Chapter 7: Defiled Sword of Rupture
[The class bell rings, and Open Class officially begins.]
[You use Roland and Shinji-kun to pose as teachers, hurriedly returning to the classroom.]
[All eyes immediately focus on you, instantly making you feel as if needles are pricking your entire body.]
"I'll activate my skills!"
Eikou says without the slightest hesitation.
"Perform a Curse Arts and High-Speed Divine Words, use every possible means to make everyone believe that the two of them really are teachers!"
Under his tense gaze, the two dice fall at the same time.
[You attempt to use [Curse Arts] to disguise Roland and Shinji.]
[You attempt to use [High-Speed Divine Words] to dispel everyone's doubts.]
[Because you are acting suspiciously, and doing so right in front of a crowd, the difficulty of both skill checks is increased to Hard.]
[...]
[Curse Arts, check Great Success!]
[This time your Curse Arts erupts beyond its limits; it seems there is nothing you cannot falsify.]
"What the hell is this?"
Seeing the dice roll a Great Success, Eikou cannot help but beam with delight.
Doesn't that mean the layer of disguise he placed on the two of them is so perfect that there isn't the slightest flaw, to the point where he could even call a deer a horse and get away with it?
[High-Speed Divine Words, check Failure.]
[You are unable to erase the teachers' suspicions.]
"..."
Alright, immediately back to normal.
[[Curse Arts Great Success]: In the eyes of outsiders, Roland is King of Heroes Gilgamesh himself, while Shinji-kun is Babbage.]
[[High-Speed Divine Words Failure]: Even though you disguised them without a single flaw, your awkward and hasty explanations instead give rise to suspicion among the teachers, who look at your abnormal behavior with half-belief and half-doubt.]
[The teachers look at you one after another with questioning eyes, but fortunately your forgery techniques are solid enough that, for the time being, they still fail to grasp any suspicious signs.]
"So that's how it is..."
Eikou wipes the sweat from his forehead.
Consider it barely passing the first hurdle.
Next, as long as they behave discreetly and do not continue to arouse the teachers' suspicions, there shouldn't be any problems.
"Hmmm..."
At this moment, Finn suddenly widens his eyes, looking at them with a puzzled expression.
That gaze makes Eikou feel a chill run down his spine.
"What's the matter, sensei?"
He asks, sounding a little uneasy.
"It's nothing, I just noticed something..."
Finn rubs his chin and curiously asks another question.
"Why did the Hero King standing next to you take off his clothes?"
"??"
Eikou's heart skips a beat. He immediately turns his head and sees that, at some unknown point, Roland has taken off his upper clothing, his upper body bare, calmly standing in front of everyone.
Roland, damn it, why are you acting up again?!
"N-no problem, the Hero King is just suddenly undergoing Spirit Origin Ascension. His Spirit Origin at the third stage is originally half-bare on the upper body!"
Eikou hurriedly explains.
"Is that so..."
Finn still looks unconvinced.
"Now that you mention it, Babbage-sensei is also a bit strange. Why is there no roaring steam eruption this time like there usually is?"
"That's because... in order not to affect your class, he specially modified his own body. Isn't that precisely a display of respect toward Finn-sensei!"
Eikou continues to explain with all his might.
"Is that really the case?"
Finn narrows his eyes, his sharp gaze full of suspicion. "Eikou, are you hiding something from me? Is the person standing next to you really the Hero King? Why do I feel that his appearance this time lacks any presence at all."
"Uh..."
Eikou is immediately at a loss for how to refute that.
Indeed, the temperament of Roland and Gilgamesh is far too different, completely not something that can be imitated with a simple disguise.
"This is bad, we're about to be exposed!"
Tristan says anxiously.
"What, could it be that my imitation isn't close enough?"
Roland frowns, starting to rack his brains over how to help him salvage the situation.
"Let me think, what traits does the Hero King have... calling others mongrel, speech and behavior like a middle schooler, extremely rich, and also Gate of Babylon and Sword of Rupture..."
That's right, Sword of Rupture!
Sword of Rupture is the Hero King's exclusive high-tier Noble Phantasm, and also the most convincing proof of identity.
A thought suddenly flashes through Roland's mind. He tells himself that as long as he displays the Sword of Rupture, everyone should believe that he really is the Hero King.
Wait.
Very quickly, he realizes a fatal blind spot.
Damn it, where would he even get a Sword of Rupture from?!
Shit, no time to worry about that anymore. Eikou, just wait there, I'm coming over to help you cover this up.
"You mongrels,"
They only hear him suddenly shout loudly toward everyone.
The teachers and Eikou all turn their heads at the same time, looking toward Roland who has abruptly spoken up.
At some unknown point, this guy has even pulled his pants down more than halfway. Roland stands naked yet full of righteous vigor at the classroom door, with only a single pair of underwear left on his body.
No, that is the Absolute Demonic Front Line that protects a man's final dignity.
And at this very moment, Roland's heroic posture of chest thrust out and head held high looks exactly like Hero King Gilgamesh in Chapter 7, when he charged out of the Underworld to save Chaldea, preparing to release the Sword of Rupture to deliver the final decisive blow to Tiamat!
Roland… in a situation like this, can you really turn the tables?
"What are you whispering about, could it be that I, The Hero King, some kind of fake?"
Roland takes the initiative to speak.
"..."
Everyone is frozen by his sudden half-naked appearance, and for a moment no one dares to respond.
"Still don't believe it? I really can't do anything about you lot. Then I'll make an exception this once and take out my Noble Phantasm to broaden your horizons! Watch closely!"
Roland sternly yanks his underwear down hard and proclaims loudly.
"The Sword of Rupture of this king—"
Bang!!!
Before the sentence can even finish, a blood-red spear suddenly shoots over. The shaft strikes Roland squarely on the forehead without deviating in the slightest.
With a dull thud, Roland collapses to the ground before he can even let out a sound, losing consciousness.
"This farce should come to an end already,"
Scathach, who threw the spear, speaks coldly.
"Don't mind that guy anymore, Finn, start immediately."
"..."
A drop of cold sweat slides down Eikou's forehead.
No way, after going this far, and they still haven't been exposed?
Could it be that because of Curse Arts, it really fabricated even the 'Mini Holy Sword' below Roland into the Sword of Rupture?
Or is it because everyone feels that this kind of thing really is something Goldie would do?
Completely baffled, Eikou slaps his forehead hard.
Hero King Gilgamesh, what kind of monstrous image do you actually have in other people's eyes?!
After such a small interruption, Eikou and the others, still shaken with lingering fear, sit back down in their seats.
As Finn lectures, he quietly observes the situation in the classroom.
As for the fake Hero King, namely Roland, he is unconscious and has been placed in the back row.
Considering Roland's usual crazy personality, perhaps letting him stay knocked out is actually the safest option?
"Phew, we finally managed to cover everything up..."
Eikou mutters in a low voice, glancing toward Scathach who is listening to the lecture not far away.
Next, as long as they cooperate well with Finn and smoothly complete this Open Class, it should be fine.
"Eikou."
Finn suddenly calls his name.
Eikou jolts awake as if from a dream and hastily springs up from his seat. "Aye sir!"
"Judging by the look in your eyes just now, you must have been seriously thinking about this problem,"
Finn lightly taps the problem on the blackboard with his pointer and asks confidently, "Come on, I'll give you a chance to show your ability. Solve this problem beautifully for me!"
"..."
Eikou looks at the problem on the board, revealing a baffled expression.
He hadn't listened to the lecture at all just now; all his attention had been focused on Roland.
This problem… he has absolutely no idea how to do it!
...