Chapter 63
“Not bad, right?”
“…Yeah, I guess.”
I couldn’t see Erica’s expression since only her eyes were visible, but she nodded.
The operation to catch someone red-handed and link them to Randgar Bayel, the Vice-Principal, had gone successfully.
Everything went as planned.
We had intervened precisely when Cynthia and the man in the white robe were exchanging the candy.
Then, as naturally as possible, we transported the suspect to a pre-prepared location and detained him.
From then on, the acting began.
At first, I unconsciously spoke to Cynthia as if I knew her too well, but I quickly adjusted my attitude.
Judging by Cynthia’s completely confused reaction, she seemed to have been thoroughly deceived.
It seems my acting skills have skyrocketed since I started attending the Academy.
“Now, we just need to get him to confess that he’s connected to the Vice-Principal, right?”
“Yeah. And we need to analyze the components of this candy.”
I fiddled with the pouch inside my coat.
“Both will need to be handled by her, right?”
“Yeah, that’s the plan.”
The “her” Erica referred to was Yuria Prisis.
If Yuria handled it, both the confession and the analysis would likely be completed in just a few days.
Moreover, Yuria had already been investigating suspicious activities within the Academy.
“I’d better head there immediately.”
“Then… I’m sitting this one out?”
“You’re not coming this time either?”
“I’ve done my part.”
“True.”
In reality, all Erica had done was observe from a distance to ensure the suspect didn’t escape, doubling our security.
But the biggest achievement was her surveillance of Cynthia, which had led us to the scene.
“See you?”
“Yeah.”
Erica waved and disappeared in an instant.
She probably didn’t use Spatial Movement like me but rather became invisible.
No matter how many times I see it, it’s seamless.
“That was easier than I thought.”
I’d felt this way before, but side quests were definitely easier than main quests.
Defeating Kane in a duel had been a piece of cake, and getting first place in the entrance exam might have been slightly harder.
“Or maybe not?”
Looking back now, even the entrance exam first place didn’t seem difficult.
<Sub Quest (2-1) ‘You’re Headed in the Wrong Direction’ Completed!>
<Quest Clear Reward Granted.>
While I was reflecting, a notification about the quest completion appeared.
I had thought I’d need to take additional measures regarding Cynthia, but it seemed that wasn’t the case.
To think I could “save” Cynthia with just this much.
“Well then…”
I invested the newly acquired stat points into Luck without hesitation.
The reward wasn’t impressive given how easy the quest was, but it was essentially free, so I couldn’t complain.
Now, I just needed to head to Yuria and hand over the suspect we caught earlier.
Wooong—
“Huh?”
Just as I was about to transport myself to Yuria’s estate, something caught my eye—a system message.
The translucent UI reappeared, even though a quest completion message had just popped up.
<Main Quest (3) ‘Impending Ominous Tide’>
Objective: Hold the Crescent Academy Festival.
Description: Prevent the Academy Festival, meant to be filled with laughter, from becoming a festival of blood.
Reward: 5 Stat Points, Title (Academy Dark Knight).
Penalty: End of Game and Reset.
“What the…?”
A new main quest had appeared at an unexpected time.
And it was on quite a large scale.
This time, the quest’s content grabbed my attention even more than the reward.
***
“Heh heh heh.”
Nigel licked his lips with a sinister grin.
Though there was nothing on his lips, it felt as though he could taste blood.
For good reason.
The strongest scent in this space was that of blood.
Whoooosh—
“This is even better than that Green-Flamed Knight.”
Nigel’s hood was blown back by the powerful wind, but he didn’t seem to care.
What hadn’t seemed that large at first now appeared massive when its wings were spread.
It was an Undead Wyvern composed entirely of bones, like most undead, with a Death Knight mounted atop it.
An Undead Wyvern Rider.
Nigel looked down coldly at the bodies of his subordinates, bleeding on the ground beneath the wyvern.
Seeing the fallen subordinates brought a momentary pang of regret.
How much time and effort had he invested in secretly nurturing them?
They were seven disciples Nigel himself had acknowledged.
But that regret was fleeting.
Who would’ve thought a Wyvern Rider could be summoned?
He had expected that sacrificing seven mid-level black mages would summon an undead on par with the Green-Flamed Knight.
Instead, the result had exceeded his expectations.
“Excellent.”
Grinning, Nigel shifted his gaze from the corpses of his subordinates to the skeletal wyvern flapping its wings.
Even the Death Knight mounted on the wyvern looked extraordinary.
“Perfect.”
Nigel’s muttering turned into a smile, which escalated to a chuckle, then to full-blown laughter.
With this, the chances of his plan succeeding had skyrocketed.
***
“The festival, you say?”
“Yeah. Do you know when it’s usually held?”
“The exact date varies each year, but it’s generally mid-May.”
“Mid-May, huh.”
It was currently late April—there wasn’t much time left.
“Are you interested in the festival?”
“Yeah, it seems that way.”
Elaine looked at me with a surprised expression.
Why would it be surprising for an Academy student to be interested in the festival?
“I didn’t think you’d care about it.”
“Why not? Festivals are fun.”
And perfect for incidents to occur.
Of course, my interest in the festival wasn’t purely out of curiosity—it was because of the quest.
So, there’s not much time left.
“By the way, Cynthia is absent again today.”
“…Yeah.”
“And Emily said she’s feeling unwell, too.”
“Yeah.”
Cynthia hadn’t been coming to the Academy since the quiet but impactful incident that took place in the Training Forest that night.
When I asked Professor Amilion about it, she said Cynthia wasn’t feeling well.
I was worried but decided to give it a bit more time.
After all, it had only been three days.
Since I’d given her a serious talk, she might need time to think on her own.
Emily, on the other hand, being unwell was unexpected.
“…Looks like it’ll just be the two of us today.”
“Yeah.”
“I’m not bothering you, am I?”
“Uh… huh? No, you’re not.”
“…That’s a relief.”
Caught up in my thoughts, I had been mechanically responding with “Yeah” and almost said the wrong thing.
Elaine stared at me with a slightly dissatisfied expression.
Seeing her face, I paused my train of thought.
The new main quest had started right after completing Cynthia’s side quest.
Unlike objectives like “Take first place in the inter-class competition,” this one had a much heavier tone, making it stick in my mind.
I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about it for days.
“By the way, could I ask you a favor?”
“A favor?”
Elaine spoke while subtly avoiding my gaze.
“After today’s class…”
Before she could finish, I had a feeling I already knew what she was going to ask.
It was the kind of request Elaine had made countless times before—
Asking me to spar with her after class or accompany her to her house.
At the start of the semester, I had agreed a few times to help prepare for the competition, but after that, I’d mostly declined.
I was busy training my magic.
I needed to max out my experience bar and level up.
Now that I think about it, it’s been a while since I’ve sparred with her.
“Okay, let’s have a match for old time’s sake.”
“…What?”
“It feels like it’s been a while since we’ve sparred. I should practice with a sword again, too.”
“Ah, I see.”
Elaine’s face lit up as expected.
She looked at me with a faint smile.
Sure, sparring with Elaine would be a good way to take my mind off things for a bit.
***
This isn’t bad.
Elaine thought as she followed Ryu to the training ground, her steps unusually light.
Sparring with Ryu was always a welcome opportunity.
After all, he was strong enough to rival even third-year seniors.
He could even hold his own against her father.
This is actually a good thing.
Elaine reassured herself.
Originally, she had hoped to have dinner together and ask him various things since they’d be alone.
But sparring wasn’t a bad alternative.
It was just a little disappointing.
Maybe I’ve been asking him to spar too often.
When she mentioned she had a favor to ask, Ryu had predicted what it was before she could even finish speaking.
She hesitated to suggest dinner out of embarrassment, and before she could clarify, Ryu had already made up his mind.
At that point, Elaine couldn’t bring herself to correct him.
“It really has been a while. I’ve been too focused on being a mage lately.”
Ryu muttered to himself as he swung a wooden sword while walking ahead.
Watching him seem so excited annoyed Elaine.
Not exactly annoyed—more like frustrated.
“Then, I’ll do my best.”
“Huh?”
“This might be my chance to defeat you.”
“Oh, really? Great, let’s do it. I won’t use magic, just the sword.”
Elaine felt even more frustrated seeing how excited Ryu was in response to her slightly resentful comment.
“I’m really going to give it my all.”
“Scary.”
Elaine gripped the hilt of her sword tightly.
If that was how it was going to be, she resolved to land a solid hit during their sparring session.
Though she knew being emotional wouldn’t help, she couldn’t help it.
Hooo.
Taking a deep breath, Elaine tried to calm herself.
Of course, calming down didn’t happen instantly, but she was determined to land a blow on Ryu no matter what.
She started preparing, beginning by tying back her golden hair.
“Wow, you’re tying your hair? You must be serious.”
“…”
She definitely wanted to land a hit.
—
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