The Duel's Outcome (End)
The night of the day Hint had proposed the bet to the student council president. A little time rewound.
“Why can’t I fall asleep…”
Stelle had returned to the cabin and tried to sleep, but for some reason sleep wouldn’t come, so she stepped outside.
It was the middle of the night, when even the forest animals had all gone to bed. Stelle wandered aimlessly through the woods.
Inside the head of the girl strolling through the forest, thoughts of one particular boy filled every corner.
“I’ve only ever received help from him.”
Ever since coming to the academy, she had realized it countless times—he had given her far too much help. The classroom, the cabin, even the blessing from Bingseolrang. All of it had ultimately come from Hint.
She knew it wasn’t right to question pure goodwill, but Stelle still wanted to understand the true nature of the boy’s unconditional kindness.
That day, during the dreamlike encounter with Fenrir, the words Hint had spoken.
At the time, she had been too flustered to think he was talking about her, but now that she thought about it, maybe he wasn’t. After all, she had only caught that one phrase without hearing any of the surrounding context.
Besides, he didn’t really act like someone who liked her. She had received so much but given nothing in return, so she wanted to do something for him, yet that wasn’t easy either. Unlike Hint, who knew suspiciously much about the academy, she truly knew nothing.
As she walked without direction, Stelle realized she had reached a part of the forest she had never visited before.
“…This path looks familiar.”
Where had she seen it? She couldn’t quite remember. Stelle knew she should turn back, but she decided to venture just a little deeper.
Walking once more without any clear goal, she finally remembered where she was.
A clearing that had suddenly appeared in the middle of the forest.
『Child. Looking into your eyes, it seems you have much to say.』
A giant wolf gently patted her side with its paw.
『Come and sit. Let us talk.』
▶
“…So that’s why. I don’t know what I should do.”
Stelle poured out all her worries to Fenrir. After listening to the girl’s every concern, Fenrir licked the top of her head.
『It is admirable that you refuse to simply accept the kindness given to you and instead wish to repay it.』
“But what good is just having the right mindset? In the end, I don’t even know what Hint wants.”
The words could have sounded curt. Stelle quickly covered her mouth.
But the innocent heart of a young girl could never offend Fenrir. The great wolf simply smiled softly.
『There are many things I cannot tell you because of my restrictions, but I can tell you this one thing clearly.』
Stelle’s head snapped up toward Fenrir.
What a cute and honest child. With that thought, Fenrir continued.
『If you wish to be of help to that boy, then become strong.』
“Me…?”
『Yes. That boy carries a burden far too heavy for one so small and young. If you grow stronger, you will surely become a great source of strength for him. And that path will also lead to your own dream.』
“My dream…”
『That day, you told me you wanted to become a hero. In the end, you must grow stronger if you are to walk your own path.』
Strength. Strength, huh.
Stelle mulled over that short yet incredibly heavy word.
She didn’t know how her becoming stronger would help Hint, but if the divine beast said so, there must be a reason.
“Will I really be able to become strong?”
『If that is what you desire, I can give you a small bit of help.』
—Awoooo.
Fenrir let out a short howl.
The bushes rustled, and two wolves burst out.
White wolves with a blue tint, identical to Fenrir, approached Stelle’s side.
Divine beasts were beings that revealed purity. Drawn to the purest girl before them, one wolf slowly came closer and rubbed its face against her chest. The other wolf didn’t show quite as much affection, but it simply sat beside her and continued to watch over her.
“W-whoa?!”
『Oh dear. I didn’t expect them to like you this much.』
—You smell nice! Let’s be friends!
—Hati. Don’t stick to her so closely. Maintain the dignity of a divine beast’s descendant.
—Hmph! I can totally see your tail wagging like crazy, brother!
—W-what?! That’s impossible! I am the son of the great divine beast! There’s no way I would…!
The wolves—Skoll and Hati—circled around Stelle for a while before Fenrir finally intervened and pulled them away.
『These children will become your strength.』
At the same time, a contract pattern symbolizing her pact with the divine beasts was engraved on the back of Stelle’s hand.
▶
“No, no, no—wait a second. So you’re saying that’s how you got that mark on the back of your hand?”
“Yep. It’s a good thing the kids liked me, right?”
Hint was genuinely shocked.
A Summon Knight—one who contracted with divine beasts to fight, especially the sword-wielding build—was not a class one could obtain so easily in the game. Normally it was an incredibly difficult build that required taming low-grade monsters as summons while simultaneously training in swordsmanship.
To start the game by immediately taming Skoll and Hati? That should have been impossible. Whether it was the protagonist’s correction or Fenrir’s whim, Stelle had apparently succeeded in taming both and was instantly promoted to S-class.
“I see. So that’s why you were absent from the West Forest for a while.”
“Yeah. Fenrir gave me a pass that lets me enter the barrier, so I trained in front of her pretty often.”
Now that he roughly understood the shape of the story, Hint let out a sigh of relief. Skoll and Hati were Fenrir’s children who had inherited her power. There was no way the academy could keep a girl who could handle both of them in F-class.
Stelle looked down at the brooch pinned to her chest with a bright expression.
“It still doesn’t feel real. How did I end up in S-class?”
“Being acknowledged by a divine beast and her children is a tremendous achievement. You can be purely proud of yourself, Stelle.”
“Haha… you think so? Still, I’m glad you’re moving up to S-class with me, Hint.”
Stelle smiled innocently.
On the other hand, Hint gave no reply.
Sensing something off, Stelle spoke awkwardly.
“Um, Hint? You’re coming too, right? To S-class?”
“To be honest… I don’t plan on going.”
“What?!”
Stelle was stunned. Hint knew far more about the academy than she did. There was no way he didn’t understand the benefits of S-class, yet he was willing to give up all those advantages.
Could this also be related to the “burden” Fenrir had mentioned?
“Well, there are reasons. It seems we won’t be able to go together.”
“…Can you tell me what those reasons are?”
Stelle asked for an explanation. Hint thought for a moment, then opened his mouth.
“Yes. There’s no reason I can’t tell you.”
“Really?!”
When Hint agreed, Stelle was the one who became flustered instead.
“Why are you the one panicking?”
“No, I mean—usually at times like this, aren’t you supposed to say something like ‘Hehe… sorry, it’s still a secret’?”
What was she even talking about?
Had he really given off that kind of image until now? Reflecting on himself, Hint scratched his head.
“I haven’t really hidden anything. No one ever asked, that’s all.”
In truth, Hint had never tried to hide anything. When Fenrir had asked, he had immediately answered that it was to save the world.
It was just that no one would believe such an absurd story about the world suddenly ending. If Stelle believed him and agreed to work together to protect the world from now on, he would be more than happy.
“It might sound a bit ridiculous, but if you’re willing to listen…”
“Yeah! I won’t doubt you at all, so tell me!”
“The world will soon be destroyed.”
“Eh.”
A far too sudden countdown to the world’s destruction.
Stelle’s eyes widened in visible confusion. She looked like she had no idea how to react.
“Is… is that really true?”
“Yes. It’s the truth, Stelle.”
Hint nodded. His eyes showed not the slightest tremor.
“Of course, it must be hard to believe.”
“…Honestly, if it hadn’t come from you, I wouldn’t have believed it.”
“You believe me?”
“Yeah. I believe you. Because there’s no reason for you to lie about something like that.”
At Stelle’s smile, Hint smiled back.
“But what does that have to do with you not going to S-class? If it’s really true, shouldn’t you come to S-class with me and get stronger?”
“It would be inefficient. To be honest, I’m not strong. Right now I’m stronger than you, Stelle, but it won’t be long before you surpass me. In that case, it’s more efficient to prepare while enjoying the free time that comes with staying in F-class.”
“Prepare?”
The rewards from S-class classes had limits. If Hint went and took them, it would only slow down the growth of the other heroes. And if he went but did nothing, there would be no point in being in S-class anyway.
To earn the minimum credits, he would have to attend classes without any rest. It was far more efficient to use that time to travel around and collect other hidden pieces.
“To prepare for the destruction, I need to gather as many heroes as possible.”
“But aren’t there more heroes on the mainland than at the academy? Can’t you just bring them?”
“The question is how. Each hero has a role in their own continent, and it’s true that the demon race’s invasions are heavy there as well.”
The world of Geomma-i looked bright on the surface, but it wasn’t that simple. The continents were constantly fighting against invading demon forces. Even if those forces were pulled away to stop the threat to the academy, the world would simply perish in another sense.
After listening to the explanation, Stelle nodded.
“So what you’re saying, Hint, is that a massive threat is coming to the academy, and to stop it, we need the academy’s heroes?”
“Exactly.”
“But why me?”
“…I don’t understand what you mean.”
“Don’t play dumb, Hint. After hearing all this, I can guess what your goal is now.”
Stelle gently took Hint’s hand.
In the awkward silence, their eyes met, and quiet fell between them.
“Well, it’s because you’re one of the most outstanding S-class students at the academy now that you’ve tamed Skoll and Hati, right?”
“Don’t try to dodge the question.”
Hint looked into Stelle’s eyes. They burned with a determination that said she would absolutely get an answer.
But Hint had no intention of answering “again.” Once was more than enough for that embarrassing experience.
“I’d rather… not say it twice, Stelle. I have my pride too, you know.”
“What do you… eek?!”
Only then did Stelle understand the meaning. She hurriedly pulled her hand away from his.
That day—the first day she had met Fenrir.
The boy’s voice that had drifted through the wind in the forest.
The memory of that day made the girl’s heart race.
The hand that had been holding the boy’s suddenly grew hot. Both the boy’s and the girl’s cheeks flushed red.
And that was surely not only because of the setting crimson sunset.