Chapter 24
Chapter 24
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 24
Chapter Title: To Look Back, You Have to Stop☆ (1)
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It happened back in my first year, not long after I had enrolled.
The day after I’d gone to the Northern Wilderness to search for a randomly appearing dungeon gate, only to come back empty-handed.
In the end, I had returned to the academy after Hilde, who had successfully cleared the dungeon, handed me a single piece of Ether Ore.
-This is payment for fighting alongside me. So don't follow me around anymore.
The morning breeze at dawn was cool. As I walked through it, pushing my bicycle through the old main gate of Central Prism Academy, there were people waiting to greet me.
Three third-year seniors stood before the gate, bathed in the early morning sunlight. The only students attending Central Prism Academy rushed over to me with worried expressions.
“…!”
“Clara!”
“Goodness! How many days have you been gone?”
“Look at all the dust on your face!”
“Nina~ could you get a wet towel from the room~”
“Ehh… me again?”
“Hurry!”
“…”
The seniors had such ordinary faces that if I didn't see them for a few days, I'd struggle to remember them. Whenever I returned in my grimy state under the morning sun, they would try to wash my face with a handkerchief.
Then, looking at me, a wanderer who refused to wear the Central Prism Academy girls' uniform and only ever wore a tracksuit, the seniors would say:
“Clara, you’re so cute but so odd… always wandering around in a tracksuit.”
“…”
And so began a typical day at Central Prism Academy.
The three seniors would take my hand and walk with me through the shabby, unimpressive school grounds, chattering about trivial things.
They weren't particularly dedicated to their studies.
Nor were they engrossed in fighting.
They had no interest in the incidents and accidents happening in this academy city.
They were just…
Just truly ordinary students.
“…”
These must have been the seniors the ‘Clara’ from the game had admired.
『Yup―♪ They were really wonderful people☆ The memories from that time are still like jewels to me―☆』
“…”
They were people who would be gone in a year anyway.
And they weren't people who could help me become stronger.
So I rarely participated in their conversations.
Driven by the long-held desires of my past life, I was determined to grow stronger to prove myself. For me, the only true daily life was interacting with the future powerhouses and engaging in intense training.
‘…They sent me to this other world on their whim, so I’ll live on my own.’
Regardless of my thoughts, the girls chattered on.
“Listen! Yesterday, during the lunch broadcast from the United Student Council’s press club, there was a really touching story!”
“Aww… what a shame. I missed it because I was taking a nap yesterday.”
“Ugh… I keep entering their contest, why do I never get picked?”
“Nina, you always just write about food.”
“There’s no one who wouldn’t be happy eating all the pancakes they want…”
“Oh, you pig.”
“Ugh… so mean.”
“Honestly~! I was trying to tell you a touching story―!”
“When Frida tells a story, it always gets sidetracked and becomes boring.”
“…Heehee. Right, right… *yawn*.”
“*Yaaawn*…”
Was it true that yawning was contagious?
As they continued their conversation, the seniors let out a series of yawns.
“*Yawn*… Waking up early really is tiring…”
“Shh―!”
“…”
Frida glanced at me unconsciously and shushed her friends.
It seemed waking up early wasn't part of their usual routine.
Watching them, I realized the seniors had been waking up early to greet me.
‘…No wonder the laid-back seniors were always awake whenever I returned after being out all night. I thought it was strange.’
It wasn't that I suddenly felt a great affection for them. But I somehow felt sorry for them, waiting for my return every morning.
“…”
For the first time since enrolling, I joined their conversation. Fortunately or not… I was able to speak not in my own blunt tone, but in Clara's language, filtered through the Pretty Filter.
“Um… seniors☆”
“…Hm?”
“Huh?”
“Yeah?”
“Ahaha―☆ Um… you don't have to wait for me. If you're sleepy in the morning, you should get plenty of rest―☆ They say beauty sleep is important, you know―♪”
“…”
“…”
“…”
An icy silence.
For a moment, I regretted it internally.
‘…Should I not have said anything?’
Then, the three seniors’ eyes widened, and they all looked at each other and exclaimed.
“Clara finally spoke―!”
“Ahaha! That’s right! Sleep is important―!”
“Heehee…! Then should we all take a nap together!”
“I’m in~”
The seniors’ faces beamed as they grabbed my hands and tried to pull me along.
I said to them in a fluster.
“Um… seniors―☆ I think you misunderstood me☆”
“Hm?”
“I was saying you don’t need to wait for me…”
“What are you talking about!”
Frida said, grabbing both of my hands.
“We're your seniors! It's only natural for us to wait for our junior―!”
“…”
It's only natural to wait…
For some reason, I couldn't forget those words.
The warmth of their clasped hands, Frida's eyes shining in the morning sun, and the memory of us all napping together in the old classroom as a cool spring breeze blew through.
Just a little…
It was the memory of a day when I began to understand Clara's words, just a little.
***
“…”
Listening to the hum of the ether train passing outside the window, I was suddenly reminded of an old memory. A memory of a day when I crossed a dark plain like this one and returned to Central Prism Academy under the morning sun.
The view of the northern part of the academy city from the train window was pitch-black, as it was the middle of the night. In the darkness, only the massive branches of the World Tree, glowing faintly in the distance, distinguished the land from the sky.
The darkness had fallen.
The train, cutting through the silence of the night, was heading toward the vast Northern Wilderness.
*Clatter-clatter—*
“…”
“…”
“…”
The passenger car was quiet since the train had been chartered solely to transport Vel from the United Student Council and us. Under the dim indirect lighting, only the soft breathing of girls in red tracksuits could be heard.
*Haa—*
*Snore—*
We had rushed out of the academy in the middle of the night, grabbing only our gear while still in our tracksuits. The juniors, after listening to Vel’s story, had eventually succumbed to fatigue and the warmth of the cabin and fallen asleep.
Alvitt and Lotha were leaning against their seats, asleep with a sword and a wand respectively hanging from their waists. And Kara, partly due to her size and the size of the flag she brought, was occupying an entire group seat by herself.
The only ones awake in the cabin were me and Vel.
Of course, Vel was also still in her red tracksuit.
“…”
I glanced at my sleeping juniors, then my eyes met Vel’s, who was sitting in the opposite seat.
“…!”
Vel, who had been fidgeting nonstop due to the unexpected situation, awkwardly averted her gaze when our eyes met. Her black side-tail swished as she abruptly turned her head.
‘Is it because of her setting, the one about not crossing the line despite her persona… Separate from her desire to seem strong, she's surprisingly timid.’
It seemed she was embarrassed about having to ask for help from Central Prism Academy, a school that had nothing to do with this incident, even if it was an emergency.
Vel, her gaze fixed on the window, cleared her throat unnecessarily before speaking in a small voice.
“…We still have a long way to go. Why don't you get some sleep?”
“I heard such a thrilling story for the first time in a while♪ My heart’s pounding too much to sleep―☆”
“Ugh…! I told you I'm sorry…! I won't ask you to do anything dangerous, and I'll definitely repay you… so… please… just keep it a secret from the boss… please…”
“A girl's secret is expensive, you know―♪”
“Ugh… fine! What do you want!”
“Hmm? Can you handle it, I wonder~☆”
“Don't underestimate me, okay? There's so much the cute secretary of the United Student Council can do within the academy city!”
Vel put on a confident expression, but she couldn't hide the anxiety about her situation in her trembling red eyes.
Seeing this, I responded with a meaningful smile.
“Fufufu♪ In that case~ I'll have to ask for something very difficult and precious―☆”
“…”
“A very, very difficult and tricky request from a lady♪ Fufufu―☆ I wonder if you can handle it―♡”
“…”
Vel spoke in a slightly worried tone.
“…Even a cute secretary can't commit crimes, you know?”
“Fufufu―♪”
“H-Hey. You’re not serious, right?”
“Fufufufu―☆”
“W-What is it?! What are you going to make me do―?!”
“Just bring me a box of delicious cookies later―♪ And we can all have a meal together―☆ On you, of course☆”
“Hey, don't say it so ominously if it’s nothing―!!”
Vel’s shout was so loud it made her side-tail stick straight up. Because of it, the sleeping juniors in the next seats stirred and shifted.
“Mmm…”
“Sss…”
Vel flinched at the sight, then turned back to me and said in a small voice.
“…Don't tease me over nothing.”
“Hey now―☆ To us, it's a desperate plea☆”
“This is why you beggars are… Anyway, I can really do that much, so you promise not to tell the boss, right? Huh? Please…”
Her voice, which had been getting smaller, eventually became a whisper. But that small voice held an undeniable desperation.
“…?”
Though I had been teasing Vel, her overly dramatic reaction left me a bit bewildered.
Compared to the shamelessness the persona-addict had shown in the game, her attitude now seemed excessively servile. As an executive of the United Student Council, it wouldn't be that strange to request help from a member school.
‘Although the school she requested help from is the biggest beggar in the federation, which is a flaw.’
Putting aside the moral aspects, given that there was no time to go through Mimir Industrial High School, bringing us as reinforcements, people she was already acquainted with, could be seen as her doing her best.
‘Or is there some reason Hilde can’t find out.’
I didn't have to look far; Vel herself had mentioned the disciplinary wing. It seemed she had caused more trouble than what was shown in the game.
‘…Well, this whole mess did happen while she was visiting Central Prism Academy for a trivial reason.’
A person in charge who abandoned her post.
Considering the extent of Vel's current mistake, she could be compared to Ma Su, who had climbed a mountain for a better view.
‘She's in deep trouble.’
I nodded, recalling Hilde’s face, who was known for being strict with rules and principles. She was the type who would not only execute Ma Su with tears in her eyes but would also probably behead a hero for letting an enemy escape.
As I was lost in such thoughts, a strange ominous feeling made me look out the window.
“…!”
“…?”
Vel, suspicious of my expression, tilted her head and looked out the window as well. Then, as the state of the Northern Wilderness slowly came into view, she let out a groan.
“…Good heavens.”
“…Oh my☆”
Just then, the train's emergency announcement came on.
[…Attention all passengers. Due to an emergency situation on our route, this train will be making an emergency stop.]
[Please prepare for impact from the emergency stop in your seats.]
*Screeeeeeeech──*
The train slowly came to a halt with a blood-curdling metallic shriek.
The juniors, startled awake by the announcement, walked over to the window we were looking out of.
“Senior? What’s going on?”
“…Look over there.”
Lotha, who had nudged Alvitt in the ribs, pointed a slender finger at the window. As Alvitt looked out, the afterimage of a flickering flame from the horizon was reflected in her brown eyes.
“…!”
“…That’s.”
“You mean to say all that, filling the horizon… is all… flames?”
A grand display of countless flames, rising above the darkness of the night.
Though they appeared smaller than dots amidst the wavering inferno, numerous human figures could be seen moving about. They were truly like demons strolling through a hell made of fire. Amidst that baptism of flames scorching the horizon, I could almost hear a phantom echo of the noise of battle and destruction reaching all the way here.
And in the center of that hell.
A magenta-colored flame was burning vividly.
Beneath the shadow cast by the brilliant magenta flame, countless pieces of wreckage and the corpses of monsters shimmered.
Vel, realizing what that flame signified, let out a sigh.
“[The Crimson Trajectory]…”
“…”
The weird, sword-wielding, pyromaniac redhead.
She was out there, somewhere in the vast Northern Wilderness.
I recalled the face of one of my five old fighting friends, whom I hadn't seen in a long time.
-Hahaha!! Are you that simple-minded, brawling, fight-lover from the northeast of Academy City?
-Oh my―♪ I'd like to make a correction☆ I'm a lady from the *east*―☆ Though I do love a good fight―☆
In the past, she had seemed utterly pleased with my words, smiling and revealing her crooked teeth.