第２５２掘：大魔術師出陣 (Part1)
**Dungeon Excavation 252: The Great Mage Takes the Field**
The Principal shows off her good side.
"Kyaa, so cool!!"
"Look, everyone, do it too."
**The Great Mage Takes the Field**
**Side: Popuri Lancer, Principal of the Lancer Magic Academy**
"Mmm, delicious!!"
I was savoring a moment of pure bliss, licking a high-grade, incredibly tasty candy given to me by my best friend.
Ah, you truly are a dear friend, Eris.
"It looks to me like you’ve been fed and completely tamed, though."
Lara said that while glaring at me, but it held absolutely no persuasion or intimidation.
After all...
"I might have agreed with you, Lara, if you weren't currently eating a cake."
Indeed, Lara was also busy consuming a special cake she’d received from Eris.
In fact, she was alternating between two different whole cakes, washing them down with the special tea Eris had provided, looking completely dazed.
"Th-this is a cake I received from my best friend, Eris."
"Uh-huh."
"Cakes don't last long, you know. I am eating this out of necessity. It would be against the moral path of humanity to let a cake from a best friend rot. It is quite different from a Principal who is stuffing her face with shelf-stable candies like they are water."
Hah, talk about a convenient way to put things.
Well, to put it simply, it would be more accurate to say that both of us have been fed and tamed.
It’s not a bad thing, though—after all, she’s my best friend!!
"Phew. Still, I am grateful to Eris-san."
Lara said that after finishing off both cakes.
Yes, I am grateful too, but...
"I understand the gratitude, but what are you referring to? The cakes you just finished?"
"No, not the cakes. Well, I am grateful for the cakes, but I mean the main topic. To think she would teach us such a 'cheat' after winning the duel."
"Ah, that."
That’s right, I lost that duel.
I didn't go all-out to the point of ignoring collateral damage, but I used as much power as I could within the arena, and yet, all of it was neutralized.
Gratefully, with the exact same magic.
How on earth do you adjust the power of a counter-spell to perfectly intercept and negate my magic after I’ve already cast it?
I’m certain that even if I had gone all-out, I would have lost.
It reminds me of unpleasant things. Like the Holy Sword users or the Guard World types.
Those people basically have skills that act like rule-breaking magic damage reduction.
They are a terrible matchup for me.
Well, I’ve managed to devise a countermeasure, but it is literally just that—a measure specifically for dealing with Holy Sword users and Guard World types.
In a serious magical exchange, I doubt I’d have a chance against Eris.
But my thoughts are wandering.
Right, yes. The clause I thought I’d have retracted after the duel: "Do not interfere with the actions of us transfer students."
To an outsider, it might sound like a nonsensical or mistaken line, but if you read it carefully, it became the worst possible clause for us.
If that had been taken at face value, the Academy would have been toyed with by Eris.
No, in reality, she didn't seem to have that intention.
Or rather, it was fundamentally our fault for getting in the way of a newlywed couple.
Honestly, I think it was a failure on my part that I didn't realize it until Eris had tears in her eyes and shouted, "Please apologize!!"
Yeah, if my own honeymoon were interrupted and I were buried in work, I’d snap too.
Even if I don't have a partner, if someone interrupted someone who loves their husband as deeply as Eris does, anyone would react that way.
Now, back to the main point.
*Do not interfere with the actions of us transfer students.*
But as Lara just said, we were taught a "cheat."
Even though it involved an insider like Lara, as Principal, it would be extremely bad to go back on an agreement confirmed by a referee.
Therefore, I couldn't retract or alter that clause.
So, I was taught a cheat by Eris, with whom we had reconciled.
The cheat was this:
*"Well, the treaty is effective against you Principals—that is, the Academy. So, while you cannot interfere as the Principal or as an Academy official, it is possible to interfere as a friend."*
Eris said that so nonchalantly.
It might sound like sophistry, but it doesn't violate the treaty at all, and since the person who set it up gave the okay, there is no problem.
In other words, Eris can use the contract she made with us—no, use it as a shield, as a decoy—to thoroughly discipline problematic students and teachers.
This Academy is a meritocracy in the Magic Department, so many people mistakenly believe that having power equals being important. They cause all sorts of problems. Bullying is common, and they pick fights in town, but even worse, those types are always well-behaved in front of us Principals or the top-ranking students.
We want to arrest them immediately, but it’s all just rumors.
The victims keep their mouths shut.
They are likely being threatened.
No matter how much we say we will protect them, we can't do it twenty-four-seven, and to the victims, we are just the same as the students and teachers causing the trouble. They don't trust us, and they fear retaliation.
That’s where the clause Eris mentioned comes in handy.
We will have her help solve the Academy's problems as a friend—no, as a best friend.
Because of the contract with Eris, we cannot intervene in our capacity as Principal or Vice Principal.
In other words, Eris and her group can take action against the people we want to arrest, provoke a situation, and catch them in the act.
Ah, and by the way, seeing us as Principals, those idiots causing the trouble will speak ill of Eris and the others.
If the testimony is only from them, they will claim Eris is in the wrong, and they will use various means to ask us for help and threaten Eris.
But this is where the clause about not being able to intervene as Principal comes in handy.
Yes, even if they ask for help as Principal, I cannot help them because of the treaty with Eris.
So, I have no fault in not helping.
Then, I can have Eris and the others discipline those idiots until they admit their crimes, and afterward, I can ask them to release them as a best friend.
Yes, it’s absolutely perfect.
It’s a cheat tailor-made for me.
Well, this is one way to use it.
There are many things I cannot do as Principal, but there are also many things I must do because I am the Principal.
By using Eris and her group as intermediaries, I can refuse those duties.
And if I say, "It’s just a promise from a duel," it would be an insult to the Academy, and it would trap the other party even deeper.
Heh heh heh, I’ll return the favor for all the trouble I’ve had to bow my head for until now.
"Principal, you have a very wicked look on your face."
Lara said that with a composed expression.