Chapter 42: Eldritch Godness and the Troublesome Affair"

Marie was brought to an empty classroom by security personnel. Professor Matthias, with practiced ease, restrained her and tied her to a chair.

"Go ahead, Y’sth-Lith."

Professor Matthias gestured to me.

"Then, let’s begin."

I removed my gloves and placed my hands on Marie’s ears as she snarled like a rabid dog, drool dripping from her mouth. Immediately, tentacles slithered forth, burrowing into Marie’s brain. Her growling ceased, and she began muttering fragmented words.

"Marie. Let’s sort through what happened to you and bring you back to yourself."

"Y-y-yes…"

She responded weakly to my voice.

"First—why did you stab Emilia?"

"Th-that woman had to die! She was vermin hiding in the shadows! A cursed demon! I had to kill her, had to! Stab her, tear her apart, rip her to pieces!"

"Calm down. Someone made you think that way. Try to remember who."

"I-I… I…"

"Remember. Remember."

"A… a girl… black hair… r-red eyes… a gray coat… a black dress…"

Ugh, of course—it’s Claudia, isn’t it? That woman just won’t quit!

"That person lied to you. Emilia is just an ordinary girl. She’s harmless—she’d never hurt you or anyone else. You don’t need to do anything to her."

"Y-yes…"

"Now, forget everything. In five seconds, you’ll lose all memories from April onward. Let’s begin the countdown."

Best to just wipe the slate clean.

"Five. Four. Three. Two. One. Zero."

I withdrew the tentacles from her brain and removed my hands from her ears.

"Huh…? Wh-why am I here…? Why am I tied up?!"

Marie’s eyes were now clear, the rabid madness gone as if it had never been.

"She seems lucid now."

"Yes. Will this suffice?"

"We’ll leave the rest to the National Gendarmerie. Even if she was brainwashed, the fact remains—she stabbed someone."

Harsh. Not that I sympathize.

Soon after, the gendarmes arrived and took Marie away.

"I didn’t do anything!"

Thanks to the memory wipe, Marie had no recollection of stabbing Emilia—leaving her utterly bewildered as to why the National Gendarmerie was hauling her away.

"Well, that settles the suspect. The true culprit is Claudia von Winterstein, head of the Witch Association."

Yep. Called it.

"And who exactly is this Claudia?" Felix demanded.

"One of the ancient witches—a survivor of the so-called Crimson Witches of Karmazen. Among their kind, she’s the most blasphemous and powerful. She’s orchestrated countless incidents and long been an enemy of our Rosenkreuz Society," Elizabeth explained.

Oh, so she’s been butting heads with the Rosenkreuz folks too? What a piece of work~.

"Let me cut to the chase—are we going to have to fight this Claudia? And can we even win?" Klaus interjected.

Elizabeth’s expression darkened. "Given that Claudia is also a devotee of Yī-Sǔlǐ Lìsī, and we’re dismantling her cult… then yes, conflict is inevitable. As for winning?" She sighed. "Frankly, I don’t know."

"Win? Not a damn chance," Professor Matthias sneered. "That thing’s a bona fide monster. The fact that the Rosenkreuz Society hasn’t managed to kill her after all these years speaks for itself."

"But," he added, smirking, "we’ve got our own non-human here. That might just tip the scales."

Everyone turned to stare at me. …Seriously?

"W-wait, I have to step up?"

"Damn right. She’s your fanatic. Clean up your own mess," Matthias scoffed.

Ugh, way to put me on the spot~.

"We’ll support you, of course," Elizabeth said gently. "But against a witch like Claudia, your involvement is non-negotiable, Iris."

"…Understood," I grumbled, nodding reluctantly.

"That said," Klaus cut in, ever the pragmatist, "do you even have combat experience, Miss Iris?"

"W-well, it’s not like I’ve got none! I did fight a cult’s monstrosity in the dorm basement once!"

"Ah. So that ‘found a cult hideout while chasing a cat’ story was bullshit after all," Klaus deadpanned.

"‘After all’? You knew?"

"‘Stumbled onto a cult while cat-hunting’ was suspicious from the start. Did you really think we bought that?"

"…Oh."

Wow, thanks for the vote of confidence, guys~.

"For now, we’ll monitor the Witch Association’s movements. Iris—please be careful," Elizabeth urged.

"Yeah, yeah."

And with that, the meeting adjourned.

"Iris."

"Frieda? What’s wrong?"

As we stepped out of the student council room, Frieda was waiting for us outside.

"I, uh… wasn’t trying to eavesdrop, but… Iris, you fought a cult in the dorm basement, right?"

"Well… yes, you could say that."

"Was it you who saved me back then?"

Frieda’s eyes searched mine, hopeful.

"Heh. What makes you think that?"

"The day the cult hideout was found was the same day I collapsed at school. And that creepy librarian woman disappeared too. Come on, tell me—it was you, wasn’t it?"

Hmm… Should I come clean?

"…Technically, yes. But don’t worry about it. It was nothing, really."

"Still, I have to thank you. Thank you, Iris."

I flashed her my most dazzling ultra-pretty-girl-smile™ and waved it off. No big deal~.

Honestly, I was relieved Frieda didn’t remember everything. Some things are better left unknown for humans.

But there was something I needed to tell her.

"Frieda… This is still a secret, but I’ll probably be leaving the academy after the Golden Festival in December."

"Wh—What?! Why…?"

"Certain… circumstances might cause trouble for everyone here."

Her face twisted in shock, so I softened my voice.

"I see… Well, then we’ll just have to make the most of our time until then!"

Ever resilient, Frieda brightened instantly, grinning.

"Let’s hang out soon! Oh—but first, we have to visit Emilia! Come with me, Iris!"

"Of course. Let’s go together. I hope she recovers quickly."

And so, I agreed to accompany Frieda to the hospital.

……………………