V5Ch5: No way, school terrorism again!! Part 3

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Translator: Soafp

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Alexia and Claire gathered in the auditorium to discuss.

“There’s no doubt about it. This collar is sucking up magic. When the timer hits zero, ……”

Alexia’s eyes fell on the body of a student who had died of a neck injury.

“Disarming it is also dangerous.”

Claire poured magic power into the collar and checked it several times. But each time, she felt an uncomfortable resistance.

Stimulating it might cause it to explode.

“Anyway, don’t waste your magic power. Especially those who are low on magic power.”

Alexia called out to the students.

The auditorium was filled with students caught in the white fog. Many students should have already left the school, yet the number of students coming into the auditorium was still increasing.

Around their necks, too, were collars in bad shape.

Alexia’s collar pointed to 1303 and Claire’s to 1917.

“Fuu…… looked around, but I didn’t see any teachers who looked dependable.”

The one who said that was Nina, a petite, short-skirted female student.

“Yeah, I guess we’ll just have to deal with it ourselves.”

“Nina, was sid there?”

“Little brother wasnt there. I think he’s back at the dorm.”

“Thank goodness. ……”

Claire let out a relieved breath.

“But how on earth did it come to this? The mysterious white fog, the hideous collars, and no way to contact the outside world. I have no idea what’s going on.”

“…… Shadow Garden”

It was a male student with deep green hair who muttered this.

“There were rumors of a missing student and the mysterious death of the head librarian. There were rumors that an organization called Shadow Gardens was involved. My father works for the Knights Order, so I’ve heard a lot about it.”

“…… You’re Isaac, right? I heard you’re a promising swordsman. But do you have any proof that Shadow Garden is the culprit?”

“Proof? You ask strange questions, Alexia-sama. They have a record of taking over schools, right?”

“….Is there a motive?”

“They are a criminal organization. There is no motive. They kill people for fun and to satisfy their desires.”

The students who were listening to the conversation around them were shaken.

“A-Again, Shadowgarden huh……”

“I …… was almost killed in that incident …… Higu.”

“What the hell,……, why are they doing this to us!”

“Everybody calm down! Isaac, you too, refrain from making inflammatory remarks.”

“Excuse me.”

Isaac hunched his shoulders. But the students’ fears remained.

“It’s dangerous to assume the culprit with so little information. All we have to do is get this collar off and get out of here. Am I wrong?”

“But I don’t think it will be easy.”

Nina said.

“We tried to find out how far this fog went, but we couldn’t seem to get out of the school. There’s some kind of invisible wall.”

“Then I wonder if there’s any way to get the collar off. ……”

“That would be difficult. It seems to be a very complicated artifact. I don’t know what would happen if you touched it too much.”

“Right…..”

A heavy silence spread through the auditorium.

“No….I-I don’t want to die yet!”

A male student who had been shivering by the wall got up and started running.

“Me too! I won’t …… die in a place like this!”

Several more followed him toward the exit of the auditorium.

“W-Wait!”

Alexia called out hurriedly.

But the moment they stepped out of the auditorium, there was a spray of blood.

“What—!”

A translucent sword pierced through the students.

The sword was held by a warrior who looked like a lifeless ghost.

“That’s a …… ghost!”

“Ghost?!”

“I don’t know, but Aurora said it was a ghost!”

Claire and Alexia drew their swords and charged.

Isaac and Nina followed suit.

“Haa!”

“Tei!”

With a single flash of Alexia and Claire’s swords, multiple ghosts disappeared.

However, outside the auditorium, a large number of ghosts were still stirring.

“How long has…… this been going on?”

“So many. It’s going to break my bones.”

“Both of you, be careful of your remaining magic power.”

Nina’s advice came from behind.

The two of them checked each other’s collars as if in a panic.

“Let’s pull!”

“Close the auditorium doors!”

While Alexia and Claire push the ghosts back, Nina and Isaac close the doors.

“Both of you, quickly!”

Just as the doors were about to close, they slipped into the auditorium.

Catching their breath, they check their collars. Alexia’s was 1238 and Claire’s was 1825.

“That’s not good,……, at this rate the number will go down faster than I thought.”

“I know. Nina how much do you have left?”

“Eh…..me, well”

Nina, for some reason, made a gesture as if she were hiding the timer.

“I can’t see it.”

“Ah, yeah. Right”

Nina slowly showed them the timer. The numbers were very common.

“784. That’s less than I thought.”

“At this rate, you’ll probably have me for two hours. Isaac, you…….”

“I’m at 1,367.”

“That’s my honor student. The amount of magic power is also top-notch. Shall we check everyone’s remaining magic power once?”

Alexia and others checked the remaining magic power of the students in the auditorium.

“The student with the least is in the 300 …….”

Alexia, who had finished checking, said in a hushed voice.

“It looks like she consumed a lot of magic during her voluntary after-school workout. If we don’t do something about it within the hour, her life will be ……”

The other side of Claire’s gaze is on a female student who has turned pale and is trembling.

“Many of the students don’t have much magic left in them. I don’t know how much longer we can defend this place.”

The doors of the auditorium were being slammed by the ghosts. The students had piled up chairs and desks to form a barricade.

“What do we do now, Princess Alexia?”

Isaac asked Alexia.

‘What are we going to do, even if I told you, …….”

There was no way she could have expected to get caught in the white fog, and there was no way she could have known how to disarm the collar.

Alexia’s gaze wandered as if seeking an answer.

—But then

“At this rate, we’ll just be waiting for death. ……”

Her voice was not loud.

But strangely enough, there was a power that resonated through the auditorium.

“…… I have an idea.”

A male student was leaning against the wall of the auditorium. His dark brown hair brushed back languidly, he slowly stepped in front of Alexia and the others.

“You are ……?”

“I’m Suzuki.”

He stared straight at Alexia. He looked at Alexia straight in the eyes.

“…… He is in the same class as me.”

Isaac added.

“Suzuki-kun huh. You said you had an idea. Can you tell me what it is?”

“Yes. ……”

Suzuki slowly looks around at the students in the auditorium as he speaks.

“First of all, our strength is limited. Many of the students here have very little magic left, and if we engage in battle, we will run out of it quickly. If we have to fight, we will literally be fighting for our lives. The mental load is also great. I don’t think the students will be able to fight properly.”

“…… I agree.”

It was an apt analysis.

He is calmly analyzing the current situation under this tense situation.

“The only people who can afford the amount of magic are the few who are here. In other words, there are only so many people who can be a force to be reckoned with. So we will divide the students into two units.””

He then looks at the students who are barricading themselves.

“The first squad is the defense squad. The students with the least amount of remaining magic will stay in the auditorium and defend it while conserving their magic power. And the second unit…”

Suzuki looked around at Alexia and the others.

“The suicide squad—“

“—- Hey, what are you doing!”

At that moment, a female student’s voice interrupted Suzuki.

Alexia and the others, who had been listening to the conversation with bated breath, lost all tension.

“Don’t talk so cheekily to Princess Alexia when you’re an offshoot of the family. You should be over there barricading yourself. If you do something unnecessary and damage the reputation of the main family, you will be held accountable.”

Behind him stood a beautiful girl with light red hair.

“”Uhm, you’re I believe……., “

“I’m Christina Hope. I’m a distant relative of Susuki’s.”

“……. She’s a classmate of mine. She’s excellent.”

Isaac adds.

“It seems Suzuki has been bothering you. …… he is usually more discreet”

Christina pulled on Suzuki’s uniform and tried to take him away.

It was Alexia who stopped her.

“Wait, he has a point.”

Cristina reluctantly let Suzuki go.

“Yare yare. you’re still the same as ever, Christina.”

“You talk big to me, the head of the family.”

“It’s an emergency. I’m going to have to do something crazy.”

“What do you mean?”

At Christina’s stern look, Suzuki let out a small sigh.

“Let’s return to the story. I will create a suicide squad of the elite few who have enough remaining magic power. Then we will break through the ghosts’ enclosure and cut off the source of this phenomenon–that is my plan.”

“The source of the phenomenon?”

“Our magic power is being absorbed by these collars. Have you any idea where that magic is going?”

“That’s—“

Alexia concentrated on detecting the magic power.

She felt a minute amount of magic flowing out of the collar.

“You can trace this magic back…… How did you noticed it”

“Suzuki, you are ……”

Christina was also a little surprised.

“It’s a simple deduction. Anyone can figure it out with a little thought.”

He said this matter-of-factly.

“…… Indeed, it’s brilliant. But can you accurately trace the magic?”

It was Isaac who said so.

“The minute magic is easily disturbed. I disagree with your plan. He was not a very good student. No, he was an inferior student, to say the least.”

He looked at Suzuki with a suspicious look.

“Right”

Christina nodded.

“I’m going to be honest with you. Suzuki is not worthy of my trust.”

Isaac turned his stern gaze on Suzuki.

All eyes were on Suzuki.

“Trust……pfft”

Suzuki gave a small laugh.

“……What’s so funny “

“Nothing. I just didn’t think that would be said by someone who, yes, …… the most untrustworthy person I know.”

“What do you mean ……?”

The first person to open her mouth was Claire.

“I agree with your idea, Suzuki.”

“Claire,……?”

“My right hand is tingling…… the one where the magic flows. So I can feel it, I can trace the magic…… I won’t make a mistake”

Claire turned her powerful eyes.

“Claire,…… I understand. Let’s go with your plan, Suzuki.”

Alexia said.

“Wait a minute! I don’t trust him.”

“We’re running out of time. We can’t keep having strategy meetings.”

“But ……”

“Isaac, we’re going on our own, even if you don’t agree with it.”

“I’m going to go with Suzuki’s plan.”

Nina also raised her hand, and Isaac folded.

“I understand ……, I agree with the plan.”

“Let’s decide on the members of the suicide squad. Let’s start with me, Claire, and Isaac. Is this okay so far?”

Alexia asked, and Claire and Isaac nodded.

“I would also like to ask Christina to help you, if possible.”

Christina’s remaining magic power was 1179.

“If Princess Alexia asks for it, I will cooperate.”

“Thank you. For now, the four of us…”

“I’ll go with you.”

Nina raised her hand.

“But your magic power is low …….”

Alexia looked troubled.

Nina’s remaining magic power is 784, which is not a number she can afford to lose.

“Nina will be fine. Her magic is average, but she’s very dependable.”

“…… Okay, Nina-senpai, please take care of us too.”

“I’ll do my best not to slow you down.”

“But, hey, weren’t you at 784 earlier?”

“Eh? What?”

For a moment, Nina’s expression froze.

“Nina’s remaining magic power. I felt like it hasn’t decreased since a while ago.”

“I wonder if that’s so. It was 794 earlier, so I lost 10.”

“Is that so?”

“That’s right. Claire is forgetful.”

Saying so, Nina gently stroked the timer on her collar with her finger.

Then, the number decreased by one.

“Ah, it’s now 783.”

“See? It’s decreasing.”

“What the hell. I thought there was a way to keep the magic from decreasing.”

“There is no such a way.”

Nina sighed in frustration.

“Then, the five of you will be the suicide squad…”

“—-I’m going with you.”

It was Suzuki who said that.

“You can’t do it, you know that. You only have 541 remaining magic power.”

“I also disagree. He will only slow us down.”

Christina and Isaac disagreed.

“If I’m going to be a liability, just abandon me. I won’t ask for help.”

Susuki said with a matter-of-fact.

“I’m all for it. If he becomes a liability, we can just abandon him and use him as a decoy.”

Nina interrupted Alexia.

“That’s a little reckless”

Claire chided.

“He says it’s the right thing to do. Besides, his analytical skills will come in handy.”

“—-In the end, I think we should take him with us”

It was, surprisingly, Christina who continued.

“If he becomes a liability, I’ll take responsibility as the head of the family. Is that clear?”

Christina gave Suzuki a hard look.

“…. no problem.”

He nodded quietly.