Chapter 186: A New Intruder

Ch. 186: A New Intruder

"Sol is dead, and Fram got caught."

A girl in a gothic dress looked at her nails as she quietly spoke to her partner. A man in a tailcoat replied softly, "So I've heard."

She spoke of the [Transgressors.]

The two declared war against the Empire, and both were defeated promptly.

"That's sad. I had tea with them once."

"They were fools. They decided to fight a whole nation head on. That is a plan only fools would choose."

"Really?" The gothic girl looked into the tailcoat man's face with surprise.

"Yes, it is foolish of course, Creine. You may lack intelligence, but normally, you would never choose to fight an entire nation."

Creine: "What would you do, Gregory?"

Gregory: "I would quietly accomplish my goals." Creine: "How?" Gregory: "I'm doing it now. You just have to follow me and see, Creine."

Creine: "Okay, I understand. You're smart after all, Gregory."

A shadow suddenly appeared next to the man called Gregory.

It whispered softly into his ear.

Gregory: "......I see. How wonderful." Creine: "What is it?" Gregory: "We will execute our plan tomorrow." Creine: "Okay, but where are we going?" Gregory: "To the Kingdom." Creine: "The Kingdom? That's far." Gregory: "With your help, we can be there in no time, Creine." Creine: "Really?" Gregory: "Yes, of course. Listen to me, Creine. You just have to do as I tell you. If you do so, then everything will work out. Isn't that right?"

Creine: "Yup!"

The Kingdom and Empire are both powerful nations.

They were countries that have [Extremes] at their disposal, and both had reasons to stop the [Demon King's Territory's] expansion.

But there are also other countries under different circumstances that also share borders with the [Demon King's Territory].

They had no choice but to send Wizards out to their death, but even doing so, some had failed to stop the Corrupted Magic's infestation and disappeared one by one.

And there is no worse fate than to be born in a country that is about to disappear.

They would receive very little education, find very little food, and would be sent out as human fodder to the frontlines.

Even if the children cannot use Spells, with one [Curse] Type Wizard, they would turn into weapons.

Life itself is a huge source of energy.

Creine: "So what are you trying to do, Gregory?"

Gregory: "Something you wouldn't understand." Creine: "But......I want to know." Gregory: "We're going to build a place for us to live." Creine: "We can't live here?" Creine looked around at their current hideout.

The territory in between the [Demon King's Territory] and humanity's territory lies an ambiguous stretch of land ー that is the living space for the [Transgressors].

Gregory: "No, this place won't do. We have to relocate." Creine: "Why?"

Gregory: "The [Demon King] has risen. This place will soon fall."

The [Demon King's Territory] has not expanded.

The [Demon King] has yet to make his move.

But there was no doubt that he was building up power.

Just like the previous [Demon King], he was expanding his power by forcing those who were reckless enough to live there and the Monsters too.

If they were to strike, the time was now.

Creine: "But you're strong, Gregory. You should just defeat the [Demon King]."

Gregory: "...Creine, you really are a fool." Creine: "Why?" Gregory: "We're going to the Kingdom to defeat the [Demon King]."

Creine: "Oh, I see! You really are the smartest, Gregory!"

Gregory: "Come on, let's go. We're going to take the Forbidden Rituals they're hiding."

Creine: "Okay!"

Creine nodded her head and initiated her Spell.

There was once a very small nation.

With the [Demon King] defeated, the remaining Nobles banded together to create a small nation. This nation was able to extract rich resources from the ocean and for a brief moment in history, enjoyed peace and prosperity.

But today, that nation has sunken into the [Demon King's Territory].

It was a very small nation.

That's why no one even knows its name.

With the [Demon King's Territory's] expansion, the surviving refugees were too many for its neighbors, and many were left to die.

Under those hellish circumstances, there was one who reached the pinnacle of <Magic>.

There were even those who managed to survive among the [Transgressors].

<<<<>>>>

Igni: "Oh, we need to fix this field?" Miko: "That's rightー That's part of our duty as Student Council members."

It was the afternoon.

The first day of the competition was over, and the Student Council members were ordered to remain behind. Igni wondered if there really was anything left to do, so he was genuinely surprised.

His job was to fix the torn up field.

Miko: "Well, I'll just use my [Earth] Type Spell to return the field to normal, so Igni, just blow it up with your {Fireball}."

Igni: "Miss Miko, you can use [Earth] Type Spells too?"

Miko: "Of course I can." With a huge smile on her face, she puffed her chest with pride

Miko: "I can't do anything fancy though!"

And Miss Miko immediately returned the field back to normal.

Igni flew up into the air, and from the sky, he rained down {Fireballs} and made the ground uneven once more.

They were fixing the [Wilderness] Field.

Since it was supposed to reflect the wilderness, Igni wondered if there was any reason to "fix" it, but if Miss Miko said it needed to be done, then he convinced himself that it was necessary.

Miko: "Igni! I'm going to the Jungle Field now, so just do what Miru tells you to do!"

Igni: "Got it!"

And Miss Miko headed off to the [Jungle] Field.

Igni wasn't quite done, and continued to fire more {Fireballs} towards the ground whenー

"It's been a while, Igni!!"

When he heard a familiar, obscenely loud voice from below.

He wondered who it was and looked and saw Howell standing there.

He thought of ignoring him, but he was Elina's brother after all, so Igni nodded a quick greeting back.

"Ohー It's Mr. Howellー"

And President Miru arrived on scene.

Howell: "Yes, it's been a while, Miru!!"

Howell spoke so loud, Igni could hear his voice clearly from the sky.

Igni landed on the ground to wait for President Miru's next orders.

Igni: "You know Mr. Howell, President Miru?" Miru: "He's my upperclassmen. Since he was top of the class when he was here, he's famous."

Howell: "Yes! You were also quite the upcoming star, Miru! You were very well known since your first year!!"

Igni: (I see. So they both knew each other because they were both famous.)

Miru: "So, why are you here, Mr. Howell?" Howell: "I was assigned as security for this school by the Knights Order, and I wanted to go make my rounds to greet familiar faces!!"

Miru: "Oh, I see. Well, now that you're done greeting, please leaveー"

Howell: "That's pretty cold, Miru......"

Miru: "We still have jobs to do as the Student Council."

And President Miru shooed away Howell.

Igni: ".......do you not like Mr. Howell, President Miru?" Miru: "What? Oh, it's not that I dislike him. But all he talks about is himself, so I thought we talked to him long enough."

Igni: "Wow....."

Igni decided to mirror Miru's way of handling Howell going forward.