Lena Youngstern (Complete)
Blue sparks began leaping madly along Freya's spine. As the creature opened its maw wide, every raindrop and scrap of water-attribute mana in the vicinity swirled toward it, condensing in its throat. Hmm. I know this pattern. It's straight out of a boss mob's final phase—the part where you think you've won, drop your guard, and it unleashes one last massive explosion. And here I am, the guy who's just hanging on for dear life with nothing resembling a guard left to drop.
A montage flashes before my eyes. The erotic manga where the saintess rolls around diligently. The one where the maid submits completely. The one where my childhood friend gets thoroughly corrupted. Aah. Why are even my deathbed flashbacks this pathetic? I'm sorry, dear readers. The erotic manga series is officially entering permanent hiatus starting today.
"Graaaawr—!"
Right as Freya roared and prepared to unleash the condensed mana—
I can't die like this! Furious at the sheer low quality of my life-flashing-before-my-eyes moment, I tightened both hands in Freya's wet fur instead. Then I gently cracked open the alien, horrific mana circuit coiled deep in my dantian.
"Hey."
I whispered into the giant divine beast's ear with an extremely kind voice.
"If you spit that out, I'll open all of this too, okay?"
A minuscule amount of mana gathered at my fingertip. Think of it as a tasting corner. Would you like to sample one-tenth of a black bean, sir?
"Wanna give it a dip?"
Of course I didn't bother asking the customer's permission.
The instant the black mana at my fingertip brushed ever so lightly against Freya's back fur—
"G-grrr...?"
The creature that had been gathering enough power to flood the entire academy froze solid. The massive water-attribute storm swirling around its mouth scattered away like a pathetic puff of smoke. Divine beasts are, by nature, the most sensitive existences to the flow of nature and mana.
"Ny-nyaang..."
From the throat that had roared like a tiger moments ago came a pitiful cat's mewl. At the same time, the stiff fur standing along its spine settled down docilely, and the huge tail behind its rear began to wag back and forth like an excited puppy greeting its owner.
...It actually worked?
I swallowed a sigh of relief and jumped down from Freya's back, pretending to be perfectly casual. The moment my feet touched the mud, Freya pressed its massive head against my waist. Rub, rub. It even purred while nuzzling my clothes. A complete cat-dog hybrid.
"......Huh?"
Kano, who had been watching, let out a dazed sound.
Hey. Don't make that face like the fundamental laws of the world just shattered. It's rude.
"Uh, no—what the hell...! How did you even do that?"
Instead of answering, I shrugged and gently scratched under Freya's chin. The divine beast narrowed its eyes in pleasure and let out a cute little "grrrng."
Divine beast Freya—subjugation, no, taming complete.
Paahht—!
With perfect timing, a flash of light exploded beyond the western central plaza in the distance. The giant water dragon that had pierced the clouds began crumbling under Crown Prince Leonhardt's brilliant sword aura and Saintess Arina's holy power, its silhouette plummeting toward the ground.
Kwaaaang!!
It was the perfect firework signaling the scenario's ending.
Once the two divine beasts—Freya and the massive water dragon—were fully subdued, the insane downpour that had threatened to swallow the academy subsided like it had never existed.
"They must have been acting as the focal points for all that rampaging water-attribute mana. With the main bodies suppressed, the water currents lost their power and started draining away."
Kano muttered, tapping the ground with the tip of her mud-caked shoe. Just as she said, the filthy water that had risen to our knees was rapidly being swept out of the academy through the drainage channels.
The air of dawn had grown quiet. The dark clouds that had blanketed the sky were slowly parting, and faint light began to brighten beyond the eastern horizon.
Was it already time for sunrise?
Ribbit. Ribbit.
The croaking of frogs emerged as if the rainy season had ended, filling the damp campus along with the scent of rain and earth.
"That was really exhausting..."
Hearing Kano's murmur as she leaned against the statue, the tension weighing on my body finally released. It really was over. A languid fatigue crept up through my bones.
"Whew."
How much had I run around? My legs were killing me. The ground was a complete mud pit, but who cared? Stretching my legs out felt like coming back to life. With my shoes and pants already ruined beyond saving, worrying about cleanliness now would be ridiculous.
Above all, in a muddy pit not far away, the imperial princess—who should be the very image of dignity—was sprawled out like that.
"Zzz... whew."
Princess Eiphrid, who had collapsed from mana exhaustion after spamming earth magic everywhere, lay spread-eagle and snoring away in deep sleep. The noble dignity of the empire's princess had been tossed into a sewer hundreds of meters away long ago. I'd have to remember this for future teasing material.
"......."
Kano, who had approached at some point, plopped down beside me. We sat in silence, watching the morning sun slowly rise and tear through the clouds. The sky, dyed red, reflected brilliantly off the puddles.
"Ian Ash, you... are seriously unbelievable."
After a long silence, Kano Ameri rested her chin on her knees and spoke up abruptly.
"I have no idea how you tamed that massive divine beast. I thought you had no mana, yet you emit this strange aura. Are you strong or weak? You were pretending to be scared until a minute ago, but in front of a monster you don't even flinch. What the hell is with that insane courage of yours?"
Her voice carried the deep resentment and confusion of a transmigrator betrayed by the original plot.
I held back a light yawn and asked back.
"Why? Is it inconvenient because I didn't move according to your prophecy?"
Kano frowned slightly, seeming to ponder, then honestly spilled her inner thoughts.
"...I don't know. If you hadn't been here, this scenar—no, this prophecy probably would have failed miserably. There might have even been casualties."
She turned her head slightly and glanced at me. A strange emotion flickered in her eyes.
"Honestly, after rolling around in the mud together like this, risking our lives... it almost feels like we really are comrades. And maybe you're not such a bad person after all."
"Pfft."
An involuntary chuckle slipped out.
"W-why are you laughing!"
Kano's face flushed as she got worked up.
"You set me up for it. Comrades? I just moved to protect my own interests and the people I know."
At my half-hearted excuse, Kano pouted and shot back without missing a beat.
"Still... when you charged straight at Freya without thinking earlier. You trusted me, didn't you? That I'd perfectly cover you from behind."
"Yeah. That's true."
When I answered without a second's hesitation, Kano flared up again.
"T-that's the problem! What the hell are you?! Trusting people so arbitrarily! It makes it impossible to tell if you're a bad person or a good one! Just what is your true identity...!"
Her half-complaining shout echoed through the dawn air. I chuckled, leaned my head against the tree trunk, and lazily closed my eyes.
"In that wonderful prophecy of yours, what do they call the human known as Ian Ash?"
Kano hesitated, then mumbled.
"A... third-rate villain with no particular presence."
I slowly opened my eyes and gave a light shrug.
"Then isn't that explanation enough?"
"......Huh?"
Kano widened her eyes, clearly confused.
I raised my mud-covered hand and said calmly.
"Being a third-rate villain means living stubbornly according to my own desires, without any connection to the world's grand flow or the main story's probability. No need to shoulder the weight of the world like the prophecy's protagonists, and no need to be bound by moral standards."
Kano's pupils trembled.
"Then your prophecy is eerily accurate. I'll keep living exactly as I want from now on. Whether others complain, or the prophecy gets twisted, it doesn't matter to me."
I stood up, patting my stiff waist, and roughly brushed off the clumps of mud falling from my pants.
"Uh, where are you going?"
"Like a proper third-rate villain, I still have one rice bowl left to secure."
Leaving behind Kano, who stared blankly up at me, and the princess who was still snoring in perfect union with the ground, I slowly turned my steps.
In an old stone chamber tucked away in a secluded corner behind the academy, quiet, brilliant morning sunlight slanted through the cracks in the outer wall damaged by the disaster.
On the calmly pooled clear water, Lena Youngstern slept soundly with her eyes gently closed.
Soft, steady breathing filled the chamber.
Tweet, tweet.
Beyond the window where the rain had cleared, the refreshing chirps of birds drifted in—the same sounds I always heard upon waking. But the person who usually woke me with a barrage of nagging was now sleeping peacefully, completely oblivious that morning had arrived.
I quietly gazed down at Lena's face as she slept with those gentle breaths. So this is what it looks like when you're the one waking someone in the morning. I wonder if Lena felt this same scene every time she came to wake me from my daily messes.
A small smile crept onto my lips at our reversed roles, and I opened my mouth.
"It's morning, Lena."
My voice echoed softly through the stone chamber, creating gentle ripples on the water.
"Wake up."