Chapter 23: 7. The Approaching Threat.
***
Darkness fell heavily on the road of the academy, and the vampire nun was headed towards the women’s dormitory.
‘I’m glad our Phine seems to be doing well at the academy. Though it’s a bit concerning that she’s close to a boy!’
Even in her eyes, the two were alike. Knights who wore helmets even inside the academy.
Denying their friendship seemed like child’s play, and it was cute.
‘It doesn’t seem like he’s after her wealth or power, and all he did was exchange swordsmanship.’
Thinking back on the conversation I just had, he wasn’t a flatterer.
The junior named Licht seemed like just a pure boy who liked love.
I smiled as I felt like this could be an opportunity for my close friend to erase bad memories.
“Oh my, Charitines.”
“Cardinal..?”
Just then, someone with a familiar face appeared before her as she was having such happy thoughts.
“It’s been a while. How have you been?”
“Yes.. I heard that you came as a lecturer this time, Cardinal.”
It was Beatrice, the professor of Divine Power Studies at the academy.
Two nuns in the same attire except for their hair color and length.
Black clothes, shoes of the same shape. Similar speech patterns.
Even to a stranger, they looked so much alike that they could be mistaken for mother and daughter.
“I was lucky. It was like fate that I filled the vacant position. I also wanted to see our Charitines.”
“Cardinal, I’m a little embarrassed when you say that..”
Beatrice just smiled at Charitines, who was scratching her cheek to express her awkwardness.
“You’re like a daughter to me. What’s there to be embarrassed about? I even gave you the surname Saint-Mary.”
“Hehe.. That’s right.”
When she smiled with her eyes, Charitines felt something was strange, but soon let go of her guard.
“…It’s been a while for me too, Cardinal!”
The vampire nun, who seemed a bit shy and cringed slightly, also smiled brightly as a sign of response.
“The academy is a really good place, Charitines.”
“That’s right! It’s like how we met like this..!”
Seeing that, Beatrice spread her arms wide and took on an admiring attitude.
“Huhut, you’ve become much brighter. I cried a little when our Charitines left the church, you know?”
“R-really?”
“Would it sound like a lie?”
“No.. because you don’t usually do that.”
A sense of intimacy was felt between the two as they exchanged jokes and asked after each other.
“Oh my, my mind.”
Then, the blonde nun suddenly opened her mouth as if something had come to mind.
“…It’s too late. Let’s talk later and go in for today. Charitines.”
“Ah, you be careful too, Cardinal!”
The two immediately passed each other and moved away.
The sound of their shoes echoed on the ground and grew smaller.
“Ah, Charitines.”
“Yes, Cardinal? Do you have anything more to say..?”
After taking a few steps, the blonde nun turned her back and gave her last words.
“…Sweet dreams.”
Thus, the midnight encounter came to an end.
***
Nex Aureus, as usual, greeted Charitines with a sound transmission spell as soon as he woke up.
Did you sleep well? My pretty bat? Want to see you on the terrace today?
Even if he was beaten with divine power later,
He used cheesy words on purpose because it was no different from an expression of affection to him now.
“..? Why isn’t she answering?”
Nex was grinning, anticipating his lover’s reaction.
But what came back was silence, different from usual.
“Chirp..?”
Something was strange. His spirit was also expressing doubt.
If it were normal, she would have replied, ‘You sly fox!! Are you a pervert? What are you doing! The nickname bat is banned now too!’
“Why is she quiet..?”
I grabbed my coat. I had a creepy feeling.
My face was reflected in the Phoenix’s seal. The feeling of anxiety did not subside.
“Charitines. Huh, she didn’t come?”
Even in the second year lecture that followed, her seat was empty.
‘Why isn’t she answering.. Char..’
It didn’t seem like she was sick. If she was, she would have taken a leave of absence or not responded to the sound transmission spell.
As soon as the class was over, Nex ran to the library.
He thought the sage might know something. Because he was a hero specialized in that area.
“Sorry, the prophecy is blocked.”
“Yes..? Sage, what does that mean..?”
“It means Laplace, who is in charge of information, doesn’t know either. Haa.. It’s those Hero Church bastards again.”
But even when he asked the Ten Swords about Charitines’ whereabouts, all he got was an unpleasant answer.
“I’ll put it on the agenda for the board meeting. Wait.”
The purple-haired man shouted at the woman with devil horns, who was sighing and rubbing her forehead.
“Then it’ll be too late!! That means Char is in danger!”
“You don’t know how vicious those Demon King bastards are. It’s been almost 20 years since they appeared, so we need to handle this more carefully….”
“Forget it. I’ll find someone else!”
Leaving the sage of the library behind, Nex ran around the academy, searching for information.
‘Ten Swords? Ten Great heroes? They don’t even move when they don’t know what happened to someone!’
He gritted his teeth as he pushed through the crowd, chewing over the discord with his mother.
Thud─!
Just then, Nex was knocked over by a man who popped out of an alley.
“Oops, be careful!”
“Drake?”
The blond man with many scars on his face lifted Nex to his feet.
“What’s going on? Nex? To be running around so scared!”
The middle-aged man gave a hearty smile.
“…Please help me, Dragonslayer.”
The purple phoenix asked Drake for help.
***
[Charitines♡Nex 51% “DOWN↓”]
“What is this..?”
A few days later, I woke up at dawn and saw a status window that was like a bolt from the blue.
Why has the love meter suddenly dropped?
I expected it to go up and down since it’s a game.
But there haven’t been any events that would cause this.
Only two days have passed.
My guess is that the additional love line was added because the route was confirmed the night before last.
I rubbed my eyes.
[49%]
[48%..]
The numbers kept falling. Isn’t this a big deal? I immediately grabbed my sword and got out of bed.
“Oh, Licht, are you up? Today is the day we go to the training ground….”