Rumors (6)

Elodie and I soared into the sky and landed on the roof of a building.

From above, I could see at a glance which students were being controlled and which weren't. The expressions of the unaffected students clearly showed their bewilderment.

......Still, there are a lot of students being controlled. They identified where I was and started to enter this building. In other words, this isn't a place we can stay for long.

"Frondier, you've finally turned the entire academy into your enemies?"

"Finally, huh?"

It's not like I planned this.

"Just kidding."

Elodie said as she looked down at the students below the building.

"...I see familiar faces."

"You remember them."

Elodie nodded at my words.

Elodie was with me during the cabin incident, after all. She knows Serf's ability.

Elodie asked, "Is Serf Daniel alive?"

"......I don't know."

The ability controlling the students right now is definitely Serf's. I just heard his voice over the broadcast.

But it doesn't make sense. Of course, I haven't seen Serf's face yet, and I still don't think he's alive.

......Maybe I just don't want to believe it. The divine bow 'Khryselakatos' never misses its mark.

"I fought him once before, and he's a real pain in the ass. Knocking him out doesn't work."

Elodie muttered. In fact, those controlled by Serf cannot be knocked out. To be precise, they are already knocked out. The people involved probably feel like they're wandering in a dream.

Then, a strange thought suddenly occurred to me, and I asked, "Come to think of it, you're fine. If you were an enemy, I would be really scared."

Of course, there were a few other students who were in their right minds besides Elodie. Was Elodie just lucky enough to avoid it?

"......"

But then, Elodie suddenly fell silent. Her mouth opened and closed repeatedly as if she couldn't decide what to say. For some reason, her ears seemed to be red.

Elodie then said with difficulty, "......I, um, I'm one of the people involved in the rumor."

"Huh?"

"The person spreading the rumor about you is also handing out Serf's business card. Since the 'Indus' name is credible, I guess they gave out a bunch of cards to one person."

"......Oh, so the person who received the card would give them to their friends or acquaintances to try to make the rumor they heard more convincing. That's how the number of people who received the card grew exponentially."

Elodie nodded.

"That's why the people involved in the rumor don't receive the card. The students who are trying to spread the rumor and the students who want to know the truth are different."

Interesting rumors are entertaining for students in and of themselves, so they want to spread them.

From their perspective, the later the truth of the rumor is revealed, the better. Once it's revealed, the fun is over.

That's why business cards cannot be received by the parties involved, because it can reveal the truth of the rumor.

But.

"Ah, so you know too. What kind of rumors are going around right now. Hey, you have no idea how much trouble I've been in because of that, that you and I were dating,"

Fwoosh-

Flames burst out in front of me as I spoke. I was two steps away, but the eerie heat touched my skin.

Elodie's eyes flashed.

"It's just a rumor, so it'll be over today."

"Right."

Why are you angry? You and I feel the same way.

But Elodie muttered something with her eyes downcast.

"Well, it's fine if the other stories spread, as long as that's not one of them. Because it's true."

"Huh?"

Just then, I heard the sound of running feet coming from the entrance leading to the rooftop.

I furrowed my brow.

"Are the brainwashed kids already here?"

"Probably."

Elodie nodded.

"Frondier, do you know where Serf is?"

"Yeah."

"Then find him. I'll handle the students somehow."

I nodded.

My immediate destination is the broadcasting room. That's where that bastard Serf can broadcast from.

It seems that Serf and Gregory want to kill me.

Considering they went through all this trouble to set up this elaborate operation. They wouldn't have run away after causing all this chaos. They'd have to kill me.

But how do I get to the broadcasting room from this rooftop? I can't go through the rooftop door since the students are coming up.

"Don't worry about that, just go. The broadcasting building is right there if you just land on the ground and run west."

Elodie told me as she gathered her mana.

Hm, by landing, she means I should jump off here?

I stood at the edge of the building and looked down. This was, hm, a five-story building, I think.

It's great that I've gained Elodie's respect, but I wish she knew that my abilities have a lot of conditions attached. Well, she can't know that.

Right, this time I'll use Mjlnir,

That's what I was thinking when I saw someone casting magic on the ground in the distance.

That pure white silhouette that was hard to miss even from this distance.

It was Aten.

Ice Magic: Formula One

Range, duration

Emergency escape

A long ice slide was created, connecting the rooftop to the spot where Aten was.

"What, you were waiting for Aten. I was wondering why you were just standing there. I don't know how much you know."

Elodie complained.

Hm, I'll just let that one go.

I stood on the slide. It was cold since it was ice, but I could handle it.

"I'll go then, Elodie! Be careful!"

"Hurry up and go! And watch out for the teachers! Since they haven't been responding, there's a high chance that someone's brainwashing them too!"

It was a valid point. I nodded and slid my body down the slide, pushing myself along the slope with my arms.

"Woooah~"

"Can't you go quietly?!"