4
講堂にて一堂に会した新入生たちを前に、学園長の朗々とした声が響く。
「春の『行事』を始めよう。知っての通りこれは互いの自己紹介を兼ねている。今から君たち新入生と別室の第2・第3学年の生徒たちを学園の様々な場所に転送する。ある生徒は屋根に、ある生徒は湖に、ある生徒は調理室に飛ばされるだろう。持っていける道具は各自1つまで。第2・第3学年は幻獣可。
学園のどこかにゴールがある。どこがゴールかはヒントがある。
生徒たちの中には偽物が混じっている。君たち新入生の誰かの姿をコピーして真似た教師陣だ。彼らは君たちを気に入れば手助けをするし、気に入らなければ妨害するだろう。偽物を見破れば褒美もある。
期限は日没までの9時間。出会った人物が信用できるか見極め、協力・時に決別して、誰よりも早くゴールを目指せ」
周りのあちこちから生唾を飲む音が聞こえる。突如として足元に現れた魔法陣は光り輝いて、時空を歪め、切って、繋げる。
あっと驚く合間に見た学園長は皺だらけの顔に笑顔を浮かべていた。
「ま、頑張りなさい」
そうだ、防御魔法をかけるから怪我はしない。安心するように。
学園長の付け足しの声を最後に、私は目まぐるしく変わっていく周りの世界に耐えきれずぎゅっと目を瞑った。
***
目を開けるとそこは森だった。体感は1秒。スケールの大きさに驚きを禁じ得ない。
「...ふう。どこだろうここ...『薬草の森』かな?」
見たところ周りに人はいないようだ。どこに飛ばされるかわからなかったので、学園の地図は頭に入れてきた。大木が林立して薄暗く、同時に背の低い植物も多く見受けられる鬱蒼とした森が続くこの場所は東のエリアだと見当がつく。
実は攻略本に『春』で私がどうしていたかは載っていない。悪役令嬢レベッカが登場するのは『春』が終わった後なのだ。だからどこに飛ばされるかも分からなかった。
でも、どこがゴールかは知っている。とりあえずそこを目指したいのだがその前に、自分の体にじっと目を凝らした。
「...あっ!」
自分の体に防御魔法以外の何かがかかっているのがうっすら見える。
まずい!
事態を把握するやいなや、私はなるべく音を立てず、それでいて素早く、斜面を下る向きに森を駆け始めた。
学園長が言っていた『ヒント』の一つ。新入生のうちランダムで選ばれた十数人にかけられたこの魔法のことだ。
このヒントの内容を知る方法は3つ。魔法をかけられている人間を戦闘不能にする。または棄権させる。または完全に真っ暗なところに連れて行く、だ。ヒントの人間一人につき、この中のどれかを達成した一人だけがヒントを確認することができる。
中でもほとんど認知されていないのが3つ目の方法の存在だ。これだけは毎年内容が変わっており、今年はたまたま『暗闇』。物置でも洞窟でも、マントでも何でもいい。暗いところなら文字が浮かび上がり、唯一平和的にヒントが得られる。魔法の見識が深い人間なら魔法陣を見て読み取れるものらしく、年によっては『水の中』とか、『特定のポーズをさせる』なんてパターンもあったらしい。
しかし認知度が低い3つ目。ヒントの人間は基本他の生徒に追われ、戦闘不能に陥る運命にある。
加えて、私は魔法の才能がないので目を凝らしてやっとかかっているとわかるくらいだが、魔力が強ければありありと感じられるらしい。それどころか遠く離れたところからでも『向こうにヒントがいる』と感じ取れるとか。
ああ、なんて不運!こうなった以上一箇所に留まるのは危険だ。常に移動したほうがいい。この場所に飛ばされたのは不幸中の幸いかもしれない。ひらけた場所ならあっという間に見つかっていたかもしれないから。
私は唯一の持ち物である短剣を握りしめた。道具は一人1つまで。私が選んだのはこれだ。
ゲームのレベッカは魔力もフィジカルも強くないが、私は護身くらいならできると思っている。母が小さい頃から習わせてくれていたからだ。昔は貴族令嬢が魔法でも剣でもなくナイフ術を習うことが疑問だったけれど、今は合点がいく。母はこれが一番私の性に合っていると見抜いた。
斜面を駆け下りながら思う。攻略本で得た情報は本当に役に立つ。当たり前だ、ただのズルだ。だけど迷わず活用すると決めていた。没落を免れシナリオに抗うためならズル上等。
そして今回、私にはもう1つ知っていることがある。この行事では『敵キャラ』・オウカが現れるのだ。
オウカは約20年前に学園長が封印した貴族の青年だ。この学園の生徒だったらしい。面白半分で禁忌の魔法を開発しようとした、悪の権化のような男である。封印が弱まっており、精神体として一年を通し度々茶々を入れてくる。
『春』では主人公の珍しい魔力に興味を持って接触を図るはずだ。特に害はないので放っておいても罪悪感はない。きっと今この学園にいるのだろう主人公が、「あれ、あの人なんだったんだろう」と不審に思うぐらいである。
じゃあオウカは何のためにそんなことしたんだといえば、『面白そう』以外の行動原理を彼に求めるのは不毛だ。
ちなみに驚くなかれ、攻略対象だ。『隠しキャラ』らしい。主人公に恋して更生した彼を治癒魔法で復活させることが可能なのだ。好きにやってくれればいい。そのルートでも、主人公に嫌がらせをしていた私が没落するのはなんら変わらないことなのだから。当たり前だがこれら全て物語終盤の冬ごろに発覚するはずの機密情報だ。攻略本最高!ありがとう母さま!
そのときだった。集中力を欠いたのがまずかった。片足に草がもつれ、体が宙にふわりと浮いた。独特の浮遊感の中、サッと血が引いていく。
私の馬鹿、ああ、転ぶ!
「きゃっ!」
「え?」
「わ、危ねえ!」
二つの体が私を受け止めた。男子生徒が二人、突然降ってきた私を危ないところで受け止め、ただただ目を丸くしていた。
Ch 4
In front of the new students gathered in the lecture hall, the voice of the Principal echoes confidently.
"Let's begin the spring [event]. As you all know, this is an opportunity for mutual self-introduction. From now on, you new students will be transferred to various locations within the Academy with second and third-year students. Some students will be sent to the roof, some to the lake, and some to the kitchen. Each person can only bring one item. Second and third-year students can use Phantom Beasts.
There is a goal somewhere in the Academy. There are hints about where it is.
There are imposters mixed in among the students. Some of the teachers have copied the appearance of one of you new students. They will either help or hinder you depending on whether they like you or not. If you can identify the imposter, there will be a reward.
The deadline is 9 hours until sunset. Be sure to figure out whether the person you meet is trustworthy, cooperate or sometimes part ways, and aim for the goal faster than anyone else."
Sounds of swallowing saliva can be heard from all around. Suddenly, a magic circle appeared at my feet, shining and distorting space and time, cutting and connecting it.
In the midst of being surprised, the Principal's face was wrinkled with a smile.
"Well, do your best."
That's right, I'll put a defensive spell on myself so I won't get hurt. To make you feel at ease.
With the Principal's final words, I closed my eyes tightly, unable to endure the rapidly changing world around me.
***
When I opened my eyes, I found myself in a forest. The sensation was only one second, but I couldn't help being amazed at the size.
"...huh. Where is this place... could it be the [Herb Forest]?"
As far as I could see, there didn't seem to be anyone around. Since I didn't know where I would be sent, I had memorized the map of the academy. The forest was gloomy, with tall trees and many low-lying plants. It looked like it was the eastern area.
In fact, the strategy book didn't mention what I was doing during the [spring]. The villainess Rebecca doesn't appear until after [spring] is over. So I didn't know where I would be sent.
But, I knew where the goal was. I wanted to head there first, but before that, I focused my eyes on my own body.
"...Ah!"
I could faintly see something other than defensive magic on my body.
This is bad!
As soon as I realized the situation, I began running through the forest in the direction of the slope without making too much noise, but quickly.
This is one of the [hints] that the principal mentioned. It's about the magic that was randomly applied to a few of the new students."
There are three ways to find out the content of these hints. One is to make the person who is under the spell unable to fight. Another is to make them surrender. And the third is to take them to a completely dark place. Only one person who has achieved any of these for each hint-giving person can check the hint.
Out of these, the existence of the third method is not recognized by most people. The content changes every year, and this year it happens to be [darkness]. It doesn't matter if it's a storage room, a cave, or a cloak, as long as it's dark, the characters will appear and the hint can be obtained peacefully. It seems that people with deep knowledge of magic can read the magic formation, and there have been patterns such as [in water] or [making a specific pose], depending on the year.
However, the third method, which has low recognition, is that the hint-giving person is basically chased by other students and falls into a fate of being unable to fight.
In addition, I don't have much talent for magic, so I can barely make out the characters by staring hard, but it seems that if you have strong magic power, you can feel the hints more easily. Even from a distance, you can sense that [there is a hint over there].
Oh, what bad luck! Now that it's come to this, it's dangerous to stay in one place. It's better to move constantly. Maybe it's fortunate that I was sent to this place, because if I had been sent to an open place, I might have been found out right away.
I grasped my only possession, a short sword, tightly. Each player is only allowed one tool. I chose this one.
The game's Rebecca isn't particularly strong in magic or physical abilities, but I think I can at least protect myself. It's because my mother taught me from a young age. In the past, it was unusual for a noble lady to learn knife techniques instead of magic or swordsmanship, but now it makes sense. My mother saw that this was the most suitable for my nature.
As I run down the slope, I think that the information I obtained from the strategy book is really useful. Of course, it's just cheating, but I had decided to use it without hesitation in order to survive and resist the scenario.
And now, there's one more thing I know. In this event, [enemy character] Ouka will appear.
Ouka is a noble young man who was sealed by the Principal about 20 years ago. He was apparently a student at this Academy. He's a man who was interested in developing forbidden magic as a hobby and was like an incarnation of evil. The seal has weakened and he appears as a spiritual body throughout the year to cause trouble.
He's probably going to be interested in the protagonist's rare magic power in the [spring] and try to contact them. There's no harm in letting him be, and there's no guilt. The protagonist is probably here at this Academy, and he'll probably think, "Oh, that guy, I wonder what she was" in a suspicious way.
So if you ask why Ouka did such a thing, it's pointless to ask for any other motivation than that it seemed interesting.
By the way, don't be surprised, he's a target for conquest. He's apparently a [hidden character]. It's possible to revive him with healing magic after he fell in love with the main character and changed for the better. You can do as you please. Even in that route, my downfall as someone who was causing trouble for the main character would not change. Of course, all of this is confidential information that should be discovered around the end of the story, around winter. The strategy book is the best! Thank you, Mother!
That was when it happened. It was bad that I lacked concentration. My leg got tangled in the grass, and my body floated in the air. In that unique sensation of floating, blood drained away quickly.
My foolishness, oh, I'm falling!
"Kyah!"
"Huh?"
"Whoa, watch out!"
Two bodies caught me. Two male students suddenly appeared and caught me in a dangerous place, just staring at me with wide eyes.
The Villainess Carries a Strategy Guide
その悪役令嬢は攻略本を携えている
https://www.novelupdates.com/series/the-villainess-carries-a-strategy-guide/
Fantasy Josei Romance Shoujo
Academy Adapted to Manga Aristocracy Doting Older Siblings European Ambience Female Protagonist Love Interest Falls in Love First Magic Nobles Otome Game Reincarnated in a Game World Villainess Noble Girls
https://ncode.syosetu.com/n6554fr/
岩田加奈