Chapter 57
Chapter 57
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 57
Chapter Title: 7. Is Your Back of the Head Safe? (4)
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# 57
#6 Their Circumstances: The Circumstances of a Certain Student Council President
“They won’t even let us go home…”
“Well, we expected that much.”
“But half the professors are gone, so we should be able to head out now.”
“Wouldn’t it be weird if we were relieved by that?”
I let out deep sighs as I stood from my seat.
Lady Aris would handle cleaning up the first three floors just fine on her own.
Even if Yuglasia Academy was built with summoned beasts in mind, the hallways were still limited space.
So even with fewer professors, the number actually fighting would be about the same.
The upside was that taking down one professor meant no backup coming.
Plus, it was a huge boon that Harian Professor, a divine-grade spirit user, had returned to the elven forest.
If the divine-grade spirit users and the student council elites conserved their strength and focused solely on breaking through, even that Myuam Professor couldn’t hold them back forever.
“Alright, then—on with the plan!”
“For the sake of going home!”
And so we pushed through the seventh floor with renewed vigor, fighting on the sixth.
Around 1 p.m., give or take, the apocalypse arrived.
-For students who haven’t gone home yet, we will now initiate the special vacation plan for a swift dismissal.
“What kinda bullshit is this?”
Everyone on the sixth floor who heard it nodded furiously in agreement with Lisen.
We’d dragged ourselves to school even though we didn’t want to.
It was vacation, and we still came to school! Didn’t they know how badly we wanted to go home?
We were busting our asses to get down there, and the academy was the one blocking us?
And now a special vacation plan for students who hadn’t gone home?
Thud. Thud.
But that rage evaporated the moment we heard footsteps coming down from the seventh floor—the one we’d just cleared.
“Ah… ahh…”
Thud. Thud.
It started with a despairing groan from the student at the very back.
The others turned to look, and there it was, beaming a bright smile.
“Bad students who haven’t gone home yet?”
Boom!
With a slight tilt of its head—something a stranger might find cute—it flashed the smile that brought us only terror and despair. Then the silver devil kicked off the stairs and flew at us.
“R-Run!”
“Kyaaah!”
“Ehehe! Finally, finally Ar-time! I’ve been waiting for this moment!”
“Kwaaaah!”
Chaos and terror. Screams and thudding blows filled the air.
“Run!”
Lisen, quickest to grasp the situation, summoned Loki’s Shoes and bolted at lightspeed.
“Run!”
“Hey, you think we’re easy—gurk?!”
Our opponents had been tough just moments ago, but was it because the angel of death was closing in?
One student knocked out a professor with an attack too fast to perceive and dashed away.
“Save meee!”
“Abandon him, abandon them! Pour everything into breaking through ahead!”
“Use up every bit of strength except what you need to run!”
“Kwaaah! P-Please, save me, President!”
“Sorry, just buy us time on the stairs!”
“We’re leaving behind anyone caught in the stair traps too!”
In our panic, way more people got snagged in the stair traps than usual, but there was no helping it.
No—in fact, if dealing with them slowed the silver devil even a little, we could count ourselves lucky.
But unlike before, the silver devil wasn’t toying with us for fun this time.
“Ehehehe! My goal is to take you all down!”
Just one hit. Two for anyone who withstood the first.
It struck only hard enough to knock out, and its speed coming down was nothing short of miraculous!
Thanks to students fainting from mere grazes, those of us taking down professors were ultimately picked off one by one by the silver devil.
But, but!
“We’re at the second floor now!”
And as expected—or fortunately, depending on how you looked at it.
The third floor was already cleared spotless, so no more casualties as we fled.
The moment we hit the second floor, we spotted Lady Aris locked in combat with Arhan Professor.
“Kwaaaaaah!”
“Damn it, it caught up again!”
But at the same instant, the silver devil overtook our rear!
“Ruuuun!”
Explanations?
No time for that crap.
We didn’t even have time to catch our breath—explanations could go die in a ditch!
“Hehehe, still haven’t gone home? Such naughty kids!”
And sure enough, whether it read my intentions or heard the devil behind us.
Lady Aris’s face went pale as she deflected Arhan Professor’s sword with masterful footwork and bolted forward.
“Vacation… this is what vacation is?!”
She screamed words we all felt in our bones!
“What now…”
Arhan Professor, filling in for vacationing Maron Professor, sighed deeply as he raised his sword and shouted.
“We can break through ahead… huh?”
In that instant, Lisen streaked past Arhan Professor, leaving only an afterimage.
It was the reincarnation of Loki.
Perfect control of Loki’s Shoes, which let you move like teleporting beyond human limits.
“Urk… b-but the rest of you!”
The flustered Arhan Professor turned back to us and yelled.
“Kill himmm!”
“W-Wait, what are they—?!”
Like we cared.
A barrage of summons swarmed Arhan Professor.
Strategy? Tactics? Didn’t need ’em.
A reckless charge, even if it hit our own side.
But no choice. Fall behind and you’re dead!
“Kreurk!”
“Damn it, faster! More power!”
In that moment, a first-year who’d joined us on the second summoned a silver hammer.
A first-year divine-grade summoner.
Contractor of Thor, the god called the thunder god!
No idea what grudge it held, but the god hated Loki, whom Lisen had contracted with. According to Lisen, its combat power was top-tier in its own mythology!
For reference, the demon who’d beaten that top-tier mythology god into submission with brute force and forced a contract on that first-year was chasing us!
Out of sheer terror, perhaps—the first-year, who could normally only manage weak lightning with divine power, summoned the god’s sacred weapon and smashed Arhan Professor’s side.
“Gruaaah!”
And the result? A resounding success!
Whether due to the powerful lightning or not, Arhan Professor convulsed and collapsed.
“Hirto, nice one!”
“You did it, Hirto!”
The surrounding first-years cheered the boy contracted with Thor.
Fools!
“Save the praise and run!”
No time to explain. The devil was closing in.
As I yelled while brushing past, they finally got the picture and scrambled away.
But.
“Damn…?”
“Shit, Myuam Professor’s there!”
First floor.
The exit door was right there, but blocking it was the Water Spirit King and its summoner, Myuam Professor.
“Get out of the waaay!”
At a glance, the pitch-black mana-clustered spear blade that could pass for spear aura pierced the water barrier—but it held.
“Damn it!”
And there, peeking from a corner of the water barrier, floating on water, was Lisen.
“Break through, no matter what!”
I summoned three high-grade fire spirits.
Fire spirits were weak to water spirits, sure, but enough firepower could evaporate it all.
But the opponent was a spirit king.
No way I could win alone.
But now was different!
“Burn it down!”
“Charge, just charge!”
“The devil’s right on our tails!”
Driven mad by the thudding sounds closing in, the students charged with me!
Every fire summon imaginable hurled itself at the water.
Fire spirits, fire giants, flaming birds—every spirit and familiar charged in.
Sensing the summoners’ desperation, they threw themselves fearlessly at the spirit king, pinnacle of all water!
“The water’s vanishing!”
“Just a bit more power!”
“If we make a hole, the other summons will pile in and widen it!”
And bit by bit, the water barrier receded.
Snap.
But with a flick of Myuam Professor’s finger, it regenerated instantly.
“Rivers and oceans aren’t the only water. Clouds in the sky, morning mist. The air you breathe. Inside your own bodies. Water exists everywhere in this world.”
He gave us a wry smile as we stared in dazed horror at the returning water.
“Charging a water spirit king with fire? You’re the first. Refreshing challenge, I’ll give you that.”
With that, Myuam Professor raised a small hand, waved sadly, and pitied us.
“Lose your reason in battle, and you lose. Engrave that on your hearts.”
By the time his words sank in, the thudding had reached right beside me.
‘…What?’
“…Pre… sident…”
“Pre… si…”
“dent…”
‘Shut up…’
Noises started somewhere.
Shut up. I want to sleep. Forget everything and sleep hard.
“Uh… th…”
“Wh… at…”
“The silver devil’s coming.”
But Lisen’s final words jolted me awake on reflex.
“N-No!”
I shot up, summoning a high-grade familiar and scanning around. Lisen grinned.
“See? You’re up.”
Looking around, I saw the other students.
“Why?”
Most were sprawled on the floor.
A few awake ones were shaking the others.
And where we were…
“Why are we sleeping in the auditorium?”
Yes.
The very auditorium where we’d sworn victory at the Imperial Tournament not long ago.
Most students were passed out on the floor!
“Because we got hit.”
“Urk…”
With Lisen’s words, memories flooded back like amnesia lifting.
-Kwaaak!
-No, save me!
-Ehehe, last ones, so sis will play more!
-Stop, stop!
-Guh! Please, no more…
“Urk…”
Memories I wished I could forget.
A time of nothing but pain ravaged my mind again.
“Oh, President. And this is important.”
Lisen looked at me with a rare, bitterly self-mocking smile and delivered the despairing truth.
“It’s 6 p.m. now.”
“What?”
“6 p.m.”
What nonsense was this? 6 p.m.? No way!
“I get wanting to deny reality.”
“N-No way!”
What the hell happened?
I just got hit by the devil and woke up—how’d five hours pass? Bullshit!
“Lies!”
I staggered to my feet, shoved open the auditorium doors.
Outside, the sun was sinking, slow but sure.
Summer day, still in the sky but definitely heading down.
“It’s… really 6 p.m.?”
One person? Whatever.
One class? Tolerable.
One year? As long as it’s not me!
But, but!
“To keep the entire school here until 6 p.m.!”
Was this even realistically possible?
Even on a weekday, other academies would’ve emptied out by now!
And this was the first day of vacation!
Thud.
“N-No, this can’t be.”
Crushed by despair, my knees hit the floor.
My body slumped forward as if I couldn’t endure anymore; I braced with my arms and unleashed the rage in my heart.
“Goddamn it… goooooooddaaaaamn iiiiiit!”
Vacation! Vacation!
And it’s 6 p.m.!
And this is our routine from now on!
Why did this hell have to hit in my final year?!
Someone patted my shoulder.
“L-Lady?”
I thought it was Lisen or another exec.
But no—my expectation shattered. It was Lady Aris patting me.
And Lady Aris gave a gentle, compassionate smile.
“Senior, you graduate next year.”
“Ah…”
I realized my mistake.
That wasn’t compassion. It was the smile of an enlightened priest who’d cast off all worldly ties!
“But I just enrolled this year.”
Her smile let my kneeling knees rise on their own.
Right. I was a fourth-year.
But the academy still had third-years with one year left, second-years with two.
And
“I still have three years leeeeefuuuht!”
Not me who should despair. The first-years stuck here for three more years!
“What did I do wrong?!”
Lady Aris wailed pathetically, unbefitting a marquis’s daughter.
All I could do was watch.