Chapter 139
A quiet winter night lit by starlight.
Under the livestock shed roof, with the light of Hwayo between them, Elined and Villed faced each other.
“……An enemy inside the Academy?”
“You said it yourself. That there was a third party who had intruded into the Comprehensive Exam.”
“That’s right.”
Elined leaned her back against the wall and looked up at the sky.
“This year, one incident after another occurred. Not long ago, the Jed Rubin incident. Before that, even the Victory Festival incident where they attacked Her Highness the Princess……. If it weren’t for your help, Kunking would have been imprisoned by now like those criminals.”
Elined bit her lip and added, sounding a little resentful.
“It’s a bit embarrassing, but I even thought we had to exterminate Kunking as a threat.”
“There’s nothing to be ashamed of. Anyone would think that if their life were threatened.”
“…….”
Instead of saying thank you, Elined answered with a faint smile.
Then, staring at the flame of Hwayo, she spoke again.
“The professors announced that Kunking had gone berserk after he had been accidentally caught up in the collapse of the protection ritual and that his mind had been corrupted. They said everything had been resolved now……. but only the two of us knew the truth. That Kunking had been played by someone’s hand.”
Chess pieces.
Victims who could be taken at any moment, who would only roll at someone’s fingertips.
“Even though all three incidents were far too large for a student to carry out alone, academy cadets ended up implicated as the perpetrators. That repeated similarity is why I suspected the same organization was behind them.”
Before she knew it, Elined had balled her hands into fists.
If this kept up, a much larger disaster could occur before long.
Elined looked Villed squarely in the eyes and spoke.
“Do you think every student should be told that a dangerous group exists inside our school?”
“No. That would be a hasty judgment.”
“Why not?”
“It would only spread unnecessary fear. If it became known that the Academy was unsafe, trust would collapse, and the students would be thrown into panic.”
Villed paused for a moment and continued.
“Besides, there wasn’t enough evidence. We didn’t know how large that group was, what their goal was, or who inside the group they had. That would cause a decisive problem.”
“……Internal division, right.”
Elined answered in his place.
“Right. We wouldn’t know which of us was the enemy. People would distrust fellow cadets, staff, even professors.”
Elined met Villed’s gaze and nodded.
“External forces like imperial nobles, the church, or the Knights could take ‘student protection’ as a pretext to forcibly intervene in the Academy.”
“From the faculty’s perspective, they’d think it was likelier to get dragged into political fights than to protect students. They’d want to cover it up for now.”
So, it was wiser not to reveal the existence of the ‘group’ to the students yet.
Even if they went public, finding out who they were should come first.
“…….”
Elined fell silent, then stared steadily at Villed without blinking.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“You really don’t seem to be part of the ‘group’ after all.”
“Have you been testing me this whole time?”
“I couldn’t help it. You know as well as I do—there was no one in the Academy who could be trusted completely any longer.”
“Even the cadets who followed you?”
“No need to say it. Besides, most of them already betrayed me during the Comprehensive Exam. I would now only trust those I could truly rely on.”
Elined turned her gaze to Hwayo’s flame. The blue blaze of Hwayo lay in her eyes.
“I would never forgive those who threatened the students and disturbed the Academy, the place of learning. ……And.”
The light at the tip of Hwayo reflected, making Elined’s pupils shine all the more.
“I would catch them and take the credit. A huge reward would be given.”
So that had been her true intention. Villed let out a hollow laugh.
“You no longer bother to hide that grand ambition from me.”
“Yes. I don’t need to hide it from you. You’re the same as me, after all.”
Elined met his eyes and smiled slyly.
“I was a branch of the Finjer Family. You were the second son of the Count Dedenkman family. What was the difference?”
Both had been pushed aside in succession rights.
Even though noble offspring naturally wanted to secure succession.
“If we suppressed them, a title would be given. With that, I could gain my family’s recognition. You could also be recognized and seize the succession rights of the Count’s house.”
Villed did not look away.
“So why were you telling me this?”
“Help me.”
Elined looked at Villed clearly.
“I couldn’t trust the professors yet. I needed a comrade I could truly believe in.”
Her eyes trembled a little, but they were sincere.
“You were the only person in this Academy I could trust. We had to find their clues.”
Villed scoffed.
“How could the two of us deal with a group we didn’t even know the identity of? Do you really think that makes sense?
“……Ah.”
Elined silently lowered her head.
“That was a strange thing to say. Forget it.”
She exhaled belatedly.
“I’m sorry for the rudeness.”
Elined rose from her seat with a wry smile.
Ah, what had she been expecting.
……Back to square one.
Just like when she had been alone before entering Yggdrasil.
Like the past when she had had no one to whom she could pour out her heart,
she would continue a lonely fight without opening up to anyone.
Yes, perhaps that was how Elined was meant to be.
Having put aside all expectations, Elined was walking away alone in silence.
……Villed also rose from his seat and spoke.
“We can’t catch their clues with just the two of us. We need competent collaborators. Whether professors, cadets, or staff.”
Elined slowly turned her back to Villed. Their eyes met for a moment.
“……Yes?”
“Let’s look together with me.”
Villed took a step closer and continued.
“Comrades.”
Elined stopped and met Villed’s eyes.
“Let’s find trustworthy comrades one by one and expand our numbers. Finding the clues to those bastards would come after that.”
“…….”
Elined’s eyes glistened.
“Why are you crying?”
“Sorry? I’m not crying. My eyes just hurt. That lizard’s light is way too bright.”
“It’s not that bright.”
“It is to me. My eyes hurt this much, see?”
Elined took a slow breath, then smiled brightly and reached out her hand.
“……Alright. Let’s do it together. Starting with finding someone we can trust.”
“Sure. It’ll probably take quite some time, though.”
Villed silently took Elined’s hand.
The flame clinging to Hwayo’s tail quietly illuminated the two of them.
The next morning.
I lay on the hammock, recalling what had happened the night before.
Elined had formally asked me to become her companion.
That alone was enough for me to realize immediately.
‘The Vanguard Elined Route.’
It was one of the hidden routes in the game.
Normally, the game’s story centered on Ren as he tracked down clues to the villains.
But this route was different—Elined took the lead, gathering companions and uncovering the villains’ traces.
The Elined who grew through that route would later play a decisive role in defeating the “Calamity.”
‘It was one of the ways to drastically lower the game’s difficulty.’
To raise Elined.
Even if it didn’t bring visible changes right away, the effects would clearly show in future episodes.
As someone who loved insurance, I judged that becoming Elined’s ally and helping her grow would be the most reasonable choice.
‘I already know who’s needed and who the villains are. I can just add the clues or recommended companions at the right time in each episode.’
I once played a game like that before.
The protagonist was a girl from a fallen noble family.
It was a life-simulation game where you watched her grow as you stacked up large and small choices.
In that game, every word, every action, and every decision changed her future bit by bit.
Sometimes she made mistakes. Sometimes she grew in ways I never expected.
And I, as the player, became the helper who designed and observed her progress.
Not just following and assisting—but adjusting the world’s flow with my own hands.
‘……So I’m doing that here now?’
Simply put, it was like an “Elined Lady-Raising Simulation.”
‘Until now, I’ve only watched Ren grow stronger.’
Now, I needed to watch both Ren’s and Elined’s growth together.
‘If the two of them grow stronger, won’t that make things way easier for me?’
Yeah. The more insurance, the better.
I decided to think positively—about the me who’d have an easier future.
……And starting today, the application period and department trial programs began.
Each student could apply for up to three department preferences,
and if they failed all three, they’d be assigned to a department with available spots.
The order of my choices was as follows:
「1st Choice - Common Magic
2nd Choice - Combat Magic
3rd Choice - Hephaistos Workshop」
‘Though I’ll get into Common Magic anyway.’
Even though I’d placed in the upper-middle ranks in the Comprehensive Exam, I still applied for a lower department.
The reason wasn’t complicated. It was simply easier to graduate from.
First-year cadets wore the red necklaces provided by the Academy and could observe second-year lectures.
“Weren’t you already set on becoming an Alchemist?”
“I already submitted my form! But still, I’m curious, you know? About what kind of classes other departments have.”
“Do what you want.”
It wasn’t an incomprehensible choice, since we needed to complete at least one hour of the trial observation period anyway.
We first headed to the Barrier Magic Department, which held its class in the nearest lecture room.
The classroom door was open, but the inside was dark.
Karin peered in, glancing around.
“Huh? Why’s no one here? ……Wah?!”
As Karin gasped, someone stepped out from inside the door.
“……Hello. Ah, it’s been a while.”
A familiar second-year senior gave me a polite nod.
Beck Biju Lala.
One of the survivors from the Victory Festival incident.
Back then, her long hair had been messy, giving her a gloomy impression, but now, with a red headband, she looked more composed.
Even the shadows around her eyes seemed to have faded.
“You don’t seem to drink anymore. You don’t smell like alcohol at all.”
“……That broken bottle back then was my last drink.”
“Well, sorry about that.”
Biju gave a wry smile and turned toward Karin.
“Are you here for the department trial?”
“Yes!”
“I’m afraid there’s no trial class today. There’s not much to show,
but I can read your fortune through an Inner Barrier if you’d like. Please, come in.”
Biju walked into the dim room.
“Oh, that sounds fun! Let’s do it!”
“Yeah. I’ll try too.”
Karin and Laphin’s eyes sparkled as they looked at me. ……I didn’t bother refusing and followed them inside.
“Please, have a seat.”
Biju handed over a small chair and spoke smoothly.
“The Inner Barrier is a kind of magic-based projection art that visualizes one’s mental image.
It reflects your unconscious mind through symbolic imagery.”
I didn’t understand it well, but it sounded similar to tarot cards.
“I’ll go first.”
As Karin sat, Biju flicked a red thread in the air.
“You’ll see it briefly—one or two seconds at most. Just tell me what you saw.”
“……Ah, I just saw something. A staircase. A really long staircase.”
“That’s a good sign. Stairs symbolize effort and growth.
A long staircase, especially, means you’ve achieved growth through persistent effort.
It means you’ll reach your dream.”
“Thank you! Laphin, you try!”
Karin pushed Laphin to sit down.
When Biju flicked the air again, Laphin quietly spoke.
“……I see a blue tree.”
“That means your heart is at peace. It symbolizes unending tranquility.
It suggests only good things will continue for you.”
“Laphin, you got a good one too!”
After their readings ended, we were about to leave the dark room silently when—
“Would you like to try as well?”
“Go on, Villed! A good reading might lift your mood.”
As Biju asked, Karin eagerly joined in urging me.
“I don’t believe in superstitions.”
“Aw, just sit down!”
Thanks to Karin, I was practically forced into the chair.
“Now, close your eyes.”
Following Biju’s words, I closed my eyes.
……After a short while, something began to appear.
A place all gray, shrouded in white mist.
Someone was sitting on a rock.
They held a staff heavy with fruits.
Their white robe hood was pulled deep over their head……
……Me?