I Became a Tentacle Monster Blooming in the Academy Garden 107

## Chapter 107 – Exposed

At the same moment the servants were gathering to move the sleeping students in the room to their respective chambers, one by one…

A woman with violet hair slowly stirred, her body shuddering at the faint chill rising from the floor. With a small groan, she gradually opened her eyes, rising slowly in the middle of the night.

“Ugh… my head…”

It was her first time drinking properly, so this pure girl was essentially experiencing a hangover for the first time, and her current condition was nothing short of agonizing.

Anne, clutching her forehead as she rose from her spot, glanced at the students still sprawled around, not yet moved. Her eyes met someone standing beside them.

“Anne, you’re awake?”

“Ugh… yeah… but my head hurts…”

Lucas smiled at Anne, who was pressing her forehead and slightly frowning. He pulled a small bottle from his pocket and offered it to her.

“Looks like you have a bad hangover. Here, take this. It’s a hangover cure from my family. If you drink it and go back to sleep, it’ll be much better.”

“Thank you…”

Anne took the bottle from Lucas, who shrugged proudly as he offered the remedy. She immediately downed it in one gulp, her small tongue peeking out slightly at the bitter taste of the medicine.

“Ugh…”

“A bit bitter, right? Then let’s get you back to your room. I’ll have a servant escort you…”

“No… it’s okay… Thank you… but I can… go alone… See you… tomorrow…”

Anne refused Lucas’s offer of a servant, blinking her bleary eyes and staggering forward.

It was now the break of dawn, and the lights in the dark corridors were mostly off to allow the guests to rest.

Although it was her first time here, Anne found her way without much difficulty in this social club, as the route was well-marked with directions.

As she walked down the dark corridor, stifling a small yawn, she heard a sound.

– Swish…

“Who’s there…?”

A faint silhouette shrouded in darkness appeared behind her, and Anne’s mind, dulled by fatigue, jolted awake with a shiver. She called out to the figure in a trembling voice.

But the silhouette didn’t move. Sensing an instinctive danger, Anne reached for the folding greatsword at her waist, but at that moment…

‘Huh… where did it go…?’

No matter how much she felt around her waist, the white rod that should have been attached to the side of her dress had vanished as if it had evaporated.

Startled, Anne looked up and saw the black shadow finally moving, stepping into the torchlight and slowly revealing its silhouette.

The figure held out a hand, and in it was her own—no, Vivian’s—folding greatsword. It unfolded with a soft *shrrr*, the blade pointing towards her. Only then did Anne feel a heavy weight drop in her chest, as if a stone had settled there.

It felt like a lost memory returning.

A memory that had been cloudy and unclear for no reason now seemed to align with the current situation.

The sharp blade pointing at her, the dark night sky, and the moment she closed her eyes, something quickly passing in front of her as she looked down at the flowerbed.

“Ah…”

Taking a step forward, the figure revealed itself in the torchlight. Anne uttered a single word in a trembling voice, then, like a frightened girl, turned and desperately ran away.

“Vi… Vivian…”

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“Viv…!! Helen!! You were here?
I’ve been looking all over for you…!! Yo…”

“Ranie, who do you think I am?”

“Helen… aren’t you…? Yo…?”

“Then why… and how did you get this…”

“What’s wrong…? Yo…? Is something strange?
What’s that? It’s so white? Is it a rod?”

“It’s nothing.
Go back to your post.
You need to keep watch on the target.”

“Okay…!! Yo…”

Vivian glanced back at Ranie as she left, then looked down at what she was holding in her hand. Her jaw clenched, her teeth grinding.

Vivian and Ranie had been watching that room from the start.

After wandering around for a while, the spider radar had touched a sensitive spot, causing her to stop.

The result of peeking through a gap that allowed her to see inside could only be described as a success.

‘Why…?’

But there, along with Karla, their target, was Anne, who made her grind her teeth just thinking about her.

To be precise, there was some connection between Karla, their target, and the special evaluation, but it was questionable whether that was enough for them to be together at the social gathering.

But right now, completing the mission was more important than personal feelings.

Finding the target in this place, where over a hundred students and graduates were gathered, was already taking up enough time.

‘Don’t worry about anything else… it’s just a bad memory.’

She had seen Anne, alone in the dark corridor, staggering and dropping something. She had planned to approach her, pick up the object, and strike up a conversation.

After all, she was Helen, not Vivian.

Even though Anne hated Vivian’s gang, if she played her cards right, she could deceive her, at least for a moment.

She had done it countless times before, so she thought it wouldn’t be difficult. She was about to speak to her, hoping to get some information, when…

‘My sword… why do you have it…?’

She had realized the strangeness of the object she picked up from the floor, and when she unfolded it in front of the torch, confirming that the folding greatsword was hers, Anne had blurted out a trembling word and run away.

“Vi… Vivian…”

The sight of Anne running away as if she had seen a ghost lingered in her mind, and memories of the past flooded back.

A presence that exuded revulsion at a primal level.

An obstacle that had blocked her path, which might have been bright.

And a variable that, even now, wouldn’t move according to her will.

She desperately wanted to chase after Anne and plunge the sword into her neck, but Vivian exercised her patience and turned around.

As she had done before, she gently inserted the white rod into the loop on the side of her dress.

Her long-standing pride.

And the memory that now remained as only a single sword.

‘It’s… no longer my concern…’

She was leaving Grenot, abandoning the memories that had become the past, and finding the work she had to do.

As Vivian walked back into the darkness, leaving the corridor where Anne had disappeared, a hint of bitterness melted into her steps.

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“Haa…!! Haa…!!”

Her pupils were dilating uncontrollably, and her heart was pounding so hard it felt like it would burst.

Overwhelmed by a sudden fear, Anne was running forward with all her might.

She didn’t even notice when her dress caught on a decoration in the corridor and tore slightly, or when the decorations fell over with a crash. She ran forward and burst through a door as if headbutting it.

A room with a faint, ethereal light.

She immediately turned around, leaned against the door, and quickly closed it. Sliding down to the floor, she clutched her aching head, recalling the memories from just moments ago.

“Sniff… sniff… sob…”

“What… what’s going on…?”

“Kyaa!”

The room already had occupants, and several boys and girls were startled by her sudden entrance. Anne, who had momentarily thought she was alone, panicked and screamed.

This place wasn’t much different from the others. Each of them held a bottle or two of alcohol, staring at Anne, the unexpected guest, with surprised eyes.

But there was one difference: a faint, indescribable fragrance filled the room, as if incense had been lit.

Anyway, one of the boys stepped forward and approached Anne, and a girl followed, looking down at her.

“W-wait a minute… are you okay?
What happened to you…? Verdi, take a look at her.”

“Hey, just stay still for a moment. Are you hurt?
Do you have a handkerchief?
You’re sweating so much…”

The girl, hearing the boy’s words, leaned down slightly and brushed Anne’s hair away, frowning slightly at the sweat running down her forehead.

“Ha… handkerchief…”

Still dizzy from the remaining alcohol and the exhaustion of running at full speed, Anne reached into the side pocket of her dress with a shaky hand and slowly pulled out her handkerchief.

She grasped the edge of the handkerchief that had emerged from her pocket and slowly raised it towards her face to wipe away the sweat.

– Ting-ting!! Rattle

And at that moment, something attached to the handkerchief slipped out of her pocket and fell to the floor, drawing everyone’s attention.

“A medal…? Isn’t that… the Wicked Game insignia?”

“Why does she have that? Huh…?”

The moment something that shouldn’t have been in her pocket appeared, Anne’s face turned pale as she realized what it was.

She looked up and met the eyes of the dozen or so male and female students in the room.

“So, you’re the villain…?”