Chapter 71
“…It’s way too clean.”
“This is normal, though.”
“Hm.”
This was the shared opinion among us after thoroughly inspecting the building.
There were no traces of suspicious magic, no remnants of magical devices being set up, and no evidence of someone having infiltrated beforehand.
In short, it was spotless.
‘Could the quest be flawed somehow?’
It was so immaculate that such a thought crossed my mind.
Of course, this was how things should be.
“Just in case, I’ve set up a protective barrier.”
“Okay.”
“Hmmm. Are we sure something’s really going to happen tomorrow?”
“It should. The commander said so, and the hostage we captured last time confirmed it.”
“Then maybe it’s not here but somewhere else?”
“That’s possible, but most of the Academy personnel are supposed to gather here tomorrow…”
It was frustrating not knowing exactly what the enemy was planning.
There were no suspicious signs in the location where tomorrow’s party was scheduled to take place.
If anything, the security was stricter than usual, making it harder for anyone to sneak in.
“Well, it’s a good thing if there’s nothing odd here. In any case, most students will be gathered here tomorrow.”
“That’s true… I suppose.”
Like Yuria and Erica, I also felt uneasy, but there wasn’t much we could do now.
There was no way the three of us could cover the entire Academy.
“As long as there isn’t a bloodbath…”
I muttered to myself, recalling the quest’s instructions.
The task was to ensure that the Academy festival didn’t end up drenched in blood.
The only thing left was to decide how to respond tomorrow.
“Shall we head back?”
“Yeah. Let’s go.”
“…Okay.”
I reached out my hands toward Erica and Yuria.
As soon as my hands touched theirs, we teleported straight back to Yuria’s dormitory.
I had planned to track any suspicious activity and uncover the masterminds behind it, but nothing happened.
I had braced myself for a long night, but it ended much earlier than expected.
“Since we wrapped things up quickly, Yuria.”
“Yes?”
“Can you tell us what you were saying earlier? About why you left your family?”
Somehow, the topic had shifted earlier, but I hadn’t forgotten.
Now that we had some extra time, it seemed like a perfect moment to ask.
When I brought it up, Erica also looked curious, taking off her hood and turning her gaze to Yuria.
As always, Yuria smiled softly and began to speak.
“It’s nothing special. I left because I was grown up and it was time for me to leave. Haha.”
“…Hmm.”
It sounded like she didn’t want to talk about it, but there was a hint of sincerity in her words that made it hard to dismiss entirely.
“Boooo.”
Erica jeered without much thought.
“Well, tell us if you feel like it someday. Let’s call it a night for now. You’re heading back too, Erica?”
“Yeah. I can’t exactly stay here overnight.”
“Alright.”
The space was big enough for both of them to stay, but whatever.
I nodded to Yuria, grabbed Erica’s hand, and teleported back to the dormitory.
The last thing I saw was Yuria’s faintly complicated smile.
“Doesn’t it seem like she’s hiding something?”
“Rather than hiding, maybe it’s just something hard to talk about?”
As soon as we returned to the dormitory, Erica spoke up.
“Hmmm. It feels suspicious, though. I’ll have to dig into it later.”
“Sure, later. Tomorrow’s more important. Get some rest.”
“Haaah. It’s nice to be alone for a change. This dorm is pretty big and nice, huh?”
“It’s because I somehow ended up being the top student. Anyway, I’m heading in first.”
Nod—
Seeing Erica nod with satisfaction, I skipped going through the office and returned straight to my room.
I needed to do one last check and rest up for tomorrow.
‘Hopefully, nothing happens.’
The thought of having the game-ending penalty looming over me was oddly nerve-wracking.
***
Emily Franz.
Emily stroked the nametag engraved with her name as she quietly closed her eyes.
She should have been asleep by now to prepare for tomorrow, but she couldn’t fall asleep tonight.
Even after changing into her pajamas and getting under the warm blankets.
Lying in bed, Emily fiddled with her nametag for no reason.
She knew exactly why she couldn’t sleep tonight.
That person she met during the lecture today.
Ever since she heard that the person was coming to the Academy to give a lecture, she had thought about meeting them at least once.
But Emily didn’t want to just end it at seeing them.
The thought of talking to them made her nervous, but there was something more important she wanted to ask.
She had wanted to meet them all this time but never got the chance.
-“It’s been a long time since I’ve been asked that. All I can say is that, at the time, I didn’t have a choice.”
The voice she heard earlier came vividly to her mind.
In the end, she had succeeded in asking her question.
The answer that came out of her mouth was completely different from what Emily had expected.
In a calm voice, she simply said that she had no choice.
Emily had expected something more, something convincing.
“Ahhh.”
The more she thought about it, the deeper and more serious her thoughts became.
Shaking her head, Emily suddenly got out of bed.
If she stayed like this, she felt she’d end up spending the whole night stuck in these thoughts.
It was better to get up and do something than to let that happen.
In her pajamas, Emily sat at her desk and opened the experimental log she had last worked on.
The neatly written text filled the pages, just looking at it lifted her spirits.
‘Sigh.’
Though it had nothing to do with today’s events, her thoughts inevitably wandered back to what happened earlier.
‘Why did she have no choice?’
Emily picked up her pen, as if to write something, but then put it down again.
In her current state, neither sleeping nor working on experiments seemed possible.
Forcing herself to do something might ruin the experiments that had been progressing well.
-“If things aren’t going well, forcing them might make them worse. At times like that, take a moment to calm down and think clearly.”
‘Of all times.’
Was it because she had met her today?
A soft voice from her past brushed through Emily’s mind.
When she had heard those words back then, she must have answered brightly, full of energy.
Got it!
Thud—
In the end, Emily closed the experimental log as well.
She realized she couldn’t accomplish anything in this state.
Instead, she tried to think calmly.
That person she met earlier—Yuria Prisis—what could the circumstances have been that left her no choice?
Was she threatened with death if she didn’t leave the family?
Or maybe a clingy young relative annoyed her too much?
If not, then…
“Why on earth…”
Today, she couldn’t stop herself from reminiscing about the past.
Murmuring to herself, Emily allowed herself to fully accept the memories that surged forth.
The sight of her smiling brightly while praising Emily.
The calm way she explained how to solve a problem.
The sight of her offering candy with a smile when Emily was crying after being scolded by her mother.
And finally, the image of her packing her belongings and leaving the house without a backward glance.
Emily couldn’t hold back her rising tears any longer.
As her eyes grew hot and she blinked, a single tear rolled down her cheek.
Once her tears started flowing, her emotions and memories overwhelmed her uncontrollably.
The memories that followed were the ones she most wished to forget.
Being pushed into a dungeon teeming with undead.
Her mother’s cold gaze as she looked down at her fallen form.
The mocking stares of her sisters.
The voices telling her that her experiments were useless and that she should quit immediately.
“Haaah.”
Emily took a deep breath to calm her rising emotions.
They were old, familiar memories.
As long as she stayed where she was now, she wouldn’t have to experience those situations again.
Emily tried to steel her resolve, closing her eyes quietly.
After entering the Academy and meeting good friends, she had barely thought about those painful memories.
She thought she could handle them if they resurfaced now, but she was wrong.
Even though the events were long past and familiar, they still hurt.
‘If only she hadn’t left.’
It was a scenario she had imagined hundreds of times before, but she indulged it once more.
What if Yuria Prisis, who had calmly said, “I had no choice,” hadn’t left the family?
She would probably have stayed by Emily’s side in the dungeon filled with undead.
She would have reached out a hand to help Emily up when she fell, shielding her from her sisters’ mocking gazes.
Most importantly, she wouldn’t have dismissed Emily’s beloved experiments as pointless but would have supported them.
Drip—
Before she realized it, tears had flowed down Emily’s face again.
Hurriedly wiping her tears with the back of her hand, she tried to stop herself from thinking further.
Seeing that person in person today had a powerful effect on her.
Especially seeing her looking so perfectly fine.
‘I cried every day, but she…’
“Aunt…”
In her empty room, Emily spoke as if addressing someone.
Her voice was trembling and wet with tears.
“…Were you okay?”
It was a question Emily had always wanted to ask Yuria Prisis since she was a child.
After leaving her and the family behind, had she been okay?
While Emily had struggled so much she felt like dying, how had her aunt been?
Struggling to voice questions that would never reach their intended recipient, Emily bolted into the bathroom.
Her hurried movements caused the papers stacked on her desk to flutter.
One piece, which had been lying in the corner, floated to the floor.
On the upper right corner of the paper, Emily’s handwritten name was scrawled.
It read Emily Prisis, with the name Prisis crossed out and replaced.
Below it, she had written Emily Franz.
—
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