I Became the Traitor in an Academy Story

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Today, I arrived at the Academy way earlier than usual.

To be more specific, I had infiltrated the place before the guards even opened the main gate.

Since today was my last day as a student here, I wanted to look around inside a bit. I had some final checks to do on my route and some other setups as well.

It wasn’t really a place I got attached to, but after about nine months, a lot of it felt familiar.

There were some things I hadn’t seen, like the senior classrooms that I never had any reason to visit before.

But now that I was no longer just a student, things were different. Justitia and I had to take over this whole classroom building.

No matter how talented or mediocre they were, this was a place crawling with about 460 Abilities Users.

If this were a few months back, I would have had to install various things and prep everything in advance, but now, it was no big deal.

I hid slimes filled with sleep gas all around the classrooms. In the heater, on the floor, on the ceiling, even in the curtains.

As soon as I signaled, they were all set to spray that sleep gas like a firehose.

With the amount I was about to spray, it would be normal for there to be no slime left in my body, but I had cultured enough slime just for today, so it was fine.

Thanks to the Artifact I received long ago. It was a test tube that could hold much more than it looked like.

Since I turned into this, I didn’t need to use it as a suitcase anymore, so I got it back.

Since that day until now, I had repeatedly cultured the slime to the point where the wide inside was overflowing.

In total, I had 9 cultured test tubes. If I wanted to, I could be a 10-meter giant slime right now.

However, I didn’t feel particularly excited or anything. Rather…

…No, right now I should only think about work.

The concentration of the sleep gas was adjusted to make them fall asleep without a chance to resist, leaving only mild headaches as a side effect.

It was the optimum concentration I had found through testing on humans. Plus, it was the least I could do for the students.

They would fall asleep without even knowing what was happening.

…I would make sure no one would resent themselves for not being able to stop me, meticulously and thoroughly.

They would think it was unavoidable.

I strategically placed slimes in Class A and Class B, while spreading the rest around casually.

Honestly, the skills of everyone else besides A and B weren’t that impressive. I could probably take them down with our fighters.

But just in case, I’ll put a little more thought into Class C.

I added more slimes there and calculated how they might try to flee into the hallway, secretly scattering slimes around the corridor too.

Taking a deep breath from the mixture I brought along to replenish my depleted elements, I decided to take one last look around.

There were roughly two hours until class started, and about an hour and a half until the kids showed up.

I checked out as many places as possible, from the clubroom where I never got the attendance award due to all the incidents, to the rooftop I had never been to.

I wanted to make sure I didn’t leave with any regrets about not seeing something.

Maybe it was because I threw so much money into it, but the facilities were pretty impressive.

…It would’ve been fun to do a campus tour with the kids.

I had intentionally been trying to avoid thinking about them, but in the end, they crossed my mind. I wondered what they were doing right now. Are they still asleep? Or just waking up?

Some of them might already be up. Lapiz would definitely still be snoozing. Probably drooling and snoring, just like she did during summer camp.

And here I am, when there’s barely two hours left to hang out with friends, wasting time like this.

Guess I’ve really changed a lot. I’ve gone and twisted myself up.

Ah, if I’d known it would turn out like this, I wouldn’t have done anything like making friends, I would’ve just quietly lived in E-class like a mouse.

Wrapped up in a sea of regret, I curled up on the rooftop floor.

If I had known that breaking off ties with friends would hurt this much, I wouldn’t have made any friends in the first place.

“Ugh…”

Grabbing my head and rolling on the floor, I wished I could turn back time—shouting in my mind countless times as I regretted it.

No, I can’t turn back time… but still, I haven’t revealed that I’m a Liberator yet.

If I laid it all out for Minho right now…

…But that would be betraying him. I can’t betray the one who saved my life. No, I can’t betray a friend just like that, let alone someone who saved me…

-Don’t ask why you shouldn’t come to the Academy today; just absolutely don’t come.

After a long inner struggle, all I could do was send a warning to the chat room where the kids were, telling them not to show up.

I know. I know that Minho might catch on to this. I know it’s risky enough to collapse the plans I built over the years.

But I had to do this anyway. Being human, I learned ordinary feelings from them, and I had to.

Just in case they wouldn’t see me, I sent the same text with the same content and exhaled a shaky breath.

Hoping someone wouldn’t notice—fingers crossed.

Except for those still asleep, the rest of them texted back asking what was going on or called me up.

I replied to the texts with just “You should listen to me,” but I couldn’t pick up the calls.

If I did, I’d really lose it.

…Please don’t come. Just this once.

Yet, as if mocking my prayers, the kids showed up at the usual time. Of course, why wouldn’t they?

They were model students. Good kids…

Ugh. I really wished they were a bit more rebellious. If they were a little less responsible, they could’ve just said, “You said not to come,” and gone back to sleep.

If only they had been a little more troubled, maybe my heart wouldn’t hurt as much.

…Of all things, it had to be the nice and diligent ones.

It felt like nails were growing inside my heart, pushing outward.

The kids gathered together, whispering, occasionally mentioning my name. Focusing all my senses on my hearing, they seemed confused about why I said not to come today.

Minho seemed to sense something was off, but he didn’t seem to know exactly what.

In the end, he didn’t catch on.

Is it because I’m holding him back? Or is it because he trusts me?

…Fifteen minutes left. Now, it’s really too late to change anything. Running away from here would just make things worse. My path was already set.

Today, as a Liberator, I will carry out the Academy attack I had planned for years.

That’s why I came to the Academy, right?

So, I shouldn’t hesitate.

With a bitter smile, I waved goodbye to the last of my hesitation and pulled out the uniform I had carefully tucked away in my bag.

I had adjusted it before, but I wondered if it would be a bit tight. I had a silly thought for a moment, but it didn’t last long.

After taking off my school uniform, I changed into the uniform. It was a little snug, but it had always been like that.

Once dressed up, I couldn’t bring myself to smile.

Now it’s really starting.

The state of my abilities is good. The sync with the slimes is perfect. The moment I give the command, the entire school building will be filled with sleep gas.

Justitia would have brought her gas mask, so there’s no need to worry there. Even so, if I forcibly wake her up, that’ll be that.

…Let’s go.

I twisted the rooftop door open and headed downstairs. The students’ gazes were fixed on me, murmuring about who that person was, but I couldn’t catch any of it.

They’d all be asleep soon.

I shoved the front door of Class A open and stepped inside, receiving puzzled looks as they wondered why Blanca was dressed like that.

Only Minho seemed to have caught on to what was happening, his expression tightening.

Before he could even get up to do anything, Justitia took off her sunglasses, put on a gas mask, and secured all the students in the classroom.

As the students were rendered immobile, they seemed confused and exchanged glances as if looking for an explanation from Justitia, not even grasping what was happening.

But instead of the explanation they sought, they were met with a thick cloud of sleep gas obscuring their vision.

I snapped my fingers, activating all the slimes inside this classroom building.

Class A was instantly filled with sleep gas, but the students didn’t make a sound.

“…Justitia, let them breathe. They can’t inhale otherwise.”

It seemed the effects were already starting to kick in; screams erupted from the other classes.

Once Justitia released her hold, the students tried to use their abilities to struggle, but they quickly collapsed.

No matter how strong they were, at the end of the day, they were just human.

Inhaling sleep gas normally would send them to dreamland.

The thick haze concealed many things: eyes, mouths, expressions, faces. Everything that could betray my emotions. Everything that could reveal what others were feeling.

Only voices could be heard.

“Blanca… why… why…?”

The voice of someone who trusted me.

“Why is that, why are you…?”

The voice of someone who envied me.

“What is this… what’s going on…? Why now…?”

The voice of someone I admired.

“Answer me…! Why are you doing this!!”

The voice of someone I hated.

“Blanc…a? No, not you…? What’s… going on…?”

The voice of someone who wanted to blame me but couldn’t.

…I couldn’t see anyone’s face.

So, I felt truly relieved.

“…Playing friends was fun.”

 

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