Magic Academy Mayhem: A Class Full of Maniacs - Chapter 11

Chapter 11

When she returned to the Ducal Mansion, it was as deathly silent as ever.

Her mother was gravely ill and recuperating elsewhere. Her elder brother, who had been found and brought home, had gone back to the academy to continue his studies. Her injured, unconscious father was receiving treatment in the Magic Tower.

And so Cynthia watched as the original owner ate alone, studied alone, attended lessons alone, repeating the same cycle as always.

That dull, unchanging life was tedious enough.

What was even more infuriating was that the original owner still had to endure the vicious steward’s suppression and abuse from time to time, or go to banquets at the imperial palace according to the rules, only to be publicly humiliated by Abel.

On top of that, at school, because of Abel, she was isolated by the other noble children-even bullied.

It was as if the entire world had no place for her, filling anyone who watched with a deep sense of helplessness.

Her tears grew more frequent, but her words grew fewer.

Until, in the end, her tears ran dry.

And her voice disappeared completely.

Time in the Illusion Realm seemed to have been set on fast-forward. In this way, Cynthia accompanied her for four entire years.

From the age of six to ten, Cynthia no longer knew this past merely through memories. She had witnessed, with her own eyes, the original owner’s unbearable history.

Later, the original owner’s father woke up, her brother returned because of a long holiday, and her mother’s condition gradually improved.

The vicious steward was also sentenced to death for embezzlement and attempting to collude with outside forces.

The staff in the mansion underwent a complete purge. Everything was developing in a better direction.

And yet, to the original owner, this home and these relatives only became more and more unfamiliar.

A personality took time to form, but four years… nearly fifteen hundred days, was more than enough to change a person completely.

Let alone a personality laid down in early childhood.

First came silent obedience, then a deathlike stillness, and finally, unstable moods and obsession.

The memories Cynthia had inherited were based on the original owner’s perspective, emotions, and thoughts, so some matters were one-sided.

She had planned to take this opportunity to understand the original owner’s family better, but at that moment, the Illusion Realm shattered and dispersed.
When she opened her eyes again, she was still in the Sea of Consciousness.

The Ghost, bound by the Seven-Star Chain Whip, questioned Cynthia on the verge of collapse.

“Why didn’t you lose yourself? Weren’t you in terrible pain?”

It had exhausted all its strength maintaining the Illusion Realm, yet this human had come out completely unscathed!

Cynthia broke free from the dark mire, still gripping the Chain Whip she had used to bind it before she lost consciousness. She raised her hand and gave it a tug. “If you’d let me stay a little longer, I might have lost myself. Hurry up and reconstruct the Illusion Realm from where the scene cut off.”

The Ghost bared its teeth, so furious its body warped out of shape. “Do you think an Illusion Realm doesn’t require power to maintain? Do you think it’s something you can accomplish with one casual sentence? And even if I reconstructed it, I might not be able to return to the scene you were just in.”

The moment it said that, Cynthia instantly lost interest.

She rose from the dark, damp, chilly ground, stepped forward, and grabbed it by the throat. In an indifferent voice, she said, “I let you enter my body to improve my mental strength, but all I got was frustration. Don’t you think you ought to die for that?”

“?” The Ghost was terrified. Its arrogant attitude changed in an instant, putting on a full face-changing performance. “No! I don’t want to die ╭(°A°`)╮! Please spare this poor little Ghost… hiss… waaah.”

The Ghost looked a lot like a modern teru teru bozu, except it had hands and facial features. There were two bloodstains on its face, but because it was a miniature version, a closer look revealed that not only was it not scary, it was even a little cute.

Cynthia tugged on the Seven-star Whip binding it and gave a half-smile. “I don’t do things without benefits. Besides, why should I spare a hateful Ghost that planned to take over my body?”

The Ghost trembled. It badly wanted to retort that she had clearly been the one who let it enter her body, and besides, even if it really could control her body, it had never planned to stay there for life. At most, it would have left after a few days.

Though its heart was filled with ten thousand complaints, the Ghost did not dare run its mouth right now.

Its brain spun frantically, and under the terror of being destroyed, it finally remembered a somewhat useful piece of information. Stammering, it said, “I… I know the secret of this forest! To you humans, it’s absolutely a priceless treasure. As long as you spare me, I’ll tell you!”

A priceless treasure?

Cynthia’s eyes shifted slightly. She put away her Spirit Weapon. “Let’s hear it.”
A map appeared before her, and the Ghost carefully pointed to a landmark deep within the forest. “I can say for certain that nothing on this island can compare to the value of that place.”

Cynthia glanced at it and only then realized from the map that the island was actually even larger than they had initially predicted.

But… judging by the terrain, the location marked on the map was clearly a cliff.

“Don’t tell me the treasure you’re talking about is inside the cliff?”

The Ghost nodded. “That’s right. A Rank-9 Magical Beast guards that place. That’s exactly why no one has ever been able to take those things away.”

Cynthia fell silent.

Because anyone who accidentally discovered it had been killed by the Magical Beast?

That was what it meant, right?

“Are you trying to send me to my death too?” Cynthia grabbed it by the neck again.

“Ahhh!” the Ghost struggled. “No! Recently, the Magical Beast entered its breeding season, so it isn’t at the cliff anymore. From my many years of observation, it leaves for a week during breeding season and won’t return to its nest in that time.”

“…”

Cynthia stared at it for a long while. The Ghost felt as if even breathing had become tense and difficult-though it no longer needed to breathe.

“I… I’m really not lying,” the Ghost gritted out, adding the words to prove its sincerity.

Cynthia suddenly smiled. “Fine. Then you can lead the way.”

The Ghost said, “…Actually, that Magical Beast won’t leave until tomorrow.”

Cynthia sneered. “I knew there was a catch.”

Afraid it might actually get killed, the Ghost hurriedly said, “I was wrong. Forgive me. But I really didn’t lie to you this time! I swear! (๑•́ ₃ •̀๑)”

Cynthia glanced at it. In its current state, it truly did not look like it was lying. But as for the truth, she still had to consider it carefully.

After thinking for a moment, Cynthia summoned a Spirit Binding Magic cage and locked it inside.

“Stay put in my Sea of Consciousness for now. Once I confirm you weren’t lying, I’ll let you go.”

“Tch.” The Ghost gave a soft snort, but when Cynthia looked over, it immediately changed its tune and echoed respectfully, “Understood, understood. You’ll know soon enough that every word I said was true.”

She paid it no further attention. There was no point staying here any longer. Cynthia adjusted her condition, then returned her consciousness to her body.

The moment she opened her eyes, she saw a reddened palm print on Richter’s face.

And her hand was pressed against his cheek.

Cynthia froze. “?” What the hell.

The Ghost whispered, “Your emotions fluctuated too much while you were in the Illusion Realm, so I couldn’t control your body. Simply put, you wanted to slap someone too badly, and this human boy happened to get close to you, so… this happened.”

Cynthia: …The people she wanted to slap were Abel, that idiot butler, and those noble hellspawns, not her teammates, thank you very much.

Cynthia awkwardly withdrew her hand, glanced at the young man in front of her, and immediately apologized. “I’m sorry. The Ghost controlled my body just now, and I was unconscious. I didn’t do it on purpose.”

In other words, this was all the Ghost’s doing. It had not been her intention.

The Ghost sneered.

She was clearly half responsible, yet she had pushed it all onto the Ghost?

Heh. So this was humanity? How cunning.

The stinging pain on Richter’s face was especially vivid and unfamiliar, and the girl’s apology sounded particularly grating at that moment.

“…This is the first time I’ve been slapped,” Richter said, lowering his eyes to hide the hostility within them. When he looked up again, he had returned to his usual gentle self, smiling as he said, “But as long as Captain is all right, that’s all that matters.”

Whether it was because she had struck too hard or because his complexion was too pale, the bruise on his face was extremely obvious.

Cynthia was truly sorry. She took out a box of ointment and offered it to him. “I’m sorry. I’ll make it up to you. Put some medicine on it first.”

Richter did not take it. His smile was as lovely as a painting. “If Captain applies it for me personally, we can call this matter settled. How about it?”

“Fine.” Applying a little medicine was no big deal, so Cynthia did not refuse.

After all, she was the culprit, and he was the victim.

Right… What about the other teammates?

Cynthia swept a glance out of the corner of her eye and saw that each of them was hiding up in the trees.

…Looks like they hadn’t been affected.