Chapter 40 : Bustle

“You got caught up in a fight with the Sarkas cult?”

In the sunlit treatment room, Cled asked with a stern expression.

“…Yes.”

“Why didn’t you call an instructor in a situation like that?”

“They said they’d kill the kidnapped Spirit Masters if I brought an instructor…”

“…Did you really think I couldn’t handle that?”

Come to think of it, this was the first time I’d seen Cled sober.

“You’re not… drinking?”

“I don’t really feel like it.”

It felt strange seeing Cled without his usual red face and bloodshot eyes.

“What was that liquid the man drank?”

“…He drank it and turned into a monster that seemed like a mix of Osteon and Sarkas. I’ve never heard of anything like that.”

Even Cled didn’t know what the liquid was.

“Commander Violet has dispatched Spirit Masters to investigate the corpse. I’ll let you know as soon as we find out.”

“…Alright.”

“By the way…”

He pointed at Carne, who was clinging to him and pulling his hair, and asked, “Why is this happening?”

“Saya, this stretches…!”

“Carne…!”

At Carne’s sudden action, I quickly got up and stopped her.

“Saya mommy!”

At her incomprehensible words, Cled tilted his head.

“Mo… mommy?”

“This, uh… it’s a penalty. A penalty!”

“A penalty…?”

I quickly came up with a plausible lie.

“The loser of a bet has to act like a baby for a day…”

He glared at me suspiciously, but as I pulled Carne away, he eventually looked away.

“I can’t understand. Young people these days…”

“Haha… ha…”

It was embarrassing, but as his disciple, I couldn’t refuse.

…What’s the cheapest alcohol?

Thinking about how to repay him, I sent Cled on his way.

It would take 2-3 days before I could visit Yuri and Luna, so for now, it was just Carne and me in the dormitory.

“Hungry… Hungry!”

The problem was, Carne was acting like a child.

“You just ate, Carne.”

“…Sniff.”

Wait, is she crying again?

I was exhausted from having to comfort her.

Why is this happening…?

I came up with a few hypotheses.

First, the possibility that she was acting.

Considering Carne’s usual behavior, maybe she was pretending to be a baby on purpose…

“It’s hot!”

Carne suddenly tore off the one-piece she was wearing and threw it aside.

First hypothesis canceled.

There was nothing for her to gain by deceiving me.

The more likely hypothesis was the activation of a defense mechanism.

If the caster who brainwashed her had anticipated someone breaking the spell, they might have feared she’d reveal their identity upon returning to normal.

So, if the brainwashing was broken unexpectedly, her memory might have been temporarily erased to prevent her from revealing anything.

Otherwise, it was hard to explain why she was acting like a baby.

Anyway, I can’t let her wander around the academy like this.

I told the academy she was in shock and needed rest.

It was awkward to leave Carne alone and go somewhere.

“…Daengdaengi.”

At my call, Daengdaengi appeared without complaint.

Seeing Daengdaengi summoned in the middle of the room, Carne rushed at it.

“Doggy-!”

“Woof?”

Suddenly hugged by her, Daengdaengi looked at me, confused.

Well, at least Daengdaengi didn’t show any aggression toward Carne.

“…Then, I’ll leave her to you for the morning.”

“Woof? Woof! Woof!”

He seemed to be protesting, but I quickly closed the door and left.

I couldn’t stay with her 24/7, so I decided it was safer to leave her with Daengdaengi, who had human-like intelligence.

…Will it be okay?

Well, it had never harmed anyone other than me.

Except for ripping off Angelica’s panties.

Leaning against the door, I stood blankly in the hallway when I remembered something I’d forgotten.

Wait, what happened to the quest after that?

When Yuri’s heart stopped, the quest was treated as failed because she was presumed dead.

Did the timer indicating the time limit stop as well?

Ding.

…What?

The text in the quest window was distorted, shaking uncontrollably.

I quickly closed the strange window, feeling uneasy, and checked the Chaos level.

[Current Chaos Level: 1.8]

“1.8…!?”

The level had risen dramatically.

At this rate, it wouldn’t be surprising if it reached 2 at any moment.

Is this… okay?

Carne and Yuri.

Did this happen because I changed the fate that one of them was supposed to die?

I grabbed my head, overwhelmed by the chaos.