AKM Act 11-1.1
Act 11: Academy of Magic Act 11-1: Culture And Civilization TL : Cnine ED/PF : R1[1-2], R2[2.5-3] Part 1 In the reception room of the libra
Act 11: Academy of Magic
Act 11-1: Culture And Civilization
TL : Cnine
ED/PF :
R1[1-2], R2[2.5-3]
Part 1
In the reception room of the library in Elios' Heavenly Palace, the Goddess of Knowledge, Totona, receives an uninvited guest.
「Long time no see, Totona. Where have you been until now?」
In the library’s reception room, Rena, who was seated across from Totona, asked with a cheerful smile.
Nevertheless, that smile didn't reach her eyes.
It was the eyes of someone probing around.
Totona turned her face away from those eyes.
Goddess of Wisdom and Victory; Alrena
That was the true name of this goddess, while "Rena" was merely an alias used by her.
With her radiant hair and fair skin, she possessed a beauty rivaling even Ishtia, the goddess of love and beauty in Elios, making her someone Totona found difficult to deal with.
She had keen intuition and a knack for sniffing out others' secrets.
Currently, Totona couldn't afford to let her secret leak to the woman before her.
「Where am I? I've always been here though?」
Totona replied as if it was a matter of fact.
「Oh my, I'm referring to the whereabouts of the REAL you though.」
「!?」
It was at that moment when Rena said those words, Totona glared at her.
（Does she notice it? What does she mean?）
A cold sweat ran down Totona's back.
In fact, Totona's real body was not in this place right now.
She was currently staying with her best friend, Nelfriti, in Gypseal.
The current Totona couldn't afford the risk of Elios finding her whereabouts.
Especially her mother, Feria, the last person she wanted to find out about her current location.
That’s why she transferred her consciousness into her temporary body and returned to Elios.
The temporary body was a specially crafted one made a long time ago, identical in appearance to Totona.
However, the temporary body was weaker than her real one, and with careful observation, someone might notice something was off.
For that reason, she had tried to avoid going outside as much as possible, but it seemed that Rena had noticed something was amiss about Totona.
「I don't understand what you're talking about?」
Totona looked back into Rena's eyes, playing dumb.
That was the only method to escape Rena's suspicion.
「Oh my, are you going to play dumb now, Totona? Well, that's fine. But let me give you a word of advice. You should stop getting friendly with the Demon King's allies. It's going to be troublesome if Feria-sama finds out, wouldn't it? Well then, I'll be going.」
After saying what she wanted, Rena stood up and turned around.
After that, without looking back, she left the library’s reception room.
（Just how much does Rena know, I wonder?）
Totona looked at Rena, who was leaving through the front door.
It was frustrating not being able to determine how much Rena had noticed about her secret.
Rena did not look favorably upon the close relationship between Kuroki, the Dark Knight, and Totona.
That was only natural.
He was the man who had defeated the Light Hero that Rena loved.
For Rena, seeing someone grow close to the Dark Knight—her beloved hero’s enemy—was surely displeasing.
Thus, she was trying to hinder Totona's relationship with the Dark Knight.
（I have no choice but to lay low. I miss Kuroki so much, but…）
Totona's mind switched to thinking about Kuroki.
She couldn't afford to meet Kuroki for a while.
For some reason, surveillance had become stricter, making it difficult for Kuroki to visit Elios’ library.
With no other choice left, Kuroki had to read copies of the library’s books available on the surface world.
Totona also wanted to go down to the surface world to see Kuroki, but with the increased surveillance, it would be difficult.
If Totona went to see Kuroki, her mother would be furious, and it could lead to a full-scale conflict with the Demon King’s forces.
That was something that Totona wanted to avoid at all costs.
Thus, she had no choice but to lay low.
「Rena... Is as annoying as ever.」
Totona muttered in loneliness.
「Sigh... I really can't let my guard down at all.」
As Rena left the library, she pressed her fingers against her forehead.
Totona was gunning for Rena.
Rena felt that Kuroki belonged to her, and she had no intention of handing him over to Totona.
She had to separate the two at all costs.
That’s why Totona was being loosely monitored.
Then, noticing something strange about Totona, she realized it was a fake body.
The reason she used a fake body was a mystery.
If the reason was the same as Kuna, it would be a grave situation, one she would rather not think about.
She might be using a fake body to deceive the gods of Elios again and go meet Kuroki.
With that in mind, she went to give a stern warning.
Rena believed that Totona was a threat.
Both Feria and Fanacea had possessiveness toward the man they loved and showed hostility toward any woman who approached him.
Fortunately, Kuroki was in Nargol, and with Totona's mother’s dislike toward Modes, she couldn't move openly.
Of course, the same applies to Rena, but with Kuna—her own offshoot—by Kuroki's side, she was in a more advantageous position than Totona.
「Even though I'm the only one who needs to love Kuroki...」
Rena gazed in the direction of Nargol and murmured softly.
Kuna was the offshoot of Rena, so that was not an issue, but she found it unpleasant when other unwanted pests started clinging to Kuroki.
Her worries kept piling up.
Kuroki was supposed to be in the Royal Palace of Nargol with Kuna right now.
Having returned from the Seard Inlet, Kuroki and Polen reunited with Kuna and headed to the Demon King's Palace.
Naturally, the reason they came to the Demon King's Palace was to give a report about the events that transpired in Seard Inlet during their visit.
And then, after being escorted by the head maid, Enshema, they proceeded deeper into the Demon King's Palace.
As a side note, Puchina didn't come with them.
Maybe because she was exhausted from the unfamiliar underwater environment, she decided to rest.
「What is this? Some kind of junk?」
Kuna, walking beside Kuroki, looked around and asked that question.
The surroundings were filled with what seemed to be landscape paintings, vases, and sculptures.
Though Kuroki had a shallow understanding of art, those things weren't what he'd want to display nearby.
However, calling them junk was a bit harsh.
「These are things my father made as a hobby... Master. Well, the quality is, uh...」
Polen, walking on Kuroki's other side, spoke apologetically upon hearing Kuna's reaction.
Deep within the Demon King's Palace lay Modes' atelier.
The so-called junk were items made by Modes.
Modes was known as the Demon King of Destruction, but he actually preferred creative activities.
However, according to Polen, he was merely an untalented enthusiast, and his creations could hardly be called good.