I Became a Person Who Wanted To Drop Out of the Academy chapter 54

54 – Defection Part 4 –

“…So, why were you captured?”

“Haven’t you heard? It’s a bit troublesome to explain, but it’s because of political turmoil. So, it’s only been two weeks. Just two weeks.”

“Still… You were imprisoned, weren’t you?”

“If you put it that way, there are many people who have been treated more unfairly than me. That’s just how the world is. Some may have committed lesser crimes and ended up living here for a few years. So, what?”

Aria Winterfield, the younger sister of Theseus Winterfield.

The child had come to find me.

To this Elros Penitentiary.

I knew she would come because I had been good to her when she was little.

Since I was young, he always followed me around and found it adorable.

Because I was a child, it was cute.

“So what? Do you want me to help you escape?”

“Well, kind of, but the meaning is a little different.”

“What do you mean?”

“Even if you roam around freely here, nobody really says anything, right? It’s not like they can call it imprisonment when it’s just two weeks, plus my status and friendship with the Duke.”

“It’s not imprisonment, and even if they try to treat you like a prisoner, it’s impossible because of your relationship with Dad, right?”

“Yeah, that’s right. The Duke is not a prisoner.”

The reason I brought the Duke to this detention center is very simple.

If the Duke visits, he can’t treat me recklessly.

The Duke is a presence in the North that has no restrictions unless it’s a direct visit from the Emperor himself.

Even escaping.

“Should I help you escape too?”

“Well, it’s only two weeks. Just two weeks. Who would come within those two weeks? And at that point, the Duke can intervene.”

“Then just ask to be let out. But why did you call me?”

“I don’t know the geography around here.”

Those words made Aria’s eyes turn cold.

Well, that could be possible.

“Hey, I don’t know what you’re thinking, but the reason I want to leave is because I have something else to do. I have something to take care of somewhere else.”

“Can’t you do it at the Academy?”

“Of course not. It’s too far away. It’s in the North. I only know the information, so I called you.”

There are many things that cannot be handled at the Academy in this land.

One of the notable ones is Mount Muguk in the North.

But Aria was surprised to hear where I planned to go during those two weeks.

“Mount… Muguk? Are you trying to kill yourself, brother!?”

“No, there are good things there. Trust me.”

“No, it’s too high, even beyond the reach of the Saintess’s foresight. How can you go there?”

There are many places beyond the reach of the Saintess’s foresight.

Even the Academy and the Imperial Court are not bound by the Saintess’s foresight.

“There are many places where one can be free from precognition. Those are all places where humans have sought to avoid precognition. The Illusion of Work! Endless Mountain! Within the World Tree!

Naturally occurring spaces are all extreme environments!”

“But the interior of the World Tree and the Illusion of Work aren’t natural environments.”

“Anyway!”

Endless Mountain.

Literally a mountain with no limits.

Endless Mountain, located in the north, is the closest mountain to the sky.

It is considered sacred as it is believed to be the place closest to the deity of the sky, the Heavenly God.

It is also famous for no one ever having visited its summit.

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It is so high that it easily pierces through the clouds, making it impossible to see the saint’s precognition.

There is something I desire in that place.

“In that case, it might be better to handle it at the academy…”

“You know I have limitations. This case involves official confinement, so my abilities are frozen. Therefore, it won’t affect our contract.”

“There’s a time right now when I can be away from the academy for a long time… Are you planning on taking advantage of it?”

“Yeah. Originally, I was planning to do it during vacation. But I have other plans for vacation.”

The plan has been significantly modified.

Since it seemed difficult to be away from the academy for a while, I decided to put out the urgent fire first, so to speak.

Of course, I will continue to try to go.

Because there’s always a chance.

And there’s no benefit in not doing it.

“Phew. So, what exists on Endless Mountain? Can you tell me?”

“Endless Mountain, where the sky and the land are closest. What exists there… is the power of the sky.”

“The power of the sky? But no one has ever climbed Endless Mountain, right? How do you know then?”

“You don’t need to know. And many people have climbed Endless Mountain. There are testimonies, you know?”

“Well, how can I believe that? You’re saying unbelievable things. Even if it’s true that there’s nothing when you climb the mountain, how is it true that a pure white prison has appeared?

Apart from that, tell me. You’ve been saying things like a jerk more often, but at least you don’t usually lie.”

Aria continued to ask me to explain, but I couldn’t do it.

It wasn’t for any particular reason, it was just complicated to explain.

How can I describe something that takes two hours to watch in a video with words?

“So how are we going to escape?”

Aria asked me.

I didn’t elaborate on the escape plan.

The reason I didn’t speak was simple.

I didn’t think I would ever be able to say it.

“I’m thinking of using the easiest method. It’s a way that can surprise everyone I’ve thought of.”

“What is it?”

“It’s here.”

I immediately took out the items I had prepared in advance.

Something excellent that I had prepared to escape.

At first, Aria looked at me with an intrigued expression.

Aria recognized my creativity as well.

But when the truth of what I had prepared was revealed.

Aria looked at me with a disgusted expression and questioned me.

“Brother… are you crazy?”

“It’s probably less crazy than what I did on your birthday.”

Even though Aria had always followed me since she was little.

She was horrified by my actions.

However, the reason she still followed me was that when I didn’t do anything reckless, I was mature.

But still, I had lived for more than 40 years, including past lives.

“…Don’t you have any sense of shame?”

“If you become an adult, there are times when you have to endure that kind of thing.”

“But no one would call you an adult after seeing this.”

The reason Aria had this reaction was simple.

What I took out was a maid outfit.

“To pretend to be a maid and escape together… Aren’t you taller than 180cm, brother?”

“That’s right.”

“But… why are you doing this…?”

“It’s a pretext. A pretext that no one noticed that I was escaping.”

“…What?”

“Why didn’t you detect the escape?” I asked. “You have plenty of reasons to explain why you couldn’t detect it.”

Everyone would know.

But no one would say a word.

I have a connection with the Duke.

I’m here because I’m the youngest daughter of the Winfield Duke.

“Just wait outside for a moment. We’re about to start.”

“…I don’t know.”

Aria went outside, and I changed my clothes.

It was time for the not-so-innocent maid to make her debut.

—-

I can feel the gazes of the people around me.

Of course, it’s natural. I’m not particularly good-looking, and my body is quite muscular.

Anyone who sees a man in a maid’s outfit claiming to be a maid would be surprised.

“Miss Aria, it’s time to go now.”

As my voice resonated, those around me became even more bewildered.

I didn’t have any intention to hide because there was no need.

“Is that… your voice?”

“Are you trying to pass off as a woman with that tone?”

“Initially, it’s just for two weeks, so it doesn’t really matter, right? Look, even the guards are just going along with it.”

“Do you really think they’re trying to hide it seriously?”

“…I don’t think so. If they believed it would work, they wouldn’t have called the Duke… But maybe this lunatic believes it.”

Despite the murmurs of many people, I didn’t care.

I might look like a man dressed as a woman, but claiming to be a maid was a display of power.

That’s why I could calmly make my escape.

It seems that the attention of the people around me has lessened a bit.

“Thank you, Aria.”

“I won’t follow you there.”

“I never wished for this.”

“Isn’t it natural to feel sorry if the first thing you say after meeting someone after several years is about escaping from prison?”

“But how am I supposed to prevent father from going?”

“It was because you hid in the cake and then exploded it! Even if it were me, I would never let you go!!!”

Hmm. It was a good decision not to reveal the truth.

I had permission from the duke to do it.

Two weeks of emptiness.

I will make the most of that time.

After all, I have already strayed from the main story.

—-

Mount Muguk, the highest mountain in this world.

It literally means a limitless mountain.

Of course, it is not a truly limitless mountain.

It is just that with the technology of this era, it is impossible to accurately measure its peak height.

People who have returned from there all talk about strange things, so I just let it go.

“So, this is the starting point.”

In most cases, the highest mountains on Earth are located in mountain ranges.

Therefore, humans usually start from the middle of the mountain and reach the summit.

Mount Everest is a representative example with a relatively low height of 3,922m.

But Mount Muguk is different.

It stands alone without any mountain ranges.

As if someone erected it.

Actually, someone did erect it.

Although it wasn’t intentional.

“The game designers really did a sloppy job. Where is this ridiculous mountain located?”

The slope of the mountain exceeded an astonishing 47 degrees.

A slope that would be impossible to stand on without high frictional ground.

But I am a knight who has mastered Aura.

If I use Aura Support, it doesn’t matter.

Even the empty air is filled with Aura Support.

The cold doesn’t really bother me.

I’ve mastered Ora-enhancement and Ora-emanation.

Ora-enhancement, which boosts resistance to the cold.

And Ora-emanation, which can absorb escaping heat.

By applying these two techniques, I can conserve heat.

Step by step.

Snow crunches beneath my first stride.

Luckily, the weather is clear.

If you only look at the sky, it seems like a warm day.

However, the massive wind created by the world’s highest landmass is trying to tear me apart.

If I didn’t have Ora-emanation activated at this altitude.

I could have been blown away by winds not just stealing heat, but also carrying me away.

But I’m okay.

Mount Mukyaksan is just a high mountain, not a snowy wasteland in the northernmost reaches.

“…I came without any special plan. Well, there shouldn’t be any issues.”

This plan was hastily put together.

After all, there’s no way for me, not even a saint, to know that I’d be imprisoned in the north.

The biggest challenge in conquering Mount Mukyaksan is the environment, that’s why I came right away.

If there were someone else with me, they wouldn’t have come alone.

I’ve overcome the environmental factors, so I practically don’t need anything special for this mission.

The wind pushes against me with great force.

The wind currents are trying to pierce my body.

I’ve overcome it all.

Using Ora-support, I anchor both legs to the ground.

I resist the wind that’s stealing my body heat with Ora-emanation.

With Ora-enhancement, I increase my lung capacity to endure the low oxygen environment.

By persevering like this, I’ll eventually reach the summit.

I walked for a very long time.

Thanks to Ora-support, it felt more like walking on flat ground than climbing.

Even so, 12 kilometers is quite a long distance.

How many hours had passed?

Through avalanches, brutal winds, and turbulent currents.

I finally saw the summit of that mountain.

I thought I would be happy until I reached the top.

But I didn’t feel any particular emotion.

Because my purpose was not to climb to the summit.

It was because I didn’t feel the sense of accomplishment.

“There have been many people who have reached Mount Muguk… but no one believed their accounts…”

If someone makes up their mind to conquer Mount Muguk, it is easily achievable.

I have succeeded in conquering it myself.

The only reason why no one knows about the successful conquests is because nobody believed what they saw there.

There were many who conquered it.

But nobody believed them.

Because at its summit…

“There really is nothing.”

There was nothing at all.

It may seem ordinary in some ways.

But it is slightly different.

When reaching the peak, the body suddenly begins to float.

And the surroundings start turning white, engulfing the whole world.

In such a world, there is nothing that exists.

Nothing at all.

Only emptiness made of white exists.

In that world, chains suddenly sprout.

Chains made of white, not gray, that decorate the surroundings in an eerie way.

A prison.

It’s not an accurate metaphor, but it describes this place the best.

Nothing happened for a while.

And nothing will probably happen in the future.

Many people had come to this place.

Because, at some point, they must have descended suddenly from the Mugeuk Mountain.

That’s why the accounts of those who had climbed Mugeuk Mountain were treated as mere fantasies.

There couldn’t be any mystique in a place without magical influence (confirmed by a wizard).

However, there was a reason for this.

Mugeuk Mountain.

The land closest to the sky.

One might think the power of the heavens would be strongest here.

But in reality, it was quite the opposite.

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The most potent force of the heavens resided in the heavens themselves.

Mugeuk Mountain was, on the contrary, a land that should have been where the sky existed.

With this perspective in mind,

The meaning of this place might seem a bit different.

Because…

“This place is meant to seal you.”

To uncover the truth of Mugeuk Mountain, one must approach it through a different route.

We have already reached it.

If someone is at the right place but remains unaware of the fact,

They will continue to wander.

So, how can one avoid getting lost here?

“So, now let me out.”

The answer is simple: accompany someone who knows the way.

A place built in the heavens to seal an angel.

A prison in the heavens constructed to imprison an angel wielding the power of the heavens.

The summit of Mugeuk Mountain is precisely that place.

[After 30,4367 years have passed… At last, a new intellect has come to inherit.]

It’s the place where a fallen angel descended to the Earth.

Whether we should call it a fall is somewhat ambiguous.