The Incubus King of Holy Sword Academy (WN): Chapter 17

 

Chapter 17: Finding the Cat

 Many people died in extracurricular activities at the Holy Sword Academy.

 The people and nobles of the royal capital were shocked by this tragic incident that unexpectedly occurred in the royal capital. The incident revealed the inadequate safety system of the Academy's extracurricular activities, the lack of training of the local knights, and the lax work of the minister in charge of the development of the northern wilderness, which could be said to have caused the failure. The incident drew public attention.

 Regarding the operation of the Holy Sword Academy, which is directly related to Christo, all classes have been suspended. Those who wanted to train or study at the school were allowed to come to the academy but were told to stay at their lodgings and wait for the school to contact them.

"Melvina, I will take the basket of apples."

"Then I'll take the flowers."

 Three days after the attack on the extracurricular activities.

 The day before the memorial service for Lancelot, Christo and Melvina had changed into their formal wear in the morning and were ready to leave their lodgings.

 It seems that Setanta's class―― Keter class was also apparently been attacked when Christo and the others were in the midst of their mishap, causing no small amount of damage.

 The damage to the Lou family was Gwendolyn's injury and Kat's kidnapping.

 Gwendolyn was said to have been slashed in the back by Patricia, after she had stopped the enemy.

 As for Kat, Melvina said that Patricia explained to her that although she fought very bravely, her body was paralyzed by the enemy's cowardly surprise attack―― and she was taken when the enemy retreated.

 From Christo's point of view, he had no idea what had happened to Setanta and his party, since he had just heard it. Gwendolyn's injury by Patricia was also unclear, but Kat's abduction was too abrupt to be primordial chaos.

"It must have been a huge mix-up between friend and foe."

 Melvina said in a pained voice while wrapping flowers in a wet newspaper.

"The Keter class, with the exception of a few people, were mostly killed by the attackers. It was hard to read the text in this morning's paper as well."

"Don't look sad, Melvina. I want you to smile."

 Christo put his hand on Melvina's shoulder, which was wrapped in a white blouse.

 Melvina's tears spilled down her cheeks.

“Sister-in-law Kat…!”

“I wonder what it would have been like to be kidnapped. She fought bravely, but was taken by surprise and paralyzed, huh."

 The fact that Gwendolyn was slashed in the back by Patricia was a momentary "What?", but in the end, he was not that surprised.

 In any case, Gwendolyn probably jumped out without a shred of coordination and interfered with Patricia.

 The front line collapsed because of Gwendolyn, Kat fought hard but was ambushed and paralyzed, and Setanta, enraged as everyone in his class was killed one after another, went on a rampage and managed to force the enemy to retreat―― a story that could have happened.

(Gwendolyn, if Setanta doesn't want her, give her to me. That woman could probably be quite capable, depending on how you use her. Patricia can't handle Gwendolyn because she is a sensible person. Setanta has no commanding skills. I think I can handle Gwendolyn best.)

 Christo thinks about this while combing Melvina's hair with a comb.

 He had killed a rare Foglin and regretted the waste of time afterward. After that incident, Christo learned that he might regret it later if he killed the creature too easily.

(I want a convenient familiar to replace the Foglin I killed. I want one with as many all-purpose abilities as possible, capable of acting alone, and obedient.)

 In this respect, Gwendolyn is all-powerful, can act alone, and will do anything as long as you pay her, so she has all the requirements that Christo needs.

 The problem is her personality......

 He thinks the woman is probably crazy, but for some reason, Christo is on the same wavelength as her, so he feels no pain when he is with her. This is something, but he thinks she feels the same way.

(When we fought together, we were in perfect sync with each other. In the future, it is better to have her under my command than to kill her.)

 If this is the case, he should take care to be friendly when they visit her today.

 This is to increase Gwendolyn's likability from now on.

 Specifically, don't go into or contradict every single thing she says, but affirm almost everything.

 You're right.

 That's right, I thought so too.

 

As expected of Gwendolyn.

 If he says something like that, Gwendolyn will be in a good mood, probably.

"Okay, I combed it clean. I'm going to tie your hair. ――You're cute today too, Melvina."

"Christo-san is cool too."

 Kissing the beautiful blond girl from the morning.

 While Setanta and his party are troubled, Christo's daily life is fulfilling.

 Also, he would be happier if Melvina smiled.

(She has been feeling down since Kat was taken away, so if Kat comes back, Melvina will smile again. The academy is closed and I'm free, so after I go visit Gwendolyn, I'll look for Kat at random...)

 × × ×

 He left the "Muma's Cradle" with Melvina.

 They go up the narrow passage and go around the royal castle.

 The purpose of today's trip is to visit Gwendolyn, who has been injured, and to check on Patricia, who is mentally exhausted.

 Gwendolyn's injuries were relatively minor among those who were attacked, and because of the number of beds available at the Royal Capital Medical Facility, she is being housed in the medical wing of the Holy Sword Academy. Patricia cut her on the back. It seems that she had been gutted by the enemy before that. He wondered how she survived.

 As for Patricia, she holed up in the classroom of the art club at the east end of the Holy Sword Academy, instead of returning to the villa of the Hero Family in the royal capital. The servants of the Hero Family in the villa are also inaccessible to her, and she has been drawing pictures for a long time. It seems that Kat's abduction has taken a toll on her.

 The Church Knights and the Kingdom Knights are currently searching for her whereabouts. However, there has been no trace of her for the past three days, and from what he has read in the newspapers, it seems that they are waiting for a statement from the attackers.

 Kat was kidnapped in the wilderness more than 100 kilometers away from the capital.

 The wind was strong and magical beasts were roaming about, so it was inevitable that no results would be obtained even if they tried to follow the trail in a straightforward method. It is said that since the border had not been sealed in time, they may have already escaped in the direction of the Hero Family.

“Speaking of which, is Setanta able to eat properly? You and Patricia make the meals before, right?”

"He seems to be doing all right. Yesterday, on my way home, I stopped by the residence, but Her Royal Highness Princess Yufimia-sama was there."

"Yufimia, one of the Guardian Knight, the [Demon Burial]."

 Christo's eyes were unintentionally smeared with murderous intent.

 She is the chestnut-haired woman who handed him the invitation to the ceremony.

 Remembering correctly, she is also the student council president of the academy.

“Christo-san, you're being disrespectful.”

"Ah, I'm sorry. I couldn't help but get the impression that she was more of a hero who hunted demons than royalty."

"If Yufimia-sama heard that, she'd be outraged."

"I'm sorry, I'll be careful. ――So, Setanta has the first princess of this country cook for him?"

"Isn't it the chef that Her Highness brought? Yufimia-sama's cooking skills are... yes, well, it's a bit of a problem. When I was little, I ate something that Onii-sama didn't eat. However, I got sick.”

"Eh. Melvina has a pretty strong stomach, right? You look fine even after drinking a little old milk."

 A dish that drives Melvina into poor health.

 He would like to see a little bit of what kind of food it is.

“When we get to the academy, let's go to the art club before the medical wing. I think it will be quicker to check on sister-in-law Patricia."

"If she's trying to calm herself down by painting, it would be bad to stay too long."

"Yes."

 While they were talking like this, they came to the main street next to the royal castle.

 The main street is always crowded with people, but today there were even more people than usual. In particular, there were quite a lot of elves, the fairy race who are kept as slaves. Most of the slave elves seemed to be on their way home from a shopping trip as ordered by their masters, and they were carrying large cloth bags around their chests.

 From the stores on either side of them, they could also see the faces of dwarves, who were apparently working as blacksmiths. Most dwarves, like elves, are kept as slaves, but because of their dexterity, many of them use their skills to earn money and buy substantial freedom from their masters.

 Elves and Dwarves.

 Tamed by the light races, they had newspaper editions scattered around the streets.

"Extra issue! Extra issue! A statement has been issued by the group of criminals who attacked the students of Holy Sword Academy during their extracurricular activities! A new development! We also found out about the safety of Kat Lou, the captive hero's wife! Come, you can get the issue for three copper coins! Have some of it, you elf brother there!"

 A newspaper vendor in a flashy red vendor outfit shouts his sales pitch to the crowd from atop a crate. Behind him was a pile of newspapers. The newspapers disappear from the seller's hands in the blink of an eye, and the next chunk is taken from the pile of newspapers behind him.

 It seemed that some of the elves and dwarves who could not read the common language were also buying newspapers.

 They are read to by those who can read the common language.

"Sell me some"

"Alright! Thank you very much, cool brother!"

 Christo also pays three coppers to buy a newspaper.

 The newspaper had more pictures than usual.

 On the front cover, there was a picture of Kat wrapped in a rope and thrown out in a room in an abandoned building, and men wearing masks, and hats to hide their faces. It was quite good.

 And because it was in color, even those who could not read would have bought it.

 In addition, the contents of the paper were stimulating for the demons.

"[Liberation from oppression. Demons kept in the royal capital, stand up. The days of being humiliated as slaves are over. Now is the time to rebel.]"

 Melvina looked at the newspaper Christo had bought and read the words on the page.

“[We are the Demon Liberation Army. We fight for the freedom of the demon race]. On the next page, the representative is wearing a hat. Those pointed ears. He is an elf."

“It seems that the armed group calling itself the Demon Liberation Army is demanding the cancellation of the ceremony to be held in two days' time. [The body of our fellow demon Surt must be buried with great respect. It is outrageous to mutilate and humiliate Surt's body. If the ceremony is to be held as scheduled, we will ride to the site of the ceremony and bring damnation upon the irreverent light races]."

 Christo frowned after reading it.

 Attacking the ceremony――?

 He doesn't know what kind of thugs they are, but they will be hunted down in an instant if they went into a ceremony with the hero and full of guardian knights.

 Even if they are not guardian knights, there should be more than one person at the ceremony who possesses the pseudo-holy sword of [The holy sword that takes magic and slays fairies]. Due to the characteristics of that holy sword, just by pulling out the holy sword, all of these foolish terrorists will dry up and die.

 It is just a suicide mission.

"Are they aiming for a demon slave uprising?"

 Melvina muttered with a difficult look on her face.

 Christo hugged her shoulder and turned her through the crowd.

“No one would be stupid enough to join a riot. Most of the demon slaves in the capital are content with their lives. If they start a riot, their lives that they worked so hard to win will be destroyed, and they will only end up being killed by the Royal Army."

 In fact, the elves and dwarves who are buying the extra issue are running their eyes over the newspaper with a sense of curiosity, but they have the eyes of bystanders ――somewhat as if they are looking at someone else. There is no one who shares the enthusiasm of the [Demon Liberation Army] that published the statement in the extra issue.

(If this were fifty years ago, the outcome might have been different. But now, it has been about a hundred years since the overthrow of the Demon King of Chaos. The second and third generations of slave demons have been born, and the regret of defeat and the mind of rebellion are lost among the demons. These terrorists are too blind to the times.)

 Taking action is important.

 But if you don't stand smart, it is lone courage.

(These elves won't die if left as they are. I don't like idiots, and even if they're demons, I won't take sides with crazy people. But...... after all, these are my people.)

"Cristo-san, let's get going."

 Melvina whispers in his ear.

 Her ash-blue eyes were directed at the Royal Guard, who was looking at what was going on in front of the group of elves.

“The guards are going to take control of this place as soon as they receive instructions from the top. It would be better for us to leave here before we get into trouble."

"I agree."

 He was actually going to buy some accessories to wear to the ceremony two days later on the street, but it would be better to do it tomorrow.

 Huddled together, Christo and Melvina crossed the street and headed for the Holy Sword Academy from the narrow aisle.

 × × ×

 At the east end of the Academy, there is an old school building that is no longer in use.

 The area around the main gate is beautifully decorated with marble and lush greenery, but the old school building has a unique sense of apocalypse, with weeds growing between the old stone pavement and the weathered stone used for the school building in some places. It was as if they were visiting the ruins of a long-dead civilization.

 Beyond the east end of the academy's wall is a small back hill used for exercises, so the neighborhood is relatively quiet despite the fact that the Holy Sword Academy is located in the city.

 The art club classroom where Patricia is holed up was located at the east end of the academy.

 Since the academy is currently closed, the classrooms and corridors of the old school building are completely empty.

 When Christo and Melvina peeked into the classroom at the far end of the corridor, they saw a red-haired girl painting on a canvas alone inside.

 When we called out to her, Patricia turned her body toward them and bowed her head.

 Unusually for a girl who is always so neat and trim, she was not wearing any makeup and her hair was not in vertical rolls. Her red hair was tied back with a ribbon and hung down in front of her chest.

"Hello. Please have a seat."

"Yes. Excuse me, sister-in-law."

"What are you painting?"

 Christo asked as he pulled a chair closer to Patricia.

 The canvas showed a withering field and a group of students from the Holy Sword Academy walking through the field.

 Patricia turned her body toward Christo and Melvina and smiled a ghostly, empty smile.

"It depicts my heart."

"Heart?"

"They all died because I failed to give them proper instructions. If I and Gwendolyn had held off the attackers while my husband saved as many students as he could―― then everyone would not have died with their throats slit."

“In the Keter class, if I remember correctly, other than Setanta, Gwendolyn, and you, only five people were saved? Except for Kat-dono.”

"Yes...... it's all my fault. I'm an idiot...! If I acted properly, I could save everyone... even Kat! Maybe...... Kat wouldn't have rushed in."

"It's always sister-in-law Kat who charges in."

“…………”

 Patricia silently burst into tears.

 Guessing, it seems that she thinks it's her responsibility that the people of the Keter class were killed.

(I wanted to ask her in detail what happened, but to let her talk now would only cause her pain. Not what a gentleman would do.)

 However, Patricia's penance continued without Christo having to ask.

"...And I also betrayed Gwendolyn and Setanta's trust."

"What do you mean?"

"Gwendolyn risked her life to stop the enemy. When the enemy stopped moving, I was supposed to kill him and Gwendolyn. But I couldn't do it."

 Patricia pulled her lips together and squeezed her right hand above her knee.

"I hesitated, and my sword went off the line. As a result, I cut down only Gwendolyn, and the enemy white knight avoided the attack. Because of my failure, Setanta was unable to move, and everyone who was being held hostage had their...... throats cut.

"Sister-in-law..."

"I know I shouldn't be cooped up in a place like this. But...... I don't want Setanta to see me like this. I'm afraid to show it......."

"I see....... Um, I think that sister-in-law should stay here until you can get your mind in order. Yufimia-sama is taking care of Onii-sama, and I will go and cook for him and clean the house. Sister-in-law has been working too hard. You should get some rest."

 "――――"

 Patricia just closed her eyes and burst into tears.

 Hero's wife and mother of one child.

 However, she is just a 16-year-old girl this year.

 In this matter, something that was tense must have broken down.

“Ah! I have brought something easy to eat for sister-in-law! Would you like some?"

“Thank you, I'll take it. But I may not be able to eat it right away...... I've had a stomach ache for a while now."

 Patricia's eyes were drawn to a pile of paper bags stamped with the seal of the royal capital's pharmacy. He worries that she is not following the dosage and gulping down the medicine.

 Or rather, what is Setanta doing when his wife is like this――?

"I will come again. You will attend the ceremony the day after tomorrow, right?"

"Lancelot-sama's funeral, yes I will attend. Mel, are you going too?"

"Yes. I am allowed to participate while accompanying Christo-san."

"I see."

 Patricia turned her head toward Christo and smiled, wrinkles forming around her eyes.

"Please take care of my sister-in-law."

“Of course. I will escort my princess properly on the day. I am apparently one of the guests of honor, but before I am a guest of honor, I am Melvina's knight. I will not allow her heel to get caught on the stairs, not even once."

"M-mou. Christo-san. Please don't say such words in front of sister-in-law."

"Did you not like it?"

"N-no, not at all."

"Then, I'll say it again and again. I'm your knight. I'll protect you."

"~~~~"

 Melvina is embarrassed.

 Patricia's eyes were mixed with envy for a moment.

 However, she immediately shook her head in denial and smiled.

“Tomorrow, I will sort out my feelings and get out of here. Today I will finish ......this painting I am working on right now."

"I know I am preaching to you like an archbishop, but be careful not to think too much of the dead. It is said that if you think of the dead, the next time you think of them, you will be drawn to death."

"Yes. Thank you. I understand."

 No need to stay long.

 What Patricia needs is time to organize her mind.

 Christo and Melvina each took a basket of apples and a bouquet of flowers and left the art club classroom.

 The next was to turn back toward the classroom building and visit Gwendolyn.

 With Patricia like this, Gwendolyn must be fighting the pain alone, despite being seriously injured.

"It wasn't quite the right mood to say, [Come with us to visit sister-in-law Gwendolyn]."

 Melvina's eyebrows furrowed in concern.

 Christo shrugged his shoulders.

"As you can imagine, I'm sure she had gone to visit her a few times. And every time she go to visit her, I bet she's depressed to see her fellow wife she hurt."

“If sister-in-law Kat returns safely, she will probably get a little better.”

"Yes."

 Kat is a hostage.

 According to the statement, they would kill Kat if the ceremony was not canceled.

 Since it is unlikely that the Kingdom will agree to the terrorists' demands and cancel the ceremony, Kat's life will probably end there. On the other hand, the Kingdom's military search team would be able to save Kat's life if they arrived in time.

(And yet, reading between the lines, it was Kat, not Gwendolyn, who disrupted the line of fire by charging in. I'll have to revise my assessment.)

 × × ×

"Kat is dead. I don't think she's coming back."

 The first classroom in the medical wing.

 Gwendolyn was lying on a bed at the far end of the room, her body wrapped in bandages.

 She was not wearing makeup.

 Christo had seen Gwendolyn without it on a previous affair trip north, but that time it was dark or lit from the side by the fireplace, so he hadn't actually checked it.

 Gwendolyn was very pretty without makeup. Or perhaps he prefers her without makeup.

 However, in the presence of Melvina, he could not praise Gwendolyn's beauty.

"I heard she was kidnapped. What was the situation?"

"Ha? Is that what you're asking?"

"――――?"

"Sister-in-law, the apple has been peeled."

 Melvina puts down her knife and offers Gwendolyn a wedge of apples.

 Gwendolyn said, "Thank you", picked up an apple, and began to eat it.

"We saved each other's lives."

"I guess so. Well, you were cut and gouged, whereas we didn't suffer any traumatic injuries."

"You dodged brilliantly. As expected of Christopher. My eternal rival."

 "――――"

 Since when did I become your rival? He swallowed the words.

 He revised the policy in the direction of appeasing her.

 It's best to keep the conversation going as long as he could.

“Thank you. There were a few close calls, but luckily we were able to save the day."

 Even if he repeated the same situation 100 times, he was confident that he will be unscathed 100 times, but he didn't know what will happen if he repeated it 10,000 times. He was lucky that he was able to repel off the Foglin.

"No need to be modest. It was brilliant. I really meant it. I really wanted to kill that guy, and here we are. You, on the other hand, were almost unscathed. You dominated the game."

"No, no"

"I won't lose next time."

 Gwendolyn looked at him sharply.

 Melvina interjected, "Speaking of which."

“Our Bina class had the most survivors. If that is the case, would we have the highest score if we were scored?"

"I would say yes because you made the noble decision to fight. Without you, I would have followed Laranoa-sensei's orders and fled to safety. I didn't even try to fight. But because you decided to do it, I became your sword, your shield, and wielded this power to the fullest."

"I see, so that's what it was..."

 Gwendolyn said that while chewing the apple.

 Since ancient times, apples have been said to be the fruit of the tree of wisdom, and in mythology, along with salmon, there are many episodes in which eating apples confers wisdom. She is now ruminating on the scene of her own blunder and wondering what she should have done. Apples don't make you smarter, but they do make you feel better, Christo thought.

"How soon can you expect to be out of the hospital, according to the doctor?"

"About a week or so. My body gets dull. The food they serve here is not very good for the body. I'll have to get back into shape a little bit after I get out."

“Then, when you get out of the hospital, can you help me collect catalysts? I'm willing to pay you."

"Sure. It's my nature to let bygones be bygones. I don't know what you're after, and I'm not interested, but I'll do anything if you pay me."

 And... also―― she glances at his crotch.

 Semen seems to be the main purpose.

 In fact, Christo's semen should be worth a considerable amount if converted to Yggdrasil currency.

 He has no intention of selling it to the public since he has no intention of becoming a male prostitute, but he doesn't dislike Gwendolyn and would rather have sex with her again, so he had no reason to refuse her if she wanted to.

 When the talk was settled well, Christo changed the topic, "By the way."

"Is Piercarlo D'Alessio here today?"

"He is here. I met him in the corridor this morning when I went to the washroom, and even though I greeted him, he ignored me and walked away. It's funny that he's the heir of the D'Alessio frontier count. If he can't even say hello, he'll never make it in politics.

“Thank you. I'll check on him in the student council chambers or study hall."

"What do you want from D'Alessio-san?"

 Melvina tilts her head.

 Christo wondered for a moment if he should tell her what he was thinking, but he shook his head, not wanting to get Melvina involved in anything dangerous.

"No, it's a personal matter. I've been asked to sell the seed of the holy sword."

"If you sell it, I will kill you, Christopher."

“I have no intention of selling it. I'm thinking of saying no once and for all."

 Christo said so and smiled at Gwendolyn.

(And...... I believe he is the owner of the company that publishes the newspaper. The newspaper's picture was quite realistic, in consideration of those who cannot read.)

 It is a hypothesis, but that picture must have been drawn by someone who actually saw and heard the situation.

 Specifically, a reporter who worked for Pierre made connections with the terrorists, knowing the risks, in order to write a story that would attract public attention. The terrorists wanted the public to know their point of view through the newspaper, so they agreed with the reporter that their interests were aligned and responded to his request for an interview.

 He suspected that the resulting article is that one.

 If so, he should first get information from Pierre about the person in charge of the article, and then go to the reporter to get information about the terrorists.

 If he can identify the hideout or the place where Kat is being held based on the terrorists' information, he will go there and stop the elves who are trying to do something stupid.

(I hate fools who go to their deaths without thinking twice. I'm not their mother, and I'm not going to volunteer to clean up their messes. But...... I still can't leave them to die. They will be wiped out for sure.)

 His brethren are dwindling in number by the day.

 If he can help, he must help.

(Also, if I can get Kat back, I will take her. I wonder which side I am on. If I had to say―― I'd say I'm on my side.)

 So, Christo immediately decided to go see Pierre after refusing Melvina's help.