Chapter 149
Chapter 149
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 148
Chapter Title: Festival Date (3)
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The time spent wandering around with Pindenai continued. We hadn't planned it that way, but we ended up eating lunch together, and I figured we'd just browse a bit more or take a rest afterward.
Pindenai had been summoned by Erika and the dean because of the gambling she'd set up.
I enjoyed the returning peace as I sent off the grumbling girl.
The Black Necromancer was nowhere to be seen, and Iluania was bustling around here and there, showing Sevia the festival.
Owen had been dragged off with Pindenai as well, leaving no one else around.
I'd seen enough of the festival, so I thought about heading back to the lab, but then one girl caught my eye.
Aria Rias, wearing a ridiculous white hat that looked like a souvenir, green-rimmed sunglasses, a skewer in one hand, and a massive drink in the other.
Beside her, laughing and chatting with old comrades like Leorus, Happy, Florensia, and Jin.
"......"
It was quite a sight, and I felt my lips twitch upward without realizing it.
"Ah, Professor!"
Noticing my gaze, Aria came running over, still wearing her sunglasses. The other students naturally followed behind her.
Even though they'd joined late, it seemed Aria was taking the lead in this group.
"You're enjoying yourselves quite thoroughly."
I remarked as I saw how they'd been enjoying the festival about twice as much as everyone else. Aria fidgeted awkwardly.
"It's just... it's been so long since I've been able to play at a festival without a second thought......"
Yeah, that makes sense.
In the first playthrough, she'd started getting dragged around by me from winter break of her second year, so she probably hadn't had the leisure to properly enjoy festivals after that.
Events meant for students to enjoy had likely felt like trials she had to conquer to gain something.
The way she was making up for it now by enjoying the festival even more fiercely was admirable, and I wanted to pat her head, but the oversized hat was in the way, so I didn't reach out.
Aria handed her drink to Happy beside her and pulled out a cat-ear headband from her pocket.
"But do you know where Elenoa is? I bought this specifically to put it on her."
Looking closely, the other girls were each wearing animal-ear headbands.
Elenoa had been hanging out with these kids lately, so it must feel lacking without her.
"She's spending some time apart for now. She should be able to join you all by evening."
"She's never around when you need her."
She was spending time with King Orpheus after a long while, but he would probably consider Elenoa and let her enjoy the festival with her friends in the evening.
I didn't want to steal her time, so I told them to have fun and tried to slip away.
But suddenly, Aria took off her own hat and plopped it on Leorus's head, then hung her sunglasses on Florensia.
She shoved the skewer into Jin's hand, reverted to her usual self, and clung to my side.
"I'm gonna spend some time with the professor for a bit! We'll join up with Elenoa in the evening!"
"What? Wait a minute......"
Leorus, who seemed to have feelings for Aria, tried desperately to stop her, but Happy and Florensia immediately replied.
"Got it!"
"See you in the evening!"
The group left just like that.
Seeing Leorus's shoulders slump made me feel oddly uncomfortable too.
And besides.
"I'm not planning on wandering the festival anymore."
I'd been planning to rest now, so I had no desire to tour it with Aria.
But Aria smiled and answered.
"Did you know? During festival season, you drew me maps and made me run around nonstop. 'Talk to this person three times,' 'go buy that there,' 'eat this'—stuff like that."
"That wasn't me."
"Right. But since you look just like him, can't I at least vent a little?"
I let out a sigh and nodded at Aria's mischievous question.
"Fine, if that'll settle things for you."
"Yes!"
She clenched her fist triumphantly, hooked her arm through mine, and started leading me away.
A student linking arms with her professor would surely draw comments from onlookers.
But Aria didn't care at all and just pulled me along. Even when I tried to shake her off, she was surprisingly strong and wouldn't budge.
"First thing I want to do is this!"
What Aria pointed to was a dart stall.
A simple game where you throw darts to pop balloons, but subtly tricky.
Swept up in her momentum, I tried first, but with my ordinary—actually subpar—physical body, I barely popped any.
"Hehe! My turn!"
As if she'd expected it, Aria stepped up next and threw the darts. Her superhuman dynamic vision and strength shone through, of course.
Pop! Pop! Pop!
She cleanly burst all the balloons, then raised her chin proudly and shrugged.
"Hehe! The power of the one who almost saved the world!"
"......If bragging about this satisfies you, then fine."
I'd thought she'd get a big bear plush or something for clearing it all, but she only got a small coupon.
With that, Aria led me right next door.
A waffle stand.
She handed over the ticket, and the vendor shouted excitedly.
"One deluxe waffle!"
A moment later.
A rather luxurious waffle ended up in my hands. The size was similar to regulars, but it was loaded with a variety of toppings and exotic fruits.
"Try it. You can't even buy this with money!"
"......"
It was good.
Not exactly my taste, but for something made by students, it was definitely impressive.
Price-wise, it probably had zero cost-performance, which was why it was the dart prize.
What followed was similar.
Aria, who knew the festival well from running around so much, made for a fulfilling time.
Was it fun? Not really my cup of tea, so I actually felt more tired.
After wandering together for quite a while, we returned to my lab.
"We really hustled around, huh?"
"Yeah."
We'd moved so much I genuinely wanted to rest now. Aria beamed and nodded.
"Now you can brag anywhere that you enjoyed this year's festival at 200%."
I agreed we'd made the most of it. Not sure who'd care to hear me brag, though.
And now I understood why she'd done all this.
Sitting in my chair, I asked her.
"So, does this feel like what the first-playthrough me did for you?"
"About right, yeah?"
In the first playthrough, to raise Aria, I'd given her a tight schedule, sending her everywhere.
Like when we grind characters in games, giving minimal rest and pushing playtime.
Aria had probably been forced into a superhuman schedule by the first-playthrough me.
Even as a student, without enjoying it like one.
"That must've been pretty grueling."
"Yeah, you must've been exhausted."
I replied with full understanding, and Aria grinned brightly.
But there was no malice in it.
"Back then, I didn't even think to hate it. It was a mission from you, so it felt natural."
Considering how she'd treated me from our first meeting onward, that tracked.
She'd probably acted like a saintess receiving divine revelation, following it unquestioningly.
"So, what do you think now?"
She'd clearly chosen to part ways now, free from the first-playthrough me. I was curious about her feelings.
Not much time had passed, but I wondered what she thought.
"Hmm."
Aria pressed a finger to her lower lip, making a soft sound.
Every gesture like that made her feel truly like the game's protagonist.
After rolling her eyes in thought, she smiled brightly.
"It was good!"
'......I'm hearing a lot of unexpected things today.'
From Elenoa, to Pindenai, and now Aria.
The women spending time with me today were giving answers outside my expectations.
To think she'd view the first-playthrough me's orders—which stole her school life—as good. I looked at her, asking for an explanation, and she clasped her hands behind her back, leaning forward.
"Thanks to that, I am who I am now. Looking back, those crazy days weren't exactly happy, but I overcame it all and shook it off."
On the contrary.
Her expression was refreshingly free of regrets.
No lingering feelings or emotions toward the first-playthrough me whatsoever.
Realizing her growth was genuine.
I couldn't help but smile faintly.
"Yes, that's right."
Her growth was truly ideal. So I didn't hide the smile forming in celebration.
"And there's one more good thing!"
Aria sidled closer to me.
Feeling a strange pressure, I instinctively leaned back, only to hit the chair's backrest.
"I get to teach you all sorts of things you don't know!"
"......"
"I can help you a lot too, Professor. I've only been receiving until now, but I'm your final arrangement."
Her smiling face and bright voice.
To anyone, she looked innocently approaching with a grin, but oddly, it felt like facing a predator.
Tap.
It was an astonishing move.
Before I knew it, she was straddling my lap as I sat in the chair, facing me.
She trapped my leg between her thighs, subtly grinding her hips in a way seductive beyond her years.
"Keep boundaries."
"When I said goodbye, it was the first time I hugged you."
"......"
I immediately knew she meant when she'd rejected the first-playthrough me, and my body froze for a moment.
"Can't you let me feel you just one more time?"
"Keep your lower half still."
"......You never react to students, huh."
Aria pouted sulkily. But since I hadn't refused, she cautiously leaned her small body into my embrace.
"I can hear your heart pounding."
"......"
"I can't tell if it's from my chest or yours."
"Heehee." Aria's laugh bubbled from under my chin. She slowly wrapped her arms around my waist. Her voice, with a hint of strength, surprisingly trembled.
"You know, Professor, saving the continent means living in pain."
"......"
"People will applaud you, cheer for you, thank you."
Her touch trembled faintly.
"Do they know? That all of it comes back to me as a burden?"
Expectations, gratitude, blessings, envy, etc.
Countless positive emotions must have reached Aria. At first, they'd fueled her sense of duty and motivation.
But as it dragged on.
With more losses piling up, and the path growing harsher.
In the end, it all became just another weight crushing her shoulders.
"It's a path pierced by swords and spears. To lose no one, I had to lose myself in those times."
"......"
"Professor... Professor...... I don't want you to go through the agonies I did."
Dampness seeped onto my chest. Tears were already in Aria's voice.
"If you ever say the word, I'm ready to walk that path again. In your place, the numb me is prepared to sacrifice for this continent."
"......"
She probably didn't grasp the weight of what she'd just said.
When I first met Aria Rias, even in the second playthrough, I didn't think "thank goodness" for one reason.
In that state, she couldn't reach the true ending even in the second playthrough.
Because.
'The true ending of the second playthrough is completed by the sacrifice of a girl named Aria Rias.'
The protagonist's death.
The game ends like that, with the girl saving the continent and closing her eyes.
Now, Aria was mentally mature enough to bring the true ending to the continent.
I gently embraced the girl in my arms. My hands gripped with resolve. I would never let go.
"There's only one thing you need to do."
Not gathering items needed to save the continent, or building bonds with comrades, or growing stronger.
"This winter, ace your finals."
"......"
"And before graduating the academy, find something you want to do."
"G-gradu......"
"Anything's fine. Discover your aptitudes, uncover your talents, hone what you love. No need to fear the future."
I slowly placed a hand on the child's head. Aria didn't refuse, closing her eyes and accepting it.
"Little girl, the continent is safe."
Because I'm here.
Because I'll save it.
Tears streamed long down her cheeks.
They were tears of relief from the girl who'd endured so much, finally setting down her burdens.
I didn't wipe them away.
After crying for a long while, Aria sniffled and bonked her forehead against my chest.
Now that her emotions had settled, she panted with deep breaths and whispered.
"Still. If it ever gets really tough, come tell me. Lean on me. As the only one who's walked your path, as the senior who went ahead. I'll be with you."
"You're reliable."
"Hehe, the continent's strongest female student."
Squeeze.
She hugged tight, resting her chin on my shoulder. Her voice reached my ear with hot breath.
"I'll be waiting for the day I become your sword, Professor."
I hoped that day would never come.
"I'll look forward to it."
I replied.