Chapter 89
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 89
Chapter Title: I Want to Fly on a Broom with a Girl Too
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"Is it okay to treat a childhood friend you haven't seen in years like this?"
"Childhood friend...?"
"Hah, you scrub. What the hell is this?"
The brown-haired girl who called herself my childhood friend had Hisenna and Elrim turning to me with bewildered looks on their faces.
But even if they were staring at me like that, I was just as flustered.
From the circumstances, it seemed like she really was the childhood friend of my original body.
"Uh, um... well..."
I could only scratch my head furiously and roll my eyes.
Even if she was my childhood friend, I had no memories of her.
[Title: Childhood Friend Appears]
Author: Kim Muggle
While waiting for the Subjugation Festival to start, a brown-haired girl suddenly appeared.
Claims to be my childhood friend.
She's not a total stranger. Thinking back, I vaguely remember seeing her pass by during the entrance exam.
The important part is that when I came to, I was already in the entrance exam waiting line.
I have no memories before that.
What do I do? Should I play along? She definitely seems to know me.
Childhood friend pure love yas route?!??!!!
A childhood friend shows up here?
I'M CUMMING?!?!HOOOOOK-!
Come to think of it, she's from a commoner background, right? When she first appeared, she said something about waking up in the academy exam line.
What? Amnesia, Kim Muggle?
Something like that? I don't really remember old stuff well.
Checks out. Kim Muggle doesn't seem normal either.
Of course he's not normal lol
That's why Muggle suddenly joined the gallery
Has Jootak figured anything out yet?
...Busy...
Anyway, can't miss this chance. Just play along for now and look for an opening.
She might get sad if her childhood friend doesn't recognize her~
But if she's a commoner, she probably doesn't have many friends at the academy anyway. Why not just accept it and play along? You can tell her the truth later. Not the time to get into that now anyway. Just do it.
What do lol
This guy's just desperate for the childhood friend heroine route lol
The gallery folks always give great insights in tough situations.
Even in something this minor, they point out things I hadn't considered.
Like right now.
I'd just been panicking over the sudden appearance of this self-proclaimed childhood friend.
But the gallery users realized that if she was my childhood friend, she had to be a commoner.
And it wasn't hard to imagine how tough academy life would be for her.
I knew better than anyone how hard it is for commoners at the academy.
I'd managed to push through thanks to the gallery's nonstop crash courses.
But a regular commoner would be having a rough time.
Suddenly, it hit me—maybe this brown-haired girl had been looking for me all this time.
She came running over with such a joyful expression right before the Subjugation Festival started. She must miss people from home.
"Ah, uh~ yeah, yeah. Childhood friend, right? Haha."
I answered awkwardly and glanced at the name tag on her chest.
Hena Emma.
"It's Hena, right? Yeah. I'm Ian."
"I... kept looking for you after enrollment, but you weren't there, so I thought you'd failed the entrance exam."
Hena smiled in relief and patted my arm.
Then she looked me over and suddenly jumped in surprise.
She pointed at my class on the name tag.
"...A-Class? Ian, you're in A-Class?"
"Uh, yeah."
Hena's name tag said C-Class.
Two steps above the bottom-tier E-Class.
"That's why I couldn't find you... I was sure you'd be in a low class... N-not that I'm looking down on it or anything. Just..."
Even in the same year, different classes don't interact much.
A one-class difference might be okay, but A-Class and C-Class? No way.
We might've crossed paths during class tours, but a lot was going on then.
Plus, she could've heard my name other times too.
Like during the Class Placement Exam results announcement, even if it was a while ago.
Did she never imagine a commoner like me could be in A-Class?
Whatever, not important now.
"It's fine. I'm surprised by my own skills every day anyway."
Teleportation will begin shortly. Cadets, please take your positions.
Right then, the announcement blared.
"Ah, it's starting now. See you after the Subjugation Festival, Ian. No running away then, okay?"
With that, Hena headed back to her team.
The tension drained away.
But then I felt sharp glares from both sides.
"...Why are you staring like that, both of you?"
"...We're not."
"Shut up, scrub."
Hisenna and Elrim looked seriously pissed.
What's their deal? Before I could figure it out, a massive light shimmered.
No time to say anything—we were teleported to the Subjugation Festival field.
———!
A huge distortion flipped my vision.
When the dizziness faded, I realized we were in a completely different space.
The air felt distinctly different from before.
I opened my eyes amid scorching heat, and a wavering haze greeted us.
"The starting point..."
"Ugh... Why'd we have to land here of all places?!"
Bad luck—we'd spawned in the volcanic field.
The Subjugation Festival's composite field was centered around a "very powerful beast habitat," surrounded by various terrain types.
Among them, the volcanic field was brutal, with constant lava flows and eruptions making survival tough.
"Getting out of here should be priority one. Volcanic field's next to the forest field, so let's head there."
I pulled out the map and said.
Volcanic bordered forest and desert fields.
Forest it is, then. Straight east.
-Aaaargh!
That's when screams from another cadet team echoed nearby.
A first-year team closer to the crater than us got wiped out fast by flowing lava and beast ambushes.
Beasts were closing in on us too.
Several Rank-8 beasts, "Lava Moles," headed our way.
No time to run—we had to fight.
"Heh heh. This is nothing!"
Just Rank-8s anyway. About to handle them quick.
But Elrim beat me to it, finishing her spell calc first.
[Flame Magic]
Whoosh—
A massive blaze engulfed the Lava Moles.
Elrim's flame magic.
Flame specialist, sure, but fighting fire with fire?
Whatever, they're dealt with.
"Hee hee. See that? We're already at 210 points!"
"Wow, amazing, Elrim!"
Elrim struck a pose with hands on hips, beaming proudly.
I nodded vaguely and prepped my broom.
Map showed quite a distance to the forest field.
Walking would take too long.
And we'd get hit by lava and beasts on the way.
Better to broom over fast and rack up points in the forest.
Three of us crammed on should fit, but first time flying with others besides me.
Plus Kim Chur. Not sure if it'll work.
Try it; if not, walk.
"Let's broom over quick."
"Ooh! Sounds fun! I was jealous you got to fly solo!"
"Is that okay, Ian? Can three of us fit? With Chur too..."
"Weight's no issue. It's about output control on the flight magic. Grab the feel once, and it'll be fine. Hop on."
I took the front of the broom, Hisenna and Elrim behind.
Snug fit, but it worked with the length.
"Nyaa~"
"Hisenna, mind holding Chur?"
"Sure. Come here, sweetie."
"Nyang~"
Handed Kim Chur to Hisenna.
Or rather, he settled right on her... bosom. Not her chest pocket.
Hisenna wrapped her arms around my waist, her shoulders supporting Chur's sides.
Her tighter press made something soft squish against my back.
One last gallery post before takeoff.
[Title: Ugh, Cramming on the Broom is Tough lol ;;;]
Author: Kim Muggle
(Photo of Kim Muggle with bosom ahead and redhead pressed tight on the broom)
Spawned in volcanic field, so gotta move first.
First time flying three on a broom, nervous af;
CUMMING HOOOOO-!
UOOOOOOONG!
I want to fly carrying a girl tooooo
Whoa; those tits pressing;
Oh, no Top Student here
Jealous;
Do your best~!
Of course, I cropped Hisenna and Elrim's faces out.
Gallery pervs like YasAndWantIt were hyped the wrong way, but whatever.
Once the festival starts, no time for gallery anyway.
"Alright, lifting off. Hold tight."
"This'll be fun!"
"Y-yes! I trust you, Ian...!"
Hisenna was tense for her first flight; Elrim was thrilled.
I carefully adjusted the magic output.
"[Process of Forming Static Buoyancy]"
⟨ Flight Magic ⟩
Whirr—the broom lifted low.
Even cranked higher than usual, barely rose.
Needed more output than expected.
Three people definitely demands heavy output.
First time pushing this much, shaky at first, but I adapted slowly.
Soon, confident I could fly.
"Here we go for real."
Gained some altitude. Now forward.
Calculated acceleration magic, and whoosh—the broom shot off.
"Kyaaaaah!"
"Wheeeeee!"
Amid Hisenna and Elrim's screams and cheers, we cruised.
Below, cadets struggled to survive the volcanic field.
Really glad for the broom.
Wonder what they brought.
No artifact or magic stone limits in Subjugation Festival.
We discussed strategies but skipped gear.
"Hisenna, Elrim. What magic tools did you bring?"
"I brought a hygiene maintainer! Keeps you clean for 24 hours without washing."
"That's it?"
"And three magic stones with auto-defense spells!"
Hisenna's picks were standard.
Attack artifacts are bulky; good ones too pricey or advanced for us.
"Elrim. You?"
"M-me too, magic stones!"
"What spells?"
"Speed-up magic and flashy magic!"
Elrim was all-in on sniping the "Redlight Stitch."
Disappointing, but average. I only had broom and Chur anyway.
Handling magic tools needs skill.
First-years usually just dip in for experience.
So probably only me with a flight vehicle.
Not just first-years—all years.
Flight vehicles are bulky. Mine's special.
But surprisingly, another team flew nearby.
They spawned in volcanic too, escaping first.
That vehicle... looked familiar.
"Senior Roer?"
A canoe-shaped flight craft with sleek bottom curves.
Like a boat, gliding stably through the sky.
Up close, part of the canoe had different wood tone.
They'd patched the section I removed for my broom.
Impressive, but bringing such a huge thing to the festival?
Then they spotted us and approached.
"Ian? You're flying a broom with three people?"
Roer clicked his tongue upon seeing me.
He'd seen me broom in the club, but three? Absurd.
"You brought that flight craft?"
"Obviously. Finally finished it thanks to someone."
Then Roer grinned wickedly.
Bad vibes.
"Guys. Let's take them down."
Roer told his team to attack us.
Shit. This crazy bastard.