Chapter 82 School Festival (6)
Anyone would notice that the woman with bright red lips and bright red nails didn’t belong in this place.
Razé’s mind that was frozen immediately turned her into a soldier mode.
Razé: “Stay here.”
Adis: “Huh?”
She left Adis without saying any further and teleported right in front of the enemy.
* * *
Razé knew she couldn’t let the enemy say a word, take one step or move her hand. This person must be eliminated at all cost,
She teleported in front of the Magenda’s witch and instantly grabbed the opponent. Then she used teleportation to drag the enemy some place away from the students.
“Wow, you’re quite aggressive.” The witch pushed her hand away.
Razé had a serious expression, unlike the sweet face with bright brown eyes that she usually showed Folia and Carna. “Why are you here?”
The witch laughed like she had heard a joke. “What a stupid question. You should have known the reason. Don’t you, Miss Soldier?”
Razé’s expression was unwavering as she stared at the woman quietly. This woman had used the forbidden magic during the Battle Fiesta last year. There was a possibility that she might use high-level magic here. Without saying a word, Razé teleported a knife to her right hand.
“How can you grab a knife without showing any reaction? You’re so cold. Is that how you killed my fellow compatriots? Closing in silently like an assassin?”
The enemy knew her identity. Even though the woman knew that she was the person called Ghost of the Executioner by Magenda, she didn’t show any fear. Instead, the woman just looked at her with ridicule.
Razé could felt something was not right. She had a bad feeling. She could guess the reason why the witch came to the academy – to crush the golden eggs.
Razé focus her attention towards the school building behind her. The knights were deployed there to support the security. She only had to eliminate the enemy right in front of her and then she can quietly return to the school festival. She made a mental note reorganizing her to do list.
“I’m not the only one protecting this place. You shouldn’t look down on Shian,” Razé said to intimidate the opponent.
“Fufu. I know. You guys are so desperate to protect this nest where the golden eggs are gathered. You don’t know how difficult was it for us to infiltrate this place. But look at us now. We still managed to get here. Don’t you think Magenda isn’t so bad after all?” The witch replied with a composed face.
“I waved my hand earlier because I want to have a talk with you. I want to hear your opinion. Would you believe it if I say this world is actually created from a story?”
Razé knew it was not the time to have a chit chat, but she remained silent when she heard the familiar story.
“The Clairvoyant Miko – you’ve heard about her, right? She’s the one who said that. She said this world is from a game… –Humph! What a joke. I really hope she would stop fooling around.”
The witch’s expression changed in an instant. “The poverty is never ending but the delusional tyrant kept saying Shian is to blame. The pillars of the country are like puppets, they even trust a fake miko who is always whining. Don’t you think it’s very ridiculous?”
For some reason, Razé couldn’t take her eyes off of the woman who was pouring her frustration.
“First, he said we need to capture the Crown Prince and his friends in the academy. Then, he said we need to eliminate the person who is disrupting the plot of the story. Isn’t he stupid? He won’t even listen on how much the citizen are suffering.”
Razé knitted her eyebrows as she listened to the woman complained endlessly. She had more or less expected it, but it seemed that Magenda’s internal affairs had turned very messy. However, she had no intention to sympathize with someone who was trying to harm her people.
Razé decided to end the chitchatting. “I don’t care about your situation. I will only look at what’s happening right here right now. That’s my job.” If the enemy didn’t make any move, she would spare her life. She grasped the knife in her hand to get ready.
“… You’re so cold. Actually, I was pinning my hopes on you… for a little bit.”
“Hope?” Razé was bewildered by her words. She wondered why would a person pinning a hope on their enemy.
The witch smiled sadly. “After all, I was also used as a chess piece to fulfil Miko-sama’s story. I was thinking – since you can change the future, since you have the capabilities, then perhaps you can change the fate of my cursed country.
Too bad, my role ends here. I’m glad that I could talk to you before I’m gone. Thank you for ending that person’s life without making them suffer[1]. I hope you would live a long life in misery.”
Right after the witch said those words that sounded like a goodbye, the light in her eyes was suddenly gone. Razé was stunned speechless. The witch’s body suddenly moved and fell to the ground face down. The lifeless body looked like a marionette without its strings.
“What-” Razé immediately rushed towards the witch and lifted her body. The witch was no longer breathing and her eyes were wide open.
Bewildered by the sudden death, Razé touched the ring embedded with magic stone worn by the witch. She wanted to trace the history of magic usage kept inside the stone.
She pursed her lips when she found out the information. The state manipulation magic to distract pain…
She closed the witch’s eyes. When she looked closely, she could see the body was too skinny. Her red lipstick was a cover for her pale complexion. The witch must had realized her limits.
Although the cause of her death couldn’t be known without proper investigation, Razé could guess that the woman had died due to brain damage caused by magic overuse and extreme exhaustion. She crossed the woman’s arms and laid down the body.
Razé had a grim look on her face when she recalled the woman had said that her role was over. She needed to hurry back to the school building and verify the situation. Right when she turned her back, she heard the roaring noise.
“GUGAAaaaaAAAGAaaAA!!!!!”
Even when she heard the strange cry, she remained calm. She glanced at the cold body and said in a low voice, “… I also feel it’s ridiculous to say that this world is an otome game.” Those words were her honest feelings that she had never told anyone before.
Ever since she lost her family, she had been fighting to survive in this world. No matter how much she killed them, the beast wouldn’t perish and a new type of monster kept appearing. Meanwhile, the enemy country continued to stir up a war. Magic stones were necessary for battle and the only way to get them was by hunting monsters.
This was the path she had chosen when she decided to become a soldier. She had been living in such severe society. And then…
A love simulator game. A school life game with the academy as the stage where the heroine experienced bittersweet love story with her love interests.
How could she accept that? She had been living earnestly to make up for the thing she lost. It was impossible for her to blindly accept that this world was just a roleplaying game about the Crown Prince and his aristocratic friends who will lead the future of this country.
This day, this second someone was dying somewhere. She felt all her efforts to survive in this world – her whole life was made ridiculed by this otome game.
“If we’re not enemies, we might be able to share our passion.”
Razé took a step forward.
“—Don’t worry. I will make sure to destroy it to pieces.”
The knife was still in her hand. In the blink of an eye, she disappeared from that place.
[1] There is no further info about the person mentioned by the witch here. You will have to imagine the backstory yourself.
