Chapter 198
Chapter 198
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 198
Chapter Title: Expedition (Demo)
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That day.
The blanket I handed over. The cushion I usually used in place of a bed. And using Patrasche as a pillow, Spica drifted off to sleep.
"...Why do I have to do this sort of thing?"
"Think of it as atonement for deliberately withholding the truth."
At my words, Patrasche snorted as if to say she'd been caught.
Of course she had.
With that detection ability of hers... she must have known it was Spica inside from the start, yet she hadn't revealed it to me and had responded half-heartedly on purpose.
Anyway, Spica—who had run away from home, shivered at the convenience store, and finally found a place to rest—had passed out cold, using Patrasche as her pillow.
Now then.
What to do about Spica's situation.
And...
"Come to think of it, I wouldn't have two blankets or two cushions lying around."
Hmm.
How am I supposed to sleep tonight?
***
In the end, I did manage to sleep.
I covered myself with my cloak, used the train seat on Patrasche's back, and the bag containing Erhel's curse as a pillow to catch some shut-eye.
Erhel probably spent the whole night crushed under a sleep paralysis demon... but forgive me.
If I didn't sleep, I wouldn't be able to move at all today. And Erhel's curse was soft and squishy, reminiscent of a memory foam pillow—it actually worked pretty well.
Still, since I wasn't lying down but just dozing off in a sitting position, my whole body ached and creaked. At least the cloak kept me from getting cold, so that was a small mercy.
"...Oppa. Are you awake?"
"Sleep well?"
"Yes. Thanks to you, I slept soundly."
As Spica said, she seemed to have slept deeply, but she looked terribly uneasy.
When your heart is restless, you just have to move your body somehow, and things tend to work themselves out.
"Spica Trista."
"Y-Yes!"
"If you don't face your worries head-on, they'll keep chasing you from behind."
"...Ah."
"When you get hurt, you have to disinfect and stitch it up, even if it hurts. If you just stitch without disinfecting, pus will build up inside."
"...Yes."
"If you run from the pain in fear, that lump in your chest will torment you forever."
"......"
"So first, we move. Let's go."
"Y-Yes...!"
With that, Spica sat up in her seat, and Patrasche began steering the Black Royal Tiger forward.
Alright. Let's go.
"But... where are we going?"
"To the place where a disagreeable fellow lives."
"......Pardon?"
***
Student Council Room.
Eve von Loengrin peeked out from behind my back at Spica, who was only showing her face, then let out a sigh so deep it seemed like the ground might cave in.
"It really is Spica."
"I'm sorry."
"No need. I heard the story from Aila Trista yesterday."
"Did Sister tell you everything...?"
"I'm the Student Council President of Jefrin. It's my duty to know all of Jefrin's problems."
"Hmm."
But that's strange.
Aila wouldn't spill information that easily.
No way.
"What time did you ask her yesterday?"
"Around eleven at night? I grabbed Aila Trista while she was dozing off, and even half-asleep, she told me."
"......"
Hmm. Wasn't that Aila's fault, then?
Wasn't it just Eve being pushy?
"Anyway, I'm stumped too. What to do with Spica. I know her story, but there's no good reason to bring an outsider into Jefrin at this time."
"......President Eve."
"Ah, sorry. Spica. I don't plan to chase you away. But as the president of this Jefrin, if I break the rules, it could shake the entire hundred thousand students."
"...Y-Yes. I see."
"Being Student Council President really just means a ton of responsibility and no real authority. Sorry."
Should I send Spica back home? Or not?
Eve was agonizing over it, which was rare for her.
Seeing the noisy fatty doing something so unlike her just made me snort.
"You idiot. Worrying over something so pointless."
"...What did you say?"
After the second playthrough of the Eve route, there's a special skill that unlocks called 'Preemptive Recruitment.'
That's probably what's going on here...
"Eve. Have you memorized every Jefrin school rule?"
"Of course!"
"What about the Student Council President special rules?"
"......Huh? Wait. How many do you think there are?"
Jefrin's three-hundred-year history.
Each successive president claimed their own privileges, which were added as exception rules.
But they conflicted with existing rules and caused issues, so they were recorded as special rules—usually only effective during that president's term.
For example, Io von Loengrin's special rule was 'Knight Division and Magic Division receive equal supplies for meals.' It earned massive support from the Knight Division that term and turned the Magic Division completely against him.
The Magic Division folks had that elitist mindset of 'Why eat the same as the Knight Division when our families support us so much?'
For Wolfram... I don't know. It never came up in the story, so Eve probably scrapped it right away. And she never invoked it.
"Are you telling me to use a privilege? Not a bad idea."
"No."
Save it for later—you'll need it. This is advice for your sake.
"Then what?"
"Do you know this? Nowhere in Jefrin's rules does it say 'Student Council President special rules are limited to their term.'"
"...Huh?"
"In other words, even if you pull out the special rule from twenty generations ago, thirty generations ago, or even the founding emperor's, there's no basis to stop you."
"W-Wait. Really? Hmm... Uh......"
Eve racked her brain recalling the rules, then her eyes widened as cold sweat started beading on her forehead.
"What... it's really not there."
"Exactly. Now, do you remember the special rule from seventeen generations ago?"
"H-How am I supposed to remember all that? Wait a sec. The rule compendium... the full version..."
The basic rule book Eve had given me before was dictionary-thick, but the full version was thick enough to knock someone out if you swung it at their head like a blunt weapon. Eve flipped through the compendium, reading out the rule set by the president seventeen generations back.
"'Prospective enrollees next year—limited to those pre-selected as student council officers—may attend Jefrin in advance for up to six months to one year.'"
This was an inheritance skill that got good use even in the original story.
For some reason, starting from the second playthrough, Eve stumbles on this loophole by chance and uses the rule from seventeen generations ago.
A so-called second-playthrough perk. It lets you recruit future stars a year early and raise them right away.
"In storage room 3, right side, seventh drawer down—there's the pre-enrollment paperwork applying this rule."
"How do you even know that...?"
"I told you. I've memorized every rule in this school. This should clear up Spica's enrollment, right?"
"...Yeah. No issues rule-wise."
Eve said that, then fell into thought for a moment. Spica looked up at me anxiously.
It reminded me of when my little siblings messed up as kids and looked up saying 'Hyung...' 'Oppa...' I found myself patting her head without thinking.
"Don't worry too much. Little sisters are supposed to rely on their big brother."
"...U-Um, uh...!"
As Spica flushed red, an odd voice came from in front.
"Hey. Right in front of me? For real."
"What."
"Hey. Wolfram."
"Get back to work. Eve von Loengrin."
"I'm seriously gonna kill you..."
Eve, cheeks puffed out as much as her belly fat, glared at us trembling with rage, her face screaming she wanted to explode.
What's her deal?
***
Having received the hastily prepared enrollment papers, Spica left the Student Council Room saying she'd think it over.
Back at the convenience store, even after lunch, she agonized for a long while, staring holes into the enrollment papers.
"Not gonna fill it out?"
"Oppa. If I... use this to enter Jefrin, would you be happy?"
"Can't say for sure."
"...I see."
"Classes are already set anyway, so you'd be auditing everything. You'd enjoy the one and only freedom in all of Jefrin's hundred thousand."
"Yes... I suppose so. Sister told me. You're Jefrin's one and only revolutionary."
"...Did Aila call me a revolutionary?"
"Sorry. She said traitor."
This sisters' cold war chokes me up every time, in all sorts of ways.
"I see. So?"
"An expedition no one in Jefrin's three hundred years has ever done. Planting your flag in enemy territory with your merry band of revolutionaries, claiming it as your own—that grand undertaking."
"......"
"If I enroll now... could I join that?"
"It's tough."
"I-It is?"
"For your sake. You're already conspicuous as a non-regular enrollee. If you join expeditions too, about thirty thousand out of the hundred thousand will be watching you."
The folks going on expeditions with me already stand out in Jefrin. Add a special transfer student tagging along?
In a game, maybe possible. But here, expedition zones are locked down tighter as 'forbidden areas' than in the original.
"Ah... I see. Sorry. And thank you. For considering me."
"Hmm. We could do something similar."
"...Really?!"
"Sure."
***
After that, I focused on some work for a bit.
As the sun set, Spica's eyes went wide at the finished product.
It wasn't anything special.
"...Oppa?"
"Have a seat."
A simple wooden camping cot hastily made by slicing wood with Patrasche's telekinesis and a handy worker tool. Cushions roughly piled on top, blanket laid out.
As Spica sat there blankly, a campfire lit atop stacked firewood. On the small table between us, a cup of cup soup each.
The crackling campfire a safe distance away, with meat, fish, sweet potatoes, and such grilling to perfection without burning. I even draped my cloak over her.
Spica looked at me, her face a mix of warmth, comfort, and confusion.
"Oppa, what is all this...?"
"Camping. Common on expeditions."
"...Ah. I see. It's warm."
She slurped her cup soup, breathing out steamy breath.
"First time doing it in front of the convenience store instead of an expedition site, but it has its own charm."
"...Yeah."
Tomorrow's cleanup will be a nightmare, and my heart's already burning with dread.
"Look. Nice view, right?"
"...Huh? ...Wow."
An autumn evening. When a cold wind blows and you happen to glance up at the sky. A rare sight.
The sunset crossing the mountains. A hazy moon visible at the same time. Tiny twinkling stars nearby. Clouds drifting past.
A scene where everything visible in the sky comes together—but only if the timing aligns perfectly.
"It's pretty."
I nodded without thinking.
A child's honest impression hits harder than any adult's clumsy description.
"Oppa... If I enroll properly, could I see scenes like this every day?"
"Can't promise every day. But by the rules, we go on expeditions once every two weeks."
Not lately, but anyway, that's the rule.
"...I see. Scenes like this at least every other week."
"......"
True to her name, Spica's eyes sparkled brightly.
"If you fear disinfecting the wound, it'll fester beyond saving someday. Worries chase you if you don't face them."
With that, Spica pulled her hand from under the cloak and tossed what she was clutching into the blazing bonfire.
"You okay? No regrets?"
"Yes. This isn't right for me after all. Thanks to you, I realized. The engagement issue... no, all my problems—I have to face and solve them myself first."
"Well done."
Really, where does that pioneering, independent spirit in that family come from?
Complain all you want about their speech quirks, but Count Glass raised his kids right.
"I'll meet my parents, tie up loose ends, enroll properly next year... and go on expeditions together then. ...Is that okay?"
"Of course. Promise. Your spot will always be open."
"Thank you. And... yeah. I can't hand you over to Sister after all."
"Hand what over?"
"No. Revolution is a conviction that must be fulfilled. Half-baked treason can't beat a revolution."
With that, Spica beamed.
Right then. A whoosh sounded, and Spica and I both looked at the bonfire.
"Burns well."
"Yes. Really well."
The bonfire devoured the stack of papers and flared up even brighter for a moment.
The section reading "Special Enrollee Track" turned to ash and scattered into the sky.