Chapter 42 — Punishment Isn’t Delivered by God

1

Who delivers punishment?

Some say the heavens will punish.

But Manus thinks that’s because they lack the power to punish others themselves.

Through bad experiences, Manus deeply realized:

If one has personal power, they never seek God.

People seek others because their own power is insufficient.

They borrow money, cry out for strength, and wish for someone else to punish on their behalf.

“I’ll punish you myself.”

Manus was no longer weak.

Hiss-.

The smell of oil permeated the air.

Holy water soaked the wasteland.

He spoke to those waiting:

“Oil equalizes power with the target. Holy water removes defense. Learning to use tools is also an essential skill.”

“Come to think of it…”

It was Manus’s oversight that they hadn’t properly utilized the tools he’d told them to prepare.

These weren’t characters controlled in a game.

He realized they needed knowledge injected, just as a player would control each action of a character.

It’s natural to focus only on what’s right in front of you when the situation is urgent.

This can be improved gradually later.

It’s something they must go through to become mature magicians.

“Don’t be ashamed to use tools. Of course, it would be different if you could solve everything with magic alone.”

“O-okay.”

“Right, we have lots of things you gave us.”

Only then did they start fumbling to take out their tools.

Alano blushed as well.

She realized how far she still had to go.

As magicians, they were still inexperienced.

‘Even saying we’re better than most adults was just loving the frog in the well.’

Rumble-!

Manus enhanced the drake’s abilities with oil.

The abilities of the former ruler of the earth were fully imbued.

‘That thing will live here anyway.’

The urgent matter wasn’t killing it.

The night was still long.

There were still many undead to deal with, and awakening those who couldn’t respond was the priority.

“I’ll allow you to flee, vermin.”

Manus’s eyes rippled with mana.

At his fingertips, a magic circle was completed.

4th-class.

The supposedly difficult light attribute magic.

But its scale was ominous.

The air howled.

It almost seemed like thunder and lightning were being generated before their eyes.

‘-Such power.’

“Punishment isn’t delivered by God, but by me.”

[Fatum] — [Altus]

Layered magic was used.

At the same time, his passive ability activated.

Layered magic correction, power increase.

Holy magic rivaling 5th-class was completed.

The dark green night shone brightly.

Behind Manus, the form of a giant angel appeared.

Unlike the stranger, this angel wore an impressive white robe.

“T-this is a bit troublesome. Drake!”

[Uoooh-!]

The massive body moved.

Simultaneously, the angel stretched out its hand, emitting a beam of light.

The whole world turned bright, and sound disappeared.

A fierce wind blew, sweeping away everything around.

As if true divine punishment had struck, nothing remained in the surroundings.

Even Manus himself was amazed at its power.

‘Combining passives was indeed the right choice.’

How much would this translate to in game damage?

What’s my appropriate hunting ground?

Various questions rushed through Manus’s mind.

But there was no way to know.

With limited information, all he could do was what he could.

As the aftermath of the magic faded, he looked at the wasteland.

“…Unbelievable.”

“It’s over for now.”

“A-amazing.”

The drake’s corpse lay alone.

The stranger had fled, his figure nowhere to be seen.

The swarming undead had also vanished cleanly.

At the same time, time began to flow again.

――――――――――!!

The quiet gap in time disappeared, followed immediately by a clamor of cheers and shouts.

Those in the area where Manus and Alano were stared blankly ahead.

“…What’s going on?”

“There’s nothing here?”

“I-it’s Manus.”

The students alternately looked at Manus standing proudly with his group and the empty wasteland, tilting their heads in confusion.

They had no way of knowing what had happened.

“It’s fortunate the drake’s corpse evaporated immediately.”

“Yeah. It could have been really strange otherwise. Hah… What on earth happened?”

Manus turned his head to look at the brightly lit chairman’s office.

He was curious how the being watching from there would view this situation and what measures they would take.

And one more thing.

‘I wonder how the Imperial Palace will react.’

Fate had already twisted significantly.

In the original work, the Imperial Palace’s intervention was late, but how would they react upon hearing of the shadow assassin’s death?

And if they learn that Aden is alive?

There was much to ponder.

Magic of various colors illuminated the night.

Like bursting fireworks, Manus’s mind also shone brightly with various thoughts.

2

Dawn began to break.

The night that should have seen countless deaths had merely become a practice ground for students.

As light came, all the undead turned to ash.

The day the god of death raised its banner had ended.

The students who witnessed this cheered.

Watching them, Manus was about to move somewhere.

It was fine to savor the sweetness of victory later.

There was something he needed to confirm now.

Just as he turned to leave, a hand grabbed his sleeve.

Kael looked up at him with her small, bright eyes.

“I learned it, 3rd-class magic.”

“Well done. Thanks to that, there were no casualties.”

“I’ll be able to do well from now on, right?”

“If you keep working hard.”

Kael nodded.

And she added one more thing.

“I’m not an idiot anymore, right?”

“Of course not.”

With Manus nodding deeply, the hand fell from his sleeve.

He said to her:

“Keep working hard. Don’t let your guard down.”

“-Yes.”

Kael nodded vigorously.

She thought she vaguely understood why students, why people, desperately want recognition from someone.

There was no one more capable than her around Kael.

She wanted to savor the feeling of being able to fly.

Kael rejoined her group with quick steps, and they began to discuss various things.

Review and assessment were very important tasks.

“Let’s review later in the club room. Reviewing after a battle is really necessary.”

“Understood. It’s like making a mistake notebook. Really… if it weren’t for Senior Manus, we could have been in big trouble. Ugh-! That dra— mmph!”

Anais covered Pearson’s mouth with her palm as he started babbling again.

A vein seemed to pop on her forehead.

“Don’t talk about that.”

“Mmph-!”

“That’s right. Only we should know about that. Someday… the day will come when everyone knows.”

Alano also cautioned him.

Pearson struggled, patting Anais’s hand that was now covering even his nose.

He nodded his head vigorously as well.

Alano turned her head to look at where Manus was walking.

She didn’t want to just watch his back as he always moved busily.

As a friend, and as a comrade walking the same path, she wanted to walk alongside him.

“Manus. Today too, we only received your help.”

During the long time they were apart, how did Manus feel?

During all those days and nights, what efforts did he make to become like that?

She should work hard with passion and vision to reach that level soon.

The sunlight quickly rose, brilliantly illuminating the earth.

The harsh dawn had fully passed.

She didn’t cry.

Rather, with a bright smile, she moved forward with vigorous steps.

[Battle End!]

[Kael’s level has increased.]

[Anais’s level has increased.]

[Pearson’s level has increased.]

[Alano’s level has increased.]

[Melanie’s level has increased.]

[Kael has learned a new skill.]

[Alano has learned a new skill.]

[Kael: 18]

[Anais: 17]

[Pearson: 15]

[Alano: 24]

[Melanie: 19]

『Event Deaths: 0
Injured: 17
Result: SS+』

3

In the chairman’s office.

Chairman Nyx was staring blankly at the woman before him.

Black hair.

Beautiful features.

Her neat attire was the epitome of a typical maid.

Her gentle smile was truly beautiful.

She had just introduced herself like this:

[I am Aden from the Ceaser family. It seems you need to recruit a new head maid, so I’ve come.]

“You… no matter how I look at you, you’re Veronica.”

“She died. I am Aden, Chairman.”

“Now, how did this happen…”

Chairman Nyx scratched his head.

If only she would explain clearly, but she just kept smiling brightly-.

He was troubled about where to vent this frustration.

Knock knock-.

Just as complicated thoughts began to rise, a voice that cleared his mind was heard.

“It’s Manus.”

“Oh, come in. Come in.”

Manus looked alternately at Aden and Nyx.

The chairman demanded an explanation with his eyes.

Judging by his slightly fidgeting bottom, he seemed very curious but was barely holding back due to his position as chairman.

Manus began to speak.

“Chairman.”

“Yes. Speak.”

“Chairman, are you on our side?”

“What do you mean by that?”

Chairman Nyx.

What kind of person he was wasn’t properly revealed even until the end of the main story.

Someone who likes to analyze said he was a necessary existence, but there was something suspicious about him.

Especially, there were quite a few analyses suggesting he had some connection to the Imperial Palace.

“This isn’t about the tower. I’m asking which side you’ll choose between the Imperial Palace and Ceaser.”

“…”

Hmm-.

Chairman Nyx pondered.

He clasped his hands together, slightly hiding his expression.

“I knew about Veronica. And what kind of work she did.”

“That’s why I killed her. Veronica.”

“…She was a master-level assassin.”

“Using a lie detection spell won’t change anything.”

The chairman’s head became even more confused by the tone and manner exuding such confidence.

What should he say?

What decision should he make, and what appearance should he show to get the answer he wants?

His worries deepened.

Veronica, no, Aden, smiling brightly.

Manus, looking at him with a stern face and deep, dark eyes.

His concerns swirled chaotically, like sea water hitting against rocks.

–TL Notes–
Hope you enjoyed this chapter. If you want to support me or give me feedback, you can do it at patreon.com/MattReading

Join my Discord! https://discord.gg/BWaP3AHHpt