Chapter 69
“Hey, over here!”
“Mr. Ryu…”
Elaine called out to Ryu, who was walking towards them from afar, but she suddenly stopped mid-sentence.
Next to her, Cynthia waved her hand enthusiastically and called out loudly, as if thrilled to see Ryu.
“Everyone’s already gathered?”
“Yeah! Today’s an important—no, I mean, a fun day!”
“…Right, a fun day.”
Listening to the exchange between Cynthia and Ryu, Elaine felt a tinge of inexplicable bitterness.
This feeling of bitterness wasn’t new to her.
‘It’s certain…’
Cynthia, speaking to Ryu with a cheerful tone and expression, seemed unusually excited.
And Ryu, gazing gently at Cynthia, appeared as though they shared some secret only they knew.
Elaine didn’t know when it began.
But it was clear that at some point, Cynthia and Ryu had grown closer.
As if they shared a bond no one else could understand.
And secretly, Elaine envied that.
“How are you feeling today?”
“…Why are you suddenly asking that?”
After greeting everyone, Cynthia and Ryu naturally walked side by side at the front.
There was nothing strange about the two walking together.
But lately, this scenario had been repeating itself more often.
Whenever they met as a group, Cynthia and Ryu always ended up together.
“Emily.”
“Hm?”
“Those two… Don’t you think something’s off about them?”
“Off about them…?”
“Yes. They’ve been sticking together a lot more and even their tone seems more casual.”
“Really…”
Emily stared blankly at Cynthia and Ryu walking ahead.
“Maybe… I guess?”
Elaine sighed at Emily’s disinterested response, feeling her own enthusiasm wane.
As much as Cynthia and Ryu’s relationship felt suspicious, Emily had also been acting strangely lately.
Not exactly strange, but she often seemed restless and lacked her usual energy.
“Don’t you think Cynthia seems different? She seems a lot more cheerful now.”
“Cynthia’s always been like that, hasn’t she?”
“No, ever since the Kane Hover incident, she’d been so down. But at some point, she changed.”
“Really?”
Elaine realized there was no point in continuing the conversation with Emily, who seemed utterly oblivious.
Swish—
Elaine turned her head, her golden hair flowing as her gaze shifted behind her.
She locked eyes with Agnes and Marie, who had been following them.
The two stared back at Elaine with sparkling eyes, as if ready to agree with anything she said.
‘Ugh.’
That made it even harder to say anything.
Elaine smiled faintly at the two and turned back to look ahead as she walked.
Cynthia and Ryu were still deep in conversation.
‘Could it be those two…’
For the first time in a while, a girlish imagination bloomed in Elaine’s mind.
***
“Whew. What a pain.”
Nigel grumbled openly, not caring who might overhear him.
The fact that he had to handle such trivial tasks personally annoyed him to no end.
It was an unpleasant situation, but one he couldn’t avoid.
After all, it was partly his own doing.
‘Only two more points to go.’
Nigel was currently working within Crescent Academy, moving from place to place.
The reason he had to handle these tasks himself was simple.
He didn’t have any subordinates capable of doing the job.
It wasn’t something just anyone could handle. A black mage needed to do it personally, and Nigel no longer had any black mage subordinates.
He did have an Undead Wyvern Rider at his disposal, but…
It wasn’t as if he could order a skeletal wyvern-riding knight to perform such tasks.
‘As long as tomorrow goes well.’
Nigel thought to himself that this hassle would all be over if tomorrow’s plan succeeded.
If it did, he wouldn’t have to endure the aftermath of his previous disastrous failure anymore.
“Ugh.”
Thinking about it only made his anger boil.
The black-haired brat who defeated the Green-Flamed Knight.
According to the Elder who met the brat personally, he was nothing special.
It seemed contradictory that someone insignificant had defeated the Green-Flamed Knight, but Nigel couldn’t argue with the Elder’s words.
He resolved that tomorrow, he would personally deal with that brat.
‘No, if I kill him, I won’t be able to use him as an experiment.’
“Heh heh heh.”
With a sinister chuckle, Nigel headed to the next location.
Even though he walked boldly through main roads, no one seemed to find his presence strange.
After all, no one could notice him.
Thanks to the barrier personally cast by the Elder, Nigel could roam freely through the academy.
The festival brought in plenty of outsiders, making it easier to move around unnoticed.
‘Heh heh, I wonder how they’ll react to the Wyvern Rider.’
Nigel chuckled darkly as he watched the students cheerfully passing by.
He was certain they wouldn’t be smiling after seeing the wyvern tomorrow.
Thinking about that, he walked on confidently.
The last two points he needed to visit were arguably the most crucial ones for tomorrow’s plan.
‘Oh.’
Nigel, walking quickly, suddenly stopped in his tracks.
He hadn’t expected to run into someone so openly like this.
Thump—
Walking out of the building ahead of him was none other than Vinuar Christia, the Headmaster of Crescent Academy.
Thump—
Following behind him was Vice Headmaster Randgar Bayel.
‘T-They won’t notice me, right?’
“It’s too late to turn back now.”
Nigel struggled to calm his pounding heart, trying his best to act natural.
He bowed deeply.
As he did, he reassured himself, thinking, If something goes wrong, the Elder behind me will handle it somehow.
“Hm. You’ve been through a lot.”
Please…
Nigel, bowing at a full 90 degrees, nearly collapsed when he heard Vinuar Christia’s voice right in front of him.
Step, step, tap.
With two footsteps and a light tap on his shoulder, Nigel raised his head.
The one who touched his shoulder was none other than Elder Randgar Bayel, who was standing behind Vinuar.
Randgar, expressionless, looked directly at Nigel.
Nigel instinctively knew.
I wasn’t found out.
Phew.
Nigel let out a deep sigh of relief internally as he straightened his body and turned around.
Vinuar Christia and Randgar Bayel were already walking away, their figures growing smaller in the distance.
“Haaah.”
With a sigh of relief, Nigel smirked and began heading toward the building the two had just exited.
It was the Vault Building, where the Headmaster’s and Vice Headmaster’s offices were located.
***
“You all have limitless potential. Don’t forget that. If you keep striving forward, you’ll surely find your own star.”
Clap, clap, clap.
Even though the speech didn’t resonate with me, I clapped enthusiastically.
As expected, Yuria Prisis spoke confidently in front of the crowd.
How could she stand there and talk so effortlessly in front of what seemed like hundreds of people?
Is it because of the name ‘Prisis’?
The sheer number of attendees at Yuria’s lecture was impressive.
And she lived up to their expectations.
Rather than delivering a traditional lecture, it felt more like she was sharing stories.
Maybe that’s what makes a great lecture…
“Does anyone have any questions? Even minor ones are fine.”
Whoosh—
The moment Yuria opened the floor to questions, countless hands shot up across the lecture hall.
The enthusiasm was palpable.
“We don’t have any questio—huh?”
I had planned to ask the group, “We don’t have any questions, right?” and lead them out if they said no.
But then…
What?
To my surprise, Emily Franz, sitting two seats away from me, raised her hand high in the air.
“Hehe, so many questions. Let’s take them one at a time. First, the exemplary student in the front row?”
“Yes, I’m a second-year…”
While another student was asking their question, I leaned over and whispered to Emily.
“Emily, do you really have something to ask?”
“Yeah. You can leave first if you want.”
“I… see.”
I had been trying to convince Emily to leave before the place got too crowded, but the sincerity in her voice was undeniable.
It was clear she had no intention of leaving before asking her question.
She must be a great speaker. Truly great.
Emily, who would normally shy away from asking questions even when she had one, now sat determined.
For Yuria to draw out such resolve from Emily was remarkable.
“Actually, let’s wait and leave together.”
On any other day, I might have left first, saying we’d catch up later, but during the festival, caution was necessary.
Even though the plan was set for tomorrow, anything could happen at any time or place.
Noted.
Emily gave a slight nod.
By then, another question and answer had concluded.
The Q&A session continued, but Yuria didn’t so much as glance in our direction.
If she knew I was here, she’d probably look at least once, wouldn’t she?
Because of that, Emily’s turn kept getting pushed back.
“Next question?”
“Here!”
“…Huh?”
Among the calmly raised hands, a resolute voice rang out clearly.
It was Emily’s voice.
Because of it, Yuria’s gaze landed squarely on her.
Finally, Yuria noticed.
“…Alright, the student over there.”
“I’m Emily Franz, a first-year.”
“Franz. Go ahead.”
“Yuria Prisis, why did you leave the family?”
The moment Emily finished her question, every eye in the lecture hall turned to Yuria.
At first glance, it seemed like a simple question, but Emily’s voice carried a weight of emotions.
Curiosity, resentment, longing, anger.
“…Hmm.”
I couldn’t take my eyes off Emily, who was staring intently at Yuria, her face stiff.
Though her expression seemed firm, I could see it clearly.
Emily’s lips were trembling, as if they would collapse under the slightest pressure.
What is this…?
—
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