She Professed Herself The Pupil Of The Wiseman (LN) - Volume 14 - Chapter 30

Chapter 30

CATCHING ROGER WAS MUCH QUICKER than they’d imagined. After running into the large shower room, he’d slipped and fallen.

The shower room was one of the pool’s facilities and consisted of a dozen or so showers all lined up beside each other. On pulling one of the shower levers, water would pour down like rain from a showerhead in the ceiling. They were used quite frequently, which accounted for why he’d stepped into a puddle and fell.

“That’s far enough!” Mira announced before Roger could lift himself up again and reach the exit. She was close enough that she could grab him or slug him before he was able to open the door. 

“All right, hold on. Calm down…” Roger said, turning around and raising his hands as if to surrender.

Perhaps he’d caught on that he wouldn’t be able to run any further. But during this whole exchange, his eyes had stayed focused on Luminaria.

He really was a pervert.

“You know why I’m here, right?” Emilia asked, subtly trying to feel out if he knew anything about the graffiti incident.

“No idea…” But a faint look of anxiety appeared on Roger’s face.

The change in his expression was slight, and yet, his face very much seemed to say that he wasn’t happy about Emilia being there.

“Then why did you run?” Mira shot back.

Hearing this, Roger looked away, as if refusing to respond. No longer able to flee, this attitude was like his final act of defiance.

“Come on. Things will go better for you if you just hurry and confess.”

“That’s right. You’ve got nowhere left to run.”

Mira and her companions drew nearer to Roger, hoping to deliver the finishing blow.

Roger’s gaze slowly crept toward Luminaria, as she made her way closer. Even with the walls closing in, Roger’s perversity remained unconquered. Roger’s lips curled into a smirk.

The moment they did, they felt a faint gust of wind blow forth. Wondering what going on, all of the showers above them began pouring water.

“What the—?!”

“Agh! That’s cold!”

“Eek!”

Being drenched in water at the least opportune time, Mira and her companions shouted in a panic. What in the world was going on? Looking more closely, they saw that every one of the shower levers had been switched on.

“That rascal! Could he have meant to do that all along?”

Their opponent had done it to give himself an opportunity to escape. Even so, Mira couldn’t help being impressed by the unexpected yet well-executed counterattack.

But what she saw next astonished her.

***

His trick to turn on all the showers at once ought to have given him a chance to escape. And despite having that perfect opportunity, Roger was still there.

What was he thinking? Rather than running away, he was just staring at them.

“Why aren’t you…?”

Roger’s eyes were laser-focused on Mira and her companions.

What was he trying to do? Did he not plan on running? Mira couldn’t make out what Roger was up to. She ought to have remembered what Emilia had told her earlier about when he was staring intently.

But before Mira was able to get to the bottom of Roger’s odd behavior, the situation took a sudden turn.

“No way! What’s happening?!” Emilia shrieked.

“What on earth…?!”

Turning to see what’d happened, Mira beheld the reason for Emilia’s scream. What in the world was going on? It looked as if Emilia’s school-issued swimsuit had begun to disintegrate. The entire upper half was almost falling apart. And it was still going—now the bottom half was being eaten away.

Emilia squatted down as if unable to bear it anymore.

…But it didn’t end with her.

“What’s going on?!”

“Uh oh, it’s happening to me, too.”

Mira and Luminaria’s swimsuits were disintegrating in the same way as Emilia’s. The upper half of their swimsuits were nearly gone, and now the bottom half was beginning to be eaten away.

“All right! Now this is a feast for the eyes!”

Mira and her companion’s bodies were becoming more and more exposed. Smiling as if his plan had gone off without a hitch, Roger devoured them with his eyes—Luminaria in particular. He still hadn’t tried to make an escape.

Finally, Roger called out, “Thanks!” and left.

“Jeez, it feels like despite everything going to plan, he really pulled one over on us.”

“Yeah, he sure did.”

While the two had maintained their composure despite being made completely naked, they didn’t chase Roger as he ran off. They’d planned on him escaping from the very beginning.

After being interrogated by Emilia, he was sure to meet up with the rest of his conspirators. And the whole objective of their plan was to capture all of them.

“But what happened to our swimsuits? It seems like he caused a magic aberration.”

“It does seem that way.”

The pair already had an idea of why their swimsuits had disintegrated—a phenomenon known as a magic aberration. They guessed that Roger had tampered with the showers beforehand, such that once he pressed a certain switch, the water that came out of the showers would be altered.

Once covered in this water, the enchantments imbued in both the swimsuit and pool building would be disrupted, breaking down completely. And once that’d happened, the school-issued swimsuits would disintegrate.

“He’s got potential, thinking up something like this while still only a student.”

“He certainly punches above his weight when it comes to deviancy.”

Deducing what’d happened from the magic that still lingered and the subtle reaction they’d detected, Mira and Luminaria laughed at how he’d come up with such a scheme despite being a mere student. Aside from being able to invoke a magic aberration, he’d figured out a way of utilizing the aberration to specifically target their swimsuits. It certainly seemed like his skill and passion knew no bounds.

The two of them commended Roger while they stood there stark naked. Someone with his talents might even make their way into the Linked Silver Towers.

“Hngh… How can the two of you stand there like nothing’s wrong?” Emilia murmured tearfully, looking up at the two who, despite being in the exact same situation, were utterly unperturbed.

The effect of the magic aberration was only temporary. The enchantment surrounding the pool was large enough that it couldn’t be destabilized much. While the enchantment was still in effect and they were still in their destroyed swimming suits, Mira and her companions turned off the showers and quickly changed into their school uniforms.

Not being students, they hadn’t used the changing room lockers and had instead taken all their clothes—including Emilia’s—and put them in an item box so they could easily get changed back.

Good thing, too. If not, they would’ve had to walk out into the pool area stark naked. Emilia seemed extremely relieved that they’d been able to avoid doing this.

“All right, now the show really begins.”

Mira’s eyes glittered darkly as she dried her hair off. She added that the time had finally come to track down and punish those who’d been responsible for the graffiti. Her eyes were filled with an unquenchable fury.

Their number one suspect for who’d been behind drawing graffiti on Danblf’s portrait was Roger.

Emilia had confronted him about the crime he committed, so he was bound to do something.

Knowing that they suspected him, he’d most likely work out a plan with his fellow conspirators, Sven and Dilgen.

The girls would corner them all in a situation they couldn’t talk themselves out of and round all of them up in one fell swoop. …That was the plan, at least.

“Oh ho, I just got a couple of reports. They’re on the move.”

After getting a good look at Mira and her companions’ naked bodies before running away, Roger was now being tailed by Woofson who had been waiting outside of the pool entrance. The report from Woofson said Roger had used a magical device to contact somebody before scurrying off somewhere.

First Pupil had been keeping an eye on Sven and reported that, after looking at something, he appeared to become anxious and began moving.

“Just like we thought!”

They were surely planning to meet up to iron out some kind of plan. Having deduced as much, Mira smirked, thinking they were in the home stretch.

“Let’s go make them regret ever defacing my por…er, my master’s portrait with every fiber of their being!”

“Yes, let’s do it!”

Mira and Emilia cheered before dashing off with a fiendish look in their eyes.

“Well, now I wonder what’ll happen,” Luminaria said, looking as if she were unsure how things would end up. Nevertheless, she followed after them mirthfully.

In a far-flung corner of the clubhouse was a room, outside of which First Pupil and Woofson were standing guard.

“You can leave the rest to me, meow. You’d be better off dismissing that unathletic pooch.”

“What do you plan on doing if all three of them decide to run in different directions, woof? Were that to happen, my nose would be able to track them all!”

Needless to say, the two of them were arguing with each other like usual.

“So what’s the situation?” Mira asked, after picking up both First Pupil and Woofson and holding them in her arms.

And, as she might’ve expected, they answered simultaneously.

“Just now, a third person went inside, woof.”

“There are three people inside, meow.”

As soon as they answered, the argument continued…

“I’m the one giving the reports, meow!”

“My reports are more concise and to the point!”

“What am I gonna do with you guys…? All right. Take turns.”

Despite being excellent at what they did, the two couldn’t help but fight with each other. With no other choice, Mira heard them both out in turn—after they’d had one more fight about who would go first. She now had a general idea of the situation.

First off, there was no indication that anyone besides the three had gone in or out of the room. Next, they hadn’t detected that anyone had left after entering the room, so they were most certainly still inside. Finally, it didn’t appear the three had contacted anyone else—they were most likely the only suspects.

“All right, what do you think the three of them are doing in there? Could they be reflecting on their crime? Or maybe they’re trying to get their stories straight.”

“Let’s finish this!”

Their targets were right before them. Mira and Emilia walked toward the room as if to finally wrap things up.

First Pupil and Woofson had disabled all the security devices that’d been installed on the path leading there before First Pupil had masterfully picked the room’s lock and severed their last line of defense.

Giving each other one final nod, the two flung the door open.

“That’s far enough, scum!”

“Give up. It’s over!”

Mira and her companions stormed into the room as if they were raiding the place. Just as the reports Mira had gotten indicated, they found Sven, Dilgen, and Roger.

The three appeared to be utterly taken aback by their sudden appearance. They let out a collective cry and jumped to their feet before looking over to see who it was with alarm clear on their faces.

“It’s you guys…!”

“What’re you doing here…?!”

“Were we followed?!”

While the three lads cried out upon seeing the three ladies, that wasn’t all they did. For some reason, the moment they saw Emilia they hurriedly hid something, then ran toward the window.

“Sorry, can’t let you do that.”

Assuming that they meant to escape, Mira summoned a row of dark knights to stand guard. The three were suspected of vandalizing Danblf’s portrait—she would show them no quarter.

The dark knights that appeared raised their black swords with such force that they seemed ready to cut down anyone who approached. And sure enough, the three boys shrieked and toppled backward when faced with such terror.

Roger dropped whatever it was that’d been in his hand. It appeared to be a box. Emilia paid little attention to it, glaring at the boys instead.

“How dare you draw that stuff all over Master Danblf’s portrait… You won’t get away with it!” Emilia said, filled with righteous fury. Her anger burned so hot that it rivaled even Mira’s.

“Wait, wait. What’re you talking about?!”

“Hey, hold on… That wasn’t us…!”

With Emilia pressing for justice to be served, Dilgen and Roger pled as if for their lives. And yet, they still asserted that they weren’t guilty of that particular charge.

That was when Sven spoke up.

“Hey? Wait a minute. Is that really why you’re doing this? It’s not to spy on us?” he said in both fear and confusion.

“It’s no use playing dumb!” Emilia said, walking toward them as if there was no longer any use talking.

Mira stared at them and said, “If you have any last words, now’s the time,” with a frenzied smile on her face.

Vandalizing the portrait of Danblf was a grievous sin. Having become judge, jury, and executioner, Mira and Emilia advanced upon the three, paying no heed to their pleas. But then Luminaria spoke up.

“Hold on a second. I’m pretty sure these three aren’t responsible for the graffiti.”

“What?”

“What do you mean?”

Mira and Emilia turned around stiffly. Smiling at the two, Luminaria said, “Here,” and handed them the box that Roger had dropped moments ago.

“Huh, is this…?”

“What is this…?!”

The moment she laid eyes on what was inside, a look of confusion passed over Mira’s face. But Emilia felt her anger surge as she stared daggers at the three.

The three trembling boys had tried to hide photographs.

But they weren’t just any photographs. Rather, they were perfectly taken voyeuristic photos. And there was a whole box full of them.

“Don’t tell me you have more…”

Emilia shot Roger and his companions a look so ice-cold that it could’ve frozen the surface of the sun. Then she attempted to grab the box that Sven was hiding behind his back.

“It’s nothing…really,” Sven said, putting up a fight.

“Just hand it over,” Emilia warned. Upon being threatened, Sven’s face tensed up, and he meekly complied.

Opening the box, the contents were shocking, but not surprising: even more voyeuristic photos.

And the photos in Roger’s box were far more unwholesome. There were photos of female students in swimsuits and gym clothes, as well as photos of girls changing and upskirt shots.

“This is wild. Huh? Ah, I see. They must’ve run away when they saw Emilia because they had these,” Luminaria said, peeking over to calmly but assiduously study the photos inside the box.

She grabbed an envelope labeled Recent and handed it to Mira after getting a good look at what was inside.

“Hrmm, what do you mean?”

Wondering what Luminaria was talking about, Mira grabbed the envelope and took a look at what was inside, head cocked in puzzlement.

“What the…? These are…” 

Inside the envelope were yet more voyeuristic photos. But these weren’t like the others. They were entirely of Mira and Emilia and were exclusively lewd or risqué shots.

There were nineteen shots taken from the bottom of the stairs as Mira walked up them to the training hall. And while taken from farther away, there were eight upskirt photos of Emilia.

There were five upskirt shots of Mira as she was lifting her leg to get on Pegasus. Then five more of the same shot of Emilia when she got atop Pegasus as well. There were also twenty photos of Mira from every angle (mostly a low angle) in the training hall lobby when she’d decided to take a quick nap. Seven photos of what appeared to be Emilia in the changing room, changing her clothes, taken from quite a distance.

She found dozens of other photos taken in all kinds of different locations and situations.

“Look at all of these…!” Emilia said, disgusted.

The look that began to overtake her face was not fear or embarrassment…but anger.

What incensed Emilia more than anything was that there were photos of Mira there. And what’s more, there were more photos of her than Emilia.

And while the first thing that anyone would notice was how often Mira let her guard down…the fact that Mira had taken Emilia under her wing before being targeted served to make the baleful look in Emilia’s eyes even more dreadful.

Standing there, silently facing Emilia, Dilgen opted to hand the box that was in his hands to the girl without saying a word.

“…!”

“This is absurd…”

“But these really are incredible work.”

The moment Emilia looked inside, she was struck speechless. Meanwhile, Mira and Luminaria were surprised at how skilled of a creep he was.

Inside were a dozen or so pieces of paper that were all about the same size as a photograph. On these pieces of paper were nude drawings of the female students, drawn with such finesse that they looked almost indistinguishable from actual photos.

Just how on earth had he managed to create something like this?

When Emilia asked him this, Dilgen confessed.

First, Sven would make use of his ability to stay concealed to take pictures of his targets. Next, Roger would employ his unparalleled imagination to remove all their clothing in his mind’s eye, such that they became completely naked. Finally, Dilgen would put pen to paper and bring whatever Roger had imagined to life.

“They are the physical manifestation of men’s dreams.”

“Women wouldn’t get it.”

“We may have been born to different mothers, but we’re united in a common cause.”

They were masterpieces that none of them, no matter how hard they tried, could have created alone. And yet, with all their talents combined, the three of them had managed to bring such drawings into existence. Sven and the others even boasted that their work surpassed real girls in terms of beauty.

“You’re sick.”

The three of them heatedly asked Emilia if she knew just how valuable each of the drawings was. Emilia pitilessly ripped each of the dozen pictures up and threw them away while staring into their eyes.

Sven and his companions begged for her to stop, but Emilia’s hands kept ripping.

Well, there’s no helping it.

The three had combined their exceptional talents to create a dozen or so nude drawings. But to make matters worse, they’d used female students they went to school with as their models. Fully understanding men, Mira could sympathize with their sentiments. After all, one did tend to be interested in their cute classmates while in the throes of youth.

But this time, she was on Emilia’s side. Making no attempt to stop her, Mira simply watched as the girl tore the nude pictures to shreds.

“They sure are childish. But I guess at their age, there’s not much helping that,” Luminaria said. While she empathized with the three, it didn’t stop her from passing judgment. She’d not only seen the things depicted in the pictures countless times but had also gone quite a bit further. Her smug attitude was an immature, vainglorious display.