Chapter 189
There is a spy planted by the Black Witch in this meeting hall.
Kraush immediately fell silent upon hearing those words.
Instead, his sixth sense began reacting more intensely than before.
Kraush looked at Taria.
It was a question of how she knew that.
[I have a pretty sensitive nose. Especially after becoming a subordinate of Crimson Garden, it's even more so when it comes to matters related to World Erosion.]
She, who appeared to have a hearty laugh on the surface, answered Kraush's question.
But calling her "sister"?
It's quite a familiar term for someone who became a subordinate.
[It wasn't there until recently. I started sensing it suddenly about two days ago.]
She lightly tapped the tip of her nose with her index finger.
'Two days ago.'
That was when Kraush was at the Green Pine Mansion.
'They took advantage of my absence.'
The Black Witch still doesn't have complete information about Kraush.
So, it was clear that they purposely exploited the gap when he was away.
'Either way, it's better to find and resolve it.'
This is because they must avoid Ixion obtaining information about this side at all costs.
Right now, Ixion is in no position to act recklessly, considering Crimson Garden and Ebelasque.
If they were to clash with those two and shed blood, the ones who would ultimately suffer losses would be themselves.
'So, they must be trying to gather information on this side without drawing attention.'
For Ixion, who needs Ignis, Kraush is absolutely indispensable.
This was also something Kraush had intended.
"Oh, it looks like it's about to start."
While Kraush was briefly lost in thought, Taria casually remarked and pulled out a chair to sit down beside him.
[I'll look into this side, so there's no need to worry much. I also informed Crimson Garden sister in advance.]
Now I understand why Crimson Garden didn't stop her from heading to the Women's Society.
It must have been to naturally create an opportunity for Taria to make contact.
Thinking about how she's probably laughing away by now, it's truly typical of Crimson Garden.
Meanwhile, as Taria said, people had gradually started seating themselves in the meeting hall.
The Women's Society is essentially a social gathering.
Perhaps that's why dining utensils and snacks were already placed before Kraush, Charlotte, and Taria.
"The desserts prepared this time are......."
Someone enthusiastically explained about the desserts, but Kraush didn't show much interest.
Instead, he quickly scanned the women present, ignoring the gazes directed at him.
'I'm starting to get a general sense.'
Kraush quickly grasped the power structure within the Women's Society based on their seating arrangements.
And the central forces hadn't changed much, as they were in the past.
There were a total of five factions within the Women's Society.
First, there was Charlotte Balheim, whose presence alone formed a faction.
This side was so exceptional that comparing her with others would be unfair, so she was set aside.
The second faction, befitting her position as the President of the Magic Studies Department, was Taria Vales, who also served as the Student Commander.
'The third, Eiling Ornoa, the First-Year Vice President of Literature from the Kingdom of Jeblam.'
Sitting in a modest posture and leisurely sipping tea, she radiated a highly intellectual demeanor.
However, beneath that intellectual exterior, her darting pupils were endlessly busy.
With her unusual ability called memory ability, she stored countless pieces of information about the world in her mind.
Based on that information, she had established her own faction within Rahelrn Academy.
Despite her ordinary appearance, she was an extremely dangerous individual, no less than the genius tomboy Sizelry Ephania.
'And the fourth, Mirey Beakis, the First-Year President of Theology from the Freeman Holy Kingdom.'
Another woman, with her back straight and not a hint of disarray, elegantly bit into a confection.
Even though it was the kind of soft confection that should have crumbled with a bite, not a single crumb fell from her lips.
At the mere age of 16, she had ascended to the position of Cardinal in Freeman.
Originally the center of theology, but she had willingly yielded that position after the arrival of Saintess Astria Stigma Freeman.
She was Cardinal Mirey Beakis.
Naturally, all of them held the position of Student Commander at Rahelrn Academy.
In other words, they were among the central points of power within Rahelrn Academy.
And among them, the one with the largest faction was none other than the 3rd Princess, Sigrid Ephania, of the Empire.
True to her status as the 3rd Princess of the Empire, she actively gathered confidants even within the Women's Society.
As a result, she had formed the largest faction, but she had a clear weakness.
'Unless they are far inferior, she lacks the power to sway those who can secure a certain position.'
Sigrid doesn't get along well with other women.
Her inherently possessive nature was evident in her tendency to look down on others.
This tendency was particularly pronounced when it came to the same gender, characteristic of Sigrid.
Thus, Sigrid often clashed with other women.
If the other party acknowledged Sigrid's position and abilities and bowed their heads, she would readily extend her favor.
But if they tried to stand on equal footing and oppose her, she would bare her teeth immediately.
Perhaps that's why Sigrid couldn't recruit women among the Skyborne Generation.
Ironically, this led to Kraush's Skyborne Generation being significantly populated by women.
'......I'm starting to feel like I have no right to criticize Arthur anymore.'
With everything piling up, Kraush, surrounded by a female-centric atmosphere, felt a faint headache.
Of course, gender doesn't matter when it comes to saving the world from destruction.
But being aware of how he appeared to others, he occasionally questioned whether his current direction was right.
'But even so.'
Unless Sigrid could be toppled immediately.
There was no way to draw in the men among the Skyborne Generation whom Sigrid had recruited.
In the end, a confrontation would inevitably arise at some point.
[Why not arrange a blind date?]
At that moment, Crimson Garden, grooming herself near the upper window of the hall, spoke up.
[Ah, that's right. All the kids gathered around you are infatuated with you, so trying to arrange something like that would probably lead to a bloodbath. Tsk tsk, it's all your fault. Who told you to wag your "stick" around recklessly? Since it's come to this, why not just marry them all for fairness?]
Kraush decided to block out Crimson Garden's words as his head hurt.
'Sigrid's inability to form a faction must also have a lot to do with Charlotte.'
If Sigrid had obtained the top spot among the First-Year Martial Arts Students, she would have had no trouble creating a faction even within the Women's Society.
Being the First-Year President of Martial Arts carried significant weight.
However, Charlotte wasn't called a genius for nothing.
She suppressed even Sigrid and claimed the top spot.
From Sigrid's perspective, Charlotte must have been an utterly unexpected threat.
'Even in the future, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that Charlotte's genius has reached its prime at this point.'
Thus, with Sigrid failing to reach the top spot, her faction inevitably weakened.
That's why Sigrid would grind her teeth whenever she saw Charlotte.
"It's surprising that Miss Charlotte is participating in this Women's Society meeting."
At that moment, Eiling Ornoa, the First-Year Vice President of Literature, spoke up.
Like everyone else, she found Charlotte incredibly intriguing.
"I thought Miss Charlotte would never participate in the Women's Society."
Eiling's statement seemed to resonate with everyone's thoughts.
Charlotte, unfazed by the attention on her, casually folded her arms.
"I heard that people here often talk about my little brother."
And the moment she opened her mouth, everyone froze.
Because Charlotte's gaze carried a faint hint of killing intent.
"I was wondering if people were bad-mouthing my brother, so I decided to drop by."
"......You must really care about your little brother."
Eiling displayed a somewhat surprised expression.
Then, Charlotte subtly curled the corners of her lips and glanced momentarily at Kraush standing next to her.
"Well, he's my only little brother after all."
Whether she was joking or being serious, it was hard to tell.
Kraush thought to himself that he couldn't figure it out and sighed inwardly.
"I see. Then, this person is......"
Eiling soon turned her attention to Kraush.
In truth, her interest was mostly drawn to Kraush, who had suddenly appeared in this space.
At that moment, Eiling, possessing the Memory Ability, recalled the time she entered the school when she had memorized most of the faces and names.
On top of that, if someone was noteworthy, she even grasped their inherent disposition and personal desires.
But what was this?
The person standing beside Charlotte now was undoubtedly someone Eiling didn't recognize.
For someone like Eiling, who had memorized all the students, this could only mean one thing.
This person was someone Charlotte had deliberately hidden and brought here.
Moreover, this person was someone Charlotte had declared as her lover.
Eiling's green pupils subtly glimmered.
'Who exactly are you?'
However, even with her clever mind, she couldn't have imagined that Charlotte had used magic to transform Kraush into a female and brought him here.
After all, not even Charlotte, as eccentric as she was, would logically think to pull off something like that in a space reserved exclusively for women.
This only deepened the mystery surrounding Kraush's presence.
"Are you trying to draw attention?"
When Charlotte warned her again, Eiling flinched and recoiled.
After all, she wasn't strong enough to face Charlotte head-on either.
If she carelessly provoked Charlotte and invoked her wrath, things could spiral out of control.
And everyone else in the room was well aware of this fact as well.
"Ahem, I understand. Then, shall we enjoy the tea party as usual?"
Thus, the tea party, or rather, the Rahelrn Academy Women's Society often referred to as a place for information exchange, began.
* * *
The Women's Society began with the unexpected addition of Charlotte.
Initially, the attendees were hesitant, perhaps because of Charlotte's notorious reputation.
But as Charlotte simply observed without doing anything, the atmosphere gradually relaxed.
Thanks to this, Kraush was able to comfortably eavesdrop on information and the power dynamics.
"Did you know about this?"
Many of those gathered at the Women's Society were highly sensitive to information.
Perhaps because of this, in this place, information was equivalent to one's position and power.
Therefore, new information unknown to anyone else was akin to a display of one's strength.
"Such a thing......"
"Wow."
As soon as someone revealed new information, exclamations of admiration erupted from all around.
And the one who shared the information puffed out their chest with a smug expression.
Like they were intoxicated by the taste of wielding power, they seemed dazed, as if drunk on a sense of superiority.
In this manner, the Women's Society continued.
'There doesn't seem to be any particularly useful information.'
While feeling a tinge of disappointment, Kraush's eyes busily moved around.
He wanted to find out who the Black Witch's servant mentioned by Taria was.
'They probably haven't noticed my identity.'
Kraush had also become quite proficient in handling the power of World Erosion.
Unless they were a World Erosion Being themselves, it wouldn't be easy for a servant to see through him.
It was at that very moment when Kraush was focusing solely on finding the Black Witch's servant.
"No one seems to be sharing anything impactful."
Suddenly, one person boldly broke the silence.
As everyone's gaze turned to her, they all looked at her with expressions of dread.
It was as if they all regretted reacting to her.
Of course, it was inevitable.
She was a woman infamous in the Special Arts Department as a madwoman.
Magical Tool Manufacturer, Rona Imblize.
The Imblize Family, renowned as the world's best when it came to magical tool manufacturing.
Rona Imblize, born into that family, was both an eccentric among eccentrics and a genius recognized even within the Imblize Family.
She was so notorious that she would create magical tools every day and test them, often blowing up the Magic Training Ground multiple times.
Recently, she had even caused significant injuries to her classmates and an associate professor by creating an absurd magical tool.
A ridiculous magical tool that burns one's own body to convert it into power.
She had handed that over to an ordinary student.
As a result, the student, who went on a rampage, left not only themselves but also the associate professor who intervened to subdue them requiring extended hospitalization.
Although Rona formally apologized for the incident, the evaluation of her magical tools had hit rock bottom.
Among the students, it had reached the point where no one wanted to use her magical tools anymore.
"Once you hear my information, you won't react like that."
However, despite such evaluations, she drew a confident, triumphant smile.
"Shall I tell you one thing?"
She raised her index finger upright.
As she exuded such confidence, the other women looked at her with intrigued eyes.
Then, drawing all the attention toward herself, she parted her lips a few seconds later.
"There is currently someone at Rahelrn Academy who has formed a contract with a World Erosion Being."
And the entire Women's Society froze.