The blind villain of the academy

Chapter 182: Field Exploration Squadron [1]

Chapter 181

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Episode 43 - Field Exploration Squadron [1]

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"Throughout this entire week, you will do everything I tell you without exception, understood?"

Lumina nodded unconsciously.

"Y-yes, I understand..."

"....?!"

Her thoughts turned upside down as she realized what she had just said.

Her stoic expression cracked, and her heart began to race uncontrollably. She tried to calm her mind and her body’s reaction, but it was difficult.

No, in fact, it was impossible.

Her body was frozen like a statue, her thoughts shut down after spiraling out of control.

And above all, that damned heartbeat. She wanted to hide it because she knew what kind of senses Adel possessed.

"W-wait..."

Just as she was about to say something else, a thunderous roar echoed from the distance.

It sent vibrations through the air, causing the airship to sway slightly.

Lumina, however, was interrupted while searching for a way out of her situation.

She moved her hand, grabbed her sword, and just as she unsheathed it...

"Tsk, I think that roar ruptured my eardrums."

Adel unsheathed his sword and swung it in the blink of an eye.

The fabric of reality split open as if it were butter. In the next second, a roar of pain echoed once more.

The ice dragon’s body was cut in half and began falling downward.

Adel sheathed his sword, brought a hand to his ear, and muttered:

"It’s better to suppress my sense of hearing."

He let out a sigh, then turned toward Lumina and asked:

"You were about to say something, right?"

He spoke with a calm smile, as if he had never actually noticed Lumina’s condition.

She opened her mouth, but suddenly fell silent.

’N-no, I think this is better. This way I’ll be able to help him with the Apostle’s subjugation, and I think that’s why he’s forcing me to listen to anything he says... y-yes, that’s all.’

It wasn’t as though she minded doing what he told her.

And besides, at some point, Lumina had started feeling possessive of Adel.

Perhaps because he had revealed his face in public during the graduation ceremony. Since then, many girls had approached him.

And that only increased Lumina’s possessiveness, so from that point onward, she listened to his words and anything he told her.

’N-no, it doesn’t really matter. I like it better this way... yes, I like it this way.’

While she was lost in her thoughts, Adel said:

"Well, I’m leaving. The professors are already arriving, so I’ll tell them there was a lizard causing trouble."

Shortly afterward, Adel turned around and left. However, Lumina hadn’t heard him.

She simply remained lost in her thoughts.

***

After explaining that an ice dragon had flown toward the airship and that I had gotten rid of it, the professors—especially Professor Ashly—gave me five hundred points as a reward.

Although, now that I think about it, those points belonged to Lumina, and I had no intention of taking them from her, but that ice dragon had fucked up my ears at the time.

So I returned to the lobby and sat down at a separate table, far away from everyone else.

Once seated, I remained motionless, thinking about absolutely nothing.

But then my master’s voice said:

〖Wow, you really are a beast, disciple...〗

’Master, please don’t remind me of what I just said, especially not like that.’

I think I... she definitely misunderstood. That wasn’t my intention in the first place.

I wanted to use the "punishment" and shape it in a way that would make her listen to whatever I told her.

And honestly, anyone would misunderstand it.

I buried my face in my hands.

’I need to think clearly. What’s done is done, and I think that, regardless... this is better.’

My words were a huge misunderstanding, but this actually works better than it seems.

Though I would only ask for her help on the day Apostle Kaiser was unfrozen.

’Wait, that’s...’

An additional idea came to mind.

What if I used this opportunity to search for the three antagonist villains of this Main Quest together with Lumina?

It would actually save me more time than looking for someone else.

’I had considered Rinna, Charlotte, or Veronica, but Lumina is the better choice.’

With that thought, the few emotions I had been feeling vanished in the blink of an eye.

***

After the appearance of the ice dragon, there were no more attacks.

So, within a few hours, we arrived at Ortlock City.

The airship descended and then came to a stop.

After a couple of minutes, the professors called us over to form lines.

Soon, we exited the airship, and everyone looked around.

Since it was primarily a military city, there was nothing truly impressive about it.

Most of the buildings were inns. There were casinos, bars, taverns, and, of course, the red-light district.

But there were also ordinary homes, just like in any other city.

The streets were crowded with Awakened, merchants, mercenaries, and travelers.

Ortlock City was surrounded by a wall with a total of five towers.

Beyond the city stood the Abyss Containment Team.

It was shaped like a tower so tall that it rose above the clouds.

There were four towers at each corner of the main tower, and from their peaks extended enormous chains connected to the summit of the main tower.

The surrounding area contained fields of various kinds, ranging from simple training grounds to a large plaza where speeches were given or war-movie-style ceremonies were held.

The professors quickly led us inside the main tower.

The entrance had a ten-meter-tall door. It was not completely rectangular; the upper part was shaped like an arch.

Creeeak!

The door opened, and a man appeared wearing an elegant suit, his hair carefully combed, and a pair of glasses, probably with transparent lenses.

However, the moment I used Mana Sense, I immediately knew who he was.

Clap! Clap!

The man smiled and applauded. Then he spoke in a cheerful yet calm tone:

"Welcome, cadets of the Holy Academy. This is the first time I have received cadets from one of the Five Great Academies."

"I hope you get used to the cold in this place. Today, for some reason, it is colder than usual. In any case, please come in. There will be a small banquet. You are probably hungry, right?"

The cadets nodded with bright eyes. Then the man slapped his forehead as if he had just remembered something.

"Oh, how foolish of me. I forgot to introduce myself. My name is William Ortlock, although I am also known by an embarrassing title: Angel of Happiness. Hahaha, it’s embarrassing, isn’t it?"

A peculiar personality for a Ten-Star Awakened.

In fact, William Ortlock was the youngest Ten-Star Awakened of them all.

There were a total of seven Ten-Star Awakened.

Among them, William was the youngest, at seventy years old.

According to my memories, he reached the Ten-Star realm at the age of thirty-five. He was considered exceptionally talented, someone who had walked his own Path.

’Even though he’s the youngest, he’s the fourth strongest Awakened.’

Director Bernice, being a descendant of a Great Ancient One, was naturally the oldest.

And, naturally, she was also the strongest among all the Ten-Star Awakened.

So it could be said that she was the strongest Awakened in the entire world.

In any case, William led us inside.

Despite being a tower that, in reality, should not have been this large, the interior seemed to possess some special characteristic, as it was far more spacious than it appeared from the outside.

We walked until we reached an enormous hall.

Chandeliers hung from the ceiling in arching patterns, there were tall windows, and the decoration was extravagant.

Long tables were arranged throughout the hall in a comfortably organized manner.

Farther ahead stood a podium where they might make important announcements to celebrate an event or something similar.

Shortly afterward, William took a seat. The rest of the cadets and professors did the same.

Standing near the podium, William gestured with his hands, and soon maids and butlers appeared.

They carried an endless variety of dishes, each completely different from the others.

Before long, the tables were filled, and the aroma of food flooded my nose.

’This is honestly very extravagant.’

Although the tower reminded me of a typical mage tower, this place looked more like the Imperial Hall where the emperor and empress held banquets together with dukes and other important figures of the empire.

As various aromas reached my nose, someone suddenly sat down beside me.

I turned my head, and my expression hardened like stone.

Lumina had taken the seat next to me. The memory of the "punishment" flashed through my mind.

My thoughts immediately began to tremble.

Lumina then turned toward me and stared directly at me. With her usual stoic expression, she said:

"I can sit here, right?"

I nodded without even thinking about it. Then she nodded as well.

"Thank you."

I said nothing and simply nodded again. She stopped looking at me and turned her gaze toward William, who had at some point stepped onto the podium.

Shortly afterward, William cleared his throat, drawing the attention of everyone present.