Bab 176: Death Sentence

After having spent the whole weekend in the infirmary, that honestly was more like a small hospital, Dr. Smith had returned Sunday evening to make a call whether I needed more time or if I could finally be discharged.

Using some kind of weird electromagnetic thing, he scanned the entirety of my body before writing something down on his clipboard, while speaking. Also, even though they had said that Ms. Turner would be present during our meetings, she had left the room when I had been forced to take off the white hospital gown to get my body checked up.

"Hmm, your body seems fine now, or at least it's stable enough for there to be no issues for you to go back to class. Still... As a doctor, I can't really say I recommend you go back to training. Though it seems like if you don't overdo it, the damage to your body shouldn't be accelerated, but I can't tell for sure."

Having finished getting my body checked, I showed my decisions by putting on my uniform instead of the hospital gown. If there was one thing I knew I couldn't do, no matter what decisions I made, it was that I couldn't stop.

That was something neither Zero nor James wanted, there was too much at stake for us to stand still. "Thank you, doctor, for your concern, but you already know I can't stay here any longer. I have a lot that I need to learn, after all."

Scratching his head, he just accepted my answer as he was well aware that there was no way we would change our minds, "Haa... Alright. Just know that I will be staying at the academy until you graduate, so if anything else happens, don't hesitate to call me."

It was a bit weird to hear that they had only dispatched him here for my sake, as I now knew who he was after asking my teacher. It turns out that the man who called himself Dr. Smith was an [A]-rank healer that specialized not in field work but in treating illnesses and diseases.

This was the path he chose after his daughter had sadly passed away from some new kind of disease. Now he was treating as many people as he could but would never take money from those that didn't have it. So, to make him come here, they must have had some kind of incredible deal with him, or paid him, as he said, a 'shit ton of money.'

'Guess they just view me as that important. Funny. As James, I didn't even get a trial, but as the son of god they will do whatever they can to keep me happy.'

It hurt a bit to know that even as Zero I was unavoidably affected by the inherent views of society, where the prioritized people were those in power and not the people in need. With that being said, I was still grateful for the man in front of me.

"Don't worry, I know my limits. Although I can't say I won't ever use my power again, I will try my best not to."

"If you say so. Oh, also, I have gotten a private office so I can meet other patients. If you need anything, you can just go there. It's right below us, on the first floor of the infirmary."

==========

*Click*

'I'm finally back... This week... has been too much."

With me returning to my apartment, I felt the exhaustion of the last week rush at me like a train. It was pure insanity that things could have escalated to this point in just a couple of days. And it was finally time for my head to get some rest.

"Transform... Urgh!"

The familiar pain hit me like a hammer as my body quickly disintegrated into bubbles, just to be recreated through my mist. And once more, the world had regained its colorless visage, and I felt like I could finally breathe again.

"Haaa... What the fuck did I do..."

Thinking back now was incredibly painful, remembering all the stupid shit I had done being an emotional wreck. However, this clarity also led me to see that it wasn't all bad. In fact, most of it was good, almost no matter how it played out.

Seating myself at the small kitchen table, I couldn't stop myself from smiling as I thought about the future. In the end, both my and Zero's goals were close enough that there was nothing stopping us from both getting what we wanted.

Though his ambitions were naïve, I had no choice but to recognize that they were to some degree born out of my own inclinations. Even if I didn't feel much remorse for people dying in this form, my goal had never been a needless slaughter, even more so when I started to understand how this world worked.

What this meant was that I had attained quite a powerful piece that could be used very flexibly, as long as my emotions didn't get in the way too much. Say for example if people started relying on Zero in the war, but he started advocating for harmony between the allied races and the demons?

Inevitably this would cause a large amount of discord with the allied races, as long as his support was strong enough, and could very well mean that the allied races would weaken just because of it. At the same time, if by some miracle people accepted the idea and the demons suddenly agreed as well? Then I would have instantly won.

There was just the unknown factor of what would happen when Zero's body gave up. However, even that didn't matter much because I didn't have much to lose. After all, if things went wrong, wouldn't it just end with me dying?

Yet, the nagging feeling that I had in my 2nd form was still lingering inside of me. A feeling that I hated a lot. A feeling that had made me nervous to switch back to this form in fear of what I might do as James when I felt it.

Luckily, I had enough control after analyzing it in the hospital bed not to do anything hasty. After all, wasn't that the role of my 2nd form? To act childishly and emotionally, while my 1st form had to keep his calm at all times.

With that being said, I couldn't stop a very emotional thought from popping up in my head.

'Just you wait, you fucking god of nothing! I will drag you down, even if I have to give my life to do so!'

****

[Arthur's Pov]

"So, have you found out anything more about the principal?"

"All I have found is what is open to the public. No matter what I do, it seems like he is completely clean, even to the point where I am beginning to suspect that James is just paranoid. However, there is one thing..."

This was the now weekly meeting I had with Sebastian, where I would get to find out more about whatever James was involved in. It did make some sense that if he had gotten wrongly accused of a crime, the principal would be part of it, but I had a hard time seeing the bigger picture.

"What?"

Although Sebastian had recuperated a bit after his meeting with a monster, he was still quite clearly shaken by the event, and it appeared that his old confidence was a long way from returning. So it wasn't that weird that he hesitated a bit to talk to me, knowing that he was in some way going along with James's plans.

Still, there was nothing else he could do, "Though the academy has been neutral and cut off from the rest of Mensch, there are records of the academy giving donations to a lot of different orphanages. And from what I could see, this is the first time this has ever happened."

"That's weird..."

It wasn't just weird that the academy suddenly started doing charity work, but it was strange that this hadn't been picked up by the media. If someone of high status suddenly started donating money, wouldn't they usually want people to notice?

So, either age had made the principal start feeling sentimental, but didn't want anyone to know, or there was something up.

The purple head bobbed a bit as he nodded in agreement, "Yes, but that's also the only thing I could find. I'm afraid that if nothing changes... I might have to try and see what he is up to in person, by myself..."

Even with most parts about the principal being shrouded in mystery, there was no one who would believe that the principal of Ainu would be someone weak. That was not how this world worked, and the other people in power would make it continue like this.

Because of the fact that Manuals and essences could be bought, even if there was someone without talent being born into a noble household, they would either make sure he got strong enough through money, or they would throw them away.

So, what Sebastian just told me...

'That's a death sentence...'

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