Chapter 1930 – 1930. Dark Moon
“There’s no need to be nervous. I liked you more than Niklas. I won’t ask about this. I’ll bury the Flash incident too. Instead, show me your real face.”
I’ve been caught.
‘Is she testing me?’
But her eyes are too calm to be a test. My mind becomes complicated. It’s hard to run away.
“Is it because I, an alchemist, used elemental magic?”
“An alchemist is a magician, after all. They can use elemental magic. It’s nothing special.”
“What is your basis for judging that I am not Leon Schneider?”
“You know, earth spirits like wastelands. Because it’s pure land. People say earth spirits like forests, but that’s wrong. It’s true they hate the asphalt and concrete of cities.”
“…Was there an earth spirit there?”
“I summoned an earth spirit and confirmed what happened that day. Do you think it was a coincidence?”
“Niklas prepared for the worst-case scenario.”
It wasn’t me who chose the location, but Niklas. It wasn’t just a place that was easy to fight in.
“I thought Colonel Bergman planned it, but now it seems I was being played in the Legion Commander’s palm.”
“That’s not it. When I realized what was going on, Colonel Bergman had already retired and returned to his family home. Flash is a top secret, so even a large-scale operation is punishable by death. All the blame was put on the dead Niklas.”
“……”
I never thought Colonel Bergman would run away without hesitation. I was impressed by his quick action.
“The memory the earth spirit showed also included a scene of you turning into a stag beetle. If you can turn into a small bug, turning into another person would be a piece of cake. It’s probably an artifact that can use Polymorph. Am I wrong?”
“You’re right. I’m not Leon Schneider.”
“What about the real Leon Schneider?”
“I didn’t kill him. When I saw him, he was already on the verge of death from a gang attack.”
“Why are you trying to infiltrate Rumen Prison?”
“It’s a personal matter. I came to interrogate a prisoner who was a high-ranking executive of Alphatier Pharmaceuticals.”
“Ah, so you have a grudge against Alphatier Pharmaceuticals. A pretty deep one. I understand why you wanted Flash.”
“……”
“Now, show me your real face.”
There was no way out. I sigh. The only good thing is that she doesn’t seem hostile. And that I’m not that famous.
I released Absolute Polymorph and returned to my original form.
“Is that your real face? You look much better.”
Marie said with a still smiling face. That was all.
“Why have you been so kind to me from the beginning to the end?”
I couldn’t understand. I killed her beloved subordinate and infiltrated the prison as Leon Schneider. She should hate me, not be kind to me.
“Because she likes you.”
The fairy sitting on her chest circled around me. Then, it carefully sat on my shoulder. I didn’t feel any weight.
“I’ve heard that spirits like pure and good people. I’m far from pure.”
“That’s a rumor. Can’t you tell by looking at me?”
“……”
I couldn’t argue. Her nickname was the Smiling Massacre, after all.
“Spirits are nature. Nature doesn’t discriminate against humans. It doesn’t judge human good or evil. And the source of nature is mana. You are loved by mana.”
“I do have a natural affinity for mana.”
“It’s not something you can express with the word ‘natural.’ I can vaguely feel it. The immense potential sleeping inside you. It even feels like the world is unfairly favoring you.”
“You can have Flash.”
Marie gestured. The fairy that was sitting on my shoulder flew back to Marie’s chest.
“Are you leaving just like that?”
“I told you, I’m just here for a visit. You can do whatever you want. You can run the prison as you please, or you can leave quietly. I’ll respect either choice.”
“If possible, I’d like to run the prison. And I want to deal with Bergman myself.”
“Bergman? Why?”
“Because I’m the type to pay back more than I received.”
“Hmm. Not bad. I’ll give you the information, so take care of it. You can cause as much trouble as you want. Bergman is a clear traitor and rebel.”
She walks out of the warden’s office. I transformed into Leon Schneider and followed her. I watched her until she left on a transport plane.
“Hoo.”
I sighed.
It felt like a huge storm had passed by.
• • •
A month had passed since Yuria entered the Maid Academy.
A month.
It was more than enough time for the new students to adapt to their new lives. Most of the students who didn’t adapt were expelled. That was about 100 people. So, there were about 200 students left in the 94th class of the Maid Academy. And that number would gradually decrease. Because the moment you get a failing grade, you’re immediately expelled.
5 a.m.
Before sunrise, an alarm sounds from the speakers installed on the ceiling of the dormitory.
It was part of a soft classical music piece. An alarm that would make you fall deeper asleep rather than wake you up. If you didn’t get up here, you’d be late for the morning roll call that started at 5:15. Then, you’d get a 2-point deduction. If your score reached 0, you’d be expelled, so you had to get up.
“……”
Yuria got up as soon as the wake-up alarm sounded, as always. She leisurely got out of bed, made her bed, and changed from her pajamas into her maid uniform. After checking her clothes and briefly cleaning her room, it was 10 minutes.
“Kyaaaaaaak!”
A scream echoed from one of the dormitory rooms. It seemed one of her classmates had overslept a little. Yuria decided to help her. It wasn’t out of pure goodwill. It was a calculation that helping her would eventually come back to her.
Of course, she wasn’t expecting anything grand.
“Y-Yuria, thank you. If it weren’t for you, I would have been late for the morning roll call.”
“It was nothing difficult. Let’s go outside. We’ll be late for the morning roll call if we stay here.”
Six people were late for the morning roll call today and received deductions. It was because they were tired from the combat training yesterday. Yuria wanted to help them, but she couldn’t because they were in different dormitories.
After the morning roll call, they were given about an hour of free time. Unfortunately, Yuria couldn’t enjoy this free time. Because she was on breakfast duty today.
Yuria and a few other maids headed to the kitchen.
Anna, the cooking instructor maid with a strict expression, spoke to the breakfast duty team.
“The first thing in cooking is cleanliness, the second is taste, and the third is beauty. So, what is cooking?”
The maid students said in unison.
“The first is cleanliness, the second is taste, and the third is beauty.”
Anna nodded and divided the maids.
“Team 1 will make bread, Team 2 will cook sausages and eggs, and Team 3 will prepare the setting. Now, move.”
Clap clap!
Anna clapped her hands, and the maids moved.
Yuria was in Team 2. She reached out to take the sausages from the refrigerator.
Thud.
Her shoulder bumped into the maid next to her. Yuria, who already knew it would happen, deliberately staggered and fell to the floor instead of avoiding it.
“Ah, damn it. Be careful. I almost fell because of you.”
A blue-haired maid smirked. With her sharp eyes, she was Tine, a former street urchin. Tine sneered at the fallen Yuria.
“Didn’t you approach first and push my shoulder?”
“What are you talking about? You were being slow like a slug, so we bumped into each other. Apologize.”
Tine glared at Yuria. Her eyes were full of hostility. It wasn’t like Yuria had done anything to her. She just disliked Yuria out of jealousy and envy.
Of course, Yuria wasn’t particularly interested in her.
“I was the one who fell. I should be the one receiving the apology.”
“Are you trying to start something?”
“Can you handle it if you do?”
“Is this girl crazy?!”
Tine raised her voice. She didn’t like Yuria’s expressionless face and her clear retorts. She was considering slapping her to gain the upper hand. That’s when the instructor, Anna, and the other maids looked over here.
“What are you doing over there?!”
“Tsk.”
Tine clicked her tongue and turned to Anna. She removed the venom from her eyes and said with an embarrassed expression.
“I’m sorry. There was a commotion while I was trying to get the ingredients.”
Yuria also got up from her spot.
“I’m sorry. I was careless.”
Anna looked back and forth between the two and said.
“Accidents often happen in the kitchen. It’s a relief that neither of you were hurt. It seems like it was a mistake, so I won’t deduct any points, but be careful in the future.”
“Yes, Instructor.”
Tine turned around. She raised the corner of her mouth at an angle where only Yuria could see.
But did she know?
That the reputation Yuria had built up since her first day of enrollment was too solid to be broken by something like this.
“Yuria, are you okay?”
Juliet, a classmate with light brown hair, approached Yuria. She was a classmate that she had become particularly entangled with.
“Yes, I’m fine. It seems Tine doesn’t like me. What did I do wrong?”
“Yuria didn’t do anything wrong! Tine is just jealous of you!”
Like this, little by little, unknowingly, she was chipping away at Tine’s reputation like poison seeping in. It was a kind of political maneuvering. The calculated kindness she had shown so far had created allies.
Normally, she would have gotten rid of annoying women like Tine by poisoning or assassinating them, but this was the Maid Academy. If a murder suddenly occurred, the damage would be greater.
Juliet had a lot of friends because of her cool and innocent personality. The incident that just happened would probably spread as a rumor before lunchtime was over.
“Juliet, I think there’s too little pepper.”
“Oh, is that so? I guess it would be better to add a little more?”
“What about the eggs?”
“I forgot to bring them. Wait a minute!”
Juliet was fine in every way, but she was very clumsy.
