༺ War of Nerves ༻
“Phew.”
After delivering the earth-shaking declaration, I returned to the waiting room. As I settled into a seat, I sighed quietly.
“Young Master.”
Kania, looking tense, hurriedly approached me.
“Calm down, Kania. Everything went as planned.”
“That’s fortunate, but…”
While I tried to soothe her, Kania spoke, wearing a frown.
“Indeed, there’s something odd.”
“Odd? What do you mean?”
“The Demon King didn’t seem surprised at all. I kept a close eye on her, but all she did was smile.”
Kania’s expression darkened as she spoke.
Well, if I were in her place, I, too, would have reacted the same way if the final boss were smiling like that.
“Don’t worry. She’s the type to smile, regardless of the situation, as long as it’s interesting.”
“Still…”
“Thank you for your concern, Kania.”
Before she could say more, I held her hand and said that. Then I turned my gaze to the side.
“By now, Clana is probably holding a press conference, right?”
“Yes, she will officially announce the details regarding today’s events.”
“Well, that’s settled then…”
I quietly gazed at the reporters visible through the window. Then, I closed my eyes and muttered to myself.
“Now, I want to return to the inn and rest.”
“Aren’t you returning to the hideout on the outskirts?”
“That place is too far from the academy. Of course, I’ve considered an alternative way to use that place.”
After saying so and tapping my fingers, I stood up and said.
“Shall we head back then? What about dinner tonight…”
– Creak…..
“…Huh?”
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})The door suddenly opened, and someone walked in.
“…Huh?”
Kania’s expression turned ice-cold.
“Oh my, hello.”
The newcomer was none other than Ruby.
“What brings you…”
Concerned about what she might be up to again, I frowned and wanted to pose a question. However, I decided to remain silent ultimately.
“I avoid the reporters and head to the waiting room with the freshmen.”
It was because a large number of first-year students had entered through the open door.
“… Mr. ‘Special Lecturer.’”
She had started speaking humorously; after the students entered, she concluded her words with a cold and anger-laden voice.
“……….”
The students behind her started casting cold glances at me, one after another.
‘They are the same students as written in the prophecy…’
First-year students newly admitted to the academy as the second year of Sunrise Academy began.
Represented by figures like Roswyn, Aishi, and the youngest Paladin, they all had the qualities required to join the Hero Party.
The Ancestor had said that their roles were similar to supporters or sub-characters.
However, the crucial point is that Ruby currently held the Hero position, and the Hero Party was on the brink of disbandment.
The five main Heroines, supposed to be the original Hero Party, had all refused to join. Moreover, recruiting even sub-Heroines seemed difficult.
Therefore, the role of these ‘freshmen’ became more crucial than initially intended.
Originally, in the standard route, when a party member couldn’t be selected due to their death or retirement, the most outstanding among the prospective members, the freshmen, would be chosen for the Hero Party.
Even if that happened, it was impossible to avoid bad endings or total party wipes, as the most powerful characters in the game were predefined as Heroines and sub-Heroines.
However, the system was designed to assist the Hero even in desperate situations.
Despite my choice to follow the ‘False Evil Route’ rather than the ‘Standard Route,’ the Hero Party had reached a disparate state nearing disbandment. That posed a problem.
The ‘Hero Party’ members, with Demon King Ruby as the Hero, were freshmen, serving as reserve members to fill the vacant spot.
“That’s… Frey…”
“He looks so annoying.”
“…The Empire’s enemy.”
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})The individuals mentioned by the ancestors to have received quite a bit of love for their good performance among the users already were speaking ill of me in whispers, which was looking quite nice.
‘It’s a good plan, indeed.’
Their actions so far indicated that the plan was working well.
My image and reputation had long since hit rock bottom, and I had lost my noble status, becoming a mere commoner.
If I couldn’t attend the academy, it would lead to a game over, and surviving in this world would be nearly impossible.
I needed the minimum safety measure by taking the “Professor” position.
It was essential to have a bare-bones shield against the “first-year students” who would become my enemies as members of Ruby’s Hero Party.
“I can hear you all.”
The waiting room fell silent as I quietly addressed the students badmouthing me.
“…Phew.”
In the future, I had to use this position to prevent the students from becoming my enemies and, more importantly, to win them over.
However, it was not as important as unleashing the Hero’s Armament and ‘awakening’ Heroines for the final battle to get this world’s happy ending.
“Hmm…”
Lost in thought, I observed the students staring at me coldly, and then I scratched my head and muttered to myself.
“Now that I think about it, it’s been a while since I’ve seen her…”
Aishi, the Cloud Kingdom princess, stared at me with a pale expression as if she had seen a ghost.
‘The other two don’t seem to be here…’
Ignoring the Paladin, still tied up in a corner of the inn, I had no idea where Roswyn had gone.
If they continued like this, wouldn’t other popular characters end up taking their roles?
“And… that child…”
After anxiously surveying the surroundings, I murmured to myself when the thought of that child crossed my mind.
– Squeak…
The door to the waiting room opened once again.
“…Hello!”
There stood the young girl I had been searching for. She was smiling and carrying a backpack.
.
.
.
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.
All eyes turned to the girl.
“…Hello!”
With a faint smile, she greeted everyone, bowing politely.
“What’s with this kid?”
“But she’s wearing the academy uniform.”
Some commoner students, perhaps from rural areas or unaware of the Empire’s affairs, whispered to each other, puzzled by the young girl who appeared unusually young.
“……”
Meanwhile, the noble students, who were well-informed about the Empire’s situation, looked at the girl quietly.
Her appearance would have definitely caught the attention of the low-born elite knights of their age, who were selected solely for their skills.
The girl peeking out her head through the waiting room’s door had recently been declared the Magic Tower Master’s disciple.
The Magic Tower Master’s first disciple was Frey’s mother, followed by Irina, and she briefly tutored a young Serena.
Later, the Magic Tower Master announced she wouldn’t take on any more disciples.
However, she broke her rule to mentor her third disciple—Glare.
This decision caused some ripples in the Empire’s high society, yet Glare remained oblivious as she dedicated herself to learning magic over the past few months.
– Step, step…
As Glare moved forward with a glint in her eyes, the students kept their gazes focused on her.
“Hehe.”
As she reached the front seat of the waiting room and sat down with a smile, curious glances met her.
‘I should keep a close eye on her from now on…’
Of course, Glare had taken the front seat to get a better view of Frey, who sat right in front of her.
“Ms. Glare? Hello!”
“…Ah.”
As Glare looked at Frey and smiled, her expression suddenly turned sour.
“Nice to meet you here!”
“Ah, yeah…”
Ruby, who had recently engaged in a fierce battle with her, smiled gently at her.
‘Despicable…’
Ruby confidently acted as the Hero—the one responsible for capturing her. Seeing her, Glare gritted her teeth and then turned her gaze toward Frey.
“Hmm…”
Glare blankly stared at him.
‘Indeed, he does look pitiable…’
Frey appeared quite tragic to her.
His face said that he hadn’t slept for several days, with dark circles under his eyes and a tired, sunken gaze.
“Do we have to follow a professor like him…?”
“…Why should we? A loser like him?”
“Remember what he said earlier? Well, just pretend that we stepped on poop or something.”
“From what I heard, he even begged for his life before the prophecy was found…”
Gossip, meant to mock Frey, rang from behind.
‘But… why does he look pitiable?’
She quietly bit her lips and tilted her head as she fell deep in thought.
“First, he seems to be a villain, but it’s still too early to guess… Hmm…”
The feeling that Frey looked pitiable had sunk deep into her subconscious, beyond mere impressions or thoughts.
She felt an inexplicable urge to protect him.
‘Something feels strange.’
Confused by these feelings, Glare stood up and muttered to herself.
‘Let me cool down my head for a bit.
Captivated by these hard-to-decipher emotions, she ignored the gazes that had turned back to her and quietly headed to the restroom.
“Oh, right.”
She took a magical communication device from her pocket as she left.
“I should let her know that Lord Frey is alive.”
Muttering to herself, she calmly smiled.
“I have a question.”
At that moment, a freshman raised her hand and asked Frey a question.
“How did you come across that prophecy?”
As Frey tilted his head in response to the girl in glasses’ question, another question was directed at him.
“Come to think of it, I’m curious too~.”
Responding to the question, Ruby also reacted by slowly speaking languidly.
“How did you come across the prophecy that the expedition team found…?”
“Professor.”
“Yes?”
However, as Ruby continued, she noticed Frey’s chilly smile and stopped, tilting her head.
“Did you just… address me as Professor, Miss Ruby?”
“Ah, yes.”
The two exchanged cold smiles, their gazes silently crossing.
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.
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.
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Meanwhile, in Roswyn’s room…
“Hero…”
Seated in the corner of the room, hugging the two flower buds Frey had sent her, she gazed into the air with a vacant expression.
“I miss you… once again…”
Beside her was a partially filled-out application to become an assistant to the Magic Tower.
– Beep, beep…
“Hm…?”
She stared blankly at the application before quietly burying her face in the flower buds. Suddenly, her attention shifted when the magical communication device rang.
“Hellooo…”
She answered the call with a lethargic expression, as if everything was over.
“………..Pardon?”
Suddenly, her eyes widened.
“W-what… did you just say…?”
Her voice was severely trembling.
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