Evil Avalon

Chapter 68-Naoto Tachiki ③

{SPONSORED CHAPTER-2}

(Sponsor- Alucard)

(TL:By Rafael)

-- Naoto Tachiki's POV

　

　While I was getting ready to go home after explaining about the inter-class competition, my classmates were still in the classroom discussing which event they wanted to participate in.

　

　I had given them a piece of paper to write down their preferred events, but in reality, half of them had already decided who would be in which event.

　

　I will be the leader of the "designated quests," Yuma will be the leader of the "designated points," and Sakurako and Kaworu will be the leaders of the "total amount of magic stones," and we will distribute classmates according to their fighting styles and levels to make the best group. In addition, the elite Marashima party will be asked to hit the "designated monster".

　

　The others who are not strategically important can be assigned to the areas where there are not enough people.

　

　On the other hand, it was a happy miscalculation that Kuga, who I had thought would be a liability, had reached level 6. It's hard to believe that she raised her level in such a short period of time, so she probably just didn't measure her level. I'll have to correct her discipline assignment as soon as possible.

　

　Turning my attention to the other slow learner, I  saw that he was talking to a mysterious looking Kaworu.

　

　Marashima is only thinking that if he can get the participation prize, he will be able to make a profit. But at level 3, going to the tier where you can get a prize is a big risk in itself. If Narumi understands this, he shouldn't have to force himself, but ...... Kaworu is still worried about him..

　

　I had heard that they had known each other since childhood, but they rarely talked in class, and  I thought they were estranged, but it seems they are not.

　

　Tsukishima interrupted the two of them without reading the atmosphere. He has a bad attitude towards class and is often seen following Kaworu around these days. If he's becoming a burden, I'll give him a warning or something.

（Well... I'm heading for the battlefield now. Pull yourself together, inner me. ......?)

　

　Just as I was about to stand up with my bag full of textbooks on my back, I heard a pleasant voice that sounded like a heavenly messenger speaking to me. Without a second thought, I used my unique "Hearing Enhancement" skill in that direction.

"Good job~But its difficult to find the promising star ...... phew."

"Damn it, they put everythimg on Souta. It's terrible!"

　

　Nitta, who is intelligent and calm, but still retains a certain innocence, and Omiya, who works for the class more than anyone else and has a strong sense of humanity. The two of them were talking to Narumi in a friendly manner. I saw them chatting shoulder to shoulder with Narumi at the practice session the other day,......, and I was very curious.

"Hey,  I wonder if you're free on Sunday. I'd like you to accompany me shopping."

　

　As I was wondering what kind of relationship they had, I heard a shocking conversation that made me move my desk with a startle.

　

　The bright and intelligent Nitta who got the highest grade in her class in the academic test last week. But why does she care about that man? He is mediocre in science and math, but not in humanities. He's a dropout in the dungeon, and he's not exactly a handsome boy. I hadn't paid attention to him because I thought I was just feeling sorry for him for being isolated. ......

　

　Omiya, who came in third in the class after me, also talked to Narumi a lot. They were also quite close. Far from the determined expression of a few days ago when he was making a circle, he even smiles happily. Could it be that there is something hidden in Narumi?

(No, I can't be distracted.I must concentrate on what comes next.)

　

　If you lose your mind, the fire will be cooler. If your mind is disturbed, you will not be able to create a just future. I resolutely left the place and stepped out of the still hot and humid classroom.

　

　

　

　*...*...*...*...*...*

　

　I followed the tree-lined path that crossed the school from north to south to the north area. In this area, there are many adventurer school club buildings and training facilities, and here and there students in protective gear and jerseys are sweating and working on club activities.

　

　A few minutes' walk further to the east, and the scenery clearly changes. This is the area where the club room named "Daiichi" is located. The club room is an opulent mansion like a guesthouse on a large site surrounded by a wall, so people who come here for the first time can only be confused.

(This is not the kind of place that would be easy to deal with if we were to set up a club .......)

　

　It must cost an eye-popping amount of money just to maintain it, but I guess it's no problem since it's generously funded by prominent nobles and big corporations. We passed several such buildings and arrived at our destination.

(So this is it. The room of the First Magic Club.)

　

　Through a gap in the stone wall, I could see a western-style building with an emerald roof and shining white exterior walls.

　

　In front of the iron gate, a man in a suit was standing erect and unmoving. He must have known that I was coming, because he glanced at me and opened the gate without saying a word, and then sardonically told me to follow him. Let's go in without hesitation.

　

　Once inside the premises, the approach to the entrance was planted with bamboo, and the temperature was somewhat dim and low. The bamboos were illuminated from underneath with magic tools to create a fantastic space.

(It's surprisingly quiet.)

　

　Although the distance was close to the area of the club building where there were a lot of students, I couldn't hear the noise at all. There must have been some kind of magical process going on.

　

　I followed the man in the suit into the building and was ushered up the brightly colored carpeted stairs to the reception room on the second floor. Inside, a petite woman with long red hair braided and hanging to the side was sitting comfortably on a sofa, smiling. Her black velvet cloak, embroidered with floral patterns, shone suspiciously purple, as if some kind of magical power had been put into it.

Welcome, Na-o-chan."

　

　This person who whispers my name softly is Isshiki Otoha or simply Otoha-sama. She is a legitimate daughter of the Viscount family that my family has served for generations.

　

　She is currently in the second year, class A. She is the head of the first magic club and one of the eight dragons. In other words, she is the highest-ranking mage in the adventurer school. I felt both embarrassed and happy that such a person had called me the same way as in the past.

　

　A black lace gloved hand urged me to take a seat on the sofa facing him, so I bowed and sat down.

"It's been a while, Otoha-sama."

"Yes, it's been four years."

　

　It's been about four years since she left her hometown to attend an adventurer's middle school. It's been both long and short. Originally, I would have planned a more formal encounter.

　

　But still. Before entering the school, she was sickly and pale, but now, Otoha-sama looks different and has a better complexion. I wonder if it's the benefit of the physical strengthening from the level up.

"It seems that you have become much healthier. I've heard of your brilliance  everywhere I've been."

"I see. Various things did happened"

　

　The name of Isshiki Otoha resonates not only in this country but also abroad. It is said that if she were to take over the family, it would be not surprising  for her to be promoted to the rank of count. That's why she is very busy.

　

　Today, when she was diving into a deep dungeon with her fellow members of the First Magic Department, she was forced to use her inherent magic to teleport out of the dungeon and set up this place for us. Normally, she would have her cronies around her at all times, and she is not someone that I, an E class student, would be able to approach. I had been trying to get in touch with her for a long time, taking advantage of the fact that the other members of the club would be gone.

"What about you, Nao?You said you wanted to discuss something with me."

"Yes, I'm here because I need to talk to you about something. ......"

　

　I wanted to get straight to the point since we were running out of time, but the man in the suit and another woman in a suit were standing behind her. Both of them are well over 20 years old, so they don't seem to be students. Who the hell are they?

"Oh, don't worry about these people. You don't have to worry about them leaking anything."

"...... . I understand, then."

　

　What I wanted to talk about was, of course, to report on the plight of Class E and make a direct appeal. If Otoha-sama, the eighth dragon, were to find out that I had told her such a thing, the higher classes and upperclassmen might take notice and take more hostile action against me. I wanted to meet her in private and talk to her.

　

　But if she says they won't leak anything  then, I can't say anything else. Never mind, I'll just talk about it.

　

　First, let's talk about the cold treatment of Class E. It's obvious that they are despised by the upperclassmen, just as they were at the recruitment ceremony for club activities. Recently, it's been getting worse and worse, and the school's indifferent attitude towards them is also unremarkable.

 When I reported this, Lady Ottoha turned her face down and made a gesture of contemplation. It pains me to take advantage of your compassionate feelings, but I have no other choice. I decided to tell her in an open and honest manner.

"...... I see. Is there anything else?"

　

　Of course there is. The next step is to ask for some flexibility in the creation of club activities, since we were banned from creating our own club activities after losing the duel with D class.

　

　Omiya also seems to be talking to the student council, but I'm sure she'll just be turned away rather than being listened to. But if one of the eight dragons  is moving, it's a different story. I'm sure that no matter how much of a student council they are, they can't just ignore Otoha-sama.

"Dueling......, come to think of it, has become an annual event for first-year students."

　

An annual event. Don't tell me you've been doing that every year. If that's the case, then it's certain that someone higher than D class is behind it. As the top of the club, I wonder if they know anything about it.

"I see, I see. By the way, Nao-chan. What do you think is the purpose of this school?"

　

(TL: Naoto, Welcome to the real world)

　What kind of question was this? The purpose of the school: ......

"The acting president said at the entrance ceremony that the school would nurture true adventurers who would live up to the expectations of the people."

"Yes. But we also have another purpose."

　

　Otoha-sama slowly stood up and looked out the window with a melancholy expression. 

"Let's start with that. Let me start by explaining the current situation of this country."

　

　

　

This is a time of upheaval.

　

　In the past, economic power, military power, and the abundance of resources were all that mattered. However, since the invention of the artificial magic field, the existence of powerful adventurers has become an important factor, which has a great impact on the world order and the balance of power.

　

　As a matter of course, all nations poured their hearts and souls into training adventurers, and our country was no exception, investing huge amounts of money to train them. Thanks to these efforts, we have been able to produce many powerful adventurers. These days, the clan leaders of the Colors, Tazato Tasa and  Kotaro, who have been knighted as barons, are among the most famous.

　

　These highly talented and accomplished people are given the bait of nobility to make them swear allegiance to the country and become its authority. This is the basis of our country's adventurer policy. Those who have become nobles through this process, known as the new nobility, are rapidly gaining power by attracting people and money with the attack clans under their control. The government has tolerated this.

　

　On the other hand, the traditional aristocracy that has existed since the Meiji era (now called the old aristocracy) also had powerful social privileges and vested interests, and there were many companies and organizations that hung on to them and were very powerful.

　

　Recently, however, these organizations have been turning to the new nobility one after another. On the contrary, there has been a constant stream of betrayals by the samurai, who were supposed to be their relatives. This is both a threat and a terror to the old aristocracy, which has always valued blood and tradition.

　

　There were two measures taken.

　

　One is to raise the bloods(Relatives and subordinates) into powerful adventurers to keep up with the new nobles. You must invest heavily to equip them with powerful equipment and hire strong adventurers for power leveling. That is exactly what the common people can't compete with. This is the reason why many nobles in this school have many followers with them.

　

　The other reason is to prevent any more new nobles like Tazato from being born. They use the place where the best commoners from all over the country gather to crush them before they sprout or subjugate them. In order to do so, the old nobles used every means at their disposal to seize control of the adventurer school's board of directors."

　

"That's unreasonable. If they do that, the country will rot and be ruined."

"Our sense of crisis is that great.

　

The old aristocracy, which values the survival of the family above all else, may be driven out of existence by the rise of the new aristocracy. The position of the old nobility, which clings to vested interests, is narrow and fragile.

　

　They don't mind being a little unreasonable if they want to prevent that from happening. The commotion in the arena and the restrictions on participation in club activities were all created by the old aristocracy and their faction and made into customs. At the same time, they are trying to increase their influence within the school and strengthen it. The concept of the eight dragons was also born from this.

　

　She exhaled slowly and confessed, "That is the other purpose of this school. However, the pursuit of Class E was not over as it should have been."

"We're about to have a class competition, by the way. Do you know the back rules?"

"The back rules: ...... No, I don't know them."

　

　I'm sure you don'tso I'll give you a special lesson," Ottoha-sama said as she nodded.

"The rule is that you may ask for helpers to carry out the events. Class A, which has a lot of nobles, will probably have a lot of followers. Do you have any guesses on how to get help for your class, Nao-chan?"

What? Then  how it's a fair test. ...... No. They don't care about fairness at all,......."

　

　If you think about it, the only thing monitoring the students in the dungeon is this arm terminal, and there is no way for anyone to know if they are in the dark. It's an environment where they can cheat as much as they want. They may not even want to compete.

　

　I almost drooped in despair. What was all the effort we had made in our desperation? Is there no way to crawl up, no matter how hard we try?

"There is a way to get up, right?"

"There is"

　

　I ask back as I cling to her. Lady Otoha quickly raises her hand and gives some instructions to the two people who were waiting behind her. Immediately, the two  rolled up their arms, revealing a tattoo-like pattern.

'This is how you pledge your allegiance to us, by wearing it. That way, the board won't be able to target you.

　

　Isn't that the type of contract magic that is forbidden to be engraved on the body? It is prohibited by international law because it violates the human rights of the contractor, and the government is supposed to be strictly enforcing it. Why is it that ......

　

　The girl in front of me raises the edge of her mouth gently and leans forward slightly, peering into my dark eyes. Then she whispers and speaks in an admonishing manner.

"If I work on it, I can transfer you to D class. I'll also allow you to join the First Magic Club. ...... How about it?"

　

　The beautiful and kind-hearted Otoha-sama began to look like some kind of terrible monster.

TL Note- The real world is cruel and dark and this Chapter showed us a glimpse of that dark and cruel world solely based on the interest of the strong and  rich. Well we thank Alucard for sponsoring this Chapter and showing us this awesome Chapter. 

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