Chapter 81
Chapter 81
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 81
Chapter Title: For Tomorrow☆ (1)
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A fortnight had passed since the incident in the wastelands.
Of course, a mere wink wasn't enough to earn Hilde's forgiveness. We settled on a punishment of "mischief," something less severe than a full-body apology while naked.
*Crackle*
*Crackle*
"Hiii…☆"
It involved her fingers, imbued with the power of her Ether Skill, [Grimnir], tracing over my entire body. I was to accept it in a formal sitting position, without resisting with my own Ether control.
That was the "mischief" she had proposed.
"Ughhh…☆ Ooooh…☆"
"This is just the beginning. Feel it more."
"Hnngghh…☆ Nnghhaaa…☆"
Hilde's anger-fueled electric massage.
Even now, just thinking about it sent a tingling sensation down my neck and stomach. The more I felt that subtle, push-and-pull sensation, the more it felt like I was approaching an unknown door.
'Such a strange sensation to feel in Clara's body…'
At one point, I tried to reject it.
At another, I thought I had adapted.
I accepted it as the price for making Hilde worry, but…
In the end, I still hadn't completely conquered the unknown sensations of 'Clara's' body. After the "mischief," I had to stumble out from a secluded spot, trembling like a newborn deer.
Eir, the students from , and Alvitt's group all shook their heads as they watched me stagger out.
"Good grief… To think the strongest students in the Academy City are in such a state…"
"Senior's eyes are rolling back in a disgraceful way, and she's making weird gestures with both hands…"
"..."
Recalling that moment again, I sighed with shame and emptiness.
'What's even more embarrassing is… I was happy Hilde ran to me out of worry, and when she stopped the 'mischief,' I felt a little disappointed…'
Oh, heavens.
Heavens…
I'm acting just like a female in heat.
'I'm such a classic pinky…'
I knew it.
I was no longer the □□□ from my past life. I was just 'Clara'.
The faded memories of the past had scattered like dandelion seeds, only to bloom again as a pink flower… I had become a different being.
I… am completely 'Clara' now.
'Still, I never thought I'd become such a pushover pinky…'
One moment I'm clinging to her, all "I like you, I like you," and the next… she's pushing forward relentlessly, and I can't even stammer out a refusal, just end up exploring new territories.
It was also my fault for getting swept up in her momentum after we had clumsily confirmed our feelings for each other.
'Besides, Hilde was my favorite character even back in my past life.'
On top of that, even after becoming 'Clara', the person I'd thought about most since my first year was now pursuing me so actively… It wasn't an entirely bad feeling.
But.
But…
Something felt… incomplete.
To be precise, it wasn't the 'ideal romance' I had imagined… not that I ever had a proper relationship in my past life.
"..."
Somehow… I thought that if I were to fall in love with her again, we would overcome many hardships and trials together, and I would dramatically reclaim my feelings for her.
But reality consisted of a few uninteresting incidents, and in the end, I found myself fully accepting Hilde as my partner.
The catalyst was ordinary.
The process was clumsy.
And the conclusion was dull.
So the conclusion I reached—
I liked the Hilde who affirmed me, no matter what form I took.
No matter what, Hilde never felt wrong to me.
I didn't dislike the affection we shared.
Her touch didn't feel unpleasant.
The fact that I could talk with her, be with her, made me happy.
Conclusion: 'I', even as 'Clara', still love 'Hilde'.
Our time may have been turned back,
but our connection had been there since we first met.
"..."
Just admitting that alone… made so many of my worries feel pointless.
'This feeling of being completely conquered after just a few conversations and a bit of skinship… What is this.'
Maybe the "manly" part of my heart was a pretty easy guy to begin with? Or had I been beating around the bush with this simple heart, just looking for an excuse?
Anyway.
We were both pretty easy, it seems.
Realizing that, I hung my head, even though I was sitting all alone in the quiet campsite.
"Sigh, love is—☆"
I tried my best to wrangle the memories that were trying to seep out. Sitting on a chair under the shade of a tree, I gazed at the slightly open dungeon gate in the distance.
A stone structure engraved with a white serpent and a tree.
It was a surprise event dungeon that appeared in the middle of the main story.
My juniors were currently training hard inside.
'I wonder if the kids are doing well…'
This place was a few hours away from .
Of course, the shoddy game UI had shown its general location on the minimap. I had relied on my memory, searching for several days, but I eventually found it, and now it served as a farming spot for my juniors.
"..."
Come to think of it.
That snake carving… and the increasing frequency of dungeon gates appearing as the main story progresses…
This world had many strangely profound aspects. I often wondered who had put the treasures in there in the first place.
"..."
Thinking about it now, my memories of the game didn't 'completely' explain this world.
After all, wasn't the 'Prophet' I was so wary of an outsider who came from beyond the game?
As if agreeing with that thought,
an orange cat let out a cry.
"Meeeoow—!"
The magic that materializes 'dreams and stories' had become completely familiar to me now… In the game, this was a skill that only Lotha could use with the help of [The Golden Witch].
But [The Golden Witch] had found her rest and disappeared, and fairy tale magic had become a new research topic for the students of the inquiry faction.
"..."
Just as I had become Clara.
This world was also changing.
Its 'original form' no longer existed here.
'Did the Prophet… also lose his original form in this world and turn into something else?'
I picked up the cat, which faintly smelled of Lotha, and whispered into its ear.
"Do you know? I'm not so sure—☆"
"Meeeoow—!"
"Hm? Oh, are you talking about that one?"
"Meeow…!"
"I know☆ I was just leaving it be to see what it would do—♪"
"Meeeow?"
"But… yeah, it doesn't seem like much—☆"
"Meeeoow!!"
"Alright, alright☆ Let's kill it—☆"
As expected of Lotha's familiar.
We're on the same wavelength.
"Meeeooow~"
*Fwoosh—!*
The orange cat transformed into a giant spear in my hands, and without hesitation, I spun it once and hurled it into the distance.
"[Blue Sweet Macaron]—!!"
Ether control of a weapon, now a familiar sensation.
An orange straight line was instantly etched across space.
A flash of destruction.
*Shwaaaaa—!!*
The cat-engraved spear created countless ripples in the air, piercing through the wall of air and breaking the sound barrier.
Hundreds of rings carrying its aftershock advanced toward the single being hiding in the forest.
*Thud!*
*Thud!*
*Thud!*
Countless trees and plants were caught in the storm of destruction and scattered.
*KRA-BOOOOOM—!!*
The sound arrived a moment later.
And with it, countless flocks of birds scattering.
The sound of their flapping wings tangled chaotically.
*Flutter—!*
"..."
Its power might now rival that of [Pink Lemon Sherbet].
With a single attack, I had annihilated everything in a path dozens of meters long.
*Creeeak…!*
With the sound of slowly falling trees behind me,
I approached the 'thing' impaled by my spear.
"...Cough!"
A giant of a man with huge dragon horns.
The Apostle was trembling, pierced by the spear. This guy had been watching us since yesterday but had shown no sign of contacting anyone or trying to escape.
"Well now♪ When were you summoned, little one? [Priest of Corrosion]? Or [Priest of Conflict]? Oh, don't tell me you were sent by *that* 'Prophet'?"
"..."
"Or do you remember anything from your time as a chaos bug? If you do, will you tell me—☆ Tell me what happened 1500 years ago—☆"
"..."
On the off chance that the Prophet had received some information from Ófnir, I threw out some potentially confusing bait.
But all the man did was utter a prim line, like a captured knight-captain surrounded by orcs.
"...Kch, kill me, you inferior being!"
"Okay, I will—☆"
*Splat—!!*
I kicked the head of the uncooperative fellow, causing it to explode. Green blood splattered behind him as he died instantly.
"Ugh, so gross—☆"
I picked up a horn from the Apostle's head, which had been turned into instant mush, and held it up to the sunlight. I could faintly see the color of the Ether seeping out like a heat haze.
"...Black mixed with gray. Has the property of slowly absorbing surrounding Ether—☆"
This one wasn't a recent summon; it had been summoned by the [Priest of Corrosion]. It seemed to have been just wandering the wastelands since the beginning of the semester.
I muttered the name of the [Priest of Corrosion] that came to mind.
"...Grafvölluðr."
The name, which had been too difficult to recall, now surfaced.
"..."
The final executive who should have been lurking until the very end, and the one who succeeded in summoning the 'dragon' in the original story.
But he died at my hands.
He died because he deviated from the original story.
"..."
And Ófnir died by following the original story.
He was a more threatening enemy than in the original… but he died by my and Hilde's hands.
"..."
Ófnir had summoned [The Serpent of Wisdom and Cycle] to reach the World Tree. In that case, how would the remaining executives… the [Twin Priests], Góinn and Móinn, react?
'If they plan to use the power of [The Wolf that Desires Vengeance], they could show up anytime, anywhere.'
Now that the strongest executive and the second strongest were dead… what choice would the Prophet make?
'Perhaps, if I didn't know the current situation in the Academy City…'
As I was thinking,
I felt the soft touch of fur against my leg.
"Meeeoow!"
"Hm? Ah, thank you—☆ It's like our combination is Zhuge Liang and…"
"Meeow?"
"..."
"Kukukuk…! Khahahak!!"
Was it because I'd encountered an Apostle after so long?
Suddenly, Ófnir's mocking laughter, who had understood my manner of speech, flashed through my mind.
…
Perhaps, if the Prophet found out everything, that I was no different from a 'prophet' myself… he could put Hilde and my juniors in danger.
Different dreams in the same bed.
To keep them mistaken,
I had to cause as much confusion as possible by acting as 'Clara'.
'From now on, I need to hold back on □□□'s speech patterns.'
I picked up the orange cat and walked back toward the camp. Silence was returning to the ravaged forest.
"It's nothing—☆"
"Meeeoow!"
Another faded trace,
held onto from the past, was brushed away.
I have been, and will continue to be, Clara.
…That was enough.
***
Alvitt pointed at the ruined forest with a dumbfounded expression.
"Wh-what in the world was that?! What happened?"
"Oh, that—☆ A giant dragonfly appeared and went *whoooosh*☆!"
"R-really…?"
"Of course I'm lying—☆"
"Ugh, come on!!"
Alvitt pounded her chest in frustration.
Lotha and Kara, watching her, giggled.
"Well, I'm sure Comrade Senior handled it just fine, right? Who would be brave enough to mess with [The Pink Spiral]?"
"Honestly… this makes me look like the fool again…"
"...Ahaha☆"
At Kara's subtle compliment, Alvitt pouted, showing signs of turning into a bird.
"More importantly! About the new application of fairy tale magic I developed…"
"Ah, you mean the one where cats suddenly appear riding bicycles?"
"Yes, yes! It's an advanced version of that…!"
The campfire crackled, and the atmosphere grew more and more lively.
"..."
***
Brynhildr nodded as she looked at Erda, the head of general affairs, who had just returned from consulting with .
"Summon all representatives from the nine schools belonging to the union by next week."
"Yes, I will relay the message. I assume that includes ?"
"..."
Brynhildr gave a silent nod.