Baron Batchelor's eyes turned completely bloodshot, as if they were about to spill tears of blood.
"Ah!!!"
He charged toward the tiny figure like a madman.
The Dekan doll also took off on its little legs.
Just as Baron Batchelor was about to catch it, the doll pushed open a classroom door and slipped inside.
Baron Batchelor followed right behind, crashing into the classroom without a second thought.
Like a mad tiger bursting into a sheep pen, screams of terror mingled with the stench of blood erupted from within.
Dekan and Cornelia peeked out from a corner at the far end of the hallway.
"Aren't you going to want that card back?"
Cornelia asked.
The creature that had just lured Baron Batchelor into the classroom was Dekan's summon.
If its user wasn't nearby when a summon was defeated, it couldn't be recalled as a card.
The doll that had just lured Baron Batchelor away was destined to turn back into a card, only to be destroyed by the raving baron.
"It's fine. The [Captain Dekan] card doesn't cost much to make. I can mass-produce it."
Dekan explained, waving the two remaining copies of the same card in his hand.
[Captain Dekan] [Category: Summon Card] [Rarity: Blue Precious] [Rank: 1] [Attack: 0] [Health: 100] [Effect: A summon modeled after Dekan's chibi appearance. It has a powerful single-target Taunt effect and inflicts the "Confusion" status on its target. The more the target hates Dekan, the longer the Taunt lasts.] [Note: "Captain Dekan, reporting for certain death!"]
One of Dekan's life-saving cards.
Low cost, great effect.
Sometimes, when he pushed an enemy over the edge, Captain Dekan could even lure them into causing some very targeted destruction.
Dekan's plan was to have Baron Batchelor healed in the infirmary, drive him mad, and, if they were lucky, even give him a power boost. Then they'd use Captain Dekan to lure the baron into wrecking the classrooms.
Once Baron Batchelor had taken out the staff in the classroom, Dekan could sweep through it with ease!
Exploration progress acquired—easy as pie!
"So, Cornelia, once Batchelor has swept through a few classrooms, we'll go and make some progress on our exploration, too. That should get us about as much exploration credit as we need to contribute. If we happen to get some crucial information about the boss along the way, we'll go take her out. Otherwise, let's not take the risk."
Dekan explained their next steps to Cornelia.
Class was already in session, but they were strolling down the hallway as if they were out for a leisurely walk.
Dekan was starting to feel bored.
He thought Baron Batchelor was taking far too long.
Nearly ten minutes had passed, and the baron still hadn't cleared the classroom.
"Okay, I'll do what you say."
Cornelia nodded cheerfully.
Whether they went off to fight or have fun next, she didn't mind.
"Now that we've got the Cooking Classroom as a safe house, once we deal with The Dean, we can do whatever we want in this school."
Dekan said.
"I'm starting to feel like I don't want to go back to Havenlit Academy..."
Cornelia couldn't help sighing.
"Oh, right, Cornelia."
Suddenly, Dekan seemed to remember something. He said very seriously, "Actually, there's something in the information Baron Batchelor gave me that really caught my attention."
"What?"
At his words, Cornelia's expression turned slightly serious as well.
"In the principal's office... there's a swimming pool!"
"A swimming pool...? Do you want to go swimming?"
"Of course! What student could possibly turn down a swim in the principal's office? That's so cool!"
"..."
Cornelia fell silent.
But after thinking it over, she seemed to find the idea tempting too.
Cornelia: "Count me in."
Dekan: "Sure!"
"Oh, look. Is that The Dean?"
"Looks like it."
As Dekan and Cornelia chatted and laughed in the hallway, they finally ran into the legendary Dean.
The commotion Baron Batchelor was making nearby seemed to have drawn The Dean over.
Of course, the truancy duo were so brazen that it would have been hard for The Dean not to notice them.
They were walking down the hallway as if they owned the place.
Without hesitation, The Dean charged toward them, ready to capture them.
The man and woman showed no sign of panic, nor did they try to run.
Without so much as a hurry, they each held out a red ticket to The Dean.
"Here. Take it."
Without even bothering to look at The Dean, Dekan and Cornelia shoved their Demon Passes into his hands and kept chatting.
As he passed The Dean, Dekan even patted him on the shoulder.
The Dean: "..."
He'd seen arrogant students before, but never ones this arrogant.
But according to the rules, he couldn't attack these two students again for half an hour.
The Dean stood there for a long time, unable to let go of his indignation.
Since when...
Had students stopped fearing him?
"Seems quiet now."
Cornelia pressed her ear to the wall as she leaned against it, trying to gauge what was happening in the nearby classroom.
Dekan nodded and summoned a second Captain Dekan.
He controlled Captain Dekan as it trotted over to the classroom door, pushed it open, and bounced around inside, waving its arms.
Then Captain Dekan turned and ran straight into another room nearby.
Soon, the whole corridor erupted into chaos again.
Baron Batchelor charged out once more, following Captain Dekan into the room.
This time, though, Dekan could tell Batchelor had taken a serious beating.
"Ganbatte! Baron Batchelor, you can't go down yet!"
Watching from a distance as the baron charged into the classroom, Dekan called out.
Baron Batchelor still had some fight left in him.
They could keep squeezing the last bit of value out of him.
About twenty minutes later.
"He should be done. It's quiet now."
Cornelia spoke again, still leaning against the wall.
Baron Batchelor seemed to have lost a lot of his strength. Each fight was taking longer and longer.
Dekan summoned the last Captain Dekan and ordered it to dance outside the room they'd just passed.
Then it turned and ran into another classroom.
Just as expected, Baron Batchelor—despite being battered and broken—roared and charged after Captain Dekan into the classroom.
"Baron Batchelor."
"It doesn't matter where you're headed. Just keep moving forward. As long as you don't stop, the road will be there ahead of you."
"Batchelor, I'm not going to stop. As long as you keep going, I'll be waiting for you up ahead. So don't you dare stop!"
Dekan watched the baron disappear into the distance and murmured as if bidding farewell to an old friend.
This time, Baron Batchelor finally didn't come back out of the classroom for a long, long while.
Instead, a surviving Demon Student dragged its battered body out of the room.
It seemed Baron Batchelor had finally burned himself out.
He and the teacher in the classroom had taken each other down.
It was time to reap the rewards.
"Cornelia! Time to get to work!"
"Okay!"
Cornelia pulled out her spare hammer, and the two of them charged into the classroom, one after the other.
The surviving demons' wails rose and fell once more...
Before you continue