Chapter 195: Isn’t that a crime?
It was shortly after Zetto’s hasty departure for the Holy Land.
The first-year cadets of Innocence Academy were in the midst of a normal school day due to a delayed trip to the East.
They were getting back to their lives, each in their own way, when they had the bizarre experience of seeing a dead friend come back to life.
There was a strong feeling that even though they had experienced two traumatic events back to back, they should be happy with the outcome.
It seemed like everything was going to be okay. Until, that is, Lucia opened her mouth.
“…What do you think Mr. Zetto is doing right now?”
The classroom of Class A was filled with a strange air and Lucia, who felt a little uncomfortable with the pensive air, asked.
She wanted to lighten the mood and wondered if the cadets were depressed because their trip to the East had been postponed.
She wanted to emphasize, “At least Mr. Zetto is alive and well.”
But it backfired.
The heavy stagnation of air in the classroom wasn’t just a result of being behind schedule.
It was caused by the silence of Aizel, Yuri, and Kaen, all three of whom were currently questioning their feelings.
They had been so happy when Zetto had come back to life and they had seen him again.
But why couldn’t they be happy now?
Why were they feeling uneasy?
The question was about to be answered when Lucia threw a stone.
“Shouldn’t he be in the Holy Land by now? I heard he went with the saint.”
Crank takes a bite of bread and nonchalantly answers Lucia’s question.
Their instructor, Edward, was not present, as this was a simple self-study class.
“With the saint…Ah, well, I guess we don’t have to worry about that!”
“Hmm, what?”
“Because the saint will be there to take care of him.”
“That’s true. I don’t know why, but they seem to have a special relationship.”
“That’s because she’s a saint.”
“Because she’s a saint.”
Lucia and Crank look at each other and nod. It was a casual conversation, one that didn’t require much thought.
“She takes care of…?”
One of the words struck a nerve, and Yuri muttered softly, her red eyes flashing like embers.
“”……””
It wasn’t just Yuri who was bothered, Aizel and Kaen were the same way.
It wasn’t a question, but Lucia overheard Yuri’s mutterings and responded with a bright smile.
“Yes! Zetto’s arm is uncomfortable right now, and even though he said it was fine, I’m sure he’s struggling with various things… eating might be uncomfortable for him… but don’t you think the saint will take good care of him?”
At that moment, a scene flashed through their minds, and they couldn’t help but be jealous.
‘Zetto will be uncomfortable with his arm, so come on, ah- try it.’
‘It’s embarrassing… Ah…’
‘Hmph, did you eat well?’
‘Haha, it tastes more delicious.’
They inadvertently imagined Bernice feeding Zetto.
The thought crossed their minds that they must be having a good time, giggling and laughing.
Well, the reality was similar but it wasn’t quite as fluffy as they’d imagined.
Suddenly, they realized why they couldn’t be purely happy because of Zetto’s absence.
They had been anxious about not seeing him, even if only for a short time.
Even though he had miraculously returned, they were once again physically separated.
Zetto’s departure was also a departure because there was another woman beside him.
He knew that Bernice hadn’t taken him because she wanted to take him personally.
Zetto’s trip to the Holy Land was a “pilgrimage” of sorts, an invitation to the miracle of Heneryes in another country and the result of that miracle.
In other words, it was a national and religious affair.
Nevertheless, what was this dark emotion that was disturbing them, this nagging feeling?
They were agitated.
Their eyes fluttered slightly.
Their mouths were dry as if they were thirsty.
They were nervous and anxious.
“It would be nice, Mr. Zetto. I want to hold hands with the saint… I want to hold the saint’s hand too…!”
Lucia kept talking in her usual way but for a moment, Aizel’s teeth grind together with a snap.
I wonder if she grabbed his hand.
There’s no reason to hold hands, is there?
‘She didn’t hold his hand as an excuse to guide him, did she?’
At that thought, the three women gritted their teeth without realizing it.
The air became murderous in an instant and in response, Lucia’s rather cute sneeze rang out.
“Ugh… I feel a chill.”
Lucia, who hadn’t realized that the chill on her body was anything other than life-threatening, casually wiped her nose.
“…”
Amon watched and thought.
‘Maybe I should stop her now.’
Should he stop Lucia, telling her that it would be best not to bring up Zetto right now?
Even without knowing the details of the situation, it felt like Lucia had touched a Pandora’s box she shouldn’t have.
Even though he was thinking about it, his foot didn’t actually fall.
“I don’t know what the Academy is thinking, by the way.”
Crank spontaneously changed the subject.
“Why? Mr. Crank.”
“Well, after what happened this time, I thought he’d be grounded or something, but they say that cadets are free to go out whenever they want, though they have a demerit system for when you miss class…”
“Oh, right. I never went out, so I don’t know, but I think everyone liked it.”
“I wonder if they realized there might be a backlash when the ban was imposed.”
“Because being banned makes you want to do it more?!”
“Yeah. It makes you want to go out more. Honestly, it makes me want to go out less. You never know when you’re going to run into a demon, and I don’t think it’s going to be a miracle that someone dies and comes back to life twice.”
With that, the conversation changed and seemed to quiet down.
Amon was about to breathe a sigh of relief but Lucia spoke up.
“But… That means…”
“…Why?”
“Doesn’t that mean that Zetto can leave the academy at any time…?”
She threw a huge chunk of stone into the lake that was just beginning to calm down.
“Isn’t that right?”
“Doesn’t that mean that Zetto could get hurt again…?”
“That…It’s possible.”
“I heard that rumor…A terrifying rumor that Zetto has been going outside the academy at night to hunt demons…”
“It’s a good rumor, to say the least…”
Crank trailed off, tilting his head as he ate his bread.
“If those rumors are true, you mean that Mr. Zetto might be in danger again…?”
The conversation came to a head.
Listening to their conversation in silence, Aizel thought.
They’re right.
Sooner or later, this will reach the ears of the demons.
The outrageous news that a human had killed the Legionnaire’s right-hand man, and that the human had been brought back to life by the miracle of Heneryes.
The demons could not have asked for a more desirable target.
Zetto’s miraculous resurrection inadvertently drew the attention of many. For better or worse, he’s attracted a lot of attention.
And it’s not just demons.
Humans are no different.
The world is full of foolish wicked people who would love to proclaim their power by killing the returnee from Paradise.
So…
‘…It’s too dangerous for Zetto now.’
Aizel thought while Yuri and Kaen had similar thoughts.
“Uh, what can we do? At this rate, Mr. Zetto might get hurt again…! Shouldn’t we at least try to stop it…?”
Lucia’s voice rose as she realized that she had gotten a good idea.
She quickly grabbed Crank by the shoulders while he was eating his bread and shook him. With the shaking, the bread crumbs that Crank was holding fell to the floor in a heap.
“…”
Hearing Lucia’s voice, Kaen, who had been quietly concentrating on her training, stopped her sword and listened.
“Hmm… How do we stop it…?”
“…Shouldn’t we first try to keep Zetto in the academy? It’s relatively safe inside the Academy, right?”
At Crank’s question, Lucia let go of him and rubbed her chin, contemplating with a serious expression.
“Don’t let him leave…”
Crank muttered, echoing Lucia’s response, and it was clear he was listening.
“Once we’ve taken Zetto somewhere…”
“Kidnap…”
“…Lock him up so he can’t go anywhere?”
“Confinement…”
“And you’ll make Zetto happy…! Give him good food… And read him books…”
“Isn’t that a crime?”
Crank, who was listening to Lucia’s plan, said.
“Oh, yes, it is a crime!”
Lucia smiled as she realized it.
“I don’t think you should cross the line, and even if you did? Lucia, do you think you can make Zetto happy?”
“Mmm… Happiness… That’s hard.”
Crank and Lucia’s concerns were music to the ears of the girls, who cared about Zetto more than anyone else.
‘If only I could make him happy.’
Because he has a crush on me.
He likes me.
He’d be happy with me.
They secretly harbored these thoughts.
Because they were so happy, they were so anxious.
Zetto’s absence amplified their anxiety, and Lucia and Crank’s silly conversation was the hint they needed to ease it.
“And to kidnap Zetto in the first place, you’d have to be a lot stronger than him, at least…”
Crank looked at Lucia and shook his head.
“I’m… I’m weaker than Mr. Zetto.”
“So am I.”
Amon, who had been watching the two hang their heads in disbelief at the poor ending, suddenly muttered a question.
“Still, with one arm missing… wouldn’t Zetto be weaker than before?”
“”……””
Lucia and Crank, stunned by the mumbling, open their mouths and stare at Amon.
“…That’s a bit harsh.”
Lucia quickly interrupted.
“I’m just saying. I’ve heard that even with a prosthetic arm, it’s hard to adjust if the weight of the arm isn’t the same as before…Zetto is a swordsman, isn’t he…?”
Surprised by their response, Amon rattled off a long list of excuses but he felt a little resentful.
Whenever they talked about kidnapping or imprisonment, they always gave him strange looks when he interrupted them.
Their conversation seemed to end with Amon’s harsh words while the three women listened in silence, deep in thought.
Their hopes were slightly different, but they all came to the same conclusion.
‘I’m the only one he loves. Why am I feeling insecure, simply because he’s in danger?’
‘Because I want him to be all mine.’
‘I don’t want to lose him again. I need to be stronger than him somehow…’
To protect him.
‘I want him to look at me and only me…’
To monopolize his attention.
That’s when it started.
That’s when their love began to twist and turn into an emotion called obsession, a mixture of jealousy, insecurity, and excessive possessiveness.
The trigger was Zetto’s death, not Lucia.
She was merely breathing life into the soon-to-be embers, making them burn faster.
“Anyway, I hope nothing happened to Mr. Zetto!”
Of course, Lucia knew nothing.