Chapter 29: 9-1. Is This Really the Crown Prince Route?
***
“…So, Dean Laplace. Are you seriously telling me you didn’t know about the dungeon beneath the academy?”
“I didn’t know. All the books in the Library of Truth were wiped blank.”
The man in formal attire sighed briefly. It was Laplace, the Dean who had delivered the speech at the Grand Hearts Academia entrance ceremony.
Due to the kidnapping of the Second Saintess two days ago, he was now discussing the incident with the board of directors.
“Looks like we don’t need people relying on divine powers anymore. The God of Wisdom? Couldn’t even stand up to the Hero Cult.”
“If it were any other Demon Lord, sure. But we’re talking about the ‘Omniscient’ one! What do you expect me to do? The entire library is down! For the third time in my tenure!”
“…Are you saying I should’ve had a vision of all the students dying? Is that what you mean, Professor Beatrice?”
The Dean, a sage with devil-like horns and the head librarian, snapped at the short-haired nun.
“Enough, Beatrice. I heard the apostle was mimicking you.”
“…Oh, Dennis. You’ve already heard what Char told you?”
“Answer me. Did you really not know about any of this?”
Beatrice, her eyes still narrowed in a perpetual smile, replied with an unsettling calm that sent shivers down the spine.
“You know where I was at the time, don’t you?”
“…”
“Or are you saying I used a body double?”
“There’s always a possibility. After all, you were a spy…”
Dennis, with his distinctive blue hair and glowing white eyes, glared at the nun. But Beatrice maintained her composure, showing no sign of guilt.
“Enough! Dennis! You know Beatrice isn’t a succubus! If we argue amongst ourselves, the Demon Lords will only laugh at us!”
“…I have to be suspicious. Drake.”
“Every time the Omniscient Demon Lord is mentioned, you get too sensitive!”
“And why shouldn’t I be? Even if I can’t remember his name, I know he’s alive!”
Stumbling slightly, Dennis downed an entire bottle of alcohol. His glowing white eyes dimmed for a moment before regaining their light.
“…I investigated with my spirit. The dungeon’s been there for ages. It’s all backward.”
At that moment, a pink-haired dryad with a purple flower spoke up.
“What do you mean, Professor Maria? So, you’re saying…”
Maria, the spirit arts professor, summoned her hamster spirit and began to explain what she had discovered. The tiny spirit twitched its cheeks as it revealed the information.
“Based on the formation of the stalactites and the growth of the moss, the spirits told me it’s always been there. It was prepared from the start.”
“You mean the dungeon existed before the academy was founded…? Damn it, we were played.”
Drake, the dragon slayer with blonde hair and scars, massaged his forehead as he grimaced. His gaze shifted back to Beatrice.
“Beatrice, you’re sure you’ve never been connected to the Hero Cult?”
“…I’ve never left the academy, Dragon Slayer.”
“If you had been involved, the Demon Lord wouldn’t have left you alone!”
Before anyone could respond, Dennis stood up from his seat, his voice now addressing everyone present, as if delivering a speech.
“The powers of the Demon Lords… Truly disgusting abilities. Wouldn’t you all agree?”
“I agree, but you should take care of yourself, Dennis.”
“True enough.”
“If it weren’t for the Head…”
Dennis, who had been bickering with the nun earlier, now spoke in a weary tone, staring up at the ceiling and sighing deeply.
“I’ll be the one to deal with the Headache Demon Lord. No objections, right?”
Dennis summoned a floating magic circle from his palm, the intricate patterns spinning in multiple layers.
“…With this, I might be able to manage.”
He clenched his fist, canceling the spell, and spoke with newfound determination. Drake, intrigued, asked him,
“…Dennis, what is that strange spell?”
“Oh, this? Licht taught me. It’s called a three-dimensional magic circle.”
Dennis chuckled as he answered, and Drake frowned.
“Your student… dares to teach magic? While I’m still around…?”
“Seems like he didn’t care much for your outdated swordsmanship, old man.”
The dragon slayer’s frown deepened. Despite their years of training together, it seemed Drake was upset that Licht had now shifted his focus to Dennis.
“So, should we report this to His Majesty?”
“If it’s my brother… Well, we’d be telling him, ‘There was a Hero Cult dungeon under the academy where your daughter attends!’”
“We’d all be dead. I’m against it. He’s been harsher since becoming emperor.”
The sage, shaking his head in disagreement, glanced at the others, who nodded in agreement. Maria, the dryad professor, looked puzzled.
“…But he’s still the emperor.”
“Oh, Maria, are you really that eager to face the executioner’s blade? No students were harmed.”
“But… it could have been dangerous.”
“Starting a war with the empire would be a fool’s move. Even the Hero Cult isn’t that stupid.”
“Well… maybe not, Cardinal Beatrice…”
With a slight reprimand from Beatrice, Maria reluctantly backed down. There had been no casualties, and if the Hero Cult intended to cause chaos by targeting the vacant position of the Second Saintess, they would have killed her.
‘Something’s not right… After twenty years of silence, they’re moving again. Is it really okay?’
Despite their attempts to reassure each other, a sense of unease lingered. They resumed discussing plans to strengthen the academy’s defenses.
“We’ll reinforce the academy’s barriers and limit access to outsiders.”
“We need to focus more on training the next generation.”
“There’s no way the Demon Lords will attack the academy. They’ve already been humiliated by Roque Gransia!”
“We should start combat training disguised as regular classes.”
Suddenly, as if remembering something, Dennis turned to Drake.
“Oh, right. The one who solved this wasn’t Nex, the vice-principal’s son, but Licht.”
“That’s right! Dennis, your student defeated an apostle-level opponent. If he’s that skilled, even if the Hero Cult attacks in numbers, we’ll be fine! Hahaha!”
“Yeah, impressive. Not only that, but Phine is also quite strong. If the Demon Lords come, we’ll have me, you, and Phine… We should be fine.”
A brief moment of silence followed.
“…”
Though they tried to act unconcerned, everyone had a small seed of doubt deep within them. The fear of another war, no matter how small, lingered.
“Alright, then… If we catch any traces of the Hero Cult, we’ll investigate further. It seems we couldn’t recover anyone from the dungeon after it collapsed.”
With those words from the sage, the meeting of the board came to an end.
***
“Ugh, I feel awful.”
As soon as I got up from bed, I heard my body crack and pop with each movement.
“Kainel… must’ve gone to class.”
The *Vacuum Slash* is a technique that puts a lot of strain on the body. After using it in quick succession, it was no surprise that I felt this way. I looked around the empty dorm room, alone.
“Let’s organize what I’ve learned so far.”
The academy had already excused me for missing classes due to my injuries. I picked up my notebook from the shelf.
First, there’s the status window.
‘It fluctuates—sometimes it goes up, sometimes it goes down.’
It shows when the romantic lines are in danger, so I can use that to prevent any issues with the Grand Route.
‘It seems like romance starts once the gauge reaches 50 percent… and maybe marriage at 100 percent? Well, it *is* called the “Romance Gauge.”’
Even with an engagement, Nex and Charitines were at 62 percent… meaning what comes after is just as important.
In Nex’s case, it seems like he’ll need to resolve his conflict with Asha Aureus.