Chapter 90
Chapter 90
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 90
Chapter Title: On the Vast Plains ☆ (2)
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The train finally arrived.
The Nameless Hawk clicked its beak and spoke.
“Chirp! The ether flowing here is quite pleasant! Order! I can feel the aura of order! Chirp—!”
“Fufu, that’s because this is a sacred land where one of the roots of the World Tree rests.”
“I see! So this is the land of the holy sword. Chirp! It’s been so long since I awoke, there are many things I don’t remember! Hero, let us hurry to meet the Sword Spirit. Chirp—!”
“Ah! We have something to discuss for a moment—☆”
“Chirp?”
After briefly dismissing the chick and the students who were about to escort me straight to the theology department, I called over Alvitt and Kara.
My juniors approached, looking puzzled.
“What is it?”
“Is something important going on?”
“Yep♪ Once we open that door and leave the train, we’ll be at another school, you know—☆ And we’ll have to follow that school’s rules, right?”
“...?”
“Why are you stating the obvious...?”
The looks on Alvitt and Kara’s faces were changing to say, ‘You called us over just for this?’ But I knew that very reaction was the seed of the mishap that occurs in the ‘original story.’
‘If it’s nothing too serious, I’d like to just watch when an original story event flag is raised, but… this time, the atmosphere could get really grim…’
The taboos of another school.
Originally, this was something they were supposed to learn through a series of chaotic encounters with students from Holy Alfheim High School as the story progressed at a leisurely pace, but…
‘The kids have grown up so fast that they’re busy beating up dungeon Chaos Fiends before they even have a chance to go begging at other schools…’
I explained to my still-confused juniors the things they shouldn't say in front of the students of Holy Alfheim High School.
1. Do not refer to the World Tree as if it were an object, or call it ‘just a big tree.’
2. Do not carelessly pretend to know anything about farming or raising plants.
Upon hearing this, my juniors sighed as if looking at a nagging mother.
“...I don’t think we would have done that even if you hadn’t told us. Even if others don’t empathize, it’s infuriating when someone treats what you believe in as trivial.”
“Hmm… Well, isn’t that just common sense? I, too, am walking the path of a craftsman in a broad sense. I know how rude it is to speak carelessly about another’s area of expertise.”
I inwardly slapped my forehead and cheered.
Aah…!
Is this how the members of a classic protagonist party speak?
Do you have to have a 100 Good alignment to become a hero?
‘I wonder whose kids they are, they were raised so well. Ah, right, they’re mine.’
But there was a fact they were overlooking.
Knowing something and actually experiencing it are two very different things.
“Yep♪ I’m so happy that Alvitt and Kara are such model juniors…☆ But…”
“But…?”
“But…?”
“The kids at Holy Alfheim High School are a little… special… They’re probably not… hmm… what you’re imagining. Anyway, whatever you see, just nod your heads—☆ Got it? You absolutely can’t forget rules number 1 and 2, okay?”
“...?”
“...?”
Hmm…
It seemed they still didn’t get what I was talking about.
“You’ll probably see soon enough♪ You really can’t say, ‘Isn’t that just a tree?’ or ‘That’s not how you do it,’ okay?”
“The way you’re emphasizing it makes me a little nervous…”
“What on earth will we be seeing…”
“Could it be… a prophecy from the goddess? That we might end up fighting with Holy Alfheim High School…”
“Ahaha☆ It’s nothing like that—☆”
Because of how accurately Urðr had seen through her past, Alvitt would often ask questions timidly like this.
‘The goddess plan worked a little too well.’
I couldn’t help but give a wry smile.
Right now, my juniors were in a speed-run state, having only experienced the main combat events. Compared to their growth rate, their general knowledge about other schools was relatively lacking.
The unpredictable actions of newbies who skipped the story.
That was what I feared.
‘I should have given out more quests related to other schools through ‘Clara’s actions,’ but I couldn’t just do whatever I wanted because of my image and Ratatoskr.’
And trying to turn into a chaotic troublemaker now would be a bad move, since Central Prism Academy had already established a pretty good image in the academy city.
For example, if the name Central Prism Academy were to come up among high school girls discussing the latest romance news and the concepts of righteousness and chivalry at a dessert cafe…
-But why do they go around helping other schools? There’s no benefit to it, and most importantly, it’s not even their territory, right?
-It is something that must be done… for it is benevolence.
-Th-that can’t be! It must just be an act to curry favor with the powerful Aesir Girls' High School!
-No, they always solve the case and then vanish without a trace…! Because that is ‘chivalry!’
-Aah…?!
-Central Prism Academy is a ‘band of chivalrous heroes’…!
…That was more or less the image we had now, something like ‘chivalrous heroes who suddenly appear to help.’ There was no need to tarnish it.
‘A few people actually came to enroll after that, but they ran away after seeing the state of the school…’
Even though it was insultingly better compared to the beginning of the first semester.
Anyway…
Besides our overall impression,
each of us was also in the spotlight.
Alvitt, who took the lead in the united meetings, had made a strong impression, and Lotha, who was having a profound impact on new magical research, was also beginning to be known as a prodigious talent.
‘My situation is a bit more complicated because of the scandal with Hilde… but in any case, I’ve become famous again for various reasons.’
In other words… we were in the spotlight right now,
and any mistake we made in this state would be magnified.
‘For better or worse, people remember misdeeds better than good deeds.’
Especially a mistake made by someone with a good reputation…
Since we were already walking a straight and narrow path,
I hoped we could get along with the other schools without causing any trouble.
‘Though my own life has been a twisting and turning [Spiral] since the past.’
I smiled at my juniors and said.
“Got it? Then let’s go—☆”
*
When we got off the train, the theology students kindly offered to lead the way. The chick was already waddling far ahead of us.
“Oh! Right. First, to commemorate your visit to our school, we have a souvenir for you!”
“A souvenir…?”
“Yes!”
The theology student answered Alvitt’s question with a bright smile.
When she clapped her hands, someone next to her brought over a large picture frame.
“Behold! It’s a poster with a photograph of the World Tree’s form!”
It was a picture of a tree taken from a distance.
“This is just a…”
“Yes…?”
The light in the theology student’s eyes was about to vanish in an instant.
Flinch—!
Alvitt, who had been about to respond instinctively, remembered my advice and clamped a hand over her mouth. After taking a moment to compose herself, she accepted the frame, saying, “Thank you.”
“...Is this… a gift for me? Thank you.”
“Fufu, don’t mention it! I’m so glad I could share the sacred image of the World Tree with the Hero!”
“…”
Seeing that, I let out a sigh of relief.
The attacks from Holy Alfheim High School begin this silently.
‘Even I was flustered and almost misspoke when I first saw it…’
As we emerged from the brightly lit ether station, countless eyes were watching us.
“Oh my…!”
Nearby, elf girls with twitching white ears turned to each other and whispered.
“Ah, could that first-year be the [Hero] the Sword Spirit mentioned?! Oh my goodness…!”
“And the pink-haired upperclassman is the [Saintess]…?!”
“To have a [Hero] and a [Saintess] in the same school… This must be the guidance of the World Tree!”
“Central Prism Academy… The fact that it’s named Central despite not being in the center must also be the World Tree’s guidance.”
“The good harvest this year is also thanks to the grace of the World Tree!”
“Let us all give thanks for the grace of the World Tree…!”
“Yes! Let us all pray…!”
“Ah, the grace of the World Tree…!”
“Let us pray.”
“Thank you, World Tree…”
“Thank you…”
One person…
Two people…
Three people…
A wave of prayer spread.
The agriculture students dressed like farmers and the theology students in elegant white uniforms all prayed with one heart.
“…”
Soon, hundreds of simple-looking elf girls passing by the station front had all clasped their hands and begun to pray.
Before we knew it, the hundreds of meters of street stretching before us had transformed into an outdoor prayer hall.
“…”
The elf students were so strikingly beautiful that,
at a glance, it created a lovely atmosphere, like a scene from a romance comic…
‘No matter how I look at it, this feels like the opening of a horror movie where you’re heading to a suspicious rural village full of cultists.’
This pastoral scenery was tinged with a subtle, fanatical atmosphere…
It felt like one wrong word,
and I’d be dragged off to a dark warehouse.
“…”
“…”
Alvitt and Kara seemed to have realized what I meant. They said nothing and pretended not to see.
Low murmurs could be heard from all around.
This, too, is thanks to the World Tree.
That, too, is thanks to the World Tree.
Central Prism Academy is all thanks to the guidance of the World Tree.
The good harvest is because our dances and songs offered to the World Tree were answered.
Hearing that, Kara suddenly muttered.
“What do dance and song have to do with farming… Hup!”
“…”
An elf with a languid expression and a straw hat, who was praying beside her, opened her slitted eyes and watched Kara.
Kara hastily added.
“I was wondering what… connection there was, and it turns out it was the grace of the World Tree!”
“Fufu… that’s right. Everything is as the World Tree guides…”
The agriculture student relaxed her slitted eyes and focused on her prayers again.
“…”
Even hearing that, I couldn’t empathize.
I had certainly not been guided by some ‘Just a Big Tree.’
The ones who had led me were Frida, Nina, and Selma.
But…
I didn’t bother to say it out loud.
‘In the game, I just thought it was a knock-off Christian religion, but the primitive and fanatical aspects are unsettling…’
Honestly, I felt like scoffing at the absurdity.
I barely managed to swallow my words and offered a pleasant smile.
“...Yep♪”
I nonchalantly pretended not to have heard.
‘There’s no need to fight with kids who’ve been kind to us, and no need to ruin our good image with a mistake. We won’t have a reason to come back once Alvitt receives the holy sword anyway…’
But why was the Saintess summoned?
It was never even mentioned in the game, so I had no idea.
“…”
What is that little kid… the Sword Spirit, thinking?
‘Come to think of it, she had pink hair too.’
Meaningful conversation with her was impossible as an NPC.
But thinking about it,
the Goddess, the Saintess, and the Spirit…
They were all, to a one, pink-haired.
‘I didn’t realize it in the game since Urðr and the [Saintess] didn’t appear, but this is a bit strange too.’
*
“Ukya—☆”
“Yes~?”
“Ukyakya—♪”
“Ah~ is that so? They’re on their way? Fufu… That’s truly wonderful~”
“Kyaruruk☆”
A girl with brown hair so long it dragged on the floor, wearing a leaf-shaped headband, was talking to a pink-haired child cradled in her arms.
“Ebebbeu—♪”
“Fufu…”
The pink-haired child in white clothes playfully nibbled on the girl’s long brown hair, and the girl watched with a fond smile.
“…”
Watching them, The Verdant Greatbow, Anna, tilted her head and said.
“...It’s really amazing how you can understand what the Sword Spirit is saying.”
“Fufu, it’s easier than you think, you know?”
“Is that so? I feel like it’s only possible because you’re the head of the theology department, Nella…”
“Fufu…”
“Anyway… why did you suddenly summon Clara and Central Prism Academy like this? It can’t be just to confirm their [Destiny]… Don’t tell me you’re planning to hand over the holy sword right away? What’s the reason for such a hurry?”
“...Fufu.”
Nella, holding the now dozing Sword Spirit tightly in her arms, said.
“...A great darkness will soon arrive. A darkness that has grown as swiftly as the light that burgeoned.”
*
The man rose from the darkness.
And watching him was a woman of silver.
“…”
“...The time of the promise.”
The silver woman handed over a massive glass crystal sphere she had been holding.
The man in the darkness… the Prophet, took it as if it were a matter of course and closed his eyes. Then, everything the silver woman had seen and heard became a ‘dream’ and flowed into the man’s mind.
The Prophet confirmed all the dreams and opened his eyes.
“...So Grafvölluðr and Ófnir are dead, and the only beast god power used was the ‘Serpent’s.’”
“Affirmative.”
“The twins?”
“Promise, outside, waiting.”
“I see. So even after I told them the ‘prophecy,’ they failed to properly handle a single thing.”
“…”
“I’m not blaming you. In the end, this world is like a play that moves according to [Destiny].”
“...Affirmative.”
“I was merely testing to see if there would be any change, even when introducing the maximum number of variables.”
“...Affirmative.”
The Prophet tried to feel the will of The Dragon Crouching in the Abyss. But it was still incredibly faint, as none of its seals had yet been broken.
“The only success… is that I have become able to use the ‘Dragon’s’ power.”
“...Affirmative.”
The Prophet closed his eyes, recalling the variable he had discovered in the woman’s memories.
“…”
It had changed.
More than intended…
Everything had changed.
“…”
There was no doubt… in this academy city, there was another transmigrator besides himself.