Chapter 223: Tuition (1)
The Festival is over.
But even after the festival was over, the excitement remained like a residual fire, making the students feel strangely excited.
The students were still talking about the events of the festival whenever they got together in groups of three or more.
"Did you hear, he's dating that girl in hot class A and she's dating that girl in cold class B."
"Wow, I was wondering when they were going to get together. I guess it's finally happening."
"They confessed during the fireworks at night during the festival. Wow."
"Huh? That new couple in Hot class B broke up that day?"
"Huh! The chicken CC broke up? That's a bit of a shock."
"The moment someone gets together, someone breaks up... Youth is a strange thing."
Everyone is talking about who confessed to whom, who flirted with whom, who fell in love with whom, who fought with whom, who broke up with whom, and... love play is the hottest topic because it is a place where teenagers and 20s gather.
In addition, rumors of who got drunk, fought, threw up, lied, or took a leave of absence were slowly spreading.
... But the hottest topic was this.
"By the way, is it true that the Night Hound came to the Academy during the festival?"
"Uh-huh. They said he tried to come back and terrorize us again. Creepy."
"But the professors stopped him!"
"That's really scary. What's with the Imperial Guard? They don't take down villains like that fast enough."
"That's right. He should be in the 'Nouvelle Vague' prison, for a villain like that."
"But from what I've seen, the Night Hound is really, really strong."
"And I hear there's a new villain on the scene this time, an unregistered black mage?"
"But I heard they fought two of them, which is why the professors were easily dispatched."
"Too bad. It would have been better if we could have arrested them."
Students who don't know anything about it just talk about it in a cheerful tone.
The "Night Hound Incident," which could have turned into a horrific disaster in the wrong hands, seems to have faded into nothing more than spooky gossip.
....
... But here's one student who can't let it pass as urban legend.
"Guys."
Dolores, the student council president, shouted, throwing open the door to the newspaper department.
"Who wrote this article!"
She asked, sounding more than a little annoyed.
In Dolores's hand was a copy of an article that had not yet been published.
[Exclusive] The Night Hound, on its viciousness...
-The Night Hound's misdeeds have crossed the line. On the 0th of last month, the Night Hound attacked the Academy, which could be said to be the future of the Empire... ... The young sprouts who will be responsible for the future of the empire must be protected... ... The actions aimed at this are inhumane and anti-national... ... He is a villain who must be punished... ... Meanwhile, the number of major facilities in the Imperial Capital destroyed by the night hounds during the festival was the Imperial Imperial Bank, the Imperial Clock Tower, Indulgentia Orphanage, Imperial Cemetery, etc...
A scathing article condemning the Night Hounds.
Dolores swallowed hard at her anger.
"The Night Hound didn't come to the festival and cause any disturbances, the disturbances were caused by that mysterious black mage. This article makes it sound as if the Night Hound came to the festival and massacred the students. He's a criminal as defined by the Empire, but at least he didn't do anything at the festival that day, so you should take the emotion out of your article and just list the facts... After that, never mind. So who wrote this article?"
The entire newspaper staff, including Tudor, Sancho, Piggy, Bianca, Sinclair, and others, were silent.
But they were all honest about their eye contact.
"...."
"...."
"...."
"...."
"...."
All eyes were on the same place.
That was where Vikir was.
Dolores sighed.
"Vikir. It's you again."
A child who consistently writes articles criticizing the night hounds as to why anyone would hold a grudge against it.
There's nothing wrong with criticizing a criminal the Empire has declared evil.
Vikir simply replies in his characteristically emotionless tone.
"The article was written under the direction of my club advisor, Professor Banshee."
"Then why did you write it when I wasn't around..."
"Ms. Dolores, weren't you busy with student council affairs throughout the festival season, and I just happened to have the time during that period to write an article in the direction of my advisor, Professor Banshee."
In a way, he had a point.
Dolores sighed softly.
"It's official from the Imperial Guard this morning: it's not the Night Hound who's been responsible for the recent raids on the festivals and the destruction of the city's major facilities."
Eyes widened at the words.
Dolores continued.
"According to the captain of the guard, the Night Hound's primary weapon is a knife. However, there are very few stab wounds at recent terrorist sites, but...."
Dolores showed me some mana screenshots.
Ruined clock towers, banks, and mansions.
All that remained were marks, as if a giant snake had crawled across them.
" ... These are not marks that can be made with a knife, so the culprit is a different villain altogether."
The Imperial Guard had identified a villain other than the Night Hound.
It was named "Ms. Uroboros," a vicious terrorist of unknown purpose.
"Female, presumed gender, unknown purpose of attack, unknown motive, but generally believed to be Graduator class. We don't even know what weapon she's using, because all the witnesses are dead."
The entire class shuddered slightly at the introduction of a new villain.
If you were a Graduator, you could expect to be favored wherever you traveled in the Empire. They were the pinnacle of martial arts.
If such an existence had an evil heart and committed an act of terrorism against an unspecified number of people, how great would the repercussions be?
I can't even imagine the amount of blood that would be shed.
The Night Hound, an unregistered black mage, and now Miss Uroboros.
With three fearsome villains on the loose, the people of the Imperial Capital must not be able to sleep at night.
Dolores was adamant about this fact.
"So, in the future, don't blame all evil deeds on the Night Hounds alone. I'm not taking sides, I'm just presenting the facts. There are three villains, shouldn't there be a clear distinction between the crimes committed by each?"
Everyone nodded at her words. There was nothing wrong with that.
Vikir nodded as well.
'...It doesn't really matter.'
Vikir's criticism of the Night Hound was based on the fact that he might one day find himself in a situation where he was suspected of being a Night Hound.
And if he did, it would be easier to avoid suspicion if he maintained his long-standing criticism of the Night Hound.
Meanwhile.
While Vikir was distracted, the conversation among the newspaper staff took a different turn.
"What is this 'Miss Uroboros' villain, anyway?"
"We don't know what she looks like, what her primary weapon is, or what her purpose is."
"The only thing we do know is that it leaves tracks that look like a giant snake crawled across it."
"The other thing is that it seems to follow the places where the Night Hound has been spotted."
"Certainly, judging by the route it took, it seems to want to meet the Night Hound. Is there a grudge?"
"But she's not coming to the Academy? That's where the Night Hound was last seen."
"Ugh, I hope not. If nothing else, it's made the professors more vigilant, so I'm sure she won't come now."
"...How did they know it was a woman?"
"They found high-heeled boot prints around the area. There were also lipstick marks on an abandoned vodka bottle."
"Is it possible that it's just a guy who enjoys high heels and lipstick?"
"Of course it's possible. It's not uncommon these days."
Ms. Uroboros. A mysterious terrorist bent on sabotaging the Empire's major infrastructure.
Vikir was already aware of her existence, thanks to the information Sindiwendy had given him.
'She's after me.'
Why would she be chasing the Night Hound?
Whether it was out of admiration, resentment, or curiosity, Vikir didn't care.
As long as she didn't get in the way of the demon hunt.
It could be said that I am more interested in the fingers and knitting needles that are currently moving diligently.
Meanwhile.
Sinclair, next to him, admired Vikir's knitting.
"Wow, you're really good at knitting, aren't you?"
No wonder. After all, no one wants to keep a torn combat uniform from a war.
Vikir felt the need to make the masks even stronger after this incident, so he was in the process of re-crafting the masks, cloaks, and robes from the Cerberus pelts he had captured so long ago.
I'm using only the toughest, strongest parts of Cerberus' hide, so they won't tear again.
Of course, what he was sewing now were the useless scraps of Cerberus' hides.
Vikir was gathering these pieces and making a scarf.
"I've made a scarf as a test, but I don't need it. Do you want it?"
Vikir held out a scarf made of Cerberus' hide to his friends.
It was highly resistant to fire and poison.
But Tudor, Sancho, Piggy, Bianca, and Sinclair don't recognize the wonders of the hide, and they all shake their heads.
"Ugh. What is that. It's crusty and smelly."
"I don't like the smell."
"It's also really heavy."
"No one should be wearing that!"
"Brother, ... this is not cool."
Then Vikir nodded.
"I know. It's kind of hard to eat."
????
Question marks appeared over the heads of the friends, one for each of them.
Sinclair stammered.
"Brother, did you eat this?"
Vikir remained silent, only nodding slightly.
An age of destruction, a desperate fight for survival, when you had to eat anything to stay alive.
'...The battle to the death at Tochka Fortress back then was so desperate.'
During the Battle of Tochka, when we were surrounded in deep trenches and had to survive for days on end.
There was nothing to eat, so I had to boil and chew my leather army boots, and that's when I first got to know the taste of Cerberus' hide.
"It tasted like rotten fish dried in the strong sunlight and dipped in spoiled milk."
Hearing Vikir's statement, all of his friends silently covered their mouths with their hands.
Just then.
"Hey, Vikir, there's a letter for you!"
One of the seniors waves at Vikir from the window.
A letter was placed in an envelope and handed to Vikir.
It was not only for Vikir, but also for Tudor, Sancho, Piggy, Bianca, and Sinclair.
"Is this ...?"
Vikir tore open the envelope and pulled out what was inside.
The writing read
<First semester tuition payment notice
-Name: Vikir
-University: Colosseo
-Faculty: Cold Warrior
-Department: Archery Department
-Class: Class B
-School number: 20
-Year: 1
-Semester: 1
-Classification: Tuition (A)
-Tuition fee: ... G
.
.
It was something that some students would pass over without thinking about, but for others, it would be a terrifying reminder.
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