Magic Academy Bans Harem

Chapter 324 The True Form of the Regional Leader

"That's pretty much all I can remember! We were dragged into this world by 'Vine'. And unsurprisingly, it's the world of 'bedtime reading'."

In a world created by "bedtime reading," the goddess of bathing confides in Millie about the past she recalls after the fog in her mind has completely cleared.

It has been almost two days since the group found "Dorothy's Bedtime Stories" at the orphanage.

The atmosphere inside the Elson mansion could only be described as gloomy and desolate.

"Shadow of the Sword Saint" lost an arm, and "Sword Saint" was seriously injured and fell into a coma.

In an era when the monsters of the Dark Forest had been quiet for a long time, the Elson family suffered an unimaginable blow.

"Such a thing actually happened in the real world!"

At first, Millie only felt absurdity as she listened to the story told by the goddess of bathing.

After all, in some ways, things that happen in the real world are even more bizarre than those in this fairy tale world.

However, given her own circumstances, Millie couldn't afford to question anything.

"But now, it seems we've finally reached the starting line."

Millie sighed softly as she spoke, looking at the Goddess of Bath with a somewhat helpless gaze.

The goddess of the bath, who instinctively wanted to say "it's not my fault," silently shut her mouth this time.

This was the only time she truly had unspeakable suffering.
Judging from the familiar yet different colored cubes rotating in the sky before they were captured and brought into this world, the Goddess of Bath guessed that they had been affected by the power of the "Primordial".

The only "Primal" she knows of so far is Ann, who transformed after the academy incident. Ann's Primal ability was to extensively alter everyone's perceptions and memories, completely concealing herself.

Perhaps some could escape the manipulation of that power. But there's no doubt that even Ritas couldn't avoid being affected. Therefore, much of the information about the primordial era was relayed by the goddess of bathing.

So, the reason her memories are fragmented this time might also be due to the power of the Black Primal.

The original being currently located in the real-world fortress city is very likely Vayne. Or perhaps, he has a strong connection to Vayne.

All I can say is that until she personally experienced the power of the primordial forces, the Goddess of Bath never imagined that the power of those mysterious beings could be so immense.

It's no wonder that the two sages would attempt to use power on par with the primordial to do something extraordinary.

However, the primordial itself seems to be a taboo subject in this world. Is it really okay for the Black Primordial to use this power so recklessly?
Well, as a victim, this isn't the time to worry about things like this for others.

The goddess of bathing placed her hand on her temple.

She felt that what she should be more curious about now was why, despite being affected by the power of the primordial, she was still able to regain these memories.

If the black primordial force were weak, this wouldn't be the case. After all, Ann's power couldn't reach her on the other side of the white disc, but the black primordial force captured her as well.

That's because her existence is rather special; she has resistance to the power of forgetting, which is why she can remember things with just a little hint.

Or rather, is someone helping her, guiding her?
Suddenly, the goddess of bathing recalled what Little Ritas had said before: that the purpose of this world's existence was worth exploring.

But sure enough, I couldn't figure it out for a while.

Because there are many unexplored aspects to the primordial truth, and because there's a sense that the fewer people who know about this power, the better, the goddess of bathing decided to keep these matters to herself for the time being. She tearfully bore the stigma of being "muddled-minded."

“Don’t worry, Charlotte. Roland will recover soon. He’s been in this sickly state for many years, and every time someone underestimates him because of it, they pay a heavy price. And don’t worry about my hand. I plan to use the recently developed magical artifact technology to install a prosthetic hand that won’t break easily. Perhaps, for us Elson-style swordsmen, a magical body that can be repaired even if damaged is the most suitable.”

At the main entrance of the Elson mansion, Floyd Elson gently stroked Charlotte's head, kindly comforting her as she cried.

For Xia Luoluo, what happened a few days ago could only be described as "the sky falling down." She spent her days in tears, looked unsteady, and now even her speech was somewhat slurred.

"Uncle Freud"

"Then I'll get in the carriage first. Although I don't know much about it, it seems that something related to the nervous system has caused the delay, which could become quite troublesome. So, when I get back, I'll show you the most advanced and handsome arm in the world, um, and Roland too."

After saying this, Floyd, supported by a middle-aged man dressed as a butler, got into the carriage parked nearby.

After the carriage left, Charlotte, whose physical and mental state had been precarious these past few days, fainted on the spot. Fortunately, she was accompanied by the Elson family's butler and attendants, who moved her to her room.

"." "."

Not far away, watching this scene, the Bathing Goddess and Millie just felt heartbroken.

The reason they were still able to move freely within the mansion was actually thanks to Freud.

After such a major incident, the Elson family would not let the two people frequently involved in it off the hook. Although Xia Luoluo knew it wasn't their fault, in her completely panicked state, she had no energy to defend them. Moreover, as a child, even as a young lady, her words carried limited weight.

Finally, it was only after Floyd awoke from his coma and immediately vouched for the two that it became clear that they were also victims.

While believing Freud to be a surprisingly good guy, Bath Goddess and Millie also sincerely hope that Freud can return to his peak and even go further by assembling a prosthetic hand.

Even if it's just in the world of "bedtime reading".

Having clarified the nature of the world they inhabited, their senses about this world and the people in it became increasingly complex.

Back in their room, the two began a strategic meeting.

"If we follow the usual strategy for the 'bedtime reading' dungeon, we need to defeat the bosses of the four areas first, or fulfill the wishes of the area bosses through special mechanisms!"

The goddess of the bath, who had borrowed a whiteboard from Little Ritas, pushed up her air glasses and pointed to the things she had casually scribbled on the whiteboard that only represented atmosphere.

"However, it's probably hopeless to use a brute-force approach. The regional leader is just too strong! After seeing that battle, I don't know whether to say it's a miracle that the Sword Saint was able to defeat the mechanics, or a miracle that the mechanics were able to severely injure the Sword Saint. In short, if Roland can't handle an opponent, then probably no one else in this world can."

Although the Goddess of Bath vaguely felt that the Shadow of Black Mist was just an isolated case, and that other regional leaders might not be that ridiculously strong.

However, in the end, the regional bosses that only a team of warriors with divine equipment could defeat after more than three years of development in the "Star Pattern" game are unlikely to be defeated by them in a head-on confrontation now.

"Then, regarding the regional leaders, my guess is these four: the Black Mist Bird, the Shadow of the Black Mist, the witch, and the mysterious creature that blew cold winds at us from the snowy mountains!"

Millie nodded gently as she listened to the goddess of bathing's summary.

While it's quite unbelievable that a goddess like me, who's practically spent two months in bed, would be sorting through existing information, it also proves that with enough effort, she's capable of getting things done!

"As for the four regional leaders corresponding to the carrier pigeon, the tin man, the unicorn, and the black cat, the Black Mist Bird is probably the carrier pigeon, and the Shadow of the Black Mist might be the tin man? After all, you said that in that battle with the Sword Saint, his body was incredibly hard, so he essentially attacked Roland's sword with his body. As for the witch, it might be the black cat? Because by process of elimination, she isn't looking for a mate or anything like that."

As the goddess of bathing spoke, her face turned somewhat pale.

Because, if the witch really was a black cat constantly searching for food out of hunger, then the witch's motive for killing them was...
Just thinking about it for a moment made the Goddess of Bath realize she wouldn't be able to sleep that night. "The final regional leader of the snow mountain will most likely be a unicorn. Next..."

"Sister Yu!"

Like a student in a classroom, Millie raised her hand.

After being pointed out by the Bath Goddess with a look that said, "You're pretty savvy, kid," Millie shared her thoughts.

"I'm wondering if those regional leaders might actually be real people."

"Eh?"

"Well, I guess I'll pass. Sorry, Sister Yu, I said some nonsensical things that I can't prove."

Millie scratched her head and swallowed back her sudden idea.

However, since the words had already been spoken, the Goddess of Bath naturally wouldn't give Millie the chance to be the riddle teller.

"Milly-kun"

"Jun?"

The goddess of the bath placed her hand on Millie's shoulder.
“We’re not going to court, and we’re not like that guy Ritas. So, don’t hold back with your thoughts and speculations. Just say them and we’ll discuss and judge. To be honest, all my speculations so far have been based on things that can’t be proven or found with any evidence!”

"I always felt that making all these speculations was rather irresponsible, but since Sister Yu has said so, then..."

Having gained "courage" from the goddess of bathing, Millie took a deep breath and slowly said,

"I think the Shadow of the Black Mist, also known as the Tin Man, is very likely to be Professor Cortelene. And the carrier pigeon that became the Black Mist Monster is Senior Sister Charlotte in reality."

"Oh? Interesting. Those who were dragged into this have been twisted into regional leaders. So, the witch—no, the unicorn—might be Little Li from reality? His aloof attitude has transformed into an icy aura that prevents anyone from getting close. And who is the witch? Besides us."

"Could it be 'Wayne'? Since Wayne herself is just a created character, not the creator of 'bedtime reading' and the fairy tale world, it's possible that she serves as a regional leader as part of the 'story'."

"Yeah!"

After Millie said that, the Bath Goddess felt that everything made sense.

However, there were still a few things she couldn't understand.

For example, why were everyone else captured and turned into district leaders, but she and Millie were unharmed, only turned into children? Also, since the others from the real world became district leaders, what's the deal with the Golden Apple Tree, which seems to be being used by someone else?
"Could the Tin Man be Corténe? So, does becoming a regional leader mean becoming more ferocious as one's power increases? Otherwise, no matter how powerful Corténe is, she wouldn't be that exaggerated. And while the carrier pigeon is relatively weak, it's still much stronger than the truly weak Charlotte."

The reason why the Goddess of Bath immediately agreed with Millie's guess was because past events had also revealed some clues.

For example, the fact that neither the real-world Cortriene nor the Cortriene of this world ever appears. Another example is the strange behavior exhibited by Charlotte in this world.

"So it seems the person who's been urging me to find the real her is actually Xia Luoluo from the real world. She's trapped inside the carrier pigeon's body. Since most of the regional leaders are on our side, we should reconsider how we treat them. Even if we can defeat them, we still have to rely on the established mechanisms! And our original goal..."

"Charlotte." "Carrier pigeon."

Although there was a slight mismatch, the two thought of the same thing.

Considering both the difficulty and the distance, the carrier pigeon that Xia Luoluo transformed into is likely the best choice.

"According to what Sister Yu said before, the mechanism for carrier pigeons requires finding white paint to color them white. But we don't know where to find that."

"White paint should be everywhere, right? You should be able to find it easily. The game mechanics themselves will definitely place the solution in an easily accessible location. Otherwise, the mechanics themselves would be meaningless. They could just forcibly kill people without any reason, why bother with such roundabout methods? However, it's best to be prepared for both possibilities. While we're looking for white paint, we should also continue to scrutinize Charlotte in this world and see if we can find any useful information from her, given her obvious connection to carrier pigeons."

"Saying it like 'licking' or something."

Millie looked somewhat helpless.

However, at the same time, she vaguely felt that the goddess of bathing sometimes intentionally or unintentionally used such unconventional words to dilute the obviously oppressive atmosphere that filled the entire mansion.

"Besides, Xia Luoluo isn't easy to approach right now."

"That's right. After the incident, her security was practically at full capacity."

Just as the goddess of the bath and Millie were feeling distressed, a voice suddenly rang out from the corner of the room.

"I can take you there."

"!" "Waaaaaah!"

The two girls were clearly startled, and the bath goddess even jumped directly onto the bed next to them.

And there is undoubtedly only one person who can appear and disappear so mysteriously in the Elson mansion.

"I suppose I have the face to visit Roland and Charlotte."

Peering out of the shadows, Little Ritas spoke to the two.

"You, you, you... when did you get there?!"

The still-shaken goddess of the bath questioned, her gaze involuntarily turning to Millie.

Didn't we agree that you would learn "swordsmanship" such as sensing energy?

Millie, who was equally frightened, felt that rather than saying that Little Ritas was not skilled enough, it was more accurate to say that he had mastered some unique techniques other than swordsmanship in the Elson style.

"When I arrived is not important. What is important is whether you want to come with me."

Little Ritas paused as he spoke.

"And then there's Cortrinie, who arrived at the mansion about forty minutes ago."

"!"

Amidst the surprised looks on their faces, Little Ritas continued speaking unhurriedly.

"It seems like it's almost time to 'end' this time. After nearly two months, you must have been well-prepared to deal with it, right?"

Silence fell over the room in response to Little Ritas's question.

Millie, as always, couldn't understand what "stance" Little Ritas was on that led him to make such remarks and act.

(End of this chapter)