Chapter 161
Even after finishing all the extra work at the livestock shed, there was still plenty of time left before Rupina arrived.
I sat on a chair in the storage room, facing Lapin, who had her back leaned against a pile of straw.
“Lapin, don’t you feel like something’s changed?”
“?”
Lapin blinked and tilted her head from side to side.
“I mean, like you’re overflowing with strength, or you feel like you can do something new. Anything like that?”
“Um, I’m not really sure.”
“Hmm…….”
With my arms crossed, I looked at Lapin.
Emerald-colored eyes, blonde twin tails tied low. An expressionless face.
……Outwardly, nothing had changed either.
Lapin was still Lapin.
‘Whenever I brought a spiritual creature to the farm, I always got a card.’
I even tried grabbing the air to pull out Lapin’s card.
……But no card appeared.
Since I couldn’t see the card, I couldn’t even check Lapin’s skills or attributes.
‘What is this…… did the systems collide and cause an error?
I wanted to experiment, but I didn’t even know how, damn it.’
I opened my subspace and reached inside, pulling something out.
“Here.”
It was a well-ripened red apple.
As I held it out to Lapin, I spoke.
“Try crushing this.”
“Okay, I’ll try.”
Though puzzled, Lapin took the apple with both hands and applied force.
“Uuuuh…….”
Lapin’s arms trembled as she gripped the apple.
“Uuugh…….”
She squeezed her eyes shut, exerting every last bit of strength.
But it didn’t last long. Unable to endure anymore, Lapin set the apple down.
“……It hurts.”
With teary eyes, Lapin showed me her palms, reddened like apples.
I gently stroked her hands and used Pau’s ability.
“It doesn’t hurt.”
Perhaps sensing the pain fade away, Lapin repeatedly clenched and unclenched her hands.
Watching that, I thought.
‘Her body didn’t get tougher, and she didn’t gain monstrous strength either. So what changed?’
There was only one thing that could be called a change.
Man-su’s Star Lapin
The fact that Lapin had gained a spiritual-creature-like ‘alias’.
‘……A name change alone isn’t enough, is it?’
At the very least, I thought she’d awaken some kind of ability.
Still unconvinced, I asked Lapin again.
“Don’t you feel anything special? Even something really small is fine.”
Lapin crossed her arms and fell into thought for a moment, then spoke as if something had come to mind.
“Um…… I had a dream yesterday.”
“A dream?”
“Cute animals welcomed me, and we played together. We had to part at the end, but it was fun.”
“…….”
At those words, the spiritual creatures I had seen inside Lapin’s heart flashed through my mind like a panorama.
I smiled lightly and replied.
“They probably had fun playing with you too.”
“Yeah.”
Lapin agreed.
Watching her, I sank into thought.
In the bugged world—no, inside Lapin’s heart—I had met countless spiritual creatures.
They were probably the spiritual creatures that had been fused into Lapin.
And the one who had modified Lapin’s body was…… the ‘Witch of the Black Tower’.
‘……The witch knows about the existence of spiritual creatures.’
It was a shocking fact.
Naturally, in the game <Yggdrasil>, there was no such setting as ‘spiritual creatures’.
Spiritual creatures were special animals that only appeared in a separate children’s game called <Animal Farm>.
After falling into this world, I thought that the two games manifesting for me was just a simple error.
‘But the witch, a villain from <Yggdrasil>…… had long recognized the existence of spiritual creatures from <Animal Farm> and put them into Lapin’s body.’
It had been several years since Lapin was created by the witch’s hands.
And finding even a single spiritual creature took a considerable amount of time.
Yet she had found as many as fifty……
‘That means she’s known about them for a very long time, doesn’t it?’
My head throbbed as I considered the connection between the two games—games I had thought would never intersect, games I had dismissed as an error.
‘Just what…… was the witch trying to do with Lapin and the spiritual creatures?’
In the game, it was only explained that she intended to use them for evil. The details were unknown.
‘The reason the witch infiltrated the academy was to kill the Princess.’
Then did the Princess also have some connection to spiritual creatures?
No matter how much I thought about it now, it was something I couldn’t know.
‘Next semester…… there’s a lot I’ll need to figure out.’
Elements that had never appeared in the game were surfacing one after another, and together with the <Animal Farm> abilities, I had to uncover those hidden parts.
I remembered every single name of the spiritual creatures I had seen inside Lapin’s heart, without missing one.
They were children who should have met me, formed contracts, and become my friends.
……Never again.
Spiritual creatures sacrificed by the witch must never appear again.
That was something I absolutely had to stop.
Lapin and I arrived at the Speltz Hall female dormitory.
“Lapin. Once you finish packing, go toward the Main Building bus area. I’ll go ahead first.”
“Okay.”
Lapin nodded and went inside the dormitory.
I walked alone toward the Main Building.
I had already completed the handover with Rupina. All that remained was for Lapin to pack her belongings and take the bus at the Main Building.
……Before that, there was somewhere I needed to go.
Because I had this note in my pocket.
「Student Villed, this is Professor Hilda.
I forgot that this was the last Scholar class of the semester.
If you see this note, please come to my laboratory.
I’ll be waiting.」
Rather than ignoring it, I judged it was better to go for now.
“Welcome, Student Villed!”
When I knocked and entered Professor Hilda’s laboratory, she greeted me warmly.
“Since today is the last class of the semester, I’m planning to do something a little special.”
Hilda gestured with her hand.
It was an easel, with a white canvas placed on top—an item commonly seen in art classrooms.
“……A painting?”
“Yes. Today, we’re going to draw.”
Led by her, I sat down in front of the easel.
“Is this related to the Scholar class?”
“Of course. Magic is no different from art. Now, Student Villed, draw whatever you want!”
“…….”
Though dumbfounded, I picked up the pencil.
It was similar in shape to a 4B pencil, a tool suitable for drawing.
I simply scribbled on the canvas with the pencil, drawing whatever came to mind.
Professor Hilda asked me from beside.
“Student Villed, you originally said you were going to the Common Magic Department, right? But you ended up being assigned to Finders.”
“How did you know that?”
“Ah. Next semester, the professors in charge of Finders are Professor Ruber and me. That’s how I knew.”
That was exactly how it was.
I nodded and replied.
“It just happened that Professor Ruber recommended me, so I got in as a special exception.”
“That’s great. It seems Professor Ruber also holds you in high regard, Student Villed. Hehe, but I was the first to mark you, you know. No running away to become Professor Ruber’s Scholar.”
“There’s no way that’ll happen. Other professors’ Scholar classes look difficult and complicated…… but Professor Hilda’s class feels like it fits my level perfectly.”
“Really? Ahahaha, that’s kind of funny. Well, I suppose it makes sense—it’s a class tailored just for Student Villed.”
After that, there were no more words.
I focused and drew the large tree I had seen inside Lapin’s heart.
When I was younger, I had briefly learned drawing professionally, and I used to doodle from time to time as well.
‘Even so, actually trying to draw seriously is pretty hard.’
Worried she might tell me to redraw it if I half-assed it, I deliberately put strength into my shoulders as I drew.
After finishing the drawing, I set the pen down.
“It’s pretty difficult.”
“…….”
Hilda looked at my drawing for a while before finally responding.
“Could you give this drawing to me as a gift? I’d like to decorate my laboratory with it.”
“It’s not really something worthy of decoration…… but if you want it, that’s fine.”
“Hehe, thank you. Ah, you’re leaving school today, right? The bus time is coming up soon. I’ll see you off.”
Hilda glanced at the clock and took the lead.
A bus was waiting in front of the Main Building, and Lapin was standing there with her bag placed on the ground.
When Lapin saw me approaching, she hurried over and said,
“Villed, I thought you’d already taken another bus and left.”
“No matter what, would I really go off alone? I was late because of class. Let’s go now.”
I let out a dry laugh and was just about to board the bus when—
“Student Villed.”
Hilda called out to me.
“Since you gave me a drawing as a gift, I should give you a gift in return.”
She took out a ring from her pocket and held it out to me.
“This is a talisman. It will protect you, Student Villed.”
“……Thank you.”
I accepted it and bowed my head.
“Take care. See you next semester.”
Hilda smiled brightly and waved her hand.
Villed boarded the bus and departed.
Assistant Lahan was watching from the terrace of the Main Building.
After the bus left, Professor Hilda stood there alone. She did not move anymore.
Just as Lahan blinked—
……Professor Hilda disappeared from his sight.
The blink had lasted no more than about 0.1 seconds.
In that brief moment, where could she have gone……
“Assistant Lahan.”
A chilling voice was heard.
Lahan slowly turned around.
A black-haired woman with long hair was standing behind him.
“Excessive curiosity brings disaster.”
From a great distance, Professor Hilda had closed in on him in an instant.
Lahan’s breath caught in his throat.
“I clearly warned you for your own sake. To lose interest in my student, not to speak to him, and not even to look at him.”
“……H-Hilda, Professor. Th-that is—”
“You promised. So why did you do that?”
Professor Hilda stomped on the ground.
Boom—!
With a thunderous sound, the terrace instantly transformed into an unknown dark place.
The walls, at some point, had turned into something soft and unpleasant.
……They were ‘the legs of a giant octopus’.
He had been sucked into the barrier she created.
“A child who doesn’t listen needs to be punished, don’t you think?”
At that moment—
“Ghk!”
One of the octopus legs pierced straight through Lahan’s abdomen.
Thrown into panic, Lahan collapsed on the spot. A heavy sensation spread through his abdomen.
“W-wait a moment. Hil—no, Witch.”
Despite his panic, Lahan continued speaking.
“I did my utmost not to look at that student, nor did I speak unnecessary words. Against my will, due to Professor Ruber’s orders, I ended up encountering Student Villed frequently. If I tried too deliberately not to look at him, it would appear unnatural instead.”
“Yes, that act was performed quite well.”
Hilda squatted down and looked down at the fallen Lahan.
“But just now, you were staring the entire time while I handed a gift to Student Villed. That’s different from the promise, isn’t it? You shouldn’t do that.”
“Kraah!”
Another octopus leg pierced through Lahan’s abdomen.
It seemed there was poison as well. His entire body turned cold, and his arms and legs would not move.
“…….”
Lahan opened his mouth, but no voice came out anymore.
“I can completely destroy your plans and wipe you all out—the plans of you people who live under the protection of the Porton Family.”
In a gentle voice, Hilda continued speaking with a sweet smile.
“Porton and you aim to kill the Princess and start a war, while I aim to take the Princess’s corpse.”
Lahan froze stiff.
Unbothered, Hilda leaned closer to Lahan’s ear and spoke.
“I am not your ally. Our interests merely aligned, so we are cooperating temporarily until the Princess is killed. If you didn’t want the tower I spent years painstakingly building to be destroyed, you should have kept your promise.”
“…….”
“Oh my, just look at your face. Standing there with your mouth hanging open, you look just like a fish caught by an angler, don’t you? I happen to be in a very good mood today, so I’ll let it slide just this once.”
At that moment—
The surroundings returned to the original terrace.
“H-huff……!”
Lahan gasped for air desperately. The paralysis throughout his body faded. He immediately touched his abdomen.
The pierced area was nowhere to be seen.
This was no mere illusion.
He had clearly been bound inside a barrier, and his abdomen had been pierced.
Blood was still clotted on his clothes.
The Witch had healed his pierced abdomen in the blink of an eye.
……What kind of terrifying power was this?
Lahan felt it clearly.
Yesterday, the Princess’s escort knight—called the Empire’s greatest sword—and the Witch had clashed head-on. They had been nearly evenly matched, to the point it was hard to decide a victor.
To the extent that the Witch had fled first.
No matter how strong he was as the Empire’s greatest sword, he was still just a knight.
Seeing that, Lahan had thought—as he had expected—that the Witch might not actually be that exceptional.
……That had been a complete misunderstanding.
Lahan was not even worthy of being her opponent.
It was no different from an ant standing before an elephant.
To survive, he had to lie flat before the Witch, as if dead.
Until the time came to…… swallow one of the ‘calamities’.
“I apologize, Witch. I will not even mention that student ever again.”
As Lahan bowed his head deeply, Hilda smiled faintly.
“Good. There will be no next time, Assistant Lahan.”