To Be a Power in the Shadows! (LN) - Volume 5 - Chapter 1.1

Chapter 1

Claire’s Back, and Her Symptoms Are Worse Than Ever!

Part 1

The next day, all anyone on campus is talking about is Zeta and Delta’s battle.

“So apparently, there was some crazy magic detected out behind the dorms last night,” says Po.

“Yeah, I heard,” Skel agrees. “I was asleep, so I dunno anything about it.”

“I was asleep, too, so I dunno anything, either.”

The two of them furrow their brows.

“They’re surveying the scene now, right?” Skel asks Po.

“So they say, yeah. Some of the teachers went to help out.”

“If it happened behind the dorms, then I’d bet you anything they were trying to sneak into the girls’ dorm. This is clearly the work of a pervert.”

“No, no, they say the magic was behind the guys’ dorm.”

“Huh. Guess they must’ve been trying to sneak into our dorm, then.”

“What were they after, though?”

Skel flashes a vulgar grin. “My hot bod, obviously.”

“Oh, sure.” Po’s grin is just as crude. “And mine, too.”

“Makes sense,” I agree, my expression as placid as the Buddha’s.

Those two bozos aside, most of the students are taking the incident pretty seriously. The theories are all over the place: Some people believe the culprit was someone with a grudge against the school, others think they were trying to steal some sort of precious artifact from the labs, and others suspect the incident was connected to the mysterious disappearances.

Sorry to break it to you, folks, but all that happened was a cat and a dog getting into a fight. Still, I can definitely dig this whole “there’s a grand conspiracy unfolding behind the scenes of our quiet school lives” atmosphere it’s caused.

“Our next class is over in the lecture hall, so we’d better get a move on,” I tell Skel and Po.

“Damn, Cid,” Skel says. “It takes a lot of balls to go ditching a certified stud like me.”

“Yeah, wait up,” Po agrees. “This certified stud is still getting ready.”

I abandon them and head out.

Gotta say, that last-minute decision I made to go full eminence in shadow on Alexia last night was great.

There I was, lamenting the path we were on as grisly battles played out in secret on the peaceful-seeming campus. I mean, the way I took my ad-lib skills and used Zeta and Delta’s fight to inject a sense of realism into my performance? That was pure music. Then there was the bit where I showed off my strength to suggest that we lived in different worlds. Implying that normal people have no place in underworld battles is an oldie, but the classics are classics for a reason.

Every time I think back to it, I can’t help but grin.

Little by little, I’m carving my image of the perfect shadowbroker into this world’s history books.

“Master.”

Feels like I just heard Zeta’s voice. I’m probably imagining things.

“Master, over here.”

“Oh, huh.”

Guess I wasn’t imagining things.

A girl wearing a janitor’s outfit grabs me by the uniform, and sure enough, it’s Zeta. For whatever reason, she’s paired a knitted hat with her work clothes to hide her cat ears.

“What’s with the getup?” I ask.

“It’s a disguise. I’m undercover,” she replies succinctly as she rubs up against me.

“You gotta stop marking me with your scent. You’re making a scene.”

There are tons of other students in the hallway.

“You stink of dog, Master.”

“Yeah, well, if you keep doing that, I’ll stink of cat.”

“Mrrn…”

I peel Zeta off me. “By the way, where’s Delta?”

“Gave her the slip. She’s crossing the sea now.”

“Y’know what, I’m not even going to ask.”

If Zeta puts her mind to it, catching her is just about impossible. That’s the whole reason she’s able to brawl with Delta like that.

“Hmm. Over here.”

Zeta pulls me by the hand and leads me to an empty classroom. Given how cold and dusty it is, I’d wager that nobody’s used it in a good long while.

“Just FYI, my next class is starting soon,” I tell her.

She sidles in close and whispers in my ear. “I have a report.”

I guess she wants to keep playing spies.

“The attack on her failed.”

“Figures.”

“But she’s still on the other side.”

“I see.”

“The Cult will send another assassin.”

Zeta walks over to the window and looks down at the scenery outside.

I walk over next to her and look out the window, too, to build atmosphere. Off in the distance, I can see the teachers and Knight Order investigating the scene of last night’s fight.

Zeta fixes her violet gaze on them. I follow her lead and stare at them as well.

“It’ll probably be you-know-who,” she says.

“You-know-who, huh?”

“I’ll step in if things get hairy.”

“I’ll leave that call to you.”

Then Zeta suddenly ducks. I follow her lead and duck as well.

“They’re probing,” she says.

“Sounds like someone out there’s got good instincts.”

“Mm. Lurk in the shadows.”

I steal a glance outside, and for a brief moment, I can feel a distant gaze.

“I wonder what they’re looking for?” The bell rings. “Oops, I gotta go.”

When I turn around, Zeta’s nowhere to be seen.