The Overpowered Cult Leader at the Academy Chapter 88

Chapter 88

Save Through Death (3)

“Aah. I’m bored.”

“That is not allowed.”

Two days had passed since I was abandoned in the infirmary. There wasn’t even a single tingling spot left. The absence of pain ant my body had fully recovered.

I tried appealing to the healer in the infirmary, but she stood firm. With an unwavering attitude, she suppressed .

“Please inform in one hour.”

The healer was busy. Students from the Combat Departnt returned injured on countless days. There were also many cases of them getting hurt while out on missions.

Thanks to that, the infirmary was overflowing. Even the number of those from the Alchemy Departnt who collapsed from overwork was no small amount. I felt uneasy about bothering a busy healer, so I only hinted once every hour.

“……You’ll definitely let go after one hour, right?”

After hearing that all day, the healer had begun using as an alarm.

“Please put that away now. The other patients are feeling anxious.”

Lying in the hospital room made restless. I was talented at lying around doing nothing, but if I had to do it, I would rather do so in the chapel.

Just as I began to think that ti was being wasted, I examined the spoils I had won from defeating Anash. The Circle of Reincarnation. It wasn’t the massive wheel Anash had shown , but this one was still large enough to draw attention.

“Cowards.”

“……Not everyone is like Student Davide.”

It wasn’t large enough to throw the infirmary into chaos, but since it was about the size of a person’s upper body, it naturally drew the eye. The healer did not look upon the Circle of Reincarnation favorably.

“Yes.”

I answered roughly and rolled it around in my hand. Over the course of a day, I had diligently figured it out. What Anash had left behind was remarkable.

Simply put, it was an extra life. If I began recovery after consuming stamina, I could store as much stamina as I recovered.

‘An insanely overpowered passive.’

That stored stamina could be used at any ti. It would activate automatically right before my stamina reached 0 and I was about to die, and it could also be used in place of stamina when activating skills.

Depending on how I used it, the applications were limitless, and my survivability increased dramatically.

‘On top of that, Candela.’

Because of it, Candela’s production increased. I originally produced about six per day, but since I began using it at every opportunity, it rose to nearly ten.

As the amount of stamina I could use increased, the production naturally rose as well.

“This is exciting.”

I had only just gathered two of Anaye’s Legacies. Among them, the first—the Promise of the Great Ash Tree—was practically as good as nonexistent.

But the one I obtained this ti was on a completely different level. I was already looking forward to what would happen when I obtained the others.

“Canis.”

“Hm? Huh~ Did you call ?”

When I called Canis’ na, she rose up from the floor.

She looked around with a puzzled expression, then soon discovered and smiled charmingly.

“What are you going to do during vacation?”

“Hm~ I’ll pass on the after-party~”

“Cut the nonsense.”

I gave a small rebuke to Canis, who was spouting useless nonsense.

Without looking the least bit offended, Canis tilted her head. She seed to be thinking.

“I’ll probably have to go back to the family~ My father is quite persistent~”

I nodded. As expected of the head of the Ulbushis Family, who was a complete fool for his daughter, he would call Canis back without fail during breaks such as vacation.

There wasn’t a proper way to extract her, so perhaps there was no choice. I tried thinking of a way to make use of Canis for the pilgrimage to the Sanctuary, but it didn’t seem easy.

“The exoskeleton.”

“I took care of it al~l~ It sold for quite a nice price, you know?”

Unlike last ti, we collected all of the Hellhorn Bull’s exoskeleton. Since it was used as high-quality material for armor, it sold like wildfire.

“I’ll split it in half with you~ So then, what are you going to do about Blood Magic~?”

“Bring them. I don’t know who it is, though.”

What remained now was Blood Magic. The original reason I had accepted Canis’ request. At my words telling her to bring them, Canis tapped her chin with her index finger.

“I think we’ll have to go there ourselves~”

“……Can I even learn it?”

Judging by the way she spoke, it didn’t seem like she had discussed it beforehand. Canis’ attitude was confident.

But there was no way anyone would easily teach a secret art like Blood Magic. Her vague response that she didn’t know either caused my trust to plumt.

“For sure. Absolutely possible~ As long as you’re there, Davi.”

“?”

I looked at her in puzzlent. Sadly, I was known as one of the most notorious human trash in the Academy’s history.

I didn’t believe I would be of that much help.

“Honestly~ There’s no one quite like you, Davi~”

“That makes feel oddly uncomfortable.”

I frowned at Canis’ aningful words. The way she spoke felt unfamiliar sohow. It was the tone she used when she was plotting sothing.

***

“How absurd.”

The Imperial Princess, Eliza Atticus, let out a hollow laugh at Sheila’s report.

“Every single word is true.”

“He killed the master of the Poison Swamp by himself?”

It was hard to believe. Those called masters were powerful as individual entities.

They did not reach the level of Knight Commander Ethan, but even if Sheila stepped in, many of them would put up a considerable fight. And yet, an ordinary student had killed one.

“So he had been hiding such potential. What a cunning bastard.”

She had vaguely sensed that Davide’s martial prowess was not ordinary. His performance in the Forest Guardian incident and the attack incident.

In the forr, he had been decisive, but he had not acted entirely alone; in the latter, the accounts ca from students.

“I did not expect him to this extent either.”

But this ti was different. It was information delivered by Sheila, the one she trusted most in her life.

“We should have sent him to the war.”

“I believe sothing significant would certainly have occurred.”

She had only just been satisfied with Candela, yet when he showed this much, it made her want to interfere.

Just how much was he hiding? The Imperial Princess sank into contemplation, her expression slightly subdued.

“My Sheila. Compared to you, what level would you say he is?”

“Based on my own standard, if it were a fight to the death, he would be just below .”

At the Imperial Princess’ question, Sheila gave a generous evaluation. The Imperial Princess let out a hollow laugh.

“How absurd. Just below you?”

This ti, the Imperial Princess could not believe the words of her most trusted subordinate. Killing the master was one thing.

It was not entirely impossible. According to Sheila’s report, he had used Bereninche’s Water Spear. With such an item, it was enough to beco a variable.

“You are not attempting to toy with , are you?”

“Of course not.”

Sheila’s attitude was serious. The Imperial Princess knew Sheila’s abilities better than anyone. For her, there were no such things as variables.

Such was the existence of a mage. Unless facing another mage, a mage of Sheila’s caliber operated on an entirely different plane.

“You are sincere. Truly sincere.”

Looking at Sheila’s calm face, the Imperial Princess frowned. Just below Sheila? And not even a mage?

“I hear he is stronger than that first-year.”

“With my lacking insight, yes.”

“Hah.”

The one the Imperial Princess referred to was the rare genius who had taken first place in the first-year Magic Departnt, surpassing Canis.

Even Sheila, who regarded Canis as beneath herself, had acknowledged that person as possessing talent far superior to her own.

“A year ago, he was never like this.”

The Imperial Princess recalled Davide from a year ago. She had once seen his sparring. His body had been unrefined, and though his swordsmanship was sharp, it lacked substance.

“I believe it would be right for Your Highness to confirm it personally.”

“Is that so.”

Had he hidden his strength? Or had he improved to such an extent in a single year? Not a single possibility made sense.

The Imperial Princess nodded at Sheila’s words. There was a reason she had recomnded him so insistently.

“He is cunning, yet truly desirable.”

There was no ga piece more useful than this. And since he had been expelled from the Duhein Family, there was no need to consider any aftermath.

“However. He is suspicious.”

The Davide she had t in person had felt different. What she felt upon first seeing him were the eyes of a snake. The eyes of a predator hunting its prey.

Eyes that glistened in a way that made even the innocent seem untrustworthy. That temperant of his, speaking without the slightest wavering even before the Imperial Princess.

“He is the kind who would ultimately aim for our throats.”

Many traitors had worn such expressions. The Imperial Princess, who especially loathed betrayal, therefore could not easily trust Davide.

“Wait. You, Sheila.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“Are you saying the master of the Poison Swamp truly ntioned ‘Astrology’?”

As she continued reading the report, the Imperial Princess’ eyes widened.

At the change in the Imperial Princess, who had maintained composure the entire ti, Sheila tilted her head as well.

“That is correct.”

“This bastard. Hah.”

Sheila could not understand why the Imperial Princess was reacting this way.

The Imperial Princess, unaware of Sheila’s thoughts, let out another hollow laugh. From her position, there was nothing more bewildering than this.

“So you’re saying Davide uses Astrology?”

“Yes. He clearly said so.”

The Imperial Princess quietly closed the book.

“Previously, I believed Davide had seen my nightmare.”

“Why did you think that?”

“At present, the only possible source from which he could have obtained that information was my nightmare. But it seems that was not the case.”

As if her throat were parched, the Imperial Princess downed her tea in a single gulp. Sheila refilled the deeply brewed tea once more.

“Do you know anything about Astrology?”

“Only that it is a discipline of observing the stars.”

At the Imperial Princess’ question, Sheila answered apologetically. Though she had lived a long life, there were still many things she did not know.

“That is correct. Astrology is a discipline of observing the stars. It was an ancient study from before the founding of the Empire.”

The Imperial Princess moistened her lips with the tea that had not yet cooled. Sheila listened quietly.

“In the Imperial Library, there are records related to it.”

Within the Empire existed a library accessible only to descendants of the Imperial House. A treasury of knowledge where all kinds of rare texts were gathered.

The Imperial Princess spoke calmly of unknown knowledge that even Sheila had never been able to read, as she was not permitted to enter.

“There were accounts regarding Astrology there as well. Originally, Astrology was a form of magic. Borrowing the power of the stars. Through that, one gained the power to predict the fate and future of living beings. That is the true aning of Astrology.”

At the Imperial Princess’ words, Sheila’s expression hardened.

“That bastard. He is loved by the stars.”

“Loved by the stars.”

“Yes. It is sothing even I have not accomplished, and even the Emperors of the Empire throughout history have failed to achieve.”

That even the Imperial House, who considered their blood the most noble, had not been chosen—yet Davide had been.

“I do not know more than that. The rest was all speculation. So say one can see the future, while others say that by looking to the sky, they never lose their path.”

To see the future. The Imperial Princess faintly understood that feeling. The intuition she possessed lay in a similar domain.

Thus, there was no need to speak of its usefulness.

“We must draw him in. We must create a trap that even that cunning bastard cannot escape.”

“Understood.”

“He is going on a pilgrimage to the Sanctuary during vacation, is he not? Then we shall aim for the Battle Festival.”

Greed for talent was the mark of a ruler. Possessing the traits of one destined to stand above all others, the Imperial Princess smiled fiercely.

A wild thoroughbred. Every beast could be tad.

“I pray it unfolds according to Your Highness’ will.”

However, Sheila was skeptical. It would be best to remain satisfied with a friendly relationship with Davide.

She did not doubt the capacity of her mistress, but whether she could truly contain Davide within her grasp was sothing that could only be known through direct experience.