We finished dinner and gathered on the benches in the open space in front of the dormitory. Everyone had changed into comfortable clothes, so the outfits were varied.
There were three benches set up in a U-shape next to the dormitory building.
This was a great spot for light conversations.
“I like the middle! Hahaha!”
Eir, dressed in red training clothes, plopped down on the middle bench. With her legs spread wide open like a king sitting on a throne, she exuded the aura of a great general.
I looked at her with disapproval.
“…”
The way she stretched her thighs until the crotch of her training pants was taut.
It was a posture called "manspreading," the type you most hate to encounter on the subway or bus.
In my working days, I wished someone would just ask those men to close their legs...
Eir, as expected of the unchallenged ruler of the northern slums, had that unsightly habit.
“…”
“What’s up, [Spiral]? Why are you staring like that?”
In my previous life, all I could do was pray.
But this time, I had to take action.
Swoosh!
I grabbed Eir's knees, which were indecently spread apart, and closed them. But she giggled and spread her legs open again.
Swoosh!
“…!”
When I corrected her again, she made a point of spreading them wide once more.
Swoosh!
Swoosh!
Swoosh!
Swoosh!
‘Sigh… goodness.’
I closed her golden gate again with the resolve of a mother trying to teach her precious child. But our precious child kept opening it and giggling.
“Is this some kind of training? Hehehe!”
“…”
Swoosh!
Swoosh!
Swoosh!
Swoosh!
Swoosh!
Swoosh!
“Senior…”
“What… are you doing?”
“Another weird behavior, starting again?”
The juniors wore baffled expressions. The looks in their eyes as they watched our constant open-and-close actions were filled with resignation.
‘Weird behavior! It’s an etiquette lesson!’
Somehow, I felt a stubborn determination from those words, so I politely closed Eir’s knees again. But understanding the meaning behind my actions, Eir decided to tease me.
“Yap!”
Eir took on an acrobatic posture that evolved from manspreading.
She placed both legs wide apart on the bench like a gymnast. Although it was a very flexible and beautiful posture... in my eyes now, she was a super ultra special child.
You.
Why don’t you understand a mother’s heart?
“…”
“Kikiki…”
This troublesome special child prestige edition had no intention of listening. She pretended to rotate her shoulders or stretch while provoking me.
‘I’m getting tired…’
Perhaps because she wasn’t my child, any further education felt impossible. So, I gave up and plopped down next to her with a light rebuke.
“You get three demerit points, Eir…☆”
“Kikik…! Oh, is that a declaration of defeat? But what are demerit points?”
“They exist♪ I won’t tell you~☆”
“A loser’s lament!”
“No, it’s not☆”
“Yes, it is!”
“No, it’s not☆ Mom didn’t teach you like that!”
“Why a mom joke here…?!”
Albite intervened between us. Her thick eyebrows were raised in disbelief.
“What were the seniors even doing?”
“I won the match. Hehehe!”
“Ugh… the red child won’t listen…☆”
“Trying to control the flames as you wish! Foolish one! Hahaha!”
Eir laughed heartily for a while.
She grinned widely, revealing her shark-like teeth, and exclaimed as she admired the surroundings.
At some point, she properly folded her once-spread legs.
‘Was she just unwilling to lose to me…’
Eir sniffed the air deeply through her pointed nose and spoke in a satisfied tone.
“Oh, the air is nice here! Hehe… in the northern wilderness, there’s always a dust storm, so it’s hard to find clean air like this!”
“Of course, it’s such a nice place to live~☆ You can see the landscape of the academy city well because it’s on a hill♪”
Albite added to the conversation with a wry smile.
“It’s only the location that’s good. We’ve renovated the school buildings quite a bit now… but they’re still pretty old, which is a flaw.”
“That’s too much…☆”
I muttered with a slight dissatisfaction, and Albite quickly defended herself.
“Oh, I didn’t mean I disliked it!”
“Isn’t it tranquil and quaint?”
“Yes, and Clara senior is here too!”
“There’s the joy of making everything from scratch…!”
“Albite comrade, that’s a bit of a stretch… oh, I mean, yes. It’s fun creating things with the tools Maya senior left behind!”
“Yes, and Clara senior is here too!”
“Rota comrade, you repeated yourself.”
“Yes, and Clara senior is here too!”
“…”
A glance to the side revealed that Rota was reading the first magical book in the sunset glow. It seemed like she wasn’t listening and was just agreeing unconsciously.
‘Does she unconsciously understand that a little praise will smooth things over…’
Afterward, Albite and Kara continued their lip service to ensure I didn’t feel slighted. Seeing this, Eir laughed heartily and shared stories about her juniors.
After a period of commotion.
We sat back on the benches and enjoyed the scenery around us.
The time when the sky darkens and the streets light up.
A cool breeze was blowing from the horizon in the distance.
Swoooosh—
The heat that had been warmed by the midday sun still lingered on the ground. But the evening wind, carrying the breeze from the distant plains, was cooling down the warmth.
As the cooled heat settled comfortably,
We resumed our quiet chatter.
And so, continued the trivial conversations for quite a while.
Breaking the silence that returned, Albite spoke up.
“…Come to think of it, it’s summer vacation soon.”
Eir and I nodded in response.
“…Yes☆”
“That’s right.”
“What is <Academy City Yord>’s vacation like? Honestly, it feels like we live how we want all the time anyway… it doesn’t really hit home.”
“There’s no big difference—☆”
“There’s no big difference.”
“…”
Albite looked at us with her mouth puckered like a duck, as if it wasn’t the answer she expected. But Eir kept gazing at the evening scenery, lazily crossing her legs.
“…”
“…”
As the silence lengthened.
Albite’s mouth protruded like a heron’s beak, as if she might fly away into the distance like a bird.
‘Ah, I thought she’d just let it slide… but she really was curious, that’s her genuine expression when she’s about to get seriously sulky.’
I hurriedly explained.
“Well, you see☆ for schools with a large student body, there are a lot of classes to be taken during the semester, so preparation time is necessary—☆ So, it’s more like they give you a set preparation period and encourage you to do things you couldn’t do before and have free time—☆”
“…Then we small schools don’t need it.”
“Yep! That’s right♪”
“Hee… then what should we do…”
“Well… I wonder☆”
As I let the conversation trail off, I reflected on the rather eventful first semester.
<Ratatosk>’s activity.
[Priest of Erosion] Grafvolrud’s assault.
[Priest of Conflict] Ophnir’s conspiracy and the fight.
<Banana Public Boarding School> and <Svart Industrial High School>.
‘Two of the most challenging of the five executives had their events emerge consecutively through to the middle… practically, all sorts of events that should have happened in the first semester were pushed back…’
Trivial conflicts with delinquents. The struggles to resolve <Central Prism Academy>’s poor financial state.
Simple quests that assessed manipulation and teamwork.
‘Delinquents have become such minor mobs that they’re no longer an issue… and thanks to Hilde’s support, the financial state isn’t so dire…’
…
There are no early-stage stories left. Due to overly rapid leveling, most events, including the tutorial, were swept away.
If I were to force something, there’s a scenario where Clara gets kidnapped to the distant delinquent hideout…
‘But now that Albite and Rota have reached the third stage of [Wave Ether], it wouldn’t faze them… it’s to the point where Kara, who’s still at the second stage [Vibration Ether], could handle it alone.’
I newly realized the formidable strength of the juniors who had grown recklessly stronger compared to the original timeline. Plus, one of them already met the conditions for weapon true name liberation.
“…”
Perk—
Rota’s cat ears twitched in the wind as she remained focused on the ‘first magical book.’ Her appearance in a comfortable dress looked reminiscent of the [Golden Witch].
“…”
I murmured as I gazed back at the sunset.
“…Really, there’s nothing left to do.”
<Ratatosk> and the Prophet’s movements were at a standstill.
The juniors were finding their own paths and growing steadily.
My physical condition was also recovering slowly over time.
There were still a few events that might happen in the second semester before seeking what [Warrior of Light] and [Rebellious Knight] left behind.
‘Hilde said she’d handle the school events… so what should I do now?’
As I quietly pondered.
Eir suddenly stretched and spoke.
“Hyaaawn—!! …If there’s nothing to do, why don’t you come to our school festival? I should head back soon; I think the kids’ hierarchy should be sorted out by now.”
Festival.
It was indeed a regular event responsible for summer in <Academy City Yord>. …In the game, it was an excuse to showcase seasonal events and sell swimsuit skins.
‘Even in the game, it came out as a trivial farming story and a swimsuit skin-selling event… but to see the festival of <Scarlet Academy>, which was skipped in the original story because it came out in the latter part, is interesting.’
The warrior’s nest, <Scarlet Academy>, and the sweet word "festival" didn’t quite match.
Thus, we asked in surprise.
“A festival?”
“A festival?”
“A festival?”
“A festival…?”
School festival?
You guys?
You simple-minded and brawl-loving guys?
Such intent-filled eyes.
Eir grinned as she looked at us with those eyes and said.
“Kekek…! Didn’t our school have quite a few exchanges with other schools recently? So, the kids say…”
The ensuing explanation.
We were astonished by the absurd festival method planned by <Scarlet Academy>.
Their festival was an unlimited field open-world PVP zone.
They created a place for passersby to fight to their heart’s content and foster (?) camaraderie—a field of sweat and friendship.
‘Does <Scarlet Academy> even have the capability to manage such a rough event…?’
I wondered if a school, relatively laid-back, or rather, simple-minded in atmosphere, could be responsible for the safety of such a rough event.
And so, arriving at <Scarlet Academy>.
The pandemonium disguised as a festival had long since begun.
And…
“D-damn it!! I’m getting out of here!! This place is crazy!!”
“Hyaaaah—!!! You coward!! You’re not worthy of a warrior!!”
“What are you talking about!! You damn redheads—!! You attack when you’re the ones carrying weapons without warning!!”
“Hyaaaah—!!!”
“Uwaaaah—!!”
Sure enough… there were delinquents unfortunately caught up in their festival.
Indeed, they were fools.
“Don’t… don’t move! Do you not understand what I’m saying?!”
“…?”
“…?”
“…?”
Finishing my recollection, I glanced to the side.
‘Around the third stage… she can barely use [Wave Ether]. For a delinquent, she’s worked hard.’
The delinquent holding a knife to my neck. She was originally the leader of a large delinquent gang ruling this area.
But she and her gang, patrolling their territory, ended up unfortunate victims of the warriors’ festival. And the hostage she chose to break through this situation… was me.
“…”
“Senior, are you okay?”
Albite asked about my wellbeing nonchalantly.
She had grown strong enough to handle such a situation with ease.
“…”
Suddenly…
I felt like indulging in hidden power for once.
The discarded kidnapping event of Clara.
‘I don’t necessarily need to recreate it, but having at least one story go according to the original might be nice.’
I couldn’t deny a feeling of unfairness from being constantly embroiled in unexpected incidents.
There was no risk, and no need to worry.
I thought it might be nice to approach it as if playing tag.
With everyone watching now.
Taking the opportunity to visit another school, I wanted to give the juniors a quest.
‘This is… a memory for you guys—☆’
I screamed with all my might and clung to the delinquent leader. Startled, she seized the moment when everyone was in a daze and carried me off, running.
While being carried on the delinquent leader’s back, I shouted.
“Kyaaaah—☆ Help me—☆ At this rate, I’ll be kidnapped—☆”
“…?”
“…?”
“…?”
“What…? L-Lara’s kidnapped?! I’ll verify the situation!!”
“I will execute it, President!!”
“W-wait a minute, Boss!! No, Hilde, sis!! If you go, there’ll be no one to work!! Please, spare your adorable secretary—!!”
Brynhild kicked open the front door of the temporary office, wielding a massive lance. Beside her, Ziklin, carrying a large sword, stood gallantly.
And Belle was sobbing, buried under a mountain of documents.
“Please don’t leave me behind…!”