Ether is the "power to exist."
The universal energy descending from the heavens. The force that binds everything in this world together. It is present everywhere, naturally and abundantly, and it permeates everything.
Living beings and inanimate objects, the living and the dead. Everything contains ether.
Since the dawn of time, when the primordial flames birthed this world, ether has been one of the fundamental energies comprising everything.
In terms of Yin and Yang, it embodies the Yang energy. Therefore, ether fundamentally has a red hue. As it contains extreme Yang energy, high ether affinity is only manifested in women who can accommodate this intense Yang energy.
‘And the place where girls with higher ether affinity gather is <Academy City Yord>… according to the setting.’
The ability to handle it well or not also varies individually, but at least only girls with ether affinity can withstand the high concentration of ether present in <Academy City Yord>.
“…”
Honestly, this setting was created in the game to justify beautiful girls wielding swords and magic. But since this setting has become reality here, ether has become a natural law and a truth.
‘Ether is the flow of destiny, life force, energy, an object of faith, a universal energy… It’s such a convenient setting. Anything can be solved by just attaching the word ‘ether’ to it.’
I thought of the blind acceptance of ether in the academy city with a bitter smile.
Coming from a previous life where the omnipotent material ether didn’t exist, I didn’t feel like my life was in danger without it. But for these people, ether was life, further connecting to destiny and existence itself.
Thus, my juniors cried holding onto me, whose ether was found to be empty. Their eyes were like those of baby birds looking at a sick mother bird.
“Senior…?” “Senior…” “Senior comrade…”
Seeing that made me feel despair. It wasn’t the ether depletion crisis that I had already planned countermeasures for, but the sorrowful voices of my juniors that troubled me.
‘Ah… Why did it have to be a machine that measures the ‘ratio’… This is going to be another tear-jerking show… It’s a mess.’
The machine Maya brought measured ether depletion in ‘ratio’. To put it simply, it’s like treating 1% remaining electricity in an industrial power plant and a portable battery the same way.
‘If only she had brought a machine that measures absolute values… The kids are going to cry again…’
It was another week full of tear-jerking scenarios. My ominous prediction was never wrong.
Alvit, seemingly unable to believe it, moved her brown eyes incessantly, sweating. Her eyes were already filled with moisture.
“Senior is… worse than a corpse…?” “Haha―☆ That’s too much♪” “That… that can’t be…”
Then Rota shouted, raising the fur on her cat ears. She also had tears welling up in her eyes.
“Alvit!! Don’t say ominous things!! Senior can’t be dead!!” “S-Sorry. I was thoughtless…” “Hey, guys? Don’t fight―☆”
Before I could intervene, Kara picked me up in a princess carry. I couldn’t resist too much because I was afraid Kara might get hurt, so I lightly tapped her arm.
Tap, tap―☆
“Hey―♪ Kara~ Suddenly princess-carrying your senior, huh―☆ Even though I look like a princess…” “We need to get you to bed immediately!! Don’t worry, I’ll take you there―!!” “Well… My condition is getting better―☆ Even if you treat me as if I’m about to die, it’s troubling now♪” “Yap.”
Maya brought the ether depletion ratio measuring device to my face once more. And the damned machine let out five loud warning beeps.
Beep, beep, beep, beep, beep
“Ah?! No!!” “Senior!! You mustn’t be in pain!!” “Quickly, we need to move her to the room!!” “We need a hospital… Damn it!! This damn school, of course! Our senior is so sick, and there’s no hospital bed!!” “I’m not dying☆ I’m really not dying―☆”
I tried to calm my juniors down in the chaotic situation but was ignored.
The juniors seemed to hear the warning beeps from the ether depletion device as the footsteps of the Grim Reaper and hurriedly carried me to the dormitory. Maya had already been forgotten and ignored. The juniors had already completely forgotten her presence.
Desperately, I tried to redirect their attention to Maya.
“Guys~☆ Let’s listen to Maya first! Aren’t you curious why she’s here? By the way! Should I tell you an amazing fact―☆ Maya and I have been…” “Senior, we know, but please just lie down!!” “You don’t have to say anything more!!” “…”
But Maya, finding their hysterical reactions interesting, quietly followed us to the dormitory while persistently placing the device on my head. It had been a long time since I’d seen her act with others.
“Yap.” “Maya, what are you doing―☆” “It could have been a mismeasurement.” Beep, beep, beep, beep, beep
“Stop it, really―☆ I’m going to hit you~♡” “Yap.” “Haha―♡ Maya, you really are a T type―☆”
Beep, beep, beep, beep, beep
“Hm, let’s try one more time.” “Alright―☆ I’ve decided♡ Maya, you’re going to get scolded later―☆” “Yap.”
Beep, beep, beep, beep, beep
As the warning beeps continued to echo, the juniors' cries grew stronger.
“Senior!!!” “Senior!!!” “Senior comrade―!!”
Heartbreaking cries. But I’m really fine. No matter how much I say it, they don’t believe me.
I’m going crazy.
It felt like being constantly suspected of treason by Sun Quan. No matter how much I said it wasn’t true, the frustration of not being believed felt like this.
‘No… Comparing my cute juniors worrying to being suspected of treason isn’t fair…’
Eventually, I gave up resisting and was confined to the bed, wrapped tightly in blankets. The juniors brought chairs and were vigilantly watching over me.
“Haha… So this is how it ends―☆” “You must not move at all until you’re fully recovered, senior.” “I’ll bring your food… No, I’ll feed you myself. You can eat if you say ‘aah’, right? I’ll even let you touch my ears, so please stay still?”
Rota’s kind consideration. Just hearing it made me want to cry. But Kara was watching it skeptically.
“…Aren’t you both just doing what you want?” “What are you talking about!!” “Rota, you always pretend to care but end up projecting your maternal desires… It’s too blatant…” “Shuuuuush――!!” “Okay, okay, don’t fight―☆”
Finally, the atmosphere calmed down as I lay down.
Watching this, Maya declared it an interesting research result and said she would deliver the items she brought from <Mimir Industrial High School> to the dormitory.
Since Kara was once a student at <Mimir Industrial High School>, she asked if she could help Maya, but Maya refused. Maya was extremely independent and didn’t care about such things.
Thunk―
A large equipment case was placed in the dormitory hallway.
“…”
I watched Maya carrying the luggage back and forth and wondered.
‘But if she’s the head of the Facilities Engineering Department, she should be busy. Why did she come here herself?’
Including the time I collapsed, more than three weeks had passed since the freshmen welcome party at <Mimir Industrial High School>. In mid-April, major schools were incredibly busy with midterms and event preparations.
‘Even though <Mimir Industrial High School> isn’t as rigid as it used to be, they still run school events thoroughly…’
But Maya was busy bringing the metal equipment cases to my room and unpacking them, so I couldn’t ask her.
Click―!
A large metal case, big enough for me to curl up inside, opened. Inside were equipment pieces made from the ether conductive ore I had farmed in my first year.
‘In game terms, these are high-tier crafted items… It should be okay not to change weapons for a while. I’ve skipped a lot of intermediate farming steps, but it’s a relief to have an excuse.’
An unexpected unboxing of equipment in my room.
The first thing I took out was…
It was Alvit’s straight sword, the most difficult to craft.
Alvit’s voice trembled with excitement.
“Oh… My… This is… a weapon made from high-purity ore, isn’t it?” “Yep―♪ I asked Maya to make it with the ether conductive ore I got in my first year―☆” “I didn’t make it myself, just paid the Materials Engineering Department kids to do it. If you’re grateful, I’ll take it.” “Um… Thank you, Maya-senpai…” “Yeah, sure.”
Nod
Alvit thanked Maya nonchalantly. Maya sipped from a flask containing an energy drink. There was nothing wrong with the scene, but… it was strangely infuriating.
“…”
I couldn’t help but speak out.
“Maya, you…☆” “What? It’s true.” “…” “I even delivered it myself.” “Sigh♪”
Maya was this kind of person.
‘Well, if this girl, who hates hassle, delivered it herself… It is surprising. I still don’t understand how we became friends.’
Alvit couldn’t care less about Maya, staring blankly at the luxurious longsword with a dark red hue.
It was a very sturdy sword. Specially processed ether conductive material allowing for ether application techniques. It was of a different quality compared to the training weapons at <Central Prism Academy>.
‘Actually, the weapons we used… were just sticks made by melting down ore scraps…’
A dark red blade. Intricately crafted ether circuits. Simple, yet elegant functionality.
Alvit stared at the elegant longsword for a long time. Then she quietly drew ether into it, testing it.
Fwoosh―!
The high-quality crafted item had a stable connection with the dark red blade. Now that Alvit had mastered the second stage [Vibrating Ether], it harmonized instantly. The blade exuded a menacing aura.
Alvit looked at her sword in awe, her voice filled with wonder.
“Wow, this is… really amazing… It connects so quickly and smoothly…?”
Muttering to herself, trying to explain how good the weapon was. Her flushed cheeks and curved eyes looked endearing.
“Coo, coo…♪”
I felt like I was watching a game enthusiast receiving a new smartphone or graphics card. Having seen her burning with responsibility lately, seeing her excited like a child again made me laugh.
‘She’s been growing stronger quickly recently, it’s good to see she likes the gift.’
As more equipment cases were opened, Rota and Kara admired their gifts.
“These are gifts for you guys―☆” “This is…!” “Senior comrade…!” “Although it’s already mid-April and a bit late… Congratulations on enrolling at <Central Prism Academy>―♪ This is my gift to celebrate☆ You can cry tears of joy in your senior’s arms―☆”
I said in an exaggerated tone, squirming under the blanket.
Since Rota already had a wand distributed by the prestigious magic school <Public Banna Boarding School>, she received a specially crafted cape to connect magic books and equipment. And what Kara held was a glaive blade to mount on the end of her flag.
The cape and glaive blade. Both required fewer materials compared to Alvit’s longsword.
‘If I had more materials, I’d have made armor too… I slacked off on farming in my first year…’
Worried that the juniors might feel relatively deprived, I nervously watched them under the blanket.
Watching…
“…”
“…”
“…?”
For some reason, both Rota and Kara were bowing their heads.
Oh no…
I hurriedly tried to explain to them.
At that moment.
Drip… Drop…
Rota and Kara’s shoulders were trembling, and droplets were falling on the floor from their bowed heads. Their breathing was irregular.
They were crying.
“Sob…” “Sniff…” “Oh, what’s wrong―☆ W-What happened♪”
I wriggled under the blanket, inching toward Rota and Kara. Then they hugged the big blanket-wrapped me and began to sob.
“Senior…!”
Seeing that, Alvit also joined the sobbing blanket-wrapped group and started to cry.
“Oh? Oh no―☆ What’s wrong?! Is it not to your liking―☆”
An unexpected tear-jerking show. The three of them were crying as if the sky had fallen. I could only stare wide-eyed, unable to move.
“…They get along well.”
Maya chuckled watching us.
The tear-jerking show continued for a long time. Once it calmed down, the juniors said they’d go wash their faces.
Only Maya and I remained in the room.
“…”
“…”
Maya quietly sipped her energy drink from a flask. She didn’t ask anything about [Faded Spiral] and just lay around as if on vacation.
I sneaked a glance.
Sneaking…
‘But… it seems like she made more than the ore I originally gave.’
Looking at the opened cases, besides the items given to the juniors, there were various practice weapons additionally made.
‘Maya’s personality wouldn’t take on unnecessary work…’
Carefully, I opened my mouth.
“By the way, what are those things―☆” “What?” “I don’t think I gave enough ore to make all these―☆” “Oh… There was leftover ether conductive ore, so I roughly made them.” “Huh?” “The elves and beastmen suddenly flooded the market with low-grade ether conductive ore, so there was a surplus. Then, right after we started making these, <Svart Industrial High School> halted weapon production, so all miscellaneous orders are coming to <Mimir Industrial High School> now.” “Oh…☆” “The Materials Engineering Department couldn’t handle it alone, so even the Facilities Engineering Department was told to produce weapons. So I used the delivery as an excuse to escape from Skadi. Let me stay here for a few days.” “Oh…☆”
Something… Something was happening.