CHAPTER 71: INQUIRY

"...I...was just doing my duty as the grand duchess of this kingdom," I humbly responded, creating a visual image. She smiled and stepped back.

Soon, all the teachers were able to restore order while verifying that all the students were indeed present. After half an hour, the principal emerged from the dungeon, seemingly unscathed, save for a few splatters of blood that clearly did not belong to her.

[Mission accomplished.

The Abyss wishes to speak with you, so it has provided the opportunity to communicate with it through a mission.

Skill unlocked: Abyss Gate - Allows the user to create a portal to directly access the Abyss.

Mission objective: (Completed) Cause the death of the Great Black Python and steal its offspring, reward for the mission is a black python egg.]

’So that was the mission...what a fucked up mission.’ I don’t know how this damned system expected me to accomplish such a thing, but at least I gained a new skill.

But going directly to the Abyss doesn’t seem like a good idea, as there’s no guarantee that whatever is there won’t attack me.

The principal approaches me.

"Pandora, can we talk...privately?" I nod as I stand up. The principal gives orders for some teachers to escort the students back, while instructing others to recover the monster’s body.

Soon, she teleports, taking me along with her. Now we’re in her office, and I sit down in the chair, "storing" my wings.

The principal sits in her seat and picks up the same bell, ringing it.

"First, I want to thank you for protecting the students."

"Pandora, I don’t want to offend you, but I’ll ask you some questions to better judge this incident."

’I figured as much.’ I’ve already thought of several questions and answers for this situation. It was obvious that the principal wouldn’t fall for the story that the monster just randomly got furious.

"Pandora, tell me why the monster was chasing you?"

If one were to look closely at the boss’s trail, it would be obvious that it had a specific target, and the only target that could make it move so abnormally was obviously me, who was flying and teleporting around.

"I left my team behind after seeing something important, and then I killed the Class B boss of the dungeon. But below that boss, there was this giant snake." So far, it’s not a lie.

"I did everything to ensure it didn’t focus on anyone else because the others wouldn’t have been able to withstand its attacks." Another truth, as I even took a hit to prevent a group from being hit.

"So you purposely became the target to keep everyone safe?" She questions with a raised eyebrow.

"I became the target on purpose and did everything to keep everyone alive, even at the cost of severely injuring myself." I can’t claim I did this just to keep everyone safe.

If I said "Yes," the bell would ring, signaling that it’s a lie, since I didn’t become the target solely to save everyone, I became the target because I stole from that snake. So I just stated what actually happened.

Yes, I became the target, and yes, I also made an effort to keep them alive. That’s the truth, and that’s all she needs to know.

"...Tell me, what do you think made that monster go out of control?"

"...There are many hypotheses. That monster could have been defending something, or it could have just been angry, or it could have been deliberately provoked by someone." All of these are truths, and I never said it was me.

"..."

"Pandora, could I ask you one last question?"

"Of course, Principal Akari."

"What do you think about that monster after seeing its behavior?"

"Well, I think it was something dangerous and should have been eliminated to prevent further harm." I say as I stand up to leave.

"If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go rest for a bit."

"...You lied, didn’t you?" She says as I get up.

"Do you think I don’t know how to bypass this artifact, Pandora? Tell me, do you know the Black Python? I don’t think so..."

I get slightly nervous at her serious tone.

"The Black Pythons are usually quite inactive, and even when forced to fight, they’re not the type to pursue the target, they just tend to scare the enemy away."

"Pandora, you provoked that snake, didn’t you? You did it to emerge as some kind of heroine who did everything to save your classmates."

"You put your classmates’ lives in danger just to come out of this story as the good one." She accuses in a condemning tone.

"You did something dangerous without caring about the deaths it could cause, just for the fame you would gain by saving everyone."

Okay, I did give a humble response and make it seem like I did everything to save them, but the principal lost this game.

She was wrong about my real motivation. If I were human, that response would probably be correct.

"No, I didn’t do it. I don’t care about that useless fame, I don’t need that worthless merit," She’s surprised by my aggressive tone.

"Do you think I would cause this problem just for some ridiculous merit? Do you think I would risk my life just to get temporary fame? ANSWER ME, DO YOU THINK THAT, PRINCIPAL?"

"Do you think I would risk facing something I know I can’t defeat while trying to save everyone, pushing my body to the limit? That’s ridiculous." The bell never rings.

Because I never did this for fame, but my motivation was undoubtedly as bad as that, I just wanted the thrill it would provide.

I almost got caught. If the principal had mentioned that I stole the egg, I would have lost. It was a risky move, but I see the principal’s line of reasoning.

She thought of me as just a teenager, but that line of thinking doesn’t fit me. To get to my motivations, you have to take into account my instincts as a monster.

Something she doesn’t know. She’ll never be able to reach the same line of reasoning as me, and that’s why she can never unmask me.

While she sees me as human, she’ll never win. She can only sink into doubts and uncertainties while I remain perfectly hidden, just waiting.

"U-Uh..." She’s nervous, looking at me and the bell. She knows that most of my responses were evasive of the original question, which is why she’s suspicious, but this direct response now threw her off.

"What a great principal we have, not even trusting her own students. Or maybe it’s because I’m different from the others? How disappointing, I thought you’d be more objective."

"It seems you’re not much different from the nobles in the end." Seeing how this academy operates on meritocracy, it’s obvious the principal is not in favor of the nobles.

So now that she’s at a disadvantage, I’m trying to turn the tables. She’s not stupid, if I give her a chance now, she might ask a question I can’t answer.

"...I’m leaving. I hope you have a great day." I turn and walk to the door, loving the look of disappointment on her face, the face of someone who’s been wrong in their own ideologies is great.

"..." In the end, she doesn’t apologize. I bet her pride won’t let her. No matter how fair she is, in the end, she’s still human and subject to the same feelings as everyone else.

I was on the verge this time. I need to be more careful. I never imagined the principal would know about the Black Python. I was too impulsive.

If she knows so much about this monster, she probably knows about the eggs, and she’s sure to come to the conclusion that I took the egg. And that’s where she’ll sink into self-doubt.

I think I’ve figured out the kind of person the principal is. She’s someone who tries to be fair and objective, so if she comes to the hypothesis about the egg and tries to question me about it, it would be proof that she doesn’t care about her students.

It would prove that her justice and impartiality are false, and her prejudices outweigh her reason. It doesn’t matter if I took the egg or not. The moment I denied doing it for fame or to hurt the students, that’s when she lost her chance to continue.

Whether in private or in public, she can’t question me about this incident anymore, and this will slowly spread like poison in her heart doubt is a cruel thing.

And it’s precisely the doubt that will make it increasingly difficult for her to limit me. The more she doubts me, the harder it will be for her to question me, because going against me would be the same as proving she’s being prejudiced.

’Doubt shield, a great idea to help me.’

Her first test was truly fair, but from then on, everything she does will no longer be 100% fair. I’ve already been approved as a student, and distrusting me is the same as going against the fair results she so desperately wanted.

Approving me was her only and biggest mistake. As long as I don’t make it obvious, she can’t go against anything that happens because of my fault.

"Pandora, I’ve come to finish healing you." The Saint appears as I was walking through the halls.

I nod as she guides me to a room.

"Is something wrong, Saint?" It’s strange, she should have already healed me 100%, and for someone who’s a saint, it was odd that she took minutes to heal me.

"Y-Yes, your injuries are the problem. They are clearly abnormal. Most were caused by exerting more power than your body can handle...but at a much higher level than it should have been."

The reason for this is the mana from Violet.

"That’s why it took me a while to heal you, I apologize. I should have used a better spell..." She soon starts using another spell, and unlike the previous one, I soon feel much better.

"Perhaps it’s because she’s ill..." The saint mumbles as the magic dissipates.

’She held back when healing me...’ This doesn’t make me very happy, but there’s not much I can do.

"Tomorrow is your class, isn’t it? I’ll look forward to seeing what you can teach. See you tomorrow, Saint Rosaline." I say as I stand up to go to my room.