Eruki, who was lying on the table, said.
"Have you made any progress in the meantime? Until yesterday, they were determined to chase them down and beat them up."
Amy didn't even have the energy to get angry. Eruki probably felt the same. They were too worn out after a week of stress to lift a finger.
Amy rested her chin on the bed and said,
"At least now I can see that there are people fighting for Shirone."
Neid, who was watching the protest from the window, replied.
"Even so, our side is mostly made up of lower and upper-class students. In contrast, most of the protesters are about to graduate. If they really get in, we won't be able to stop them."
said Cerielle.
"But for now, we should be fine. We have the teachers on our side. The director, Teacher Siena, and Miss Ethella are on our side."
"You don't know, senior. They... their actions have been suspicious since yesterday."
"Eh? What?"
Cerielle turned to Neid and asked, but Eruki replied.
"It seems that some of them have disappeared, especially Amira and Fermi. At least one of them should stay to incite the crowd."
snapped Amy angrily.
"Hey! Why do you keep using informal language with me while being polite to Cerielle?"
Eruki looked away as if it bothered him. There was no special reason for it, but they simply thought that if Shirone's girlfriend was their friend, then Amy should be too.
When the door of the infirmary opened, Alpeas entered with Siena and Ethella. The persistence of the student council had left the teachers' faces increasingly haggard.
"They've been through a lot. How is Shirone?"
"As you can see... he's still the same."
"I see. It's inevitable."
Now Alpeas couldn't avoid having doubts. It had already been a week. If an Absolute being appeared and said that Shirone would come back to life, they would wait a year or even ten. However, the problem was that no one could prove that Shirone would return alive. It was a race against time.
"I'll cast a spell on Shirone."
Amy and Cerielle opened the way. Alpeas put his hand on Shirone's chest and cast a Slow Magic. It was an embalming treatment that could be done without harming the body.
After finishing the magic, Alpeas retreated again. Now Shirone will be able to make it through another day.
But, for how long? Although the teachers were now watching in silence, complaints would inevitably arise as time passed.
Siena stared at Shirone and stroked his hair. The more she thought about it, the more unfair and resentful she felt. To think that a promising student would end up like this even before blooming.
'That's why I said I had to stop it.'
Shirone did well in the Overflow. But the price he paid was frequent contact with the Immortal Function. At that time, Ethella had said that she would take full responsibility. She now had no intention of criticizing. If something went wrong with Shirone, she would spend her entire life consoling his soul.
"Teacher! There's a big problem!"
Cerielle shouted. Amy and Neid also looked out the window, unable to hide their anger. Siena approached the window. Amira and Fermi, who hadn't been seen until yesterday, were pushing documents toward the infirmary.
"We, as representatives of the students of the Aldeas Academy of Magic, will file a lawsuit against all the teachers! Please allow us to take over Director Alpeas's employment!"
Siena had a headache. In the end, her concerns had come true. The student council had gone all out. They not only intended to punish Alpeas but also impose sanctions on other teachers.
If the lawsuit was filed, the situation would spiral out of control. If the families of the students got involved, the academy would collapse beyond recovery.
When Siena opened the window, the protesters fell silent instantly.
"What the hell is this ruckus? Is it the student council's task to incite the students and stir up the academy?"
Amira approached the window.
"It's not incitement. Nor do we want to go that far. That's why we haven't filed the lawsuit yet. However, there are too many suspicious points. It's been 7 days since Shirone died. Still, the teachers keep hesitating to make it public."
"Shirone is not dead. He's just in a suspended animation state."
"There can't be suspended animation without a beating heart. We can't accept the fact that there's no decomposition. Could it not be possible with Director Alpeas's magic?"
The student council seemed to have reached this conclusion. It was an accurate assumption.
However, there are things in the world that should not be judged only by the result. The student council didn't understand why Shirone had to be preserved.
The cause of the problem was the Immortal Function. Even the students of the magic academy couldn't emotionally respond because they lacked knowledge about that realm.
"You are right in your thinking. Currently, Shirone is being preserved with Slow Magic to prevent decomposition."
Siena readily admitted. The student council, as well as the opposing students blocking the entrance, stirred.
"Do you admit the suspicion?"
"Don't rush, Amira. Suspicion can only be used when one thinks that the teachers intended to use Shirone as a shield."
"You're right, teacher. But we haven't heard any circumstantial evidence to judge that. The student council can't understand the actions of the teachers."
"The teachers did not acknowledge Shirone's death. Nor do they have any intention of escaping. That's why we ask for your understanding."
"Teacher, Shirone's death is also sad for us. But the student council doesn't want our beloved alma mater to fall like this."
"I understand that you can't trust the teachers right now. But we have also considered carefully and made the best decision. Whether you believe it or not depends on your judgment."
Amira pondered Siena's words. She couldn't rule out the possibility that the teachers knew something that had slipped by her. After all, humans tend to believe in what they deem right.
However, even after thinking it over a hundred times, she couldn't understand it. Shirone is already dead. No, honestly, whether he was alive or dead, it felt wrong to her that all the teachers were protecting him.
"Is this the right way to act? Am I being rational? What if Shirone comes back to life somehow? But that's absolutely impossible..."
Amira didn't want to resort to a lawsuit if not for her position as the student council president. But if she backed down, the students would suffer the consequences.
Fermi, who was observing, didn't like how conflicted Amira was. Worried that things might crumble, he decided to intervene himself.
"In the end, compromise isn't possible. In that case, we have no choice but to use our last resort."
Siena looked at Fermi with a troubled expression. She had never encountered a student like him in her four years as a teacher. Fermi was someone with great talent but even more skilled at hiding it.
He believed in lies and enjoyed using that power to control the situation. While this might be a necessary skill for a mage, it was not something students should possess.
"Go ahead, file the lawsuit if you want. In the end, you'll be the ones regretting it."
"Fine, let's do it! Let's retrieve Shirone's body first and proceed with the lawsuit! Let's go! We'll rescue Shirone with our own power!"
Fermi strode towards the infirmary, guided by graduating students. No one could stop them now as they were caught up in the crowd's mindset.
"Let's hold Siena's funeral and accuse the teachers! The Academy belongs to the students, not the teachers!"
"Wait! Don't do this!"
Students from Shirone's faction, including Maria, stood in their way, but it was in vain. Soon, the path cleared. Most of Fermi's group were last-year students about to graduate. Having numerical superiority didn't matter if it was a contest of skills.
"Isn't this too much? It's still a matter of life or death for a comrade."
Mark tried to block their way with his unique assertiveness, but the last-year graduates didn't even consider it worthwhile to talk to the juniors of Class Seven.
At that moment, a window on the third floor shattered. Students scattered as glass shards fell. Neid jumped out of the building. The wind from his Flying Magic swept the dust off the ground, causing the protesters to squint.
Neid raised his head slowly, with a fierce look.
"Get lost, all of you, before I kill you. Nobody can lay a finger on Shirone."
Seeing the situation escalate, Amira decided to abandon her thoughts and take action. The milk had already been spilled, and if they lost momentum, they'd also lose public opinion.
"What's this? Don't you know this won't work by making a scene? And telling your seniors that you'll kill them? Where did you learn that language?"
Neid didn't hear any of the words. He could only think of protecting Shirone.
"Do you want to take Shirone away? Then come in, but I can't guarantee your lives."
A blue lightning floated above Neid's head, and he unleashed a powerful lightning bolt around him. It was Lightning, electrical magic. But even more terrifying was the plasma emanating from Neid.
Amira widened her distance, showing a bewildered look.
'How is he using plasma from the advanced class...'
To cast Plasma Magic, one must build an overheated battery or virtually create overheated plasma with Omnipotence.
However, since the first method was not developed, all plasma mages belonged to the second, and it was hard to reach because it was not something that could be learned through theory.
Eruki looked at Neid with a disgusted face.
"Stupid bastard. You've been holding back until now."
The only person in the academy who knew Neid's past was Eruki. Five years ago, Neid was a completely different person. However, he had sworn never to show his true face again and wore a mask. But now, he had removed that mask, all to protect Shirone.
'I feel a bit sorry for him.'
Eruki smiled bitterly and turned away. And like the man he never was, he slipped out of the infirmary unnoticed.
The protesters were quite surprised. They knew how dangerous plasma was because they had seen the "Electric Monster" Raikon in the promotion.
Neid glared at Amira and said,
"This is my last warning. Get lost."
"Why are you doing this? What does protecting your dead friend mean to you?"
"Shirone is not dead."
Tears streamed down Neid's wide-open eyes.
"What do you know? What do you know about Shirone to blabber like that?"
Seeing Neid's tears, Amira felt sorry for him. But she had no intention of giving up.
"If you want a confrontation, I won't stand by idly. I'll subdue you before the students get hurt."
Amira stepped back and clenched her fists. White clouds swirled around her, a magic from the Climate System called Cloud. It was a great counter against electricity. Indeed, at Amira's level, she could even charge Neid's electricity into the clouds and counterattack.
"Anyway... Why are you doing something you can't handle?"
Eruki emerged through the
main door. Neid frowned, wondering what kind of trick Eruki was up to now. But Eruki stopped next to Neid, not Amira.
"What? Don't interfere. This is my fight."
"But from now on, it will be my fight too."
"Weren't you on their side?"
Neid's tone was harsh. Although there was no lingering resentment between friends, there was no reason for Eruki, who believed Shirone was dead, to join this battle.