Chapter 82
‘Where could he be…?’
“Mr. Ryu!”
No matter how much she looked around, there was no sign of him.
The last time Elaine had seen him was in the party hall with Miss Yuria.
“Elaine! Are you okay?”
“Cynthia, have you seen Mr. Ryu?”
“Ah, Ryu? I haven’t seen him.”
“Haah, where could he have disappeared to?”
“Ryu will be fine. You know how strong he is.”
“Even so…!”
Elaine nearly raised her voice out of frustration but barely held it back.
The enormous Undead Wyvern had abruptly burst into the party hall.
When the Wyvern first crashed into the building, she thought everything was about to fall apart.
But surprisingly, the situation was handled safely and quickly.
The Undead Wyvern, which had made such a dramatic entrance by smashing through the outer wall, had retreated almost immediately after entering.
While the rising dust and the building debris caused panic among the students, the professors quickly directed them to safety.
Once the immediate danger had passed, the students calmed down remarkably fast.
Some students even joked that it might have been part of the event, displaying their composure.
They truly were Academy students.
The ice wall erected at the building’s entrance also played a big role in calming their nerves.
It wasn’t just protective—it was breathtakingly beautiful.
“Professor Amilion!”
“Oh? Oh, Elaine. Are you okay?”
“Yes, I’m fine, but I haven’t seen Ryu since earlier.”
“Ryu, that student…”
Elaine immediately approached Professor Amilion, who was scanning the surroundings.
The professor glanced around briefly before turning back to Elaine.
“Ryu is probably fine.”
“What…?”
“So don’t worry too much. He’ll probably turn up soon.”
“But Professor, even if that’s the case—”
Elaine felt a surge of frustration at the professor’s relaxed response, just like Cynthia’s earlier.
Of course, she understood.
Ryu was incredibly strong, capable of sparring with her father. He was reliable.
But even so, wasn’t everyone being too optimistic?
This wasn’t just any situation—it involved the Undead, specifically a flying Undead Wyvern.
If Ryu had been swept up in the chaos and something dangerous happened to him…
Biting her lip, Elaine’s hand instinctively moved to her waist.
But there was nothing there.
She hadn’t brought her sword today.
If only she had it, she would have gone to search for Ryu immediately.
‘Of all days…’
“Now that I think about it, I haven’t seen Emily either.”
“What?”
“I’m actually worried about her.”
Elaine froze at Cynthia’s comment.
Ryu wasn’t the only one she hadn’t seen.
Now that she thought about it, she hadn’t seen Emily, who wasn’t even dressed in formal attire for the event.
‘Could it be?’
Realizing that neither of them were present, a hypothesis crossed Elaine’s mind.
It wasn’t Ryu who had been swept up by the Undead—it was Emily.
And Ryu had gone to rescue her.
The Undead Wyvern was nowhere to be seen either, so perhaps it had already moved far away.
‘There’s no time to waste.’
Elaine couldn’t bear her frustration any longer.
Neither Cynthia nor Professor Amilion seemed to understand her urgency.
“Elaine? Where are you going?”
“I’m going to find Mr. Ryu and Emily. I can’t just sit here.”
“W-Wait, Elaine! You don’t even have a sword!”
Elaine paused at Cynthia’s words and scanned the surroundings.
There, a branch of suitable length lay on the ground.
If she infused it with mana and treated it as a wooden sword, it would work well enough.
“I’m going anyway.”
“Elaine?”
Elaine picked up the branch and gathered her dress.
She felt it more acutely now—this kind of clothing wasn’t meant for her.
She couldn’t even run, let alone walk quickly, in such attire.
“Elaine! You don’t even know where they are!”
“I’m going to start by searching inside the building. If I head to where the Undead Wyvern first appeared, I might find something.”
“Hey, hey. The professors must have already checked there. They’re probably searching the area right now.”
“No. Don’t you realize, Cynthia? There aren’t many professors around here.”
“Huh…?”
At Elaine’s words, Cynthia looked around.
The professors who had been scattered everywhere earlier were now mostly gone.
Aside from Professor Amilion and a few others, there were only two or three professors left.
“In a situation like this, if the professors have all gone somewhere together, it means there’s still a problem to address.”
“You…”
Cynthia was struck by Elaine’s calm reasoning, even as she struggled to think of a way to stop her.
Of course, Cynthia didn’t know where Ryu was, but she had a good idea of what he was doing.
He was likely resolving the Academy’s crisis with Lady Yuria.
“Elaine, wait!”
Cynthia hurriedly grabbed Elaine’s arm and tried to pull her back.
But Elaine didn’t budge.
“I have to go.”
“I get it. I understand how you feel, but you don’t have a proper weapon. What if something happens?”
Elaine raised the branch in her hand with a determined expression.
A brilliant golden glow enveloped the thin branch as mana infused it.
To anyone’s eyes, it was unmistakably a weapon.
“If you’re not coming with me…”
“Hoho, your name is Elaine, isn’t it? You’re very brave, as one would expect from the Sinclair name.”
“…Huh?”
It was when Elaine had just shaken off Cynthia’s arm and was about to step forward.
Someone appeared before her.
Despite the chaotic situation, this person wore a pristine dress, not a single stain on it.
“Miss Yuria?”
“E-Elaine.”
“Emily?”
Standing before Elaine and Cynthia were Yuria Prisis and Emily Franz.
Yuria, for some reason, wore a constant amused smile, while Emily clung to Yuria’s clothes, hiding behind her like a child hiding behind their mother.
“Emily, weren’t you with Mr. Ryu?”
Seeing Emily appear alongside Yuria, Elaine realized her earlier assumption had been wrong.
At the same time, she felt confused.
If Emily was here and safe, then where on earth was Mr. Ryu?
“Ah, Miss Yuria. One of our companions, a student named Ryu, might be in danger. We haven’t seen him since earlier.”
“Oh? That black-haired boy, right?”
“Yes, that’s him!”
Elaine felt a glimmer of hope seeing Yuria take her words more seriously than either Professor Amilion or Cynthia had.
And Yuria Prisis of all people.
If the renowned Lady Yuria joined the search, Mr. Ryu would surely be found in no time.
“Since the Undead Wyvern attacked the party hall, we haven’t seen him.”
“Hmm. Where was Ryu at the time?”
“At that time…”
Elaine began to explain but suddenly hesitated.
Now that she thought about it, right before the Wyvern broke into the building, Mr. Ryu had been with the very person standing before her.
He had been dancing with Yuria Prisis.
“Uh… The last I saw, he was with you, Miss Yuria.”
Grinning slyly—
“Uh…?”
Elaine felt even more perplexed seeing Yuria’s calm smile.
What on earth was going on?
Oddly enough, she felt reassured.
If the last person Ryu had been with was Miss Yuria, and Miss Yuria was here smiling as if nothing were wrong, it somehow convinced her that Ryu must be safe.
“Elaine, you seem very concerned about Ryu.”
“Well, that’s…”
“That’s?”
“He’s… a classmate, after all.”
“Really?”
“Yes, yes! That’s all.”
A small laugh escaped Yuria’s lips, leaving Elaine with the odd sensation that she was making excuses to Yuria.
‘Ugh, this isn’t what matters right now.’
“So, um! Do you know where Mr. Ryu went after you last saw him? He was definitely on the first floor.”
“Hmm. If I recall correctly…”
Gulp—
Elaine focused intently on Yuria’s words.
Yuria rolled her eyes upward, as if deep in thought, before continuing.
“When the loud crash happened, he ran straight for the entrance without even looking back.”
“What??”
Elaine’s shock was genuine as she questioned further.
“He seemed like a quick thinker. The first to secure safety by escaping the danger zone.”
“No, there’s no way Mr. Ryu would do that…”
Elaine found it hard to believe Yuria’s explanation.
The Ryu she knew wouldn’t act that way.
Even if he didn’t have a strong desire to protect others, he wasn’t the type to run away at the first sign of trouble.
If he were, he wouldn’t have stepped up during the sparring match or during the Kane Hover incident.
“Why do you think he wouldn’t?”
“Well, because Mr. Ryu has always stood in front of me.”
“I see. Is that so?”
“And besides, if he had been the first to leave the building, I would have seen him out here! I’ve been looking around this whole time…!”
“Maybe he already returned to the dormitory?”
“W-What?”
“Or perhaps… he’s checking the surroundings.”
“If he’s checking the surroundings, that’s even worse! With an Undead Wyvern rampaging, looking around is incredibly dangerous—”
Elaine instinctively scanned her surroundings again.
Some students had already returned to the dorms or their homes, while others, not taking the situation seriously, chatted amongst themselves.
There were even students admiring and touching the beautiful ice wall nearby.
It was a scene devoid of any sense of danger.
“…”
Elaine stopped mid-sentence.
Indeed, the area didn’t look dangerous at all.
However.
“Uh…”
Elaine suddenly noticed several gazes directed at her.
Cynthia, Emily, Yuria Prisis.
And from behind them all, a black-haired boy.
“…Ryu?”
At Elaine’s murmured words, everyone turned to look behind them.
There was Ryu Yeong, waving as he walked toward them.
—
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