Chapter 288 - Skull Masks at the Academy
A group clad in long coats bearing faint bellflower crests on their backs rode along the road in a vehicle.
Every coat they wore was either inky black or moon white, all exquisitely tailored with rich individuality.
At their chests, amethyst bellflower badges and skill insignias stood out vividly, adding color to the dark fabric.
On Yukari-san and Gradena’s sleeves were peony motifs, while the others bore designs of birds of prey—sharp, striking, and undeniably cool. These were vocation badges assigned by section: the raptors symbolized the Intelligence Bureau, while the peony marked those not tied to a specific unit. For now, it was like being directly under the president’s command.
Each of us wore a jet-black beret, a new piece of equipment. It offered solid protection against direct head attacks and came with several hidden functions. Aesthetically, when the whole team wore them, the sight became increasingly military.
We were also each equipped with new magic items, used here partly for field testing.
Since this was a test run, we weren’t at full combat readiness—though our gear might seem a bit excessive.
Besides Yukari-san and me, wearing sunglasses, the team consisted of Gochou Graylease from the Intelligence Bureau, one assistant, and four regular members. Not a large force, but more than enough.
We all piled into a newly delivered medium-sized armored vehicle. Gradena drove, I took the passenger seat, and the other six sat in the back, facing each other across the cabin.
"President and Third Seat, please handle perimeter security after the breach—just as a precaution. We’ll wrap up quickly and return."
"Yeah, it’ll be a walk in the park for you two, but don’t let your guard down."
"If we make even the smallest mistake, the bureau chief will chew us out. We can’t afford to slack off."
Josephine, the Intelligence Bureau chief, never gave her subordinates easy marks, even the veterans. Her policy was to retrain anyone who slipped up, no matter how minor the error. So even on simple assignments, no one dared to relax.
In truth, I had full confidence in Graylease and the rest of the Intelligence Bureau team. I’d never once felt their performance lacking. There was nothing to worry about.
Relaxed and chatting idly, we approached our destination.
Located on the outskirts of the administrative district, the academy was surrounded by trees, lush and quiet, with almost no buildings, people, or vehicles in sight.
"We’re almost there. Begin preparations."
"Wear your masks, don’t forget your gear!"
Graylease’s command set everything in motion.
Each member pulled a black mask from inside their beret and fastened it in place, concealing their face. The white skull painted on each mask was undeniably eerie. Anyone with common sense would feel fear at the sight.
In the back seats, the Skull Mask unit sat ready, gripping the ceiling handles tightly, faces hidden.
The armored vehicle suddenly accelerated, ramming straight toward the academy gates.
I deliberately refrained from deploying a shield. More than testing the new vehicle’s durability, this was about experiencing the full impact firsthand—part of the training.
We crashed through with a violent jolt, lurching forward as the heavy academy gates crumpled under the force.
The vehicle skidded across the wide front courtyard, spinning sharply before coming to an abrupt halt. The deafening roar of destruction shattered the silence, echoing throughout the campus.
The moment we stopped, the rear doors flew open, and the Skull Mask unit poured out.
"Just as planned. Go, go, go!"
Graylease exited last, urging the team forward. One member rushed toward a panicked guard by the broken gate, while the assistant—a young woman—dashed toward the security building near the entrance.
The security building, a stone structure with the same architectural style as the main campus, was slightly larger than a typical single-family home. It wouldn’t take long to secure. Besides housing guards, it contained the control room for security magic items. Seizing this key facility would make the rest of the operation far easier.
Another member ran toward the academy’s rear, while the remaining three charged straight for the main building.
Glancing at the gate, I saw two guards already thrown to the ground. With fluid movements, they were swiftly fitted with magic-sealing bracelets, had sacks pulled over their heads, and were bound. Two at a time, they were carried off toward the security building to assist the assistant. The entire sequence was seamless—flawless execution.
Intelligence Bureau members weren’t frontline fighters. They prioritized efficiency and surprise over brute force. That said, if they wanted to, they could crush opponents head-on without breaking a sweat.
"Clean work."
"If I hadn’t made such a flashy entrance, they’d have finished their job and left without anyone noticing. No wasted effort."
Exactly. Had this been a covert operation, they could’ve achieved their objective through stealth alone, without a soul realizing it.
But since secrecy wasn’t needed this time, Gradena had charged in dramatically from the start.
"This is Layla, Layla speaking. Gochou, we’ve secured the security building. All security magic items are offline. All entrances and windows are locked down, except the main gate."
Suddenly, a voice came through the earring communicator at my ear. This was the magic item we’d brought for practical testing.
"Graylease, copy that. Darcy, continue securing the security building. Layla, rejoin us."
"Layla, roger."
"Darcy, roger. Entering the security building shortly."
Keep communication brief. Short-range communication magic items consumed massive amounts of mana. Part of this test was to get used to the sensation of mana drain.
Layla was the member who first entered the security building, serving as an assistant to the bureau’s leadership. Darcy was the one who had taken down the gate guards.
"Signal quality is excellent."
The voice through the magic item was as clear as during tests at headquarters.
"Still, it’s tough to identify voices by tone alone. But as long as the message gets across perfectly, it’s a useful tool."
The communication magic items we’d acquired had a maximum effective range of about a thousand meters.
The farther apart users were, the more mana it consumed. For someone with average magical capacity, it was said the usable range barely reached a few dozen meters—the device was notoriously inefficient. But our rigorously trained members were in a different league entirely.
While transmitting required enormous mana, receiving consumed almost none. As long as no one tried to broadcast long messages, it was perfectly usable.
For a simple job like this, the device wasn’t strictly necessary. But in situations requiring quick, detailed coordination, it would be far more effective than before.
"Convenient, but I’m worried about encryption strength. If the enemy can intercept our comms in a real crisis, it’ll be useless."
"Even if the enemy can’t hear us, it’s still no good for private conversations."
The communication magic items had complex channel settings, allowing only devices on the same channel to connect. Since you couldn’t target individuals, anyone on the channel could hear every transmission.
Due to strict regulations imposed by the Magic Item Guild Headquarters, each device could only be set to one channel. This made one-on-one communication impossible. We’d purchased them with the understanding they’d be used strictly as organizational tools.
We could set the channels ourselves, but we had to assume the Magic Item Guild could still intercept them.
"This is Jazz. Completed securing the first floor, west side. Though honestly, I just confirmed the classrooms are locked down. No sign of the target. In fact, the classroom we were told about is completely empty."
"Empty? Jazz, fall back to the entrance. Yukari-san, this is Graylease. Could our intel be wrong?"
Unlikely. If one person was missing, fine. But an entire classroom? There had to be a simpler explanation.
"There’s no way we’re wrong. Maybe they’re in a moving class? Somewhere like the music room or art studio. Search the other buildings."
"Graylease, roger. Darcy, unlock the central staircase on the second floor."
"Darcy, roger... unlocked."
With control of the security building’s command room, we now had full access. The academy’s expensive, high-tech security system had become its own downfall. They probably never expected that.
These systems had been aggressively marketed by the Magic Item Guild in recent years, and wealthy institutions rushed to install them. But in actual combat scenarios, they were more of a liability than an asset.
Unfortunately, the campus buildings themselves were magically reinforced, right down to the windows. Only highly skilled individuals could break through. The locked doors were equally sturdy. For the teachers and students here, escape was nearly impossible by any means. Not to mention, they couldn’t possibly evade our surveillance.
In contrast, the new Kikyo Society headquarters used a different strategy: the primary security system was hidden, while a decoy system was handed over to the Security Bureau. Most members didn’t even know the real system existed—only a few high-ranking officials were aware.
Seeing the state of this academy only confirmed that hiding the true system was the right choice.
The fewer people who know a secret, the better. And better yet, not relying on systems at all—that was one of our strengths.
It was better to leave things open, let the foolish intruders in, then crush them. It served as a warning and kept everyone on edge.
"This is Layla. Second floor secured. No sign of the target. There’s some chaos in the locked classrooms, but both teachers and students are surprisingly calm. Though quite a few kids are crying..."
"This is Jazz. Third floor secured as well. Same situation. Still no sign of the target."
"This is Graylease. Situation acknowledged. Only the Special Wing remains. Layla and Jazz, move to the Special Wing and locate the target. Ruby, hold at the central staircase. Imogene, you’re probably bored, but keep watching the rear entrance. I’ll go explain things to the academy staff."
It was troubling that the target hadn’t been found yet, but with the main building secured, the job was nearly over.
"The acting principal’s some old lady, right? She’s probably panicking inside. Poor thing."
"True. But as the acting head of a school entrusted with noble young ladies, she should be grateful for the lesson. That’s part of the point, isn’t it?"
This was the girls’ academy run by Duchess Rosmerta Juliana Oversta.
The same school I’d heard about—taken over as collateral for debt. It used to be a traditional finishing school for young noblewomen, but now it was shifting toward rigorous, advanced education. The students were mostly middle and high school age.
In this new era, talent mattered more than gender. Women needed to rise to leadership roles. It might not be exactly the same, but it was becoming something like a girls’ military academy.
Our mission today had two objectives.
First, to assess the security level of the academy under Rosmerta’s leadership.
Though Rosmerta had taken over as head, she’d merely passed the basic policies to a proxy and left the rest. She didn’t believe the current state met her standards.
If everything functioned as intended, fine. But if not, she wanted to know exactly what needed improvement—hence this test. That was why we were pretending to be terrorists and staging this mock assault.
If the academy could mount even minimal resistance against the Kikyo Society, its security could be considered adequate.
Since we hadn’t notified them in advance, their response would reflect how they’d handle a real crisis. Graylease and the team would evaluate this impartially and submit a report.
The second objective was a character assessment.
Rosmerta had a friend planning to adopt a girl, and wanted to know how the girl would react in a crisis.
The target was a single girl. We’d already conducted thorough background checks—her academic performance was outstanding, she was physically and mentally healthy, well-liked, and had strong friendships. But that wasn’t enough.
How a person responded under pressure or in danger couldn’t be known until they faced it.
If she panicked when it mattered, she’d be unfit to become the adopted daughter of someone so influential.
It seemed like an unfairly high bar for a young student. In reality, there was little a child could do against an attack like ours. As long as she didn’t break down crying, she’d be doing fine.
"This is Jazz. Target located in the Special Wing, third floor—some kind of advanced training room?"
"Graylease, roger. Layla, support Jazz. Observe the girl together. Darcy, unlock the advanced training room."
"Darcy, roger."
They’d probably try to interact with the target to assess her reaction.
We had no intention of harming her, but to her, we were terrifying. A group of Skull Masks had suddenly invaded her school. She could see the broken gate from the windows, the guards taken down in seconds.
Being locked in classrooms might seem safe—until the locks were effortlessly undone and the threat came inside. Fear was inevitable. I almost felt sorry for her.
"This is Shinogami. Jazz, Layla—don’t scare her too much. It’s one thing with brats, but she’s a proper young lady."
"This is Jazz. I get it. Honestly, I feel bad for her."
"This is Layla. Same here. We won’t go overboard, don’t worry."
We couldn’t traumatize her. Not just the target—there were other girls here too. As long as they kept that in mind, they’d handle it well.
To all students and staff: let today’s events be a lesson. In a city overrun by villains, no place is truly safe!
"Fifteen minutes left until withdrawal. No interference, smooth job."
"Yeah. If we get land in the administrative district for this, it’s a bargain. Even if it’s just a patch of unused wasteland."
Our reward for this job was land. In the vast Exembra region, especially at the edges of the administrative district, many areas remained undeveloped.
The developed parts kept expanding—so much that the city walls had been magically shifted outward, creating a bizarre, irregular shape. That chaotic vibe was just part of what made Exembra unique.
What to do with the land was up to Lily. She could turn it into flower fields, grow crops, or use it as an experimental site. Whatever she chose, it would be put to good use.
The lush surroundings already showed no trace of winter—perfect for farming.
"Spring’s truly begun."
"Yeah. I’m starting to look forward to it."
With new visitors and settlers arriving, Exembra would grow lively once more.
The Kikyo Society had no shortage of tasks ahead.
As I waited for the Skull Mask unit to return, I thought of the near future—bright, full of motion, and just beginning.
This was a super side story.
For the Kikyo Society, it was just a light training exercise.
There are several plans for the academy arc, and I might write more side episodes in the future.
Anyway, starting next time, we’ll return to the main story—and by the time after next, we’ll probably be heading to the seaside town!