That’s something I can’t reveal.
I see. So, it’s not yet the time to know.
From the speaker’s perspective, such phrasing feels perfectly logical and natural. But from the listener’s viewpoint, it could feel maddening, as if one might cough up blood from frustration.
But what if this dialogue carried a particular ‘setting’?
A divine apostle.
A being sent down with an extraordinary mission.
When framed this way, doesn’t the tone change completely?
Where does the mystique surrounding the Phoenix come from?
Because they are a divine apostle!
Why is their combat ability seemingly veiled, yet they don’t feel particularly threatened in battle?
Because they’re concealing their strength!
Then why would someone with such power refrain from stepping forward?
Because revealing that power would trigger something utterly catastrophic!
This way, I could easily keep my identity hidden. Even if someone grew suspicious and tried to pry, the members of the Old School Building wouldn’t bother digging into all the details.
“I trust you, Phoenix.”
Especially Yunia—she trusted me even more.
“I also came here with a mission, and part of that mission aligns with yours, Phoenix.”
“Miss Yunia?”
“Sorry. I’ve kept it hidden until now, but I might have come to the Academy with a similar—or perhaps the same—purpose as you.”
This was unexpected.
“My Master gave me a command—to find a ‘hero’ at the Academy to prepare for a potential apocalypse threatening humanity’s future.”
Yunia tells the story of how she came to the Academy, not during the first semester of her first year, but towards the end of her first year.
But why is she talking about it now?
“You don’t have to go this far to protect me, Miss Yunia. If anything goes wrong, you could get caught up in it too.”
She was doing this to protect me.
“It’s fine. Although our paths and understanding differ, we walk the same road and share the same destination within this Academy.”
“That is, to prevent the apocalypse…”
“And to find the hero who can stop it.”
Ludmila and Evangeline exchanged glances and then turned to Yunia, who nodded firmly.
“Yes. My master also told me this: If I study diligently at the Academy and reach a certain level, I’ll discover who you truly are.”
“Miss Yunia’s master… Are you referring to the person who taught you about non-attribute mana?”
“Yes, Miss Ludmila. Not only non-attribute mana, but they were the one who guided me on the path of magic. I knew they were no ordinary person, but…”
Yunia extended her hand toward me.
“Their words bear a similar nuance to what Phoenix says. That’s why I suspected that perhaps other mentors or beings might have sent their own arrangements here.”
“Phoenix, do you know anything about Yunia’s master?”
“Should I be honest?”
“Yes.”
“I do.”
I couldn’t deny it.
“But I can’t reveal it. It’s not my place to disclose…”
“I understand.”
Yunia clenched her fists and nodded resolutely.
“My guess is that the ‘level’ my master referred to corresponds to ‘S-rank.’ Once I reach that level, I might uncover something about their true identity.”
“You don’t know exactly what that is yet, do you?”
“Correct. Not yet.”
Yunia glanced at me, crossed her arms to form an ‘X,’ and shook her head vigorously.
“No spoilers, Phoenix. Promise me. Otherwise, you might get trapped in it.”
“Got it.”
When Yunia reaches S-rank, the [Grey Witch] will personally come to the Academy.
“Then, Phoenix, which god sent you on your mission? Could it be—”
“Please keep this a secret. Otherwise, it could be considered blasphemy.”
Evangeline seemed to catch on slightly, but I decided to be honest.
“It’s not the Goddess.”
“…!”
“And that’s part of why I can’t share the full truth.”
Even though the Church of the Goddess isn’t particularly harsh in persecuting heretics, acknowledging a different god in a world where the Goddess exists was undoubtedly risky.
“But rest assured. The god I follow isn’t in the wrong. From the Church of the Goddess’s perspective, they might view it as heresy.”
“The Church… of the Goddess, you say?”
“Yes. The Church.”
I deliberately emphasized the word ‘Church’.
Ludmila, Evangeline, and even Yunia were bound to feel a storm of thoughts swirling in their minds.
Who could the Church label as a heretical god?
Had Phoenix been brainwashed by some otherworldly being claiming divinity?
Or was there truly another god we were unaware of?
“If it’s hard to believe, I’ll put it this way: I’m a divine apostle of the Sun God.”
“The Sun God?”
“Let’s just say that. Or think of it as a remnant belief system like the ‘Spirit Faith,’ which has long since fallen out of practice.”
“You mean the [shamans] in the northern snowy regions and the southern deserts?”
“…Ah, I see now. So this ‘god’ isn’t the Goddess, but rather the Sun God or perhaps some kind of natural spirit. Is that the right understanding?”
“You’ve got it, Miss Evangeline.”
I just had to avoid mentioning it was a Demon God.
“My knowledge from this god doesn’t perfectly align with what Miss Yunia’s master observed. But they share a similar essence. On the surface, you could call them S-rank ‘entities’ running amok in the Middle World.”
“Entities.”
“Yes, Miss Ludmila. We’re training to confront such beings.”
“Excuse me…”
Evangeline cautiously raised her hand.
“Next time, if you have such a mission, can you start by telling us that first?”
“Why?”
“Because I brought up money first without mentioning any of that!”
Evangeline blushed, clearly embarrassed.
Though the sequence was reversed, it seemed she felt a little ashamed about bringing up monetary compensation first when the matter concerned the survival of humanity.
“Alright, alright. But I don’t think your attitude was wrong, Miss Evangeline.”
“What?”
“Didn’t I say so during the Academy entrance ceremony? Why I came to the Academy.”
It was something I had yelled out in front of the entire student body during the ceremony, and these people had clearly heard about it.
“Are you referring to your harem?”
“Yes.”
“Wasn’t that just a cover for a delinquent playboy act?”
“Do you really think that, Miss Ludmila?”
“…It was a cover, wasn’t it?”
Ludmila smiled and said with certainty.
“You may be pursuing a harem, but you’re not going to go after 50 or 100 people, are you?”
“Ahem.”
“…Are you?”
“That would be a bit excessive. Maybe 17… no, at most 20. Or—wait.”
I did a quick calculation in my head.
17.
7.
And those related to them, or potentially others to be added later.
“How about compromising with around 30?”
“Not three, but thirty?!”
“It’s not that strange. In some worlds, Academy professors even build harems of 30 students in their department!”
It might be a high school setting with magic instructors, but a harem is still a harem.
“Just because I have a divine mission doesn’t mean I’m giving up my dreams and hopes. I’m not going to abandon such selfish human desires to live solely for others or risk my life for some lofty mission without compensation.”
If I had to categorize myself, I’d probably be considered an “MZ Hero”.
“If I save humanity, I deserve to live in luxury. If I share something with others, shouldn’t I also receive something in return?”
I saved humanity.
It’s only natural to expect a proportional ‘reward’.
“Imagine if, hypothetically, Miss Evangeline became the hero who saved humanity but the Di Ercy Empire was destroyed as a result.”
“That’s a scenario I’d rather not even imagine.”
“But what if humanity was saved and the Di Ercy Empire grew prosperous and powerful with immense wealth and resources? What if that was the reward for saving humanity and a way to escape the Silverstar Group’s financial dominance?”
“…”
“The same goes for me.”
“Are you saying a harem is your reward?”
“Not exactly a reward, but more that it would be a shame to end things as mere comrades with those who fought alongside me to save humanity. Now, is that explanation enough to satisfy you all?”
The initial distrust in their gazes was now gradually replaced by a semblance of understanding.
“Now then, let’s talk about how to enter the Old Library. Oh, and don’t ask where it is—you’ll find out soon enough.”
“That’s part of the divine arrangement too, right? Got it. So, what’s the method?”
“You need to become spiritual beings.”
“…Spiritual beings?”
“Yes. Specifically, etheric beings.”
I reached out toward Yunia, placing both hands on the crown of her head.
“By extracting your consciousness from your body, your soul separates and acts independently.”
“…Is that even possible?”
“It is. Because it’s me.”
It wasn’t something possible solely as the Phoenix.
This was magic achievable by the person I inhabited, ‘Regif Habsderk’.
If the necromancy in this world leaned toward dark magic, this method was more aligned with ether and spirit magic. That was the main distinction.
“Miss Yunia, you trust me, right?”
“I do.”
“Even if something goes wrong, I’ll take responsibility.”
“I trust you.”
Yunia visibly relaxed and closed her eyes.
“Then…”
I gripped the crown of Yunia’s head and sharply pulled upward with all my strength.
Swoosh!
With a sound like liquid being violently displaced, something emerged from the top of Yunia’s head.
[…Huh?]
A spirit resembling Yunia.
That spirit—
“KYAAAA!!”
“So that’s why you said swimsuits were necessary…”
—Was completely naked.
