Volume 4 Chapter 13 Aftermath
It has been a day since the attack on the 'Goddess Holy Church.'
All the injured were treated by Nightingale, one of the 'Five Stars.' The dead were revived, and everyone was completely healed without any aftereffects.
Gambo's severed arm was also restored.
However, there were still a total of 260 missing people.
Elk was called to the principal's office because he fought and talked with Lolofaldo.
Principal Poseidon clapped his hands together as soon as Elk arrived.
"I'm sorry!! Well... I was watching the fight, but I had to go to Nightingale because of my chronic back pain. Then, a 'black wall' appeared in the arena, and I couldn't get inside... I caused trouble for Elshi too."
"N-no problem."
Now that he think about it, Poseidon wasn't there during all that chaos.
He never thought he would be in the medical room outside the arena because of back pain.
Elshi sighed.
"Elk. By the way... the priest you fought was a puppet, right?"
"Yes. It felt like a real person, though..."
Elk looked down.
Then, the shining woman... Nightingale spoke.
"That is 'puppet magic,' the most difficult type of magic to master. It casts magic on a puppet, recreating the texture of skin, body movements, and even its structure. It can even simulate blood flow, eating and drinking, and even the use of skills... Without a doubt, it's a 'cheat skill' type of magic."
"Cheat... skill..."
As Elk muttered this, Poseidon spoke.
"Is that the special skill given only to the Apostle by Goddess Pipina? I've never heard of a skill that creates a space to nullify other skills. Even the treasures in dungeons would be difficult, I suppose."
"...Pipina."
"And you, Elk."
"Ah, yes."
Poseidon smiled brightly.
"You know about Goddess Pipina, right?"
"───!"
"Oh, oh, no need to be on guard. I don't think you're an Apostle of the 'Goddess Holy Church.' But... if you know something, I want you to share it. Your 'Telekinesis' must be related, right?"
"......"
There was no way to hide it anymore.
* * *
Elk spoke to Poseidon, Elshi, and Nightingale.
"I have met Goddess Pipina."
"What?!"
"...No way."
"That's interesting..."
Poseidon's eyes widened, Elshi looked shocked, and Nightingale seemed intrigued. Elk wasn't sure if they would believe him, but he had no choice but to tell the truth.
"Do the teachers know my true identity...?"
"Duke Kinesis's eldest son. Elk Kinesis, right? Six years ago, you dueled your brother Rosho and lost, and it was said you died... officially, it was reported as a death from illness."
"...That's not true."
That's just like what the Duke Kinesis family would do.
Officially reported as a death from illness. But if you investigate, it would be easy to find out about the duel. So, they only hid the fact of the duel in a way that could be discovered, while they strictly concealed that 'the Duke Kinesis family conspired to frame Elk.'
Elk said.
"I had a one-on-one duel with Rosho. Of course, I couldn't win... I was hit by Sarissa's magic, and even though it was supposed to be a duel with fake swords, I was actually cut with a real one. I was on the edge of life and death, and I lost consciousness for 6 years."
"""......"""
"I met Pipina during those 6 years... in my dreams."
Elshi's expression became serious, but Poseidon just narrowed his eyes slightly and relaxed his expression.
"'Between life and death'... there I met Pipina, and she almost gave me a 'cheat skill'."
"Almost gave you... one?"
"Yes. But I refused."
Elk said firmly.
"In exchange, Pipina trained my 'Telekinesis.' There's no level or mental energy in the space between life and death, and the flow of time seemed different... so, roughly, 2000 years. I trained my 'Telekinesis' for 2000 years."
"...You're joking, right?"
"It's true. That's why my Telekinesis is strong."
"Interesting..."
Elk said.
"Pipina told me, 'There are 7 people in this world that I gave power to and brought back to life. They are trying to summon me to this world, so please stop them'."
"Hmm... so that's the Goddess Holy Church."
"Yes."
Elshi summarized.
"Goddess Holy Church. It's a cult that started operating a few years ago. The Seven Heaven Apostles claim to resurrect the goddess Pipina... I never expected they would kidnap students in such a bold way."
"Lolo... Lolofaldo said that the kidnapped students would be 'brainwashed'."
"......Hmm."
Poseidon closed his eyes and slowly opened them.
"I see. Elk, even though it was a doll, you defeated Lolofaldo in the finals. The individual matches were canceled, but... you are the champion. Congratulations."
"Uh, ah... yes."
"According to tradition, we give the champion what they desire. Do you have a wish?"
"A wish..."
Elk thought for a moment.
Then, he said in a slightly stronger voice.
"Then I have a request."
"Yes?"
"I plan to take revenge on my family, the Duke Kinesis family. If they try to harm my friends or those around me, please protect them."
"That is a wish I cannot grant."
"...I see."
Poseidon said with a smile.
"As long as you are in this academy, we teachers will protect the students. I don't know if you can trust me after the recent incident, but..."
"...Thank you."
"So, what will your wish be?"
"Uh, um... hmm."
Elk hesitated.
To be honest, he didn't really have anything he wanted.
"Well... as for the wishes of past students, they wanted things like half-price items at the shopping mall until graduation, a house on campus, a shop in the mall, or their own research facility."
"...A house on campus sounds nice."
"Oh? Then shall we make it a house? This academy has a lot of unused land... building a house would be no problem. What do you think?"
"Hmm, that's tempting..."
"Shopping mall discount coupons would be nice too. What do you think?"
"Hmm... but I also enjoy eating with everyone in the dorm."
Elk was troubled.
Elshi sighed and said, "You're worried about the Goddess Holy Church, huh..." Nightingale chuckled softly, shaking her head.
Then Poseidon came up with a brilliant idea.
"How about we make it a student dorm?"
"Huh?"
"I'll give you an unused student dorm as a gift. You can have your friends live there as dorm mates. You can eat delicious food together every day and have a place to hang out. Oh, but no inappropriate relationships, okay? We'll have a supervising teacher and the cafeteria lady there too."
"...!"
"Principal. That's a bit much, don't you think?"
"No, no! Back when I won the individual competition, my wish was for a 'Harem Mansion.' I'd have my favorite girls living in the dorm, and of course, I'd be the only guy... Hehehe. It was a really fun school life, buhuh!?"
Elshi punched Poseidon, and he slammed into the desk.
When Poseidon lifted his head, he was bleeding from his nose. Holding his nose, he said,
"W-What do I do?"
"...Then, please."
"Hohoho. Just be careful, or your lower half might go wild, gyahaha!?"
Poseidon got hit by Nightingale's staff and finally fainted.
For now, the conversation was over.
Elshi turned to Elk.
"For now, you don't have to worry about the Goddess Holy Church."
"...But..."
"This is a matter for the country and the adults. You should focus on your revenge and school life."
Elshi had unknowingly started treating Elk as an equal.
"And... I should tell you. Duke Kinesis's Rosho and Sarissa have gone missing because of this incident. They must have been taken by the Goddess Holy Church."
"...I see."
"If anything comes up, I might listen to you again. Until then, enjoy your student life. I'll let you know about the dormitory situation later."
"Yes. Thank you very much."
"After the martial arts tournament, the dungeon training will start. Look forward to it."
"Yes. Well then, excuse me."
Elk bowed and left the principal's office.
Poseidon got up, rubbing the part that had been hit.
"Principal. I find it hard to believe Elk's story, but..."
"Well, I only believe about half of it myself. Meeting the goddess Pipina and training for 2000 years is quite a stretch."
"......"
"Hmm? What's wrong, Nightingale?"
"Nothing. I just think he's a mysterious kid..."
There was no lie.
At least, Nightingale believed Elk's story.
* * *
Elk headed to the food court in the shopping mall.
It was a fairly large dining area with private rooms. There, her friends had gathered.
Emma, Nickes, Merry, Gambo, Fine. And Yato.
When Elk entered the private room, all eyes were on him.
Then, Nickes spoke up.
"How was it?"
"I just had a little chat. The rest is adult business."
"I see... Oh, sit down. Want to order some food?"
"Yeah. I'm hungry."
Sitting next to Emma, she offered a wet towel.
Elk took it and wiped her hands.
"Emma, are you okay? Your injury..."
"Yes. There's no scar left. By the way, Ms. Nightingale is really amazing."
"They say she can even bring dead people back to life. Skills are incredible."
They ordered food and ate together.
While drinking juice after the meal, Yato spoke up.
"...Goddess Holy Church, what should we do?"
"...If they come at us, I want to say we won't hold back. But... we have no information. Still, a lot of new students have been taken, so I think the school will take action."
Rosho and Sarissa are also missing.
Strangely, Elk didn't seem too worried about it.
"Until then, I guess we should enjoy our student life... ah."
At that moment, Elk looked at everyone.
"Hey, everyone. Actually, I... got a dorm room."
""""""Wh-what?""""""
Elk started to explain to everyone about the prizes for the individual competition.
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