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Translated by Tods
Edited by Phantom0408
Weena Rhyn led us to what appeared to be her office. Fran then sat on a sofa in one corner of the room and faced Weena Rhyn.
「I’d like to introduce myself again. I’m Weena Rhyn. I’m the Director of the Academy of Magic」
「B-ranked adventurer, Fran. And this is Urushi」
『My name is Master, and I’m an intelligence weapon』
「Master? Is that your name?」
『Yeah』
「I’ve been called President, Headmaster, or Director too. So, I know how you feel」
Just as I expected, Weena Rhyn’s reaction towards me was a little weak. Well, it’s not like I don’t like it when people aren’t surprised when they find out about me, but she’s much calmer than the people who have seen or know who I am.
But I soon found out why.
「This is the first time in a thousand years since I’ve seen an intelligence weapon capable of having a proper conversation」
『You know any other intelligence weapons besides me?』
「Well, I’ve lived a long life after all. I know more than what I can hold in one hand. You’re the second sword that I’ve seen that is capable of having a proper conversation. Most intelligence weapons have gone mad after all…」
What a surprise, it seemed that she had met an Intelligence Weapon many times before. I guess that was why she wasn’t terribly surprised to know about me.
But still, the mad intelligence weapon, Fanatics, also said that when a person’s consciousness was in the body of a sword, there’s a good chance they’ll go mad. I feel like I want to meet the other intelligence weapons, but I also feel scared at the same time…
However, I could tell that the Intelligence Weapons were not new to her. Rather, it seemed that Weena Rhyn’s interest was in Urushi.
Urushi, who was sitting next to Fran in his small form, was stared at by Weena Rhyn. Well, Urushi felt nervous when he was being looked at.
「What’s wrong with Urushi?」
「Eh? Well, this is the first time I’ve seen this species. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a magic beast that was completely new to me, you know? Well, forget about that, there’s something you want to know more than that, right?」
「Are you sure it’s fine to leave Zelos Reed to Colt?」
「It’s fine. I’ve used my skill to seal off the evil spirits within him and bind his actions, and the spirit here is watching over him too」
Just as I thought, it seems that the reason why Zelos Reed’s evil spirit was suppressed was as a result of something Weena Rhyn had done. On top of that, he seemed to be bound by a kind of slave contract. Moreover, she had a spirit watching over him.
「I didn’t limit his ability to talk properly, but his strange quietness has shown that he’s obeying me. Well, when you attacked him, he didn’t fight back, right? That’s because fighting is not allowed in the academy」
Indeed, Zelos Reed did nothing more than put out his hand to block our attack. After our first attack failed, there must have been plenty of opportunities for him to counterattack.
『In the first place, why is Zelos Reed here?』
「It all started the day before yesterday」
Weena Rhyn has received word that a dangerous criminal was hiding in the Self-governing region. He was not well known in this country, but there was a bounty on his head in other countries.
It was said that adventurers had already set out to capture him, but had been repelled many times. Even if there were no deaths, his power was considered to be overwhelming.
So, this time, Weena Rhyn herself went out to catch him. Because of her flashiness and numerous heroic stories, people tend to think that Weena Rhyn was always ready to respond to any situation, but she said that if there was an incident outside of the Academy that could be handled by someone other than her, then she would leave it to them.
「Otherwise, the younger generation will not grow up. And I don’t have time to deal with every little incident, you know?」
Conversely, Weena Rhyn would only respond if it was a much more serious incident.
Weena Rhyn then used her magic and other means to find Zelos Reed and captured him after a battle. But she also learned that Zelos Reed had a companion.
「A kid named Romio?」
「Yes, Romio Magnolia, I’ve decided to take him under my protection」
So, he was still bringing him around after all this time, huh?
I’ve heard that Weena Rhyn likes children, and I could understand her decision to protect Romio. If it were Amanda, who likes children too, she would have also done the same.
However, Fran was still confused.
「Is there a reason why I shouldn’t kill Zelos Reed yet?」
「That’s the problem… There’s a connection between Romio and him that’s close to a master-slave contract. And a nasty one at that, where if one of them gets hurt, the other one will get hurt too」
「Zelos Reed did that?」
「I think it’s the opposite. Romio might be the one who unconsciously made a deal, I guess it’s kind of a curse possessed by Magnolia’s bloodline…」
『How is that possible? He’s just a little kid, right? And what this all about Magnolia’s bloodline?』
I know he’s from a noble bloodline, but what’s so special about his family?
「A long time ago, there was a special family on the continent of Gordisia that guarded the seal of the pieces of the Evil God. Magnolia, Wisteria, and Camellia. The people of those three families had a special bloodline that could communicate with the Evil Gods and control their power. They have taken advantage of that characteristic to perform a ritual to appease the Evil Gods… However, the Dragonmen destroyed and stole the pieces from them」
The pieces of the Evil God that Trismegistus used to create the giant magic beasts must have been the pieces that those three houses were guarding.
「And this child, Romio, was a descendant of that Magnolia Family. Moreover, his blood was pretty strong that I even thought he was a reincarnation of his ancestor」
Could it be that it was because of that blood that Murellia and Zelos Reed were strangely obsessed with Romio? No, I’m sure it was.
「Anyway, as long as that contract was still in place, killing him will only get Romio killed too」
And apparently, that was not all.
It seems that Romio’s young body had been contaminated with evil from spending so much time with Zelos Reed. After all, there’s a phenomenon of intoxication by being exposed to strong evil, and it seems that Romio’s condition was even worse than that.
It was life-threatening if it was not cured, but because of the contract, it was dangerous to keep them apart for a long period of time.
So, in the end, to protect and treat Romio at the academy, it was necessary to have Zelos Reed close to him.
「So I decided to use my power to significantly suppress Zelos Reed’s power and keep them in the academy until Romio is healed… I’m going to treat him as a temporary employee. I’ll also explain to you why I doing something like this」
「Nn」
「First of all, this Academy of Magic is protected by a powerful guardian spirit and its dependent spirits. So, there must be hundreds of spirits guarding and watching over the academy」
『Could it be, the mysterious attack that first blocked Fran’s attack was…』
「The High Ranking one was in charge of watching over Zelos Reed. And in your case, it was just trying to stop an outsider from committing violence in the academy rather than protecting Zelos Reed」
So that’s why I couldn’t see it! Moreover, if it was a High-Ranking spirit, it must be quite strong. And wasn’t it quite dangerous if it could attack stealthy from anywhere?
But it seems, Fran managed to look at it faintly. No, maybe it was just a faint feeling, huh? Perhaps because of our stay in that inn, Fran got the ability to sense spirits.
『Fran, did you see the spirit?』
「…I only felt something strange」
「Ara? Maybe Fran has a talent as a spirit user」
「Really?」
「I’m just saying it’s possible. For example, how about this?」
Weena Rhyn then pointed her fingertips lightly at the ceiling. All I could see was a slight movement of magic, but I don’t know what’s happening.
However, Fran could definitely see something.
「It looks hazy」
「Hmm, you can only roughly see it, huh? But it seems you can feel it」
Maybe Fran really has a talent as a spirit user, huh? I’d really like to see her use it.
「How to be able to see them?」
「Hmm… Let’s see… All I can say is that you need to be in contact with spirits and be aware of them at all times. Some people say that you need to have a pure heart, but to be more precise, some spirits like people who have a pure heart. In the first place, many spirits don’t care whether we are good or bad」
「Is that so?」
「Yes. Think about it. Do you think that spirits would care about the values, crimes, and laws that the peoples have set for themselves? The same goes for the guardian spirits of this academy. Their defense ethics have nothing to do with right or wrong. First and foremost is the safety of those involved in the academy as specified in the contract. Next is the people’s safety, which is its high priority. No matter what the reason, the guardian spirits will not tolerate any hostile acts」
Moreover, the defense system was not limited to the spirit’s surveillance network.
「And I, myself, am part of that defense system」
「?」
Weena Rhyn then explained further to Fran and Urushi who looked confused.
「To put it simply, the guardian spirits will determine if someone is an enemy, and I will be the one to impose sanctions. That’s how it works. That’s also the reason why I attacked Fran earlier
ranslated by Tods
Edited by Phantom0408
Special thanks to the translation Supporter: Asekhan
It seems that if an outsider attacked the academy, Weena Rhyn had to deal with them. To fulfil the contract with the spirits, she couldn’t stop attacking until the spirit decided that the sanction was sufficient.
「The spirit’s eyes can’t be deceived, so in some cases, I have to kill them against my will」
In addition, the spirits could read the emotions of the enemy and even determine if they were feeling remorse or if they were lying.
In other words, the degree of sanction would be rather severe against those who had surrendered but thought that they could get revenge later.
The degree of the sanction also varied considerably depending on the position of the other party and the degree of hostility.
If a hostile organization hurts a student in the academy, they were doomed, no questions asked. However, if it was someone friendly to the school… For example, if a graduate raised their hand because a student mocked them, a simple apology was all that was needed.
In some cases, the academy may be at fault, but that doesn’t seem to matter to the spirits who judge the degree of sanction. Even if the other party was a Saint, a felon, or even the King, the sanction would still be enforced.
「It was impossible to keep him, an evil person, in the academy without a title. Just being Romio’s guardian was not enough to convince the spirits, so he needed the title of a temporary staff member」
「Even Zelos Reed, can be a staff member?」
「Aah, you mean, is it fine for us to accept a sinner?」
「Nn」
「You see, as I said before, laws made by humans are meaningless to the spirits that judge them. In addition, if you are talking about him who has taken the lives of many people, the number of people that I have directly taken is hundreds of times greater than the number of people that he has killed」
Weena Rhyn then shrugged her shoulders after saying so.
「I’ve traveled around the world for a long time, fought on countless battlefields, and fought against countries. Even now, some countries still have me listed as a terrible criminal」
Come to think of it, she had also killed a nobleman who messed with the academy, right? Well, no wonder she would be considered as their enemy.
「And such a person is acting as the Director of the academy, right? Well, it just goes to show that spirits don’t care what kind of sins you’ve committed」
As a result, Fran, an outsider who had attacked Zelos Reed, who was now an academy employee, had triggered the sanctions.
「But there is one thing I owe you an apology for」
「What is it?」
「 To lessen the sanctions against you, I misled the guardian spirit, Berthoudi, by pretending that you were related to the Academy. Specifically, it’s when I said, “To you, who have been offered a position as a special instructor and a short-term transfer plan”. Instead of treating you like someone from outside the academy who almost killed someone from the academy, I decided to treat you like someone from the academy that got into a fight with someone from here」
(TLN: Reference ch544)
I see. So, there was a loophole like that, huh? She had a letter of introduction from Alistair, and since Weena Rhyn actually recognized her as a related individual, she was then treated as a related on the spot by the spirits.
And it seems Alistair’s letter of introduction was particularly influential. It was said that just having this letter of introduction was enough for a minor assault case to be judged as no problem. That’s why even Fran, who was involved in an attempted murder case, was only detained.
For a moment, I wondered why she hadn’t told Alistair that information, but then I thought, why would she need to?
It was obvious that one shouldn’t be messing on the academy or being hostile to Weena Rhyn. It was also common sense that someone should not be rude to someone who was about to hire them.
It’s the same as someone warning an acquaintance who was going to a job interview at a big company with 「Don’t be rude at the office」 or 「Don’t insult the Chairman of the company and make him angry」.
I heard that if we pass the interview, they usually tell us about it, but I guess they didn’t think it was necessary to tell us. As we had a letter of introduction, some mischief was allowed. It was just that this time, that wasn’t enough.
Oh, that was right. There’s another mystery.
『We had attacked Weena Rhyn, right…? So, we actually did some damage, didn’t we?』
She had slashed her with Heaven Judgement, and Urushi too has hurt her a little, right? Wouldn’t our sanction be increased by the spirits?
「Yeah, I’ve told you in the beginning that you could resist, didn’t I? That’s why I permitted you to do that」
So, by Weena Rhyn’s permission, it was treated as a mock battle, huh? In other words, she had said a precautionary line first so that Fran could resist.
「But Fran was much stronger than I expected. Well, it was also because I hadn’t calculated you had the support of Master. I should have told her that she could hurt me, not that she could resist as much as she wanted. The spirit then judged that you were resisting more than you were allowed to. I’m sorry」
Weena Rhyn bowed her head as she said so.
The surprise attack she had done to Zelos Reed was offset by receiving some damage and being restrained. Her attack on Weena Rhyn too was offset by receiving some damage from Weena Rhyn. And the fear she had caused to the students was forgiven by the apology she made afterward. That seemed to be the case.
However, the problem remained.
『You said that she has been offered a position as a special instructor and a short-term transfer plan, right? Does that mean it’s already decided?』
「That’s the problem, isn’t it? In the first place, if you think about what Fran has been doing since she came to this academy, there’s no factor to increase her likability. I’m not going to say, “I’m going to make you a member of our prestigious academy, shiver and be grateful!” I’m not even going to say that. But for now, that title is the only reason Fran is allowed to be here by Berthoudi」
『What if she refuses?』
「…If you refuse, I think you’ll have to deal not only with me but with the spirits as well」
Doesn’t that mean we don’t have the right to refuse at all!?
「Don’t worry. You can’t quit immediately, but if you work for a couple of weeks, the spirits will be satisfied. That’s how long it will take to work for a short period of time to be completed」
Well, by listening to her explanation, I could tell that it was a necessary procedure… It was probably because she had made a decision for Fran on her own.
But even so… Not only an instructor but a transfer student too? Doesn’t that mean she’s going to be a student here? I wonder if she will be fine…
However, Fran nodded easily at her words.
「Understood, I’ll be that special…?」
「Special instructor and short-term transfer student」
「That’s fine then」
『Fran, are you sure?』
「Nn? In the first place, that was my intention; it’s the same as passing the interview after all」
Apparently, she didn’t have any particular thoughts about Weena Rhyn. So, she casually accepted Weena Rhyn’s words.
「If we stay here, we can keep an eye on Zelos Reed」
『Well, you’re right』
Whether or not the opportunity for revenge came around, she was not going to give up and let it pass her by here.
「Are there a lot of spirits in this academy?」
「Yeah, There aren’t many places as crowded with spirits as here, you know?」
「If so, I can practice using spirit magic by staying here. So, it’s a good thing」
「Haah… That’s good for you then. Thank you very much for accepting it. Now I don’t have to be angry with A-chan anymore… Aah, as an apology for the trouble, I’ll at least offer you a raise in your salary. But do you have anything else you want?」
「…I want to have a mock battle with Weena Rhyn」
「Huh? With me? I don’t mind though, but…」
Rather, the major reason we came to this academy was because of her interest in Weena Rhyn. She wanted to see the strength of the strongest High Elf in the world. And although she had experienced that strength once, I guess she wanted to fight some more.
Weena Rhyn, who was obviously not a battle junkie, chuckled at her.
「Your face is cute, but you’re quite greedy, aren’t you?」
「?」
「Well, just wait for it. In the meantime, I look forward to working with you for a short time」
「Nn. I’ll be in your care」