Chapter 269: – Who Could It Be? |
“Gwen... wake up. Gwen, if you don’t, the teacher will be mad.”
A loud knocking sound echoed against the door from the outside. It was followed by the voice of her best friend, Astrella. Some of the students were already awake, getting dressed and ready to continue the journey.
“Wake up, it’s breakfast! We’ll be getting some delicious peach cake too! If you don’t wake up, they’ll eat it all!”
The knocking continued, but it was only when the tasty treat was mentioned that Gwen’s eyes finally began to open.
“Peach cake?”
Gwen sat upright so suddenly that her blanket flew halfway off the bed.
“Where?”
She blinked a few times before realising she was still in the hotel room and that the knocking was coming from outside.
“Oh right... We were on a trip...”
“Gwen...”
“Rusty?”
Gwen looked around in confusion because she couldn’t see him.
“Where are you?”
“I’m over here, under the books.”
Finally, she glanced down from her bed and saw the aftermath of the battle she had missed the previous night. Gwen stared at the room in utter confusion. Books were scattered across the floor. Several had fallen open, their pages bent and crumpled. A pen had rolled off the desk. Rusty’s scattered limbs lay among a collection of other items he had knocked over during the night.
In the middle of the disaster, Rusty sat trapped beneath a pile of books, one arm sticking out and waving in Gwen’s direction. Gwen stared while Rusty waved his only attached arm, the one that had previously been inside the snake’s body. For several long seconds, neither of them spoke before he finally broke the silence.
“Could you help me, Gwen? I can’t move.”
“Ah... of course! How did this happen?”
Gwen finally climbed out of bed and began removing the books from his body. Even for her, some of the tomes were difficult to lift. At last, Rusty was freed from the prison he had spent hours trapped inside. Fortunately, no other creature had wandered into his summoner’s room while he was incapacitated.
“Oh, I just slipped and fell over.”
Rusty decided to lie about what had happened the previous night because he wasn’t sure who the perpetrator was. His humanoid summoner was a rather peculiar individual. He knew that if he told her the truth, she would do nothing but worry. Almost anyone could have been responsible, including the teacher, who could not be trusted. Gwen would probably report the incident immediately, which could be either a good thing or a bad thing.
In his mind, if the perpetrator realised how the snake had been defeated, they might improve their next attempt. If no one reacted to the incident at all, perhaps they would assume that some sort of protective measure from the hotel had stopped them, or that they had simply been unlucky. If they learned that Rusty had been responsible, they might try to eliminate him in some way. Keeping his cards hidden seemed like the better choice.
He wasn’t certain this was the best course of action, but for now, he decided to observe the situation and avoid stressing his summoner unnecessarily. If she started looking over her shoulder at every little thing, she would become too distracted to focus properly, leaving herself vulnerable to an attack. He also wanted her to enjoy the trip to some extent and was confident that he could handle whatever was thrown at him.
“Hmmm...”
Gwen crouched down and picked up one of his detached legs.
"You slipped so badly that your legs fell off?"
"Yes."
"And your arm too?"
"Also, yes."
She raised an eyebrow.
"And somehow your helmet has bite marks on it?"
Rusty froze for a moment as he remembered the snake biting him several times. Even if it had been a creature made of mana and no poison remained, the damage to his miniaturized body was still there.
"...I was just very unlucky. Maybe that pen hit me, or one of the tome's edges..."
Gwen narrowed her eyes. One of the fallen books had a sharp corner, so it sounded plausible. Some people might have been suspicious of his explanation, but they were not his summoner. She had no reason to doubt his word, so after gathering his limbs and helping him heal with her mana, she let out a sigh.
"Just be careful from now on, Rusty. I don't know what I would do if something happened to you and you were unsummoned..."
Gwen carefully reattached his legs one by one while feeding mana into the damaged joints. Tiny streams of blue light flowed from her fingertips, knitting together the cracks in his metal body. Back in the dungeon, he had fought creatures many times his size. He had stood against monsters, bandits, and even trained warriors. Yet now he was sitting on a wooden floor while a sleepy girl repaired him like a broken toy after a fight with an ordinary snake.
"I know. I'll be careful."
She knew that if his body was destroyed and he was unsummoned, he would not be able to return to her the way a normal summoned monster could. Although he had never told her about the summoning chamber directly, she understood that he was a special creature who required unusual conditions to be called forth.
"There, that should do it..."
Rusty jumped to his feet and tested his movements. Everything seemed to be working again. However, as he checked his flexibility, loud knocks echoed from the door.
"Gwen, are you in there? If you don't answer, I'll go get a teacher to break this door down!"
"Ah... I'm fine, Astrella. I'll be out in a moment. Give me five minutes."
Gwen scrambled to her feet, hurriedly getting dressed and splashing water on her face at the sink in her room.
"You've got three minutes, Gwen!"
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The knocking continued as Gwen rushed around the room. Rusty stood there watching her dart from one side to the other, occasionally tripping over her own feet and nearly falling. Somehow, she managed to get into her school uniform within the time, though her hair was still a mess.
"Let's go, Gwen!"
"I... I'm coming."
Even though she did not feel ready, the constant knocking had become impossible to ignore. Her hair was uneven, with one side still flattened from sleep, but there was no time to worry about it. The knocking grew louder with every passing second. Finally, she opened the door, and Astrella burst inside, practically bouncing on her heels.
"Gwen! Hurry up! They're already cutting the peach cake!"
"..."
Gwen did not even have the opportunity to respond before she was dragged out of the room. Rusty was pulled along as well, though his attention was elsewhere. He began scanning the people around them for the potential culprit.
Based on his assessment, only one person had committed the crime, which narrowed the possibilities somewhat. Still, there were plenty of suspects.
The students on this floor were all potential culprits, with the exception of Aranea, whose room was on the upper floor alongside the teachers. Half of the students stayed on Gwen's floor, while the rest occupied the second floor. Only teachers were allowed to move through the corridors at night, but there were many spells capable of concealing movement.
‘There was someone outside the door, they placed the snake directly through the gap in the door, and then left.’
The most obvious suspect was Eldric, who specialised in serpentine creatures. For him, it would be a simple matter to send something small through the corridors without drawing attention. There had also been the incident at the baths involving his group, placing him high on the list of suspects. Yet while Rusty was suspicious of him, he could not think of a good reason for Eldric to do it.
Aranea was another possibility. Perhaps she feared that Gwen, now supported by Rusty, might threaten her position. After all, Rusty was stronger than the spider.
Lost in thought, Rusty continued observing the humanoids around him. Astrella hurried everyone into the dining room, where the cake remained untouched. He was familiar with humanoid habits. Sweat often indicated stress, and changes in a person's voice could reveal nervousness or guilt. However, as the morning went on, he found no one acting out of character.
Eventually, Eldric, Aldric, and Aranea appeared. None of them seemed surprised to see that Gwen was well. The students Rusty did not know showed little reaction either, which in his mind was almost more suspicious than surprise itself. However, he was not familiar enough with them to draw any conclusions, so for the moment, he had no suspect he could confidently accuse.
“Rushty, why are you so quiet? Ish something bothering you?”
Astrella spoke through a mouthful of cake.
“Probably your way of eating and talking with a full mouth.”
Syber was with them as well, grinning as he watched Astrella stuff her face with sweet treats. Her face immediately turned red, not from embarrassment but from anger. Before a commotion could break out, however, a teacher arrived.
“Everyone, you have fifteen minutes to finish up. Then we are leaving.”
The students were shocked. The announcement instantly transformed the atmosphere in the dining hall. Only moments earlier, they had been leisurely enjoying breakfast. Now they were cramming food into their mouths while trying not to choke.
“Fifteen minutes?”
“That’s not enough time.”
Their complaints earned little sympathy from the teachers. Professor Quinten folded his arms and frowned.
“You were informed yesterday that departure would be shortly after breakfast. Next time, go to sleep earlier and wake up on time. When you are finished, assemble outside. If you are late, it will reflect on your grades.”
Several students groaned. While this looked like a simple trip, it was also an active test. They were travelling to the Rose Knight Academy to participate in joint exercises with the knights. If they performed particularly poorly, they could even be demoted to C-class, something none of them wanted.
Rusty and his group managed to arrive early thanks to Astrella, who could not resist gloating about it. Even so, they were not the first to arrive. Aranea had already been waiting there from the beginning. Her two followers, however, were in a panic. Having barely eaten anything, they were hurriedly shovelling down baked potatoes and chunks of meat as Rusty's group headed outside.
The moment they stepped out, the atmosphere shifted. The vehicle they had arrived in was gone, though that was expected. It had continued along the main road toward the city exit. Before long, the students gathered at the hotel entrance, where the teacher conducted a headcount. Perched on Gwen's shoulder, Rusty watched the group carefully, but he still could not spot any suspicious behaviour.
“Maybe I’m not as good at analyzing these humanoids as I thought.”
For a moment, he wished Aburdon were here, as he was quite good at it. He could notice subtle changes in speech patterns and even the slightest movements of the eyes. It was apparently not a skill, but rather experience gained from interrogating people and living as the Demon King, a ruler who constantly needed to know who was about to betray him. In the end, he had still been betrayed, but that was more due to the flaw in his belief that fear alone could maintain loyalty than any failure in his ability to identify potential traitors.
“Everyone is gathered, so let us go. Remember, we will be traveling beyond the Great Defensive Wall. While we will be following a safe route and a group of adventurers will be protecting us, stay vigilant.”
The teacher paused for a moment, then stepped forward. Everyone followed.
As they moved through the streets, Rusty saw more people joining the line while vendors interacted with passersby.
“Beyond the wall, the dangers become very real. Most monsters avoid the roads because soldiers patrol them regularly, but accidents happen. If I give an order, you will follow it immediately. Is that understood?”
“Yes, Professor!”
The students replied in unison.
“Good.”
Rusty was not quite sure how powerful the teacher was, but the amount of mana he possessed was immense. He was probably above D-rank, somewhere within C-rank or perhaps even B-rank. However, Rusty could not rely on the teacher’s strength if something happened. He would need to protect his summoner himself.
The group continued onward, remaining silent due to the teacher’s presence. Eventually, they arrived at the large wagon-like vehicle. The drakehorses were already huffing and puffing smoke from their nostrils. There was one noticeable change since Rusty had last seen them. They now wore armor that covered much of their bodies, clearly intended to protect them from ranged attacks and magic.
“Please board according to your previously established seating order, and do not rush.”
The students began moving toward the wagon in a loose line. Rusty’s group boarded after Syber and Aranea, making their way to the rear seats that no one else seemed interested in. The pecking order within the class had already been established, so nobody felt the need to compete for better seats at this point.
It took around twenty minutes for everyone to settle in and for all the luggage to be loaded into the compartments.
“Isn’t this exciting? We’re going beyond the wall and back into the wide open world!”
Astrella seated herself by the window and looked outside. As the wagon began to move, she lightly shook Gwen’s shoulder. They were now directly beneath the gigantic wall, yet everything remained brightly lit. The lanterns and lights they had previously seen from a distance were everywhere, even during the day.
“Why do they keep it so well lit?”
Rusty asked while peering through the window.
“It’s to stop anything from trying to cross it. Some monsters can hide in the shadows, too.”
Gwen settled back into her seat after answering.
“I see. So it is to keep dangerous things from slipping inside and disturbing the peace.”
This world did not seem as dangerous as the one he had come from, but perhaps that was because of the sheltered environment surrounding the magic academy. With this level of security, it would be difficult for anything to enter unnoticed.
Rusty continued watching through the window as the wagon rolled forward. The massive wall grew closer with every passing moment, its surface stretching so high that he could no longer see the morning sky. Guards stood everywhere, manning the towers and watching over the enormous metal gate ahead.
“So this is it.”
Gwen spoke quietly, and Rusty could hear her heart beating faster. The other students felt much the same, but it was not fear. They were simply excited to finally leave the magical academy after spending a full year there studying. The curriculum had been demanding, and students were rarely allowed beyond the academy grounds. Now, at last, they would be stepping into the wider world.
The gate crept open, its massive metal plates grinding against each other. Surprisingly, the movement produced none of the deafening noise that such an enormous structure should have made. Sunlight spilled through the widening gap, and the moment to move on had finally arrived.
Yet within his metallic core, Rusty remained uneasy. Someone had already made an attempt on Gwen's life, and he could not dismiss the possibility of another attack. Everyone was still a suspect, and he could not be certain that no one beyond the academy harbored ulterior motives against his summoner as well.