185. Summer Vacation

Rubbing the head Leona had smacked, I headed for the academy, stopping along the way for chicken skewers, parfaits, cup bingsu, egg bread.

I walked for a long while, snacking on all sorts of things.

"I'm heading to my office now. What about you?"

"I'm off to see the kids, I guess."

By the time the sunset settled in quietly, we arrived in front of the academy.

"The kids must have been pretty shaken. Look after them."

"You think me looking after them is gonna calm them down? Time's the only cure."

"This damn brat never takes her teacher's words nicely. When your teacher speaks, you just say, 'Yes, understood.' Why do you always have so much to say?"

"Wow, that's really unfair. Shouldn't you be looking after me instead? I'm the one who got the biggest shock, you know?"

"The Flame Emperor and I coddled you for two whole days. And anyway, you're a freak, so you're fine, aren't you? You were stuffing yourself with meat from the very next day."

"A freak? Hah, that's really ridiculous. Why did I end up like this? It's all from learning from you—"

I saw Leona's fist clench and immediately bowed my head.

"...Yes, understood."

"Ugh, you're so annoying."

Clicking her tongue, Leona shoved the egg bread in her hand into her mouth in one bite and started walking.

I stuffed my egg bread in too and followed after Leona.

Nom nom nom—

"Eliarnes."

Hm?

"What exactly is in your Upper Dantian?"

Leona, who had been walking slowly, came to a stop.

I chewed and swallowed my egg bread diligently.

"You've been hemming and hawing since earlier. Was that what you wanted to ask?"

"When did I hem and haw? I did no such thing."

With a shameless look, Leona poked my forehead.

"Anyway, I'm not seeing things wrong, am I?"

"You're seeing it right."

"That your wide-open Upper Dantian is completely empty?"

"Yes."

"Why? I taught you the method."

"Who knows. Guess I've got a Heart Demon or something."

I said I didn't know, but it was deliberate.

I hadn't established my Intent yet.

If I wished for the same thing I'd had in my Past Life, I could fill it up in no time and shoot straight to Tier 7, but I didn't.

Intent is when a person's will and desires take form.

It's only my speculation, but in Fabiana's case, the desire to protect Silina by her side likely sublimated into Intent and made spatial leap possible.

In Ashtar's case... well, ahem... it came from a misunderstanding, but like Arisa, the desire to stand beside the valiant Ronan probably sublimated into Intent and allowed her to manifest various weapons.

Anyway, that's what Intent is. A human's fervent wish manifesting in the world.

I've left mine empty. There are several reasons, but the biggest one is... because I think I need to become stronger than I was in my Past Life.

In my Past Life, I was strong.

Strong beyond comparison to the pathetic lot these days go on about—the Six Pillars or whatever.

And I can say the role of Intent was a big part of why I was able to become that strong.

But even with that Intent, I had felt my limits.

Arrogance and the Demon King.

In battle against those two, I felt a wall.

At the time, we had transcended humanity by a vast margin.

Physically, we had reached the "end"—to the point where no further development was possible.

But Intent was different.

I could see the path forward, but I couldn't advance.

I don't know why. Whether the root was wrong, or the direction was wrong—none of us could figure it out.

That's why I'm agonizing over it now.

If the root was wrong from the start, now is the time when I can change that root.

Even if the direction was wrong, now is the time when I can precisely realize it and fix it.

And so... for now, I'm leaving it empty.

"A Heart Demon... that's unexpected."

I said it indifferently, but Leona took it quite seriously.

Guilt... a little, no—there's no reason for any, right?

This kind of worry is a Heart Demon in its own way, after all.

"You don't need to worry too much. I'm a genius who astonishes the world and blasphemes even the gods."

"Aren't you embarrassed saying that with your own mouth?"

"It's the truth, so not embarrassed at all."

"Sometimes I'm a little ashamed to be your teacher."

"I'm also ashamed of my teacher... ehehe, oh come on. Why are you raising your fist again? We're not animals, let's use words. This is why Martial Artists get a bad name."

"Who's badmouthing Martial Artists?"

"Well... who knows?"

"At least not in front of me."

"Because you throw fists ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠at the slightest thing... oh, fine. I get it, I get it. Anyway, don't worry too much."

Leona, who had narrowed her eyes, soon patted my shoulder gently.

"If it gets too hard, you can talk to me. Don't go off on some weird path while agonizing alone."

"I'll take the sentiment. I'm going to fill it before summer vacation ends anyway."

"Yeah. You've got guts, I'll give you that."

Laughing, Leona spun around and continued on her way. I walked in the opposite direction and spoke.

"Please make sure to bring the Device."

"Don't crumple up the one I give you this time. Use it properly."

"Got it—no, I'm telling you, I didn't crumple it."

"Don't go doing stupid stuff on the Community. Well, you wouldn't do that kind of thing anyway."

"...Why would I do that?"

I have never, not once, done anything stupid on the Community.

Yeah. I... never did.

The ones I blocked were in the wrong.

*****

"My lady...!"

"El—Eliarnes!!"

"Hii!"

"Good to see you're in one piece."

My body was stiff from lying motionless for two days, so I'd come to the private training hall to work up a sweat before going to see the kids.

"...What are you all doing here?"

Eurasia and Stella. Pina and Silina.

Four of them were crowded together, eating something.

The others aside, Silina being mixed in made it look really awkward.

"What? How can you be so cold to friends you haven't seen in two days?!"

"Friends?"

Friends. Friends. Friends.

Maybe because it hadn't been long since I'd escaped the past, that word—friends—felt incredibly awkward.

"W-we're not friends...?"

It didn't last long.

Looking at Stella's dumb face, the emotions that had been clinging stickily to me flew away in an instant.

"Hah, friends, my ass."

"Huh, your mouth says that but your body's honest, huh? The corners of your lips are all the way up—gahk!"

I flicked Stella's forehead as she came over grinning, then trudged over.

"My lady... are you all right?"

"Yeah. Didn't you hear I wasn't lying around sick?"

"I heard, but... your expression doesn't look very good..."

What's wrong with ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠my expression?

I raised a hand and felt around my mouth.

Isn't it the same as usual?

"I'm fine, so don't worry."

"That's a relief... oh, don't eat what I was eating—have something else!"

"No, I already ate a lot on the way. I just want one bite of what Eurasia's eating."

I took a bite of the pizza Eurasia was holding and plopped down.

Then I slowly looked over each face, one by one.

I'd heard they were all fine, but still, just in case.

"You're all fine."

That aside, everyone's Realm has gone up quite a bit, hasn't it?

Eurasia aside—she'd been stuck at the wall of Tier 6 for a while now—Stella's Mana flow seems more stable than before.

As for Silina... she'll probably reach Tier 4 soon. And Pina.

"Oh? Pina, you hit 3rd Circle?"

"Hii!"

"Ooh... should we throw you a party?"

Pina nodded brightly, then tapped away at a big Device... what do you call it, a tablet?—and suddenly folded her ears dejectedly.

[After the incident last time... my Circle did increase, but I don't think I can just be happy about it...]

At that, Stella's expression—and even Silina's—darkened slightly.

And Eurasia... Eurasia's expression darkened too, but somehow, a little.

Is she blaming herself, thinking she could have done better?

Well... Eurasia might have thoughts like that. She'd always shown something like an obsession or compulsion about casualties and rescue.

"What do you have to be gloomy about? From what I heard, you protected a ton of kids. You did plenty well. We can at least have a party among ourselves."

"Hii..."

"Ugh... still... our classmates died. Eliarnes, are you okay? You were... at the scene of the incident. They said it was really... horrible."

"What's there not to be okay about?"

I wiped the sauce from Pina's mouth and accepted the mint-choco latte Eurasia handed over.

"If I hadn't been there, a lot more would have died. It's easier to think about the survivors than the dead."

Of course, even without thinking that way, I don't get particularly depressed or sink.

I've been through too many such things, heard too much, seen too much.

"That's true, but you talk like you've been through this kind of thing often."

Silina, the least gloomy of the four, wiped her mouth and looked at me.

"Are you really okay?"

"I said I'm okay."

"You didn't look good when you came in. You're not just pretending to be fine in front of us, are you?"

"Why would I go to that much trouble? If I were upset, I wouldn't have come to see you in the first place."

"Didn't you come without knowing we were here?"

"Hey. I've got experience—you think I really didn't know? I knew roughly from outside the door."

I was just surprised that they were gathered together eating so chummily.

Silina made a strange nasal sound, and Stella, chewing her lip, sidled up to me.

"Umm... Eliarnes..."

"What."

"A student from our Class died."

"So I hear."

"You... know who it was, right?"

Everyone's eyes gathered on me.

"An Executor dispatched from the Holy Kingdom went around to all the students in our Class. But... in the middle of that, Master... the Flame Emperor and Princess Fabiana helped us refuse the interviews."

"And?"

"And... we heard that the family of the student—who even the other professors didn't know was dead—went to the Eustetia Duchy."

I tilted my head and looked at Stella.

"Pushing back the Executor aside, who told you the rest?"

There was no real need to ask.

I already had a guess.

"...Professor Adelia told us."

"She did something unnecessary."

As I clicked my tongue in acknowledgment, Stella, who had been hesitating, clutched my sleeve tightly. Pina came over with tears welling in her eyes, and Silina quietly turned her gaze away to hide her expression.

"Did Clavel... turn into a Demon...?"

"Well, something like that."

The phrase "turned into a Demon" is a bit off, but explaining is a hassle and I'm not confident I could explain it well, so I just nodded vaguely.

"...So, um... you..."

"So I killed her."

I said what Stella was struggling to get out for her.

At that, Stella's head dropped. Tears rolled from Pina's eyes, and even Silina's complexion darkened, which was rare.

And Eurasia chewed her lips and looked at me. Her eyes were full of terror, despair, fear.

Eurasia was the only one conscious at that scene.

So I understand her having those feelings, but.

Isn't it too extreme?

Eurasia isn't this timid a personality.

"Why—why did it... happen?"

"Hmm..."

How should I explain this?

I don't know how much they know or how deep their knowledge goes.

"The Demonic Energy inside her body went berserk. It's also called a Remnant of Gluttony..."

I paused mid-sentence.

A Remnant of Gluttony forcibly shoved in by Nuclexirol. And Stella had once seen Clavel burning Nuclexirol and pretended not to notice.

If I told Stella it happened because of Nuclexirol, this dummy would definitely feel guilty.

There are too many things I have to worry about unnecessarily.

Clicking my tongue inwardly, I opened my mouth.

"Some bastard must have planted a Remnant of Gluttony inside Clavel's body. And this time, they made it go berserk."

I couldn't tell whether the kids understood or not, but I kept talking.

"Whatever the case, you don't need to know the reason. Once the Remnant of Gluttony inside her body went berserk, she was no longer human. You could even say she was more dangerous than a human. Because someone you used to know changing like that would make you hesitate to kill them."

So.

"A human carrying a Remnant of Gluttony, once they realize it, is better off killing themselves as soon as possible, or quietly crossing over to the Demon World. It's better for everyone."

Otherwise, they'll chew up and swallow someone precious to them, or be killed by someone precious to them.

I didn't bother saying the rest.

Even without saying it, they seemed to understand painfully well.

"...Y-you've been through a lot. Eliarnes."

"Hii..."

"As for the victim's family that went to the Duchy, I'll see if the imperial family can do something."

"Hey, you girls. Stop moping around for nothing and go pack. Vacation starts next week."

"It's more of a school closure than a vacation."

Silina smiled bitterly and stood up.

"Are we still going ahead with the plan?"

"Yeah."

"...Okay. I'm counting on you."

"Sure. Take care of yourself."

"You're the one who needs to take care of yourself."

Silina pulled a sheet of paper from her bosom, handed it to me, waved her hand, and left.

Stella wiped Pina's tears and sniffled, and Eurasia.

She stood still in place, head hanging.

Stella, Pina, Silina, Eurasia.

They all had the same reaction, so why did Eurasia alone bother me so strangely?

-The kids must have been pretty shaken. Look after them.

Leona's passing words came to mind.

Look after them, she says. How?

What does Eurasia like?

"Eurasia."

"...Yes?"

"Want to sleep together tonight?"

"Huh... t-together?"

"Sniff—hah...!"

"Hii...?"

Stella, who had been noisily sniffling, snapped her head up. Pina raised her head too.

"What, you don't want to?"

"N-no... I'd love to! Let's sleep together!"

"Me, me too! I want to sleep together too!"

[I'd be fine sleeping in ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the bathroom, so may I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠join you?]

The faces of the girls who had been gloomy just moments ago brightened. I smiled bitterly at them.

"Sure. Since we're all gathered, let's have a celebration party for Pina too. There are no classes until vacation anyway. Let's ditch training for a while and have some fun."

At my words, the three girls' faces darkened rapidly.

"Ugh... Eliarnes... you too..."

"M-my lady, are you really okay?"

[Eliarnes must have had it the hardest after all... and yet she's pretending to be fine for our sake...]

"I try to be nice to these brats and they still throw a fit."