Villainess and the Stalker - Chapter 31

Chapter 31 : Strange Party Composition 

「So… What in the Helios is with this lineup?」 

The reason for my muttering so soon after arriving at the front gates of the academy’s main building could be understood at a single glance.
Starting with Conrad and me, the other members were the teacher in charge of summoning sorcery, Mirana-sensei, and the teacher in charge of practical sorcery, Norb-sensei. 

Of those people, the lineup was quite normal and understandable for the situation. 

But, there were more students who chose the same option as Conrad. 

First was a certain student who made what could only be described as the biggest blunder in her life during the regular morning assembly… Joze Recall. Next to her was a girl who called Joze an「Insolent Fellow」; it was a girl named L’ane Merisiers. Lastly… it was the empress of this academy herself, Maria De Lino. 

And then, as if to ensure the absolute safety was… 

「… What’s the matter? Is there something on my face?」 

The old man who stood there, acting as if he just happened to be passing by this place, was none other than the headmaster of this academy himself, Nicolaus Elfwood. 

There’s no way anyone would believe that excuse. 

The reason for such a lineup to gather in this place today was for the sake of capturing a demonic beast or a wild beast to become our summon beasts. 

Indeed, it was still within acceptable levels of circumstance if there were one or two teachers escorting us few students. However, it was clearly unusual for the headmaster of the academy himself to accompany us. 

When I looked at Mirana-sensei, the teacher in charge of summoning sorcery’s class, for an explanation, she seemed just as confused. It seemed she hadn’t been informed of this beforehand either. 

Maria and I both had similar discontent looks on our faces as soon as we saw the headmaster’s face. 

Mirana-sensei turned to address us students. 

「Even if this is a lesson, it doesn’t mean that you can easily find a teacher with a free schedule amongst the teaching staff of the academy. We’re always short-handed. I think you might’ve grasped this, but when there’re students who want to capture their own summon beast, we, the teachers, choose to group the students together based on their destination. And today, everyone except for Maria-san will hike to Etma mountain to capture their own summon beast. Maria-san will go along with us for her own reason. That’s it for my explanation… 」 

Well, I understood the gist of her story. 

In short, the teacher took as many students as possible, all of whom had the same destination. 

Even if the place was slightly different, they all took the same path, thus reducing the need for the number of teacher guides. 

But, there was one thing that she didn’t make clear in her explanation. 

So I looked at the person that shouldn’t have been on this trip for an explanation. 

「… I just feel that I need to do an inspection and see the progress of the lesson as this academy headmaster. I need to make sure that there are no problems in this year’s curriculum. I swear, I have no other intentions.」 

The last part of his sentence might have been meant for me. 

The last part of his sentence might have seemed like your everyday sentence for any other person who heard it. 

But for me, it was the same as him saying that he came along as my bodyguard. 

Even if it was just my misunderstanding, it wasn’t like the headmaster was coming along since he expected something would happen… At least, I hoped so. 

Well, I guess I couldn’t do anything about him coming along, as long as he didn’t cause some sort of problem under the impression of protecting me. 

「… Well, everyone might feel nervous since there’s a sudden lesson inspection from the headmaster of our academy. But please don’t worry about it. His inspection will not affect your grade or evaluation. In addition, we don’t need to worry about the threat of powerful monsters with him coming along.」
「… Mirana-sensei, don’t you think that your treatment toward this old man is rather rude?」 

「Oh, you jest. Headmaster is practically the most powerful and skillful sorcerer in the entire academy, after all. I mean, look, the majority of the students here are still first-years in their second term. As of now, you can say that they’re still young buds, the weakest of the weak sorcerers. They’re obviously no match for a powerful demonic beast, which is precisely the reason why we, the teachers, escort them. That’s why I think there’s nothing more reassuring than the most powerful sorcerer of our academy standing at the front to protect these weak children. 」 

「…. Huh, you got a point.」 

It seemed the headmaster was forced to agree with Mirana-sensei’s opinion. 

And he seemed to be delighted with such lofty praise from her. 

It was as if he was dancing on the palm of her hand. What a childish man… 

「… Such an easy, old geezer.」 

Although I turned around to look at Mirana-sensei since I heard her muttering those words, the person herself maintained an innocent look on her face. 

Maybe she muttered those words in a near inaudible voice, but my ears were quite sharp, so I knew that it was her who said those words. 

「Well, it’s time to depart. As I’ve said before, our destination is Etma Mountain. Everyone here should know that it is the habitat of aerial demons such as Wyverns and Wind Eagles, right?」 

I see, in short, everyone gathered in this place today were the ones who decided to catch an aerial demon as their summon beast. 

However, Maria seemed to have a different reason to participate… Could it be that her reason had something to do with an aerial-type demon? 

I could think of various possibilities. Maybe she was interested in the materials one could get from those aerial demons. 

Even so, one thing was clear to me: she would be accompanying us. 

I wished that she would not become a hindrance. Luckily, I could guarantee that wouldn’t be the case when I tried to check her flow of mana. 

However, when I recalled the incident during the regular morning assembly, I couldn’t bring myself to say that the possibility of a problem to arise was zero. 

In fact, she was currently being helped by that noble girl called L’ane, who acted like Maria’s gallant attendant. 

Although Maria didn’t show any reaction to L’ane’s fussiness over her,, I understood from a glance that she was used to receiving that kind of treatment. 

And despite all of that, she didn’t even spare a glance at Joze, the girl who soiled her dress during the regular morning assembly. 

「… That girl must be experiencing so many difficulties lately.」 

Conrad whispered in my ear. 

A strange situation on top of a rather strange lineup. 

I really couldn’t imagine that nothing would happen during this trip. Something was bound to happen. 

「If possible, I want to ask for a change of schedule.」 

「That’s impossible… I mean, we’re in the same boat. Let’s just do our best to keep ourselves away from the female students’ group.」 

「You’re right…」 

Thus, the expedition to search for our summon beasts began.