10 – Change – 4

 

“She’s mad?”

 

Priscilla acknowledged with her head, indicating that there was more to be said.

 

“What did she do?”

 

“To put it simply, it’s complicated.”

 

Drawing from the explanations, the prospective saint that might soon appear at the academy, ‘Rosalia Leone de Micaela,’ was the child of a faithful high priest, born with a vast amount of divine power.

 

The Pope, recognizing her talent, personally raised Rosalia, blessing her as a sacred child.

 

From when Rosalia started stumbling her first steps, she exhibited a divine power more awestruck than modest priests, but there was a fatal and fundamental flaw.

 

“She had a brutal side to her nature and was treated as a prominent saint candidate by the church and raised with all sorts of attention, so she was blind to everything.”

 

It was common for her to assault the nuns she didn’t care for, fabricating non-existing crimes, and she often enjoyed administering punishment near-torture levels.

 

The fact that the number of nuns who changed in the last decade was well over a hundred could roughly guess her decaying character.

 

“She lived her whole life like that. She won’t change just because she came here.”

 

Even when she came to Bellium Academy, she couldn’t stop her old habits and picked a fight with almost everyone, eventually colliding with the protagonist, Aria.

 

Judging by my speculation, she seemed to play the typical villain role that often appears in novels.

 

“She messed with the wrong person. Aria is the protagonist. How dare an extra, who is in the same boat as me, do such a thing?”

 

Priscilla squeezed my hand harder with a smirk in her cloudy eyes. I also covered her hand back.

 

Despite Rosalia’s endless harassment, Aria endured with her broad heart and kind nature. However, Brynhild did not, which led to an argument.

 

“From then on, she harbored a grudge against Aria and tried to kill her.”

 

“Why would she try to kill Aria when Brynhild was the one who fought with her?”

 

“Because Brynhild is a hero.”

 

Was it a typical style of picking on the weak? The more I heard, the less I liked it.

 

“And so, she poisoned Aria’s water, but then the divine message descended.”

 

The extraordinary event was not that the divine message descended on the academy instead of at the cathedral where the Pope resided but that the goddess chose Aria as the next saint instead of Rosalia.

 

Rosalia, the only saint candidate, dropped to the bottom of the hierarchy, now just an ordinary nun with a slightly stronger divine power. Due to her past behavior creating numerous enemies, no one tried to help her.

 

Except the new saint, Aria.

 

Even after hearing that Rosalia tried to poison her, Aria still tried to reduce her punishment, but too many people disliked Rosalia.

 

Eventually, Rosalia received the “heretic’s mark” on her belly and inner thighs, turning her into a worthless tool. The power over life and death was effectively given to Aria. In essence, she became a slave.

 

“Aria initially opposed it, but she eventually accepted.”

 

“Why?”

 

“Because a person marked as a heretic can be handled without being accused of a crime. Can people sit still knowing that a woman with half beauty and a good figure like her, is marked?”

 

Eventually, she would pay the pittance anyway, murmured Priscilla softly.

 

“Paying her dues?”

 

“Yeah. She fights with the Devil King and dies. Just like me.”

 

Even after being marked as a heretic, Aria continued to treat Rosalia kindly. Whether it led to a change of heart, Rosalia sacrificed her life to open a chance to fight the Devil King.

 

She absorbed the poison dispersed by the Devil King into her own body, clearing a path.

 

Rosalia, addicted to the poison, melted her inner organs from her mouth and behind, and with her death, she said, “$At least I’ve repaid the favor.$” It was a brutal end, as if receiving karma.

 

“……I understand. Anyway, a woman like her could come to the academy, right?”

 

“If it follows the original plot, yes. But it’s not certain. As you know…….”

 

“At this point, the story line of the original work is essentially meaningless.”

 

“Yeah. Because the devil appeared too early too.”

 

I didn’t expect much anyway. It’s too conscientious to hope for it to follow the novel with such a sudden turn of events.

 

“……But Mi-ra, why did I have to die so horrendously?”

 

Priscilla held her knees and crouched down.

 

“Why did I have to die so horrendously?”

 

Her amber eyes began to moisten.

 

$Sure, that woman committed a crime, but I didn’t do anything.$

 

Priscilla curled up, hugging her knees, and burrowed into my arms, leaning her head on my shoulder.

 

It must have been the memory of the news that not long after Rosario died, Priscilla would also die, taking the demon king’s curse upon herself instead.

 

$But why… All I was doing was being locked up here, not able to do anything…$

 

$Priscilla.$

 

I preempted Priscilla before she burst into tears. Priscilla responded in a voice strangled by suppressed sobs.

 

$…Yes.$

 

$This time, it won’t be like that. We won’t go back to when we were 15, you won’t die from taking Aria’s place in the curse. Absolutely not.$

 

The reason I came here was to free myself from my parents’ overprotectiveness. It took me a while to realize that this was the world in the novel where I’d only read the prologue.

 

Honestly, I’ve even thought that this possession could be a gift given to me, who struggled and suffered so much during my first. Because since I got here, all I’ve done is chill and eat.

 

‘Not anymore.’

 

But from now on, I have to change my thinking. I will capture the demon king with my own hands, and somehow end this cycle akin to a curse.

 

This was both for Priscilla and for myself.

 

$I promise.$

 

$Promise…$

 

Priscilla, who had been staring blankly, nuzzled her face against me and nodded with a smile.

 

$Yes.$

 

The next day, we learned that a week later, the saintess candidate Rosario Leone de Mikaela would be coming to the academy.

 

$What do you think the purpose of establishing the Bellium Academy was?$

 

A teacher with a clearly impatient expression looked around the classroom full of students. Because it wasn’t a question requiring an answer, the classroom remained silent.

 

$Let me tell you honestly. All of you are capable enough to fulfill your roles in the front lines. Sitting here means just that.$

 

Pride appeared on the students’ faces. It was an expression often used by teachers, ‘If you’ve come to Bellium Academy, of course you should be able to do it,’ and its effect was outstanding.

 

From noble mtl dot com

 

$However.$

 

With a loud thump, the teacher slammed her podium, focusing the students’ attention.

 

$Neither the dean, nor the people outside, expect you to just fulfill your roles. You should naturally be able to do that. You absolutely must achieve more than that. That’s why the academy was established, and that’s what the assistance is for.$

 

With those words, irritation once again clouded her previously clear face.

 

$Your goal should be simple. To make numerical differences meaningless. From the moment the gap between you and your opponent exceeds a certain level, the quantity is rendered meaningless. Let me give you the best example. Think of the Empire’s greatest swordsman. Even if all of you attack him, would you be able to match him?$

 

‘The Empire’s greatest swordsman?’

 

That’s a new one. I should ask Priscilla about it later. I have to determine whether they’re a friend or foe.

 

$One who makes numerical differences meaningless. One who can change the course of the battlefield single-handedly. One whose mere presence boosts the morale of the soldiers. One whom the soldiers chant the name of as if it were a spell of victory. What you will learn in my class is how to become such a being.$

 

Spurred on by her words targeting their honor, pride, competition, and dignity, the students burned with enthusiasm, their eyes flickering with anticipation as they waited for her next words.

 

$She’s quite the speaker. Now I see why her lectures are so highly rated.$

 

Aria muttered softly.

 

$That’s true.$

 

Driven to work hard by her provocation of their honor, it’s natural they’d be diligent in class.

 

There was a reason the competition to take this theoretical class, which felt somewhat like a practical session held in the afternoon, was so fierce. Compared to other classes, the competition rate was four or five times higher.

 

Of course, this didn’t apply to me, Aria, or Brynhild.

 

The top three students of each grade get the right to choose classes first, so we could pick whichever one we wanted, and Brynhild, being a hero, could take any course she wanted.

 

Despite this, Brynhild didn’t take this class. She said she and theory were worlds apart.

 

In other words, it’s also known as the metropolitan annihilation magic.

 

The professor continued to write something on the chalkboard, maintaining his dour expression. As each magic circle was completed with a burst of blue light from the tips of his fingers, gasps of admiration erupted around the room.

 

Even at a glance, the magic circle’s complex structure, equivalent to an average person’s height, was completed in no time by the professor, who then concluded by writing the name of the magic next to it.

 

“Eternal Flame?”

 

“It’s the top-tier pyromancy. It’s also the most representative of the metropolitan annihilation magic.”

 

“Let’s take it easy on the first day. It’s a test to see how well you understand metropolitan annihilation magic. Although it’s a test, it won’t affect your grades, so don’t debate, just analyze it as you know it. Begin.”

 

The professor, having finished speaking, brought a chair and crossed his legs as he sat, starting to nod off. However, nobody pointed this out. Everyone was busy analyzing the magic circle.

 

I glanced around the room. The faces did not seem particularly happy with this unfamiliar concept, completely different from the common magic. I finished observing and projected the magic circle onto my magic implement.

 

“Hold on. This…”

 

I hesitated a moment, sensing something familiar.

 

“I feel like I’ve seen a similar magic circle before.”

 

I racked my brain. The structure seemed familiar, as if I’d encountered it in the first world where I’d been incarnated.

 

Reviving the memories of the past, I began dissecting the magic circle.

 

“Seems like it could work.”

 

In the end, I managed to complete a magic circle that, although slightly different in form, was almost similar in terms of the outcome.

 

I assumed it would be a totally different magic just sharing a similar structure, but however I looked, the magic circle appearing on my magic implement felt perfectly operable.

 

“Wonder if other stuff is also possible.”

 

The moment this thought entered my mind, my hand moved instinctively. It was a method I often used when I was first incarnated, creating a magic which simultaneously manifested multiple effects by mixing different magic circles.

 

Many begged me to stop, warning that I might end up vanished into thin air if things blew up, but I never failed once. Guess I won.

 

– Spark.

 

“Oh, this might actually work.”

 

A spark flew from the magic circle. If I just tweaked the core a bit more-

 

“What are you doing?”

 

Suddenly, the voice of the man previously lecturing from the podium echoed right in front of me.