School Trip
“......”
Looking at the empty dormitory filled me with a peculiar feeling. The place that had always been noisy and bustling with students now lay wrapped in quiet stillness, and a sense of loneliness...
“My ass it did.”
It felt amazing.
If I’d been the type who enjoyed crowds, I never would have gone off to live for ten years in a remote place like the Demon World Forest.
The long-lost quiet and sense of freedom made the fatigue melt right out of my body on its own.
This morning everyone had almost cried apologizing to me as they climbed into the carriages, but I was the one who felt grateful. How much trouble had it been peeling off the ones who threw tantrums about staying behind with me?
“Ahh, this is the life.”
I’d said I had to attend lectures, but the professors who would have taught a class for one person had already left as chaperones for the school trip. In short, I just had to sit alone in a classroom for a set amount of time studying on my own, then come back to the dorm.
It was ridiculously half-assed, and that was exactly why I was so thankful.
“Hell yeah!”
The bed that had become communal only a few days ago because kids kept barging in now welcomed me back as mine alone.
Just thinking about sleeping a little then working out already had me excited, and I started happily debating what to eat for dinner.
“In the end we left Daniel behind.”
Eve made a long face and fidgeted with her fingers. Beside her, Tana tilted her head and answered.
“From where I’m standing, that guy’s probably dying of happiness right now.”
Hayun, next to them, smiled softly in agreement.
“He’s probably saying he’s free now and eating whatever he wants while working out as much as he wants.”
“I suppose so. Still, I really wanted to go on a trip with Daniel at least once.”
The declaration was plain but clear. Tana and Hayun both lost their words for a moment, yet Eve showed no particular reaction.
The three of them had chosen the Taeman Highlands as their destination for this school trip.
There had been some disagreement between Tana and Eve, but once Hayun mentioned she was planning to go to the Taeman Highlands, they finally settled on that instead of the religious city of Vatian.
“Now that I think about actually going to the Taeman Highlands, I’m getting excited again.”
They had worried she might dislike going somewhere she hadn’t wanted, but Eve melted their concerns with a smile.
“Besides, I heard the Saintess election is underway in Vatian right now. Ugh, I’m so glad we didn’t go there.”
“There’ll be a ridiculous number of people.”
It was the once-in-twenty-years event to choose the kingdom’s face, the Saintess. Crowds would pour in just to watch. Eve, who hated throngs of people, shook her head just imagining it.
And so the three girls’ week-long school trip began.
Tana asked Hayun all sorts of opinions about clothes and accessories, while Eve read a book yet still jumped into their conversation now and then.
Over that week the three of them grew even closer, building unforgettable experiences and memories together.
And when the school trip finally ended and they heard what had happened to the Vatian team, they all thought the same thing.
Choosing the Taeman Highlands had been the right call after all.
“Mm...”
Rin climbed down from the carriage with an awkward smile.
Not only could it carry a large number of people, but the magical workings meant they arrived in Vatian in no time.
Vatian, called the holy ground of the Frisia Kingdom.
The city where the Pope resided, where paladins and holy knights were a common sight—a true gathering place of religion itself.
Rin followed behind the chaperone professors, answering every word from the friends swarming around her with sincere care.
Yet a few girls kept catching her eye.
May was already horsing around with her delinquent friends, and Elise was brazenly pretending to be a normal person while chatting with classmates.
Sen, however, simply walked blankly behind Rin by herself.
Hayun had suggested they go to the Taeman Highlands together, but Sen had refused and come to Vatian for a simple reason.
She had received a mission from Daniel McLane.
Stick close to Rin. If anything strange happens, contact me immediately.
With those words he had handed her a mana-powered radio used by the royal investigation bureau—the same kind he had once received from Heini Rosales.
It meant Sen could reach Daniel at any time.
Of course, Rin knew none of this and simply assumed the girl trailing after her was lonely because she had no friends.
“Sen, want to stick together?”
Dodging the other friends clinging to her side, Rin held out her hand to Sen. Nearby students grumbled about why she would bother with someone who looked so emotionless, but—
Perfect chance.
Judging it a natural opportunity to stay glued to Rin, Sen took her hand without hesitation.
“Share a room with me too.”
Figuring she might as well go all the way, Sen pushed forward. Even at the bold proposal Rin smiled and said that was fine, leaving Sen herself a little amazed.
She completely changes when Daniel is involved, yet she can be this ordinary about everything else?
Beautiful, kind, and equally gentle to everyone without discrimination.
Aside from her fanatical love for Daniel McLane, she was a truly perfect girl. Sen honestly admired her.
While Sen chatted with Rin about this and that, Ares—who had also chosen Vatian as his destination—clenched his fist tightly.
Arni Durattan, who liked him, had headed for the Taeman Highlands. She had a cousin there and had left looking miserable, insisting she absolutely had to go.
Even without her, female students always swarmed around Ares, but this time he had no room to spare them any attention.
I need to look into this mark.
Even the elf Eris had worn a startled expression when she saw the mark that had appeared on both of Ares’s hands.
To uncover the secret of that mark, Ares had deliberately come to Vatian.
I heard there’s a nun who serves Helios among the candidates in this Saintess election.
She might know something.
Holding onto that hope, Ares tugged the gloves he wore to hide the mark a little tighter.
And here, one more male student was present.
Huge build, rough face, prominent fists—the kind of guy who made asking a girl out feel more like a threat than a request. Telman, the fifth-year Fist King.
Why were he and his gang here on a third- and fourth-year school trip?
Because they had volunteered as fifth-year helpers. The professors praised them for finally getting their act together now that graduation was near, but that wasn’t it at all.
May Flove! I’ll ruin your school trip and beat the crap out of you while I’m at it!
Burning with the desire to avenge the humiliation of losing to a third-year on the academy rooftop, the delinquent was watching for any chance.
“Haaaah, this is the life.”
Chewing on jerky and sipping a drink I’d bought outside while staring at the densely starred sky beyond the window, I thought, So this is what healing feels like.
The Demon World Forest was so murky, and every tree so tall and dense, that you couldn’t see the stars from the house windows.
To look at the night sky I’d had to go to the trouble of climbing a tree, but here it was right out in the open. Convenient, for sure.
“Wish this was beer.”
My body was still only eighteen, so I couldn’t drink. Shame—the jerky was high-quality stuff and would have made perfect bar food.
“Damn, that’s good.”
I’d been through so much lately that I was taking rest like this.
Alone in an empty dorm building, eating something tasty and stargazing.
Caught up in the feeling of living like an immortal hermit, I even started humming a tune I never usually hummed—when a crackling static sound rose from the corner of the room.
The radio I’d given Sen.
“Something already happened on the first day?”
I answered with a half-doubtful heart, and Sen’s voice filled the room in a calm ripple.
What are you doing?
“What am I doing? Just stargazing in my room.”
Yeah? Same as me. I’m stargazing on the hotel rooftop.
What is this?
“What’s going on? Did Rin go berserk?”
No, nothing like that.
“......Then why’d you call?”
I’d clearly told her to use it only in emergencies. This thing was expensive—if you used it casually it would break fast.
Just because.
“Just because? Juuuust because? You messing with me?”
I wondered if she was just excited from being on a trip, when a soft snicker came over the radio.
Pfft. Is it fun over there?
Sen, who had lived in the Execution Squad, taking emotion-killing drugs and training that carved away her flesh to become an outstanding assassin and weapon.
The voice she was using now sounded so much like an ordinary girl’s that I closed my mouth for a second before answering again.
“Yeah, it’s fun. I’m loving that you guys aren’t here.”
I joked, and a small grumbling sound came back from the other end.
My gaze drifted naturally to the sky outside the window as I asked lightly,
“How about over there? Having fun?”
Less fun than I expected. We just looked around the area today and that was it.
“It’s the first day.”
They’d spent the whole day in carriages, so they were probably tired. Today was for rest; the real school trip would start tomorrow.
......It would’ve been a little more fun if you were here.
“Me? What difference would I make?”
I meant it sincerely, but Sen just chuckled again and told me it would be different.
Is it because there’s no one around and we’re talking over the radio?
She still couldn’t show emotion this naturally face-to-face, but I thought it was big growth for her all the same.
Whether she herself realized it, I wasn’t sure.
I’m hanging up. I’m watching Rin carefully. We’re sharing a room too.
“Alright. I’m counting on you.”
Good night.
“Yeah. Good night.”
I tossed the now-silent radio onto the bed and took another sip of my drink.
She said she was stargazing too, so was she looking at the same sky as me right now?
The thought made me feel weirdly emotional, so I tore off another piece of jerky and shoved it in my mouth.