Chapter 34: The Eldritch Godness and the Secret Society

I’d nearly forgotten that this world was once a game—until an incident jolted my memory. It happened when summer break ended and September began.

"Class, we have a new transfer student."

Professor Emile’s announcement introduced a petite girl.

"Elizabeth von Engelhardt."

Her platinum-blonde hair was styled in a mid-length bob, and her doll-like face was adorned with striking crimson eyes.

As I absentmindedly admired her—Wow~! She’s quite the beauty~!—a sudden flash of memory made me freeze.

"Oh no. This is bad."

That’s right. I remembered now. She’s dangerous!

"Take any seat you like, Miss Elizabeth."

"Yes."

She chose the very back row.

In the original game, by this point, suicides and mental breakdowns should’ve been escalating, casting a pall over the academy. Emilia, the protagonist, would be searching for clues but struggling to uncover my true identity…

And then Elizabeth would appear.

She was an agent of a secret society, sent to investigate the mastermind behind the incidents—me.

Teaming up with Emilia, she’d corner me… or so the game’s plot went.

In short: A troublesome character has entered the stage.

Unlike the game, I hadn’t been acting particularly "Eldritch Godness-like," so the academy wasn’t drowning in despair. Still, the suicides and breakdowns that had already occurred meant my "I’m not a bad Eldritch Godness, honest!" defense wouldn’t fly.

Emilia was part of the academy’s investigation team, but she hadn’t yet realized something darker lurked behind the scenes. I’d hoped that if I laid low, nothing would happen…

But fate wasn’t that kind.

"Let me introduce you. This is Miss Elizabeth. I assume you’re already aware of her."

In the student council room, Klaus introduced Elizabeth with those words.

"There’s something you all should know. She’s an investigator from a covert government organization. She’s here to look into the cause of the strange incidents that have been occurring frequently at this academy since April. She’s offered to assist us in our investigation into the cult activity within the school. Right?"

Klaus glanced at Elizabeth for confirmation.

"Yes. Our Rosenkreuz Society believes the root cause of the recent surge in suicides and mental breakdowns since this April lies within this academy."

Elizabeth scanned the room as she spoke.

Aside from Klaus, Felix, and myself—the core political faction members—Emilia and Leonhardt were also present in the student council room. The academy investigation team had reassembled.

"And your evidence?"

"We’ve received reports from the National Gendarmerie confirming the discovery of a large-scale cult worship facility within this academy. So far, this is the only place in the imperial capital where such a thing has been found. And besides that…"

"Besides that?"

Felix pressed, and Elizabeth answered slowly.

"...my years of intuition."

She said it without a trace of a smile, her expression unreadable as she surveyed us.

"Hold on. ‘Years of intuition’? You’re about our age, aren’t you? You don’t seem like you’ve been in the field long enough for that."

Leonhardt voiced his skepticism.

"Appearances can be deceiving, Your Highness."

She was right. Elizabeth was likely far older than she looked. After all, she was an agent of the Rosenkreuz Society—a secretive order of mages.

Honestly, even in the game, the Rosenkreuz Society was shrouded in mystery. Their role seemed to be monitoring the use of magic to ensure it didn’t violate humanitarian principles, and… discreetly eliminating those who broke those rules.

They’d dealt with incidents involving eldritch entities like mine before, and now they were here to eradicate the root of all evil, restoring peace to the empire and the world. Probably.

"Still, are you the only one they sent, Miss Elizabeth?"

"No. There’s another ally operating undercover. He should be arriving soon."

Just as Felix asked again and Elizabeth answered, the student council door burst open with a loud clatter.

"Hey. So this is the hideout of the kid detective club?"

The man who strode in had messy, unkempt black hair and a rough appearance—despite being on school grounds, he had a cigarette dangling from his mouth. He looked to be in his late twenties.

His attire was a respectable gray suit, the kind a teacher might wear, but his presentation was a disaster. His tie was crooked, his suit and shirt buttons were undone, and he looked every bit the suspicious character.

"You’re here, Matthias. Let me introduce you. This is Matthias von Ehrenberg, our collaborator."

"Pleasure, brats."

Elizabeth introduced him as if nothing were amiss, and the man called Matthias exhaled a slow stream of smoke.

Naturally, we all frowned. There was no way this guy wasn’t shady. If the person sent to investigate a suspicious cult looked this suspicious himself, something was seriously wrong.

"Rest assured. He’s here as an expert in magic—not as a teacher of social etiquette or manners."

"Yeah, yeah. Quit givin’ me the side-eye like I’m some kinda creep, brats. I just got a little too into magic—broke a few laws, y’know? Ended up gettin’ caught by this baby-faced granny’s organization."

Ughhh… A shady-looking criminal on top of everything?! Was there really no one else available?!

"When does the investigation start?"

"As soon as possible. Ideally, we’d like your cooperation as well. Working alongside respected students like yourselves will make the investigation proceed more smoothly. Would you be willing?"

"Of course. We want to find the cause as quickly as possible too."

Klaus answered immediately to Elizabeth’s request.

Well, if we don’t figure out the cause, we’ll end up with another wave of suicides and attempts like back in April. That said… the cause is none other than me, so…

"Then it’s settled—we’re resuming the investigation, everyone. Assist Miss Elizabeth and Mr. Matthias as needed."

"Understood."

Emilia and the others nodded at Klaus’ directive.

"First, I’d like to investigate the cult’s worship site that’s already been discovered. Could you guide us there?"

With the investigation officially underway, Elizabeth made her request.

"I’ll lead the way. Would you mind joining us as well, Your Highness Leonhardt?"

"Of course. Emilia, I’ll protect you!"

"I’ll be counting on you, Your Highness."

For now, Elizabeth’s group would be working with Emilia and Leonhardt.

"Miss Iris. A moment, if you don’t mind?"

"Y-yes?"

"Come with me."

And for some reason, Felix had called me aside.

As the circle of people surrounding me gradually tightened, leaving me cornered from all sides… Is this really gonna be okay? I’m getting nervous here…

……………………