Volume 2 Chapter 2.2
Convenient Alliances, Invitations
Mixed with Poisons Part 2
Translator : PolterGlast
"W-What's wrong,
Nina-chan!? You look kind of pale, you know?"
In the crowded
cafeteria after 6:00 p.m., Emma, sitting opposite her, stared at her with
concern.
It seemed that
emotional distress was beginning to show on her face.
It had only been a few
weeks since she had risked her life fighting Bennett, and now she was about to
be drawn into a battle between two monsters, Casper and Karen.
She saw a glimpse of
this at yesterday's meeting, but Karen Ashby would show no mercy to anyone she
considered an enemy. No matter how mere a formality the alliance might be, she
now had a reason to go after Nina.
She wondered if Jin
had a plan to successfully maneuver around and find out the identity of the
<Shepherd's Dog> even in such a situation.
Besides, there was a
vague uneasiness about the act itself. If Casper were not the <shepherd's
dog>, wouldn't that mean that they were deceiving an innocent person?
─There is no point in thinking too much about it.
For the time being,
Nina decided to ignore the swirling doubts and put on an indifferent
expression.
"I'm just a
little sleep-deprived, that's all. Everything is fine."
"I see, that's
great!"
"But I feel much
better after talking to you, Emma-san."
Those were words that
Nina said from her heart for the first time in a long time.
At Heiberg Academy,
where everyone only thinks about deceiving and kicking others down the road,
there are few students as pure and innocent as Emma.
Just like the
<legendary fraudster> Rusty Yellowkid Wale once had Jin by his side, the
fraudsters may crave the presence of someone they can be with without having to
calculate anything.
"But you know,
I'm worried that you two are going to go down more and more dangerous paths
...... Hey Nina-chan, can I ask you one question?"
"What is
it?"
"Why did you
decide to fight Bennett-kun back then?"
"You were there
too, weren't you, Emma-san? Bennett-san was doing terrible things to the
students who were participating in the tournament. I just couldn't let it
go."
"But you know, if
you hadn't wanted to fight Bennett-kun in the first place, you wouldn't have
been able to uncover such a secret, would you?"
"That's
......."
It was a sharp
question that she had not expected. Nina hesitated as to how she should answer
the question.
Nina and Jin's real
objective was to identify the <shepherd's dog> who was mixed up in the
group of those who were exempted from the entrance examinations. If Bennett was
the shepherd dog who knew the school's secrets, they planned to interrogate him
and extract information from him.
However, even if Emma
were her friend, she would not be able to tell her the truth.
"Perhaps we were
indeed too rash. We just thought we could get a head start on the competition
by taking down one of the entrance exam exemption groups early on. ......"
"Be careful from
now on, okay? I don't want Nina-chan and Jin-kun to be in danger."
"Yes. I'll be
more careful from no-......"
She could not finish
her sentence.
Behind Nina, there was
a horrendous sound as if something was being crushed.
After seeing Emma
stiffen before her eyes, Nina looked back in the direction of the sound as
slowly as a machine that has run out of oil.
A dark-haired girl
with the air of a predator was standing with her arms crossed.
At her feet was the
wreckage of a wooden table that had been cut in half. A whispered voice from
somewhere, "Impossible, she smashed it with just a kick......", was
soon engulfed by the silence.
"Alright, attention.
Everyone, let me ask you a question."
Karen Ashby, one of
the students exempted from the entrance exam, spoke up in a clear voice.
"I know Nina
Stingray is in this dormitory. Raise your hand if you know where she is right
now- ......-oh? There you are."
Her fiery red eyes
meet Nina's head-on.
─Don't tell me she's already heard about the alliance!?
Alarms were ringing in
her head.
She is coming
toward me. This situation is not something I expected at all. Warning. We haven't prepared any strategies yet.
Warning. Warning. Warning.
While being stiffened
in the face of the dire situation, Karen sat down on the table in front of her
and looked down at her from above.
"What a scary
glare you have on your face. If we fight here, it will be a problem for
everyone, you know."
"...... I see you
have some common sense. By the way, what can I help you with?"
"I have something
important to discuss."
Karen's mouth, with
protruding teeth, was distorted into a vicious smile.
"Come to my room,
Nina Stingray."
◇
─What do I do, what do I do, what do I do......
Nina was desperately
fighting the urge to run away as she followed Karen's back on the path leading
to her dormitory.
Nina had teamed up
with her accomplice, Jin, to fight a number of psychics, but only after
carefully gathering information and making preparations to ensure a win. There
was nothing she could do in a situation like this, where she had no
countermeasures or even mental preparations.
She had left her small
transceiver in her room before dinner, and she was too far away from the men's
dormitory where Jin was staying to communicate with him.
In other words, Nina
could not ask for help from Jin right now.
"Okay, here we
are."
Opening the heavy
door, the two entered the dormitory.
Perhaps it is because
of the financial resources of the Heiberg School, which is the best school for
training students in the country, there are a total of 18 student dormitories
at the Heiberg School, three for each of the boys and girls in each grade.
Although many students must have dropped out after three years, the upper
management is probably not so bothered with such calculations.
The first girls'
dormitory she was taken to looked exactly the same as the third girls'
dormitory where Nina resides. Not only the exterior, but even the interior
seems to have been beautifully replicated.
The only difference
was the air that filled the interior.
If anything, this
dormitory is generally desolate.
Everyone was looking
at Nina and Karen who had entered through the front door with hostile eyes, and
there was no sign of friendly banter among the students.
"Ah, are you
surprised at the atmosphere in this dorm?"
"It's as if we're
in the military or in prison."
"There are so
many people here who, until recently, were all excited and forgotten their
purpose. They were talking about the latest perfume trends, or how they liked
the look of some guy's face, and so on ...... It was all so stupid.
So, I went ahead and
gave a few of them a good beating and the color of their eyes changed. Isn't
this exactly what people who want to become members of the <White
Knights> are supposed to be like?"
"...... Yes, I
couldn't agree more."
According to
information that Jin mentioned some time ago, students in the 1st girls'
dormitory where Karen resides are more active in <duels> than students in
other dormitories, and the average number of points possessed by each member of
the dormitory is relatively high.
For better or worse,
Karen's belligerent presence probably has an effect on them.
"Come in, this is
my room."
The first thing she
saw when she opened the door was a dark-haired girl dressed in a maid's
uniform.
Her large round
glasses and heavy bangs gave her an unapproachable air. The girl escorted the
stunned Nina to a leather sofa.
"M-Maid? Why in
this place......?"
Karen sat down on the
sofa facing Nina and stared at her as if she had been asked a rude question.
"I'm sure it's
not that unusual for someone who grew up in a respectable household. Stingray,
there must have been a few of them in your family as well."
"Y-Yeah, but
......"
"Don't worry,
she's a legitimate student at the Heiberg Academy. She even has some useful
psychic abilities. ...... Come, go ahead and introduce yourself."
Following her master's
instruction, the girl lightly lifted her frilly skirt and bowed her head.
"My name is Satya
Rodel. I have been serving the Ashby family as a maid since I was a
child."
Satya - was this the
girl whom Casper had tried to lay his hands on, and Karen's best friend?
She is reserved and
lacking in expression, and she is quite a different type of girl from Nina.
Nina couldn't help but be amazed at the sheer lack of moderation in the man
named Casper.
"Satya, bring tea
for our guest."
"Already done,
Miss."
"Hmm, as expected
of you."
With perfect timing, a
porcelain cup filled with tea was placed in front of Nina's eyes. It was so
sophisticated that one could tell at first glance that it was expensive.
In the corner of the
room, a large number of shipping crates were piled up. On the shelves by the
wall, dishes, detergents, tea cakes, perfumes, and other items were arranged
according to a certain order. One could only assume that she had taken the
trouble to bring her favorite items from home.
"Stingray, sugar
cubes?"
"Ah, just one,
please."
"Already put it
in."
─S-So competent .......
After years of
following Karen, who never knows what she might do, Satya's abilities are
already on par with those of a first-class maid. It's hard to imagine from
Karen's appearance as she sits ungracefully with her legs up on the table, but
the Ashby family must be quite the millionaires.
For the time being,
Nina felt at ease and decided to sip her tea.
The mellow aroma
tickled her nose. The amber-colored surface of the water glistened in the light,
reflecting the story that was hidden inside. When she first took a little bit
into her mouth, the tingling spiciness and deep-seated smell of the sea
attacked the mucous membranes of her mouth and nose mercilessly─.
"...... Uuu.
W-What the heck is this!?"
"It's today's
creative tea, Stingray-sama. I heard
that you like seafood, so I added some extract from herring entrails as a
secret ingredient, as well as a few spices imported from the East to enhance
the flavor."
"The whole
arrangement is backfiring on me......!"
"My bad,
Stingray. Satya has a bad habit of overdoing the service and serving creative
teas that are forcefully twisted to suit the tastes of the customers. In
addition, her taste buds are lightly faulty, so if one is unlucky, this is what
happens."
"...... This is
just harassment. Please replace it with regular tea!"
"Ha?"
The calm atmosphere
quickly turned cold.
Karen turned her
ferocious eyes on Nina, like a hungry predator.
"Satya took the
trouble to brew a cup of creative tea for you. Just because it doesn't suit
your taste buds a little, don't tell me you can't finish it?"
Looking sideways at
the maid who stood there with a blank expression on her face, Karen released an
air of anger toward Nina.
Nina clicked her
tongue inwardly, thinking that she had been caught off guard.
What she saw in front
of her was a veritable monster.
A genuine combat
fanatic who has earned the most points among first-year students and has
destroyed numerous students in <duel>. These types are always looking for
an excuse to pick a fight.
Moreover, Satya, the
maid, also has psychic abilities.
Nina is nothing more
than a rat thrown into a nest of monsters.
If they change their
minds even a little, she will be preyed upon in an instant.
"......
Phew."
Nina put her cup on
the table and let out a small sigh.
─The same goes for me, I'm a monster who can't be
touched.
In order to continue
to play the role of <Queen of Calamity>, she couldn't afford to back down
here.
"Is that supposed
to be a threat, Karen-san? Or is it a declaration of war? For my part, I would
prefer the latter."
"That provocative
eyes ...... looks like you don't know the taste of defeat."
"At least, I
don't think you're going to be the one to enlighten me."
"...... Would you
like to try? Right here, right now."
The sensation of
clashing gazes sending out bluish-white sparks and twisting through time and
space. Nina felt as though she might run out of oxygen at any moment, but she
couldn't look away.
She had to keep a
smile on her face, even when Karen arrogantly lay her back with legs
outstretched on the sofa.
"....... Hmmph. I
guess I'll have to pass."
Karen smiled wryly and
plopped her legs down from the table, sitting up properly.
"Sorry for
testing you, Stingray. I wanted to see if you would be a suitable ally for
me."
"What a bad
taste, Karen-sama."
"Come on, don't
say that. Aren't you glad you got to show off your creative tea after a long
time?"
Nina's eyes widened as
the story advanced before her eyes on its own.
"...... An
alliance, you say?"
She never expected that Karen, who seemed to
be a lone wolf, would come to her with such a proposal. What kind of trap could
she be hiding behind?
─We have to be suspicious of everyone who approaches
us.
Nina recalled again
what Jin had said to her.
"I want to
graduate from this school at the top of my class and become a member of the
<White Knights>. That's why I have no intention of abiding by the
cease-fire agreement that the instructor told us about yesterday. I'm going to
aggressively crush any group that gets in my way, even if they are exempt from
the entrance exam."
"And your first
target will be Casper-san, is that correct?"
"That's right. I
hate those kind of nasty bastards the most. Don't you think he would be a good
target to destroy first?"
"But why did you
go to the trouble of allying yourself with me?"
"I want to
uncover his psychic abilities."
In Karen's ferocious
eyes, there was a glint of icy intelligence.
"I heard about
it. That idiot asked you to be his ally, didn't he? Then it's just perfect. You
can be my spy, Stingray."
Karen is more than
just a combat fanatic.
She would not give in
to her impulses and take a reckless gamble. Since there is an uncertainty that
Casper might be hiding his psychic ability, she is cautious enough to
neutralize it first.
The fact that she knew
about the alliance they had just formed showed that her information-gathering
skills were also quite good.
Well, there is a
possibility that Casper himself telling her about it.
"We must not
disclose our alliance to anyone so that Casper will not know what we are up to.
Well, you can at least abide by these conditions, can't you?"
"Assuming you do
find out about Casper-san's psychic abilities, what are you going to do
afterwards?"
"I'm going to
fight him, of course. After I thoroughly crush him, I'll give you a percentage
of the points, will that suffice?"
Nina put her hand on
her chin and pretended to ponder.
In any case, it would
be against Nina Stingray's image to simply accept others' requests. So, she
decided to try to provoke her once.
"You are quite
cautious, I see. Are you that afraid of him?"
"Don't ask me
something ridiculous, Stingray. It is not brave to bring uncertainty into the
battlefield. That is just something a fool would do."
Nina felt a distinct
shiver.
─ - There is no opening for this person.
Besides, Karen
essentially didn't seem to trust anyone. She used to be the same, so she kind
of understands.
"...... By the
way, when is the deadline for the answer?"
"Five o'clock
tomorrow morning. If you are willing to form an alliance, come to the woods
behind the girls' dormitory."
"What are you
going to do if I refuse the alliance?"
"Ha, are you
really asking me that?" Karen looked downward at her cup of creative tea,
which she had just finished drinking, and smiled with her canine teeth bared.
"I'm going to grind you down first, instead of that idiot."
◆
"Uuu. .......
What do I do, Jin?"
When she snuck out of
the dormitory after bedtime and came to the gym, Nina, who had been waiting for
Jin ahead of time, came crying to him.
Since she is still in
her school uniform, does that mean that she stayed here after school and never
went back to the dormitory?
"...... Alright,
so can you tell me what happened first?"
When told that Nina
was being threatened to become a spy, Jin laughed as if he had heard a
brilliant joke.
"I see, they
initiated it themselves."
"I-Is it
strange?"
"I've been
thinking about it ever since Casper proposed the alliance. I thought that if we
were going to get close to Karen, who was at odds with him, the best thing to
do would be to tell her that you would be her spy. I was trying to think of
several ways to make the proposal without degrading your dignity, but this
saved me a lot of trouble."
"Y-You're not
going to tell me to accept her offer, are you?"
"Why wouldn't I?
An opportunity like this doesn't come around very often."
"B-But..."
Nina looked anxiously at her accomplice. "if Casper finds out about this,
we're going to be in big trouble......!"
"You are still
too naive. That's not the only thing we need to be cautious about. You have to
find out whether Karen is a <shepherd's dog> or not."
"Ugh.......... My
head is starting to spin......"
"All right, let's
sort things out."
Jin held up his index
finger and began to explain.
"First of all,
there are prerequisites. To uncover the secrets hidden by the school, we are in
pursuit of the <shepherd's dogs> who are spies for the school's
headmaster. The most likely candidates are Casper, Karen, and the others who
have been exempted from the entrance examinations.
However, to uncover
more information, we have to get close to them. It would be too risky to just
grab them one by one and interrogate them.
That's why we beat
Bennett in a spectacular way, involving a number of students, and we became
influential people whom the school had to mark. This way, the <shepherd's
dog> would contact us to find out whether we were a threat to the school or
not."
"You mean Casper
and Karen?"
"Most likely.
Therefore, you need to deepen your relationship with them and cunningly wait
for them to reveal their tails to you.
Tell Casper that you
will form an alliance to keep Karen in check, but behind the scenes, you will
also work with Karen to report information about Casper's psychic abilities.
Then, at the same time, you will search for evidence that the two of them are
<shepherd's dog> ......"
It's a subject that
makes one cower one's feet even as one speaks of it.
Naturally, Nina had a
pale expression on her face, but there was an involuntary smile on her mouth.
Her heart was pounding despite the situation.
Well, even if she were
to be told about it, she probably wouldn't admit it.
"Nina. What we
are going to do from now on is a fraud of the highest degree of difficulty. Our
targets are two monsters. If either of us is caught lying, it will be the end
of our lives. If either of us is suspected of being a danger to the school,
it's game over. We'll end up like my father, tortured to death. ......
Honestly, I've never done a job this difficult before either."
"Do you think we
have a chance of winning?"
"Of course."
With a look of sincere
enjoyment on his face, Jin continued.
"I'll write the
script. And you'll play the role. We'll win the trust of these monsters and
steal their information without anyone noticing... Don't worry, we can do
it."
"......You really
are out of your mind."
"Haha, why are
you saying that now? It's a mutual thing, is it not?"
The jet black and
azure blue eyes caught each other head-on.
There was no need for
further discussion. With two fraudsters and a big, fascinating job in front of
them, the answers converged into one.
Nina exhaled in
anticipation, and her light-colored lips twisted viciously.
End of Chapter 2
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