Chapter 21
Chapter 21
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 21
Chapter Title: Fates Changing Like Meringue Cookies☆ (1)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The northern district of the Academy City.
A barren land beyond the reach of the major schools of the Union. It was a lawless zone, home to madmen from the slums and delinquents who had given up on the Academy City's rules.
In this dangerous territory, rules did not exist. It was a place where the strong simply plundered everything from the weak, and the weak begged the strong for mercy as a matter of course.
A wind thick with gritty grains of sand.
The faint roar of battle echoing from beyond the ruins.
A place where everything vanished and changed as ephemerally as dust.
In those northern wastelands, several delinquents lay unconscious.
A gang of delinquents who had coveted the spoils of a suddenly appeared dungeon gate. Every one of them was knocked out, bearing bruises from some kind of beating.
Following the path made of unconscious delinquents led to a massive dungeon gate. Dozens of meters high, an ether core for operating the dungeon glowed at the very top of a stone slab engraved with a white serpent and a tree.
Flash—!
A blinking blue light.
It was a sign that someone had succeeded in the first exploration, where the highest-grade ores, grimoires, and advanced weapons could be obtained.
Before long, the light of the ether core slowly faded. At the same time, the dungeon gate, having disgorged all its treasures, became a mere pocket dimension inhabited only by chaos fiends.
Ruuuumble...!
The two doors of the dungeon gate moved with a great noise.
Thud.
Thud.
A female student walked out from the slowly opening dungeon gate.
In one hand, she held a box containing the dungeon's treasures—the very things the unconscious delinquents had so desperately wanted. And in her other hand, she gripped a massive lance.
“…”
Her hair, which should have been silver, was coated in the dust of the northern wastes, turning it ashen. It was matted and soaked with the sticky blood of the chaos fiends from inside the dungeon.
“…”
Her hair, her face, her uniform.
All of it was shabby, stained with dust and blood.
But her two silver-white eyes still shone with a piercing light.
Scraape—
Scraape—
The lance held by the disheveled, silver-haired girl dragged along the ground, carving a clear line.
But it wasn't long before her path out of the dungeon gate and into the wasteland was blocked.
“There she is!!”
“…”
Reinforcements for the delinquents the silver-haired girl had defeated just before entering the dungeon had arrived.
A mob of dozens of delinquents, armed with vicious, modified weapons. They were panting heavily, as if they had rushed here. In an instant, they surrounded the silver-haired girl.
Swarm—
“…”
Completely surrounded on the open wasteland.
“...Move.”
Despite this, the silver-haired girl's eyes still shone piercingly. Without a change in expression, she quietly set down the heavy box she held in one hand.
Thuuud—!
At the same time.
The lance she held was instantly enveloped in red ether, and it began to emit an eerie vibration that resonated through the area.
Thrum—
Thrum—
Thrum—
Thrum—
Hearing the sound, the delinquents' faces went pale.
“Isn't—isn't she a first-year?! How can she already use [Vibration Ether] like that—?!”
“Not even Gjallarhorn or the third-year department heads can use it like that!!”
“Dammit, there's no one among us who can use it that well...!!”
“D-don't be scared!! She's still just one person!! At best, it's just [Vibration]...!”
At that moment.
The rapidly vibrating ether from the lance spread outwards.
Fwoooosh—!
It moved at a very slow speed, but the silver-haired girl's red ether was undeniably taking control of the area.
The girl's range.
The ability to dominate a space.
Everything about those gathered there was being laid bare.
This situation meant only one thing.
That silver-haired girl, a freshman who had only recently enrolled, had reached the state of [Pulse], a level used only by the top powerhouses in the Academy City.
Realizing this, the delinquents despaired.
“P... Pulse...”
“…”
“D-dammit...!”
Fear spread through the air.
But as the shout of their leader rang out, the slowly spreading fear came to a halt.
“Don't be scared—!! She's still alone!!”
The delinquents roared, asserting their numerical superiority, as if trying to drive out the fear growing in their chests.
“...That's right!!
“...She's alone!! All alone!! What are you afraid of!!”
“...!”
“R-right! If dozens of us all stab her at once, you think she can block it with that crappy ether trick?!”
“This is our territory!! We can't survive if we're scared of one girl like her!!”
“We live in the lawless zone!! We've beaten odds like this countless times!!”
“Uwaaaah!!”
“Aaaaargh!! Charge—!!”
Roooar—!
Dozens of delinquents let out monstrous yells. Driving the fear from their hearts, they charged into the range of the silver-haired girl who had invaded their domain.
...Just as the fight was about to begin.
“Everyone, get her at on—!”
WHAAAM—!!
The delinquent vanished into the distance in an instant. He was sent flying by a red bicycle before he could even finish shouting his orders from the front.
Ch-ring—☆
“Hiyah☆”
Riding the deep red bicycle was a female student with impressive pink hair. And on her red tracksuit, a badge signifying she was a first-year sparkled.
“Heeey—☆ Move it, move it☆ Cute bicycle coming through, ring-a-ling—☆”
Screeech—!
Her pink hair swayed.
She skillfully maneuvered the bicycle, stopping next to the silver-haired girl.
“Hiii—☆”
“...Hah.”
Seeing the pink-haired girl on the bicycle, the surrounded silver-haired girl's blank expression finally broke. What appeared on her face was a look of utter exasperation.
The silver-haired girl spoke in a low voice.
“...There's nothing for you to take here, Clara. You're the one who said the spoils from a dungeon gate belong to whoever searches it first.”
“Oh, Brynhildr, really—☆ No need to be so wary, like a cornered little kitten! Though that aloofness is part of your charm☆ I don't need things like grimoires or weapons, since I wander around alone without any school affiliation~♡ I'm just a proud, lonely girl who gets by with her bare fists—☆”
“Then what do you want.”
“Hmm—♪ I wonder? What could I possibly need... Shall we find out over a leisurely tea time together?”
“Get lost. You're in the way.”
“So mean—☆ Okay, okay! I'll tell you—☆ Just give me a few ether ores~ Even a cute girl needs money to eat delicious cookies♪ in a warm room—☆ If I go back empty-handed, I'll be stuck sleeping in a shabby old room—♪”
“I earned these.”
“Hmph! You're awful—☆ Was our relationship really so shallow—?! Unlike you, who gets to go back to a comfy bed at Aesir Girls' High School, I'm stuck at a poor, weird school...!”
“...Mention my school one more time, and I'll take you down too.”
“Hah—☆ Go ahead and try! Shall we continue our 11th fight since the entrance ceremony—♪ A cute girl doesn't go down easy, you know☆”
The gang of delinquents, startled by the sudden appearance of the pink-haired girl, faltered. But soon realizing the two were not allies, they began to charge again, screaming.
“They're fighting each other for the loot—!! Everyone, attack!!”
“Uwaaaaaah!!!”
“Dieeee!!!”
Countless blades.
Dozens of projectiles.
The charging delinquents.
Shwoooom—!
Shiiing!!
The killing intent radiating from the weapons covered in red ether was menacing.
Just before they brought their weapons down.
The pink and silver-white eyes flashed.
From fist and lance, they each unleashed a pulse of red ether.
Thruuummm—!!
The ranges of the two girls merged and expanded in an instant. Within that overwhelming space, the two girls were still chattering away.
“First...! Let's teach these bad kitties a lesson, and then we can redefine our relationship—☆”
“...We've only known each other for a month. We have no relationship.”
“No, no—☆”
The girl's pink eyes, looking straight ahead, crinkled into a smile.
“...We're going to be eternal rivals—♪”
“…”
Seeing that smile, the silver-haired girl was, for the first time, unable to retort.
Oncoming spears and swords.
Raging ether.
A place filled with killing intent and hostility.
Taaah—!!
Kwaaang—!!
The two girls, their fist and lance glowing red, charged toward the dozens of rushing figures.
***
‘...I should have stocked up on grimoires and weapons back when I was running dungeons then.’
Before the school grounds as dawn broke.
On the path, walking my bicycle in.
I sighed quietly, recalling old memories.
A stormy and stressful period.
A time when I cared nothing for school, the Academy City, or friends.
A time when I wandered outside to forget the harsh environment I'd been given.
It was a feeling of compensating for the emptiness of suddenly being isekai'd as the weakest character by making myself stronger.
Overcoming the hopeless weapon aptitude of ‘Clara,’ I focused solely on becoming stronger on my own. I went around conquering randomly generated dungeon gates that had nothing to do with the main story.
I paid no mind to the main story, instead using all my knowledge and exploits as a gamer to monopolize dungeons and grow strong quickly.
But unlike a game with a status window, there was a physical limit to what my Red Hare could carry, so I would only take as much ore as I needed and leave the weapons and grimoires behind.
“...Haaah.”
I sighed again, regretting the waste.
I should have kept a few to give to my juniors...
‘Back then, I was more focused on just getting stronger myself than on raising other juniors and preparing for the main story. It’s a good thing I still have some of the ores I stockpiled.’
Perhaps it was an act born of resentment, that in the body of the weakest character ‘Clara,’ I couldn't fight properly without using exploits.
‘Hilde was a character with ridiculously high base strength from the start, so she could carry all her loot around in a box, but...’
I let out a dry laugh, remembering the absurd box Hilde used to carry around.
But until I unlocked my [Unique Ether], my overall physical abilities weren't as good as they are now. All I had were the exploits and knowledge that came from knowing this world and its characters inside and out.
And so.
I grew strong, all by ‘myself.’
Defeating the powerhouses of the past, I finally beat Hilde, the strongest character.
“…”
In that process, I realized I had come to love not only ‘getting stronger,’ but the Academy City itself.
But I was left with nothing.
Because I had used up all my knowledge on ‘getting stronger.’
Because I had walked a twisted path, aiming only to become powerful.
Because I became The Pink Spiral and abandoned even the destiny of ‘Clara the idiot senior.’
“…”
So I threw everything away and started building it all up again from scratch.
The destiny of Clara, the pink-haired girl who loves her school. To start that over from the very beginning, The Pink Spiral chose to be forgotten.
Because all I could do for this city I'd come to love was run toward the main story with my meager knowledge.
“…”
I thought I had shaken off all my regrets in that final confrontation.
The selfishness and impulsive actions carved into the past. That karma would sometimes visit me in the silence, wearing the mask of old memories.
‘Maybe it's because I saw someone use [Pulse Ether] for the first time in a while.’
Vel, the secretary of the United Student Council.
The news that ill-natured try-hard delivered.
It signified a change in the flow of the main story.
Fate had been distorted.
“…”
Even so...
If a set destiny has been distorted.
Then I, who have grown stronger, just have to put it back on its original path.
‘I accepted ‘Clara’s’ heart to do just that.’
It was then.
As I passed through the campus gate and crossed the athletic field, the voices of my three juniors reached my ears.
“...Oh! Senior!”
“We have returned from the shopping district! Comrade Senior!”
“Yaaawn...”
My juniors, who had been cleaning the newly repaired auditorium since early in the morning. They were huddled together, wearing the same red tracksuits of Central Prism Academy as me.
Alvitt was cleaning diligently, as always.
Kara was making exaggerated gestures, pretending to give a speech.
Lotha, who must have been reading late into the night, yawned repeatedly.
Alvitt came up to me, pointed at Kara, and let out a stream of complaints.
“Senior! That girl was banging away in her room making something until dawn, and I couldn't get any sleep because of it!”
“Hahaha!! Ah, Comrade Alvitt! Were you curious about what I was making? If you had told me sooner, I would have shown you!”
“I'm not curious, I'm telling you to be quiet at night!”
“...I thought I heard something late last night.”
“Comrade Lotha! Are you curious too?”
“No.”
“How cruel! Such a sharp, one-word answer!”
“I think the cruel one is the person hammering in the middle of the night.”
Soon, the athletic field of Central Prism Academy grew noisy.
A smile escaped me as I watched them.
‘In the original story, Alvitt never consulted Clara about anything.’
It seemed that even if I continued my 'Clara act,' a small part of Alvitt's heart still wanted to rely on her senior.
“…”
It's a little different from the game.
Somehow, this changed ‘destiny’... wasn't so bad.
I couldn't help but laugh.
“Pfft... Ahahahaha—♪”
“S-Seniooor—! Don't just laugh!”
We spent the rest of the day until evening chatting while looking at the mysterious flag Kara had made.
And that evening.
That try-hard showed up at the school again.
“Y-y-you guys—!! After I helped you so much!! Traitors—!!”
“...?”