Chapter 130
Chapter 130
The air in front of the Tree House was cool at dawn.
Karin and Lapin were squatting in front of the hammock, staring down at the ground.
“Kyaah….”
Karin let out a short sigh.
On the dirt where their gazes rested, letters scratched with a twig remained.
「I'll be right back.」
“Honestly… where does he keep running off to….”
Until last night, Villed had said he would wait on the first floor.
They had checked through the window to see him lying in the hammock and gone to sleep reassured, but….
When they woke at dawn, the hammock where Villed had been lying was empty.
All that was left was this short message.
“It’s dangerous right now, why does he keep wandering off?”
Worry rather than irritation shaded Karin’s voice.
The broken protective ritual was one problem, and to make matters worse they had also heard from Professor Hilda that a large fire had broken out in the northern region.
The Tree House built on the southwest was relatively safer, but if the flames weren’t contained this place would be engulfed in fire in an instant.
In the end, the whole island could be in danger.
Where on earth had he gone in a situation like this?
“Lapin. You still can’t sense where Villed is, right?”
At Karin’s words, Lapin nodded.
The last time they had built the Tree House, and the time Villed had gone to dig the well, Lapin had pinpointed Villed’s location as if connected by an invisible thread.
But.
“Yeah, I can’t feel him.”
This time, he couldn’t.
Being in danger was one thing, but Villed going out from the Tree House alone was already nerve-wracking, and on top of that they had no idea where he had gone; worry made it impossible to sleep.
While Lapin and Karin stared at the ground together, Lapin slowly raised his head.
And he looked in one direction.
Into the darkness between the trees.
“Lapin, what is it?”
“…Someone is coming.”
“Huh? Is it Villed?”
“…….”
Lapin closed his mouth and watched that place intently for a moment, then whispered again.
“…It’s not Villed.”
The moment Lapin finished speaking, the sound of leaves being stepped on reached them.
Rustle, rustle—.
Carefully, footsteps were approaching.
If it wasn’t Villed, who could be coming here?
…It could even be a monster.
So it had come after all, Karin held her breath as her heart pounded.
She rose quietly and took the Branch of Life and a totem from her bosom.
Alert to the slowly approaching presence, tension filled Karin’s eyes.
At last, someone fully emerged from the darkness.
“…Huh?”
Karin blinked when she saw it.
Mii—!
A small beastlike cry sounded as if in greeting.
It was the silver deer Villed had brought yesterday.
…And leaning on that deer as if supported, a person walked in.
From the academy uniform, they were a fellow student.
“Ah, you are…!”
Karin put the totem and the twig back in her arms and stepped forward.
The student beside the deer was Shia, who was in the same class.
She hadn’t talked with her much, but she knew her face and name since they had been together during the Rekorox school trip and the final trial.
“Are you okay? Are you hurt?”
“…….”
But Shia looked too pained to open her eyes and only breathed heavily.
She seemed unable even to hold herself upright, and one shoulder was slightly twisted.
“Sorry, let me touch you for a moment.”
Karin very carefully placed her hand on Shia’s forehead.
A feverish heat like a burning lump of coal spread to her fingertips and it was startlingly hot.
“Gah… it’s so hot….”
Karin’s voice trembled; she worried something serious might happen, and Shia’s lips were cracked, perhaps from thirst.
Lapin moved closer as well.
A faint smell of burning came from Shia’s clothes.
Could she be a victim of the northern fire they had heard about?
“What should we do… hold on a little longer….”
Karin and Lapin exchanged glances and helped Shia lean her back against a nearby tree.
Karin took out a water canteen and held it out.
“You thirsty? Want some water?”
“…….”
Shia squinted and looked up at Karin.
She hesitated briefly out of caution; her gaze trembled for a moment, but her stamina seemed to fail her and her eyes soon blurred as if losing strength.
Unable to refuse, Shia breathed heavily and nodded faintly.
Karin carefully tipped the canteen to Shia’s lips and let a small amount touch her mouth.
“Be careful, drink slowly.”
“…….”
Shia swallowed the water slowly, even that motion seeming difficult.
When about half the canteen had been used, Shia turned her head slightly to signal she could drink no more.
Karin withdrew the canteen, noticing Shia’s hand trembling subtly.
Lapin fetched a sleeping bag from the Tree House and tucked it between Shia’s back and the tree; its softness seemed to ease her heavy body.
Shia opened her eyes again and looked around.
Out of nowhere, a house had been built here.
Perhaps it was where the two students who had helped her were staying.
As if trying to lower her fever, Karin placed a wet cloth on Shia’s forehead.
“How did you end up like this… this place is still safe so rest properly now.”
“…….”
Shia opened her mouth as if to answer Karin, then closed it again.
Silently, the forest that had been buried in darkness began to take on light.
Dawn was breaking.
There were times when the speaker making a claim mattered more than the content of the claim.
If I, ranked almost at the bottom of the school, argued to stop Kunking’s hunt, no one would pay me any heed.
But Elined was different.
As a promising honor student and a model within the school, the same words would carry weight if she advocated them.
If it was Elined, she could convince the majority even with nonsense.
So… I wanted Elined to make my argument for me.
Of course, I knew she wouldn’t accept it empty-handed, so I set a condition.
“…You’re saying you’ll take on debt over something so trivial?”
“Yes.”
I told Elined to cancel the hunt for Kunking and prioritize extinguishing the fire.
Her gaze wavered.
“…Then what will you do after everyone leaves?”
“I could at least hold his ankle.”
Elined’s eyes narrowed at my answer.
“Are you saying you will make a reckless… sacrifice?”
At that, I let out a bitter laugh.
“A sacrifice? Why would I? I had no intention of doing some cheap hero play; I valued my own life too.”
“Then exactly what reason….”
“Isn’t it strange?”
I continued as if I had been waiting.
“A flame-attribute wielder who spent two days warning about wildfires while beating students suddenly caused an incident the moment the protective ritual was destroyed.”
Elined briefly closed her eyes, then opened them again.
“That is strange, but….”
“Kunking is already overwhelmingly in first place. He could just stay put and still secure the department of his choice, so why would he risk causing trouble and a massacre that would damage admissions just for the sake of competition?”
“……”
Elined mulled over my words, then nodded in agreement.
“When you faced him, didn’t you feel anything strange?”
Elined opened her mouth as if recalling something.
“It was as if communication was impossible.”
“Right?”
“In that case.”
Elined raised her tone, speaking rapidly as if realizing something.
“Are you saying a third party interfered and is using Kunking?”
“The destruction of the protective ritual can’t just be a coincidence. If someone had the power to tamper with Professor Ruber’s ritual, don’t you think they could also control Kunking?”
“……”
Elined’s face turned pale.
She seemed to think there was truth in my words.
Ruber’s ritual had been nearly perfect, after all.
This was the chance—when persuasion was beginning to work.
I spoke quickly in succession.
“And if we ignore the wildfire and press on with the hunt, every student will be in danger. To minimize damage, we must suppress the wildfire first.”
I slowly began to move my steps.
“The Overseers aren’t just watching, either. If we hold out a little longer, an Overseer will intervene. If I can hold him down and buy time, it’s more than possible.”
“So you’re saying you’ll endure it?”
“Right. I’m not trying to sacrifice myself… I just want to see the face of the bastard who destroyed the ritual and screwed with us, so I’m moving on my own.”
“For that reason….”
Elined could no longer continue her words.
“Do not breathe a word of this to anyone else. That’s the condition of the debt I owe you.”
“…So you’re telling only me?”
“Yes. I don’t have anyone else I can trust.”
“Only me….”
Elined’s eyes widened as she held her breath and stared at me.
The intensity of her gaze and the silence was suffocating, so I opened my mouth first.
“There’s no time, so go. Quickly.”
Elined murmured softly.
“…Come back alive.”
I answered with a silent nod and waved my hand to send her off.
Elined moved first with swift steps.
‘That should be enough….’
It felt like I had told Elined too much, but I had no choice.
She would eventually learn about a third party infiltrating the academy anyway.
To move her, I had to give her persuasive information.
‘…Time for me to go too.’
Taking a deep breath, I headed north alone.
When Elined returned, all the students who had been preparing to hunt Kunking stood up.
“Elined, the smoke is getting thicker. We should head out now….”
Torono spoke urgently.
Even here, which had seemed safe, the heat was becoming stifling. A bitter burnt smell stabbed their lungs with every breath.
After a short silence, Elined spoke.
“…The hunt is canceled.”
“What? Canceled?”
The students, including Torono, asked in shock.
Elined answered calmly.
“As it is, everyone will die. Kunking is already moving south from the central area, and if we gather our forces in one place we’ll risk losing our retreat and being surrounded by flames.”
Murmurs spread instantly. The students exchanged bewildered looks, but Elined did not waver.
She shifted her gaze briefly and pointed east and west.
“Split into two teams. Start from the east and west, and suppress the wildfire northward. Earth-attribute holders, build barriers to block the flames, and water-attribute holders, extinguish the fire.”
Given concrete instructions, the hesitant students began nodding one by one.
“Fire-attribute holders, set controlled burns to redirect the flames toward the water or clear what the wildfire could consume first.”
Her calm tone and specific commands restored reason, suppressing panic and confusion.
“Now, let’s move quickly.”
As they split into two teams, Torono hesitated for a long time before asking Elined.
“W-wait. Then who’s going to deal with that spiky head? Isn’t he the cause of the wildfire?”
“……”
Elined met Torono’s gaze briefly.
She couldn’t say that Villed alone was going to face Kunking.
That was far too unbelievable to persuade anyone.
So she had to redirect.
“…We can’t be certain we even stand a chance against Kunking. And the Overseers won’t just watch this unfold. We have no choice but to leave it to them.”
“……”
Torono fell silent.
It was true—Kunking was overwhelmingly strong.
So strong that neither Torono nor even Elined had been able to face him.
Torono could not shake the fear that even with this many students, they might not win.
They were powerless. That was why they could only follow Elined’s decision.
“Let’s move at once.”
When Elined urged them again, everyone began moving under her command.
In conclusion, I could not defeat Kunking.
Of course not.
He was a monster among the greatest riders in Yggdrasil’s history, vying for second or third place.
On top of that, with Ruber’s enhancement drug injected into him, his power had multiplied several times over.
No matter how much I borrowed the strength of beasts, the difference in scale was overwhelming.
When I fought Captain of the Imperial Knights Verdi, I had barely won thanks to strategy and the system’s help, but this time, no such miracle existed.
Kunking being injected with Ruber’s potion was something that had never happened in the game, so I had no reliable strategy.
His overwhelming brute strength made even me struggle to breathe for a moment.
When his fist swung at me.
I felt it for the first time.
That maybe.
Just maybe, I could really lose my life.
But at that very moment, it wasn’t me who blocked Kunking’s fist.
“Student Villed, that was quite dangerous just now.”
A cold voice rang out.
A black-haired young man with red eyes gleaming behind glasses.
Yggdrasil’s top graduate, and Ruber’s head assistant.
The true mastermind behind the Kunking incident.
And… the one who would soon bring calamity upon the academy.
Inevitably, my destined enemy.
Yet now, he was the one desperately blocking Kunking’s fist in front of me.
And this scene, this entire situation.
…All of it was according to my design.