BXBX NOVEL Chapter 46 – Trouble Instinct (7)
“Get back here, you little brat!”
Dian yelled as Hindrasta leaped off the roof.
“What did I even do wrong?!”
Hindrasta shouted as she hit the ground, rolled a few times, and sprang to her feet.
“I’ll tell you what you did wrong if you come here!”
“Are you insane?!”
Hindrasta used every ounce of her strength to sprint towards the north gate, thoughts racing through her mind.
She had no idea how Dian discovered she was the source of the rumors, but she needed to get out of the academy immediately.
If caught, death was a certainty, but if she ran, she might survive.
Dian had mentioned that the Hero wasn’t present, so even if he came after her, she’d have enough time to escape.
Neither Dian nor that other guy knew any tracking magic, so if she made it to another kingdom, they’d never find her.
If they had the means to find her, they wouldn’t have spent months chasing her during the war.
“I won’t kill you, so stop running!”
Dian’s chilling voice echoed behind her, making Hindrasta regret her past actions.
She had lived quietly for ten years after the war. Why had she caused trouble again?
But how could she ignore the perfect opportunity for mischief when it presented itself?
If that idiot hadn’t been alone with that human woman, and if that foolish Dark Elf hadn’t shown her feelings for Dian right in front of her, she wouldn’t have done it!
It’s not just the thief’s fault for stealing; it’s also the fault of the person who leaves the door open, right?! Exactly!!
But what does that Dark Elf see in such a crazy guy? Unbelievable. Anyway!!
“This is your last chance! If you don’t stop now, I’ll make sure you regret it!”
Dian’s threatening words almost made Hindrasta stop, but she kept running past the north gate and out into the open.
If she continued straight, she’d reach the city through the eastern corner and could blend in with the crowd.
Dian wouldn’t dare drag a pretty, cute student back by her hair in front of witnesses, no matter how crazy he was!
Of course, Dian wasn’t that dumb, and he caught her before she could enter the city.
“Ahhh!”
Hindrasta screamed as Dian suddenly appeared in front of her, teleporting out of nowhere.
She skidded to a halt so abruptly that the ground cracked, tiles rising like lizard scales.
“Help! This professor is trying to assault a student! Please help!”
Hindrasta shouted desperately, but no one came to her aid.
Her attempt to flee far from the academy was now backfiring.
Run away? Surrender? No matter what she chose, Dian was going to beat her.
Terrified, Hindrasta lost her composure and made the worst decision.
She unleashed her aura.
As she gathered all her strength, veins bulged like spiderwebs on her arms and neck.
Her body glowed like a net of radiant energy, her pink twin-tails blazing like molten fire.
Crash! Crash! Crash!
The ground and tiles cracked under the weight of her aura, and her hair flared up like lava.
[I can’t live like this anymore!!!]
Hindrasta’s draconic roar erupted from her human body, sending birds flying from the nearby forest.
Despite her frail appearance, she was a mighty white dragon. If she used her true power, no one could stop her…
Thwack!
“Eek!”
Dian’s finger flicked her forehead, piercing through her aura.
The impact rattled her brain, causing her to stagger.
Without her aura, she would have passed out…
Thwack!
The second flick knocked her out cold.
# # # # # #
About thirty minutes later, we returned to the academy.
“Bwwaaaa!”
Hindrasta’s wailing was incredibly loud as she followed behind me, crying incessantly.
Who told her to stir up trouble? She’s acting like an immature dragon.
At least this will keep her quiet for a while.
Now, I needed to clean up the mess and educate the students on psychological warfare.
“Felemia, can you help me with something?”
“What is it?”
Felemia adjusted her glasses and smiled as I entered the office.
“It’s about Student Sophie. I want to incorporate this into our psychological warfare curriculum.”
“I think I understand. You’re talking about handling rumors, right?”
“Exactly. How did you guess?”
“After doing this for so long, I can read people just by looking into their eyes.”
“I’ll have to keep my eyes closed around you then.”
“There are ways to tell even with closed eyes. So, how do you plan to approach this?”
I shared my ideas with Felemia, and we brainstormed ways to make it more effective.
However, she seemed a bit excessive in her questioning, constantly trying to make eye contact.
When our eyes finally met, I felt a sharp, intangible force try to penetrate my mind but bounce off.
Felemia flinched and stepped back. Ah, she’s trying to use her skills on me.
After that, she never met my eyes again.
# # # # # #
“Professor Ismera, we need to talk.”
As I entered the Head Theoretical Professor’s office, Ismera recoiled like I was carrying a contagious disease, quickly backing away.
“Don’t come in!”
“Excuse me?”
“Speak from there!”
From her reaction, it was clear she had heard some of the rumors.
“I’m planning to gather all the students in the main auditorium for a talk tomorrow. I thought you should know.”
“Tell the headmaster!”
“Understood. I’ve informed you.”
Leaving Ismera’s office, I headed straight to the headmaster’s office. Kirrin greeted me with a bright smile, standing up from her seat.
Normally, you’d expect the elf Ismera and the Dark Elf Kirrin to have reversed reactions.
“Dian! What’s the matter?”
“Headmaster, I plan to gather all the students in the main auditorium tomorrow…”
“Go ahead.”
Kirrin agreed immediately.
“Uh? I haven’t even explained yet.”
“You want to clear up the misunderstanding about this whole situation, right? If that’s the case, I’m all for it.”
Kirrin blushed and lowered her ears, looking as cute as a puppy seeking praise.
The next day, as I had informed Kirrin, all students and faculty were assembled in the main auditorium.
As I stepped onto the stage, the students started murmuring, and I waited for the noise to subside.
“Grrrraaahhh!”
When it didn’t, Orc Brogg let out a fearsome battle cry, chilling everyone to the bone.
The terrifying shout silenced the students immediately, and even some Theoretical Department professors almost fell over in shock.
“I, the Head Combat Professor, am disappointed in you all.”
Once the auditorium was quiet, I began to speak slowly.
“I never imagined you would fall for something like this. All the hard work you’ve put in seems to have been for nothing.”
The students, still shaken by the battle cry, looked at each other in silence.
“Recently, some strange rumors have been circulating. You know what I’m talking about without me having to spell it out.”
I looked around at the students before continuing.
“These rumors were deliberately spread within the academy by the Combat Department as part of a psychological warfare exercise.”
“Gasp…!”
A gasp came from somewhere in the audience.
“You all learned about ‘provocation’ in psychological warfare classes. You there, stand up.”
“Y-yes…!”
A student in the front row stood up nervously when I pointed at him.
“What is provocation?”
“Encouraging others to take action through incitement or manipulation… sir!”
“And what is manipulating public opinion?”
“It’s the act of distorting or spreading false information to sway public opinion for personal or group gain, sir!”
“You understand well!”
The students flinched at my shout.
“Why did you fall for such absurd rumors? I’m disappointed that none of you remembered your psychological warfare lessons and questioned the information. Did you come here to be misled?”
“No, sir!”
“Professor!”
At that moment, a brave student raised their hand.
“I understand what you’ve said so far, but many students saw Professor Dian and the graduating class president together. How do you explain that? Surely that wasn’t all part of this exercise?”
“Of course not. That’s true.”
“Eek! No way!”
A shriek came from somewhere in the crowd.
“I have been teaching advanced courses to Knightley, the top student at the academy. She was the only one who met the rigorous standards for these special lessons, which is why it was kept secret to avoid any perception of favoritism.”
“Advanced courses? You mean the night infiltration, the Brun Plateau wild horse capture, and the troll at the academy gate? Is there proof?”
“The Combat Department professors are the witnesses. Professors Waver, Anna, and Orendi.”
The professors I named stood and confirmed their participation in all the activities, prompting the students to murmur among themselves.
“Do you understand now? You were all deceived. Everything I’ve worked to reform since taking over has been undermined by these baseless rumors.”
The students began to lower their heads in shame, and even Kirrin, standing beside me, bowed her head as if in self-reproach.
“But it’s not too late.”
I slammed the end of a practice sword onto the floor of the stage.
“The instigator who is causing chaos in the academy by spreading these rumors is still active. I, the Head Combat Professor, propose a challenge.”
As the students all turned their eyes to me, I paused before continuing.
“Use what you’ve learned in class to uncover the truth and find the instigator. This will be your mid-term psychological warfare practical. Whoever finds the culprit will receive full marks for the course, excluding the final exam.”
“F-full marks?!”
“But you must provide concrete evidence. I don’t want anyone wrongfully accused. You have until next week. Given the academy’s size and number of students, a week should suffice.”
Felemia was known for her strict grading, and no student had ever scored full marks in psychological warfare. Offering such a reward was a substantial incentive.
As expected, the students buzzed with excitement, talking among themselves and creating a clamor in the auditorium.
The root of the rumors was the ambiguous relationship between Knightley and me. With the Combat Department professors personally clarifying, the rumors would lose credibility.
The students would believe my lie that the rumors were part of a practical exercise. With the enticing reward, they’d be motivated to find the instigator.
No one would suspect Hindrasta, especially since she had already created an alibi for herself. The students didn’t know her true nature, so they wouldn’t recognize her involvement.
Through this exercise, the students would quickly learn to handle situations involving rumors and social disorder. That alone was worth it.
Unlike other combat subjects, I had struggled with how to conduct practical exercises in psychological warfare. This situation turned out to be a perfect opportunity.
“Wait a minute! What are you saying?!”
Knightley’s voice tried to cut through the noise, but it was drowned out by the excited chatter. She’d come to me later if she had more to say.
With the situation mostly handled, I could prepare for my visit to Linus’s house. I was supposed to go tomorrow for the weekend.
But before that, I had one more thing to take care of.
“Why’d you hit me?!”
“Seeing your face pisses me off.”
Hindrasta started crying again after I gave her a good thump on the head outside the auditorium.
Wait a minute… She might run away again while I’m gone…
Should I throw her in the troll cage? But magic doesn’t work well on dragons…
Maybe I should just take her to Linus’s house with me this weekend?
[Note: See pined comment for Chapter 46 illustration]