The Front Lines
Sara no longer avoided my gaze. When our eyes met, she stared back with a cold, icy intensity that made it clear she had given up even the slightest expectation of me. Even when taking attendance, her attitude was like she was looking at a pebble on the side of the road.
As Sara left the classroom and everyone stood up to head home, I sent a telepathic message to Deborah.
Deborah, who had been about to follow her friends out of the classroom, flinched before politely excusing herself.
"Everyone, go on ahead? I just remembered something I need to do."
"Really? Okay then."
"See you tomorrow."
Her friends let her go without complaint. They were in a hurry to check their squad assignments. And it wasn't just them—everyone in the classroom was the same. Before long, only Deborah and I remained in the room.
"…So what did you want to talk about?"
Deborah asked with her head bowed low. The fact that she wouldn't even meet my eyes made me frown in displeasure, but I decided not to point it out and got straight to the point.
"Do you happen to have any magic tools that can neutralize surveillance magic?"
"Surveillance magic?"
"Yeah. Someone's been tailing me lately. If things keep going like this, it'll cause big trouble. I'd rather trick them than completely shut it down. Would illusion magic work?"
If I completely blocked the surveillance magic, Ethan would only grow more suspicious. So showing him a false image was the best option.
Deborah seemed to ponder for a moment before nodding.
"My master could probably do it. What level is the mage using the surveillance magic?"
"Hmm… around the level where they can use sixth-circle magic. But they might reach the seventh circle soon."
"That's higher than I expected. In that case, it might take quite some time."
"You'll do it for me?"
I was slightly surprised. I'd asked casually, but it definitely wouldn't be easy, yet Deborah agreed without hesitation. Overjoyed, I unconsciously leaned in close, only for her to take a step back as she answered.
"…Yes. My master usually creates a lot of interesting magic tools, so she might already have one. I'll ask her."
"Thanks! You're the only one I can count on, Deborah!"
In truth, I'd gone to the magic tower before to look for a tool that could neutralize surveillance magic. But I couldn't find one no matter what, so I'd given up. If I'd known it would turn out like this, I should have asked Deborah from the start.
I took Deborah's hand in both of mine.
"…It's fine. It's not that difficult anyway."
"Come on, that's only because it's you! Thank you so much!"
"Then could you let go of my hand now?"
When I kept expressing my gratitude, she muttered quietly and pulled her hand away. That feeling… how should I put it? It was strange.
Is she avoiding me?
It probably started after the class competition. I'd noticed she was gradually reducing our conversations, and now she barely even looked me in the eye. I'd thought it was just my imagination, but seeing her behavior today, it seemed real.
Did I do something wrong?
I can't think of anything in particular.
The frustration that felt like it was clogging my heart made me decide to ask indirectly.
"By the way, Deborah. Has something been going on lately?"
"…What do you mean?"
"You seem low on energy. Are you feeling sick anywhere?"
As I expressed my concern and subtly reached out to touch her forehead—
Smack!
Deborah slapped my hand away.
"Ah, ah!"
Then, as if surprised by her own reaction, she let out a small groan and quickly lowered her head.
"S-sorry! It's just… my body's not in great shape right now. I think my nerves are a bit sensitive."
"…No, I'm the one who should apologize for trying to touch you without permission. I'll get going then. See you tomorrow."
"…Yes. See you tomorrow."
I left the classroom, leaving Deborah behind.
"There's definitely something going on."
She'd said her body wasn't feeling well, but I wasn't stupid enough to miss that it was a lie. Of course, part of it was because Deborah's acting wasn't as perfect as usual. When we were fooling Ethan together, she'd shown acting skills worthy of an Oscar. But right now, she was incredibly awkward.
That meant there was some reason she was avoiding me.
There's no way she suddenly started hating me for no reason… Did someone tell her not to get close to me?
There was no need to wonder who that someone might be.
The Gray Tower Master, Roxana Sprouse.
To control Deborah's behavior, you'd need to be at least in her position. The problem was the motive. If it was simply that she didn't want her disciple associating with someone with a dirty rumor, that would be fortunate. But if she'd found out that I'd raped her, that would be a disaster.
Of course, the chances of that were extremely low. If she knew, she wouldn't need to do something like this—she'd have publicly crucified me in society already.
"Haa… I don't know."
With all these thoughts swirling in my head, the oncoming headache made me shake it off. There was no conclusion to be reached anyway. For now, the important thing was preparing for the front-line dispatch next week.
"I wonder how the squads will be organized."
Abel and Veronica's group were confirmed, but I was worried about the other two groups. Several days passed by in the blink of an eye amid my concerns.
"Everyone's here. Some of you know each other, some might be meeting for the first time. Let's start with introductions."
The squad members had gathered in one place. Isis skillfully took charge and stood up first to introduce herself.
"I'm Isis Priuli. I'm a second-year, and I'm in the same squad as Luan Priuli over there. Just so you know, we're siblings. It happened by chance. Looking forward to working with you all."
Clap clap clap clap clap clap!
Everyone showered her with applause for the concise introduction. Truthfully, Isis was so famous that there was no need for an introduction. Not knowing her would be proof that you were a spy from the Dark Cult.
Or maybe not?
Thinking about it again, even spies would know who Isis was. Anyway, starting with her, the others began introducing themselves one by one.
The first was me, sitting right next to her.
"I'm Luan Priuli. I'm a first-year. My specialty is martial arts, and I can currently use ki as well. Please take care of me."
Next came Abel, Veronica, and unfortunately Regina, who ended up in the same squad, followed by three other extras.
When divided by role, we had two tanks, four melee damage dealers, and two ranged damage dealers. One question might come to mind here: why weren't there any mages?
But that was only natural. Mages were assigned to the rear. They couldn't be grouped with those of us deployed to the front lines. The front was far too dangerous for mages to operate in. While it wasn't completely impossible, it was best to avoid it until they reached at least level 200—that is, sixth-circle level.
That didn't mean the mages were just sitting around. As the saying goes, a good head makes for an easy body. Since their bodies weren't strong, their minds would be the ones suffering. They would probably be tasked with going around the entire western front fortress, inspecting every magic circle installed there to see if they were functioning properly, and analyzing them all.
Spending all day in one spot dismantling and studying mana circuits sounded utterly horrific.
Anyway, after the introductions, we began training under Isis's direction.
"From today until the front-line dispatch, we'll meet every day to run simulations. Since everyone's positions are set, let's slowly work on our coordination."
We formed our formation in perfect order. Not only the second-years but the first-years as well had gained some experience from the previous practical training, so everyone naturally found their places.
After that, we did our best to share information with each other and grow accustomed to working together.
"Good. It looks like we've got the basics down. Let's move on to practical combat."
After an hour, Isis, who had given herself a passing grade, used the simulation magic tool to change the environment. In an instant, we found ourselves in the middle of a forest, facing a horde of monsters.
Since it was our first real combat simulation, the warm-up monsters chosen were ordinary orcs.
─Snort! Squeee!
The tank line stepped forward to block the charging orcs.
"Over here!"
"You bastards!"
Abel and the extra tank each used their unique skills to draw aggro. The orcs mindlessly hammered away at the shields. In that opening, the archers' support fire took down two orcs first, and then the four of us—including me and Isis—exploited the gaps in the rest.
The battle ended incredibly anticlimactically. It was only natural, since any one of us here could handle five or six ordinary orcs alone.
We continued raising the difficulty like that, running through practical combat simulations.
I'm gonna get stabbed in the back at this rate.
Despite the smooth progression, I felt uneasy from the persistent gaze boring into me. From the moment we first met until now, Regina had been glaring at me with murderous intent. I was worried she might use a mistake as an excuse to put an arrow through my skull.
Well, if she didn't want to earn Isis's hatred, she probably wouldn't. In the game, I distinctly remembered Regina never being on Abel's team, so I had no idea why this change had occurred. Where had things gone wrong?
Being grouped with a woman I'd raped was this uncomfortable.
"Sigh…"
I let out a small sigh.
I want to kill him right now.
Regina poured her boiling rage and murderous intent into her arrows and fired.
Boom!
With an explosion, the monster lost its head and collapsed. It would have been nice if that arrow had gone through that piece of trash's skull instead.
Even while thinking that, Regina couldn't bring herself to actually do it.
"Luan. Aren't you tired? Should we take a short break?"
"No. I'm fine. No problem. I haven't done much anyway."
"Really? That's good then. Let's continue right away."
When speaking to everyone else, Isis displayed her usual flawless and perfect demeanor, but she showed a gentle side only toward Luan. If she killed Luan, she might end up in a fight to the death with Isis that very day. That was something she absolutely had to avoid. She couldn't ruin her relationship with Isis just to kill that piece of trash.
That's right. That's not my goal anyway.
She hadn't gone so far as to manipulate the team assignments just to be in the same squad as Isis for no reason. Luan didn't matter. What Regina wanted was what came after—after Luan died, when Isis fell into despair, she would slip into that empty spot.
Isis's first time had already been taken by that bastard, but that didn't matter. As long as she became her second and last, that was enough.
So I'll hold back here.
When no one was watching, without leaving a trace, she had to kill him cleanly. Regina repeated this to herself over and over.
While everyone else was busy preparing for the front-line dispatch, she pondered again and again how to kill Luan.
In a situation that could explode at any moment, time flowed on, and the day of the front-line dispatch finally arrived.