A person jumped into the pond right in front of their eyes, but the onlookers only grew anxious without anyone trying to help.

Rukna Golden shouted towards Mella Chamber.

“Hey, young lady. Why isn’t anyone helping?”

“If we jump in now, we’ll just die together.”

The school always conducted training to prepare for pond accidents. The content of the training was always the same.

Never enter the pond, and even if someone falls in, don’t jump in with them but seek help from those around.

“The corset I’m wearing now has heavy metal attached to it, so if I jump into the water wearing this uniform, I’ll sink.”

And it was impossible to loosen it in front of the men, and even if she took it off right away, it would take a long time to undress.

‘What the hell is this damned girls’ school teaching the students and making them wear!’

Rukna bit her teeth hard and looked around.

Mella Chamber found a long wooden stick by the pond and stretched it out into the water.

She was doing the only treatment she could.

“Then at least get help from the other students……”

“No. If another man touches Lady Sarah in her underwear, it will only disgrace Lady Sarah’s honor. Even if her life is saved, it would be as if she’s not really living.”

Knowing this, it was clear that Lady Sarah had also jumped in wearing her chemise. It meant not to save her.

“No, how can that be?”

Hey, Matian Wiegratz! Bolton! Try to do something! Rukna urged them, but the two only pressed their lips tightly and looked down at the pond.

Everyone was convinced that saving Sarah here was not for her sake.

“Chad, don’t just stand there, try using magic or something.”

“The Lake of Truth has a strong dispel tendency, so my magic won’t work.”

Chad snapped his fingers.

The magic circle that appeared above his pupils also appeared the same above the pond and quickly disappeared.

“See this. I told you it doesn’t work. It would take powerful black magic to twist the nature of the pond and activate it.”

“What?”

“So Luca, be careful not to fall in too. It’s a place where all magic is dispelled.”

Chad reprimanded Matian, saying “You should have treated her better,” and left, saying he would leave before seeing a fierce sight.

Then Aaron handed Rukna a hammer.

“Here, take this.”

“What is this?”

“Try swinging the hammer around.”

As Rukna swung the hammer as told, amazingly, the handle of the hammer began to lengthen.

It was a hammer made from the tree of life, and the tree originally had that characteristic, Aaron explained after.

“Why are you giving me this?”

“I can’t swim, and you seem to be the only sane person here.”

Perhaps because he was a gnome, Aaron could not understand humans who considered face and honor more important than life.

“You’re going to go in to save the woman who fell in the water, right? You’ll need something to pull her out with in the water, so use that.”

“Yeah, I can scoop her out with this!”

Rukna thanked him and immediately ran towards the pond. Surprised gazes clung to Rukna.

“Wait, Rukna!”

Matian hurriedly stopped Rukna, but she threw herself into the pond without hesitation.

Splash!

As soon as Rukna jumped in, the noisy space was covered in silence.

The pond was deeper than it looked, and Rukna’s body went down for a while, cutting through the turquoise water.

As the sinking speed slowed and she felt a floating sensation, she opened her tightly closed eyes and the blurry underwater scenery shimmered.

‘Over there.’

Lady Sarah was not far away.

However, her arms and legs were wrapped in red water plants and she was unable to float up.

‘Has she already fainted?’

Rukna swam closer to Sarah. And as she calmly untangled the water plants wrapped around her arms and legs, something was strange.

‘The water plants are wriggling as if they’re alive. It seems like there’s a red light coming from below.’

And when she lowered her head, she saw a familiar magic circle. It was black magic.

The things wrapping around the young lady’s arms and legs were not water plants, but strange protrusions extending from the magic circle.

Aaaargh, Rukna quickly removed her hands and called her holy sword.

‘High Bisbi, assess the situation now!’

“Master, please save me.”

‘What are you suddenly talking about?’

“Your precious Bisbi is sinking.”

At the holy sword’s unexpected words, Rukna fumbled for her necklace. The pendant that should have been hanging there was gone.

‘Bisbi?’

Gurgle. As the startled Rukna spit out air bubbles, she quickly looked around.

The holy sword, transformed into a longsword, was slowly sinking to the bottom of the pond.

‘It was real?’

Rukna waved her arm, went down, and snatched up the longsword that had sunk to the bottom of the pond.

The holy sword, returned to its owner, calmly answered the owner’s question from a moment ago as if nothing had happened.

“Currently, a sacrificial ritual is in progress to cast high-level black magic. The caster is that woman who has become the sacrifice.”

‘You mean Lady Sarah offered her own body as a sacrifice?’

“Yes, it is estimated to be the lowest level of the Red Eagle, the Deacon rank. She is attempting to summon a demon by distorting space.”

Rukna examined Lady Sarah, who was floating unconscious in the water.

She had jumped in proudly, saying she would become a fragment of Matian Wiegratz, but did she intend to summon a demon and inflict wounds on Matian?

Rukna could not understand why she had such twisted thoughts.

‘How do I stop this?’

“As you did last time, you can purify it with holy power.”

‘Then help me.’

“Master, your holy power has been unlocked to some extent. Now you can do it without my abilities.”

‘Really?’

“If you were thinking of pretending not to know and exploiting me, I’m disappointed.”

‘I got caught.’

As the holy sword said, Rukna had felt that her holy power had improved quite a bit on the dwarf’s airship.

Usually, she heard that one needs permission from the temple to use it, but she seemed to be a bit different.

“But Master, are you sure it’s okay for you to come into this pond?”

‘What’s there to not be okay with. I have to save the person first.’

Rukna held up the holy sword and cut off the tentacles wrapped around Lady Sarah’s arms and legs.

They wriggled in pain as if they were alive, then quickly retreated into the magic circle and disappeared.

‘Pale as if all the blood has been sucked out.’

Rukna grabbed Lady Sarah’s face and blew holy power into her.

The black magic that had permeated her spewed out like black fog and spread into the water.

‘This much and she won’t die right away.’

And Rukna stuck the holy sword she was holding right into the center of the black magic circle.

“Uh, Master?”

‘Stay there for a bit. I’ll come get you later.’

She couldn’t go up holding the holy sword with Matian Wiegratz watching.

Rukna lengthened Aaron’s hammer and pushed Lady Sarah’s body to the surface.

Seeing the shadow of a boat moving on the rippling water, it seemed the other students had also started the rescue operation.

After a while, a booming sound was heard from above the surface, and Lady Sarah’s body was loaded onto the boat.

And as if to help Rukna, a long oar abruptly came down into the pond.

It was already difficult to swim while holding the hammer, so she felt grateful.

Rukna grabbed the end of the oar and lifted her head out of the water.

Phew! After taking a deep breath to make up for the lack of air, she looked around and saw Lady Mella Chamber in the boat, holding the oar with teary eyes.

“I’m glad, I’m so glad you’re safe.”

Rukna proudly held up Aaron’s hammer to her who had been worried about her.

“I saved Lady Sarah without touching a finger. So her honor is preserved, right?”

“Sob, I know. Everyone saw it.”

Mella Chamber burst into tears that she had been holding back and nodded.

“It was something no one could do, thank… thank you. I really mean it.”

Mella Chamber thanked Rukna without being able to look at her straight.

And after quickly wiping away her tears, she rowed the boat towards the shore of the pond.

Rukna looked at Mella Chamber’s retreating back.

Unlike a student council president who should be setting an example for others, her waistband was untidily loose.

It was a trace of her risking shame and trying to untie her corset for Lady Sarah’s sake.

‘Even though she talked about honor and whatnot, she did her best in her own way.’

If she were really a man, she might have accepted Mella Chamber’s arranged marriage.

“Isn’t she really cool.”

Rukna muttered towards Mella Chamber and then swam by swinging her arms.

She couldn’t ride in the boat with the women in her wet and unruly state, so she had to go directly.

‘Anyway, what useless regulations. But why does the back of my head feel so prickly?’

Rukna turned her head in the direction she felt the gaze coming from.

Matian Wiegratz was glaring at her as if he would devour her, clutching his chest.

‘Why is he doing that? Making people uneasy.’

It may have been because his heart hurt from the black magic earlier, but is that my fault?

Why are you glaring at an innocent person? Rukna tried to ignore his gaze and gripped a nearby rock with her hand.

Grabbing it, she tried to crawl up slowly, but unlike usual, a fluffy cushiony feeling was felt from her chest area.

‘Huh? My body right now……’

Splash. The startled Rukna went back into the pond.

This was big trouble. The effect of the gender juice had completely worn off.

Chad’s words that the Lake of Truth has a strong dispel tendency and magic is dispelled came to mind belatedly.