Epilogue: Honestly, It Was a Bit Scary
After all the incidents had been wrapped up, in the stone chamber. Lena continued speaking as she gazed at the outside scenery flowing in through the cracked gaps. "Honestly, it was a bit scary."
"My senses expanded all over the place. I could feel everyone's emotions in every spot the water touched."
"That sounds like a huge problem. If it were me, I think my head would've exploded." Just how much information came rushing in at once? I was finally starting to understand why they called mana explosions so dangerous. Lena let out a small chuckle and muttered.
"Surprisingly, it wasn't that difficult."
Even as she said that, Lena's condition was far from normal. Bruises covered her body from the aftermath of the mana circuit overload, her eyelids kept trembling weakly, her breathing was slightly labored, and her clothes were completely soaked through, looking heavy.
"Then what was the hardest part?"
"I could feel all the children's hearts exactly as they were. Their fear that they might actually die. The way they saw me as a terrifying monster. And even the thought that they might... have to subjugate me. All of it."
I nodded quietly. Yeah, that would be scary. Even I got uneasy every time the academy students glared with fire in their eyes yelling 'That art-beggar bastard is the villain!' How much worse must it have been for the count's daughter, who had been raised like a flower in a greenhouse?
Lena, who had been burying her face in her knees, slowly lifted her head and let out a faint, tired laugh.
"Still, I believed."
"In what?"
"That someone would come to save me."
Lena's green eyes stared straight into mine. Then the tips of her ears flushed bright red in an instant.
"Are those bright red ear tips perhaps an expression of embarrassment?"
"S-shut up. Don't point out every little thing!"
"No, I'm asking because I'm genuinely curious, childhood friend. At exactly which point are you getting embarrassed?"
"...Th-that's because. I didn't know you were staring at me so intently. Why... why are you staring like that?"
It was the moment I unknowingly realized my new ability. When I stare intently, a woman's ears turn red. Hmm. Doesn't seem like that great of an ability.
Above all, there was a proper reason I was staring so intently at Lena.
I opened my mouth in an extremely dry, scholarly tone.
"That's because your underwear is showing."
"...Huh?"
"It's black."
The white blouse, completely drenched by the torrential rain. The black underwear visible beneath it. It was such a perfectly erotic-manga-worthy outfit that I almost wanted to applaud. Of course—when it rains, clothes get wet. When clothes get wet, they become see-through. And for see-through fabric, black underwear is the golden rule.
'I'm definitely using see-through outfits in the next work.'
Having obtained another piece of material like that, the result was—
Thump— Lena's fist flew into my side. No. Honestly, it was less of a punch and more like a pathetic tap. With mana exhaustion leaving her without the strength to even lift a finger, it was truly a powerless punch.
"You mood-blind idiot pervert."
The zero-impact punch was so lame that I couldn't hold back anymore and burst out laughing.
"Ah, sorry. My professional spirit kicked in."
"Professional spirit my ass! You're a hopeless pervert!"
Lena, who had been huffing in anger, soon ran out of steam. My laughter proved contagious, and she let out a small, involuntary giggle.
After they had both spent a while laughing at nothing, Lena suddenly looked up at me with serious eyes.
"Hey, Ian."
"What?"
"You... why did you come to save me?"
"Why do you ask?"
Lena bit her lip hard.
"I caused a mana explosion and wrecked the academy. I thought everyone—without exception—would see me as an enemy. But why did you..."
It was a sudden question. I gave her the same answer I'd given her yesterday in the infirmary—the one that had probably brought this whole explosion incident to an end.
"I told you. No matter what happens, I'll always be on your side."
Ian Ashy. A thorough third-rate extra who had shown the absolute bottom of life. No matter what anyone said, Lena—who had stayed by my side through all that—was my person. And I take care of my people. That sense of loyalty is the survival strategy of us third-rates.
......
Even after hearing my explanation, Lena stayed silent. Normally this would be the timing for a barrage of brutal facts and venom like 'That's so gross, why are you like this!' or 'Are you crazy?!' to come flying my way. Being unable to be honest and acting all tsundere was the charm of a childhood friend. I slightly hunched my shoulders, waiting for her next strike.
But.
"...Thank you."
A thin voice reached me. Had I heard that right?
When I widened my eyes in surprise, Lena quickly added,
"Ah, I'm going to try being a little more honest from now on. I thought about it a lot—why this kind of situation even happened. A-anyway!"
Lena muttered rapidly as if making excuses. Then she took a deep breath, squeezed her eyes shut, and spoke.
"I was really happy. That you came looking for me."
The academy was restored with surprising speed. As expected of a place where the empire's elites gathered, the professors and staff all pitched in, completing flood recovery in just a week.
Of course, the biggest topic was the punishment for the main villain, Lena Youngstern. To get straight to the result, Lena received an incredibly light penalty—house arrest. There were several justifications. First, not a single student had died or been seriously injured. Second, many of the students who had nearly drowned gave testimonies saying, "Every time it felt like we were going to suffocate, the water currents wrapped around and protected us." Therefore, even in the moment of her mana explosion, Lena Youngstern's excellent subconscious that still considered the lives of the other students was worthy of praise...
That was the official story, but quite a few complicated calculations seemed to have gone on behind the scenes.
On the morning of Lena's incident, the herbalism professor and various other professors from the Magic Tower and academic departments had their eyes roll back at the sight of all the loot scattered across the academy plaza. A massive mana explosion strong enough to summon the spirit beast Freya had temporarily mutated the surrounding ecosystem, leaving rare herbs and monster byproducts piled up like mountains.
In the end, the academy smoothed over the incident with the brilliant logic of, "We deeply regret our administrative failure in not detecting a student's mana explosion in advance. The academy will take full responsibility for all financial damages (but all those sweet byproducts belong to the academy!)"
Thus, in any case. Happy ending, happy ending.
"The prophecy barely managed to get back on track. Thank you, Ian Ashy."
It seemed the original story's flow had been properly followed as well. Kano Ameri, whom I happened to run into one day, said those words and then vanished abruptly. The love line between the crown prince and the saint must have been nicely established.
The first chapter ended that cleanly.
Just as the academy was restored, my daily life began to return to normal at a rapid pace. It meant I was leaving the original story to Kano and focusing on my erotic manga again.
The only difference from usual was the absence of my childhood friend who used to wake me every morning. The suspicious whispering reached me on the way to the Annex Library.
"So I ordered the debutante dress in 'that design' this time, you know?"
The sound of female students gathered in groups and gossiping pierced my ears. I stopped dead in my tracks.
'...Are they talking about the costumes from my childhood-friend series?'
"Oh my gosh! You mean the off-shoulder lace that the childhood friend wore in that forbidden book?!"
"Shh! Lower your voice. But the design is so fatally pretty, what can you do? I heard the young ladies from Salon Valenti are all going with that style too!"
No, I definitely drew it as a male-oriented adult erotic manga. So why was it trending among the girls—and as a bright, sunny trend in high society at that?
I had put plenty of thought into the costumes, but this was a completely unexpected outcome. Lamenting how exactly the empire's social scene trends operated, I clenched my fist.
'Let's rush out the second printing.'
I couldn't abandon a potential customer base. The smell of money was overwhelming.
The problem was finding the power to run the rune press. Thanks to Princess Eiphrid collapsing from mana exhaustion, it wouldn't be operable until tomorrow or the day after. And Lena was completely unavailable due to her house arrest.
'I wonder if Lena's doing okay.'
Thanks to my insane farming session in the pouring rain, my mana circuit was now brimming with pure water-attribute mana. If I injected the water mana myself instead of relying on Lena, I should be able to run the printer somehow.
— Creeeak.
The Annex Library was still filled with the smell of old paper. The books were all properly in place, so it looked like the librarian had successfully kept the water out.
The moment I stepped inside, the bespectacled librarian sitting at the counter came running over with quick steps. She wore her usual expressionless face, but her outstretched hand held a small paper bag.
"...?"
Inside the bag were homemade chocolate cookies.
"Are these for me?"
She nodded repeatedly.
"Thank you."
When I thanked her, the librarian gave me a small bow, then silently turned around, returned to her seat, and opened a book.
"She's a woman of few words."
Thank you
The elegant handwriting on the note inside the bag was impressive. The moment I bit into a cookie, the sweet flavor filled my mouth. As soon as that high-grade fuel called sugar entered my system, I felt my brain spinning at full speed.
Good. Let's finish setting up the next project today.
"...Hmm."
A small sigh came from right beside my usual seat, but I ignored it and opened my notebook. It was probably White Noise Generator Number One sitting there.
The instant I picked up my pen—
"Hooh. After such an intense event, you're already studying? What remarkable concentration."
Huh? The voice from the neighboring seat sounded a little different? And the scent wasn't harmless either. A luxurious rose perfume—subtle yet dizzyingly stimulating—wafted over.
'Damn it.'
Should I just ignore her? I tried my best to pretend I hadn't heard anything.
Then a slender finger wearing a black lace glove slid smoothly onto my notebook. The long finger tapped lightly across the page like it was playing piano keys.
"My, this is the first time I've met a gentleman who ignores me so thoroughly from such close range."
Why the hell was this woman in the library?
Letting out a small sigh, I turned my head. There she was—chin resting on her hand, wearing a languid and seductive smile.
Judith La Roche. The main villainess of the next episode was sending a deep, meaningful smile my way.