Chapter 17 - I Became the Daughter of the Academy’s Villain

Chapter 17 17 - Their Sense of Mission Jessie urged a quick escape. Outside the window, doctors peered our way while clutching magic communicators, making calls to who-knows-where. “Hurry up!” Jonah and Leaf aren’t bad people. “I know a place to hide!” But the word "hide" flipped a switch inside me. Skill proficiency. The art of concealment. A stealthy airship not easily found in normal times. Isn't this a golden opportunity to level up my skills? “Hmm... Alright. Leaf would worry too much so let’s say just an hour?” As I proposed a compromise, Jessie’s face contorted. She gave the look of a resolute mother ready to tear into her foolish child with a flying belt swing. At that moment, as her expression took me aback, two nurses approached as the emergency room doors opened. “Now, let’s enjoy some candy until your guardian arrives.” “What flavor is it?” “Strawberry~” “Oknodie! What nonsense are you spouting!” “Now~ Now~, if you stay out late playing with friends, you'll be no use. Your guardian would worry, right?” But I can't trust that guardian. Jessie glared intensely at the nurses then suddenly pressed a button on her wristwatch. Pop-Pop. Delicate sounding darts flew out. The nurses, shocked, lost their strength and slumped down against the hospital bed, falling asleep. “Come here, hurry!” Jessie led the way to the back exit, pulling with urgency. Even the experienced player Oknodie was startled by her bold actions. “Are you perhaps a playable character?” “You’re going to keep spouting weird things? Get in here!” Pushed by Jessie into a laundry cart, we avoided the urgent steps of doctors and nurses. “What was that thing earlier?” “It’s a dart enchanted with sleeping magic. Daddy bought it for me because even an unremarkable nobleman’s daughter could be kidnapped by strange people at any time.” “Wow, it’s for self-defense?” “They’re terribly expensive.” “Would it work on monsters?” “Doubtful? Monsters are usually bigger than animals, so drugs often don’t work on them.” “Tch. Then I don't want it.” If it doesn't work on monsters, it probably won't work on those able to defeat monsters easily, either. [Hiding with a friend in a laundry cart, you've evaded pursuit.] [Hiding Experience +3] [For 1 minute, you distracted the guards by moving the laundry cart.] [Hiding Experience +3] [Stealth Experience +1] [Subterfuge Experience +1] [For 1 minute, you hid inside a promotional costume with a friend, avoiding the guards.] [Hiding Experience +3] [Deception Experience +1] [Walking brazenly past guards while in disguise.] [Deception Experience +3] [Bravery Experience +1] Skill proficiency levels shot up at a terrifying rate, like using a growth booster cash item. “Jessie, you have some nerve.” “Oknodie, you are incredibly strong, huh? I couldn't walk while carrying someone on my back in a costume like that.” “Hehe, it's nothing, really.” When our skills were barely adequate, it seemed like yesterday that we fretted over our small stature, but now that they prove useful, there’s a sense of accomplishment. Regardless of efficiency, a high ability stats are essential. There is reward in diligent training. “Alright, activating the emergency escape pod will get us out of the airship.” Escaping the guards, Jessie and I nearly succeed until someone appeared from the shadows by the escape pod as if waiting. “Have you had your fill of fun, miss?” “Jonah.” An omnipresent butler with a fierce mafia vibe. Jonah Weihemheiser, whom I've been on casual terms with, blocked the exit. * * * Jessie saw it. She noticed Oknodie's expression darken. “Come here, miss. Despite the slight commotion, if you take my hand, this insignificant incident can be simply dismissed as a mere happening.” “I'm sorry, Jessie. I don’t want to trouble the butler.” “No, Oknodie! If you submit to such vile people, your future will only be more miserable!” Once they are five years or older, even children from civilian homes voluntarily register under the International Identification Magic system, which is so popular that they would disguise their names and reapply for the tests just to retake them. Children who can’t receive the magic granted even to orphans in foster care have no other reason than to hide their identities from the world for nefarious purposes. Children used and discarded by criminal organizations for crimes. Pimps who prevent the registration of young girls they intend to sell, exploiting the fact that they won’t be protected by law. Impoverished civilians who do not register their children out of a desire to avoid taxes, pretending not to raise them. Parents rotten to the core, aiming to strip away their child’s rightful privileges for abuse, or to sell them as slaves because they won't be protected by law. Even noble families, which would secretly train such children as their ultimate weapons. ‘Oknodie must be a child from such a noble family!’ Even as a simple child of a minor noble family, Jessie was truly a daughter of nobility. She had heard rumors of the dirty scandals among nobles. The child isn't being raised to become a mistress or concubine. There's no reason to train such a delicate flower in combat to make them strong and agile if they were only intended to be a powerless plaything. They are being transformed into capable talents for entrance into the world's premier academy, to be used according to the family's wishes, manipulated from behind the scenes. A meticulous ploy that controls a person’s life from childhood to adulthood is terrifying. “Oknodie. Children of nobility don’t need to be trained until their hands are blistered. You don’t have to live hard for the sake of others’ goals!” “Jessie. Thank you. Really, I mean it. It's the first time I've had such a young friend.” Tears welled up in Jessie's face. Why was she speaking so weakly? Strong and agile as she was. She could enter the escape pod at any moment if she wished. Suddenly, Jessie understood. The butler with the fearsome gaze. A trained guardian wearing the disguise of a butler. That dangerous figure was watching over them. If Oknodie tried to run, she knew she might escape, but Jessie herself wouldn't be able to. To protect Jessie, Oknodie gave up the idea of escape. Regardless of what the truth was, that is how she accepted it. “So, I’ll tell you honestly.” Instead of opening the capsule's door, Oknodie gently stroked Jessie's head. “I'm going to be enrolled in the academy. Jonah and Leaf have done their utmost to help me. I don't want to waste all that by running away recklessly.” “Are you okay with that, Oknodie...? Because of bad people, you don't live like a child should, and look how rough your hands have become from all the difficult training…” “It’s all I have ever wanted. If I don't enroll in the academy, I’m doomed to a miserable life. I’d never be able to gather food to my heart's content, and my abilities would remain awful.” “I don’t understand... I don’t understand what you’re trying to say, Oknodie…” “All I need to do is graduate from the academy with good grades. Then, everything will be alright.” Oknodie let go of Jessie's hand. She approached the butler who was looking at her somberly and took his hand. “Let's go, Jonah. Leaf must be very worried.” “You caused quite a stir, knowing that, didn’t you?” “I'm sorry. It was meant to be a little game of hide and seek, I didn’t expect the guards to be so inept.” Oknodie didn't ask any questions. Why she hadn't been registered. Why someone wanted her enrolled in the academy. Jonah disclosed nothing, not the unasked questions nor their reasons. Still, they walked hand in hand. Simply informing the guards that it had been innocent child's play, and offering a compensation to those who had sweated over the incident. “Jessie! Your parents are extremely worried. What were you doing here alone?” Max, a friend of the same age, rushed over and asked. Jessie, wiping her eyes with her sleeve, responded. “Max. I’ve made up my mind.” “About what? Becoming a runaway?” “I’m going to help Oknodie, that poor child.” Jessie told Max the story about Oknodie. Determination glinted in Max’s eyes, just like it had appeared in Jessie’s. “Doesn’t your sister attend the academy?” “Yes.” “Let's talk to her when it's vacation. I'll talk to my brother too.” A helpless child with nowhere to turn. Heading back into the darkness of noble society, an unregistered, unprotected by law, legally non-existent individual. Once Oknodie is enrolled, may they become a strength to this child. “I never complained even when our youngest pulled my hair. I can't stand to see such a kind child suffer at the hands of wicked adults!” “Right. Well said, Max. We will find a way to save Oknodie with our own strength. We may lack the power now, but we will find a way. One day, for sure!” “This is unfair. Oknodie deserves a better life than this.” “What admirable children.” Jessie turned around with a start, gasping in fright, half-expecting that sinister butler to have returned. But, luckily, it wasn't him. A handsome young man stood there, with a fine mustache and a kindly smile that suited him. “There are more people than just you who want to help Oknodie. I am one of them.” “Who are you, sir?” “The leader of the Ticket Hunters. A black market dealer. In the underworld, they often call me Giselle the Omnitrader.” Children of the baron's family. Max Montblanc of the Montblanc family. Jessie Mille-Feuille of the Millefiori family. While the individuals may not seem remarkable, their siblings, having been educated under fine parents, boasted exceptional talents. Some were already attending or aiming to enroll seriously in Gift Academy, considered the world’s finest educational institution. Jessie Mille-Feuille’s sister, Jessica, would be in her second year at the academy this year. Max Montblanc’s brother, Maximus, was aiming for admission this very year. They had both the motivation and background necessary to leverage in aiding Oknodie. “Waiting for Jessica's next vacation might take too long. And there’s no guarantee Maximus will certainly get in.” “Even so...” “Is there another way to contact your sister?” “I can help with that. I can support Maximus's enrollment. I can also deliver your handwritten letters to Jessica.” The expressions of the children brightened up. Giselle's smile grew warmer as well, but his eyes did not share its warmth. ‘This is merely one small step in a larger scheme. It’s hardly enough to save Oknodie.’ Nonetheless, it was certainly one step that might prove helpful in the future. Giselle thought that this step, this opening created by a girl named Jessie’s courageous move, this connection forged through seizing the opportunity, would not be in vain. No matter what it took, it would not go to waste. Author's Note As always, our third person’s perspective on the harsh life of Miss Oknodie.