I Got a Fake Job at the Academy

Chapter 692: Lukewarm Water and Cold Ice (3)

"If you mean sister, you're talking about Marias. It's surprising that she participated in the war."

"She didn't come because of the war. Sister is..."

From Casey's reaction, Rudger immediately understood what had happened to Marias.

"She's being brainwashed."

Marias Selmore must have ultimately fallen victim to Salesin's power and was being controlled according to his will.

"For someone who realized it late, you came faster than expected. How did you get here?"

Rudger was surprised that Casey had reached his location so quickly.

"Who do you think I am? I can move anywhere water flows."

Casey Selmore is a colour mage who controls water.

Bretus has countless waterways, and vast amounts of water flow beneath the ground.

The waterways that others had to detour around or leap over were, in other words, nothing more than personal passages that only Casey could use.

As a result, Casey had traveled up the waterways and reached the inner castle in one go.

The technique of concealing her presence and using water to distort light to hide her body also played a part in her secret infiltration.

"So you came to ask for help. From me, whom the people of the world call the Demon King?"

Rudger deliberately emphasized that he was a villain, but it didn't work on Casey.

"The religious order that branded you as the Demon King brainwashed my sister. To stop that, shouldn't I grab even the Demon King's hand?"

Casey's gaze turned toward Surna, who stood beside Rudger.

"Or grab the demon's hand."

"You've changed. Casey Selmore."

"Everyone changes. That's what it means to be human."

Rudger shook his head as if he had lost.

"If you didn't come to fight me, I have no intention of being hostile either. Rather, if the brainwashed Marias Selmore is our enemy, then for now we're comrades."

"Don't get the wrong idea. That doesn't mean I truly trust you as real comrades."

Casey shot out sharp words, unable to get along nicely even in this situation.

"W-wait a minute, Casey!"

Betty tried to stop Casey when she sensed this, but Rudger didn't mind.

"You seem worried about your sister."

"..."

Casey, hit right on the mark, closed her mouth.

"You say you dislike your sister, but you still care for her as family."

"What's wrong with that? Yes, I know. It's ridiculous for a troublemaker like me to suddenly talk about worrying about family."

"No. It's not ridiculous."

When Rudger stated this so firmly, Casey looked at him with surprise.

"There's nothing more admirable than caring for family."

"You..."

"However, while it's harsh to say to someone who came to request help, we don't have the capacity to help you right now. Rather, we're in a position where we need your help. The battlefield is flowing unfavorably for us."

Casey also knew this wasn't a lie.

From what she had confirmed on her way here, the difference in troop numbers was overwhelming.

It wasn't a fight between an adult and a child, but rather a giant versus a dwarf.

The reason they had managed to buy time somehow was thanks to the exceptional skills of those who followed Rudger.

However, just as one hand cannot block several hands.

While his comrades were fighting hard right now, they couldn't stop the uninvited guests from reaching this castle.

"Then..."

"You have to do it. Casey Selmore."

"Me? Are you telling me to stop my sister?"

"Can't you do it?"

"Did you forget? My sister is an ice mage. She has the worst compatibility with me, who controls water."

No matter how much water Casey brought, if Marias froze it all with cold air, that would be the end.

Even increasing the amount so the water wouldn't freeze easily was useless.

When Marias got serious, she could create icebergs even in the middle of a stormy sea.

Just looking at what Marias had shown when she visited the kingdom with Rudger was enough to infer this.

She had frozen all the nearby sea, paralyzing the shipping routes where fishing boats needed to move.

Against such a Marias, should she who could only control water should step forward?

This was no different from pushing her into defeat.

"You just say the compatibility is bad, but the difference in skill shouldn't be so great that you'd definitely lose."

"At our level, you should know that such compatibility alone is enough to determine victory or defeat."

"Right. And at our level, you also know that in actual combat, victory or defeat depends on all sorts of various factors."

"..."

To Casey, who was left speechless, Rudger said:

"That said, I won't tell you to fight recklessly. After all, the opponent is ultimately a colour mage. You are also a colour mage. The way of fighting would be difficult to judge by the common sense of ordinary mages."

"Is there another way?"

"Considering Marias' skills, it would be difficult to rely on external factors like artifacts. In the end, what's important is that you yourself change."

"What am I supposed to change?"

"You control water. Then let me ask you. What exactly is water?"

"What? Well, water is... just water?"

If we take a scientific perspective, water is a collection of hydrogen and oxygen.

Casey instinctively knew that Rudger wasn't asking such a simple thing.

"Then what exactly is ice?"

"Ice is..."

"When water freezes and takes on a solid form. That's ice. Then is ice ultimately different from water?"

"...The essence is the same."

"Right. In the end, the essence is the same. You and your sister are, in a way, handling the same power. Do you think there's really compatibility or hierarchy in that power?"

In a way, this was absurd sophistry.

It wasn't the way of thinking a mage, who should be armed with rationality and reason, should have.

But if one wasn't an ordinary mage, this was also a story worth considering.

Casey seemed to have felt something and fell into thought, pondering Rudger's words.

Rudger didn't rush Casey.

He would only give a bit of advice; the realization had to be grasped by herself.

Realizations given by others are nothing more than insubstantial illusions.

"Right. In the end, it's me who has to face off with my sister here."

"I'm glad you seem to understand well."

"Ha. I guess being a teacher wasn't for nothing?"

"Perhaps this was my true calling. If I had been born not as the bastard son of a Holy Emperor, but just as an ordinary person."

"That's... unfortunate."

Casey made a pitying expression, then patted Rudger's arm with her hand.

"Let's both try to survive to the end."

At that moment, Seridan approached in powered armor with loud thumping sounds from the distance.

Bellaruna and Arpa were sitting on the large shoulders of the powered armor.

"My lord! I've finished them all off! There shouldn't be any bugs left inside the castle now!"

"Good work. Anyone hurt?"

"No one! But how's the situation now? I just came out and don't know what's what."

"Not very good. The castle has been breached, and enemies have rushed in here."

"Then we need to go and stop them."

As Seridan and Rudger were having this conversation, Arpa's gaze was fixed on one girl.

Betty, Casey's assistant, felt Arpa's gaze and stared at him quietly.

"Huh? You!"

Betty pointed at Arpa.

"You're that masked person from back then! From the Kunst auction house!"

Betty recognized Arpa immediately.

But Arpa's expression wasn't good.

Betty didn't know Arpa, but Arpa knew who Betty was.

Arpa chose to avoid her because it was hard to look at Betty.

Arpa looked at Rudger.

"Teacher."

"Arpa. I know you're troubled, but now isn't the time for that."

"...Yes. I suppose so. I'm sorry."

"No need to be sorry. Rather, it's a natural reaction."

Betty became even more puzzled hearing the conversation between Rudger and Arpa.

For some reason, she felt like they were talking about her.

"Casey. What exactly are those two talking about?"

"That's... not something I should say, I think."

Casey was about to say something but then mumbled vaguely.

Having glimpsed Rudger's memories through Memory Storming, Casey could roughly guess the relationship between Arpa and Betty.

This wasn't a situation she could step in and mediate.

Most of all, there wasn't enough time to reveal the truth here and now.

"Teacher. I'll go stop the enemies outside."

"...Alright. Be careful."

Arpa left.

Seridan, who saw Arpa's retreating figure, muttered sympathetically.

"He probably wanted to show off proudly about using magic, but it's a bit pitiful. I should go comfort him."

"Seridan. I'm counting on you for Arpa. Even though he looks like that, that child is still young."

"My lord. You don't need to coddle him so much. Rather, I'd be the one receiving help from him, not giving it. He's not just a child anymore."

"Is that so?"

"Everyone becomes an adult. Still, for now, this big sister being by his side should be enough, right?"

Seridan, who smiled as if showing off deliberately, followed Arpa to fulfill Rudger's request.

"He, hehe. I'll go too."

Bellaruna also left with Seridan.

After going through the fight with Victor, it felt like the bond between those three had deepened.

Then, Casey whispered to Rudger and asked:

"Shouldn't you tell him? Or should I give a hint to Betty?"

Rudger shook his head.

"No. This is ultimately a problem Arpa has to solve himself. We shouldn't interfere."

"What a cold teacher."

"Rather, if we tell them now, they might become troubled and it could interfere with the battle. Don't forget. We're fighting for survival."

"Survival... hmm, that's right."

Casey nodded, convinced.

"So, what exactly are you plotting in this castle? Even now, the castle is moving in real time."

"That's..."

Just as Rudger was about to say something, the entire castle shook greatly.

Casey looked around with surprised eyes, maintaining her balance. It was such a big impact that she almost fell over.

"What! An earthquake? Or enemies?"

"No. This is neither an earthquake nor enemies. Rather, it's the answer to the question you asked earlier."

"This is the answer?"

"Right. It's starting now. Phase 3."

At the mention of Phase 3, Surna smiled.

That expression was saying, "Finally."

The great vibration that the castle emitted as it shook was strong enough to be felt by the Crusaders who had penetrated inside.

"Th-this is what. Don't tell me it's the Demon King's doing?"

"Everyone move quickly! We must stop him before he does anything more!"

The crusaders who had been running through corridors that had turned into a maze had to stop.

A new enemy stood blocking their path.

Arpa stood in the center of the path, blocking the crusaders' route as if to say they couldn't pass this way.

"A child?"

They were surprised to see Arpa in the form of a boy, but soon recognized that the opponent was a minion of the Demon King and ignited their fighting spirit.

"For such a young child to side with the Demon King. Oh God, please save that child."

"Just because it's a child doesn't mean we'll go easy. Given the place, it might actually be a really dangerous guy. Everyone stay properly alert."

They didn't let their guard down even though the opponent was a child.

If they had brains to think, there was no way such a child would be sitting here in a place like this.

At minimum, it was something in the form of a child.

Or like now, suddenly grasping a weapon made of elements in his right hand.

"Magic!"

"Everyone block it!"

When Arpa swung the ice greatsword in his hand, countless ice spikes shot along its trajectory.

At the powerful attack that poured out from the beginning without holding back any strength, the crusaders at the front reacted urgently.

Knights stepped forward swinging their swords, and mages deployed shields.

The ice spikes were deflected, but Arpa didn't care.

Arpa continuously swung his greatsword, covering the entire corridor with countless ice.

The chilling cold air seemed to refuse to allow the existence of intruders.

But the Crusaders weren't just taking it lying down either.

Knights with excellent physical abilities ran through the corridor regardless of the cold air, approaching Arpa.

The moment a sword imbued with aura was about to touch Arpa's body.

Powered armor appeared behind Arpa and struck the knights away with giant arms.

The knights hurriedly raised their swords to defend, but knights who couldn't manage it spat blood and were knocked far away.

"Try to get in if you can!"

Seridan aimed a railgun at the crusaders while holding it in the powered armor's hand.

Strong magnetic force pushed the projectile as the railgun fired.

The entire corridor was dyed white light and buried in a roar but Seridan's expression wasn't good.

When the light subsided, the crusaders who appeared hadn't suffered any particular damage.

If it were just one or two knights or mages, it might be different, but all of them were elite forces.

They were sufficient to block Seridan's railgun without difficulty.

But perhaps because the power was quite threatening, the Crusaders couldn't rashly charge in either.

They had blocked the railgun thanks to artifacts and numbers, but otherwise there would have been tremendous casualties.

"Huh?"

At that moment, a mage who saw the scenery outside the window expressed doubt.

The sky full of dark clouds felt closer than before.

No, it wasn't an illusion.

The sky was actually getting closer right now.

The people who felt this change most desperately weren't the crusaders inside the castle, but the people outside.

-Rumble rumble rumble!

"What is this?"

Everyone's heads turned upward.

Galahad Castle was rising.