Chapter 136: Willfully Revealing a Flaw
Every year, a good number of students withdraw from the Walpurgis Royal Academy of Machinart.
After all, this academy is one of the highest institutions of learning in the world of magic, and its curriculum is by no means easy. So those students who can't keep up will one day face the fate of being left behind.
Add to that the high tuition fees, the corresponding academic qualifications, and other external factors. There are as many reasons for dropping out as one could want.
But since last October, that is, after the new school year began, the number of dropouts has surged, and has now reached as many as twenty-six. Among them, there have been twelve cases where an automaton was destroyed, and the student was forced to withdraw.
And the culprit behind all of this—
—Cannibal Candy.
"So, in other words, finding it is your current mission?"
"That's right," Raishin Akabane nodded.
However, his expression was not good, because this attack had occurred while he was still in the academy, and even while he was listening to Felix's briefing. Even if he was being self-conscious, it was hard not to suspect that this was a deliberate provocation.
Kobayashi originally hadn't wanted to get involved, but he couldn't help but glance over, and his super-powerful Farsight ability instantly activated.
"Ngh..."
He couldn't help but frown slightly.
The object's upper and lower body were scattered on the ground, some distance apart.
From the severed point, one could see the inside of the abdominal cavity. Because the internal structure was made quite finely, it gave one the feeling of peeking inside a human body. And the exposed gears, wires, and other parts, on the contrary, created an atmosphere even more disgusting than a human corpse.
Its feet had been completely smashed, which was probably how its movement had been restricted.
The lower half of the wreck's face was destroyed beyond recognition, making it impossible to see its original form. Objects that looked like blood were scattered around, as if it had been gnawed on by some wild beast.
And what was most eye-catching was the bizarre wound.
The place where the heart should have been had been hollowed out, leaving only a circular cavity. The surface of the wound was extremely smooth, like a piece of candy that had been licked until it melted.
This is bad. I had just managed to get over the world of Akame ga Kill!, and now my stomach is turning.
Raishin, seeing that his expression was off, patted his shoulder and even had the heart to joke, "Cannibal plus candy. Don't you think combining two common words perfectly expresses the characteristics of the wound?"
"...A nice cold joke, Akabane-kun," he said, shooting him a look.
This guy was particularly sensitive to changes in others' emotions, but he always intervened rashly without knowing the situation. Even someone as thick-skinned as him found it a bit much.
"By the way, who was this automaton's puppeteer?"
"It was that guy who uses the iron balls."
"Oh, it was him."
His bad mood immediately improved. Because that guy had not only sneak-attacked him with a group during the day, but had also sneak-attacked Raishin in the evening. Having his Magic Circuit eaten by "Cannibal Candy" could be considered his just deserts.
But I can't laugh! If I laugh, my career as a puppeteer will be over.
Almost all the students were gathered here now. The appearance of "Cannibal Candy" had caused a panic. If he were to laugh at a time like this, even if he wasn't the one who did it, the flustered and clueless students would pin the blame on him. It would surely cause unnecessary trouble.
He turned to ask the last member of their trio.
"Charlotte, what do you think?"
"..."
She did not answer. For a long time, she just stared blankly down at the student, saying nothing.
"Charlotte, were you on the streets with him?"
The handsome young man's sharp words startled her out of her daze. Although the sentence was not an accusation, it made her visibly flinch, and she hurriedly tried to explain.
"Wait! It's not like that! That's—"
"Alright. This topic ends here. Raishin, come over here for a moment."
Felix coldly cut her off and led Raishin into the shadows of the courtyard bushes.
Charlotte watched his back, her eyes blazing, and turned to leave without a word.
"Wait a moment, Charlotte."
Felix, maintaining his posture with his back to her, stopped her in an unexpectedly cold tone. "You'd best stay out of the 'Cannibal Candy' matter."
"But—"
"Leave this matter to the Disciplinary Committee. Also..."
He turned back to look at her, his face without its usual warm and gentle smile, but instead frowning as if in pain. He said, "I already understand your feelings. Although it's a pity, I will withdraw."
"Ehh—?!"
"You didn't choose me. You chose Kobayashi. That's what this is about, isn't it?"
"How could you... that's not..."
Charlotte was so stunned she froze on the spot.
"...I still have work to attend to. Excuse me, but could you please leave first? Also, I don't want to see you again for the time being."
After saying this, he quietly turned and left.
Charlotte, on the other hand, had a face as pale as the automaton that had just died in the corner, and her small body began to tremble slightly.
"Wh-what do I do? Felix hates me! What do I do... what do I do... what do I do...!"
The words she muttered were heartbreaking.
"Hey..."
"Leave me alone!"
She shook off his hand and ran away as if in flight.
Watching her small figure leave, the corners of his mouth couldn't stop twitching, and he complained softly, "Hey, hey, hey, I'm the one being used here."
What is this frustrated feeling?
It's a CPU, right? It's definitely a CPU!
That golden-haired, masked, squinty-eyed fellow had used him to put pressure on her, deliberately arousing her guilt, so that she would in turn feel sorry for Felix and become even more devoted to him.
It was a low-class, highly targeted, and very effective, despicable method. And of all people, he was the one being used.
"Master Kobayashi, are you not going after her?"
His attendant, from behind him, reminded her master at the opportune moment that he should act like a gentleman and go after her to comfort her.
However, he asked in return, "Why? I already told her, didn't I? Even boys get jealous sometimes. She should stop getting too close to other men, otherwise it will cause unnecessary misunderstandings."
"That is correct, but the other party also meant well, did she not?"
Seeing that this reason couldn't move him, RyuZU lowered her head slightly, a shadow falling over her face, and said in a low voice, "And someone has used you, Master Kobayashi, to play with a girl's feelings. Are you just going to swallow your anger? Following such an incompetent master will lower my reputation."
"...You're right."
He nodded in agreement.
After a pause, he raised a wicked smile. "Is that really okay? I won't be responsible for what happens."
"No matter what the final outcome, as your attendant, I will stand firmly by your side." She spoke words that were moving in their plainness.
Charlotte, maybe it's just as you said. For me to be dominated by an automaton, maybe I really am a worthless man.
Or maybe...
"Master Kobayashi, as your attendant, I must say, your personality is sometimes unexpectedly twisted."
"...You're right, RyuZU."
It's possible that's what I really think in my heart.
He did not turn and leave like Charlotte. Instead, he walked straight towards Felix and Raishin. But when he reached the cordon, he was stopped by other members of the Disciplinary Committee. However, the commotion they made was heard by the two who were investigating the situation.
"Kobayashi?"
"Wait, let him in."
Felix instructed his subordinates, and only then was he able to arrive at the crime scene.
"Yo, good evening, you two."
He held up a hand in greeting, then said to Felix, "I wonder if you two need any help? Don't tell me you're going to say something like 'unrelated personnel should leave as soon as possible' because of some external factors?"
"Unrelated personnel should naturally leave as soon as possible... that being said, you are an exception, Kobayashi."
Felix's preferential treatment of him was a bit much. He even said gently, "What happened between you and Charlotte will not affect you and me, so please rest assured."
"No, no, that's not it. Charlotte and I are not in that kind of relationship," he waved his hand.
His light explanation was completely different from a hasty defense and was, on the contrary, very convincing.
"Is that so."
Felix had a smile on his face, as if he were relieved to know that the person he liked had not been taken away.
But under the cover of the night, a hint of smugness at the corner of his mouth was still keenly spotted by him, with his super-strong vision, thanks to [Spectator].
Raishin also quickly tried to smooth things over. "I'm relieved that Felix agrees. To be honest, having you as a rival, Kobayashi, is very intimidating. But if you're a companion, it's very reassuring. After all, your strength is not to be underestimated."
"Praising me like that won't get you anything, you know, Akabane-kun," he said, the corner of his mouth slightly raised, as if he were very pleased with the compliment.
Felix watched them with a smile, a deceptive smile, it was unknown what he was thinking.
The investigation did not yield any ideal results. Just like the guards who could only come to clean up the mess, the Disciplinary Committee also returned empty-handed this time.
But during this period, he had learned all the intelligence about "Cannibal Candy" and the details of the previous crimes.
But that was all.
Late at night, on his way back to the dormitory.
"Please wait a moment, Kobayashi."
"...Hmm?"
Suddenly, someone called him from behind.
He turned his head and saw a girl with lively, shoulder-length hair and glasses, who looked very intellectual.
Although her appearance was neat and proper, and she seemed to be of noble birth, it was undeniable that, compared to Charlotte and Felix, her impression was a little more plain.
At the same time, she wore the same Disciplinary Committee armband as Felix on her arm. And, she wore the white gloves that symbolized a Night Party participant.
"Is there something you need, Miss Lisette Norden?"
"You know me?"
"Of course. After all, there is someone who is constantly praising his perfect adjutant in my ear."
He was implicitly referring to Felix.
However, the other party had never mentioned her existence. It was Raishin who had told him, because he had found that she gave off a sense of incongruity, even if it was just for a moment.
"Hmph."
She let out a light snort. It was unknown if it was out of shyness or contempt. Her attitude was always quite ambiguous.
He took the initiative to move the topic forward. "And so, what do you need from me?"
"Although I feel a little bad saying this, I still have to say it." After a simple prelude, she said seriously, "Please be careful of Charlotte. Her automaton is a Bandoll (forbidden automaton)."
"A Bandoll?"
"You know about them, right? A Bandoll is an automaton that uses a part of a human body, which violates the ethics of a magician. According to the legends passed down in the Bellow family, in the past, Sigmund devoured humans and burned down towns, committing every evil imaginable. And now, if it doesn't eat meat periodically, it can't maintain its physical body."
"Haha~ your words make it sound like Charlotte is the culprit."
"It's just a suspicion! Because we've already confirmed that 'Cannibal Candy' is a Bandoll."
"Is that so."
He nodded and fell into deep thought.
Just as Lisette thought he had taken her words to heart, he suddenly said, "Um... just asking, you're not deliberately trying to slander Charlotte, are you?"
"...Why?"
"Because Felix is the most popular student in the academy, and you and Charlotte both like him. You're jealous and can't stand each other. And since Felix has always been partial to Charlotte, now that she's being misunderstood, you've come over to slander her..."
"Of course not!"
Lisette glared at him, annoyed. "Is your head filled with only this kind of messy rom-com? I'm talking about a serious topic! Get serious!"
"Don't be so angry."
He waved his hand and said with a hint of meaning, "It doesn't match your intellectual little face at all."
"————!"
Hearing his words, she immediately composed herself, and even looked a little flustered.
"By the way, I also have a question."
"What question?"
She pushed up her glasses, as if not expecting him to ask anything serious.
But—
"When 'Cannibal Candy' was gnawing on its prey, why were you on the scene?"
The sharp question was very piercing.
Her eyes instantly changed. She asked in return, "Are you trying to say that I am 'Cannibal Candy'?"
"No, no, no, how could I?"
He waved his hand and laughed. "But you said the automaton that was devoured was the iron ball wielder. Why would you think that? I'm just curious about that point. After all, from that scene and that face, it was impossible to judge, right?"
"It was obvious to anyone, that signature iron ball..."
"That smashed the feet of the devoured automaton... but under normal circumstances, one would assume the iron ball wielder did it, right? To think that the weapon was used against its owner requires a certain prerequisite, for example... seeing it with one's own eyes, or something?"
"Generally speaking...!"
Lisette desperately tried to keep her voice from trembling and retorted, "No one would want to leave evidence at the scene that could identify them as the culprit! If that was a tool used by 'Cannibal Candy' themselves, then they would have taken it with them when they left!"
"Is that so? But that guy left everything at the scene except for the Magic Circuit."
"But that's not enough to identify the culprit!"
"That's just your wishful thinking, isn't it?"
"Stop picking at my words! I'm innocent!"
He pressed on, step by step, which caused a very strong stress reaction in her.
"Sorry, sorry. Don't be so angry. That intellectual little face of yours... you're losing it again."
"...Tsk."
She clicked her tongue softly, annoyed.
"That's all I have to say," he said, turning his back without any guard. "By the way, Professor Kimberly once said in class, 'It's also boring for an automaton to imitate a human'."
"————!!!"
"Hahaha, don't be nervous. It was just a thought."
His wicked, teasing laugh was incomparably piercing.
(End of Chapter)