Chapter 123

Several months have passed since my return to the Academy.

Whether to call it fortunate or not, my prediction that nothing would happen until the final exam was not wrong.

There were a few incidents that were hastened due to my existence, but I determined that any incidents occurring during the exam would exploit weaknesses, making it impossible for them to attack us until the day of the exam.

Even if they sped up their plans, if those plans ultimately involved attacking the gaps that would appear when we began the exam, it meant that they could not launch attacks until we had started the exam.

Thus, I made that judgment.

And I could say that my prediction was exactly on point.

If they were going to strike early, they would have done so by now; despite the impending exam, the Academy remained remarkably peaceful.

“Um…”

The Dean of the Academy, Argen Isis, listened to my story with a serious expression.

I understood that this matter was too significant to be solved by me alone.

As much as possible, I tried to resolve it without informing others… attempting to ensure that no damage occurred, but this matter was beyond my ability to handle solo.

If I were to step forward secretly, I would just end up dead, and even though I possessed an undying body, if I were to be captured, I would be rendered powerless, thus the Academy had to face the Demon King Army’s executives without me.

That was not all.

Even if I were to succeed in protecting the Academy from demons, they would still need to come to rescue me.

Even if they failed in the attack, if they managed to drag me to the Demon World and imprison me, that alone would count as a successful raid for them.

After all, incapacitating someone referred to as one of humanity’s hopes, a Saint, would be a significant victory for them.

However, despite acknowledging that such a possibility existed, I obviously could not remain idle, having suffered significant losses in the game in the past.

If I had intended to lead the world to ruin using the powers granted to me as the chosen Saint by the goddess, I would have lost those powers long ago and messed everything up.

And Argen was well aware of this fact.

If I had lost my powers, it was obvious that I would have lost them long ago, so I thought it best that, even if it raised some suspicions, no one gets hurt, allowing us to greet the enemy in peak condition.

And to do that, there was someone I needed to inform first.

That was Argen.

“… If what you said is true, then I cannot just sit back and do nothing.”

Argen Isis.

Telling her about this attack was the best I could do.

“[Do you believe me?]”

“It’s hard to think you’d say such things if it weren’t true. As the Dean responsible for the safety of all the students, I cannot simply ignore this.”

That was true.

Of course, since I was the one saying it, there was some degree of credibility to what I was saying.

If an ordinary student barged in and claimed that demons would soon attack, who would actually believe them?

The reason Argen trusted me was because I was the ‘Saint’ chosen directly by the goddess, endowed with divine powers.

“I understand what you want to say. You wish for me to prepare in advance to minimize casualties, correct?”

“[Yes…]”

“That much is not difficult. However…”

It would not be easy to inform all the professors about this, Argen said.

It was then that I realized my oversight.

I had yet to catch the traitor within the Academy.

Moreover, I had no idea how many had betrayed us; if we prepared, we needed to do so without the demons noticing. If I informed the entire faculty, what would happen?

While I could not be entirely certain, given the likelihood of a traitor existing, revealing this could trigger an uncontrollable situation.

To prevent that from happening, for now, I…

“I apologize for being an incapable country.”

“[… That can’t be true. This is an unavoidable situation.]”

Indeed.

It was unavoidable, and there was no reason for her to apologize to me.

In a place where so many people lived together, if one or two betrayed us, how on earth could we uncover them?

Unless one were a god, how could anyone discover such betrayals?

She must have felt terribly frustrated.

Had it not been for the events of the last entrance ceremony, she might have shared this information with all the professors.

If that had happened, the situation would have escalated uncontrollably, so perhaps it was a blessing in disguise…

Still, considering that it would have been best to inform everyone without any traitors involved, it was not a good situation regardless.

A magician is not a god.

Even if they were a great magician…

Unless it was their own field, and even within their field, they were not at the level of being called a god.

I lowered my head to Argen.

“[… I look forward to your support.]”

At this point, the best I could do was to hope that she would take care of the preparations.

From now on, I would just focus on doing as much as I could.

I stood up from my seat, leaving only the words that I would take my leave, and then exited the room.

—

“Huuh…”

Argen sighed as she gazed at the door.

With so much to do already, along with the impending attack from the demons, she could only feel a sense of frustration.

Especially since this attack was said to be on a different scale, it was even more shocking.

A massive raid that could potentially lead to casualties…

No matter how much a Saint claimed they could save people by sacrificing themselves, if it had been a long time or if the victims were exposed to demons, rendering their bodies and souls a mess, even that Saint would not be able to save them.

Those had been the words of the previous Saints.

Many of the attacks the Academy had faced until now could not be considered lucky.

Most had been dealt with by the Hero and the Saint before anyone else could even step in.

However, as Dean, she could not simply let those two handle all the problems any longer.

After all, they were also her students.

It was time to start preparing.

‘How…’

What she needed to prioritize now was to gather trustworthy faculty members.

It was best to gather those with a near-zero chance of betrayal and prepare carefully so that others would not find out.

Moreover, it would also be wise to plan a counterattack.

If Aria, the Saint, was indeed telling the truth…

“Maleficent…”

Argen gritted her teeth.

The Demon King’s great magician who had tormented her for ages… naturally, since she herself was also a great magician, she had encountered him many times.

She had even created magic specifically to face him… and never would she have thought that their connection would remain so strong even after centuries.

However, now that it had come to this, she had to act decisively.

She would destroy him thoroughly so he could no longer interfere. Just how many generations had they fought against one another…

But this time it would end.

She had already taken down one of the executives of the Demon King Army.

The monster that had long been suppressed and barely sealed away had been split in half by the rookie Hero’s absurd skill.

Even now, thinking back, that attack had… indeed been an incomprehensible strike for the current Hero’s level, but that was why it made her think that maybe, just maybe…

Maybe they could truly defeat not just an executive of the Demon King Army but even the Demon King himself.

It was conceivable that they could achieve an accomplishment of defeating the Demon King, an achievement even the legendary Hero party, celebrated for saving the world, had found impossible.

And to achieve that, the role of the Hero was vital, but the involvement of those around them was equally important.

What she needed to do.

What must be done.

Now she could finally understand what that was.

‘Maleficent… I will definitely capture you.’

In Argen’s eyes, as she stood up from her desk, a strong determination shone.

She would undoubtedly catch him and reveal not only the pain that had burdened her but also the past that even Mariela, her own former party member, had been oblivious to, a frustration akin to that of a rival.

This time, she would catch that damned undead for sure.

Argen silently vowed.