Vol 9 Chapter 23: In the Laboratory  【Part 2】

“Allen-senpai, may I ask a question?”

Sitting next to Will, the beautiful girl with shoulder-length, incredibly pale green and brown hair — Val — raised her hand.

I nodded.

“Of course. Ah, but I’m not forcing you. All of you possess incredible talent, and you have your own paths to walk. If you’re saying you can’t stick around for a whole year to help…”

“…You’re mistaken. We would be delighted to help Teto-senpai. My brother, Yuri, Suse, and I had originally agreed to stay at the Academy for at least three years anyway. We wanted to stay for the same three-year period as you and Lidia-senpai.”

Teto and her group were somewhat similar, but those two — Val and Will — had a bad habit of wanting to trace the same footsteps that Lidia and I had taken.

I scratched my cheek, offering a word of caution.

“Val… I’ve told you this time and time again, but there is absolutely no need to imitate us, alright? Especially Lidia — do not imitate her. Before anyone knew what was happening, she ended up as a personal guard to Her Highness Princess Cheryl. And who knows how long even that will last… I highly doubt she’ll end up inheriting the Linstar Ducal Family, but I honestly have no idea how high up she’s going to climb.”

“Yes. I understand. I never even… considered the possibility of catching up to you. We are simply prepared to put forth our utmost effort so as not to tarnish the good names of Allen-senpai and Lidia-senpai.”

“Senpai, I share my sister’s sentiments.”

“…Will, you too?”

“My Lord, My Lord! I too, I too — oww!”

I shot another wind bullet square into the forehead of Suse, who had floated up into the air.

I issued a warning to the teary-eyed girl.

“…Suse, this is the second time, you know? What did I say about calling me ‘My Lord’ in this room?”

“Y-Yes, sir! I-It’s prohibited! Yes!! …But I-I feel the same way! Way!! I-I’ll do my best!!! To start with, should I try throwing down with a demon or something??”

“………Teto, Yen, Gil. Do you have anything to say about your absolute failure to educate your kouhai properly?”

“I consider these to be entirely baseless, false accusations!”

“H-Huh… A-Are we really at fault here… well…”

“I’m pretty sure seventy-five percent of this is your fault, Allen-senpai!”

I rubbed my temples while absently petting Atra. The little girl was practically radiating musical notes (“♪”) of joy on my lap.

…Damn you, Gil. You actually meant that seventy-five percent, didn’t you?

I turned the conversation over to my final, sole remaining hope — the boy with glasses, pale orange hair, and a gentle expression.

“Yuri, surely you understand where I’m coming from, right?”

“Yes, Allen-san. You just need me to lend a hand in getting the laboratory on track, while simultaneously stopping Teto-senpai from squandering all our funds, preventing Val and Will from going overboard, and keeping Suse from running wild, right?”

“Ahhh… Yuri, thank you.”

I was so moved I almost teared up.

Thank god… Common sense hasn’t completely died out in this world after all!

Feeling deeply relieved from the bottom of my heart, I reached for my black tea — only to find Teto had already poured me a fresh, warm cup.

Expressing my gratitude, I patted the witch-girl’s hat a few times.

“So, that’s how it is, Teto. Ah, maybe I should call you ‘Professor’ Teto now? Please dedicate yourself and do your best.”

“………Senpai, you really are a brute. I already knew that, though! Yeah! I totally knew that!! But staking the title of ‘Star Demon’ that you bestowed upon me, I, Teto Tiherina, though I lack talent, will fulfill my duties to the utmost of my ability.”

“Excellent. Well, don’t push yourself too hard — just do your best within reason. Now then, Val, sorry to keep you waiting. What was your question?”

“Yes.”

The beautiful elf-dwarf half-breed girl looked at me.

And then, she quietly spoke.

“………A ‘troublesome matter’ as you call it, Allen-senpai — one that requires the complete attention of the Professor and Anko-sama… It’s something someone like me cannot even begin to imagine. I cannot imagine it, but…”

Val leveled a dignified, piercing gaze at me.

What lay behind it was an unyielding resolve.

“Telling us to ‘stay uninvolved’ is far too cruel… Even as we are, every single one of us owes you and Lidia-senpai a debt of gratitude — a debt so massive it can never truly be repaid.”

“Val, I appreciate you feeling that way, but Lidia and I haven’t really done anything all that impressive. If you truly feel that indebted, then pay it forward to Teto and the younger kouhai.”

“I will. …However, however! I… I want to repay you as well…”

“Allen-san, I actually agree with her on this matter.”

“…Yuri.”

The bespectacled boy smiled at me, his posture completely straight.

Just as I thought, behind that smile was an unyielding resolve.

Suse flew over and circled to my back.

“Alle — … A-Allen-senpai, I think you’ve already lost! Lost!! I’ve gotten pretty strong, you know? Want to test me??”

“………Sigh. Suse, if it’s hard for you to talk like that, you can revert your speech pattern just for now.”

“As expected of My Lord♪ So — who is our opponent this time??”

“………I can’t say. I’d like you to infer the severity from that alone. If I tell you, as I said before, there’s no backing out. To put it bluntly, you might die.”

I seriously threatened my kouhai.

Surely, no matter how gutsy these kids were, saying this would make them flinch.

However, Teto and the older ones just made “Ahhh…” kind of faces, and the witch-girl pulled down the brim of her hat. Gil even turned his back, his shoulders shaking with silent laughter. …Oho.

Val, Will, and Suse just stared blankly.

“Die”

“You say?”

“??? And what of it?”

“………No, come on, at least be a little scared. I’m begging you here.”

“Fufu. Allen-sa — ahem. Senpai, you say the funniest things.”

“If we were terrified of ‘death,’ we wouldn’t have been able to stay in a laboratory like this.”

“In fact, we’ve teetered on the edge of life and death countless times — … Ah, no good. My body is trembling. The sound of that ill-omened bird’s wings, the flapping sound!!! Noooooo!!!!”

The twins wore enlightened smiles, while the half-fairy girl, apparently recalling some traumatic memory, flailed about in midair.

Combining levitation and wind magic, I lowered her onto the sofa and set Atra — who seemed quite interested in Suse’s wings — on her.

“Alright, Atra. Keep Suse pinned down for me.”

“Nn♪”

“!? A-My Lord! Wh-What are you making this little girl do to me, what is she —!”

Atra effortlessly captured Suse.

Resting my cheek in my hand, I directed my gaze at Yuri — who, aside from me, was supposed to be the only person with common sense here.

“…Whenever something happened in the laboratory, we were nearly killed countless times by Lidia-senpai’s ‘discipline.’ Plus, we’ve survived our fair share of deadly scenarios. Though it was mostly by force.”

“………”

I silently bowed my head.

Ah, yeah, ‘death’ probably isn’t much of a threat to these kids anymore.

But even so, is it really okay to drag them into this?

If possible, I’d like to resolve this somehow using just the adults — me, Lidia, and Gil — but…

Teto pulled the brim of her hat down again. Her voice was completely serious.

“—From the battle in the Water Capital, I fully understand the terrifying nature of our enemy this time. They are undoubtedly opponents who pose a lethal threat. But that is exactly why! I cannot agree with your decision to allow only Gil to participate. We know perfectly well that our abilities are inferior to the ‘Sword Princess’ Ducal Lady Lidia Linstar and ‘The Radiant Sky’ Princess Cheryl Wayne Wright. Even so… I… we want to help you.”

“…Teto.”

I felt genuinely moved by the sight of my younger kouhai — seeing just how much she’d grown.

…That timid, constantly trembling girl has really come a long way.

I smiled and conveyed my gratitude.

“Thank you. Just hearing those words is more than enough. And of course, your actual abilities aren’t particularly inferior to Gil’s. But… Gil is an ‘Orgren.’ He needs to establish a certain level of military achievements. Plus, he’s simply going to act as my ‘shield.'”

“Ah, you really are ruthless, aren’t you!”

Silence…

Except for Gil, the kouhai remained completely silent. While being hugged tightly by Atra, Suse muttered, “…My Lord, I believe that was a bad move.”

Teto pulled the brim of her hat down even further and spoke up.

“………Understood.”

“Thank goodness. I believed that you, of all people, would understand, Teto —”

“Yes! I understand completely!! Everyone, are you ready!!!”

“Understood!!!!!!!”

“!?”

Along with Teto’s shout, seven magic circles suddenly materialized across the laboratory’s ceiling, walls, and floor.

Th-This is… a strategic military-grade binding formula!?!! Oh, crap!!!

………Huh?

Wait, wasn’t there one extra voice just now —

On the ceiling, Anko-san’s signature teleportation magic circle appeared. In an instant, my head was forcefully pushed down into the cushions.

A gentle, yet overwhelmingly terrifying amount of brute strength. Crap!

Right by my ear, a girl’s sweet, coaxing voice whispered.

“I’ve been waiting for this moment!!! After you completely, utterly… left me out of the loop!!! Come on, Witch-Girl Senpai, let’s get this started!!! Court is now in session for the Kouhai Tribunal!”