Chapter 16: The meeting is lively, but progress doesn’t stop; the monster charges forward

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Translator: Soafp

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The magic academy had been taken over by a mysterious armed group.

When the king heard the report, he immediately gathered the nation's key officials and held a meeting.

“Knight Commander, explain the situation.”

“Yes, sir. At present, the mysterious armed group is holding students hostage and has barricaded themselves within the academy grounds. The academy's anti-intruder barrier is now functioning as a protective wall for the armed group, making it difficult for us to intervene carelessly.”

“Have all the students been captured?”

“No, it seems a portion of the students have built a barricade inside the old school building and are holding out there. Well, it's only a matter of time before they fall into the hands of the enemy, but…”

“…Hmm. Is there no way to at least rescue the students in the old building?”

“The old school building is located near the center of the academy grounds. Even if we were to break through the barrier and attempt a rescue, it would be impossible to evacuate all of them.”

When the Knight Commander finished his report, the gathered officials began shouting in agitation.

“What were the guards doing!! This is a school attended by nobles from across the kingdom!!”

“The guards were neutralized and captured just like the students. They say the enemy includes disciples of the Sword Saint, Master Gamlan—highly skilled fighters.”

“G-Gamlan…? So our enemy is that formidable?”

Who the heck is Gamlan?

Well, he sounds strong with a title like Sword Saint. Maybe he's famous and I'm just clueless.

“We should deploy every knight stationed in the capital and overwhelm the enemy with numbers!!”

“It's not that simple!! They have hostages!! These are future noble sons and daughters of the Kishirika Kingdom!!”

“So you intend for us to just do whatever these terrorists demand!? If we bow to them, the kingdom's dignity will crumble, and neighboring countries will seize the opportunity to strike!!”

“What is the terrorists' goal anyway!? It's been half a day since the takeover and still no demands!!”

In the heavy atmosphere, the meeting continued.

Watching the meeting from the side, I whispered to my sister who was sitting next to me.

“Hey, Nee-san… why are we even here?”

“Don't ask me. We missed the chance to slip out, so we're stuck.”

“I wanna go home…”

What should I do… I'm getting hungry. Maybe I'll sneak out now while they're yelling.

“Wait. Where do you think you're going?”

“The bathroom.”

“That's a lie. You're trying to slip out, aren't you? If you abandon me here, I swear I won't forgive you.”

“That's cruel, Nee-san. Are you really saying I'm the kind of coward who would leave you behind and run? Please, have faith in me. It's really number two. Or do you want me to earn the grand title of Poop-Pants?”

“I know perfectly well you can lie with a straight face at times like this.”

Ugh… as expected of Nee-san. She knows me too well.

I tried mixing in feints, inching toward an escape route, but she blocked every attempt.

While I struggled, a knight burst into the meeting room.

“Report!! The leader of the armed group has just issued a statement!!”

“What!?”

“B-But this statement… it wasn't directed at us…”

“Just spit it out!!”

The knight relayed the message—

“‘To No-Face. Come to the magic academy immediately. If you do not comply, we will execute one student every hour.' That is the message.”

“To… No-Face?”

The king's gaze shifted toward my sister.

Seeing that, the officials also turned toward her and began whispering.

Nee-san shot me a glare full of blame.

Hey hey hey—don't look at me like that. I didn't know the terrorists would suddenly call us out by name!

“I've been wondering this whole time—who exactly are those two shady-looking people?”

“They're apparently No-Face and his subordinate, the mysterious Heal Man. It seems they cured His Majesty's illness.”

“What!? So they really existed!!”

“I heard rumors No-Face can even revive dead hair follicles… is that true…?”

“Now is NOT the time to worry about baldness!!”

“I am NOT bald!! The front line has merely begun to retreat slightly!! I am NOT bald!!”

The king raised his hand to silence the noisy officials before asking Nee-san:

“No-Face-dono, do you have some connection to the armed group occupying the academy?”

“Eh? Th-That is… ahem. Now is not the time to speak of that.”

“…Hmm. So there is some deep history involved.”

Nee-san evaded the question with a dramatic, vague line.

Naturally, the officials began shouting, “Explain!!”

But she can't explain something she doesn't know, so she just stayed silent.

Ah. No—she looks like she's starting to get irritated.

If this continues, she might explode and turn the meeting room into a massacre…

While I was nervously imagining the near future—

“Everyone, let us speak realistically. Regardless of whether No-Face-dono is involved, the terrorists acted within our kingdom. If we do not resolve it ourselves, other nations will mock us as incompetent.”

The king's single statement calmed the officials instantly.

As expected of the king.

With just a few words, he shifted the entire atmosphere. The officials quickly moved on to discussing how to rescue the students unharmed and defeat the terrorists.

But the discussion kept going in circles—this plan, that plan, then back to zero.

…This is the perfect chance to slip out.

“Where are you going?”

“This time it's actually the bathroom.”

“You're going to the academy, aren't you?”

“Bathroom.”

“Really?”

“…If someone threatens to ‘execute one student every hour,' there's no way I can sit here and do nothing.”

People I've gotten along with—Gal, Lucan-senpai, the health committee members—might get killed.

I can't allow that. I must not allow that.

“So I'm going. Since you’re the No-Face right now… I'll go as the Mysterious Heal Man.”

“Is that part really important…?”

“It's important.”

I slipped out of the meeting room and sprinted toward the magic academy at full speed.

The academy was fully surrounded by knights, and when I approached the gate, a serious-looking knight stopped me.

“You there!! The academy is off-limits right now!! It's dangerous, leave at once—”

“Neck chop!!”

“Guh—!”

“Sorry, I'm in a hurry.”

I knocked him out with a hand chop and strode into the magic academy.

“You arrived quickly, No-Face.”

“…You again.”

The ones who greeted me at the academy entrance were the people in white robes.

That chuunibyou group.

So it was them.

Well, from the moment they tried something at the magic tournament… from the moment they kidnapped Victoria… I already knew.

Calling it chuunibyou doesn't cut it anymore.

They've gone way past the point of no return.

And I have no method to cure them. So—

“Gyahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!”

“Wh-What!?”

“I've decided. I'm gonna beat the stupid out of you!! It's the only treatment method I can think of right now!!”

I don't believe this “treatment” will fix them.

Even if they regain their sanity and realize the unforgivable things they've done—I'll still hand them straight over to the knights.

Considering what they've done, the death penalty is inevitable.

If I had the power to cure their chuunibyou, maybe things wouldn't have turned out this bad.

But I don't.

So with that in mind, the only thing I can do—is deal with them in the way that fits the situation.