Chapter 124: Capgras Syndrome

The possibility that this continent knew about the Capgras syndrome was slim.

Furthermore, I myself just had basic knowledge about it. I didn't know anything about the causes or treatment.

But at the moment, the more pressing matter was...

"Where is Professor?"

I first had to subdue Aria, who was rushing at me.

Bang!

"Keugh!"

Despite the protection magic cast by the Dark Spiritualist, Aria was still able to shatter it easily with her tightly clenched fists.

She wasn't a regressor for nothing; she was even able to display various techniques while launching an attack.

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

Despite using wind magic on my body to create some distance, golden energy surged from her feet, allowing her to accelerate and swiftly catch up with me.

Has she already mastered the Golden Dragon's Path?

Among all the mobility skills, this was the most efficient and effective top-tier one.

And the most fearsome aspect of the Golden Dragon's Path was that it was not constrained by space.

As Aria stepped into the air, golden platforms formed beneath her, propelling her mid-air.

Despite my use of wind magic, Aria had already soared above me with just a few leaps.

Then, her fist descended from above.

"I won't kill you because I need to find out where Professor is."

Kuung!

I instinctively raised both arms to block the violent impact. It was the best defense I could muster.

Crunch!

Aria's strike caused both my arms to twist and break. I grimaced in pain and clenched my teeth.

However, it wasn't over yet.

Pushed down by the impact, I almost fell straight to the ground. I crouched as low as possible and once again tried to cast protective magic with the help of the Dark Spiritualist.

But perhaps because my arms were twisted, I was not able to manifest the magic in the manner I wished to.

Relying solely on the magic cast by the Dark Spiritualist, it was slowly reaching its limit while shielding me from the impact.

I had no choice but to endure it for the time being, but just before I hit the ground, a giant golden butterfly emerged from below and gently caught me.

And not only that, but the light slightly healed my broken hand as well.

[H-High-ranking elemental?]

The Dark Spiritualist exclaimed in surprise, but I turned my gaze to the other side.

There stood Erica, casting magic while accompanied by elemental.

"Are you okay?"

"To some extent."

After the brief exchange, we both turned our heads simultaneously.

Aria had landed skilfully and glared at us as if she intended to kill us.

"Right, so it's even Professor Erica now."

"...What?"

Erica looked at me to ask what she meant by that, so I gave a simple explanation.

"She currently believes that we are not ourselves but someone else pretending to be us."

"You mean, she is under an illusion spell?"

I shook my head at Erica, who was preparing to use purification magic.

Aria wasn't the type to be caught by an illusion spell.

"It is a type of mental disorder."

"...."

"I do not know how Aria ended up in this state, but we must subdue her first."

"That is quite tricky."

Erica sighed as she bit her lip. A situation where we couldn't kill her but had to subdue her was quite a challenge by itself.

Our opponent was an expert who had fought against the Mage Tribunal Judges in a bloody battle all by herself.

Even though Aria had the upper hand in terms of compatibility1 and the Mage Tribunal Judge was injured...

There were only a handful of people on this continent who could pull off such an eccentric feat.

[It looks like we need to use mind-related magic.]

The Dark Spiritualist's suggestion made a lot of sense. Since it was currently difficult for us to win using physical combat, it was more logical to focus on magic related to controlling the mind.

Especially since her condition was highly unstable right now.

But to do that, we needed a battle line. It wouldn't be easy to create an opening against Aria with just the two of us.

"Hold ooon!"

And since this was an academy, people would naturally begin to gather as time passed.

Professors who had noticed the commotion were rushing over.

"What's going on here!"

"S-Student Aria?"

"First, let's gather some mana. However, please explain the situation."

While the other professors tried to resolve the situation rationally through dialogue, Academy Nurse Caren, a former mercenary, stood bewildered and adopted a defensive stance.

"I never thought we'd have such a big shot among our students."

She meant that was truly a formidable fighting spirit.

The killing intent directed at me intensified and even spread heavily towards the other professors.

"Even the other professors? You must have struggled quite a bit to prepare for this."

Aria firmly believed that even the other professors were imposters now, and the situation was becoming increasingly serious.

The best chance for us to win is now, while she is still unarmed.

If she were to wield her greatsword, it would become difficult to deal with her, even with all the academy professors gathered.

Considering that Aria had faced the elites of the Kingdom, the Mage Tribunal Judges alone, this was the best we could do, right?

She probably fights using all the techniques she learned in the previous round. It makes sense since she learned to wield a greatsword.

Even if it were me, I would have advised Aria to choose the greatsword when nurturing her as it was the most efficient and versatile option, with many unique items available.

No, it must have been me from the first round who recommended the greatsword.

So, I was sure that she wouldn't be that skilled in unarmed combat. At present, she was mostly using basic self-defense techniques and mobility skills like the Golden Dragon's Path to fight against us.

Yet, Aria's fighting spirit wasn't something that could be taken lightly. She might be a toothless tiger now, but the tiger's physique was still too massive to overlook.

Moreover, we weren't aiming to kill her but subdue her while controlling her strength.

While resolving this situation through dialogue would be the most preferable solution, given its difficulty, we would have to subdue her even if it meant causing injuries.

"W-What's going on?"

"Why are all the professors gathered here?"

"Is there a fight?"

The students were moving to their next class. Among them, I noticed several characters from the game, including Eleanor.

"Argh!"

As soon as she spotted them, Aria immediately clutched her head in agony.

"Aaargh!"

It was an unexpected situation, but a decisive opportunity. I immediately signaled Caren, and Erica's spirits followed, casting support magic on Caren.

"Let's calm down a bit!"

When Caren struck her neck with precision, Aria lost consciousness and collapsed.

Was it a method she had learned during her mercenary days?

While I felt grateful for the clean resolution, I could only watch the fallen Aria with a troubled expression.

* * *

"Therefore, you should just stay there obediently."

I spoke towards the room where Aria was confined, and she responded with a lively voice from inside.

"Yes, Professor!"

Caren's neat technique typically rendered someone unconscious for at least three hours, yet Aria regained consciousness in just 10 minutes.

I already knew that she wasn't an ordinary girl, but I still couldn't help but admire her peculiar physical abilities every time I witnessed them.

The others were worried that we would have to fight her again to subdue her.

However, if she really had Capgras syndrome, there was another way.

All we had to do was only allow her to listen to our voices.

When I first learned about Capgras syndrome, there were just a few cases I had heard about.

One of them involved a man talking to his mother over the phone.

When his mother was right in front of him, he screamed at her and accused her of being an imposter, a suspicious person imitating his mother.

However, when his mother was sent to the next room and spoke to him over a call, he surprisingly calmed down and accepted that the person on the call was his real mother.

So, the only way to keep Aria unharmed was to prevent her from seeing our faces.

"Wow, that's fascinating."

Having heard about the entire situation, Findenai licked her lips and looked towards the door.

"Master Bastard, you seem to know almost everything. It's the first time I've heard of such an illness."

Was there anyone on this continent who knew about Capgras syndrome?

Probably not, I thought, as I warned Findenai.

"If Aria tries to leave, you should call me immediately. Do not let her escape, and do not let her see anyone's face."

"Got it. Tsk, I can't smoke in the dormitory."

I left Findenai, who was smacking her lips in displeasure, and headed down to the first floor of the dormitory.

Even though it was a night-duty room in the female dormitory, there were quite a few prominent professors gathered there, with the Dean at the center.

"Phew, I've heard an explanation about the situation from Professor Erica. It seems like she's suffering from some sort of mental disorder, doesn't it?"

"Capgras syndrome. It is a mental disorder where one believes that the people around them are not real but are being impersonated by someone else."

"Is that even a real illness?"

Academy Nurse, Professor Caren, asked with a suspicious expression. Despite her expertise in this field, it seemed like she had never heard about it.

While it was somewhat regrettable, I nodded calmly.

"It is not well-known because it is a rare illness. But that is not the point."

Regardless of Aria's diagnosis, it didn't really matter.

"The crucial thing is, there is no standardized cure for her condition, so we need to begin searching for one immediately."

Some professors immediately stood up at my words.

"Wait, wouldn't it be for the best to send her to the hospital?"

"We are professors who teach students, not doctors who treat them."

"The safety of the other students might also be at risk."

I had somewhat anticipated the professors' responses.

Initially, they merely regarded Aria as an outstanding student. However, it became evident that the strength she possessed was considerably greater than expected.

If she were to go on a rampage again, the other students would be in danger as well.

The Dean, too, seemed to lean towards the opinion of that side. However, he subtly scrutinized my reaction.

Erica folded her arms and coldly voiced her opinion against those answers.

"It has only been two days since Aria began behaving like this. Just two days ago, she was attending classes as usual."

"......"

"So, there's a high possibility that the cause behind her sudden change is within the academy."

"B-But we can't just leave her like that!"

At the suggestion that the academy also bore some responsibility, one of the professors exclaimed in dismay, but Erica remained firm.

"Professor Deus is the only one who knows about Aria's diagnosis and has the means to manage it. It shouldn't be a problem to transfer her to the downtown hospital if there's a doctor who is familiar with her condition. However..."

"......"

"If not, how is that any different from simply handing her over to be a lab rat? Of course, the safety of other students is important too."

Her chilling voice devoid of any emotion became even more persuasive. But I could feel her steadfast trust in me beneath it.

"Aria is also a student of this academy. I believe that the quickest way to find a solution is to leave it to Professor Deus, who knows how to handle and resolve it."

"Sigh."

The Dean wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and sighed.

"The first year this time has truly been an eventful one."

Despite grumbling like that, the Dean ultimately took all the opinions into consideration to reach a conclusion.

"Let's observe the situation for now. If Ms. Aria's condition gets worse after another three days, we'll have no choice but to send her to the hospital."

"Understood."

With that said, the professors departed, leaving only Erica, Academy Nurse Caren and me behind.

"Will it be fine if I follow you around for a while? I'll check with the downtown hospital if they know anything about Capgras syndrome."

Caren admitted that she didn't know that such an illness existed, so she showed some interest in it.

"So, what's the plan?"

Unlike the frosty atmosphere from just moments ago, Erica spoke softly.

Because her change was too sudden, I briefly glanced at Erica before stepping outside.

"Aria complained about having a headache while she was fighting us."

"She did do that unexpectedly upon seeing some of the passing students."

"It was not just because of the number of students that showed up."

I had clearly seen some of the important figures from the game mixed with the crowd.

"We might need to talk to some students."

First, it seemed like I needed to meet Aria's former comrades.