Chapter 77
Chapter 77
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 77
Chapter Title: Tomorrow Will Come☆ (3)
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“Phew—! It’s hot!”
“…”
The perfunctory greeting ended in an instant.
Eir slung the spine-like sword from her back, set it down, and plopped onto the bench beside me. Up close, her grimy appearance was even more noticeable.
Her black coat and the red uniform reminiscent of flames gave off a faint smell of sweat, and there was no telling how many days her long, crimson hair had gone unwashed.
‘If you’re hot, you should take off the coat… Is not washing the new trend in Academy City? First the delinquent students, and now this. Things feel a bit chaotic.’
Eir rarely ventured far from her school. It was also concerning that she had come all this way to the northeast district, far from Scarlet Academy in the north, all by herself.
Unable to contain my curiosity, I spoke to Eir, who was exuding a gentle aroma of perspiration.
“Since you’re here—☆ You came to take the final exams, right?”
“Huh? Oh, yeah… That’s right. This was the only place I could drop by and take the test. Well, I didn't know anything, so I just guessed on all the answers and left.”
I see.
Truly my sister, my friend.
A hero does not concern herself with studying.
‘But I don’t think I saw Eir in the exam hall…’
It seemed Eir was assigned to a different exam hall than I was. But even so, it was strange for her to come all this way to take the test.
“Oh my☆ As far as I know, there’s a separate administrative office in the northern district—☆ And if the student council president of Scarlet Academy like you comes this far, won’t the little babies at your school cry for you~☆”
“…”
“If something happened that brought you all this way~ you’re welcome to come rest at Central Prism Academy—☆ We’re sister schools now, after all♪”
“…”
Seeing as she didn't deny it when I casually mentioned us being sister schools, it seemed our promise to think of each other as sisters was still valid.
‘Though she’s a bit rough around the edges, the school that truly suits my heart more than any other is… Scarlet Academy, so I am quite happy.’
The school of warriors.
The passionate farewell from the students of Scarlet Academy still lingered in my heart. The fervor in their stomping feet and shouts was etched deep within me.
Even though we parted in such a solemn atmosphere,
all due to a misunderstanding.
‘I should probably clear up that misunderstanding soon…’
I wanted to help if Scarlet Academy was in any sort of trouble. With that sentiment, I subtly extended the invitation to Eir.
Eir’s eyes widened, and she blinked a few times before letting out a chuckle. The shark-like teeth visible between her pink lips were quite striking.
“Heheheh… Those kids from my school, well… you don’t have to worry about them. It’s about time for those rascals to pick their new leader, so I have to make myself scarce now and then, right? There's already one promising candidate, though.”
“Ah~☆ I see… Then why come all this way…?”
“…”
Eir didn’t answer for a while. But soon, she looked up at the sky and replied in a cheerful tone.
“Just as I vowed that day, to reach the state beyond Unique Ether… I felt like I had to push myself to the limit. So I’ve been wandering around, adapting to dungeons and environments I’ve never been to before. Heh heh.”
“Heeh…☆”
“Wandering around on my own like that, I ended up here. And since I was here, I took the test. Heheh… though I guessed on everything.”
“Hooo…☆”
“Anyway… changing my perspective in various ways has shown me where I need to go, so I’m running towards it.”
“Ooooh…☆”
I couldn’t help but let out a sound of admiration.
‘She instinctively figured out the correct path to Apex…’
A state of selflessness.
The stage of transcending the Unique Ether that creates one’s own world, and moving on to perfectly completing a world that is solely one's own.
To explain it in game terms.
It’s the completion of a character's growth, where their experience points are maxed out to the point that they are no longer swayed by external factors.
‘Hilde and I reached our limits through PVP experience.’
Freyja awakened through a boss battle.
And Eir was in the process of awakening through diverse experiences and adventures.
“Mm-hm.”
Eir nodded her head proudly and said.
“Still, coming out this far has given me some unique experiences. Last night, some delinquents who didn't recognize me picked a fight, so I taught them a lesson… Heheh, it’s been a while, you know? Guys like that, daring to challenge me. After I beat them up, they abandoned their hideout and ran off to some faraway corner.”
“…”
A sudden intuition flashed through my mind. For some reason, her words reminded me of the savory scent of green hair.
“By any chance, did they have green hair?”
“Oh, are they famous?”
“Not really…☆”
I see.
The gang of green-haired robbers who became a giant kimbap roll…
So they got beaten up by two different people in one night…?
No wonder they were so terrified.
“…”
Well… in any case.
It was a relief that there didn't seem to be any particular problems with Eir or Scarlet Academy.
“…”
“…”
We sat there blankly, observing the passersby. With senses more acute than others, the street, with its countless people passing by and making their presence known, was like a magnificent fountain show to us.
“…”
“…”
A comfortable silence continued for a while.
‘…I should probably clear up the misunderstanding.’
Eir was all smiles, happy to be talking to someone after a long time.
Though she was a student from the rough slums, her true nature was good and high-spirited.
I couldn’t let her, who showed me a friendship deep enough to call me ‘sister,’ continue to be mistaken.
I spoke cautiously to Eir.
“Hey.”
“Yeah?”
“…I’m all better from back then, and I can use my Ether now—☆ Actually, I could use my Unique Ether back then, too♪ The Faded Spiral was a lie…”
“Oh, was that so? No wonder. You’re a good actor.”
“…?”
…?
I was more taken aback by her incredibly nonchalant attitude.
I wasn’t expecting her to pout for a couple of hours like Hilde, but… I thought there would be some kind of reaction.
—Lara, why did you lie to me?
—Hnng…! W-wait…! The nape of my neck is a bit…♪
—Lara, Lara… I must punish naughty Lara.
‘That day, Hilde only forgave me after I gave her five pecks on the cheek… and she kept picking strangely suggestive places…’
I was almost curious about what kind of sensibility Hilde possessed to demand such things even after knowing what I truly was.
Anyway…
Hearing the same truth, Eir was surprisingly calm.
“I see. So what?”
“…”
Eir yawned widely as if bored by the long story and cleaned her ear. After blowing the dust away, she grinned, revealing her shark-like teeth.
“Heheheh… When the sentiment has already been conveyed, I don’t see why the truth matters. Do you always live like this?”
“…”
“Spiral, you must not know because you’ve never been to the slums, but explaining something to a student from Scarlet Academy for more than 10 minutes is forbidden. Got it?”
“Heehee…☆ You just talked for more than 10 minutes yourself—☆”
Eir frowned at my counterattack and shook her head. Then, as if she didn’t want to hear any more, she shouted loudly.
“Ah, you’re noisy! Anyway! I’m going to defeat The Azure-White Lightning Spear at the fighting festival this fall and become the strongest in Academy City! I’ve decided! So I have to hurry and go beyond Unique Ether—!!”
A roar, with both hands stretched to the sky.
Because of it, passersby flinched and stared,
then recoiled in shock upon recognizing the screamer's appearance and title.
I let out a dry laugh at the sight.
‘Does Eir not know that Hilde has already reached the stage beyond Apex… the stage of ‘Weapon True Name Release’?’
Gungnir.
The weapon that held Hilde’s Destiny.
Weapon True Name Release.
Unlike ‘Apex,’ it was a temporary name based on a game system term, but Hilde had clearly advanced one step further than the rest of us… students who were still stuck at ‘Apex.’
‘The difference between characters who have only maxed out their body level and limit-break characters whose exclusive weapon levels are also rising…’
I couldn’t help but smile wryly at Eir’s actions, unaware of this fact. Without her knowing, her goal had taken a step back.
I decided to tell Eir about the growth Hilde and Freyja had achieved.
“Ahaha…☆ Well, you see…”
***
In the end, Eir decided to stay at Central Prism Academy for the night.
Alvitt’s group, who had diligently finished their exams, flinched upon seeing her.
“Gah?! The Crimson Trajectory?! Why?!”
“Ahaha…☆”
“Yeah. It’s me.”
A silence followed.
“…”
“…”
“…”
But they soon regained their composure with minds forged like steel. They had been through too much in the past semester to be surprised by every little thing.
Alvitt calmed her initial surprise and muttered.
“Well… I’m used to members of The Five Colors popping up out of nowhere now…”
“To be surprised… we’ve already seen three of The Five Colors, have we not…?”
“And they were the strongest from the biggest school and the second-biggest school… plus, the person we live with every day is also a former strongest…”
Alvitt shouted, as if struck by a revelation.
“Is there any reason for us to be surprised by seeing one of The Five Colors at this point?!”
“There is not.”
“I don’t think so.”
“Then let’s welcome Eir!”
“I agree.”
“Agreed.”
And so, the juniors welcomed their surprise guest, Eir.
The guest reception protocol had become second nature.
We took her dirty clothes to a tailor shop to be laundered and gave her a tracksuit to wear. Then we opened the shower room for her and helped her get washed up.
The shower room of Central Prism Academy.
A powerful stream of water gushed from the recently repaired ether pump. There, Eir stood naked, letting the falling droplets hit her.
“Damn it…! Raaaargh—!! How could this be…! M-Me, ranked below that nerdy cat…?! So now, below the Lightning Spear, it’s not the Trajectory… but the Spindle…? No, that can’t be…!”
Actually, the one receiving pecks from Hilde was me, not Freyja… but I didn’t think I needed to tell her that.
She was shouting so loudly.
It could even be heard from the dormitory cafeteria.
*Twitch*
The orange cat ears moved every time a loud noise was heard.
“…?”
Lotha, wearing an apron and preparing dinner, tilted her head. But she soon dismissed it and resumed her busy work, adding ingredients to the pot.
Alvitt and Kara had taken over the errands I used to run in the shopping district. They had become the new mascots of the district and were adored by everyone.
‘The juniors have completely settled into their own routines now, and they even go on dungeon expeditions boldly…’
Everything was falling into place.
Everyone was growing.
And all misunderstandings were slowly being cleared away.
“Heehee…☆”
I smiled, feeling a sense of pride.
We were now moving forward with sincere hearts.
***
A blade was pointed at my neck.
“D-Don’t move!! If you don’t want to see this p-pink-haired girl get hurt!!”
“…?”
“…?”
“…?”
Oh, it’s been a while. Time to play the ‘hiding my true power’ card.