Chapter 275: Interlude – A Wish (1)
The demonic assault that broke out during an outdoor training class turned the entire Hero Academy upside down in an instant. Thanks to the swift responses of Yurina, Morris, Camilla, and Iris, no casualties happened among the cadets. Still, the mere fact that dozens of demonic beings had appeared in the outer reaches of the Demonic Realm, an area where even demonic monsters were rarely seen, let alone true demons, was enough to chill the festive mood that had accompanied the start of the new term at the academy.
All outdoor training classes were suspended indefinitely. An emergency response committee was formed, and the entire academy shifted into high alert, bristling like a hedgehog with its spines raised. Amid the chaos engulfing the academy, my role, as the sole holder of the unique title Special Operations Cadet, was simple.
I brushed the clinging vines off my body and let out a weary sigh. A week had passed since the incident. My assignment as a Special Operations Cadet was to venture deep into the Demonic Realm and observe the movements of the demonic beings. However, even after searching for three days and nights straight, I hadn’t seen a single demon, hell, not even a demonic monster cub.
Rubbing at my dimmed eyes, I sat down on a nearby tree stump. Fatigue weighed heavily on me. My body felt as heavy as a rag soaked through with water.
Elisha, who had been assigned to the search mission alongside me, approached me with a slight frown. “Cadet Dale, are you all right?”
“I’m fine, Professor Baldwin.”
Outside the academy, Elisha and I had an unspoken agreement to drop the formalities of professor and cadet and address each other more casually. But since we were technically beyond academy grounds for the sake of an official mission, I maintained the somewhat stiff tone I used within the academy walls. Of course, only my tone was formal; the emotions beneath it were still warm.
Elisha reached up and brushed a finger beneath the dark circles under my eyes, biting her lip. “You look exhausted.”
“The Blessing of Resurrection doesn’t recover fatigue,” I replied.
What the Blessing of Resurrection could heal were physical injuries, nothing more. It couldn’t erase accumulated exhaustion from the body, nor could it mend mental fatigue.
“I’ve been roaming around for three days and nights without proper sleep. Being tired is only natural, isn’t it?” I added.
“Hmm, I doubt that’s the only issue.” Her sharp, discerning eyes scanned me up and down. “After your body was remade, you could go about three days without sleep without much problem. And you did take short naps, an hour or two at a time, along the way, didn’t you?”
She was right. Under normal circumstances, a forced march like this wouldn’t have left me so drained. In fact, if someone asked me to choose which was more exhausting, searching the Demonic Realm for three days straight or spending time with Laneige, I would have picked the latter without hesitation.
“That’s true...”
Even so, there was only one reason I felt this fatigued.
“Is it because of your fight with the Archbishop of Ruin?” she asked.
“Hah. I really can’t fool you, Professor Baldwin.”
“Hmph. Do you think I possess the Blessing of Insight for nothing?”
I groaned. “Well, you’re right. When I fought that bastard, I got caught up in his Black Flame. The damage from that still lingers.”
“Even after using the Blessing of Resurrection?”
“Yes.”
Granted, even if that damage bothered me, it only meant that I felt more tired than usual. Still, the fact that even the Blessing of Resurrection couldn’t completely erase its effects was troubling.
It was similar to when I used the Primordial Flame. Since I had now learned to control it to some degree, fatigue didn’t linger long unless I forced it excessively. But once in the past, even using Ignition had left me unconscious and bedridden for days.
“Professor Baldwin, come to think of it, you once said that the power Amon uses is similar to the Primordial Flame I possess, didn’t you?”
“I did.”
“This time, Amon called me the Heir of Ruin.”
“Are you suggesting you’re somehow the successor to the Archbishop of Ruin?”
“Ah, no. That can’t be it.” For starters, I didn’t bear the Demon God’s soul stigmata. I continued, “Still, it does feel like there’s some sort of connection between Amon and me.”
“You’re already a source of enough anxiety as it is. Must you casually say things that make it worse?”
“Ah. Sorry.”
“Hmph. Do you think an apology settles it?” With a light flick of her finger, strands of spider silk wrapped around my body.
“Huh?”
Wait, was she planning to punish me right here?
“No matter what, doing that here would be a little.”
“I don’t know what you’re imagining. No, actually, I think I do. But that’s not it, so relax.”
“Then why are you suddenly tying me up?” I asked.
“Because I intend to drag you back to the academy by force, if necessary.”
Back? Now, of all times?
I said, “We still need to monitor the demons’ movements.”
“Hah! You always try to shoulder everything by yourself, don’t you, Cadet Dale?” Elisha let out a deep sigh and shook her head. “We’re not the only professors investigating the Demonic Realm. Each of them has formed their own parties. If anything happens, they’ll contact us.”
“But...”
“I will not hear objections. You are returning to the academy immediately to rest.” With a firm expression, she shook her head and tugged hard on the spider silk.
“No, wait, ah! Y-you don’t have to drag me by force!”
“Then we’ll do it the other way.” She unraveled the silk binding me and instead tied it around her neck.
Then she placed the trailing strand into my hand. At this moment, we looked like a wicked slave trader forcibly escorting a captured slave.
“Wait a second. Doesn’t this composition look completely wrong?” I asked.
“It does not.”
“I’m the one being dragged against my will, so why am I the one holding the leash?”
“The result is that I feel pleased.”
Ah. Is that so?
* * *
Elisha said, “For those reasons, I dragged Cadet Dale back by force. I would appreciate it if you could look after him until he recovers, Cadet Iris.”
“Ah, yes. I understand the circumstances, but...” Iris glanced back and forth between the leash in my hand and the spider silk wrapped around Elisha’s neck. “No, let me correct that. What on earth is going on here?”
As she glared at us, it felt like she was exclaiming, “You said you dragged him back by force? Then why is the leash tied the other way around?”
“There is a deeply personal story behind this,” Elisha replied.
“What kind of story?”
“Let’s just say... it concerns a certain hidden preference Cadet Dale has been secretly harboring.”
Iris’s eyes flew wide open in shock. “D-Dale has that kind of ta-taste?”
“It’s something I only learned myself recently.”
I stared at Elisha. “Excuse me?”
Why are you lying so calmly with that straight face?
“Hah. In any case, you’re asking me to make sure Dale doesn’t overwork himself again, right?” Iris asked.
“Can you do that?” Elisha replied.
“Of course. If he tries to sneak off, I’ll make sure to punish him properly,” Iris said.
“Oh? And how, specifically?”
“Well, I haven’t thought that far.”
“Personally, I recommend blindfolding him, cuffing his wrists, and spanking his backside with a whip. Ah, and don’t forget to berate him in between,” Elisha explained.
“That’s oddly specific.”
“It’s a method that thoroughly reflects Cadet Dale’s tastes.”
Excuse me? I’ve never had tastes like that.
“Hmm, but wouldn’t that be more of a reward than a punishment?” Iris asked.
“Ah, now that you mention it, you’re right,” answered Elisha.
What do you mean you’re right?
Unable to take it anymore, I stared at Elisha. “Are you going to keep joking around here?”
“Hmm. It seems it’s already gotten this late.” Elisha checked the time on her Hero Watch and turned away. “Then I leave Cadet Dale in your care.”
“Yes, please leave it to me.”
Just like that, she opened the door and left. My head was spinning as if a storm had just blown through.
Iris looked at me. “How are you feeling, Dale?”
“I’m fine.”
“If you say you’re fine one more time, I’m really going to tie you up.”
“Guh. To be honest, I’m pretty exhausted.”
Right after fighting Amon’s clone, I had run around rescuing other cadets. As soon as we returned to the academy, I had left again with Elisha for the Demonic Realm without any proper rest. Even without factoring in the lingering effects of Amon’s Black Flame, it was more than enough to wear anyone down. And with the Blessing of Resurrection not functioning properly, fatigue was inevitable.
“Besides being tired? Are you hurting anywhere?” she asked.
“Hmm, a little?”
“What exactly does a little mean?”
“Like someone’s been pouring boiling water over my body nonstop. It’s nothing serious.”
“You call that nothing serious?”
“By my standards.”
Compared to the agony of being burned alive, this was manageable.
“And you went into the Demonic Realm in that condition! I can’t deal with you, seriously!” Iris smacked my chest repeatedly, her face flushed with anger. “Get on the bed. Right now. I’m going to bring painkillers!”
“Hey, there’s no need to make such a fuss,” I replied.
“Lie down, you idiot!”
“Yes, ma’am.”
I will lie down, my dear Saintess.
“Ugh, where did I put the holy water I prepared before?” Bustling around the room, Iris finally returned with a bottle filled with white liquid. “Drink.”
“This is?”
“It’s holy water I made during winter break after receiving advice from Lady Grace. It has a strong analgesic effect. It’ll ease the pain.”
Holy water made personally by the Saintess, huh.
“The phrasing of that sounds kind of...”
Frustrated, Iris replied, “That’s it. I’m seriously tying you up.”
“I was just joking because you looked so serious.”
“Be quiet!” She stormed into the room and came back holding a pair of handcuffs and a whip.
Why does she even have those? Seriously? Why?
“Where did you even get those?” I asked.
“I received them from Professor Baldwin before. I never thought the day would actually come to use them.” She fastened the cuffs around my wrists and gripped the riding crop in one hand. “Dale, you really need to be properly punished.”
At that moment, Berald burst through the door. “Brotherrrrr! I heard you were injured during the mission and rushed back! A-are you all right?”
Behind him stood Yurina, Laneige, Camilla, Senior Sophia, and the rest of our party members.
“Ah.”
“Ah.”
I only had one thought: Ah, I’m fucked!