Chapter 176 : Truth (2)

I scanned the crowd.

"Did you hear? He said it's fabricated."

"Can a photo be fabricated?"

"I don't know? Well, I guess he'll explain it now."

A murmur gradually spread among the cadets.

"Quiet!"

At that moment, Allen Desico, who had somewhat calmed his anger, shouted, silencing the cadets.

Then he glared at me and asked.

"Hey. You're saying it's fabricated?"

"Yes."

When I calmly nodded, Allen Desico's expression crumpled mercilessly.

"There were no signs of any magical manipulation in that photo. I've already checked, so I know."

I tilted my head.

"Is that so? Then I guess you checked incorrectly."

"......You punk. You seem confident, don't you? Alright, fine. Let's hear it."

I was planning to do just that.

I held up the photo so that everyone in the hall could see.

"Here. As you can see, this is a photo of me holding a skull-shaped mask. It's undoubtedly the same photo that was posted on the bulletin board, which I took down for investigation."

Then, I picked up a water pouch that had been spat out by the subspace and had fallen to the floor, and poured it over the photo.

And then, something amazing happened.

Drip──

The photo, upon touching the water, melted as if it were ice cream and was washed away by the stream of water.

Everyone stared at me with dumbfounded expressions as the photo, which had been standing stiffly between my fingers just a moment ago, disappeared without a trace.

"What, what was that?"

"Did it disappear?"

"Is it supposed to do that? Do photos normally melt and disappear when they touch water?"

"What are you talking about? It just gets wet and that's it. Why would it disappear?"

The murmuring grew louder, and the surroundings became noisy again, but this time, even Allen Desico remained silent.

He too was startled by the phenomenon before his eyes.

'......What happened? I was sure I had confirmed that there was no magical manipulation.'

He was curious.

The desire of an explorer stimulated his curiosity.

However, he did not ask.

At this moment, he thought that his dignity and pride as a professor were more important than a magician's curiosity.

"What does this prove?"

"What do you mean? It disappeared when it touched water. Didn't you see?"

"I saw. You're destroying the evidence."

"Does a photo normally melt and disappear when it touches water?"

"No, it doesn't. But the fact that it melts doesn't prove that it's fabricated."

I smirked.

"That's true too. Then how about this."

I put my hand inside my coat and pulled it out.

A camera was now in my hand.

I raised the camera and pressed the button.

With a click, the figures of Allen and the other professors were captured in the camera.

"Hey. What are you doing now?"

Allen immediately showed his displeasure, but I paid him no mind and then took a picture of the longsword lying on the floor.

Click-

Then, as I held down the button while pointing at the empty air,

Kiiiiing──

A yellow light was emitted from the lens, and two images formed in the air.

The images were blurry and their shapes were not clear, but if one squinted and looked closely, one could tell that they were the photos of the professors and the longsword I had just taken.

At the same time, Dayle's voice from last night replayed in my mind.

─'First of all, this is a device I've named the 'multifunction machine.' You can use it like a normal camera, but if you press and hold the shutter button on top, a light is emitted and the image from the photo is formed in front of you.'

"This is a magical tool called a multifunction machine, made by a workshop artisan named 'Reed.' It's similar to a camera, but slightly different. It has additional functions. The principle is that it gathers water droplets in the air and projects the image onto them, so the resolution might be a bit low, but, like this."

I raised my hand.

"......It can be manipulated."

First, the image of the professors.

As my palm brushed over it, the figures of the professors began to be erased one by one as if an eraser had passed over them.

After erasing them without hesitation, only one professor was left.

Then, I carefully controlled the image of the longsword that was separately to the side.

I reduced its size and carefully moved it to be in the hand of the lone professor, making sure the image didn't spread.

Then, I stepped back and released the shutter that had been held down.

Flash!

The emitted light was sucked back into the multifunction machine through the lens and it immediately spat out a photo like a Polaroid.

"Here."

I handed it to Allen, and Allen, upon receiving it and looking at the photo, his expression crumpled miserably.

"Looking at it like that, you look more like the head of the Martial Arts Department than Professor Pirion."

In the photo, Allen was standing there holding a longsword.

"What do you think? Should I show you more? Should I make you into a skull mask too, Head Professor Allen? If you just prepare a night raven staff and a skull-shaped mask, I can definitely make it for you."

"Haha. No, I don't think that will be necessary, Gerard. On behalf of the Academy, I apologize for suspecting you."

It was the Vice-Dean.

The Vice-Dean, who had watched the entire process from beginning to end, pushed the silent Allen back and readily admitted their mistake.

"We were too forceful and didn't trust you."

I had perfectly proven that the photo was fabricated.

To insist further would be nothing more than stubbornness.

"Well, it's alright. I understand the Academy's situation."

"Thank you for thinking so. So, who on earth is the person who planned this? To be honest, we did consider it. We know it's someone from the Academy. There was a witness. However, we don't know anything beyond that. To have planned something this meticulous, it would be difficult without a considerable grudge, and I'm not sure if there's any cadet who holds a grudge against you."

"I didn't know at first either."

That's right.

I didn't know either.

To be precise, it would be more accurate to say I had forgotten.

'I never thought it would be that guy.'

But as soon as Dayle described his appearance, I knew.

Ah. There was that guy.

If it was him, he would have enough reason to hold a grudge against me.

His name was.

'Reinz.'

Reinz was a cadet of the 890th class who had been in my team during Professor Ilai's 'Twilight of the Dawnflower' search at the beginning of the semester.

He was the one who tried to betray me and the team, and ended up causing the Swamp Orc commotion by bursting the Beast Pouch.

As a consequence, he was subjected to a harsh interrogation at the Central Knights Headquarters and although he thankfully returned to the Academy, his actions were not forgiven, and he was treated as if he didn't exist at the Academy.

He had been forgotten.

'I never imagined he would scheme something like this.'

I turned my eyes and looked past the professors, to where the cadets were gathered.

There, Reinz was, his lips pale and trembling, his anxious eyes darting around.

"If you look at this photo, you'll see a signature that says 'R'. It's a sort of mark that Reed leaves on the inventions he creates. I mentioned it earlier, right? Reed. The workshop artisan. As luck would have it, Reed and I are acquainted."

Keeping my gaze on Reinz, I continued speaking.

"So I met with Reed and asked him. About this photo."

"What did he say?"

"He said that the photo was indeed taken by the multifunction machine he created. And that he has only ever made two multifunction machines. One for experimentation and one for completion. This multifunction machine in my hand right now is the completed one I borrowed from him last night, and the experimental one was disposed of. To a certain, Academy cadet."

"Did he tell you about him?"

"Of course."

"Who did he say it was?"

"He is......"

A silence gradually pressed down on the surroundings.

Everyone's eyes were on my lips.

Finally, my lips parted.

"Reinz."

At the same time, a scream mixed with sobs erupted.

"Kkeuaaaaaaaah!"

It was Reinz.

"No! It wasn't me! I, I was just......"

At that moment, a surprising change occurred.

"......Gurgle."

Reinz's body, which had been screaming, began to swell abnormally.

Starting from his right shoulder, his legs, forearms, and chest grew like a balloon.

Crimson muscles protruded from his torn skin, and the size of the muscles was so large that Reinz's face, placed between the shoulder muscles, was grotesquely crushed, barely maintaining its shape.

"Ugh!"

"Wha, what is this!"

"Move!"

It happened in an instant.

The cadets who were nearby quickly distanced themselves from Reinz's sudden mutation and enlargement.

They then each drew their weapons, but perhaps because he had been a human just like them a moment ago.

The cadets hesitated, unable to do anything and in that time, Reinz lunged at them like a wolf pouncing on a flock of sheep.

"Kkeuaaaaaaah!"

A cadet of the 890th class, who failed to dodge the attack, was caught in Reinz's hands.

And holding the head and legs of his former classmate, he pulled them to either side with force.

Crack-

Just as the gruesome scene was about to unfold before their eyes.

Fwhak!

Reinz's arm was severed.

Starting with that, a strong gust of wind blew Reinz's body upwards.

[Wind's Requiem].

With a horrifying sound of 'crunch, crunch!', all the elements of Reinz's body exploded, broke, and folded, forming them into a sphere.

Crunch!

Reinz was no longer there.

Only a meatball made of flesh and blood floated in the air.

"......"

As everyone stared at the scene with bewildered eyes.

The one responsible for making Reinz that way blew him away with a single gesture.

And said.

"......Hmm. It seems I've chosen the wrong time to visit."

Everyone's eyes turned to him.

A professor who recognized his identity muttered a name with his eyes wide open.

"Si, Sigaro Isaac......?"

The man called the Royal Knight who protects the Emperor and the continent's only magic swordsman.

Sigaro Isaac had visited the Academy.

***

Although Reinz had died, the atmosphere at the Academy was unaffected.

The atmosphere was the same as usual.

Quiet and tranquil.

The same was true for Royal Dream, the empire's largest newspaper.

Although an Academy cadet had died after being caught up in an incident on campus, there was no mention of Reinz's death anywhere in the articles.

[The culprit was a junior who held a grudge against Gerard.]

That one line was all, his name was not even mentioned.

I didn't have any particular feelings about it.

Reinz wasn't an important character in the main story anyway, and he was a guy who hated me anyway.

That's not to say I'm glad that the bastard who hated me died.

It's just, something feels off.

If he hated me that much, he would have shown some suspicious signs before, but I never got that feeling.

Reinz was quiet, and I never felt anything suspicious about his behavior.

"Or was he just quietly waiting for an opportunity? Was his patience that great?"

Well, even if that's possible.

It's also strange that he suddenly mutated as soon as his identity was revealed.

Yes,

this is actually the most suspicious point.

The sudden mutation.

The beastification.

The beastification that Reinz caused was the result of 'Gromhel,' one of the Beltus Cult's drugs.

A human who has taken Gromhel for a long time gradually becomes consumed by madness and at some point, the mutation progresses, and they become a beast.

"But the mutation he showed was far from 'gradual.' It was literally sudden."

As if someone next to him had pressed a button.

Considering that there were no cult members around at the time, it was a strange incident.

Rachel wasn't there either.

And even if she was, the probability of her having done such a thing converges to zero.

"Ah."

Then, another person who was nearby comes to mind.

"......I had forgotten about him."

His name was Sigaro Isaac.