I Possessed a Character in an Academy Without a Protagonist – Chapter 61

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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‘Ah, damn it…! I’m screwed!’

I jumped up and left the room.

This was bad.

Really bad.

At this rate, the enlightenment was about to be stolen from me.

In the rocky mountain beyond Whist Forest.

The name of the enlightenment hidden there was ‘Vafe’.

It was a weapon that transformed into the optimal form for the user.

In the original work, in Hertlocker’s case, it became a long sword made of black steel from the blade to the handle, which he called ‘Viper’.

Thanks to the simple structure unique to black steel, he could quickly disassemble it with mana, hide it on himself, and then take it out to fight when a battle broke out.

What kind of weapon would it become for me…

‘Get a grip. Now’s not the time for that.’

It wasn’t the time to think about such things.

The important thing was that the map showing the location of Vafe was hidden in this inn.

Hertlocker had also accidentally discovered it and went to find it secretly in the early morning.

Which meant that now, with Hertlocker gone, the possibility of someone else finding that map couldn’t be ruled out.

‘Where was it?’

Let’s try to remember.

Where did I write it was back then?

‘Ah.’

I finally remembered.

I had never described where the box containing the map was hidden.

Instead, I only said it had been washed down by rainwater.

So trying to find it in the first place was an error.

Kwakwang…!

“Ha.”

Looking outside, thunder and lightning were already striking and it was starting to rain a little.

Then there’s no way I can find it inside the inn.

I grabbed a raincoat at my waist and ran down the corridor in a hurry.

“Schlus.”

“…”

Just as I was about to pass the corridor, a low voice called out to me.

At first, I thought it was someone I didn’t know.

“Ainz?”

Because I never imagined Ainz’s tension would be so low.

Ainz was sitting on a chair in the corridor, drinking from a can with his head down.

If someone saw him, they would think he was drinking a can of beer.

It was just chocolate-flavored milk.

“Did I… did I do something wrong?”

“What are you talking about?”

“The flame magic earlier. Should I not have shot it?”

“…”

Ainz seemed to be reproaching himself for what happened earlier.

It was a bit unexpected.

I thought this bastard would sulk in his room and grumble, “I did well! Why are you only scolding me!”

So he knew how to reflect…

I wondered if this was also the effect of the butterfly effect caused by my arrival.

If it was a change in this direction, I welcomed it.

“Ainz.”

“Yeah.”

“Do you remember what I said earlier?”

“With great power comes great responsibility… That?”

“Yes. As a rule, great power should be that much harder to wield. If you swing it recklessly without thinking about the consequences, you’re no different from a mad dog.”

“A mad dog…”

“But as Professor Sergei said, it turned out well in the end. Although we had a hard time because of the forest fire and had to walk all the way here, it’s much better than having casualties. I just have one thing I want to say.”

“What is it?”

“Feel the weight of your power, Ainz. Power doesn’t make you. You possess the power. If you become more composed, you won’t be swayed by your own power.”

In Ainz’s case, he was overly relying on power to prove himself.

He mistakenly thought that displaying strong power was immediately showing his potential as the prodigy of Wiegenschstein.

But the order was wrong.

It’s not that you’re strong because you have great power, but you can wield great power because you’re strong.

If strong power is given to an incompetent person, they will crumble like Ainz in the original work.

“Huh…?”

I thought I conveyed this message quite intuitively.

But Ainz tilted his head as if he didn’t understand.

Stupid bastard…

Hoping for him to awaken during the Whist Forest practice seemed to be too much to ask for.

I hoped he would at least awaken before the final battle.

Ainz’s vast mana would be very useful.

“Then I’ll be going.”

“Where are you going?”

“For a walk.”

“In this weather…?”

Leaving behind the puzzled Ainz, I went outside.

The rain wasn’t very heavy, but muddy water was already flowing on the ground, indicating that soil was gradually being washed down from the mountain.

Then was the box buried somewhere in the mountains and washed down?

Fortunately, looking around, there were hardly any people outside.

Good. At this rate, I can retrieve the box first.

“Ah.”

As soon as I thought that, I spotted the box.

The moment I saw that red, jewelry box-like box, I had a hunch.

That box definitely contained the map.

Its appearance exactly matched the description in the original work.

But the problem was-

“I’m screwed.”

The inside was completely empty.

It meant someone had taken out the map.

Who the hell was it?

Since they were probably someone staying at this inn, there was a high probability it was one of the students.

Should I go back inside and interrogate the students one by one?

“Hmph. Found it.”

As soon as I turned my head, I found the culprit.

More precisely, the culprit’s trail.

Footprints were clearly visible in the mud created by the rain.

From this inn all the way down to the forest.

There was no way someone would enter the forest in this rain, especially when the sun was about to set.

Nine times out of ten, they were probably looking for it after seeing the map.

“This won’t do.”

I clicked my tongue.

The area ahead was a minefield.

The path would continue until the entrance of the forest, so they would keep walking carelessly, but from there, the path would be cut off.

However, if they mistakenly think the animal trails in the forest are paths and keep walking…

Boom.

They would enter the minefield and be horrifically blown to pieces.

“Haa… Damn it. Making people tired.”

I had no intention of letting anyone die in this practice.

Especially if it was a named character like Professor Sergei or Trie, it would be an even bigger problem.

I sighed and entered the forest, following the footprints in the mud.

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“This direction… is correct, right?”

Trie took out the map from her bosom and looked at it.

She hurriedly tried to put it back in before it got wet from the rain, but there were no water droplets falling on the map.

“Huh?”

At some point, the rain had stopped.

Trie pushed back the hood of her raincoat and looked around.

Dense forest here.

Dense forest there too.

To be honest…

“Am I lost?”

She had no idea where she was anymore.

But since she had followed the path all the way, if she went back the opposite way, she should be able to return to the inn.

With that thought, Trie was about to confidently step forward, but-

“Huh? What?!”

She realized that the path on the ground had disappeared at some point.

What? There was definitely a narrow path just now, right?

Trie turned around again, trying to go back the way she came, feeling confused.

Now she couldn’t even tell which direction was behind her.

Well, let’s just move and try to find the path again.

As she thought that and was about to take a step, she finally noticed the large trees that were broken and fallen around her.

Judging by the messy cross-sections, it seemed they had been blown up by an explosion…

It was a mine.

Only a mine could blow up trees like that.

“A m-minefield…?”

Trie fell into a panic.

“Argh! I don’t know! I’ll just run-”

“Stop, Trie.”

“…?!”

At the low voice that rang out, Trie froze.

Trie’s face turned pale and slightly gloomy at the same time as she recognized the voice.

It was good to meet someone when she was lost, but why did it have to be Schlus of all people?

Her dignity as a mentor was at risk of plummeting.

“Schlus! I’ll go that way…”

“Don’t move a single step. You might trigger a mine.”

“Eek?!”

At Schlus’ warning, Trie stiffened again.

Come to think of it, she had heard that there were mines buried in the off-path areas of Whist Forest.

Mines that were buried next to the surrounding mana and thoroughly concealed, making them difficult to detect by ordinary means.

The moment they were triggered, they would explode and turn a person into a rag.

Trie’s face had already turned deathly pale.

“W-what should I do?”

“For now, stay still. I’ll figure out a way.”

Schlus’ voice kept coming from beyond the bushes, far away.

But the direction his voice was coming from and the volume of his voice weren’t changing from before.

That meant Schlus was also staying still in one place.

“Schlus. Could it be that you also came into the minefield…?”

“…That’s right.”

“Aha.”

Then it made sense.

Schlus had also become unable to move an inch.

Knowing that, a chuckle escaped.

“Why are you laughing?”

“Ah. You heard it? You have really sharp ears.”

“To be precise, my ears aren’t sharp, but… Well, let’s say they are.”

“Hm?”

Schlus said something incomprehensible.

“So how do we get out of here?”

“Don’t rush me. Who’s the reason we ended up like this?”

“More importantly, how did you know I was here?”

“I saw the footprints. When I saw you enter the forest, I was worried and followed your trail.”

“Aha…”

It seemed very much like Schlus.

Because Schlus was the kind of guy who would risk his own body to save others.

Even though he ended up trapped with no way out as a result.

“Ah. The sun is setting.”

“…”

The sun began to disappear between the tall green trees.

Along with it, the orange light shining through the tree trunks scattered and spread across the water droplets on the bushes.

It would really get dark now.

If they stayed here overnight, they would catch a cold.

No, a cold would be the least of their worries.

Schlus, whose body wasn’t robust enough, could even get hypothermia.

Thinking that, Trie began to feel a sense of crisis creeping up.

However, a way to break through this situation didn’t come to mind.

“Schlus.”

“Why are you calling me?”

“Are you always like this?”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m asking if you always go around thoughtlessly trying to save people.”

“…”

His answer was a bit delayed.

In fact, there was a different answer she wanted to hear.

That he came to save her knowing it was Trie who was trapped…

She wanted to hear that he came to save her because it was her.

“Yeah. I’m always like this.”

“I thought so…”

But not everything goes the way you want.

Trie smiled bitterly as she straightened her stiff back from standing for a long time.

“But there are exceptions.”

“Like what?”

“Especially important people. For people like that, I tend to push myself.”

“For example?”

“Trie. Someone like you.”

“…?!”

Trie almost fell forward at the unexpected answer.

In a situation where she didn’t know where the mines were, changing her posture had to be avoided as much as possible.

“Trie.”

“Yeah…”

“If we make it out of here safely.”

“Yeah…”

Trie answered, feeling her heart pounding.

Somehow, the atmosphere felt unusual.

If this flow continued, surely…

“Then would you become my comrade?”

“Haa…”

Of course.

Feeling like an idiot for getting her hopes up, Trie let out a deep sigh.

“Comrade? Aren’t we already comrades?”

“I’m not talking about just at school. Whether it’s during vacation or after graduation, I want to be with you, Trie. I need your sword.”

“My sword…”

“Your sword is unrivaled, Trie. No one can dare catch up to your swordsmanship. If you pick up the sword again and devote yourself to training, I believe you can fully reach an even higher level.”

“Ha. How do you know that?”

“That’s…”

Perhaps sensing the chilly atmosphere, Schlus closed his mouth.

Trie’s face, which had been smiling until just now, was now filled with a stiff, expressionless look.

“How do you know if I can reach a higher level when you’re the one learning swordsmanship from me?”

“…”

“I can’t reach it. That’s a different dimension. I’ve decided to give up. I won’t hold a sword anymore. Except when necessary.”

“I need you, Trie.”

“Enough!”

“Trie. Even if you put down the sword and focus on magic, you won’t be able to find your father.”

“…!”

Trie lifted her head sharply.

She had just heard something she couldn’t ignore.

Trie’s face was flushed red with anger.

“You…! What did you just say?!”

“I said you won’t be able to find your father with magic.”

“How do you know that?! Have you reached the end of magic? Have you attained the level of an Archmage?! How dare you assert the limits of magic?!”

“I don’t know the limits of magic, but I know the truth of the world. The dead cannot be brought back to life.”

“What are you talking about-”

“Trie. Your father is dead.”

“…!”

Trie’s expression twisted hideously.

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