Helena's smile faded.
"...You're sure?"
"I don't joke about pocket realms exploding," I said flatly, narrowing my eyes at the subtle distortions spreading through the magical field.
"There's destabilizing mana at the edges. Soone tampered with the place."
Helena's expression turned grim. "It's ant to collapse on them."
"And take them all with it." I leaned over the railing slightly. "Including him."
She followed my gaze to Arthur—no, Adon—still fighting like a beast, unaware that his battlefield was a death trap.
"They wanted to wipe out Adon," she whispered. "Before he awakened fully."
"Any idea who would do such a thing?" I asked, looking at her.
Helena let out a soft curse. "I-I don't know…"
'If I rember correctly, it was the Michael family....'
To be more specific, the current heir of the family.
[]
'Well, they are desperate and stupid enough to try and erase gods before they fully bloom.'
Their main goal is to make Ethan the key figure of the church.
'And no matter how I slice it, Arthur is a lot better than Ethan.'
[]
'Why do you think Helena took out the entire church easily?'
I mused, glancing at the girl who stood beside .
"What are you going to do?"
I turned to her with a flat stare. "What do you think?"
Helena hesitated, then smiled faintly. "You're going to jump, aren't you?"
"Nope."
I replied, shrugging my shoulders.
This event was the reason why Arthur grew so much in the ga.
The detonation will teleport the class to the most brutal forest in Lumina.
Arthur will lead the class back to a safe place on his own.
'This was also the ti when Joshephe started to like him.'
Well, all in all, there isn't any need for to intervene.
"Are you mad?" Helena said, yanking my shoulder. "If they die here, they will bla us—."
"Not us. You." I said, pointing at her. "They will bla you."
Helena stared at , stunned.
"...You're serious."
I nodded, crossing my arms.
"Dead serious. I've already calculated the outco. They won't die—not the ones who matter, anyway."
"Wait! Wait! How!?" Helena said, her voice filled with panic. "The whole realm is going to collapse—."
"The realm is rigged to collapse, yes, but it's a transfer trap, not a killing one."
"...They are innocent children, Himl." Arianell quietly whispered, her voice barely audible.
"Trust ." I said, looking at her. "It's for their own best."
"But you don't know that," she hissed. "What if they—?"
"Then they were weak," I cut in coldly. "This is a survival test now. And if they can't survive this... they're not worth saving."
Helena's lips parted in protest, but no words ca out.
Instead, she looked away, biting the inside of her cheek.
[]
'Rude.'
"We need to do sothing!?" Helena whispered, her voice trembling. "We can't just let them—."
"Helena." I said, letting out a sigh. "Stop it."
"...What?"
"Stop your act."
I said, raising my hand to grab her veil, as I pushed it aside to look at her face.
"I know who you are."
Just like I expected.
She wasn't panicking.
Not at all.
She was grinning ear to ear.
Like the crazy bitch she is.
I let go of her veil as I looked down on the main plaza.
'I hope you die, Joshephe.'
I thought, staring at the girl one last ti.
We both turned back to the balcony, just as the pocket realm shuddered with a high-pitched screech of cracking mana.
It folded in on itself like broken glass—
BOOM!
—and vanished in a ripple of space, leaving behind only scorched air and stunned silence.
Gasps erupted from the audience below.
Teachers scrambled in an instant, trying to save the students.
But....
There wasn't anything for them to save.
And yet, I simply stepped back.
"It's done," I muttered.
Helena lowered her veil again, masking the lingering smirk that still tugged at her lips.
"You really are cruel," she whispered, her voice now calm... eerily so.
"..."
I didn't reply. Instead, I looked at Arianell.
She stood rigid, fists clenched at her sides.
I didn't need to see her eyes to know what was going through her mind.
'Guilt. Doubt. Helplessness.'
Was it the guilt of leeching on my life?
She didn't try harder to stop or help the children.
'...Either way.'
It's ti to capitalize on the opportunity.
"It was the Michael family who did this." I said, looking at Helena. "Their heir was the one who ca up with the plan to kill Arthur."
Helena remained silent. For a while, she let out creepy giggles.
"You are so bad." She whispered, bumping her shoulder with mine. "I knew you were the best choice as my partner."
I looked at her with disgust but didn't rebuke—for now.
She is going to be important to break the church from the inside.
They wanted to fuck with , so they should be ready for this.
"Do I need to give you proof?" I asked, looking at her.
"A general direction is enough." She replied, shaking her head. "I can take care of the rest."
"Good."
I replied, walking away from the chaos.
"Oh right." Turning around, I pointed at her. "Make sure to announce it was who accused them."
She let out a soft giggle. "Aye, partner~."
I shrugged, walking away.
"Where are you going?" Helena asked.
"To have so fresh air." I replied, without looking back.
She didn't stop while I walked out of the place, thinking about one more event.
'Just after this, Ethan and Arthur also got closer.'
Now that would also be a huge blow for Ethan and for the entire Michael family as well.
The fewer people he had to rely on, the better for .
'All that I need to do now is bait those fuckers into betting the snow dallet.'
It shouldn't be that hard.
People in desperation and rage often make stupid mistakes.
I an, I am the pri example of that.
'Now then... what should I do?'
I'm practically free until tomorrow night when I have a eting with the Archangel families.
'...Hmm?'
A sudden thought flashed past my mind as I halted just outside the academy.
'Goddess Inna.'
[]
'Would you like to give this mortal a chance to go on a date with you?'
[]
She was silent for a long while.
***
The Kandam Continent is a lot bigger than any other continent in Lumina.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say they are almost an entire world in themselves.
A self-sufficient world on their own.
So, in such a large place, it's possible for a variety of cultures to flourish together.
"Himl! Himl! Look at this."
Inna's voice made look in her direction as she placed her hand over a tank of fish.
Not the normal ones, but enormous ones.
But—.
Instead of looking at them, I stared at Inna—or should I say, the face she had morphed into.
"You had to choose an ugly face, didn't you?" I grumbled, walking closer to her.
Inna turned toward , pouting dramatically with her new appearance.
It was… unique, to say the least.
She'd taken on the form of a short girl with a ss of curly red hair, slightly mismatched eyes, and a constellation of freckles across her cheeks.
"I think it's charming!" she huffed, spinning in place and nearly bumping into a stall.
"Besides, it's not the face that matters, it's the experience, right?"
I raised an eyebrow. "You look like a goblin pretending to be a flower girl."
"Rude!"
"Honest."
She crossed her arms and stuck her tongue out, then turned back to the tank.
"These fish are older than your bloodline, you know? They're called Ashen Leviatlets. Spirit-bonded creatures."
I curiously looked at the fishes as well.
They look a lot more like sharks than fish.
"Do they taste good?" I asked, glancing at Inna. "They don't look great."
"I don't know." She replied, shrugging as her eyes caught sothing else.
"I see noodles there! Let's go!"
She bead, practically skipping towards the shop.
"You know, when I asked you out, I wasn't expecting this." I said, placing my hands in my overcoat.
"Were you expecting sothing fancy?" She asked, looking back at . "Too bad I don't like dates like that."
I gave her a flat look. "So, what do you like?"
She smiled, clasping her hands behind her, and for a mont I saw the real Inna beneath her goofy appearance.
"You." She said. "I like you."
"...."
I looked away, feeling my heart rate suddenly spiking off the charts.
'She will give a heart attack one day.'
[]
Why can't she stop doing this?
I rubbed my chin as I looked at Inna who was guiding the path.
'...Hmm?'
"This isn't your first ti, Inna?" I asked, walking beside her.
"Nope. I have been here." She replied, smiling at . "... Almost three thousand years ago."
"...Ah." I mumbled, looking at her. "You are old."
A sudden smack on my hand almost broke it in half.
I winced as she glared at , her cheeks turning crimson.
"Stop acting like you are young." She grumbled, smacking one more ti. "In fact, you are older than ."
"....."
I suddenly halted in my steps as I looked at her blankly.
"It was a joke. Stop being serious."
As if noticing her blunder, Inna quickly tried to make excuses.
I looked at her blankly. "You just admitted I'm older than a goddess."
Inna froze, eyes darting like a cornered beast. "T-technically! But you're... like... weird-old. Not god-old."
"Inna."
I drew in a deep breath, staring at her.
"Please be honest with ."
"..."
She didn't reply, instead just stared back at .
Her eyes begged to not question anything.
But....
I couldn't remain silent now.
"How many lives have I lived... No. For how many lives have I known you?"
Her lips trembled slightly as she just looked at .
"Please be honest, Inna."
I asked once again.
She let out a sigh.
Her eyes tiredly finding sothing in mine.
"Seven."
Her words made my mind numb.
"I have t you in seven different lifetis."
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