Became the Academy Romantic Phantom Thief chapter 216

216 – Back to the Academy

“Are you okay?”

In the midst of my thoughts, I was awakened by the voice of the goddess.

She asked, examining my face with a concerned expression.

“Your complexion doesn’t look good. Did something happen while we were talking?”

How can that figure be fake? Are you saying that the eyes looking at me can be lies?

I couldn’t believe it no matter how much I thought about it. It wasn’t too realistic, so I was rather confused.

What did the Goddess of Time mean by giving me such a warning? Does it really mean that the Goddess is deceiving me?

When I didn’t answer right away, the goddess took a step closer and examined my complexion.

If this continues, she will be suspicious, so she tried to pretend that nothing was wrong and answered.

“No. I’m just a little tired.”

“Because entering the inner world requires concentration. Besides, you haven’t been moving all day. There must have been a lot of fatigue.”

She was the same caring goddess as always. Although she had a bit of a mischievous side, she was a goddess as usual who couldn’t even hate that.

“I need to go back soon. To go to the academy tomorrow.”

“Hmm. You have to leave right now so you can make it on time.”

After saying that, the goddess glanced down at her own body and held on to her wry smile.

“Even if it was borrowed for a while, it’s nice to have a body after a long time. I will have to thank this child separately later.”

“… Dorothy would be happy to know that she lent her body to the Goddess.”

Considering that she is a big fan of mythology, she considers it an honor for her family and it’s no wonder she boasts about her grandchildren.

“With her feet on the ground. She captures the landscape with her own two eyes. Reading the sounds of the world with her two ears. Breathe the night air through her nose. It’s so nice to be able to talk to you through her lips.”

Saying that, the goddess smiled brightly. It was a beautiful smile that made me flinch without realizing it.

“Maybe living as a human wouldn’t be bad either. I think it would be nice if I was with you.”

I don’t know why she was there, but at that moment, she seemed to be a woman who smiled at me, not Dorothy, but a strange yet familiar woman.

Her hair was dark blue, shimmering like a night sky embroidered with stars.

I unconsciously asked a question for a moment.

“Goddess. May I ask you one question?”

“Hmm. What is it?”

“Why did you choose me?”

Now I’ve come to a clear realization. That my first encounter with the Goddess was no coincidence.

Her shrine was across the sea in Ireland. It was a space that I couldn’t face at the time I walked out of London. However, I witnessed the same scenery as here at the edge of death.

I don’t know exactly how, but it was clear that it was the goddess’ intention.

Then why? Why did she choose me as her apostle out of all the many goddesses?

Perhaps the warning from earlier to beware of the goddess of lies applies to that answer?

At my question, she shut her mouth and stared at me. Feeling burdened by that gaze, she tried to avert her eyes and was awkwardly silent for a while, and the goddess gave a low reply.

“Because I promised.”

“…Yes?”

When I asked, taken aback by the completely unexpected answer, she shook her head and blocked me from speaking.

“It’s hard to say more right now. I’ll tell you everything later, so please wait a little longer.”

Promise. It’s a promise Promise with whom?

No matter how many times I chewed on the answer, the answer didn’t come out. In the end, I couldn’t help but nod my head in doubt.

“Now it’s time to get back into the ring. Taking up too much time won’t be good for this kid either.”

Saying that, the Goddess held her hands neatly on her chest and gently closed her eyes.

And after a while, I felt her coming back into me. She felt as if the empty space that had been empty until just before was filled with warmth.

[Hmm. After all, this place feels as comfortable as my own home. It’s very cozy.]

Meanwhile, Dorothy, who was standing still with her eyes closed, blinked a few times as if she had regained her senses, showing a puzzled look.

“This is…”

“Are you okay?”

She wondered if there might be any side effects, she asked about her health slightly worried, but fortunately she seemed to be fine on the outside.

“Do you remember what just happened?”

“Well, I don’t know if this is a dream, but something vaguely comes to mind. A very pretty goddess said she would borrow my body for a while…”

The Goddess truly admired the way she talked about the things that had happened to her while talking nonsense.

[That’s amazing. I didn’t know that I could vaguely remember it.]

‘Is this amazing?’

[No way. It means that you have a constitution that accepts God well, so you must have a high probability of receiving God’s love.]

Certainly that would be the best thing for Dorothy. She wondered if she would jump with joy if I told her what the goddess had told her. If she really does show that kind of reaction, she has a strong desire to talk.

Anyway, Dorothy remembered sparsely until after her goddess possessed her. I couldn’t recall the details of the conversation I had with her, but I seemed to be aware of the identity of her goddess or her relationship with me.

“A truly unforgettable experience! Thank you for giving me this opportunity!”

“I have to say thank you. If it had not been for Dorothy’s help, she wouldn’t have been here.”

This was sincere. Even though her goddess is her own shrine, she did not tell us until the end, so if it had not been for Dorothy, she would have trudged back to London without ever finding the ruined temple.

“Then… We are breaking up here.”

Dorothy did not hide her regret. Of course I wanted to spend more time with her and celebrate her journey, but unfortunately she didn’t have the time.

If I don’t run to the station right now and catch the night train, I’ll be late for school tomorrow morning.

“I’ll go to the office to play next time.”

“Really…?”

“Sure.”

It was only after exchanging words like that that Dorothy smiled brightly as if she finally felt relieved.

From noble mtl dot com

[You’re flirting with another woman like this. It is very good.]

“·······.”

As usual, the goddess’s pointless nonsense was added, but my heart was too disturbed to bet on it.

After saying hello to Dorothy, I moved to the Magic Engineering Station closest to my current location.

I was worried about how to find the location of the stop, but thanks to the stop map registered on my membership card, I was able to find it easily.

In the middle of the night, I boarded an empty train car, sat down, and fell into contemplation.

While doing this, I remembered the way I used to go to Paris and back. Back then, as now, I was crossing the sea in the middle of the night.

At the time, I was shocked by the fate that the witch of prophecy had spoken of would meet a terrible end.

I was just thinking about enjoying a new life while living as a phantom sword, but it felt like a heavy stone had landed on my chest with a thump.

It was the Goddess who comforted me. Thanks to her, I was able to sleep peacefully.

[If you don’t sleep now, you’ll be tired later.]

The Goddess worried about me now as well as then. Nothing has changed.

It’s just that I stopped trusting her completely. Even though I knew this was stupid, I couldn’t just ignore her warning from the Goddess of Time.

Some of them are cheating on me. Then, of course, believing in the Goddess is the right thing to do.

I met the Goddess of Time for the first time today, and I know that you have a rough relationship with the Goddess.

It may just be a ruse to create a rift between me and the Goddess, as I first thought.

At least for now, I think I have to think that way and move on. I felt like I would end up not believing anything if I kept holding on to a problem that wouldn’t come out with an answer anyway.

“Goddess.”

[Tell me.]

“You will stay with me no matter what?”

Looking at the starlight in the night sky rising over the endless horizon outside her window, I asked her as if she was childish.

The Goddess answered without hesitation, opening her arms to me as she did back then.

[Of course. I will not leave you until the end.]

End. Where will my end be? What kind of ending will you meet?

I suddenly thought that maybe the point of the end might not be far away.

I barely closed my eyes, leaning on her goddess’ arms as before.

***

“What? Did you stay up all night again?”

Rachel asked, glancing at me, who was sprawled out.

“Just… I am a bit tired.”

Of course, I couldn’t sleep well. I was still distracted because I would have been late if I had made a mistake.

“Tsk tsk. Then, you know that if you stay up all night tomorrow, you will be in big trouble, right?”

“Huh…?”

“What? That response. Could it be that you forgot?”

Rachel said, looking at me as if she meant it.

“It’s a school trip tomorrow.”