A week had passed since that fateful day.
The weather in the academy city had cooled down, and the events of the past few days had caused quite a stir.
As soon as the second semester started, several headlines captured everyone's attention:
The awakening of a new [Unique Ether] user. The defeat and injury of Student Council President Brunhild. The Chaos Beasts' attack on <Holy Alvenheim High School>. And the full-fledged appearance of the Prophet. So many things had happened. However, most ordinary students seemed to dismiss all but the first two, thinking, "Well, it’s been resolved, right?"
'In terms of significance, the last one is by far the most important.'
…
Oh.
Not that Hilde being injured isn’t a big deal. I mean, she’s my precious MBTI T girlfriend, and I'll take good care of her. I visit her every day, after all.
Since I haven’t said this out loud, I’m safe. If I did, she’d definitely get upset.
“Hoo—☆ This is quite something.”
Anyway…
What I’m getting at is that even though the second semester has started, the students of the academy city don’t seem to feel any real threat from <Ratatoskr>.
‘I can understand that, though.’
Even though I know that a disaster on par with the world’s end is coming in a few months, I can’t really grasp it.
—This world is destined for destruction.
“…”
Even if I know it in my head and prepare for it, if it’s not right in front of me, it doesn’t feel real.
Originally, the students were supposed to suffer severe losses from the consecutive appearances of the <Ratatoskr> priests, starting with the weakest boss, the [Priest of Dreams], and leading up to the strongest, the [Priest of Corruption].
Students would rise up after their struggles. Schools that had tasted the bitterness of defeat would gather around <Central Prism Academy>, the epicenter of events. They would then solemnly begin to unravel <Ratatoskr>'s plot…
‘Hilde would have started moving in earnest at that point…’
But things changed dramatically.
Now, Hilde and I have become a couple that does everything together, even taking baths. We’ve gotten so close that nothing can come between us.
[All characters in this scene are over 19 years old.] With the proper disclaimer in place, I’m safe.
A nice, spacious bathhouse sure is great. The acoustics are perfect for practicing singing.
But just because we’re practicing school idol dances together doesn’t mean we’re slacking off in our preparations.
There really wasn’t much to do in terms of actual tasks.
‘In fact, the preparation against the <Ratatoskr> cultists was pretty much set in motion from the early stages of the story, and it’s running smoothly on its own.’
In the altered reality, the schools were already receiving information and preparing themselves. No students were falling for the cultists' nefarious schemes.
The juniors had peacefully embarked on their last treasure hunt for the [Three Heroes]' final relics. No force within the academy city could pose a threat to them now, unless someone of the five colors level emerged.
And Kara still didn’t realize that the last treasure was her weapon.
‘Is she just that dense, or is she being excessively humble…?’
Honestly, it’s the [Flag] of the [Rebel Rider]. How has she not put that together yet? Isn’t it about time she started thinking, “Oh? Is it my turn now?”
…
But she’s a good kid, so I can forgive her.
Despite the Prophet’s grand declarations, <Ratatoskr> hadn’t made any significant moves, and our days continued as usual.
‘The Prophet was never the scheming, manipulative type. He’s more of a shadowy figure who operates safely from behind the scenes, so I guess his approach has changed too.’
The Prophet’s schemes had once again become shrouded in mystery. People with such shady intentions live tiring lives.
Praise be to Pingchang's sneak attacks. It’s best to live honestly. People with rotten intentions don’t last long.
But that’s not the point. The big news… the emergence of a new [Unique Ether] user had caused quite a stir in the academy city.
Because of that, we were pondering our next steps.
First-year. Solved a major problem at the start of the semester. Had connections with many upperclassmen from large schools.
These were all ideal qualities for a leader.
How could we make the most of Albit as the next leader of the academy city?
I was going around asking my friends for advice on this matter, using [Bifrost] to visit them.
Under the wide, clear sky, the northern wilderness was still swept by strong winds.
Chiiik—!
The smell of meat grilling filled the air over the wilderness. Eir, creating a small firewheel in her hand, answered indifferently.
“So you want to make your kid the leader, huh?” “Hey, ‘kid’ is a bit much—☆” “Well, raising juniors is pretty straightforward. Want some meat?” “Waa~☆ Yes, please!” “Here.”
Chiiik—
Eir moved a piece of well-cooked meat onto a plate and placed another raw piece on her hand to grill with her firewheel. The raw meat danced and sizzled on the pink ether.
“Omnomnom—☆”
The grilled meat, seasoned just right, was delicious.
The sweet sauce with a hint of spice perfectly countered the gaminess of the meat. It was the kind of dish that could be finished quickly with just a bowl of rice.
Eating something delicious made me happy☆ Bad memories, disappear~♪
Eir glanced at me, holding another piece of meat dancing like a ballerina in the pink ether.
“Want another piece?” “Waa—♪ Meat—☆” “Here.” “Omnomnom—☆”
Delicious! The best—☆ Eating something tasty makes you happy!
“…” What was I thinking about again?
Oh, right, right. The plan to train Albit as a leader.
I’d been having memory lapses lately, maybe as a side effect of awakening [Bifrost]. My thoughts often wandered off track like this.
It seems great power comes with great drawbacks.
I managed to bring the conversation back to the topic.
“So~ Can you tell me how to train a junior—☆” “When it comes to raising kids in the academy city, nothing beats this.”
Eir, still sitting slouched over, pointed to a spine-shaped sword lying next to her. It was an unusual weapon, no matter how you looked at it.
‘In the game, this was a limited gacha item that caused a controversy over rigged odds, but here she just had it from the start.’
A weapon of destiny. Some students naturally possessed weapons or talents with uniquely odd designs.
As if they were born to fight.
And through battle, they would come to realize the name of the [Fate] connected to those weapons.
Weapons. Battles. Combat.
These were the things students of the academy city fundamentally admired. They lived as if they were born to fight.
Eir seemed to be talking about that.
“Hee—☆ Come to think of it, the Combat Festival is coming up…” “Yeah, I’m planning to participate…” “…Planning to?” “…Are you going to participate too, [Spiral]?” “Hmm…”
I found it surprisingly hard to give an answer.
It wasn’t an exciting situation. Hilde, who had been the strongest among us until recently, was injured, and her weapon of destiny was destroyed by the Prophet.
‘Even if she participates in the Combat Festival, it won’t be the performance we were hoping for.’
If Hilde decides to push herself to compete, or if she chooses to withdraw…
“…” Honestly, I had no rivals left.
‘There are strong second-year students like Vell, Sieg, and the Black Knight, but… they’re not on our level…’
Even among the five colors, my newly awakened abilities completely disrupted the balance.
The rainbow-colored vision that allows me to observe the near future for a few minutes. And [Bifrost], which lets me see and move anywhere in the academy city.
These two abilities were too unbalanced to use in one-on-one combat.
It was such a unique Ether skill that not many people fully understood it yet… but I didn’t want to ruin things by crashing their playground.
“…It’ll probably be tough.” “…” If Eir were just a battle maniac, she might have been upset, but as the student council president, she seemed to understand.
Fights only have meaning when the opponents are evenly matched.
And Eir knew all too well that she couldn’t defeat me as she was now.
“I see. So our generation’s battles… end like this.” “It’s not the end—☆ We can still meet after graduation~☆” “But we’ll never get to see the ‘Golden Generation’ of the five colors clash here in the academy city.” “…That’s true.”
Eir chewed on her meat thoughtfully.
“Well, it wasn’t bad. Thanks to you guys, I had a new sense of purpose… and school life wasn’t so bad either.” “…I see.”
We grilled meat under the blue sky.
After saying goodbye to Eir, I used [Bifrost] to head to the library at <Banar Public Boarding School>.
The rainbow-colored spiral wrapped around me, and in an instant, I was inside the library, where the more scholarly students roamed. The outside was still noisy with the sounds of ongoing restoration work.
Even inside the library, the place was full of animal noises. Cats, dogs, foxes, and mice, glowing in various colors, were scurrying around.
—Meow—! —Woof, woof! —Awooo— —Squeak, squeak!
“…”
Carrying books or food, or delivering letters in their mouths, all sorts of summoned creatures bustled about.
Among them, I made my way to Freya’s private reading room like a cockroach. It was located in the darkest, most secluded corner of the hallway… the most gloomy place imaginable.
Creak—
Amidst the scattered books, a girl with purple hair was lying on her stomach, wearing a shabby nightgown. She was sleeping in a posture she’d regret once she hit 25.
The sun was high in the sky, yet she was still sleeping like that…
“…Snore. Snort. Whew…”
…Well, kids that age do sleep a lot.
“Hehe, sleep well☆”
I gazed at Freya’s sleeping face with fondness, then opened her drawer and helped myself to some snacks. The snacks in this area were always top-notch.
“Indeed, nothing beats sweet snacks after meat—☆ Don’t you agree?” —Grind, crunch… sniff… snore… “Yep♪ Thanks for the meal! See you later!” —Snore…
After greeting Freya, I grabbed a few more snacks and used [Bifrost] to exit the library.
Back at <Central Prism Academy>. The thought that even these memories of visiting friends and enjoying delicious treats would soon be gone made me a bit melancholic.
‘In the end, will someone from the five colors win the Combat Festival…?’
Eir. Freya. Astrid. Anna.
And Helina, the hidden powerhouse of <Hel’s Affiliated High School>.
It wouldn’t be surprising if any of them won.
A few days later.
Student Council President Brunhild stood before a large group of journalism students and made an announcement.
“I am retiring as the president of the <Unified Student Council> due to my injuries.” “...” “And the next president will not be someone from <Aesir Girls’ High School>… but will be decided solely by strength.” “…No way.”
Brunhild nodded.
“I intend to pass on the presidency of the <Unified Student Council> to the winner of the next Combat Festival.” “…” “This decision has been agreed upon within <Aesir Girls’ High School>.” “…” The announcement quickly spread, and a few minutes later, Clara, who heard the news, was shocked.