Episode 27
"...Then, I'll be going now."
"...Alright."
It wasn't until morning that I finally gathered my composure, and I sent Kania, who had been comforting me until then, off to the classroom first.
Truthfully, since my condition still wasn't great, it would have been nice if she could support me, but if I did that, Kania might arouse suspicion from others.
So, even if it's a bit difficult, sending her ahead to hide our relationship would be beneficial for future plans.
"...Hoo."
With that thought, I opened the skill shop and began looking at the skills I desperately needed at this point.
- Vitality Recovery Speed Increase 1000pt
Description) Permanently increases vitality recovery speed by a small amount. (Total amount does not increase)
"...I guess I should buy this now."
Today is the long-awaited practical assessment.
So, if I'm going to get beaten up by Irina, I should probably buy this skill.
"...Oh."
As I pressed the skill to purchase it, vitality somehow started flowing through my body.
I wasn't expecting much since it was only a "small increase," but being a skill that costs 1000pt, it seems to be worth its price.
"...I hope Irina manages to hit me with her Fireballs."
Feeling the vitality surging through my entire body with my eyes closed, I began rummaging through my bag while worrying about Irina.
"...Alright, this should work."
Soon, I took out 3 top-grade mana potions I had purchased from a back alley I briefly visited yesterday when returning from the cathedral to the dormitory. Without hesitation, I opened the caps and began downing them all at once.
"...Ugh."
I thought top-grade potions would taste good, but they were surprisingly terrible.
Thanks to that, I almost threw up, but since vomiting would mean throwing away tens of thousands of gold, I forced myself to drink them. Soon, I started feeling a hot energy in my stomach.
'...This should be enough.'
Closing my eyes for a moment to sense the mana in my stomach, I realized a sufficient amount had gathered and smiled.
With this amount of stellar mana, it should be enough to help Irina when I transfer it to her.
Of course, Irina is after my life, but if I don't share my mana with her, her grades will hit rock bottom... and if that happens, problems might arise in the scenario.
Even though I'm trying my best to minimize variables, things have already gone awry in many ways. If Irina gets demoted to the lower class or expelled from the academy, who knows what might happen.
So, I need to proceed as written in the prophecy book as much as possible...
'...As written in the prophecy book?'
As I organized my thoughts and prepared to head to the classroom, I suddenly stopped in my tracks at the thought of the prophecy book.
"...Haah."
Suppressing my troubled mind, I let out a deep sigh and muttered to myself with a serious expression.
'The prophecy book's content has already been wrong twice... should I still follow it?'
The content about all the main heroines' memories returning as a penalty when regressing was definitely not in the prophecy book.
Of course, I found that quite strange, but until now, I had been trying to rationalize it, thinking some variable even the ancestors couldn't have predicted was at work.
But now, even Pelroche's setting has been found to have discrepancies.
According to the prophecy book and my memories, Pelroche was simply a pure and foolish human from the beginning.
When I was young, she drank the potion I gave her without any suspicion, and when I told her to go to the cathedral, she went there smiling without a doubt.
But in the dream I had today, she shouted with a confident voice that she would "expose" my misdeeds to the young me.
That Pelroche, who couldn't distinguish between "captive" and "expose" and wrote grammar questions on the threat letter she sent me.
Of course, if the dream I had today was just a nonsense dream, it wouldn't matter... but seeing my beloved sword's color faded in just one day, it's certain that some kind of thought entity or whatever that was said to reside in the treasured sword has intervened.
Then...
If that dream is really true, if the ancestor who thought he knew everything was wrong, if following the prophecy book was a mistake, what should I do?
Is it really right to follow the prophecy book, the system, and my memories?
"............."
I stood there blankly for a while thinking about it, but in the end, I couldn't reach an answer.
Because denying the prophecy book and the system would mean... denying everything I've done so far.
And if I denied that, I felt like I wouldn't be able to maintain my sanity anymore... so I decided to put this concern aside for now until more clear evidence emerges.
'...It's still within control range. For now, I can solve this.'
After finishing my self-rationalization, I let out a deep sigh and left the dormitory.
.
"Everyone, attention. I will now explain the precautions for the practical assessment."
All Class A students gathered at the training ground.
""..........""
And soon after, an enormous killing intent began to be felt.
Wondering what was happening, I looked and saw Klana, Pelroche, and Irina glaring at me as if they wanted to kill me.
Klana and Irina were one thing, but I didn't know that pure saintess would look at me with such murderous eyes.
"...Focus! You there, all of you, focus!"
After glaring at me for a while, they took their eyes off me and started looking at Isollet when her shout rang out.
I silently thanked Isollet for giving me a brief moment of relief and began reviewing the upcoming scenario.
Today, I must lose to Irina somehow.
After losing to her, due to the oath of death, I have no choice but to act as an arrogant scoundrel who reluctantly transfers his mana to a lowly commoner.
Of course, when transferring mana, I should only transfer enough mana to keep her from failing for a year.
Otherwise, my mortality rate would sharply increase.
"...I'll say it again, mysterious magical creatures have been appearing throughout the country recently."
While I was thinking that, Isollet began projecting her voice across the entire training ground using a magical amplification tool.
"Until now, the knight order has been holding them off to some extent, but if the current rate of increase continues, eventually the capital where we live will be in danger too."
That statement is true.
By now, magical creatures must have started appearing throughout the Empire due to the Demon King's awakening.
And those creatures will ravage the already desolate land suffering from the great famine and begin causing massive casualties as they roam the country.
And thanks to that, half of the Imperial citizens will starve to death, and half will be trampled or eaten by magical creatures.
Of course, the lords will be too busy protecting their own wealth to care about such citizens. Indeed, it's a world with no answers.
"Therefore, in accordance with the Empire's changed policy, I will raise you all to be shields that protect the Empire. And the first step is this practical assessment."
As I quietly cursed the rotten Empire, Isollet looked around coldly at everyone and continued.
"Therefore, the practical assessment will be conducted in 'complete real combat' form."
When the children tilted their heads at those words, Isollet added briefly.
"...It means you should participate with the determination to kill each other."
With those words, Isollet finished delivering the precautions and sat down, and a heavy silence began to linger around.
"Then... the first pair, Klana Solar Sunrise and Pelroche Astellaid, please come forward."
In that heavily weighted atmosphere, Isollet announced the start of the practical assessment in a low voice.
"Pelroche. I'll say it again, this isn't a game..."
"...I know."
"What?"
"...I won't just stupidly let myself be beaten anymore."
Then, the two came out with hardened expressions and began conversing in the sparring arena.
Normally, I could have heard Klana and Pelroche's cute and funny banter, but right now, Pelroche was just gathering holy power in her hands with a cold expression, preparing for combat.
"...Ugh."
Seeing her like that, the guilt of having turned such a pure and cute child into that state, her terrible appearance in today's dream, and her past appearance completely different from my memories all mingled together, making my stomach turn.
- Piiik!!
Shaking my head to clear away distracting thoughts, I heard Isollet's whistle, and the next moment, the princess and the saintess clashed.
For a moment, my heart sank thinking she might be using the Sun God's protection, but looking closely, the princess's attack imbued with solar mana was blocked by a white shield.
- Shuuu...
Klana then agilely retreated and began concentrating solar mana at her fingertips, while Pelroche started gathering holy power in her hands.
'...Are they going for a single decisive match?'
The amount was so vast that I thought they might be going for a single decisive match, and then their attacks collided simultaneously in mid-air.
'...Ah, so that was the plan.'
And at that moment, the vast energy fragments that collided in mid-air began flying toward me.
If I took a direct hit from that, it would probably result in 10 weeks of recovery.
".....!"
Surprised, Kania quietly began gathering dark magic power in her hand, but I quietly shook my head to stop her.
- Kzzzt!
Because I had already predicted that Isollet's sword energy would fly in and wipe out the fragments just before they reached me.
"...I can control sudden situations like this at any time, so rest assured and feel free to use large-scale techniques. Then, continue."
After Isollet's calm statement ended, they resumed fighting with disappointed expressions.
It seemed like a half-hearted plan of "if it works, good, if not, whatever"... but even so, it was quite threatening.
'...Still, it wasn't an attack that would lead to death. Seeing that, Kania's words seem to be right.'
The primary goal of the "Heroine Alliance" that Kania mentioned is to "ruin" me.
When I asked why, she said they judged that simply killing me, who once destroyed the world, would be too lenient.
Truly, I'm so grateful I could cry.
"...Kyah!!"
Thinking such thoughts while silently watching the battle, before long, Klana's fist imbued with solar mana struck Pelroche, and the match ended more easily than expected.
If it were the original Pelroche who hated pain terribly, she would never have allowed a direct hit.
But strangely, Pelroche recklessly pushed in toward Klana and ended up taking a critical hit.
"...Kkeuuugh."
Pelroche, who had been trembling while clutching her stomach for a while, gritted her teeth and started trying to get up from her spot.
"You, what exactly happened that..."
"I, I... won't be... used anymore..."
"........"
But apparently, she couldn't withstand the shock of a single blow with just willpower, and before long, she fainted.
Watching that scene, I deliberately lowered my gaze, feeling guilty about reducing that pure girl to such a state.
"...Klana Solar Sunrise is the winner. Then, the next pair."
Soon, Isollet's calm voice was heard, and the limp Pelroche was carried away by the assistants.
'Young master, is there some problem...'
"...Shh."
Kania, who was beside me, quietly spoke to me, but I tried to distance myself from her and manage my expression.
It seems my expression must have been quite something, seeing as Kania was biting her lip.
.
After that, several pairs faced each other, but most ended in single decisive matches.
This happened because the nobles were too incompetent, and the commoners were too competent.
Still, the match between Kania and Arianne was somewhat worth watching.
Although the winner was Arianne, who succeeded in completely enclosing Kania in a barrier, if Kania could have used black magic, the outcome would have been uncertain.
By the way, it's really a shame Serena isn't here. If she were, I could have seen her amazing feat of predicting all the opponent's attack routes and subduing them with just one finger again...
'...No, what am I saying, shame my foot.'
Thinking about it again, if Serena were present in this situation, I might have lost my life long ago. Thinking that way, rather than regretting her absence from this place, I should be rejoicing.
However, it's about time for Serena to return to school. So... I need to come up with some countermeasures to deal with her somehow.
"...Next pair, Frey Raon Starlight and Irina Filiad, please come forward."
As I was organizing my thoughts, before I knew it, my turn and Irina's had come.
"Have you prepared yourself to become my slave?"
"........."
As I approached Irina's side with swaggering arrogance and sneered at her, she began glaring at me fiercely.
Accepting Irina's gaze calmly, I then whispered quietly in her ear.
"Oh right, I'm thinking of hugging your friend next time... could you give me some advice later?"
- Krrunch...!
Then Irina started grinding her lips.
"...Well then, take care?"
I looked at her with an amused expression, wiped away the blood starting to flow from her lips with my hand, and walked toward the sparring arena deep in thought.
'...This should be enough, right?'
Irina Filiad grows stronger the angrier she becomes.
That's not just a metaphor, but an "official setting."
The great magic that dealt a critical wound to the Demon King, an inhuman entity, was created from the sorrow and anger of losing her friend Arianne, so that says it all.
So even in a mana-depleted state, if she's that angry, she should be able to hit me with at least a Fireball.
- Piiik!!
After finishing my thoughts, I saw Irina had entered the sparring arena and was glaring at me, and the next moment, Isollet's whistle sounded.
"...Huaap!"
And before the whistle sound even ended, 7 Fireballs appeared above Irina's head.
"W, wait... s, seven?"
"What... how can that failing student..."
Then people around started murmuring, and in that atmosphere, Irina looked at me with a hateful expression and said.
"Even though... I don't have enough strength to kill you... I'll make it as painful as possible..."
"Hey... seven is a bit..."
"I'll kill you in a year when I regain my strength. Until then, I'll leave burns that'll have you writhing in pain."
"No, you won't be able to fire all of those anyway... *sigh."
Creating seven Fireballs in a mana-depleted state, if reported to the Magic Tower, mages would be burning with eagerness to research it.
Irina achieved such a remarkable feat, but my heart watching her is only anxious.
Because, in her current state, controlling 7 Fireballs is no different from a suicide attempt.
"...Ugh!"
Sure enough, Irina, who tried to move the Fireballs, knelt and collapsed to the ground.
"D, damn it... *cough..."
'No, I would have just surrendered if you shot a few moderately... why are you doing something so reckless?'
Looking at her with resentful eyes, I noticed Isollet and Klana starting to look at me strangely for staying in place, so I gritted my teeth and began approaching Irina.
"Kyah!!"
"...Ha, I knew it. As if someone like you could use Fireballs."
Soon arriving in front of her, I kicked her and knocked her down onto the dirt ground.
"No matter how much you struggle... there are things that never change... Irina."
"Don't call... my name... with those filthy lips... you bastard..."
"The bastard will be you, who's about to become my pet... you lowly thing."
"Ugh!!"
Soon grabbing her by the hair, I slammed Irina, who was muttering while looking at me with hateful eyes, into the dirt ground.
"Ugh!"
"Look well, this filthy dirt ground suits you."
"Ugh..."
"What's wrong? You'll be swallowing worse things in the future."
Opening the flask containing refined mana I had stored in my sleeve just in case, I secretly poured it onto the dirt ground without anyone noticing. Then I rubbed her face into the mana-filled dirt and began provoking her.
"Ugh..."
"Why? Does having your face rubbed in the dirt feel bad?"
"*Cough, cough*..."
"But no matter how I think about it, this dirt ground seems like it would feel worse having you rubbed into it than you do..."
"...What?"
"No matter how much it's a dirt ground full of all kinds of bugs and filth... if something as lowly as you gets rubbed into it, it's natural to feel bad, right?"
After saying those words, I left her still coughing and headed toward the sparring arena's exit, muttering to myself.
'...Please, please land at least one hit.'
Praying earnestly that she would safely create Fireballs and hit me with them, I was walking when I felt a hot heat rising from behind. I turned around with a smile of satisfaction.
- Boom!!
And at that moment, the first Fireball hit me directly.
"Khaak...!"
Taking a direct hit from the Fireball, I fell backward, feeling both relief at being able to lose to Irina and bewilderment at the pain being more severe than expected.
'...Why does this hurt so much?'
While Fireball is a threatening magic, individually it's not that threatening.
Unlike Meteor, which boasts considerable power individually, Fireball is a magic that wins with rapid fire and quantity.
But this... isn't Fireball, it's like a quasi-Meteor. As expected, the future archmage is remarkable even when mana-depleted.
"O, ow!!"
Thinking such thoughts while rolling on the dirt ground, I got up with tears leaking from my eyes, and at that moment, 2 Fireballs flew before me.
"Khak! H, hot!!"
Happily taking those Fireballs, I rolled on the dirt ground again and began reciting the third-rate villain's lines I had prepared in advance.
"H, how dare... such a filthy and lowly wench like you... me...!"
My hands and feet feel like they're curling up just saying these lines, but this kind of dialogue is directly effective. Just looking at how the commoner students' expressions are rotting away as soon as I say these lines tells me that.
"...How does it feel to get beaten by a filthy and lowly commoner and roll around in the dirt?"
"*Cough... cough*..."
"...Get up, there's still more."
"Ugh... what...?"
After rolling on the dirt ground for a while longer saying childish lines, I got up unsteadily at Irina's words and froze for a moment.
- Boom, boom, boom, boom!
"Kyak!!"
This time, 3 Fireballs flew at me.
"Ugh... uuu..."
Thanks to that, I was writhing in pain. I tried to pretend to lose consciousness out of respect for her managing to simultaneously control 3 Fireballs in a mana-depleted state, albeit with my help...
"Get... up... still... one... left..."
Hearing her voice filled with hatred, I gave a bitter smile and stood up, dragging my battered body.
She's the Hero after all, so I should be able to take that one hit somehow, even though my lifespan and vitality have been significantly reduced.
Of course, if I take even that, I might really lose consciousness.
Still, given the atrocities I've committed against Irina... no, from her perspective, the malicious acts filled with evil intent, it would be right to take it if she wants me to.
"Ah, it's not over yet... that lowly wench..."
Standing up painfully while saying these ugly lines until the end, I gritted my teeth waiting for the last Fireball she would shoot, but...
"H, here... eat this... and... die..."
"I'll end you in one stroke..."
- Thud
"...Huh?"
Irina, who was about to send the last Fireball at me, wavered and then collapsed, losing consciousness.
""...........""
And a brief silence flowed.
"I will count to 10. 10, 9, 8..."
'...Damn it, since it's come to this, there's no choice.'
Soon, Isollet started counting, and flustered, I had no choice but to use the life-transfer brooch dedicated to Kania on my chest to try to wake her up, but...
- Zzzzt!!
Suddenly, a giant mysterious magic formation was drawn on the floor of the sparring arena where Irina and I were, and light began seeping out. I frowned at this strange phenomenon and readied my sword.
"...What is this?"
And the next moment, bright light erupted from the magic formation and instantly swallowed both Irina and me.
"W, what I bought was a recovery scroll...!?"
Hearing Arianne's cry of confusion in that bright light, I ended up losing consciousness too.
.
"Ugh..."
Grabbing my throbbing head and opening my eyes slightly, I saw some trees standing right in front of me.
".....?"
Confused by the fact that I saw trees instead of the students and supervisors who had been watching me at the sparring arena, I opened my eyes wide and looked around to see ashen trees everywhere.
"...This is crazy."
Staring blankly at that sight, I ended up cursing.
I realized that this place where I'm standing now is the "Ashen Forest," a dungeon teeming with all kinds of magical creatures, which according to the scenario in the prophecy book, I shouldn't be visiting until the mid-to-late stages of the "game."
"What in the world... is going on...?"
Still not fully grasping the situation, I stood up and was startled when something caught my foot, so I looked down.
".........."
Then, Irina, who had lost consciousness and was breathing raggedly, came into my view.
"...I'm really going to lose my mind."
It seems I've been dropped into this dungeon, which is hundreds of kilometers away from the academy, along with an unconscious Irina.
At this point, I'm starting to fear what might happen next.