Chapter 57

Chapter 57

Mandragora

When I came to my senses and opened my eyes, I saw the classroom.

Around me were the members of Team 4, whom I had been fighting until just now.

Seeing Yuri’s face too, it seemed the mock battle had completely ended.

“Zeto... That at the end...”

Yuri, who had been standing nearby, approached me and spoke in a somewhat worried voice.

Yuri was talking about Chapter Two, which had cut down her team members.

[ You did not cut her despite being able to... So you intended to take second place like this from the very beginning. ]

After Yuri, Sierra’s voice rang in my head, her eyes narrowed.

When facing Team 4, unlike the previous Team 1, they had been close and not scattered, so there was time left over from Chapter Two.

Naturally, I could have cut Yuri down, but I did not.

Because I was aiming for second place.

Rather, in order to get more severe side effects, I deliberately used it past the time limit.

In the end, it flowed exactly as I had intended to perform it.

My sword stopped aimed at Yuri’s neck, and soon after, I spat blood.

Yuri’s face was stiff.

It seemed she did not understand why I attacked and then collapsed by myself while spewing blood, and she was worried as well.

On top of that, I had spat more blood than expected.

“I pushed myself because I took into account that this was illusion magic, so you do not need to worry too much.”

I smiled at Yuri and spoke as if it was nothing.

“...”

“Congratulations on first place.”

“Mm-hm...”

At my heartfelt congratulations, Yuri answered uncertainly.

I needed to go through the process as naturally as possible, while gaining as much benefit as possible.

Thanks to that, I was able to practice Chapter Two... and I learned what would happen if I pushed myself further when recovery had not been completed.

“That was quite astonishing speed. I thought you would use the technique you showed during your previous sparring match...”

Orphel, who was standing beside Yuri, spoke to me.

Perhaps Orphel could say such a thing because he had a technique capable of reacting to that speed from just now.

It was magic that made several shields made of water and ice orbit around his body, and it had good defensive power, automatically blocking attacks independent of the caster’s will.

Since I had not used Orphel as an ally often, I could not remember the name of the spell.

Of course, I had dispel, so whether that magic would work against me was a different matter.

Even when we fought just now, I had been seeing weaknesses in Orphel’s and Yuri’s magic.

“...Everyone must be waiting, so let us return to our seats.”

I said that to the dazed Yuri and Orphel, then returned to where the students were.

“Over here, Zeto!”

Then Crank, who was holding some kind of bread, called me.

Amon, Crank, and Lucia were all eating bread together.

Drawn by Crank’s call, I sat down.

As soon as I sat, Crank held out something wrapped in a paper bag to me.

I accepted it and opened my mouth.

“What is this? It smells good.”

“Bread. Aren’t you hungry?”

“Ah, thank you. I’ll enjoy it.”

When did he go buy bread?

It was hard to resist the pressure of Crank holding out bread with such a generous smile.

Seeing Amon quietly eating bread too, it seemed he had not been able to resist Crank either.

“Mr. Zeto... I’m sorry... If not for me...”

Lucia took a bite of bread and began tearing up.

“It’s all right. Everyone tried hard.”

I said this and patted Lucia’s back.

If anything, I was grateful to Lucia.

Thanks to her, I had been able to take second place far more naturally. Still, I did not want to be on the same team next time.

“Anyway, if Lucia is left alone, she will have one big moment someday...”

As I was thinking back on Lucia’s future, Amon spoke to me.

“Taking second place while leading Lucia is already something. I did not do anything well either, so I have nothing to say. Zeto, I am only sorry toward you.”

“No. I should have led better as the leader.”

I answered Amon in a calm voice.

“The play seems to have ended well.”

When I looked back at the situation because Amon seemed strangely accepting...

...This guy Amon had zero kills.

Crank was an exception, since he died before combat.

Lucia had one ally kill... and right before dying, she somehow killed one of Team 4’s members, making a total of two kills.

Amon died after blindly charging Orphel.

As a result, the only thing Amon did during the mock battle was create “Vroomy.”

At this absurd situation, laughter naturally slipped out.

While having trivial conversations with my team members, I naturally observed the faces of the other students.

Yuri had kept the same uncertain face from earlier.

I should have spat a more reasonable amount of blood.

It felt as if I had made her worry for nothing.

Eisel, who was with Team 3, had her head lowered deeply and was not moving.

Suddenly, Edward opened his mouth and drew the attention of the students chatting with their team members.

“Now, with this, the small-scale mock battle has ended. Combat was harder than expected, wasn’t it? As promised, Team 4, who seized glorious first place, will be given the chance to choose weapons from the armory! Today’s class ends here... and the leader of Team 2, who unfortunately placed second, please come here to receive your reward. Team 4, please remain in the classroom for a moment.”

Edward’s unusually long class ended like this.

Students unrelated to the rewards began leaving the classroom one by one.

“...”

Among those leaving the classroom was Eisel too.

Had she not planned to go to a cafe with Yuri?

In any case, Eisel had fought some unknown enemy, so she must be tired.

Yuri would soon go to the armory too, so perhaps Eisel was taking this opportunity to get a good rest.

Eisel’s expression was sullen as usual, so I could not tell what she was thinking.

I stopped glancing at Eisel leaving the classroom and approached Edward.

Then Edward handed me the mandragoras and said something like, “That seemed like quite a dangerous technique,” telling me to pay more attention when using it.

There were four mandragora roots wrapped in cloth in total.

There were four team members, so one per person.

Even more, judging by the strength circulating through my body, it seemed I had leveled up too.

I immediately opened the status window and checked.

I had risen one level, reaching level 27.

It was a number that naturally brought a smile to my face.

It was the best possible full stop.

***

[...Did you ask whether you can use body reinforcement while using Chapter Two?...It is possible, but the casting time will decrease by that much. However, with your current skill, it seems impossible. ]

At my question, Sierra smiled as if she had heard something amusing, then gave a rather firm answer.

After class ended, I returned directly to the dormitory and was talking with Sierra.

The topic was Chapter Two of Rebellion Against Heaven.

In any case, Chapter Two was a technique that increased the body’s speed tenfold.

I thought that if I reinforced my body with mana normally, increasing the speed of the body itself, I could see an even greater effect.

However, to use Rebellion Against Heaven, I had to twist the flow of mana.

While using Chapter Two this time, I had felt that body reinforcement was impossible in a state where the mana flow was twisted, so I asked this question.

But since Sierra said it was possible, it seemed to be a matter of skill level.

In other words, lack of proficiency.

The students were still in the early part of the story and in the middle of growing. Also, since it was a technique they had experienced for the first time, they could not react properly, but the enemies I would have to face from now on were a different story.

Among them, there would be those who could respond to Chapter Two’s current speed as much as they liked.

I guessed that Sierra, who had created Rebellion Against Heaven, had made such a technique to catch up to the Sword Saint’s speed.

She must have especially considered the bizarre draw techniques unique to the Sword Saint’s swordsmanship.

There had never been a scene in the game where the Sword Saint fought, but since I had seen Kaen, his disciple, use the Sword Saint’s swordsmanship... I could roughly guess what level it was.

Well, the Sword Saint was a matter for the distant future.

For now, my goal was to build my body and grow so that I could freely use both Chapter One and Chapter Two without burden.

[ But... can you truly eat all three...? ]

Sierra looked at the three mandragoras on the desk with revulsion.

I had obtained no less than three mandragoras.

“Take it, as I said earlier.”

Amon gave me one.

“We only got this thanks to you, Mr. Zeto, so please accept it...!”

Lucia gave me one too.

“I do not think I deserve to receive it either...”

Even Crank tried to hand me his mandragora, but I did not accept that one.

Instead, I advised him that if he sold it at an auction house outside the academy on the weekend, it would fetch quite a bit of money.

Amon and Lucia may have been bombs, but to me, they were gift bombs.

“...Does it taste that bad?”

I asked this while covering my nose.

In truth... I could tell just from the smell.

Still, perhaps only the smell was terrible.

At my foolish question, Sierra deeply furrowed her brow and opened her mouth.

[ Ugh... Even describing the taste is difficult. Do not ask me. Eat it yourself. ]

Sierra hated even remembering the taste of mandragora.

For now, I picked up a mandragora.

Its bizarre appearance made it look unpleasant at a glance.

Before long, the mandragora touched my tongue.

The taste of mandragora was... not simply bitter and astringent. It tasted just as foul as it smelled.

Still, thinking only of the time limit of Chapter Two increasing, I forced myself to chew.

[ Y-your grit is no ordinary thing...! To think you did not gag even once... ]

Sierra, who had been rubbing her chin, looked at me with a serious face.

I was simply holding back the gagging.

How had I obtained this? There was no way I would spit it out.

Still, unlike the lycanthrope eyeball, it was fortunate that the texture was ordinary.

Perhaps it should be called fortunate, but from the second mandragora onward, my tongue seemed to have gone numb, and I could no longer taste anything.

By the time the third mandragora finally went down my throat, all the strength had drained from my body.

I still could not feel my stamina or mana increasing.

“Does it really have an effect...?”

The thought circling in my head slipped out of my mouth.

[ Who knows. I think the energy should begin turning soon. ]

Sierra shook her hair and answered in a gentle voice.

“What happens when the energy turns?”

[ Your body will burn with heat... and you will want to consume the energy overflowing inside you... But if you consume the energy, the effect will decrease by that much, so stay still. ]

No sooner had Sierra finished speaking than sweat began forming on my forehead.

Heat was rising through my body.

Since she said to rest well, I immediately lay down on the bed.

Even though I wanted to stay still, my body began itching to move, and it did not seem easy.

On top of that, because it was so hot, I eventually took off my shirt.

No matter what, since Sierra was there, I could not take off my pants.

Sierra, who had been watching me, approached slowly with a calm expression and lay against my shoulder.

Whenever I lay down, she always lay with me like this.

Then Sierra raised her index finger and traced it over my skin.

“Master, that tickles.”

[ I am merely examining my disciple’s body as his master... ]

Sierra said that, but for some reason, her face looked slightly red.

The one who had eaten the mandragora was me, not Sierra.

“Will I even be able to sleep...?”

Ever since I met Sierra, every night seemed to feel long.

***

I was able to fully absorb the mandragoras.

In the game, one simply ate them, stamina and mana increased, and that was the end. If Sierra had not told me not to consume the energy, I might not have seen the full effect.

My body showed no visible changes, but for some reason, I could feel it had grown at least a little sturdier.

The results were satisfying too.

The limit of Chapter Two had increased greatly, all the way to nine seconds.

Even if I used it in three-second intervals, it meant I could use it three times.

Although I lost consciousness while figuring out my limit, thanks to that, I was able to experience Sierra’s soft lap pillow once again.

As a bonus, my mana increased too, so I could use Chapter One with a little more leeway.

It was fortunate that all of this finished before the field trip.

With this much, I could feel at ease until the second boss.

The same went for the possible existence of Varsium.

Time passed and passed, until the day before the field trip.

I was waiting for someone in a deep alley where people’s eyes rarely reached.

[ Truly, why must we wait in a place like this... ]

At the same time Sierra grumbled, a woman entered the alley at just the right moment.

Well, considering the relationship between me and her, I thought it was a place she would rather like.

With every step she took, her pink twin tails swayed along with her.

It was Kaen.

Soon, Kaen leaned against the opposite wall and opened her mouth.

“What is it? Do you need... my body again...?”

As Kaen continued speaking, both her cheeks turned red.

“Something that needs her body, huh.”

Kaen was asking if there was an incident outside the academy that had to be resolved.

She did not need to force herself to express it like that, but perhaps she had taken it as a kind of code.

“Haha, I do not need your body. Tomorrow is the field trip, after all....It is just this.”

I held out an item to Kaen.

Soon, Kaen accepted the item and showed confusion.

“Gloves...?”

“A reward for what happened last time... I suppose. They should help when handling a sword. I am not sure if the design suits your taste. As you can see, my eyes see nothing. The material was good.”

The gloves Kaen received had a stylish design and were ink-black in color.

“Gloves Holding Darkness.”

It was an item that increased both defense and attack in balanced measure.

As a bonus, it had the effect of slightly amplifying attack power at night.

Since we would often leave the academy at night, it could be considered more effective.

Since she was a swordswoman like me, it was a little unfortunate that usable items overlapped, but what could be done?

If I intended to work her hard from now on too, giving her rewards was right.

“Hmm...”

Kaen immediately put on the gloves and examined her hands this way and that.

For now, she was only letting out a low hum, but she definitely looked pleased.

“If it is a reward, well... I won’t refuse. Thank you.”

Kaen, examining the gloves, spoke quietly.

Even if she said it so indifferently, it showed all over her face.

Kaen could not take her eyes off the gloves. In any case, it was like her to like something as long as it looked cool.

“More importantly...”

Just as I was about to end the conversation, Kaen trailed off.

When I tilted my head, Kaen approached me and whispered in my ear.

“Has any information come in from your informant...? Like information on enemies in the North, where we are going for the field trip...”

“Ah, information... I am looking into the North. Still... I should know before we board the airship.”

I roughly evaded the question.

She was completely immersed in the “setting” I had invented.

There had never been an informant in the first place.

“Should I make use of her during this field trip too?”

It was good for me if Kaen acted actively.

I would need to examine whether there was anything I might need her for before boarding the airship.

“Then, please call me whenever you need my body. Or I can come find you on the airship....I received the reward well.”

With that whisper as the last, Kaen left the alley.

She was acting like a member of a secret organization operating in the shadows.

...As long as Kaen was not suspicious, that was enough.

“Fort Polrwin.”

The place we would visit on the field trip, and the place where the second boss lurked.

A lich frozen in the cold of the North was waiting for me.

It seemed I would become busy again.