Chapter 87

I am now facing the time of judgment.

The culprit is Zach. And this is the stall run by Fienne and the others.

"Zach Eleksir, son of the Count. You have deeply hurt the heart of Mary Regalia, the daughter of the Duke. Your crime is worthy of death a thousand times over. Therefore, you are sentenced to drink a concentrated, doubled-strength juice in one go!"

I declared this loudly in front of Zach.

"Hey, I just said it was heavy, that's all."

"How despicable."

"How despicable indeed."

Magilka and Safina, who looked at Zach with cold eyes as he took the glass with a reluctant expression, delivered their chilling lines. Even Zach, who is usually so confident, couldn't help but flinch under their gaze.

"Zach, it's better for you to accept your punishment and move on."

The prince, who had joined us on the way, sighed after hearing the situation.

"Alright, alright, I get it! I'll drink it, I'll drink it!"

"Chug it! Chug it!"

To the rhythm of my chant, Zach, with a defiant air, gulped down the terrifying drink in one go. Then, his face turned blue, no, purple, and he clutched his mouth, sprinting towards a secluded thicket at full speed.

"Case closed!"

I declared, looking at his retreating figure. Just then, I thought I saw a cloaked figure at the edge of the thicket where Zach had disappeared. I blinked and looked again, but there was nothing there. I must have been mistaken, so I turned my gaze back to everyone else.

"Phew, that's a relief. So, where to next?"

Boom!

Just as I was about to announce this to everyone, a loud noise and a ground-shaking rumble echoed around us.

"What's happening?"

I turned my gaze towards the source of the sound and saw something rising not far away.

"Mary-sama!"

Safina, sensing the abnormality, looked at me.

"Safina, you go back to headquarters and take command! I'll head to the scene. Magilka, can you help?"

"Zach is still out of commission. I'll stay with him, so can you two handle it?"

As I noticed that one person was missing and hesitated, the prince shrugged and said this. The thought of how powerful that drink must have been to keep Zach down made me shudder, but since I was the one who did it, I couldn't complain. I left Zach in the prince's care and headed to the scene.

"Magilka, what do you think that is?"

I asked Magilka, who was following me, while looking at the large object in the distance.

"It's definitely not an exhibit. It looks like a golem, but we students can't create such a huge one."

"Let's get to the scene!"

The scene was chaotic. We avoided the fleeing people and headed in the opposite direction. Along the way, a group with security armbands joined me.

"Mary-sama!"

"What happened?"

"We don't know. But something appeared at the golem exhibition."

Hearing the leader's report, it became clear that the large object was indeed a golem, as Magilka had suspected.

"What's going on? Did the exhibition people create that?"

"No, no. Even we can't create such a huge golem. At most, we can only make small, doll-sized ones."

One of the students in the group, panicking, contradicted me.

"I'm the exhibition organizer."

The student explained when I looked at him curiously.

"Then, what is that?"

"Well... We were showing everyone how to create a golem using a magic circle, but someone in a cloak suddenly started chanting a spell, and it reacted with the magic circle..."

"...And that appeared..."

"...Yes..."

The student's voice trailed off apologetically, and I looked at him with pity before taking over. He nodded and hung his head.

(Oh, that cloak. I missed it, but this is definitely out of line. I'll catch you and give you a good spanking.)

I clenched my fist and glared at the target.

"You all, please guide the guests and students to safety. Don't let anyone get close to this. Magilka and I will handle it. For further instructions, check with headquarters where Safina is."

"Yes, be careful."

The leader saluted and led the group to guide the evacuation. I watched them go and then approached a spot where I could see the golem clearly.

"Oh? Aren't you Mary?"

As I approached, a voice came from above, and I looked up. The giant humanoid golem was backlit, but I could see someone standing on its shoulder.

"Who are you!"

I blurted out a cliché response.

"Kukuku! I'm deliberately hiding my identity. Who would guess that I'm Emilia, you fool!"

(You're the fool, you fool!)

I mentally facepalmed at the cloaked figure's smug declaration. A wave of fatigue washed over me, and I wished I could return to the tension of a moment ago.

"Then, what should I call you, Princess?"

"Hmm, how about 'Witch Princess'?"

(I called you 'Princess,' and you didn't notice. 'Witch Princess' is Emilia's nickname. Are you really trying to hide your identity? You're doing it on purpose, aren't you?)

I slumped my shoulders even further.

"Mary-sama..."

Magilka looked at me, half exasperated and half unsure of what to do.

"It's fine, don't say anything. Let her do as she pleases."

I sighed, changed my mindset, and looked up again.

"So, what's the purpose of this chaos, Witch Princess?"

"Kukuku! It's simple. Those wimpy golems were boring. I wanted to show everyone what a real golem looks like. You should see it too, my golem!"

At that moment, the sun was obscured by a cloud, and I could finally see the golem clearly.

I was at a loss for words.

"How is this? Isn't it a masterpiece of art!"

The Witch Princess, or rather, Emilia, laughed loudly. I listened half-heartedly, feeling flustered.

The golem was about five meters tall, with an egg-shaped head, narrow eyes, and a slightly open mouth. Honestly, the design was very crude. Golems are created based on the creator's magic and the detail of their imagination. A vague image would result in a failed creation, and it's extremely difficult to imagine every detail. So, most golems are created with very simple designs. However, that wasn't the issue here.

The problem was below.

In my previous life, I had seen a statue of David in an art book, but this was even more shocking. There stood a massive, muscular, naked male figure.

"Wha..."

"What?"

Emilia echoed my words as I blushed and looked away.

"Pervert!"

"What! That's rude, it's art, art! Look at the detailed muscle definition!"

The golem seemed to be posing, but I refused to look, especially at the lower half.

"How can I look at this pervert! What are you trying to show to young maidens!"

Embarrassed, I forgot that I was talking to a princess and spoke informally.

"Relax! I didn't recreate the lower half, considering that."

"Relax? If you could consider that, you shouldn't have made it in the first place!"

I shouted, looking up at Emilia, who was giving a thumbs-up.

"Such a beginner. It's just the beauty of male muscles. I've been shown my father's muscles every day since childhood. 'How are they? Aren't they beautiful?' he would say, showing them off all over his body."

(Your father's head is the one to worry about. And the princess's father is the Demon King. A king who shows off his muscles to his daughter every day... Is the demon kingdom okay?)

Putting aside the thought of my own country's flashy king, I genuinely worried about the demon kingdom.

"Alright, I understand. I'll let you enjoy the beauty of these muscles. I'll give you a warm embrace."

"Trauma!"

As I shouted, the golem reached out its arms towards us.

"Earth Wall!"

A wall of earth rose between the golem and us, as Magilka shouted. The golem's fist hit the wall and crumbled, dripping with a blood-like, muddy substance.

"Clever trick! I'll start with you, warm embrace!"

With an evil laugh, Emilia directed the golem towards Magilka.

"Not a chance!"

I raised my hand towards the golem.

"Nova Flare!"

"Mary-sama, no!"

My powerful incantation and Magilka's warning overlapped.

Boom!

The explosion magic hit the golem, and its upper body was blown into the sky. I had completely forgotten about the princess on its shoulder and turned pale as I realized what I had done.

"Oh no, what do we do, Magilka, the princess—"

"More importantly, let's get out of here quickly!"

Splash!

Before I could understand what Magilka meant, something rained down from above. It was the golem's remains. It seemed the golem was made of mud, and the mud from its upper body, which I had blown away, had returned to its original form and rained down on us.

I stood there, looking at Magilka, who was frozen in a fleeing position. We were now covered in mud, and the sticky sensation was even more unpleasant.

"Ha ha ha! What a mess!"

As we stood there, covered in mud, a laugh echoed from above. I looked up to see Emilia, with wings outstretched, laughing in the air.

(I was a fool to worry even a little.)

Shaking with embarrassment, I wanted to knock her out of the sky.

"Ha ha ha! That was hilarious! I'm satisfied, I'll go home for today. See you later!"

Tears in her eyes, Emilia wiped something from under her hood and ascended, looking content.

"Hey, wait! Next time, I'll give you a spanking! Be prepared!"

My scream echoed uselessly in the sky.

The second day of the school festival has ended. The climax is approaching.