Chapter 24
Chapter 24: Student Council President: Harvest Season (2)
Yuna Linforce is often told she has "a charisma that leads others."
But strictly speaking, that's just a misconception on the part of those around her—Yuna herself never once believes she has what it takes to be that kind of person.
She simply does what needs to be done from where she stands.
Others don't clean up the trash, so she started cleaning it up herself. Others don't study, so she decided to study and share what she knew. The professor seemed to be in a difficult position, so she started helping from the sidelines. She got involved because she wanted a classmate dealing with family troubles to come to the academy tomorrow with a smile on their face.
Just that.
She simply did what any human being ought to do as a matter of course.
From the outside, people might think Yuna Linforce has a kind, bold nature and serves as a model for others—but she is human, too. Not a saint.
Yuna, too, is driven by her own desires.
The murky desire that sits deepest, darkest, in the very abyss of her heart.
And that desire is….
"To sleep well."
"What are you on about, you lunatic."
Ignoring Silen's words, Yuna took stock of her own desires and gave a nod.
Right. Yuna Linforce's desires are to sleep well, eat well, spend each day in good health, and get along with the people around her with a smile.
Utterly personal and trivial things—but as her mother used to say before she passed, life is all like that in the end. She followed that teaching, too.
What if she couldn't sleep properly tonight because she hadn't cleaned up that trash she saw in the morning? What if her lunch tasted awful today because the professor's face looked troubled over the class's falling grades? What if it became hard to spend today with a smile because the face of a friend who couldn't come to school due to family problems kept haunting her?
Wouldn't life be far too hollow then?
Humans die someday, and that is something she cannot escape either.
And so, in the remaining time she has while alive, Yuna Linforce knows that what she is capable of is finite, and that her talents are not unlimited.
That is why she keeps it to what's within reach—within the bounds of what she can do.
To live today with joy. To make those around her joyful.
Yuna was simply a girl who moved through the world with that kind of thinking.
If there was a recent goal, it was to break through the uncharted dungeon, Demeter—together with a teacher she could trust, and a partner who argued with her constantly but whose skills were undeniably solid.
For that, she needed to grow the party.
Even if it meant Hyacinth, the student council president of Rudra, who always found some rude way to wound the people around her—she intended to comply if her master said they needed her as a party member.
Beat Hyacinth into the ground, drag her to Demeter. Then go deeper into the lower levels of the Grand Dungeon. End of plan.
The two walked to Rudra Academy, and in the central training ground of the academy—smaller than expected, and yet unmistakably tidy—they fixed the campus with a sharp stare.
Her late mother used to say: when you're about to throw down, plant your feet shoulder-width apart, fold your arms and raise them to chest level, then tilt your gaze upward with a confident smile.
That stance—unmistakably the stance of someone who came here for a fight.
"So this is enemy territory…. Wow. Silen. Look at everyone glaring at us. We're being welcomed so warmly."
"Probably half of them have never even seen real combat. If they come at us, we'll educate them accordingly."
"Right. Let's do that. Let them understand the difference in skill."
"Alright. Shall we get going….? 'Rudra Destruction.'"
Had Yujin been watching, he surely would have let out a wry laugh at the sight—unable to tell who was the hero and who was the villain.
.
.
.
.
After sending Yuna and Silen off to Rudra, he sat at the site of the old snack bar and sank into thought.
The lot had been fully cleared of rubble, and foundation work would need to start soon—but setting that aside for now, the very first thing to deal with was the question of what to do about Milé.
The plan of staying buried in Demeter and only moving outside Milé's line of sight. That might seem like the safest option on the surface, but it absolutely was not.
Milé—even back when he knew this world through a game—was a party member he used well.
A character he ran in the front line of his preferred setup.
In this game, there are three types of party members.
The first is the heroine-type party member like Sia, Ollina, and Lepus—characters who have their own routes and endings. These can be recruited into the party by advancing their events and triggering the right flags. The one who was supposed to have become the Sage also belongs here.
The second is the NPC type that can be recruited through the standard party board. They have no routes, no communication features, no voice—but they include capable individuals and named NPCs that can be hired and used as party members.
The third is monsters or Demons branded with a Slave Brand or Subjugation Brand. These are capable, but their resistance is strong and not easy to make use of.
Milé falls into the second category.
No personal route, no voice—but Milé, the Beginner Mage, has a rather unique set of traits and positioning.
A Searching Mage. In other words, a rear-line Mage capable of map analysis, locating treasure chests, and disabling traps—roles that would normally fall to a Rogue or thief. That strange positioning alone was enough to make Milé's name appear scattered all across various strategy guides.
On top of that, Milé is a character worth investing in with confidence. A "proven talent" who can reach Transcendence with enough nurturing.
He had come to this world, met the named character Milé, laughed at how exactly like the original she was—and at the same time, grown close with her.
What he was trying to say was: against a named character like Milé, a waiting strategy was, all things considered, not very efficient.
Thinking about Milé's negative traits…. My trap would work on her, but….
If negotiations ultimately failed, he might end up doing something truly terrible to Milé.
Thinking that, a bitter smile came to him unbidden.
Sorry, Milé.
Forgive me.
"Well then—let's get moving on my end, too."
First move: Milé. Second move: him.
If it was Milé, she would already have her second move prepared.
He began moving toward the Demeter Dungeon in preparation for that.
The hundreds of scrolls and potions he had set aside over the past month while training Yuna and Silen on the side. These were the only lifeline he could count on.
.
.
.
.
Professor Daisy Swordcraft, who had been accompanying Yuna and Silen, felt her heart flutter just a little.
Starting from a bottom-ranked academy, going through cultural exchange events with powerhouses from other schools, increasing transfer students, and pushing forward toward a brighter future.
The main plot of Part One of the youth novel Daisy often read before bed.
[A Summer That Shines Like Jewels]
She had no idea how many nights she cried reading it.
Youth. Friendship. Rivals. The sweat you shed and the battles against other schools.
The teacher at that rural academy always worked passionately for the students—devoting herself to them fully.
Now she, too, was a professor at a rural school—she had to guide her students and cheer them on as they forged their own paths toward the future.
Surely the waves would rage and the cliffs would be steep. But if they advanced together with the students in unity, they would surely spend a summer that shined like jewels!
With that conviction, Daisy stood alone in the spectator seats of the training ground, cheering for Yuna and Silen.
The moment her students she had nurtured finally took their first step forward.
The opposing side: Hyacinth, a lower-tier Wind Spirit Master, and one female student who would serve as her shield—a Tank.
This side: Yuna, a swordsman/warrior, and Silen, a pure Rogue.
The battle began, and ten minutes later.
"Kyaaaaaaaa?!"
"Weak! Weak! Weak weak weak! This doesn't even come close to half of our master's magic attacks!"
"Ilet?! Spirit of the Wind! Raise a barrier of wind for me and my ally…—ptteww?! Wh-what is this?!"
"Sand. You idiot student council president. What kind of fool opens their mouth wide to cast a spell? Could you still chant with animal dung or mud crammed into your mouth? I used sand because I was being nice."
"S-sand?! Ptew…. Ptewtew…!"
What Daisy witnessed was: Yuna flattening the opposing frontline with a full-force Shield Bash, and Silen shoving sand straight into the mouth of Hyacinth as she tried to cast her Spirit Magic to protect that frontline.
Thwaaang—! Thwack!
Craack—! Whooom!
Yuna and Silen simultaneously sent their opponents flying—one with a shield, one with a kick—and settled into their stances.
Looking down at Ilet and Hyacinth, who had been completely knocked out, Silen and Yuna gazed at them from above with arrogant composure.
"Is this all? Is this really all there is…?"
"In the end—rookies among rookies with no real combat experience. Third-rates who live by trusting in a second-rate talent."
As befitting Daisy, who stood in the upper-mid tier of Superhuman even if she hadn't reached Transcendence, she was able to catch both of their voices clearly.
No matter how she looked at it, these two were the villains—and Daisy's complexion turned deathly pale.
"Ilet! Get up. Ilet! Oh no…. Ilet…."
"I'm sorry…. President…. I suppose this is as far as I go…. I'm sorry…."
"Open your eyes! Ilet!!"
With those words, Ilet went limp and collapsed.
Looking at her, Hyacinth broke into sobs.
And Yuna and Silen….
"That's what happens when you're a Tank without a Tank's defenses. Even so—falling while shielding your damage-dealer is a Tank-worthy end."
"You hadn't seen real combat, so guarding from the front was all you could think to do. Understand your own lack of skill."
Yuna and Silen's words were entirely correct.
Daisy, too, knew that the world was all about real combat, and that all training was merely preparation for it.
And yet.
How to put it?
This was all somehow….
"So—Hyacinth. Are you continuing? If you concede defeat, we won't attack any further."
"If you've felt the difference in strength, then stand down."
Yuna and Silen's manner of speech—completely that of villains.
In terms of [A Summer That Shines Like Jewels], it looked just like the all-dominating duo of the rival academy's strongest pair pressing down on the protagonist with overwhelming ability….
"No. Of course—Yuna, Silen—you're strong. The difference in skill is undeniable. If I challenge you, I'll lose to both of you. But it doesn't matter."
"Why? You'd challenge us even knowing the gap in strength?"
"The undeniable difference in skill is the premise. That doesn't become a reason not to try."
Hyacinth is saying things that sound like the protagonist!
"Fine. Then come at us with everything you have."
"Your spirit alone, I can respect. I'll take you on. Student council president."
These two are completely the villains!
Yuna and Silen's arrogant composure didn't waver, and Hyacinth, rising unsteadily, drew her fist tight and raised it to her chest and said:
"Now I shall unleash it…. The Wings of Awakening!"
"What…. Is this?"
"Ugh…."
With those words, a wind rushed forth that twisted Yuna and Silen's expressions, and the wind surged from Hyacinth's grip.
"The full power of a lower-tier Spirit. I'll show you. Here I come!"
"Ha…. Right. So you had that move in reserve."
"Yeah. That's more like it!"
It's completely a showdown between a fully awakened protagonist and the rival villain….
Daisy buried her face in her hands, and the battle between Yuna, Silen, and Hyacinth surged to its climax.
Perhaps because of all that—
Not a single person in that place noticed the gaze of one other person watching the fight.
"I did find the top-grade Beginner Equipment that couldn't possibly be in a rural academy like this…. But it was in Demeter, not Rudra…. Then I'll need to adjust the coordinates a bit and check around Demeter…. Haaah…. Senior. Where in the world are you….?"
Black hair split into two braids that hung down below the shoulders.
A hunched back with her neck slightly jutting forward in a turtle-neck posture. Thick glasses far too large for her eyes to fill.
A voice that seemed somehow drained of energy—yet the emotion underlying it was thorough and cold.
Her murmured words were swallowed up by the strong winds sweeping across the training ground, and not a soul heard them.