Chapter 159
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 159
A few days later.
The resort on Full Moon Island was teeming with an unexpected surge of guests, its hotels packed to the rafters.
"Hoo."
I lay sprawled on the bed of my suite, staring blankly at the ceiling. Outside the window, a stunning view of the beach stretched into the horizon.
It was a hard-earned rest granted only after the chaos had subsided.
The Faction War itself had concluded as a resounding success. However, the sudden, massive appearance of the fishfolk that followed had turned into a grueling ordeal for me, Ciel, Elena, and the rest of the students.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it a life-or-death struggle. In fact, Ciel and I had fought on the front lines with our very lives on the line.
The fishfolk attack had triggered a deluge of complaints from the student body. Acknowledging the severity of the situation, the Union faculty settled the matter by granting everyone a mandatory break. They arranged for all 1,500 students involved in the incident to stay at the island's finest luxury hotels, regardless of their grades, and utilized the medical facilities aboard the floating ship to treat the wounded.
Fortunately, there were no fatalities. Aside from Charlotte, everyone else had escaped with relatively minor injuries—mana exhaustion, bruises, and scrapes.
I gazed at the magnificent beach beyond the glass and thought to myself.
‘Well, we were actually lucky.’
To have emerged from such a large-scale battle with only one person seriously injured was a miracle. This triumph was certainly due to my command and the students' desperate efforts, but the Chairman's timely arrival had played the most critical role.
Even if I had assumed my demonic form, slaughtered all the Gons, and returned to the fortress, time would have ultimately favored the fishfolk. With food already scarce, how many more days could the students have held out against that relentlessly swarming army? At most, it would have been over in three days.
I later heard from the Chairman that no other islands had experienced any unusual incidents; the phenomenon was localized entirely to the jungle island where we had been stationed.
‘…Was it because of me?’
Thinking about it, there was a high probability that I was the catalyst. For some reason, the Twelve Honored Ones had been appearing one by one, closing in on me.
Of course, even if it was "my fault," I felt no need for guilt. It wasn't as if I had done anything wrong. This was simply the main story of this world unfolding. It was likely an event that couldn't have been avoided regardless of my actions.
While the students had been spared the worst of the damage, I heard the imperial fleet stationed near Full Moon Island had taken significant losses. According to the rumors, some soldiers guarding the lighthouse claimed to have witnessed an octopus the size of an island, but most people dismissed the story as a hallucination.
Who had ever heard of an octopus the size of an island?
However, a select few were piecing those eyewitness accounts together with the reports of the fishfolk on the jungle island. They were reaching the grim conclusion that the Twelve Honored Ones had finally begun to move.
‘Those in the know have a general idea of what’s coming.’
It had reached a point where the truth could no longer be suppressed. The stirrings of the Twelve Honored Ones were becoming impossible to conceal. The time had come for the continent to begin its preparations.
‘Of course, the situation isn't exactly optimistic.’
Even with a continental crisis looming, everyone was too busy looking out for their own interests. Getting all of humanity to cooperate on a single cause was never an easy task.
‘It’s the same as the real world.’
When the threat of global warming first arose, did every nation immediately stop using fossil fuels to prepare for the future? No. They signed symbolic agreements while continuing to sell oil behind the scenes. This world was no different.
Perhaps if aliens suddenly invaded, they might find a way to join forces.
‘Well, they'll figure it out.’
I stretched my limbs wide and let out a lazy yawn. I was tied to the academy anyway. I was doing my best within my own sphere of influence; the larger-scale affairs were for the leaders of nations to handle.
Just as I was rolling around on the bed, lost in thought…
Knock, knock—.
A knock sounded at the door. From the rhythm and the measured force, I knew it was Ciel.
"Come in."
Ciel opened the door and entered. Instead of her usual stiff school uniform, she wore a thin, frilled short-sleeved shirt and a pair of loose, breathable pants. She had clearly dressed to match the vacation atmosphere.
She gave me a slight bow and spoke.
"Did you rest well? You shouldn't just stay cooped up in your room. You should go for a walk."
"I suppose so."
I rolled out of bed and slipped on my slippers. I’d been rotting in this hotel for days since the battle; it was high time I got some fresh air. I was getting tired of ordering room service and eating in solitude anyway.
After a moment of deliberation, I threw on a random aloha shirt with a palm tree print and headed out.
*
Ciel and I strolled through the hotel grounds. Colorful tropical flowers bloomed along the neatly landscaped paths. Passing through a garden of tall, swaying palm trees, we were greeted by the sight of a vast, white sandy beach.
The cobalt-blue sea was so clear the seabed was visible, and the shore was a ribbon of pure white. Under the warm southern sun, students were gathered on the private beach, swimming, tanning, or playing volleyball. The atmosphere was so relaxed and peaceful it was hard to believe they had been fighting for their lives just a few days ago.
‘The students currently staying at this hotel number around 3,000, including those from the jungle island and the top performers from the other three islands.’
It wasn't just the students from the peaceful islands; even those from the jungle island who had survived the fierce battle with the fishfolk seemed to have recovered in both body and mind. They were enjoying the summer sea alongside everyone else.
It was a pleasant sight—seeing them stroll along the beach in their stylish swimsuits. I watched them from a distance with a small smile.
‘Well, the past is the past.’
It may have been hell at the time, but now that they had overcome it, the experience served as a badge of honor, a point of pride. Later, they would likely reminisce and swap stories about what they had endured.
Honestly, if even one person had died or been permanently maimed, they wouldn't have recovered this quickly. Thankfully, that hadn't happened.
I looked around at the students leisurely enjoying their vacation and spoke.
"Thankfully, everyone seems to be doing fine."
"It's thanks to you, Roen."
"What's this? Praising me for once?"
She usually did nothing but criticize me. What was with the sudden change of heart?
"I am merely stating an objective fact."
"Well, I won't deny it."
If it hadn't been for me, they wouldn't have been able to fend off the fishfolk attack, and the result would have been a catastrophe. Of course, there was also the possibility that if I hadn't been there in the first place, the incident might never have occurred. It felt a bit like I was the one who caused the problem and then solved it.
As I was strolling along the beach, chatting with Ciel…
"Ah, Roen! Over here!"
From a distance, beneath a straw canopy, Elena was waving her hand. Unlike the other students in their swimsuits, Elena wore a flowing white dress and a wide-brimmed straw hat. It seemed she was trying to fit the mood while remaining conscious of her public image. Given her status, it would be difficult for her to expose too much skin for swimming or sunbathing.
Ciel and I walked over to the canopy where Elena's sunbed was located. Beside her, Adler stood guard in neat casual clothes. For some reason, the look he gave me was far from friendly. His eyes were sharp with wariness.
"Would you like some?"
Elena offered me a plate of tropical fruits from the table.
"Sure, don't mind if I do."
With a casual shrug, I bit into a fruit that resembled a date palm. It was sweet, slightly tart, and refreshingly cool. Quite delicious.
Elena looked me up and down and asked, "You're not wearing a swimsuit? Aren't you going for a swim? You don't get many chances like this."
"You don't seem to have any intention of swimming either, do you?"
"Well, my position makes it a little difficult, doesn't it? You know that."
"The same goes for me."
For reasons slightly different from Elena’s, I was also a bit self-conscious about walking around shirtless. Roen's infamy hadn't completely faded yet. I’d be lucky if I didn't get cursed at. This aloha shirt was my limit.
"Don't just stand there, have a seat. You too, Ciel."
At Elena's gesture, Adler brought over a few more sunbeds and unfolded them. Thanking her for the courtesy, I lay down comfortably. After a moment, Adler brought over a coconut drink and roughly handed it to me.
"Thanks."
As I lay on the sunbed, sipping the cool coconut juice, Elena began to speak.
"Honestly, you were actually a little cool back then."
"…?"
"Back when Ciel fell from the wall. You rushed to save her immediately. I was a little envious of her, to be honest."
"Is that all? I just did what I had to do."
I had both the strength and the will to save Ciel. There was no reason not to. Of course, if I were a powerless civilian, I'm not sure what choice I would have made, but that was a meaningless hypothetical.
‘In the first place, I've been diligently building my strength all this time precisely to avoid being helpless in situations like that.’
When I answered so readily, Elena asked in a playful tone, "So, do you think you would have saved me if I had been the one falling from the wall?"
‘I don't think Elena would ever need my help.’
Elena could probably beat down a few Gons by herself. Who would be saving whom? Still, saying that out loud would likely upset her, so I gave a more diplomatic answer.
"Well, it wouldn't have even come to that. Your trustworthy guard, Adler, would have saved you long before I could, wouldn't he?"
"…You're good at dodging the question. So, are you saying you would save me or not?"
"Think what you will."
I didn't offer anything further. Elena seemed a little annoyed by my non-answer, but Ciel, sitting next to her, looked strangely pleased.
"Well, whatever. It's not like I had high expectations anyway."
Elena downed her drink in one go and set the glass down with a thud.
"By the way, what do you think about what the Chairman said? About the stirrings of the Twelve Honored Ones."
Elena suddenly pivoted to a heavy topic. Her words brought back the memories of that day. After rescuing the students with the floating ship, the Chairman had called me and Elena aside to share some information: the presence of a great evil that had appeared near Full Moon Island, and the emergence of its minions.
It was the moment my vague suspicions were confirmed. He explained that the reason the fishfolk had suddenly clutched their throats and collapsed was the result of temporarily repelling Kral with the power of the floating ship.
‘The fishfolk's power originated from Kral.’
When Kral, the source of their power, was suppressed, his minions weakened rapidly. Moreover, since they had left the sea to come ashore, the shock of their connection to Kral being severed caused them to die instantly.
In any case, the Chairman himself had mentioned one of the Twelve Honored Ones—Kral. It was no surprise that Elena was seeking my opinion.
I sighed and shrugged.
"Whether what the Chairman said is true or not, it has little to do with me. It's not like there's anything I can do about it."
"You're optimistic. Or should I say, indifferent?"
"No. To be precise, let's just say I don't waste my energy on problems I can't solve. I have plenty of other things to do."
Getting distracted by a problem you can't solve right now, only to end up doing nothing, is the worst possible choice. A much better path is to solve the small things in front of you, one by one. It's better to start by making your bed than to run around futilely trying to change the world.
When I conveyed this, Elena's eyes widened as if she were seeing me in a new light.
"So you're an extreme realist, then?"
"I'll take that as a compliment."
This wasn't my original personality. I had forged this mindset to survive after waking up in Roen’s body. It was possible I was also being influenced by the original Roen’s traits.
After that, we spent the time making small talk. Lying on a beautiful beach with a cool sea breeze blowing was a precious, treasure-like experience for me—someone who had been running nonstop until now.
After chatting for a while, Elena stood up and stretched.
"Shall we get going?"
"Is there somewhere to go?"
"Yes. The finals for the inter-academy beach volleyball tournament start at eleven. Let's go watch together."