Chapter 134
Chapter 134
The fourth day of the exam, afternoon.
[As of this moment, I will end the exam.]
At the same time Professor Ruber’s announcement came out, Karin hugged Lapin tightly and shouted.
“It’s finally over……! It was so hard…….”
“You did well, Karin.”
Lapin stroked Karin’s head as she clung to her.
“Hard? We didn’t even do anything since we were stuck inside the house.”
As I muttered that while getting up from the hammock, Karin shot me a sulky glare.
“But still……! The stress of possibly losing points to other cadets and not being able to enter the department I wanted, and other things like that……. Anyway, it was really tough! Haa, the first thing I’ll do once I get on the Galfell is shower…….”
It seemed Karin hadn’t been able to relax until the very end of the exam.
Meanwhile, I felt a bit let down.
‘I thought we’d at least run into one person in those four days, but it ended rather anticlimactically.’
I had wanted to see how much Karin had grown, so I thought one fight would have been fine.
“Now, it’s time to say goodbye to this place.”
Karin slowly looked around with wistful eyes.
The Dakota Fire Hole, the small mushroom farm, the animals that came to play around the Tree House.
She placed her hand on the pine tree supporting the Tree House and tilted her head upward.
“……It was tough, but I got to spend time with the animals, roast mushrooms, pick fruit, live in a tree house, and even felt like camping…… it was really fun.”
Her voice carried a faint longing.
“You got attached here already, huh.”
“Yeah…… it will remain as an unforgettable memory.”
As Karin got lost in sentiment, Lapin suddenly poured cold water on her mood.
“Karin, you don’t have to be sad. We can come back here again.”
“……Eh? But wouldn’t it be hard to return? If it takes hours on the Galfell, then by ship it would take several days, and there aren’t even ships that sail this far……?”
Karin blinked her eyes at Lapin’s words.
It looked fun, so I joined in.
“Yeah, we can come here whenever we’re bored.”
“Whenever we’re bored? What’s with that? You sound like you’re talking about visiting your own home…….”
Karin looked puzzled, and Lapin, who seemed amused, joined in further.
“I’m coming back tomorrow with my sea otter. There are still many places on this island I want to visit.”
“Tomorrow?! Is that even physically possible?”
“Then we should bring barbecue equipment too and have a party.”
“Ooh…….”
“Ah, so you’re leaving me out again, huh?”
Judging from Karin’s pouty face, if I teased her more, I’d probably get smacked.
Since I had promised to tell her after the exam, I explained everything to her.
After listening to my explanation, Karin quickly seemed to understand.
“Oh my, so that’s what it was? That’s why you said we could harvest the mushrooms after planting them…….”
Because she had gone back and forth between the sea farm and the livestock shed several times, she easily accepted my explanation that the Tree House and the livestock shed were connected.
“But this is academy property, right? Is it okay to install a portal without permission……?”
“Just do it in secret. It’s an uninhabited island with no people, and it doesn’t harm anyone.”
“……Eyy.”
“Don’t like it? Then we’ll just go without you.”
“No, I never said I didn’t like it!”
Karin puffed her cheeks in protest, but soon softened her expression.
“……So we really can come back.”
Karin muttered softly to herself while gazing at the Tree House, then smiled again.
As I turned my head with a slight smirk, a gentle breeze brushed my cheek. The forest leaves swayed.
At that moment, a massive shadow loomed over the sky.
Karin looked up toward the source of the shadow and pointed a finger at the sky.
“……Ah, look over there!”
Bwoooong—!
A giant airship cut across the sky, passing overhead.
[We will soon activate the teleportation spell. Do not be alarmed and prepare safely.]
As Professor Ruber’s voice resounded throughout the island, light began to seep out from all over our bodies.
– Mii~
Beneath the Tree House, the silver fawn and the animals gathered, letting out cries as though to see us off.
I gave them a faint smile and waved my hand.
“See you again next time.”
A dazzling light filled my vision.
With the sensation of the world flipping upside down, the scenery around us changed in an instant.
Professor Ruber cast the teleportation spell and gathered all the cadets on the beach.
Both the professors and students who had taken part in the exam boarded the Grand Galfell anchored at the shore, and soon, the Galfell set sail.
While Lapin and Karin went to shower, I sat alone on a sofa placed in the corner of the wide central hall inside the Galfell.
From there, I could see the entire surroundings clearly.
‘This is a completely different atmosphere compared to when we first came here for the exam.’
The tense hostility from when I first stepped onto the island was gone, replaced with the cadets’ noisy laughter filling the Galfell.
“We’re free now!”
“Drink! Drink up!”
“You survived?!”
Cheerful shouts erupted everywhere, and I even saw friends embracing each other after reuniting late.
Of course, there were cadets who looked dejected after failing the exam, but even they eventually smiled, swept up by the noisy mood around them.
‘Peaceful…….’
The sight of cadets rejoicing after the exam looked like an illustration straight out of a game.
As I watched that scene, my eyes met with Kunking, who was leaning on crutches.
“…….”
Kunking’s gaze lingered on me for a long while. I didn’t bother avoiding it.
He seemed about to approach me but suddenly turned his head and walked away in another direction.
‘Good, less trouble for me.’
Yes, what I wanted was leisure.
I hoped no one would come to talk to me……
“Ah, it’s the young master!”
I was doomed.
A voice so loud it nearly made my vision spin rang out.
“Young master, how was it? Do you think you did well on the exam?”
“Well.”
I opened my eyes with effort and looked at Keirin standing before me.
I wasn’t sure what had her speaking so passionately, but her red hair kept shaking often.
“I defeated monsters left and right, and I also stole a lot of points from other cadets. At this rate, I might make it into the top 10. How many did you defeat, young master? A lot, right?”
“Just one.”
“Ehh?What?If you only got one, then you’re dead last.Last place, last place.What were you even doing to only get one~!”
No matter how much Keirin rambled, I just answered in silence and signaled him with my eyes to leave quickly, but he didn’t notice at all and instead began chattering about all sorts of trivial things.
Just as I was being driven mad by Keirin’s endless chatter, a voice came from afar.
“Keirin, if you don’t come now, we’ll leave you behind!”
It was Princess Arlhardt.
The way she called for Keirin almost made her look like an angel.
“Ah, whoops.Her Highness is calling.I’d better get going~ See you later, young master!”
Yes, please just go.
I nodded silently and sipped my cup.
……However, an unexpected figure remained in front of me.
Brown hair, androgynous looks, a cadet with nothing left but scars on his hands—this world’s protagonist.
……It was Duke Ren.
Since he had been staring at me for a while, I had to put down my cup.
“What.”
“You were the one who protected Mr. Kunking along with Assistant Lahan, weren’t you?”
“Who told you that nonsense.”
“The Spirit of the Wind informed me.”
So it was.
Ren’s wind-attribute powers had reached their peak, and by this point he was able to resonate with the Spirit of the Wind.
‘So the spirit was secretly watching and tattled.’
At least it was fortunate that I hadn’t used Shurk’s ability in the fight against Kunking.
I continued to deny it firmly.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.I just got caught up in it, and Assistant Lahan did everything.”
Ren widened his eyes slightly, then smiled faintly.
“Not taking the credit for yourself and yielding it to the assistant?You are…… surprisingly shy.”
“I’m not in the mood to entertain your boring jokes, so get lost.”
Even at my cold tone, Ren only smiled more gently and nodded.
“I believe even someone like you, who seemed villainous, is changing.”
Leaving those words behind, Ren quietly turned and walked away.
“…….”
I fell into thought as I watched his back.
That line Ren had just said was originally meant for Kunking, not me.
In the original story, Ren defeated the boss together with Kunking, saving all the cadets.
That became the turning point for Kunking, clearing up the misunderstandings caused by his origins and rough personality, and leading him to befriend Ren.
But for him to say that line to me of all people……
‘……Well, I suppose it’s fine.’
Fortunately, I soon saw Ren smiling as he struck up a conversation with Kunking in the distance.
It looked like the misunderstanding had been resolved.
No doubt he had said something similar to him.
“Me? Shy? You’ve got a mouth, and you use it to spout that crap, you bastard!”
Kunking’s face turned bright red as he exploded in fury—it was just like in the game.
‘At least I managed to preserve the ending of the episode, even if everything else got messed up…….’
I let out a sigh of relief.
Of course, even though the Comprehensive Exam episode had ended, there were still unresolved problems.
The most important of them was the fact that Professor Hilda genuinely cared for me.
Naturally, that was something that never appeared in the game.
‘I don’t know exactly why or for what purpose she’s showing me kindness.’
Just like in this episode, I could use Hilda as my weapon.
But I wasn’t sure how long Hilda’s fondness for me would last.
‘Since I don’t know when she might change her mind.’
People often acted on desire, but sometimes they made choices based simply on their mood at the moment, without any deeper meaning.
‘There are too many variables. Depending on Hilda isn’t a long-term solution.’
Uncertainty.
It was one of the things I hated most.
From now on, I decided to refrain from relying on Hilda to resolve episodes.
“Villed!”
As I was lost in thought, a voice called my name.
When I turned my gaze, I saw Lapin and Karin returning after their showers.
Both were neatly dressed in freshly laundered uniforms, and their hair was tidy and glossy, as if it had been dried thoroughly.
They seemed in good spirits after their showers, walking toward me with light steps.
“……Ah!”
Karin suddenly froze mid-step as a silver-haired cadet passed by in front of us.
I also shifted my gaze toward her.
‘……Sia.’
She was the one suspected of being Lahan’s accomplice in this incident.
‘Originally, Sia should have administered the elixir to the boss monster…….’
But for some reason, she had given it to Kunking instead.
‘Well…… I can more or less guess why.’
I knew Sia’s settings, her past, and even her future.
I had already figured out the rough reason why she acted differently than in the original.
“Ah, hel—”
“…….”
Karin tried to greet her with courage, but Sia didn’t even glance at her and walked right past.
“She ignored me…… Ah…… hahaha…….”
Looking dejected, Karin crouched beside me and started carving a totem with vacant eyes.
“Hey, hamster.Is that really worth being so shocked about?”
“But still, sniff…….I thought we could be friends……”
I had already heard from Karin about how Sia had visited the Tree House before, only to leave without saying a word.
Although it was a tense moment, running into one of the culprits of this incident, thankfully nothing had happened.
‘She didn’t harm the ones who helped her. At least she has that much decency.’
Sia’s back disappeared into the crowd.
Karin sniffled and stayed quiet for a while.
Neither I nor Lapin bothered to break the silence.
Around us, cheerful laughter and conversations still filled the air.
“I heard Miss McGrim will come again for this winter festival.”
“Miss McGrim?!”
“This time, she’s preparing properly and seriously.”
The main topic was the “Winter Festival.”
Perhaps having overheard that, Karin’s eyes regained their sparkle as she asked me.
“Villed, are you going to run a booth for this festival too?”
“Well, I don’t have plans yet.”
“Let’s do it! Well…… the incident from the last festival was a bit scary, but this time will be different!”
Karin’s eyes shone with anticipation.
‘A festival, huh…….’
It was about ten days away.
Plenty of time to prepare.
‘Yeah, better to participate than not.’
Besides, there were many things I had wanted to try during the festival season.
Resting my chin on my hand, I began planning to fully prepare for the festival.