Surviving as a Con Artist at the Academy

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49th Chapter: Downpour (1)

At the foot of the hotter-than-usual Purgatory Volcano, the cries of beasts echoed out.

It wasn’t exactly echoing throughout the entire mountain, yet it had the effect of cooling down the heat.

The sound, hard to imagine as coming from a woman with her hair flowing white and loose, gradually morphed into an eerie resonance.

She had originally been cared for by her kind older sisters.

Was that truly the pure Angela Whitegreen? The dissonance with her changed appearance was immeasurable.

The once fragile angel had returned looking like a white demon. Jenny and Mary couldn’t help but feel a strange sense of relief.

“Humans will be exterminated.”

Even the thoughts embedded in her mind no longer belonged to the Angela they knew. She could barely be considered a different existence, but… Jenny gritted her teeth and spoke.

“You… you are Angela, right? It’s me. Can’t you recognize your sister?”

“Grrooooowwwl.”

Instead of a reply, Angela responded with a growl as her fur began to sprout, transforming her into a beast resembling a fox monster.

In that appearance, Jenny was unwillingly reminded of the existence of lycanthropes. How could the child she had nurtured change in such a way? Who could have done this…?

“What a remarkable reunion. Truly touching.”

At that moment, an elderly man with a bushy beard stepped out from behind Angela. He was Elder Enviel of the Magic Guild.

“Though it’s all in vain, mind you.”

“Elder…! What brings you here?”

Upon his arrival, the expression on Jenny’s face was filled with hope. She desperately wished he could return Angela to her original form.

“Elder, why are you here…?”

“Jenny, wait. Something feels off.”

Mary narrowed her eyes as soon as she laid eyes on Enviel. The spirits around her were communicating, telling her that an indescribable amount of mana could be felt from him.

“It’s all in vain, you say? What do you mean by that?”

She asked in an unusually calm tone, praying that it wasn’t bad news.

“Exactly what it sounds like. I am the one who originally created this monster.”

Their pupils shook widely. Nevertheless, Enviel’s words had not yet concluded.

“I hear you two have been diligently training this monster on my behalf. As a reward, I shall reveal a special piece of information.”

“A monster…? Don’t say such nonsensical things! Angela is kind and young…!”

“Kind and young? Of course, she was when she was with you. That’s because she had lost her memories.”

“Wh-What…?”

Angela’s body was swelling. Eventually, as her limbs transformed into those of a four-legged creature, she had become an unmistakable fox monster. As she emerged in that guise… Enviel twisted his lips into a grin and spoke.

“Do you see? This is her true form.”

Before she was even known as Angela. She had been born from experiments conducted in secret beneath the Papias Kingdom.

That time was eight years ago. When 16-year-old boys and girls were just eight.

The Papias Kingdom had succeeded in capturing the divine beast, a descendent of the Thousand-Year Fox. The ability to freely transform from a fox to a human male was undoubtedly that of a divine beast.

The fact that her genes could completely match those of a human intrigued the Papias Kingdom, leading them to embark on a series of experiments.

The aim was to create humans capable of wielding the power of divine beasts. It was anticipated that a biological weapon surpassing the homunculi used by the Shadow Brigade would be born.

The experiments were conducted under the guidance of Elder Enviel, who was also in charge of tutoring the prince.

The method for the experiment was breeding. They kidnapped several human women and bound them to the divine beast, generating new lives.

However, every life that was born was deformed, and the mothers perished from the side effects. At that time, sensing something was amiss, Enviel discovered what was lacking.

They needed the “Yohos,” inheritors of the power of the Thousand-Year Fox.

The legendary fighting race that inherited powers from the Thousand-Year Fox; only descendants with that blood were considered suitable.

Surprisingly, it was relatively close at hand. The deserting knight from the kingdom was the very descendant.

Of course, they quickly kidnapped him for use as a test subject, and as a result… they achieved great success. Furthermore, even the mother lived on despite the side effects.

The child born was female. A combination of the divine beast’s divine power and the innate physique of the fighting race. Together, they resembled the reincarnation of the Thousand-Year Fox from long ago.

However, being a test subject, the child’s upbringing was terrible.

The child grew up instinctively yearning for her own bloodline. In front of her, the father, a divine beast, was brutally tortured to death.

Once a successful product had emerged, she became useless.

With the death of her family right before her eyes, the child’s hatred grew. It was all to harness her emotional outburst as a weapon.

Surprisingly, the child’s growth rate was about twice that of ordinary humans. She lived for three years but appeared as a six-year-old, lived five years but seemed to be ten.

Her mana growth also mirrored this rate, leading her to be careful about her progress.

Then one day, a disaster struck. After her father… her mother also breathed her last.

The moment the child instinctively sensed that, her power began to rampage uncontrollably.

Realizing it was the act of humans… she resolved to harbor a fervent hatred for them.

The family’s enemy—the reflection of that brutal desire for revenge depicted her as a true monster.

If she remained as is, the child would self-destruct from her own mana. Ultimately, Enviel decided to take measures to erase her memories.

As a result of the deletion, the child regressed back to a baby stage.

But that wasn’t the only issue. Her rampage had spread to such an extent that the secret experiment was on the verge of being exposed.

To avoid being discovered, they had to send out the child, who was practically evidence.

While the plan was scheduled, it remained intact. The human mother had another daughter from a separate lineage.

A girl who had enlisted with childhood illness but had gone missing. However, for Enviel, finding her would be child’s play.

As she also shared the same bloodline, they would inevitably be drawn to each other. Enviel found the girl and lured her to enroll in an institution.

That institution was the destination for executing their plans.

A town rising from the Purgatory Volcano. The best education institution established there.

Aligieri Academy.

Born from a different mother, she entered the academy with the purpose of “revenge,”

And the child born as a test subject, drawn by that bloodline, stepped onto the slopes of the academy.

The sisters had their first encounter there.

*

The building for the discrimination of swords in Aligieri Town was neither too big nor too small. Being an arm of the investigation team, their budget was restricted.

Primarily running about crime scenes, they also accepted identification requests as a way to fill their limited budget.

However, due to an increase in robbers in town recently, they were in a bit of a quandary.

“You stopped in the middle of it? How could you do that!”

The client, Luska Mad Eye, scolded the staff at the counter.

It was a behavior expected when proper service wasn’t rendered in exchange for money, but the response of the staff remained unchanged.

“We are truly sorry. This is the limit of what we can do right now.”

The female staff handed her the sheepskin with the results of the discrimination. However, the reason it was hard to accept was that the results were incomplete.

“Recently with the emergence of petty thieves, the investigative workload has significantly increased. It seems we’ll need a few more days for a more perfect result.”

“It has to be today……!”

Luska turned her head sharply and stepped outside. She held onto the parchment to check the results.

What she had requested were the tail of Angela, which she had cut off, the hair of her mother that had been entwined in a muffler, and her own nails.

She had asked to find the commonalities among these three ingredients. The day they had promised for results was supposed to be today. To hear that it would take more time was extremely troublesome.

Today was the day that all plans would come to fruition. The final day to destroy the Papias Kingdom by initiating the self-destruction of Angela, who had transformed into a Nine-Tailed Fox. Tomorrow, Angela would cease to exist, so today was the only opportunity.

[Results of Discrimination]

-Analyzed the blood on the tail, hair, and nails, three components.

-Conducted a genetic discrimination over three days and found a 65% match.

-More detailed results will be available next week, we ask for your understanding.

‘Next week…? Don’t make me laugh!’

Fuming, Luska glared at the results that had been issued today.

65% match. Neither 90 nor 80 but a mere 65%… How exceedingly vague! The fact that it wasn’t a perfect result made her hands tremble.

If it was only 65% when incomplete, what kind of results would emerge if the discrimination were perfectly conducted?

Luska let out a sigh of foreboding, her determination wavering.

‘No… that can’t be. Surely that child wouldn’t…’

Yes, no matter how incomplete, results were still results. Unless it was 100%, she couldn’t fully trust them.

She could see how much she had given up for today. There was no turning back now.

The situation had already escalated to one where she had done terrible things to that child. They had crossed a river that couldn’t be crossed again.

From the moment they met, it felt like they were bound. In the shared memories, the presence of her mother existed, and the imperfect result matched at 65%.

No, it couldn’t be. It absolutely shouldn’t be.

She hoped that the worst assumptions would not hold true.

Before long, dark clouds hung low as the bright rays of sunlight faded. Even the beams of light that had pooled between the clouds were nowhere to be found, leaving the ground shrouded in shadow.

“No… it can’t be!”

“What’s not?”

Just as she was hoping for a glint of hope, a voice came from behind her. The man’s voice was one she had heard before.

“Lyman? What are you doing here?”

“I’m not surprised… no, what are you doing here? Hurry up and stop running the race.”

You could argue back with something like, “What about you?” but she didn’t have the energy to do so. Her mind was psychologically distressed, leaving her speech stammered.

“Actually, running would be pointless. If we’re unlucky, the whole town is about to go up in smoke.”

“What…?”

“To be straightforward, it’s better to flee this town.”

Lyman’s words made her eyes widen.

He had snatched all the things she had wanted to say. It was as if he knew everything that was going on.

Looking again, he was fluttering several sheets of paper in his hand.

“You know about Elder Enviel, right? Hard to believe, but he’s planning to unleash a divine beast to wipe out this town.”

“How can you… prove that?”

Caught off guard, Luska stammered a beat late. In front of her, Lyman emphasized the papers he was holding.

“I have a backer who is investigating such matters. Anyway, read this and judge for yourself.”

“What is this?”

“It’s Elder Enviel’s top-secret experiment log. I gotta go, I’m busy.”

Lyman turned his back and lowered his head meaningfully.

Luska called out, “Wait!” as she tried to grab him, but he had already leaped away, vanishing into the distance.

The mention of the secret experiment log triggered something in her. She had heard that her mother’s cause of death related to adverse side effects of the experiment.

She had grasped a ladder leading to the truth. She had obtained something she desperately wanted, so there was no reason to hesitate.

Luska flipped through the pages, making them flutter.

At first, she turned them boldly. Hesitation was foolish in front of the truth she wanted to know.

However, that movement grew heavier with each passing page.

To realize the truth was not a sin. It was a rightful claim. However, the fallout from digging deeper was all her burden to bear.

Drip drip—

Drops began to fall on the experiment log. Soon it escalated into a downpour.

Luska had already finished flipping through the pages. She had read it all; there was nothing more she needed.

However, even while getting soaked, her body was rigid. As if all sensation had vanished, she dropped her arms.

The experiment log hung limply in her grip.

There were pictures of her mother and Angela… prominently placed to show their connection.

It felt as if a dam had burst in the sky, and the rain fell incessantly.

*

“Good thing I left some leftovers behind!”

As I stepped out of the cabin, the first place I headed was the dormitory. I thought I was going to die running back that far.

If my stamina stat was even a single point lower, I would probably have ended up gasping for air.

And luck was on my side. The forest with the cabin was connected to the lake where I had been fishing. Since the mountains were connected, the route itself was a shortcut.

I quietly entered the empty dormitory and gathered the important items I had stored in my bag. After replenishing my fluids, I stepped back outside.

Drip drip drip—

“Good grief….”

The moment I stepped outside, it started to rain.

I wasn’t caught off guard, but I was worried I might slip on the way. If I messed up, the items in my bag could get ruined.

“Please stay safe on the way. This might be the only hope to stop the Nine-Tailed Fox.”

Thankfully, my pre-prepared rain hat helped lessen my worry about getting soaked.

While others might be thinking it was an unexpected disaster and trying to avoid the rain, at least one person out there would be standing still, getting drenched.

Luska Mad Eye. She had lived solely for revenge, but all of it stemmed from the sorrow of having lost her family.

If there existed even a semblance of ‘family,’ what choice would she make?

Seeing the rain, she must have figured everything out by now.

Angela Whitegreen. That child was her sister.

‘You must be suffering too.’

I recalled the times I played as Luska and headed toward the slope of Purgatory Mountain.

The end of Chapter 2 was approaching fast.

Surviving as an Academy Scammer.