The Tale of Gerald Vader, the Heretic Knightโs Rampage Through Another World
โStill, everything here is delicious, isnโt it?โ
Eliza murmured this repeatedly, her red hair swaying happily as she stuffed her face with spaghetti Bolognese.
Apart from her slightly sharp gaze and old-fashioned way of speaking, she looked like nothing more than a cute little girl.
If I hadnโt known any better, I might have instinctively ruffled her hair.
Well, her true form is actually a woman in her thirtiesโฆ or rather, a woman of a certain age (?).
Moreover, even that is just her own claim, so her actual age was never revealed even within the game.
To begin with, thereโs no way a โnojaโ loli heroine could actually be in her thirties.
I couldnโt bear such a painfulโฆ terrifying truth.
This one must surely be over 100 years old.
In fact, I hope thatโs the case.
That said, her acting as a little girl feels a bit too natural, but if I were to say that out loud, Iโd be headed straight for a โDeath Endโ right this instant.
Still, after we finished introducing ourselves, weโve been having a pretty pleasant meal together.
It seems she just wants to get along normally with us as a classmate.
At the very least, she isnโt doing anything to create a tense atmosphere.
โOh my, Eliza. You have some sauce on your cheek.โ
โHmmโฆ my apologies.โ
Unaware of my inner thoughts, Nora wipes the meat sauce off Elizaโs cheek with a napkin.
She seems to have completely fallen under the spell of Elizaโs cuteness.
โHeheโฆ I bet this is exactly what it would be like if we had a daughter of our ownโฆโ
Muttering such nonsense, Nora gazes at Eliza eating with a smug grin.
That aside, who exactly is included in โusโ and โweโ?
Or rather, I feel like the only one sheโs glancing at is meโor is that just my imagination?
I get a chill down my spine, so I look away.
Just then, I spotted Klaus and Joshua standing in line at the order counter.
It seems theyโve become good friends, just like in the main story.
From this distance, I canโt hear what theyโre saying over the din of the cafeteria, but I could see Klaus giving a wry smile.
Heโs such a softieโI wonder if heโs just listening to Joshua brag about how popular he is.
Damn it, I want to escape this stomach-churning situation and join in on some silly guy talk tooโฆ!
โSpeaking of which, where are you from, Eliza?โ
โI was born in the Arsenia region. Do you know the Tortilla Parish?โ
โOf course. Tortilla is famous for its olives, so Iโm quite familiar with it.โ
โOh, you know it well!โ
Nora and Eliza seem to hit it off; theyโre chatting away happily.
At first, Nora looked puzzled by Elizaโs unique way of speakingโโnojaโฆ?โโbut she seems to have gotten used to it now.
As for Twina, after somehow dealing with her sworn enemy, the carrot, sheโs now digging into her hamburger, muttering, โYumโฆ yumโฆโ
Of course, she hasnโt heard a single word of their conversation.
Yeah, yeah, thatโs just the kind of person she is.
That way of being true to your desiresโor maybe just doing things at your own paceโmakes you someone I can trust.
ใโ
โโBy the way, have you heard this rumor?โ
โA rumor, you say?โ
After a brief chat.
Suddenly, Eliza lowered her voice and brought up the topic.
As if in agreement, Nora leaned closer to her and also began to speak in a whisper.
โI, too, just caught wind of it recently.โ
Saying that, she cast a quick glance in my direction.
It seems sheโs addressing me as well.
She continued in a hushed tone.
โIt seems a demon has slipped into this academy.โ
โโโ!โ
In the next instant, the expressions of everyone gathered around the table turned tense.
Twina also stopped eating and stared at Eliza.
โA demon, you say?โ
Though Nora reacted to the word โdemon,โ she didnโt seem to grasp its meaning, tilting her head in puzzlement.
โIโm pretty sure they explained before the exam that โeven if a demon were to slip in, weโd find out immediately, so itโs pointless,โ right?โ
โYeah, that is correct.โ
As Eliza and Nora said, it was impossible for demons or demonic beings to enroll in the Knight Academy while pretending to be human.
To begin with, there is an entrance exam to get into the academy.
This is not only to gauge the studentsโ abilities but also a mechanism to weed out any demons or demonic beings attempting to sneak in.
For example, the magic power measurement.
This test not only measures the amount of magic power but can also detect whether the magic contains any miasma.
There are also so-called โtaboo questionsโ in the written exams designed to expose the lack of ethics and characteristic thought patterns common to demons and demonic beings.
Theyโve set up layer upon layer of traps.
So, is it absolutely impossible to sneak a demon into the academy?
Unfortunately, the answer to that question is โno.โ
โI see. So there are those who turned into demons after enrolling?โ
โMost likely, yes.โ
Eliza smirked and looked at me.
โYou arrived at that conclusion in an instant. As expected of a Special Class.โ
โItโs a logical conclusion. Besides, youโre a Special Class too, arenโt you?โ
To begin with, a hypothesis of this level is something anyone could figure out with a little thought.
If theyโre guaranteed to be weeded out during the entrance exams, they can just make contact after enrollment.
In reality, since almost all the students live in the dorms, thatโs difficultโฆ but itโs by no means impossible.
For example, they could time it to coincide with a trip homeโthere are plenty of ways to do it.
Well, in my case, thanks to the future Iโve seen, Iโm a bit more familiar with the existence of โdemons,โ of course.
โSo, Eliza, do you know who that Demon is?โ
Perhaps realizing the gravity of the situation, Nora asked Eliza with a serious expression.
But Eliza slowly shook her head.
โIโm afraid not. What Iโve heard is merely a rumor. I donโt know who it is.โ
โI seeโฆ Even if we canโt catch them ourselves, I wish we could at least tell one of the instructorsโฆโ
โEven if itโs just a rumor, I doubt the instructors are just sitting idly by. Still, itโs better for us to be cautious, isnโt it?โ
With that, Eliza concluded her remarksโฆ I seeโฆ I see.
Unlike Eliza and Nora, who looked grave, my heart felt as bright as if a ray of light had shone through.
This is exactly what it means to have a revelation.
The direct cause of my death ending was the demonic terror attack triggered by a demon who infiltrated the academy during the dungeon training.
But thereโs a high probability that demon is already lurking within the academy.
In that case, I just need to eliminate it beforehand.
Itโs a very simple logic.
Of course, since that demon is living the life of an ordinary student, I canโt just go and beat the crap out of them out of the blue, and I donโt know if that would completely eliminate the death flagโฆ but itโs still worth considering.
โEliza, youโre a good person. Iโm counting on you from now on.โ
I leaned forward without thinking and squeezed her small hand tightly with both of mine.
โโฆ!?โ
โโฆ!?โ
โHuh!? U-um, nice to meet you, I guess?โ
It must have been an unexpected move for Eliza; her eyes widened in surprise, but she remained still, letting me do as I pleased.
But none of that matters.
Now that Iโve got her, Iโd better make haste.
As soon as I get back to my room, Iโve got to start planning how to eliminate that demonโฆ!!