Chapter 101 Your Voice – Part 3

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Is he crazy?

Well, he is crazy.

Milia frowned as she watched Adam shouting in genuine anger.

Was he seriously asking who did this? Was this guy always like this?

Then she noticed the dorm manager behind that crazy bastard.

'Is he acting because there's someone else here?'

But if that was the case, he could have just not brought the dorm manager along. And why did he suddenly come back to the dormitory after being quiet for four days?

She had been busy treating her wounds and hiding in a separate shelter. If that Adam bastard had also regressed, there was nothing more to gain from the academy, so she was going to contact the cult, but…

…she put it on hold for now.

'If I withdraw from the academy like this, my position will become precarious.'

Milia's current standing within the cult was solely due to her connection with the academy. Her value was in being the only one who could communicate with the Finance Director of the academy and connect them to the cult.

Thanks to that, she became the youngest bishop and received various support from the cult, which was strapped for resources.

She couldn't confuse her priorities. The reason the cult was supporting Milia now was solely because they wanted the academy's sacred treasure in place of the missing Dark Sword. With Dark Sword gone, there was no way the cult would give up on the substitute.

But what if Milia, the only connection, withdrew from the academy? And without a proper reason or excuse, since she couldn't tell them that the Finance Director had also regressed from the future?

Those who were jealous of Milia's rapid rise would attack her. Even in a collapsing cult, political strife was still rampant.

The center of the cult wasn't the Cult Leader, but Dark Sword. With the center gone, the cult was already on the verge of collapse.

'It would be troublesome if the cult collapsed.'

She needed a foundation to become the Pope again. The cult was essential to Milia, and the sacred treasure that the Headmistress possessed was even more crucial.

It was thanks to the power of that sacred treasure that Milia, a mere Rank 3 mage, was able to rise to the position of Pope.

'Damn scabbard.'

Where the hell was it? She had secretly visited the secret vault that that Adam bastard told her about and searched the Headmistress's office and the entire central building under the pretense of Finance Department work, but she couldn't find it.

It was definitely in the Headmistress's possession.

She had found it by chance in the previous timeline amidst the chaos of the academy's collapse, so she couldn't pinpoint its location.

No, more importantly…

The crazy bastard in front of her was the priority.

"…Adam, I don't know what you're thinking, but let's forget about the past and renegotiate—"

"Adam? Student Milia, what are you talking about? More importantly, how did you get so injured?"

"…?"

"Don't worry. As long as it wasn't a one-sided assault or a case of mutual assault that requires compensation, I'll help you."

What was with this guy?

…Don't tell me?

"In the ruins of Delphia…"

"What? Ruins? Why are you adding Delphia to that?"

"R-regression."

"It seems like you injured your head as well. Dorm manager, please bring some medicine from the infirmary."

"Yes!"

The Adam in Milia's memory was certainly annoying, bothersome, and irritating, but he wasn't like this.

Rather, like when she met him a few days ago, he was more the type to express his hostility directly than put on this kind of act.

'Besides that, there's no way I wouldn't notice.'

Milia, who was more familiar with this kind of acting than anyone, couldn't help but notice the oddity. Especially now that she had received the 'eye' from the Archmage.

Then…

'Did he really go back?'

Didn't that Adam bastard say that Chloe was waiting?

That he gave up the chance to change everything to return to that crazy arsonist?

It was a decision that Milia couldn't understand, regardless of the method. After briefly mocking her idiotic nemesis inwardly, she changed her expression and looked up at Adam Keynes.

'This is actually better.'

It was either staying at the academy with the Finance Director who might try to kill her or leaving the academy and having the cult fall apart, but the problem had resolved itself.

Unlike the future Adam Keynes, the current Adam Keynes…

"…Actually, I just tripped and fell. And then I stayed at my friend's dormitory for a few days."

"Is that so? You don't have to pay any settlement money or compensation to the other party, right?"

"No."

"That's a relief."

Seeing him mention money and expenses like that, it seemed like he was the original Finance Director. Actually, it was a bit ambiguous to call him the 'original,' but…

Anyway, Milia smiled inwardly.

"Then we should move on to the next topic."

"Huh?"

"If you were staying at your friend's dormitory, doesn't that mean you weren't coming to the Finance Department?"

"Ah."

"Even if you had applied for sick leave due to an injury, you just skipped work without notice, so…"

Adam smiled. It was a smile that Milia was very familiar with.

Before, and even before that…

Whenever that devil smiled like that—

"What are you doing?"

"Uh, yes?"

"You should be getting to work, shouldn't you? Since you're still a student, let's do an all-nighter, twice the length of your absence as a light punishment. It should be no problem for a Rank 3 like you, eight days."

"...…"

Slightly, very slightly…

Milia thought that maybe the future Adam was better…

***

Splash

The Headmistress was meticulously washing herself under the warm water.

It had been over 30 minutes since she started washing, but the Headmistress couldn't tolerate even a speck of dirt.

'Let's wash my hair two more times, clean under my fingernails and toenails, and lather myself with soap once more.'

A Rank 8 martial artist like her could maintain her hygiene at all times with Aura, but this wasn't about that.

The Finance Director had confessed his love to her. It was only natural for her to prepare as much as possible.

She briefly checked outside with her Aura, and the Finance Director was gone, but he must be taking a walk outside because he was embarrassed.

She had brought the ring artifact for this occasion, so she could just signal him with a vibration.

As she briefly indulged in the anticipation of this first-time experience in her centuries-long life,

The Headmistress paused her washing as she recalled the incident in the dwarven city.

'The forge's support pillar disappeared?'

The forge used for the dwarven city's reconstruction was an artifact that could melt down other artifacts and rebuild the city, an artifact that was absurd in itself.

It was a masterpiece that the great dwarves had created, refined, and modified over dozens of generations.

That's why they desperately protected the forge even when the dwarven city collapsed due to the monster wave 50 years ago.

But one of the forge's support pillars had disappeared.

That was why Acting Mayor Tir requested the Headmistress's assistance.

──Please hold it up for us until we create a new support pillar for the forge. We beg you.

──That's a simple task. But why did the pillar break? I believe it was made from a dragon's bone.

──Indeed. We used the bone of the last dragon remaining on the continent to create the pillar. But that pillar…

──You're not keeping secrets from me, are you?

──…Strictly speaking, it didn't break. It suddenly disappeared.

──Disappeared?

──Yes. The part made from the dragon's bone suddenly disappeared… It's quite troublesome.

The Headmistress wasn't concerned about other things.

The last dragon remaining on the continent.

That being, or rather, she, was a dragon the Headmistress knew well.

'She's definitely dead. She's dead, but…'

That letter from the festival, and…

Why did she keep seeing traces of her everywhere?

'…Should I go?'

The grave that the Headmistress, Gregory, and Julius had built for her.

They had built it in the western wasteland of the Empire, her homeland. Should she go there again?

An ominous thought arose, but she shook her head. It couldn't be.

'We built it far away, on the outskirts. That place is safe.'

The strange phenomenon occurring in the western wasteland of the Empire.

Why Rank 8 monsters were concentrated only in that place, of all the vast continent.

The secret that only a few, including the Emperor of the Empire, Akendelminos, and the Headmistress, knew.

There, in the heart of that wasteland…

'It's not like you'll be consumed by that monster… right?'

Something existed.

Something that surpassed even Rank 8, something that easily killed even the last dragon remaining on the continent.

Something that even the Mad Dragon, the Human Slaughterer, feared to face.

It wasn't like she would encounter that something just by going to the grave. But that something exerted tremendous influence on its surroundings just by existing.

The Headmistress, gritting her teeth for a moment, soon let out a sigh.

Was it a needless worry? She didn't want to wash anymore.

'No, this is enough.'

Let's stop with the ominous thoughts. If she was going to visit, there was no point in worrying. She could just confirm it herself.

More importantly, let's focus on the present.

The Headmistress, getting out of the bath and dressed, lifted the communication magic tool.

Click.

"It's me."

—Ah, Headmistress! What is it?

"Except for the Finance Director, don't let anyone come up to the top floor for the next three hours… no, six hours. No matter what happens, contact me first before coming up."

—Understood!

She could trust and rely on the Head of Academic Affairs. He would thoroughly prevent anyone from coming to the top floor.

Six hours should be enough, right? This was her first time experiencing something like this, so she couldn't even estimate how long it would take.

'Th-the Finance Director is Rank 1, so I, as his senior, should take the lead… but…'

A strange thought suddenly came to the Headmistress's mind, and she stopped.

…Surely, something like that wouldn't be impossible because of the difference in their ranks, right?

It was a rather idiotic thought, even to her, but now that it had occurred to her, it was a serious concern.

The physical abilities of the Headmistress, a Rank 8, were beyond what could be called superhuman. Usually, it was fine since she exercised extreme control when interacting with the Finance Director, but…

'Wh-what if I lose control and fail to restrain my strength while doing something like that?'

There was a high chance of the Finance Director becoming the Finance/Director. The problem was that considering the difference in physical abilities between a Rank 1 and a Rank 8, it wasn't entirely a joke.

But she couldn't just pretend it never happened. The Finance Director had finally confessed his feelings; she couldn't refuse him.

Just as the Headmistress, having made up her mind, took a deep breath,

"…?"

Whoosh.

Sensing something, the Headmistress moved to the Finance Director's office with a speed almost like teleportation and scanned her surroundings with sharp eyes.

The office was the same as before she went to wash up. The neatly organized books and documents, the stacks of approved files near the desk, and…

"…One is missing."

Some documents on the desk were scattered messily because the Finance Director was flustered after waking up.

One of them was missing. Thanks to her superhuman senses, she could distinguish anything that the Finance Director had touched.

The window was originally open. Then was it simply blown away by the wind?

'It wasn't an important document.'

The important documents had already been processed and were stacked up, and for security reasons, they didn't put all the information on a single sheet.

In other words, it wasn't a big deal that one sheet was missing. It was actually quite common for documents to fly out the window.

But for some reason…

The Headmistress's senses were quietly warning her.

'Did someone come in…? An intruder who could bypass my senses and vigilance?'

There were only three people currently at the academy who could do that.

But she had confirmed that the Archmage had left.

The Margrave had also returned long ago after the charity ball ended.

And Julius had also left with the first prince a while ago.

Then who could it be?

"...…"

The Headmistress's eyes and Aura scanned outside the window, the building itself, and then the entire academy, but she couldn't sense anything strange. If there really was an intruder, it would be impossible to escape her senses.

Was she overreacting?

Perhaps it was because of what she heard in the dwarven city and the experience that was about to come. The Headmistress sighed and closed the window of the office.

And then…

"Oh, it's coming…!!"

She could feel the ring getting closer. It meant the owner of the other ring, the Finance Director, was returning.

The Headmistress, her expression changing in an instant, put her preparations into action.

She had something prepared beforehand, just in case something like this happened.

Click!

As the Headmistress touched a part of the wall, a hidden space was revealed.

She had locked all the other doors, so the Finance Director would have to enter through here.

The Headmistress lay down on the secret bed inside the hidden space, splashing her feet and positioning herself with a flushed face.

'G-good.'

It was time to use the secret technique she had heard about in the past.

Hearing the approaching footsteps, the Headmistress made up her mind and slowly moved her hands.

Burst!

"F-Finance Director! This is my… answer?"

The one who reacted to the Headmistress's 'answer,' formed with her hands into a heart shape, was…

"Uh… hmm."

…the long-awaited Finance Director, and…

"…I'll pretend I didn't see anything."

"Pretend you didn't see anything and get to work."

"Yes…"

…Milia, with a troubled expression.

Until Milia closed the door and left…

"...…"

"...…"

…it was a truly awkward few seconds.