*****

''...Please don't joke like that, Amelia Luminous.''

''I'm not. Why are you so adamant about this?''

''There is simply no way our experience was false. Once you have seen that hell—that nightmarish scene!''

''Calm down, Jesus Christ—ouch...!''

As Chloe unknowingly slips up, likely due to Claudia's intense reaction, I lightly pinch her back, causing her cheeks to inflate. Nevertheless, it seems the others have no mind to pay attention to this detail. They keep staring at Claudia with worried eyes, seeing the person, who is usually composed, so shaken.

Even at this moment, she has a pale face, shaky eyes, and even sweat trickling down her skin.

Maybe I went overboard this time. Who knows. All I know is that I had a lot of fun toying with these people.

Well, the students all fainted with a single jumpscare, so that was a disappointment however. Claudia, on the other hand, managed to stay awake for quite a long time. Thanks to her, I have obtained precious data—mental attacks are effective against strong people—as long as they don't have specific resistance skills.

Even Claudia, who's near level 60, completely forgot to use [Inspect] at the end. That goes to show how powerful an attack on the mind is.

[Status Condition Nullification] is quite rare in itself, and I doubt most people will invest in it when the offensive options are just about that much more attractive.

In this case, I had Mister Slen and Smiley cooperate to put these people under a hallucination, causing them to 'investigate' a completely fictional case. In reality, from the moment they 'stepped' into District 5, they were just wandering around the Backrooms.

Of course, aside from Claudia, there is also Hailey Florence, whose appearance I stole yesterday. She looks visibly anxious while consoling Claudia. It's a good thing I've seen them together a lot, so I can act accordingly.

''Hah... This is rough.'' Claudia mutters, staring intently at us. ''Maybe... No.''

I agree—this is pretty rough. I didn't think she would be this traumatized. I did expect her to suspect us, however—her face says it all.

''What is this?''

Being the natural actress she is, Chloe begins to distort her face, causing the students to cower in fear involuntarily.

''Look, professor.'' She sighs. ''I'm not going to believe that story, not without evidence. And please don't say that we are mimics or some garbage.''

'''' ... ''''

Suddenly, the atmosphere gets even tenser. Yet, in front of the righteous heroine, nothing is too much to handle, it seems.

''Um... Did you really not eat lunch with me?'' She asks me.

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

''No.'' I reply, shaking my head.

''...''

Claire makes a whistle-like sound, inhaling a sharp breath to stabilize herself. Sitting on the side, Professor Hailey can only tap her teacup with a weary expression.

''I don't think such a big operation is possible right now.'' She sighs. ''However... I don't think that nothing happened.''

''...What do you mean?'' Claudia frowns.

''Since the start of today, I've been hearing quite a lot of bizarre encounters in the academy. From nightmares of a doctor in black massacring people to a ghost appearing in the hallway... Even strange crunching noises were heard from those terrifying encounters.''

...I think that's me spectating. The potato chip company has released a new flavor, so I couldn't stop myself...

''Anomalies are appearing all over the academy.'' Hailey continues. ''Perhaps you and these students have fallen into a trap—a hallucination trap that someone planted.''

''Hallucination...''

After much persuasion from the two of us and Hailey, Claudia finally regains a bit of her composure, acknowledging the possibility of her being manipulated, which is true.

''Still, what do they gain from merely scaring us like this?'' She questions. ''So far, no physical harm has been done. Isn't that right, Hailey?''

If you don't count the weird concoction I gave Hailey the day earlier, then yes.

''That's right. As far as I know..'' Hailey nods her head.

''I have a bad feeling. This might be the cult's tricks to act out their scheme... But wouldn't doing it as they proceed with their plan be more beneficial?''

Peacefully, I munch on my snack, watching the group cook up conspiracies by themselves. So this is how an eminence in shadow truly feels. It's quite amusing.

Fortunately for them, no cult will come after the academy just yet. Instead, they need to focus on handling the final exam of the first semester. And I suppose they also want to pay attention to the competition between Sierra and Killian since they are both students here.

As for me... Well, I don't have to care about anything. Conquering Zircon comes first.

Even after I boosted my level by more than a dozen in the Neveah arc, my strength is apparently still insufficient. It is not that I can't face the next enemy head-on, but since we have messed up the original storyline so much, it is not strange if a formidable enemy from later arcs appears right now.

I certainly don't want it to happen, but I can't control everything.

Demons are one thing, but the cult right now is truly unpredictable. After the previous incident regarding Sierra's sudden appearance in West Zircon, Chloe and I have talked about safety measures for a while.

We created multiple scenarios ranging from a slight deviation in a person of interest's behavior to the last boss suddenly descending and possible measures to cope with them. By the way, if the last boss descends right now, we will all die.

Nevertheless, one likely scenario involving the cult that we have considered is the possibility of them doing a terrorist attack. As it is, everybody knows that Silaerob has been killing cultists and demons alike left and right, so it is not strange for Ravenous Moon to hold a grudge against her. They might launch a devastating attack on the people to lure out Silaerob.

People here are real people. This is not a game, and I've never considered it that way.

In such a case, what should we do to protect the people?

Well, just throw them all into the Backrooms. I will snap the whole city into the Backrooms if needed. The repair cost for the infrastructure will be enormous, but it is infinitely better than people dying.

Ridiculous to think about, but there is no way—

BOOM—!!

'''' !!! ''''

Accompanied by a painfully sharp and loud noise, the whole building seems to have succumbed to an earthquake. As we hurriedly look out the window, a huge smoke pillar has already risen high into the sky. Below, A terrible fire rages, fueling the heartfelt screams from civilians around the area.

Moreover, I can sense the demonic presence all the way here. Whatever this is, it is ridiculously powerful.

''Isn't that the Astra Square?!''

''Who dares to!''

Astra Square is the equivalent of Times Square on Earth, which means it's extremely important. In reality, it is quite far from here, but since the academy's building foundation is elevated, we can have a clear view of it.

Now's not the time for that.

As Claudia and Hailey jump out of the window and rush to the scene, I nod lightly at Chloe before transferring my consciousness back to the forest.

It's time to put on the mask.