Chapter 41

Every morning, just as the sun begins to rise, Ariana steps out of her room.

It’s way too early for school.

Rubbing her sleepy eyes, I see her adjusting her uniform.

What is she doing going out at this hour?

The classroom doors aren’t even open yet.

I’m a little curious, but I know asking won’t get me any answers.

So I give up and wave my hand.

Clink, clink—the handcuffs make a rhythmic sound.

Ariana sees me and gives a faint smile.

“I’ll be back.

I might be a little late today.”

“Be careful. Don’t die.”

“I won’t die that easily.

You take care of yourself too, Princess.”

“Mm.”

It’s a bit extreme for a farewell, but it’s not unusual anymore.

We’ve been doing this every day, after all.

At first, it was more awkward.

There’s no deep meaning behind these words.

Just a practical greeting.

If you die out there, I’ll wither away in here too.

It might be unnecessary worry, but humans tend to die for surprisingly trivial reasons.

I can’t help but think the worst about someone outside my sight.

“…Alone again.”

With a clunk, the door closes, and silence fills the room again.

I sit quietly, hugging my knees.

Even though the temperature hasn’t changed, the empty room feels colder somehow.

I feel lost.

What should I do to pass the time today?

There’s really nothing left to do.

At night, I can at least look at the moon, but during the day, the sun just hurts my eyes.

Looking at the ground, all I see is the boring expanse of the academy grounds.

It would be fine to just sit still without thinking, but that would make me feel so empty I’d want to die.

But wanting to die while unable to move my limbs would just be painful.

So, there’s only one option left.

I close my eyes again.

I push the blanket aside, curl up, and lie down.

I plan to sleep until Ariana comes back.

I’ll skip lunch, but that’s a necessary sacrifice.

Of course, Ariana definitely wouldn’t agree with that.

She worries about my health to the point of excess, and she always catches me when I try to hide it.

In that sense, I’m probably the worst kind of patient, skipping my meds so often.

“I’m going to get scolded again…”

Still, I feel a little unfairly treated.

If you’re so worried about me, then don’t leave and stay with me all the time.

Being cooped up like this, I have no choice but to sleep more to kill time.

The good thing is, despite all my illnesses, I don’t have insomnia.

In fact, sleeping too much is usually a problem, but in this moment, it’s a blessing.

Even if I have nightmares, reality is more painful.

Having a space to escape to, even in dreams, is such a relief.

It’s a sweet time that makes me want to sleep forever.

So, let’s sleep.

Cut off reality with dreams.

My tangled thoughts gradually fade as drowsiness takes over.

A numbness spreads through my body.

Today was just another depressingly ordinary morning, and I’ll soon fall asleep to cut out the unnecessary time.

If only I hadn’t heard a voice in my ear.

“Just as I expected.

Ariana has put quite a bit of thought into this.”

A familiar voice.

Startled, I sit up and see a mouse sitting on the bed, scratching its ear.

Not a plump gray sewer rat, but a small white mouse with red eyes, the kind you’d expect to see in a lab.

“Oh, did I startle you?

No need to rush, you can sleep a little longer.”

The mouse’s mouth opens and closes in sync with the voice coming from somewhere.

It’s hard to believe, but it seems the mouse is the one speaking.

The sight of a small animal, which should be squeaking, speaking in a calm adult male voice is incredibly bizarre.

Especially since the owner of that voice is…

“Magic… Professor?”

“That’s right. You remembered.

I thought you might not recognize me since my appearance is so different.”

“Uh, why are you a mouse…?”

“Of course, I haven’t turned into a mouse.

This is my familiar. I call it Number 12.”

The mouse stands on its hind legs and bows like a gentleman.

It’s more cute than impressive.

Only then do I remember that this world is a fantasy.

Since I can’t use magic properly, it’s hard to feel real.

…Thinking about it, it’s not that strange.

There are people who believe they’ve crossed over from another world or are just plain crazy, so a talking mouse isn’t that big of a deal.

As I sigh and lower my head, the mouse professor laughs as if amused by my reaction.

“Anyway, since you seem to understand, let’s get to the point.

Adelian is in a very difficult situation right now.”

“Anyone can see that. I’m being held captive.

I thought you’d come to rescue me, but weeks have passed with no news.”

I didn’t think the academy would be this careless.

No matter how much they tend to turn a blind eye, this is the Emperor’s shoe display case, isn’t it?

I thought they’d have to step in if things went too far.

I never imagined they wouldn’t even look for a student who disappeared from the dormitory without attending school.

I held onto hope for about a week.

But they never came.

So I gave up and seduced Ariana.

I chose my own way to survive and managed to keep my sanity.

I sacrificed a lot, but keeping myself from wanting to die came first.

So, whether you’re here to rescue me or deal with me, you’re way too late.

What’s with this awkward timing? It’s not like you’re teasing me.

While you weren’t coming, I was agonizing over whether to live or die.

“We didn’t not come to rescue you. We couldn’t.

As soon as we heard about Adelian’s disappearance, we tried to force our way in here, but no method worked…”

I.

Because of that, it took quite a long time to even estimate that they might have set up a conceptual barrier.

My expression must have shown disbelief.

Professor Rat, despite his kind appearance, started speaking at a rapid pace.

It was practically an excuse, but it had enough basis.

No, even if it was a lie, it didn’t really matter.

Anyway, he gave me a reason, and logically, there was no problem.

There’s no way to verify if it’s true or not, so doubting it would only make things harder for me.

So, instead of nitpicking, I asked a question out of curiosity.

“Um, what’s a conceptual barrier?”

“Simply put, it’s a magic that prohibits the entry of everything except a specific concept.

In this case, it would only allow ‘Remia Adelian’ to enter.

Seeing how they’ve tied up Miss Adelian like this.”

The answer was more puzzling than clear.

Even if it’s Ariana, she’s just a student, yet she used a magic that even a professor can’t break.

Even if it’s a lie, it’s something easy to believe.

If it’s true, the thing to consider is the cost.

The bigger the technique, the bigger the price, so this must be something like that.

“It’s the Wharton family’s secret, so they must have sacrificed something equivalent.”

Seems like it really is that way.

Whatever they sacrificed, it’s not my business, but I hope it wasn’t something related to life or body.

Burning one’s body to hold onto a doll is nonsense to the extreme.

Why are they doing this in the first place?

They say it’s for me, but they don’t explain anything in detail, so I still don’t understand.

If they had told me everything from the start, I wouldn’t have blindly believed this suspicious rat’s words.

Well, who knows.

No matter how much I knew, I probably would have followed blindly.

Honestly, I wouldn’t want to tell someone like me either.

A spineless, bad-tempered woman who’s a hassle to keep alive.

“Fortunately, there’s a loophole that allowed me to sneak in like this.

The original hole wasn’t blocked.”

“…A rat hole.”

“Exactly!

The department that’s been eating up the annual rat extermination budget is about to get praised.”

I let out a hollow laugh.

For such a big technique, it’s too sloppy, Ariana.

As if responding to my thoughts, the rat professor, who had been laughing, turned serious again.

Now comes the core of the core.

“Outside, Miss Adelian is treated as a missing person.

Her attendance isn’t being acknowledged.

Since she already had a lot of absences, if this drags on for a few more weeks, she’ll be expelled.

There are no official deaths at the Academy.”

What he said next was a bolt from the blue.

Expulsion.

They’re going to treat it as if she never existed.

Because deaths aren’t tolerated at the Academy.

I hated that.

I’d rather die on the spot than be expelled and sent back to the organization, which was the worst-case scenario I considered before coming here.

My body trembled.

I barely suppressed my quickening breath and bowed towards the professor.

There must be a way.

That’s why he came late, right?

Please say yes.

Please.

“No…! Expulsion, no.

I don’t want to go back.”

“You want to stay at the Academy?

Then you need to escape as soon as possible.”

“…Is there a way?”

The rat professor smiled as if he had anticipated my desperate reaction.

Rats don’t have expressions, but the atmosphere was so well-crafted that it felt like a natural smile.

The professor was as relaxed as ever.

As usual, I was the one clinging on.

So, it was only natural for me to see a glimmer of hope in that smile.

“Of course. We’ll have to wait for the right moment, but rescue from the outside is impossible.

Then you’ll have to come out on your own, won’t you?”

I forgot to blink, focusing on every movement of the professor.

He put his front paw into his mouth and pulled out a round metal piece.

Then, he scurried over and placed the metal piece on my hand.

I clenched my fist to hide it, feeling an unusual heat and a liquid-like texture.

It was a peculiar object.

What is this?

“This is a magical tool called a Copying Magic Tool.

It’s a convenient item that turns into a key when it touches the key to the handcuffs Miss Ariana has.

Once you unlock the handcuffs, the door will open without resistance.

Find the right moment to copy the key and escape when she’s not around.”

“That is—”

Without giving me a chance to speak, the rat professor scurried away and disappeared under the bed.

His attitude suggested that from now on, I should figure things out on my own.

“I’ll be waiting in your room.”

After he disappeared from sight, silence fell over the room again.

I sat there, staring into space, dazed for a long time.

A Copying Magic Tool.

So, I have to choose for myself.

The doll has been given a choice.

I wish they had just commanded me.

It’s practically a command anyway.

For me, choosing not to escape would surely bring a result worse than death.

Still, a little.

Hmm.

I sighed, rolling the metal piece in my hand.

Somehow, my head hurts.