Chapter 246 The first lesson of the new school year: The beating from society!
Inside the faculty office, Roswaal hummed an unknown tune, leisurely took a sip of tea, and looked quite pleased with himself.
The troublesome student Arthur, however, was completely oblivious, looking around on his own, and quickly spotted two familiar figures.
Wiz was frantically organizing the mountain of documents piled on her desk, her timid expression making her look like a newcomer overwhelmed by work on her first day.
On the other side, Vanir, still in an elegant evening gown, sat in front of a computer, his fingers flying over the keyboard and mouse, creating blurs, seemingly tinkering with something.
Noticing Arthur's gaze, the masked demon slowly looked up, a playful smirk curving his lips.
"My arch-nemesis, on the first day of school, you've already received'special attention' from the homeroom teacher. You truly are a trouble-making machine, aren't you?"
Arthur scoffed, ignoring the pretentious Roswaal beside him, and strode over to Vanir and Wiz's office area.
"From where we live to Wiz's shop, it's not a short distance. How did you two get dragged into this?"
Vanir shrugged, smiling without a word.
Wiz poked her head out from under a deluge of documents and explained in a small voice.
"Mr. Vanir and I were just discussing a purchasing plan when we suddenly felt dizzy, and when we came to… we were here."
"Is that so…?"
Arthur tapped his chin thoughtfully, picking up a document from Wiz's desk. It contained information about student physical data and health check-up plans.
"So, Wiz's role is the school nurse or biology teacher? What about you, chatterbox demon?"
"Heh heh~"
Vanir suddenly stood up, dramatically puffed out his chest, displayed his employee badge, and declared with great emotion.
"My role is the art teacher, a distinguished representative who pursues art and aesthetics!"
Arthur cast a sidelong glance at the overly dramatic Vanir, his peripheral vision catching the real-time strategy game still open on the other's computer screen, and mercilessly exposed him.
"An art teacher slacking off during working hours, your fortress is about to be flanked and stolen by the enemy."
"Huh!? No way!"
Vanir exclaimed, sat down like lightning, his hands once again becoming blurs as he tried to save his already beleaguered fortress.
Arthur shook his head with a chuckle: "Seeing how engrossed you are, I can't help but suspect this is actually a massive reality show."
Vanir didn't even look up; even in the midst of a critical battle, his tone remained light.
"Thank you for the reminder, my arch-nemesis! However, I suggest you also look on the bright side; this world is actually quite nice."
Roswaal, who had been feigning sleep with his eyes closed, also put down his teacup at this moment and slowly advised.
"Arthur, try to accept the settings of this world. It will help you adapt to everything faster, you know."
"…If there's a need for that."
Ding-dong-dong--!
As dusk fell, the dismissal bell echoed throughout the campus.
In the classroom, Yunyun neatly organized the textbooks she had just received, asking with a hint of worry.
"Arthur hasn't returned even after school. Should we go check the faculty office?"
Kazuma held Megumin firmly with one hand, who wanted to rush out to unleash Explosion Magic as soon as school ended, and with the other, he pulled Darkness, who was clamoring to go to the faculty office to "share hardships" with Arthur, his head aching.
"Big Brother isn't like these few who need looking after! Yunyun, come lend a hand! I can't stop all three of them by myself!"
"Lend a hand?" Yunyun tilted her head in confusion, "But, aren't there only four of us here?"
Kazuma suddenly froze, looking around. The most troublesome figure was nowhere to be found!
Aqua was gone!?
At that moment, Kazuma's face turned ashen white.
At the same time, on the slope outside the campus, Ainz was leading a group of Nazarick's Guardians, parading through the streets.
His subordinates were still discussing the day's events, their words filled with indignation at the perceived slight against the Supreme One, even suggesting punishment.
Ainz himself didn't care at all, but for a moment, he couldn't think of anything to say to dissuade his overly loyal subordinates.
"This is far enough! Undead, and your accomplices!"
A clear, sharp shout interrupted Ainz's thoughts. He suddenly looked up to see a figure standing with crossed arms at the end of the slope, her expression serious and earnest.
"Although I still don't understand what's going on with this world, no matter which world it is, I, as a goddess, can never tolerate the existence of evil undead like you!"
"You said… goddess?"
Ainz seemingly listened to the other party's declaration with a poker face, but in reality, an alarm blared in his heart, making him extremely flustered.
However, with a subtle flash of green light, his turbulent emotions were instantly forcibly calmed, restoring him to absolute composure.
Aqua, intent on purifying the undead, didn't care about anything else. Moreover, her actions this time had the captain's permission!
"That's right! Thank me! I, Aqua, the Goddess of Water and the faith of the Axis Cult, will personally Turn Undead all of you completely!"
She raised her divine staff, colorful divine light gathering upon it, pointing it from a distance towards the ready-to-fight Nazarick group!
Turn Undead!
Pure holy energy transformed into an infinitely extending spear of light, tearing through the air, leaving a brilliant trail, and directly blasting towards Ainz, who was at the forefront!
"Turn Undead? A low-level spell, no need to dodge."
As the pinnacle of the undead, Ainz even calmly closed his eyes.
In his opinion, an attack of this level couldn't even penetrate his most basic passive resistance, however—
When that holy spear of light solidly struck his sternum!
"Eh!?"
Amidst the dazzling holy light, Ainz's skeletal body sizzled as if strong acid had been poured on it, emitting a terrifying sound, and an utterly unimaginable, piercing scream echoed through the sky!
Accompanied by a harsh dissolving sound, thick black smoke billowed from the gaps in his bones!
A phantom soul body flickered, as if it was about to be forcibly stripped and sent to heaven in the next second!
Boom!
The space around Ainz suddenly vibrated, forcefully scattering the purifying holy light.
Seeing this, Aqua looked at her divine staff with a confused expression.
"My Turn Undead was ineffective? No way! Regular undead hit by this move, even if they don't die, should be severely wounded and fall. This guy actually…"
"No, I think your move was quite effective, look."
A cool voice came from the side. Arthur, who had been observing from the street eaves for a long time, leaped down and pointed to the Nazarick group opposite for the self-doubting Aqua.
Albedo, the Guardian Overseer, stood to Ainz's left, sweat on her brow, breathing rapidly.
Demiurge, the team's strategist, protected Ainz's right, his eyes under his glasses so dark they could drip water.
Shalltear, the True Vampire Ancestor, who had been caught by the aftershock of the purifying light spear, had already rolled her eyes and fallen to the ground, looking like she wouldn't last long.
The dark elf siblings were less injured; Aura was anxiously checking Shalltear's injuries, while Mare desperately shielded Ainz with his body.
Only Cocytus, the insectoid warrior, exhaled chilling frosty air, his four alien arms opening and closing, surging with killing intent.
But when he saw Arthur appear, his warrior's intuition forced him to rein in his killing intent.
"Arthur, and Aqua, right? Why are you attacking us?"
Ainz gestured for the Guardians to calm down and stepped forward with a steady pace.
His hands, clasped behind his back, were frantically casting layer after layer of defensive magic on himself, fearing that if he took another Turn Undead like the last one, he would die on the spot.
Arthur keenly noticed the rapidly solidifying magic power within Ainz's body and shrugged indifferently.
"As you can see, my teammate here is a goddess, and what she dislikes most are undead and evildoers."
"And my own perception ability happens to be quite special; I can clearly feel that all of you—are not good people."
Upon hearing this, the red glow in Ainz's eye sockets flared, dozens of magic circles appeared around him, and his voice turned cold.
"May I consider your declaration a declaration of war?"
As soon as he spoke, the Guardians who still had combat power instantly assumed their stances, their extremely ferocious magic power almost tearing the sky apart!
Unfortunately, the two standing opposite them were no ordinary beings and completely ignored this pressure.
Arthur whispered a few words into Aqua's ear, making the Goddess of Water, who was eager for another fight, reluctantly put away her staff and turn away with a pout.
Ainz and the others were momentarily stunned, only to hear Arthur's insincere voice leisurely drift over.
"I don't joke with my companions' lives, so, let's stop the probing here. See you tomorrow, everyone."
Ainz gazed at their departing figures, habitually looking at Demiurge, and asked in a steady tone.
"Are these the strong ones of the other world? Demiurge, what do you think?"
"As expected of Lord Ainz, your foresight is always one step ahead of us! Your subordinate believes that the two of them are by no means ordinary, and furthermore—"
Demiurge raised a hand to push up his glasses, the reflection perfectly concealing his inner shock and sudden realization.
"They are clearly experimenting on us! Testing the bottom line of this world's school rules regarding 'violent behavior'!"