Chapter 76
Chapter 76
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 76
Chapter Title: Tomorrow Will Come☆ (2)
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Though called ``, it was, ironically… not exactly an environment conducive to diligent study.
This was because the world as I knew it was—
‘An otaku game made for watching high school girls have a good time, not a genuine high school life simulator.’
The academy city was always a whirlwind of chaos.
Whether it was the game-like systems, the mentions in the story, or my own experience living here… no matter how I looked at it, this place wasn't built for studying. For better or worse, the atmosphere was perfect for making memories of things other than schoolwork.
‘In the first place, this academy city wasn't founded to cultivate model students…’
Memories shared with friends under a clear sky.
Heart-pounding adventures and training to become stronger.
In a city overflowing with open-world content the moment you stepped out of the school gates, studying was truly a waste.
That was why, both in the main story and now, I could never understand Alvitt, who was so concerned with her grades, calling it a ‘student's duty.’
Well…
I was in a rather unique situation in many ways.
It wasn't just that I didn't think about life after graduation.
‘Clara was an orphan to begin with, so there’s no one to send a report card to… and I won't have time to worry about the outside world until I defeat the main story's final boss anyway.’
With those thoughts in mind, I looked down at the delinquent student caught in my arm-triangle choke. Her mouth hung open as she struggled desperately to escape.
“Hnngh…! H-help… me…! I’ll never come back…! Please…!”
“Upupu—! What do you take this lady for! I’m not going to kill you~☆”
“Hnngh… ugh…! Ugggh…!”
*Struggle, struggle.*
‘I’ve been here since my first year and I’ve never seen her face before. Did they drift in from somewhere else?’
The delinquent, drooling and lost in panic.
I wasn't even choking her with the intent to knock her out or kill her… but she was so terrified it was almost embarrassing for the one applying the technique.
“…Guh.”
“Uuugh…”
Shadows were revealed in the faint light of the dawn moon.
Dozens of her companions were also unconscious, having been neatly subdued by my holds. It was the result of gifting chops and dropkicks to the kids who had climbed over the school wall.
‘What’s all this at dawn? I haven’t seen any delinquent raids for a while… Hmm, I should probably just put them to sleep and send them back.’
In ``, trespassing was a serious crime.
This level of response was practically a housewarming party.
If I just brought out some black tea and macarons, it would be no different from entertaining guests.
Suddenly.
A laugh escaped me at how soft my heart had become.
‘Back in my `[The Pink Spiral]` days, I would’ve just unleashed a [Red Flower Darjeeling] without a second thought… Is it because I have more relationships now? I feel sorry for them, so I end up just using submission holds.’
This was true benevolence.
If Senior Frida saw me now, she would surely be proud. Was this not the mercy of the Spiral?
‘Oops, I should calm her down first.’
I slightly loosened my grip on her neck and spoke to the delinquent in the gentlest voice I could manage.
“Heehee—☆ First time in a submission hold? Breathe, just breathe! Inhale! Exhale! Like this!”
“Inhale… exhale…!”
“There, there—☆ Good girl~”
I patted the head of the cute robber girl with green-dyed hair. A musty smell wafted from it, likely from not having washed for a long time… but I didn't hold it against her.
Wasn't it just last month that I made Freyja cry by joking about her disheveled appearance? Humans were beings who learned from their mistakes.
‘We ended up getting along after all the ups and downs, but with the chaotic situation at her school lately, she seems busy, so I haven’t been able to call her much…’
Among the thousands of students at ``, the three hundred or so aristocratic students belonging to Frau's direct faction had ultimately become civilians and left the academy city as the price for offering up their `[Fate]`.
‘It’s only a portion of the total student body, but the problem is that they were the top 300 students… I heard the school’s very standing as an aristocratic institution could collapse.’
To be honest, I didn't know much about the power dynamics between prestigious high schools, so I just took it as it was. But I heard the chaos was still roiling the order of the Golden Street.
The remnants of the aristocratic faction who remained because they refused the serpent tattoo.
The ordinary students who fled a battle that had nothing to do with them.
The research faction, too busy studying newly discovered magic to care.
The Golden Street, bustling with the aftermath of dealing with so many students.
Unlike the surrounding schools, which were watching the fire from across the river, the center of `` was in a very complicated situation, according to Hilde.
‘She also said `` is only maintaining this level of order thanks to Freyja holding things down for her school…’
Freyja's devotion, having fallen into despair over her `[Fate]` only to rise again.
“…”
Thinking of her, I looked back at the delinquent student in my grasp.
“…”
“Hnnngh…!”
This green-haired delinquent was surely a little songbird who had escaped her cage in search of a freedom more important than final exams.
‘Don't tease her, be as gentle as possible…’
I continued to pat the green-haired delinquent girl as I spoke.
“You also think it’s a waste to spend your teenage years just studying, right? Yes♪ Or am I the only one who thinks that…☆ A girl free-spirited enough to sneak into another school would surely agree with me~♡”
“Y-yes…! You’re right…! You’re…! A hundred times right, Senior…!”
“Yes! Good girl~! But☆ freedom is nice and all, but should you be entering other people’s schools without permission? Yes or no?”
She shouted with all her might.
“No!! Never!! Absolutely!! I’ll never come in again!!”
“Very good~☆ Now, time for night-night—♪ Sweet dreams~☆”
“…Huh?”
I applied a bit of pressure to my arm, compressing her carotid artery. Thanks to the delicate control of my power, enhanced with aether manipulation, she struggled for a moment before going limp.
“…”
I laid the listless, green-haired girl down next to her friends, then fetched a large tarp from the warehouse and covered them with it.
“Mmm…”
“Umm…”
The grimy kids sleeping soundly looked as cute as babies. Still, just in case they suddenly woke up and went wild, I gently rolled the tarp, turning them into something like a sushi roll.
*Roll, roll, roll—*
The thirty or so delinquents were now bundled together like a giant sushi roll. And the dawn, slowly brightening beyond the horizon, enveloped the magnificent sight.
A giant, shining sushi roll.
A magnificent shape, gleaming as if it had been brushed with sesame oil.
I smiled wryly as I patted the heads of the children inside the giant roll. They were still dead to the world.
“Phew—☆ It’s a bit of an awkward time to go back to sleep♪”
In the end…
I passed the time by stretching and checking on my body, which had recovered enough to smoothly use everything up to `[Wave Aether]`… even `[Blue Sweet Macaron]`.
“…”
Then, I suddenly remembered something I had forgotten.
Today was the last test of the semester… the final exams.
“Ah, I didn't study for the finals at all—☆”
…
Whatever.
There are many things in this world more important than studying.
“…Yup♪”
Heroes don't do things like study…☆
*
When Alvitt woke up at dawn, we dismantled the delinquent sushi roll and sent them on their way. Then, after washing up and changing, we headed to the final exam location.
The `United Student Council`’s administrative office had been designated as the exam site. A noticeable newsletter was posted there.
[Tragedy on the Golden Street… What is the Responsibility of the United Student Council President?]
[With Complete Control Finally in Hand, What is the Next Move for ``…]
[Announcement from the ``: “Each School’s Summer Vacation Festivals Will Proceed as Normal at Their Discretion…”]
“…”
“Senior!”
A hand clamped down on my shoulder as I was reading the newsletter.
It was Alvitt, who still hadn't abandoned her passion for academics.
“Senior, we have to go in now. You’re not thinking of skipping the exam, are you?”
“Ahaha…☆ Heroes don’t do things like study…☆”
“What are you talking about! The Golden Witch studied hard, you know!”
I gave Lotha’s cat ear a playful bite for her impertinent remark. I rolled my tongue over the pink earlobe, nuzzling her while making silly noises.
“Mmm~☆ I see! Nuzzle nuzzle, nom nom nom…!”
“Whaaa—?! Oook—!?”
Lotha let out a sound a girl should never make.
Alvitt, horrified, tried to intervene. She waved her hands frantically, trying to separate me and Lotha.
“Stop it, Senior!! Everyone’s staring!!”
“Heehee, isn't this also a sort of revolution regarding perceptions of public spaces?”
“What kind of nonsense are you spouting now?!”
In the end, unable to withstand Alvitt's nagging, Kara picked up the twitching Lotha and carried her away.
Thus, we entered the rooms assigned to our respective grades and received our test papers.
When I entered the spacious room, I saw other students who were here to complete their final exams, just like those from ``. Their uniforms were unfamiliar even to me, a native of the eastern district. They seemed to be students from smaller schools.
The sound of students breathing, thick with tension.
I chuckled as I wrote my name on the test paper. The white was paper, and the black was text. In other words, I couldn't understand a single thing.
‘…So this is my last academic activity of the first semester.’
I quickly moved my pen, filled in the sheet, and submitted it to the dwarf administrative staff. Then I stretched right where I stood.
“Mmm, perfect—☆”
Of course, I just guessed on everything.
Five minutes after entering the exam room,
I had submitted all my test papers with only my name written on them, being the first one to finish.
Even in ``, where academics were often neglected, this was quite an extraordinary act.
“…!”
“…!”
Receiving looks of awe from the third-year students from other schools taking the test in the same room, I walked out into the hallway like a hero.
*Pose!*
I gave them a silent thumbs-up and walked toward the dazzling light.
*
“…”
But I had finished way too early.
My juniors, surprisingly, seemed to be taking the test seriously.
‘My word, even the revolution-obsessed Kara? Am I really the only one who’s given up on studying?’
How astonishing.
Is it because they’re the main characters of the story?
“…”
In the end, I sat on a nearby bench, blankly observing the students and dwarves passing by.
If you activate your cognitive abilities and watch the streets, you can feel the flow of the crowd like a wave. I spent my time just staring blankly at those countless waves.
“…?”
For some reason, a familiar presence approached from the tide of people. But due to the lingering effects of my daze, I found it too bothersome to look up and acknowledge them first, so I kept my gaze fixed.
“Oh? `[Spiral]`?”
“…?”
Who was that?
Who called me `[Spiral]`?
I lifted my head to look…
And there stood a disheveled Eir, waving at me. Even in this hot summer, she was still dressed in a black mask and a black coat.
“Long time no see.”
“Long time…☆”
But aren't you hot?