
“Ah… Yes.”
“That’s right, Frey. This cute ‘little kid’ is my friend. So, treat her right, okay?”
She spoke with a stern look, but then shrunk under my gaze, and I couldn’t help but laugh.
“I-If you must… to me…”
“How adorable.”
“…!?”
At my teasing words, Clana blushed bright red, looking as if she had malfunctioned.
“E-Even if you say that, it doesn’t make me happy at all… Ooh…”
“…A note.”
As I watched the kid pull out a notebook with a sullen expression, I immediately sighed and gently hooked arms with Clana.
“…!!!”
Clana hardened like a statue.
“It’s been a while since… I’ve been treated properly… Hehe…”
She lowered her head, giggling.
A mix of various expensive perfumes and a sweet smell wafted over from her. It seemed like she also mixed in pheromone magic.
“So, why are you here?”
“…Ah.”
I asked softly and tried to soothe Clana. She, despite looking primed and proud, looks sullen after a long day at work. Then she opened her eyes wide and whispered.
“We need to get out of here as soon as possible.”
“Huh?”
“Serena, Irina, and Kania are waiting in the carriage. I’ll explain on the way. It’s urgent.”
Her voice was tense, so I nodded seriously, dropping the playful attitude.
“Let’s go then…”
“Professor.”
As I watched Clana burning with determination to protect me, and was about to walk with her towards the carriage, the kid called out to me, and I turned around.
“…What’s that?”
An amazing sight unfolded before me.
“Hehe.”
The little kid floated my stellar mana with the slave seal in the air.
“Hmm… this seems difficult…”
She tried to attach the seal to her arm, but it kept falling off due to her light, causing her to look troubled.
“Then…”
After a few seconds, she looked at the seal with a determined look.
“Nyam.”
In the blink of an eye, she swallowed the seal that had been floating around.
“It worked!”
She then rubbed her stomach, and smacked her lips.
“From today onwards, I am your slave, Professor!”
Clana, still arm-in-arm with me, flinched at these words.
“…Be my assistant instead.”
“Ugh.”
When I finally responded, the kid made a strange noise, scratched her head, and muttered.
“Is that better…?”
It seemed like I’ve gained a troublesome assistant.
.
.
.
.
.
“That kid just now, she tore off the slave seal and floated it in the air, right?”
“Yeah, I guess?”
As we walked away from the square towards the carriage, I glanced back at Glare, who was following us, and asked Clana, who responded while breaking out in a cold sweat.
“Even Irina… can’t do that, right? Or can she?”
“L-Let’s ask her in the carriage later. For now…”
Continuously looking back at Glare behind them, Clana felt something strange and began moving closer and closer to Frey.
“…”
Soon, the two of them were forced to stop at a crossroad, not far from the carriage.
“Oh, hello there.”
On the left path, Ruby, who was chatting with Aria, waved at us with a smile.
“…”
And on the right path, Roswyn was sitting on a bench with a blank expression.
“…This is driving me crazy.”
Frey’s forehead began to crease.
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