Chapter 61: Volume 2, Chapter 6 – I Am Annoyed

“Why the hell am I going to a school?”

That was probably the fifth time I’d asked this very same question today. Honestly, the whole concept of Cyrus’ plan was entirely fucked.

I heaved yet another sigh of exasperation and rolled to the side, forcing myself out of the bed. I hadn’t even managed to get a single wink of sleep ever since I arrived in this crappy city.

I sat up and turned my gaze to the window. The sun was streaming through from a lower angle than normal, meaning that it had just begun rising.

Across from me hung a light-brown blazer, plain white dress shirt, and a pleated skirt in the same color. It was just a set of clothes, but the mere idea that it represented terrified me to no end.

I didn’t want to go back. School was by and far my worst nightmare. If home was hell, then school was ten times worse. Just the thought of it made me want to retch.

Calm down, Ryuuko... I... I gotta let go of the past.

I clutched my stomach as I stood up, queasy. Over the past two months, I’d become rather muscular. I was already well-toned before coming to this world, but the constant fighting and training had really chiseled out my physique.

I wasn’t some kind of female adonis or anything, but as it turns out, being forced to spar with a massive battle-crazed king gets you pretty damn ripped. 

Right now was the first time I’d actually had the opportunity to take a good look at myself in the mirror without any clothes on, and I gotta admit that the sight of my improved body was at least helping alleviate some of the nausea that I felt.

The fabric of the uniform felt rough to the touch, but that was probably just my mind tricking me. Even though the weaving technology of this world wasn’t as developed as it was back on Earth, magic managed to fill that gap when it came to expensive garments such as these.

I could feel my body physically rejecting the clothes that forced their way onto my body, but my fate was already sealed. I sighed yet again as I looked at myself in the mirror, now covered in these garments that I so greatly feared.

I bit the bottom of my lip bitterly.

Just how the hell did it come to this...?

As I slipped the standard-issue brown loafers on and prepared to exit the door, I recalled the exact sequence of events that led to my current demise.

We were all sitting around the dinner table after I’d asked King Borea a question. It wasn’t supposed to be anything special. I was just making conversation.

“So... What’d you talk about with Cyrus and the princess?”

That sole line had ultimately doomed me. Perhaps I would’ve been able to avoid it for just a little longer if I’d asked something else. Maybe I would’ve had more time to prepare for whatever the hell this was, but fuck me, I guess.

After a very lengthy pause that caused the tension of the room to grow taut, the king finally responded.

“Ryuuko. You... might have to leave.”

His voice had been apprehensive, as if he’d just suffered a great loss. Maybe he’d grown really attached to me after I’d beat his ass or maybe he just didn’t want to have to let go of me so quickly due to my strength.

I was willing to bet that it was the former, but either way it didn’t really matter. What mattered was the deal that Lucrezia had ended up brokering with Cyrus, and the terms that King Borea had added to it afterward.

I mean, it wasn’t as if they’d traded me for security or anything, but it sure as hell felt like it. Honestly, I couldn’t really blame them either.

What Cyrus and the princess wanted wasn’t anything from the Zaltsel clan, technically. In exchange for establishing a trade deal with the Zaltsel clan and releasing the slaves that were captured from the eastern nations, I was to lend them my aid for a little while.

Even I would’ve taken that deal. The Zaltsel clan was getting a shitton of benefits in exchange for what was pretty much a temporary favor. The whole mass resurrection thing fell through, much to Lucrezia’s chagrin, but it was pretty obvious as to why.

After Aurelia had heard about Lucrezia’s negotiations with Cyrus, she’d gone on quite a lengthy rant about how irresponsible and stupid such a demand was. Apparently, resurrection magic was not only expensive, but extremely risky to the caster and the subject being revived.

Much to my chagrin, there wasn’t anything that complicated in the rulebook. It simply told me the effects of the [Resurrect] skill and that I could use it on command. No ill effects were listed.

Perhaps something about acquiring skills through [Rulebook] allowed me to use magic differently than the denizens of this world, but I really wouldn’t know. After all, I’d never actually learned magic the “traditional” way.

Once King Borea had explained the details of the treaty, Aurelia and Lucrezia had pretty much shot up from their chairs in protest. Although Lucrezia was the original negotiator of this deal, she hadn’t intended to send me away for the length that this deal was suggesting.

“Father! What do you mean six months!?”

“That’s just the maximum length of her absence. I’m sure Ryuuko’ll be able to resolve it before that, eh, Ryuuko?” He tried to speak casually, shooting a grin my way.

Unfortunately, I could see that it was only all too forced. Although we’d only known each other for a brief while, King Borea and I had become rather good friends. He probably didn’t want to see me leave before we could get in a few more sparring sessions.

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“Hell yeah. Whatever Cyrus can throw at me should be light work compared to taking one of your punches!”

I would really come to regret that line. Come the next morning, I was prepared to be whisked away by Cyrus and the princess’ retinue. The princess herself had already departed so that she could attend to other duties in the meantime.

I had given him a lazy morning greeting and sauntered up to him as though it were the most natural thing in the world, but as I did so, the smirk on Cyrus’ face made me hesitate.

The words that left his lips the next second caused me to freeze in abject terror.

“Hey, Ryuuko. How do you feel about going to the Manaquiver Academy?”

I had physically trembled and immediately told him that I wasn’t going to a school of any kind, but it was all useless. The mission that they had for me at this academy was apparently the most important thing for the princess’ next plans.

“Princess Sella will be attending the Manaquiver Academy in the coming semester. While the academy is based in Yae’l, the capital of the Sylphid Alliance, people from all three of the nations attend the academy as it is the continent’s greatest authority on magic education.”

“Yeah, and that fucking concerns me how? I’m not going to a goddamn academy and that’s final, Cyrus.”

“Unfortunately, you are. That is, if you want to stop whoever was behind the entire Black Constellation.”

“I don’t. I don’t care about the Black Constellation. The only reason why I fought—”

“I know, Ryuuko.” Cyrus sighed. “It’s not that simple. They’re going to keep coming for Aurelia and Lucrezia. You know it, Ryuuko. You’ve seen how crazy they are about this ‘offering vessel’ business.”

Yeah, of course this fucker’s gotten a debrief of the whole situation.

I groaned. “So what the hell do you want me to do at a goddamn school?”

“Simple. Protect the princess.”

“Sella? She’s a fuckin’ monster, Cyrus.” 

I was willing to bet that Cyrus had some sort of inspect skill. Even if he didn’t, he was pretty much stricken with the princess, so I’m sure he’s watched her train before.

“That’s pretty rich coming from you, you know? Seriously though, Sella’s not the one who needs to be protected. It’s Radeca.”

“What now?”

“Radeca is the Elven princess. Her parents rule over the entirety of the Sylphid Alliance. However, it seems that there have been attacks on her life as of late. You will attend the academy as part of Princess Sella’s entourage. From there, you’ll get closer to Princess Radeca and—”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa! Let’s back up a little now, Cyrus! I’m not one of your flunkies, so let’s keep this to a conversation, yeah?” My tone was still friendly, but I didn’t like how he was starting to give me orders.

For starters, this whole thing was supposed to be temporary, and my allegiance was with the Zaltsel clan for now. I had to establish our boundaries before they started moving the line.

Cyrus simply nodded. “Very well. We would like you to attend the academy under the guise of being a part of Princess Sella’s friend group. It’ll make it easier for you to get closer to Princess Radeca so that you can protect her against any would-be assailants.”

“I mean, that makes sense, but why? Shouldn’t the academy be secure as hell if it’s the ‘greatest authority on magic education’ as you say?”

“On paper, perhaps. However, we do not know who exactly is behind the Black Constellation. We only know that they exist, and that their network is small but wide. There is no telling whether or not they’ve penetrated even the academy. As students from all three nations will be attending the academy during this time, it would be simple for them to slip in an assassin here or there.”

“Alright, fine! But I’m not doing this alone! You gotta at least gimme someone to go with! Someone that I know!”

Cyrus frowned and paused for a moment. “Very well. It’ll be difficult, but we’ll see what we can do.”

And so, I ended up here in the middle of the Elven capital, standing in a uniform and preparing to attend my first day of school for the first time since I chose to leave my previous life behind.

My hand trembled as I prepared to grip the doorknob, but I steadied myself.

It’s just you and the world, Ryuuko. Nothin’ to it.

I took a deep breath. 

And then, I opened the door.