Magic Academy Bans Harem

Chapter 282 The Princess's Guards

"I never imagined that there would be a day when I would feel nostalgic upon hearing my own name."

Beside Ann, who had just woken up, Adeline spoke, gently shaking her head as she did so.

Looking at the figures that overlapped with her memories, yet also had many differences, An, gradually emerging from her daze, remained silent for a moment and looked around.

"here it is"

Does it look like heaven?

Adeline, clearly harboring resentment, responded in this way. However, seeing the still-bleeding wounds on Anne's body, the sternness in her expression softened.

"It's the research institute's base."

Unlike the faction stronghold at the dormitory mansion, which she began managing after becoming a tutor assistant at Erls Academy, the princess's faction has been operating for a longer time and is more well-established, centered around the "Leviathan Research Institute," which is also located within Erls.

"Why did you make this choice without telling me?"

After hesitating for a moment, Adeline still asked the question.

She was somewhat afraid to know the answer, afraid that all the feelings she had shared with An over the years were just wishful thinking on her part.

"Because if I tell you, you'll stop me, won't you?"

An replied calmly.

Adeline, having received an answer, felt a sense of relief. At least it wasn't the hurtful excuse of "I don't need to discuss my affairs with you." But on the other hand, her resentment and anger, which had subsided somewhat, reignited.

"Of course I'll stop you! Do you think I'd just calmly say 'take care' if I told you I was going to my death?"

"Cough cough."

"Ah, lie down, there's no need to get up. Damn it, how did I get you so hurt? This isn't what we agreed on!"

Adeline's initial resentment turned into heartache upon seeing Anne's pained expression.

"Professor, there shouldn't have been any agreement with you. I hope you won't hurt me."

"."

Adeline remained silent, as if in response.

Ritas only said that if they cooperated, they could prevent Anne's death. He never said that he would hand Anne over to them unharmed.

"So, exactly when did he find you?"

"yesterday."

"yesterday?"

An couldn't help but be somewhat surprised. In her preconceived notions, Ritas should be an incredibly meticulous person. Therefore, every single thing he did that day should have been carefully planned in advance.

"So, in less than a day, he successfully turned you all against him?"

If it weren't for the severity of her injuries, Ann might have found the whole thing quite amusing.

"Why not? We weren't so easy to persuade to begin with. But after he brought up some philosophical questions like, 'If the master who gives the order dies, will the order be discontinued? Or, should we obey the orders of the dead?' we were drawn in and unknowingly got on his ship."

Adeline turned her face slightly to the side, stubbornly shifting all the blame to Ritas, who was nowhere to be found.

In truth, her reason for assisting Ritas in "betraying" Anne was simple. She didn't know the true value of what Anne was willing to sacrifice herself for. She simply didn't want her prince to die such a tragic death.

"You really haven't changed at all, Serena."

This time, while remaining conscious, Ann softly uttered Adeline's real name.

After a slight pause, Adeline gave a wry smile.

"Perhaps so. So, blame yourself for handing over so much power to me. And for not keeping a close eye on things, allowing me to be easily deceived."

In An's hospital room, the two who had truly walked hand in hand through life continued their conversation.

What they couldn't avoid was Professor Ritas, who had "intervened" in their midst.

"I imagine the professor didn't come to you out of pure kindness to solve your problems. So, as the price for stopping my plan, what did he ask you to do?"

Feeling somewhat better, Ann sat up with Adeline's help and then asked.

She was still very curious to know what Ritas was trying to do in this incident.

Previously, when she directly questioned Ritas, she was tricked by his "counterattack" tactics.

"It's nothing special. He just wants us to set up a magic circle here."

As Adeline spoke, she searched for a while and then took out the original drawing of Ritas and handed it to Anne.

After staring at the magic circle for a while, Ann realized that she didn't quite understand it.

If the magic circle is a language, then An's current feeling is that she recognizes every single word on the diagram, but when they are arranged and combined, they become an utterly unfamiliar word, one that she doesn't even know if it truly exists.

That's far too bad.
This is An's heartfelt sentiment.

Anke wasn't the kind of student who barely graduated after repeating several years, or who hadn't even graduated yet, causing her teachers so much worry that they were losing their hair. She graduated from the magic academy with excellent grades, and the title of Archmage was practically within her grasp.

In fact, she is even a bit older than Ritas.

Even so, what is unattainable is simply unattainable.

Ann suddenly became curious about how the world would appear in Ritas's eyes.

Did Ritas already realize the "gap" between her and Adeline when he first saw her acting alone, a gap he could exploit? So, he only needed to appear at the opportune moment to turn their faction, or even more people, into his pawns.

Just as Ann was staring at the original diagram of the magic circle in her hand, her thoughts were wandering.

Noisy sounds began to come from outside.

What's happening outside?

An asked softly.

Adeline simply shook her head dismissively.
"Most of the students in the class gathered here, along with their friends. So, it's normal for it to be a bit noisy. After all, they're just kids."

"A student from the Yewwood Class?"

An was somewhat surprised.

"Yes, it seems that it was Professor's goddess who directed them to gather here. After all, with the class advisor absent, it seems that I, as the assistant, have to shoulder some responsibilities."

Adeline's expression was somewhat complicated.

"I didn't expect that someone would still remember the identity of 'mentor's assistant' at a time like this."

Once upon a time, when they were burdened with many problems, they became Ritas's mentor assistants and secretly felt apologetic for potentially causing him trouble.

Now, Adeline had a feeling that in the future, they would be the ones bound by the Yewwood Class, unable to easily escape. "It sounds like it's not just the students' noise."

As the two were talking, a series of explosions came from outside. The entire research institute trembled slightly.

For the "students" to be playing around, this was undoubtedly a bit too much noise.

It was at this moment that
"Oh no! Oh no!"

A small figure, panicked and flustered, rushed through the wall and into the house.

"." "."

Upon entering the room, she was met with two scrutinizing gazes. Ginny, who had been shouting moments before, couldn't help but shrink back.
"Ah, boss, you're awake."

Ginny, turning her face away, seemed hesitant to meet Ann's gaze.

Because her abilities are unexpectedly useful and convenient, she has been ordered around by various "big shots" these days. She's practically a fence-sitter, and she's actually quite unhappy about it.

"What's going on outside?"

Adeline, noticing Ginny's embarrassment, asked a question.

"Well, here's the thing. A guy called 'Ash' showed up at the door, saying he wanted to rescue 'Fireworker'! His number should be within the top twenty. Anyway, he's pretty amazing!"

Ginny explained briefly.

"Adeline, go and take a look."

Listening to Ginny's report, Ann gave instructions.

Adeline hesitated for a moment, but then thought that it wouldn't be long before Ann went off somewhere to do something on her own, so she nodded.

"Then I'll push you over there, Lady Adeline!"

As Ginny spoke, she walked around to the back of Adeline's wheelchair, where she was still sitting.

"No, that's not necessary."

But Ginny's actions were rejected by Adeline.
"At this point, there's no need to pretend anymore."

The outside of the Leviathan Institute.

A young man was screaming like a madman.

"Hand you over! Hand over my sister now!"

"Ash," number 0018 among the "Darkborn," had half of his gas mask destroyed at this point.

This wasn't because he suffered a loss in previous encounters, but because his own attacks were too aggressive and he accidentally hurt himself.

Beneath the gas mask, "Ash" was a very young-looking black-haired man.

At first, Ash merely roared at the princess's guards protecting the research institute to hand over "the Fireworker." But as he grew increasingly impatient, Moloch Gabrielvit, no longer bothering to conceal his true intentions, directly and explicitly demanded that the guards release his sister, Rita.

Both heirs of the Gabriellevitt family hold high positions in the Darkin hierarchy. This seems to reveal, to some extent, the strength that enabled the Gabriellevitt family, facing dire straits, to rise from the ashes and be reborn over the years.

Facing Gabriel, whose face was already covered in bloody marks and who became increasingly frenzied the more he released his power, the dozen or so royal guards were forced to retreat in disarray, each bearing injuries.

The reason why Mollock has not yet been able to infiltrate the research institute is that...

She was a blue-haired girl who woke up in the seminar venue and came to the research institute under the guidance of the goddess of bathing, and she maintained the front line.

In the sky, vast expanses of black ash, seemingly about to burn out, appeared like falling snowflakes. Meanwhile, a large area of ​​azure flames, as if burning the sky itself, emerged, sweeping away at least two-thirds of the black ash, leaving only sporadic explosions that affected their own side.

At the center of the battle line, Melsie, wielding a longsword conjured by flames, had a few beads of sweat on her forehead.

Although she managed to deflect Morlock's attacks time and again, she was unsure of what to do next.

Despite her frequent brushes with danger, Melsie has almost never resolved disputes through personal combat, indicating a significant lack of experience in fighting.

She was unsure when she should make her move. She wasn't even sure if initiating a counterattack was the right choice.

So, recalling her mentor's classic tactics, she simply maintained a defensive stance while observing her opponent's actions.

Even though they both possessed the power of the "Star Mark" and were both at the "Bathing Seminar," Tabata and Noah unknowingly became support roles, simply cheering on Melsie from afar.

Perhaps, against other opponents, Melsie's fighting style might seem somewhat passive. But against the berserk Moloch, Melsie's approach was surprisingly effective.

Seemingly unable to wait a moment longer, Morlock, who wanted to see his sister and bring her back, would often rush into the still-burning blue flames of Melsie, adding wounds to his own body.

However, looking at Moloch, who was still lively and increasingly aggressive, Melcy was unsure whether her flames had caused any effective damage.

Looking back, Melsie realized that her Azure Flame hadn't been very powerful except when it was burning the professor.
"You may all leave."

Just as Melcy and Morlock were locked in a stalemate, a voice rang out from behind.

Because it was wartime, Melsie, not wanting to lose focus, only glanced at it briefly. But even that glance made her pause for a moment, noticing a flaw in her demeanor.

"ah"

Melsie, caught in the blast of ash and fire, cried out in pain and was thrown back. Fortunately, she wasn't seriously injured, and the princess's guards, who hadn't played much of a role in the battle, caught her safely.

"Teacher Adeline?"

After recovering slightly, Melsie was more concerned about Adeline, who was slowly walking towards the battlefield from the middle of the separate ranks of the princess's guards, than the pain in her body.

Eh--?
Why is Ms. Adeline walking?
Not only was Melsie confused, but the princess's guards were also in an uproar, making a few buzzing noises.

What puzzled Melsie even more was that, despite the commotion among the princess's guards, none of them seemed to be trying to step forward to help Adeline, who was facing the attacking enemy alone.

Although the princess's guards had shown limited combat capabilities against opponents of "Ash's" caliber in previous battles, they did not falter and continued to fight tenaciously.

"Teacher Adeline!"

Mercy called Adeline's name again, partly to warn her to be careful, and partly to get up and help. But the princess's guards not only didn't come to her aid, but several members who had previously received help from Mercy also gestured to her that she didn't need to go.

On the battlefield, Morlock doesn't care what's happening on the enemy's side.

As if he was about to lose his mind, he released a large amount of ash.

In an instant, a violent explosion erupted over a wide area, and thick smoke completely obscured Adeline, who had arrived at the center of the battlefield.

Then, several sharp flashes appeared in the center of the battlefield, not only dispelling the annoying smoke and dust, but also revealing Adeline, who was completely unharmed.

At that moment, Adeline had a rapier tucked under her arm and then took off the gloves she had been wearing for the past few years.

It was a hand covered in thick calluses, not exactly beautiful, but definitely strong enough.

She casually tossed the gloves aside. Adeline picked up the rapier she had been tucking under her shoulder with one hand, put the other behind her back, and held the strange, needle-like rapier, which seemed to "disappear" depending on the angle, aiming it at Moloch.

"Come on, let me see what you're capable of, daring to attack the princess's camp."

(End of this chapter)