Asura in Arknights

Kristen quietly put away the proposal.

The idea that you can get strong support from the Department of Defense by packaging some random projects as weapons development is ridiculous!

-------------------------------------

P.S. Looking at Sami's Rogue, it seems the backstabbing in Volume 3 wasn't too severe. Apart from not knowing about the stargate at the deepest part of the Inferno Icefield back then, it seems to make a rough connection.

Chapter 106

“I see... Bringing outsiders into the academy is not allowed, but you are a big shot in Laterano, so this kind of thing should not matter to you.”

Upon hearing Raphael's explanation, Rachel didn't suspect anything; he simply made a casual remark.

"Then have fun... Come to think of it, there's not much fun to do at the academy, is there?"

“Never mind,” he said, holding up his notebook and waving it at Raphael. “I have to go to the lab, so I won’t bother you any longer.”

After saying that, Rachel hurriedly left.

After he left, Eleanor asked in a low voice, "Senior, who was that person just now? Was he your friend?"

After a moment's thought, Raphael raised an eyebrow and said, "He... strictly speaking, isn't a friend, just an acquaintance I've met a few times?"

"I don't think I've ever seen him before," Eleanor muttered to herself.

In the past few days, Eleanor has spent most of her time with Raphael, but she has never seen the man.

There wasn't any particular reason; Eleanor was just curious about when they had met... and it seemed like more than once?

Raphael thought for a moment and realized that Eleanor had indeed never met Rachel, so he casually explained, "Didn't I tell you before that when I first entered the dream world, I was attacked by a werewolf monster? That monster was Rachel's projection in the dream world."

“Oh, it was him.” Eleanor looked somewhat surprised.

Recalling Rachel's appearance just now, Eleanor said thoughtfully, "Wasn't he like this before?"

Raphael nodded. "Yes, Rachel used to have a terrible reputation, but after the evil projection in the dream world was dealt with... he's like a completely different person."

This was also discovered by Raphael afterward. Rachel's change before and after was so great that it was as if he had become enlightened, which is why he was extremely wary of the dream world.

If Raphael hadn't discovered this, he might have dismissed the dream world as a strange illusion and wouldn't have taken it as seriously as he does now.

"Later I found out that Rachel's personality wasn't distorted. How should I describe it... it's like he was burning with anger and then a bucket of cold water was poured over his head. After a while, he would probably return to his true nature, but it probably wouldn't be as extreme as before."

To put it simply, it's like entering a sage mode, but this sage mode lasts for a relatively long time.

Rafael opened the car door as he shared his guesses.

Alice and Eleanor instinctively sat in the back, while Lucien remained in the shadows, not taking up any space in the car.

What none of them noticed was that the moment Rafael opened the car door, a gentle breeze swept past him and into the carriage.

There was a slight indentation in the passenger seat, as if an unseen person had sat there. Even Raphael, who was standing right next to it, did not notice this subtle change.

Their destination was the night market on campus.

Actually, Rachel was right about one thing: there really isn't much fun to do at the academy.

If it were a visit to the academy, Eleanor could think of a few nice places, but when it came to playing... this is a school, a place for learning, not an amusement park for people to have fun.

After much deliberation, Eleanor finally came up with a suitable place—the school's secondhand market, which, of course, turned into a night market after dark.

Besides the regular shops there, many students also set up stalls to sell things to supplement their income.

Although there are many noble descendants in the Royal Academy, there are also quite a few ordinary people with a little talent who are admitted to the Royal Academy.

Many of them couldn't afford the high tuition fees and had to take out student loans to study here. They even paid their tuition fees with loans, so their standard of living was naturally not very high.

Coming here to sell handmade gadgets or things secretly obtained from outside the academy is a good way to make money.

And once night falls... most of the security personnel have gone off duty, and many things that are inconvenient to show during the day will be put on display under the cover of night.

If you're interested in spending some time at the night market, you're sure to find some useful items. There are just so many random things there, you can always find a lot of new things.

Raphael parked the car a little further away and led Alice and Eleanor into the market.

When Eleanor saw Alice running excitedly around the various stalls, she knew she had made the right choice this time.

Meanwhile, Eleanor was also curiously observing her surroundings.

Although she came up with the idea, Eleanor had never been here herself; she had only heard her roommates mention it in conversations.

It is said that the night market in each college is different, and the things sold there are also different depending on the college.

They are currently at the Originium Arts Academy, where students come to sell all sorts of homemade spell units.

The most varied and also the most expensive... the characteristics of the casting unit determine that this thing cannot be cheap.

Eleanor wandered among the exquisite items made by her seniors. Although she loved them very much, she was short of money. If she bought just one item, she would be eating dirt for the next two weeks.

So Eleanor just stood by and watched, keeping most of her attention on Alice, who was not far away, lest the child accidentally run away.

Just as Eleanor was about to pick up a small music box to take a look, she suddenly heard Raphael's voice behind her, "Eleanor, can I ask you for a favor?"

"Huh?"

"Could you please look after Alice? Someone wants to talk to me about something."

As Raphael spoke, he pointed to the empty space beside him.

Eleanor instinctively looked in the direction Raphael was pointing, and as her gaze moved, a tall, thin figure suddenly appeared on the empty ground.

That's... Headmaster Hertford? When did he get there?

Noticing Eleanor's gaze, Hertford nodded slightly to her.

Eleanor was startled by Hertford's sudden appearance and instinctively turned to run away. But she quickly realized that Raphael had already said that Headmaster Hertford was not their enemy for the time being.

She could only manage a slightly stiff smile.

Fortunately, Hertford didn't pay much attention to Eleanor, only greeting her before turning his attention to Raphael.

Eleanor breathed a slight sigh of relief, then quickly caught up with Alice, who had already run far away.

In the crowd, Rafael and Hertford stood facing each other.

Strangely, the students passing by seemed completely oblivious to their presence, unconsciously avoiding them.

"Psychological invisibility?" Raphael asked, raising an eyebrow.

Alice had used a similar ability before, but Raphael hadn't expected Hertford to use it as well.

Hearing Raphael's question, Hertford shook his head. "No, I can't learn the magic of Dream Castle."

"Alice was willing to teach us, but neither Michelle nor I had any talent in this area. After several months of learning, we could only manage to distract children who already had difficulty concentrating for a second or two."

There might be something else involved in the magic of Dream Castle. Whether it counts as Originium Arts is still debatable, otherwise it wouldn't have taken two Originium Arts masters several months to master even a little bit of it.

Well... although Hertford has been quite pessimistic, saying that he's not as good as Michel in this or that, he is indeed a very strong scorer.

"This is just a little aftereffect left over from that time when we paid the price... It only has a slight effect on ordinary people."

"I see." Raphael nodded in realization.

No wonder he spotted Hertford immediately, while the students around him didn't see him.

According to Hertford, this minor ability would probably only work on those whose psionic abilities haven't reached a high level, and students at the Royal Academy... being able to even touch the threshold of a high level would already make them exceptionally outstanding students. Eleanor should be able to achieve that goal before graduation.

Alice's psychological invisibility was far more powerful; even the announcers of the Scarlet Troupe couldn't detect her movements.

This little incident quickly passed, and after exchanging a few words with Raphael, Hertford's gaze passed through the crowd and landed on little Alice.

"It's so similar... almost exactly like Alice from back then, even their personalities are not much different."

Hertford shook his head helplessly. "I used to doubt whether what Michelle found out was true... but now that I see her, I understand. Unfortunately, there's nothing I can do about it now."

"..." Raphael remained silent.

Although Raphael came for Dream Castle, and if everything goes smoothly, he might indeed be able to resolve Alice's problems, Raphael will not make any guarantees about that.

Making promises to others casually, only to fail to keep them, is undoubtedly a terrible thing.

All of those were just Raphael's guesses; we'll have to wait until we enter Dream Castle to make a judgment on the specifics.

Rafael pretended not to hear Hertford's mutterings.

After a brief silence, Raphael changed the subject, "By the way, Headmaster, did you come here just to see Alice?"

Rafael thought Hertford had only come to see Alice... but it seems Hertford's purpose was more than that.

If he just wanted to see Alice, he could have just watched her secretly from the shadows; there was no need for him to swagger over and stand in front of Raphael.

Upon hearing Raphael's question, Hertford finally turned his gaze away from Alice and replied, "I do have something to discuss with you."

"...Shall we go somewhere else?"

It wouldn't be a problem for Rafael to stand on the street and chat with Hertford for a bit, but he didn't want to just stand there like an idiot.

Should we find a place to sit down in one of the shops on the street? Talking to thin air seems rather silly, which is why Raphael suggested we find another place to talk.

If Hertford were to lose his ability... the consequences of the principal appearing in such a place would be unimaginable; it would almost certainly cause a riot.

After all... the students at the Royal Academy aren't exactly well-behaved. Many of the things they sell here violate school rules. Otherwise, why would they specifically choose the time when the security office is off duty?

Of course, Raphael didn't really care about causing a commotion; he just didn't want to spoil Alice's good mood... It was rare to see her having so much fun, and he probably wouldn't have such a good opportunity again.

Raphael had a premonition that when they entered Dream Castle... Alice would face a result that was definitely not what she hoped for.

Before that happens, let Alice have some fun for now.

Hertford understood Raphael's meaning and shook his head, saying, "No need, it's right here."

"Fine, whatever you want."

Since Hertford insisted, Rafael had nothing to say and simply shrugged in agreement.

He wanted to see what Hertford wanted to say to him... Could it be that Hertford's investigation had made some new progress while he was lying there yesterday?

Hertford walked toward a fast food restaurant on the side of the street and exchanged a few words with the owner.

As he initiated conversations with others, his abridged version of psychological invisibility naturally lost its effect. Surprisingly, Hertford didn't cause much of a commotion, as if he was meant to be there.

Clearly... this is also a spell from Dream Castle. It seems that Hertford didn't learn nothing as he claimed; he has grasped at least a little bit.

Of course, it could also be related to that so-called aftereffect.

After sitting down opposite Hertford, Rafael sent a message to Eleanor, telling her his current location so she wouldn't be unable to find him later.

"Speak, what is it you want to discuss this time?"

"I discovered that the parasites are spreading at an accelerated rate."

Chapter 106

Raphael's expression changed slightly when he saw this line of record.

This record was made shortly after he arrived at the Royal Academy, when he was being harassed by a group of savage soldiers. Just as Raphael was about to teach those scoundrels a lesson they would never forget, his junior schoolmate appeared out of nowhere.

I don't know if those scumbags left a deep impression on him, but the scene of Eleanor falling from the sky certainly left an unforgettable memory for Raphael.

It's likely that this memory will remain vivid in Raphael's mind for a long time to come.

Therefore, Raphael simply extracted this memory and stored it in the [Law].

If given the chance, Raphael could also retrieve this memory and let Miss Eleanor see her dashing appearance... She would probably be so shy that she would bury her head in her arms, right?

Well, although it's a bit of a wicked joke, it's definitely a rare memory. Raphael plans to give his junior a surprise after everything is over.

There's not much to say about what happened after they got rid of those soldiers. The two of them went to see Professor Michel, who arranged a room for him. To avoid Eleanor having to come and go so often, the professor also had her temporarily move to the room next to Raphael's.

Afterward, they went to the library and, with Eleanor's help, investigated the fairy tales about Dream Castle.

This was Raphael's first day in Lentinium, uneventful and unremarkable. Raphael hadn't expected things to turn out this way.

But... in Raphael's memory, he seemed to have never seen any of Eleanor's senior classmates.

Raphael's expression was somewhat unpleasant as he flipped through his records from the past month.

From the professor's death, entering the dream world, discovering the Scarlet Troupe, meeting Alice, rescuing Lucien... in this series of experiences, besides Eleanor, there seems to be a third person present.

[Heavenly Fire]

The more Raphael looked at him, the uglier his expression became. His memory had deviated significantly from the records stored in the [Law].

In Raphael's memory, there was no one named "Skyfire" at all. All the records of the "Law" related to her were replaced by Eleanor in his memory.

From the very beginning, from the moment he arrived in Lentinium, the junior schoolmate had always been by his side. However... the records in the [Law] told him that many of these experiences were shared by him and that [Heavenly Fire].

But how is that possible??