I Possessed a Character in an Academy Without a Protagonist – Chapter 67

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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“A letter from Selene!”

Erica exclaimed as she searched through the mailbox.

The letter she had been impatiently waiting for had arrived at that moment.

Selene was the daughter of a lower noble family that was a branch of the Lichtenburg family.

Since Erica couldn’t monitor Schlus Hainkel while attending Battle Magic class, she had asked Selene to send reports, and as requested, a letter had arrived even during the practice.

“There probably won’t be anything special…”

Schlus was always thorough and didn’t even reveal his emotions through his expressions.

There definitely wouldn’t be any significant report.

Nevertheless, Erica became all smiles at the thought of hearing news about Schlus after a long time.

“Urgent breaking news. Sending it via falcon express to arrive as quickly as possible. Tonight, that is, on the first night of the practice, Schlus had a nosebleed and then… What?”

Erica’s eyes widened as she was leisurely sipping tea, and she ended up spitting the tea on the floor.

He had a nosebleed and then vomited thick blood?

What the heck?

“Schlus only said it was a chronic illness but didn’t explain in detail. The judgment is up to you, Lady Erica…”

Tiny cookies kept entering Erica’s mouth as she read the letter.

It seemed she needed something sweet in her mouth to calm down.

The attendant watching from behind her just sighed deeply and thought, ‘It’s starting again.’

Once Erica entered that state, she would eat at least a whole box of cookies before stopping.

“It’s the same as what I saw last time…”

Of course, last time, she hadn’t directly seen him spitting blood.

The blood smeared on the floor.

And the haggard state of Schlus was all she saw.

But this letter described in detail how Schlus vomited blood, his complexion quickly deteriorated, and he was carried away while being supported.

Schlus had said it was a chronic illness with his own mouth.

It probably wasn’t a lie.

If it was a chronic condition he obtained after selling his lifespan.

“Could it be mana energy erosion?”

Certain areas of Whist Forest had quite a high concentration of mana energy.

So Erica had suspected mana energy erosion, but after reading to the end of the letter, she concluded it wasn’t that.

Because Professor Sergei himself had said no residual mana energy was detected.

“Schlus probably didn’t want to show this to others either…”

There was no benefit in letting others know the fact that his lifespan had been shortened.

So Schlus must have made every effort to somehow avoid revealing this symptom of vomiting blood.

Last time, when I discovered it, it was because I had intruded into his single room in the dormitory on my own.

But this time, it was in front of numerous students.

“It must be gradually worsening.”

It must be because he could no longer control it.

Schlus’ end was approaching.

That meant there wasn’t much time left.

At this rate, he would sacrifice himself to save others again.

Then Schlus would die as a hero once more.

“I can’t let that happen!”

Erica, who shouted that, slowly read the last part of the letter.

Erica’s pupils dilated greatly.

There was an unbelievable sentence written there.

“Schlus has a large quantity of mana energy antidote…?”

Mana energy antidote.

If going to Whist Forest with a high concentration of mana energy, it was a preparation one would sufficiently bring along.

Of course, if it was a quantity of one or two bottles.

But if it was a quantity of ten bottles, the story changed.

It was as if he had known about the mana energy overflow in advance and prepared to save people.

If not that…

“Ha! This crazy bastard!”

Either he planned to artificially cause a mana energy overflow.

Erica found the latter a bit more plausible.

Because in an extreme situation like a mana energy overflow, if he had a large quantity of mana energy antidote, there would be countless ways to heroically sacrifice himself.

Thinking that way, she began to suspect that the recent incidents like the Magic Day terror and Henderson’s dormitory intrusion might have been orchestrated by Schlus.

No, that shouldn’t be…

It had been verified by Chairwoman Alexia, Sergei, and Professor Ludwig.

“But I still need to check!”

“Ouch?”

“Ah, sorry.”

The moment Erica got up and turned around, she bumped into the attendant who was bringing a basket of cookies.

Erica apologized perfunctorily and quickly ran out of the room.

Every minute and second was urgent.

“To the Imperial Academy!”

“Oh…”

Erica shouted as she got into the carriage after leaving the house.

The coachman was about to say that Erica needed to be accompanied by an attendant to go out-

“What are you doing? Hurry up!”

“Yes. Understood.”

He sighed and started the carriage.

Anyway, even if a servant pointed it out here, Erica wouldn’t listen.

It just so happened that since the head of the household was absent, Erica was practically the ruler in this mansion.

It didn’t take long to reach the Imperial Academy by taking the noble priority road.

As soon as they arrived, Erica jumped out of the carriage and instantly disappeared inside the main gate.

The coachman watching this sighed deeply.

“Ah, Lady Erica. Hello…”

“Hello hello! Nice to see you!”

“…?”

Usually, she would politely respond to the classmates who spoke to her like this.

But now, she was in such a hurry that she didn’t have the leisure to do so.

Erica, who quickly arrived at the dormitory, went up the stairs and stood in front of a door.

-Iris von dem Flechette

That was what was written on the nameplate of the door.

Knock knock knock!

“Iris! Are you there?”

“Hmm…? Erica?”

“You’re there! Then open up! Quick! I’m in a hurry!”

“If it’s the bathroom, there’s a public bathroom…”

“No, not that kind of hurry!”

A sigh was heard from inside.

Soon, the sound of staggering footsteps approached, and the door creaked open.

Erica, who peeked inside, couldn’t help but be a bit surprised.

Iris’ state was different from usual.

“What? Were you studying?”

“Well, um…”

Iris turned her head and answered as if embarrassed.

She was wearing a loose T-shirt and short pants instead of her usual nun’s attire.

And even glasses.

Her impression looked completely different from usual.

“I’m embarrassed to be seen by others. Come in quickly.”

“Oh! Sorry!”

Erica hurriedly entered.

Even when they were young, she rarely saw Iris in this state.

Unexpected things happen when you visit without notice.

Erica slightly regretted not staying in the dormitory instead of commuting.

“So what’s the matter?”

“I’d like you to look at a future for me!”

“A future?”

Iris stretched her head back and made a strange expression.

It was good that she believed her words about having foresight, but…

Shr never thought Erica would come and ask her like this to fulfill her selfish desires.

“I’m sorry, Erica. I decided to only use this ability to save people. To make money or harm someone-”

“No no! It’s not like that! It’s about Schlus!”

“Schlus?”

Only then did Iris’ expression change to one filled with curiosity.

Erica felt a bit of loneliness and jealousy at the same time.

It seemed Iris had never shown such interest in anyone other than Schlus.

“You might already know this, but… Schlus actually has an illness.”

“Illness? What kind of illness?”

“I don’t know. But it’s certain that it’s an illness that won’t allow him to live long. Just from what I’ve confirmed so far, Schlus has vomited blood and collapsed twice.”

“Blood…?!”

“So I suspect that Schlus might have sold his lifespan to a demon and gained power… Well, that’s a story without evidence, so let’s move on. This time, Schlus, who went to Whist Forest, is suspicious. Very.”

“Suspicious in what way?”

“That’s difficult to say… Anyway, he’s suspicious. So I’d like you to look at Schlus’ future right now.”

To explain how she found out Schlus had a large quantity of mana energy antidote, she would have had to explain about Selene.

It was obvious Iris wouldn’t like acts like planting a spy in another class, so Erica decided to keep quiet.

“Suspicious means he might be in danger again, right?”

“Yeah yeah. That’s right.”

“I’m sorry. My foresight doesn’t show the future just because I want it to.”

“Then how can you see it?”

“I don’t know that either. There’s no identified regularity, so for now, I have no choice but to judge it as random.”

“Haa…”

Erica was a bit disappointed in Iris’ foresight for not being able to see the future at will.

Then should she stay in Iris’ dormitory until the future was seen?

She was pondering such things when-

“Huh?”

“What is it?”

“I see it. The future.”

Iris stared into the void with empty pupils.

This was foresight!

Erica, feeling a bit of admiration, grabbed Iris’ hand.

“What do you see? What? Huh?”

“Can you be quiet for a bit…? If I can’t concentrate, it’ll get cut off.”

“Ah! Oh! Sorry!”

Erica backed away and shut her mouth tight.

She stayed still without moving even a fingertip, trying not to make the slightest noise.

It was a lie that it would get cut off if she couldn’t concentrate.

Iris, who glanced at Erica with narrowed eyes and smiled, looked again at the scenery shown by her foresight.

“A carriage is coming back.”

“…”

“It’s the carriage that went to the practice. The students taking Battle Magic are getting off.”

“…”

“Oh?”

Iris’ expression suddenly hardened.

Seeing this, Erica couldn’t bear to keep her mouth shut any longer, itching to speak.

“What is it? What did you see?”

“A coffin… A coffin was brought down by Professor Sergei, Ainz, and a green-haired student. My foresight ended here.”

“Ah! Did it get cut off because of me?”

Erica reproached herself while tearing at her hair.

But the foresight didn’t get cut off due to Erica’s interruption.

It was just that this future was shown up to this point.

“The one who died is Schlus, right?”

“…”

Iris couldn’t answer Erica’s question.

It wasn’t at a stage where she could say for certain yet.

Because she hadn’t seen the coffin open to look inside.

But it was true that Schlus was not seen in that procession.

And if an emergency situation occurred to the point of causing a death, Schlus was someone who would readily sacrifice himself along with Professor Sergei.

But Professor Sergei was alive, so naturally, the one who died…

“Should we chase after them?”

“We can’t do that. Even if we start now, we’ll be late…”

Iris bit her lip.

The future seen through foresight was not absolute.

It could sufficiently change, which she had confirmed several times recently.

But not this time.

Because to change the future, at least the person who knew that future had to intervene.

But Schlus, who knew nothing, was in Whist Forest, and they were here at the Imperial Academy.

The future wouldn’t change.

“We can only pray. Pray that it’s an empty coffin.”

Iris had no choice but to helplessly accept a future where someone died.

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