I’m the Slit-Eyed Character at the Academy, but I’m not the Mastermind - Chapter 285

“Hmm, is this Carpathia?”

“It’s one of the most renowned areas in the central empire. I was planning to visit someday… didn’t expect to come like this.”

“Wow…! Look at that wide road. Four carriages could pass side by side!”

The children couldn’t stop marveling as they looked around.

I wasn’t much different from them. I was busy silently admiring Carpathia’s grandeur.

‘It was impressive in the game, but seeing it in person is even more amazing.’

High buildings rising on either side of the wide road, an unobstructed view, and roads that seemed to stretch on forever.

Just looking at it was refreshing for the eyes and mind.

“S-So, there’s nowhere to hide. I-I can’t breathe in this place!”

…Of course, for our pufferfish rabbit, it seemed more dangerous than anywhere else.

I kept moving while holding the trembling Rezé under my arm.

Although there were some damaged areas here and there, considering Carpathia’s size, it was less than 5% damaged.

‘Of course, if it had succumbed to erosion, that 5% would have turned to 100% in no time.’

A land the size of ten hand spans. Even occupying that small space, it had the power to devour everything around it.

That was the terror of ‘erosion.’

“Be careful, there’s a hole below.”

“Yikes! Almost tripped.”

“Those black mages… daring to invade Carpathia…”

We were currently on our way to the location Caron had ordered us to gather at.

Given that they allowed us inside the walls, it was clear the empire had successfully defended Carpathia.

Knights were searching and subduing potential hiding spots of black mages, gradually expanding their range.

With numerous people, including the knight order, continually joining in, the students’ safety was ensured.

Entering the castle was a given.

It was the safest place in Carpathia, after all.

‘Just like the story.’

In the game, after the Carpathia siege, you enter the castle for a rest.

A week’s rest is given, during which you can engage in conversations, training, serendipitous encounters, story exploration, and hidden pieces.

There’s only one concern…

‘The story has changed a bit(?)’

Dwener, who was supposed to be at the academy, joined the battlefield.

I defeated Mabelga, whom I hadn’t been able to defeat in 18 years.

Then an unheard-of demon named Benius appeared.

I defeated it using Adonis’ spear and his secret technique.

Though the changes were slight(?), they were still worrisome.

This game has a butterfly effect.

‘Especially the part where Adonis fought without his spear…’

Lizbeth is one of the Four Heavenly Kings. Though not as powerful as in the latter part of the story, she was still undeniably strong.

Adonis fighting without his spear might have been a tough battle.

‘Surely… he didn’t die, right?’

Just as I was feeling a bit uneasy, things got noisy up ahead.

“Look at that, it’s a tree.”

“Wow… It looks just like the ones in textbooks. Though it’s much smaller…”

“Ugh, why do I feel like this all of a sudden? I think I’m going to throw up.”

Some of the children indeed started vomiting. It was due to the miasma emitted by the tree.

As we walked further, a dark purple tree came into view.

The ‘Tree of Erosion,’ or ‘Tree of Death.’

It was the tree causing unprecedented chaos on the continent.

“So that’s the Tree of Erosion…”

“Are we sure it’s dead? I can still feel the miasma…”

“It just shows how powerful it was. If it’s this strong now, how terrifying must it have been when it was alive…”

Normally, the tree should be removed quickly, and the area purified, but due to the unprecedented situation, observation was allowed for gaining experience.

As the children, who had adapted to the miasma, moved to find good spots, Rezé suddenly had a fit.

Finding out why wasn’t hard.

Standing in front of the Holy Kingdom faction was Victoria. Behind her, a boy was waving at us.

It was Adonis, a 9-star knight.

He kept waving at us, seemingly pleased to see us.

From that, I could deduce one thing.

‘He won without the spear… As expected, Adonis is different.’

He was unscathed, not even a stain on him. It meant he had easily subdued Lizbeth, one of the Four Heavenly Kings.

‘As I knew, Adonis is an extraordinary existence.’

A puzzle of ‘Adonis’ unfolded in my mind.

Adonis, who would soon meet his end at the hands of the ‘Red King’ Broken, one of the Four Heavenly Kings.

But what if I could save Adonis?

‘He would be a great help.’

Though players could never save Adonis no matter what they did, perhaps I could now.

I had managed to conquer Mabelga, something everyone else had given up on.

Maybe I could also save Adonis.

” … “

” …!”

Adonis, who was talking with Victoria, widened his eyes and then gave us a bitter smile.

It must have been because he received a report about what happened outside the castle.

The battle with a high-ranking demon and the news of Luna’s severe injuries.

Though it wasn’t Adonis’ fault, he must have felt conflicted seeing a child on the brink of life and death.

‘Not only is he inherently kind, but he’s also the strongest person here… He must feel responsible.’

Adonis’ gaze seemed to ask, ‘Are you okay?’ I responded by shrugging my shoulders.

It meant it wasn’t his fault and that I was okay.

Meanwhile, more students from Annwood Academy gathered.

“How long do we have to wait?”

“I’m tired… and my head hurts from the miasma.”

“Maybe it’s part of the training?”

“Hehe, if it’s Caron, he might say that.”

Whether it was joy from surviving or the release of tension, the noise among the children gradually grew louder.

“Quiet.”

The children jumped. The voice came from somewhere.

It was Caron’s voice, sounding two tones lower than usual.

It wasn’t hard to spot Caron. He appeared near the tree.

The children immediately fell silent. Normally, they were afraid of Caron, but his current appearance was even more intimidating.

Wounds and blood seeping from here and there, clothes stained with black and red blood.

With his scarred face and Caron’s unique aura combined, the children couldn’t help but stay quiet.

Even I, aided by [Mental Defense], felt a chill, which said enough.

“You still have the energy to chatter? If anyone has, speak up. I’ll put you in the search party immediately.”

Naturally, no one stepped forward.

Caron stood before the tree and slowly began to speak.

“You all did well. You must be tired and exhausted, but focus. The process of dealing with the Tree of Erosion is a rare experience.”

The children’s eyes filled with strong curiosity.

Dealing with the Tree of Erosion. Historically, it happened less than five times…

‘You could uncover tremendous secrets.’

Indeed, the Tree of Erosion held secrets. Not divine or mystical transcendent secrets.

The secret of the Tree of Erosion. It was…

“Wait, wait!”

“Stop, stop it right now!”

From afar, someone was shouting as they ran over.

Two pigs… no, it was people.

They were so fat I mistook them for pigs.

Well, the fact that they were running on all fours contributed to that.

“Huff… huff…”

“Wheeze…”

Even as they stumbled, they kept crawling forward, seemingly in a great hurry.

“Who are those pigs?”

“The one on the left is Count Zachary, lord of Carpathia.”

“The one on the right is the administrator. His name was Rieur, I think?”

Caron waited patiently, and they soon reached him.

One of the men immediately raised his head and shouted.

It was Rieur, the administrator of Carpathia.

“Huff… huff… Sir Caron! What do you think you’re doing!”

“…I was preparing for an educational demonstration.”

“Education? Don’t you realize safety is more important? Get the children away immediately!”

Rieur shouted about safety.

Of course, Caron was unyielding.

“The tree has already lost its power. There’s hardly any risk.”

“There have only been five early suppressions of the Tree of Erosion. That’s too few to be conclusive!”

“I’m here, so it’s fine. There are also knights and instructors. To say we shouldn’t use such an excellent teaching material in this situation is ridiculous.”

“Ugh…!”

When Caron slightly leaned forward and glared, Rieur trembled.

Rieur’s face shook with flab.

“Hmm, Sir Caron. It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”

Count Zachary greeted Caron. He seemed to have regained his breath amidst the tension.

“Everyone, calm down. It must be the post-battle tension that’s making you edgy.”

“I might be on edge, but that doesn’t seem to be the case for you.”

Caron was right. Count Zachary and Administrator Rieur.

Their clothes were excessively pristine. Not the attire of those who had fought.

“W-what are you implying! Are you saying we were slacking off?”

“I didn’t say that. Oh, rather than slacking off, perhaps hiding would be more accurate.”

“Caron! How dare you…!”

As Rieur gesticulated, Count Zachary raised his hand to stop him.

“Haha, what a disgraceful display in front of the children. How about we send them away first?”

“As I said, this is educational. I’ll send them back once the lesson is over.”

“Sir Caron, are you really going to do this? This goes beyond your mission scope.”

The reason for the dispute between Caron and the two pigs.

It was because of the ‘secret’ held by the Tree of Erosion.

The tree that was endangering the continent.

Its foundation was ‘people.’

Body, mind, and even soul.

The tree used every part of a person as nourishment to grow. A fully matured tree then spread its fruit around.

The fruit called ‘death.’

Anyway, because the tree grew using people as nutrients…

When you broke a not fully matured Tree of Erosion, a person would come out of it.

Though they would soon die, having already been used as nutrients, it was important that you could communicate with them briefly.

The empire used this to find out why they succumbed to the demon’s temptation and who the black mage was.

Especially the former was crucial.

‘If you know why they fell to the demon’s temptation, you can prevent it from happening again.’

If the system was the problem, they would fix it. If the law was the problem, they would enact one. And.

If people were the problem, they would punish them.

That was the empire’s way and law.

The situation can be summarized as follows.

The good side was trying to remove the Tree of Erosion in an open place.

The bad side was trying to stop it.

“This is just education. Showing the final fate of those who fell to the demon’s temptation will be quite instructive.”

“This is an overreach! I am the lord of Carpathia!”

“I have command over this siege. Why are you so opposed? Do you have something to hide?”

It seemed to hit a nerve. Count Zachary visibly flinched. His whole body trembled.

“N-no way. It’s just that I’m concerned for their fatigue. We’ll handle it, so you can rest.”

“I will. After the education is over.”

“The empire’s disgrace might be exposed! Are you really going to do this in front of all these children?”

“That would actually make it an even better lesson.”

That those who committed crimes would eventually pay for them.

“A very excellent lesson.”

“Caron! You…!”

Count Zachary charged, but it was too late.

Swish-!

Caron’s dagger sliced through the Tree of Erosion.

–TL Notes–

Hope you enjoyed this chapter. If you want to support me or give me feedback, you can do it at patreon.com/MattReading

Join my Discord! https://discord.gg/BWaP3AHHpt