The Dark Sword, tossed carelessly. A mask and hood rolling on the floor.
Even with the sun rising, the curtains were drawn in the dark dorm room.
Ruth was crouched on the bed.
“……….”
The Dark Sword that had fallen from Ruth’s hands had turned into an old, weathered blade, losing its ominous aura and color.
After yesterday’s events in the forest, even after a brief nap, her mind was still chaotic.
“………It’s tough.”
That was an unconscious mumble, reflecting her true feelings.
There was a question that had lingered ever since she first opened her eyes after returning to the past.
Why her?
‘Why?’
The previous Ruth was only Rank 6. Ultimately, she hadn’t reached Rank 7, and while she was exceptional at the academy, in the grand scheme of the continent, she was nothing to boast about.
Her knowledge was vague. She had traveled the continent after graduation, so she had learnt a few things, but she was practically blind to what had happened at the academy, which was the most important.
She wasn’t a remarkable person either. She had killed Kirke, killed Chloe, killed several villains, but none of those she had prevented. In the end, she only managed to kill them after countless massacres and disasters.
With all her shortcomings, if she were to go back to the past, there would be countless people who could achieve far better results than her.
So why was it her?
“…………….”
Naturally, nobody would kindly provide her with an answer. Having witnessed the downfall of the Holy Kingdom, which kept searching for a god, Ruth believed there was no such thing as a god.
If there were to be a god, it would rather be an evil god.
A being that throws people into pain and death and cackles with glee, that kind of existence.
‘……Chloe.’
She left room for doubt. Honestly, her speculations from the forest felt a bit exaggerated even to Ruth herself.
However, she couldn’t shake the suspicion that Chloe was connected to Kirke. Otherwise, what would explain her inexplicably calm reaction to the existence of that basement and the summoning magic?
Thus, she kept it at the level of a warning. Now she had to periodically monitor Chloe from the shadows and find out when she meets Kirke.
It seemed overly cautious, but the image of Chloe, who had once burned down a small kingdom, was still fresh in her mind.
How hard had it been for her to try and kill Chloe? How many people had died at Chloe’s hands in the meantime?
Thinking of the ruins and charred bodies left behind, she couldn’t help but keep a wary eye on her.
And if Chloe really was Kirke’s ally and the mastermind who had corrupted Adam…
“……Adam.”
The dormitory was spacious and splendid yet felt lonely. But it was just as it had appeared in her memories.
Now, only Ruth knew the past. There was a time when they would laugh and chat in this dormitory.
‘Why has it changed?’
Originally, Adam, the finance director, should have been occupying a room suited to his position alone. Naturally, she had expected Adam to be here, so when she found the dormitory empty, she was taken aback.
From then on, she began to sense that for some unknown reason, the future had changed.
…In her slowly resurfacing memories, the previous Adam had specifically lent Ruth the room on the first floor. He even fed her for free.
For the former Ruth, who could barely scrape together her tuition, that had been an immense help.
‘I had planned to make breakfast in return.’
She recalled vividly gathering up all the money she had only to get pickpocketed while trying to buy some discounted eggs.
It had been so upsetting back then. If she had just managed to get something, she could have made breakfast for busy Adam. She felt utterly pathetic for missing even that chance.
All she had left was a few coins in her pocket, enough to buy a single apple, which she presented as breakfast, deeply embarrassed and filled with self-loathing.
──Thank you, Ruth. I’ll feel full all day today.
Adam had said with a smile, making him shine brighter than anything to Ruth.
She had desperately trained to escape being the perennial bottom of the class, wanting to graduate from the academy with excellent grades and repay Adam. In the end, she graduated on a pretty average level.
Her tours around the continent had also been a way to repay him. She wished to tell Adam stories from all over the continent and gift him various souvenirs.
…But then the academy had collapsed.
The headmistress was dead.
Adam had vanished.
Ultimately, when she met Adam again in a small kingdom on the outskirts, he was…
──It was nothing. I just burned everything.
──It’s not hard. The fire catches easier than you think. Like that day at the academy.
He had changed so much.
In that sudden meeting, he didn’t show even a glimpse of that old smile.
──By the way, who’s this?
──Don’t you remember? It’s Ruth Spero, your perennial bottom of the class.
──The one you used to care so much about back at the academy? You’re not still concerned about her, are you?
And beside him was Chloe.
Adam, who had completely changed while Ruth was absent, now a corrupted version of himself.
──Well, that was true back then.
──But not anymore.
──It no longer holds any meaning.
He had denied all the time and memories they had shared.
Even after those two had vanished, Ruth remained on the flaming hill for a long while.
She had traveled across the continent to share her stories with Adam.
She had collected all sorts of souvenirs and items just for him.
But now, it was all rendered useless.
“Adam…….”
A trustworthy adult, an admired person, her benefactor from whom she had received immense help, whom she longed to repay… the finance director.
Was this how it felt when a teacher, whom one always thought was on their side, betrayed them?
Afterward, Ruth desperately searched for Adam and Chloe.
She met Kirke in the Holy Kingdom, Lisha in the royal kingdom, the emperor in the empire, and Beatrice in the Delphia Kingdom.
Following the traces of massacre, death, and destruction caused by Chloe and Adam.
Finally, she killed Chloe.
In the depths of the cave that she had fiercely protected.
And Adam.
“…………….”
Therefore, when she was given another chance and returned to the past, she steeled her heart.
Even if she were to encounter Adam again, she would remember the death and destruction he had caused.
He was ultimately an enemy, and if he showed even a hint of corruption, she would not hesitate for the sake of the world.
That was why she had been so cold during the entrance exam and ceremony.
──Ruth, is there anything you want to eat? I’ll treat you. I’m the finance director, you know? I make more money than you’d imagine.
──Why am I being so nice? Just an investment for the future. You’re going to be someone big.
The more she faced Adam, the more memories of the warmth from the past resurfaced. It was utterly impossible for her to harden her heart.
But at the same time, during the island midterm exam, she had compared him to her future Adam. It felt like a whip urging her to stay strong.
The awkward smile from Adam, the one who burned the world.
Which of them was the real one? Which one was the facade? Or were both simply Adam?
Could she really do it? Could she change all those possible futures and disasters?
“……Adam, why do you treat someone like me as special?”
That sudden mumble.
It was something she had once asked Adam in this very dormitory, at this very spot.
The perennial bottom of the class. It was a complaint from the time when Ruth had nothing special to boast about in either theory or practice.
Back then, Adam had replied…
──Um, you need something more awesome than simple faith or comfort, right?
──Uh… it’s really embarrassing, and so shameful, and truly awkward so don’t laugh?
──To me, you’re the protagonist.
──The protagonist of this world.
──…Hey! I said don’t laugh! I’m just saying I think that way!
“I’m… the protagonist.”
Recalling that memory momentarily and raising the corners of her mouth, Ruth wiped away her flowing tears and stood up.
Yeah, I’m the protagonist. After all, Adam said so.
That phrase had given Ruth strength time and time again. Even when she was ridiculed for being the perennial bottom at the academy, and even after Adam’s corruption, that phrase had lingered in her mind.
Thanks to that, Ruth was able to rise again.
At the academy.
In a world that was falling apart.
Even before the vastly changed Adam, who had said that to her.
‘But I’m not the protagonist.’
Yet paradoxically, even as she mumbled that she was the protagonist, Ruth didn’t believe it.
What Ruth believed in was only the warmth and smile of Adam who had said that phrase, not that she actually regarded herself as a protagonist. She merely cherished it as the last connection left with Adam.
‘Am I missing Adam, or do I hate him?’
…No one is an island. People are connected to one another, even if they might not know it.
Though those connections had now disappeared.
Because the remnants still lived and breathed within Ruth.
“……Let’s go.”
In one corner of the room was a storage room equipped with a cryogenic artifact. Strangely enough, it was filled only with eggs, with no other materials whatsoever.
On the day she met Chloe, she had lost her chance to buy discounted eggs and had ended up buying every egg available at the general store out of frustration.
After glancing at the overwhelmingly big pile of eggs for one person, Ruth cleaned up the room and stepped outside the dormitory.
It was a previously arranged meeting.
Adam was waiting for her.
*
Maybe it was because of the heavy clouds yesterday, but today, the sky was pristine without a single cloud.
The weather was perfectly warm.
A brief moment of rest disguised as work.
Featuring a cup of coffee bought at a discounted price due to teacher privileges.
Is this not life?
Boom!!!
“What was that? Where’s the explosion this time?”
“At duel arena 12, Lisha is fighting a lunatic!”
“A lunatic must be Kaern Deste, right? This should be fun!”
“They say both of them are so excited that they’ve left the arena!? Let’s hurry!”
This doesn’t feel right, damn it.
…No, scratch that. Lisha probably would make sure to toss a bit of bribery my way while keeping an eye on me, and Kaern would get a chance to meet Hogoos.
Go ahead, you financial ruin four horsemen. Burn this academy to the ground. Just try not to destroy it all.
‘Is that what they mean by adequate building destruction being beneficial for finances?’
As I pondered that nonsensical remark I had once read in a business introductory book, a familiar face stood out among the rushing students.
It was the protagonist who had recently tempered his behavior and was now avoiding building demolitions, particularly with buildings.
“Ruth student, over here.”
“……Long time no see, Mr. Finance Director.”
“This is the first time since the island midterm exam, right? I paid close attention to your performance back then.”
“Thank you…….”
It seems this guy isn’t fully concentrating on our conversation.
After staring blankly at me with his work smile, the protagonist closed his eyes and muttered something before sitting down. What on earth?
Anyway, since I had called him over this time, I glanced at Ruth sitting across from me.
“I have a good story, so just try not to get too tense.”
“Good story?”
“Ruth student, are you interested in the student council perhaps?”
“………Excuse me?”
Wait a second, I’ve thought this through.
It feels a bit odd to be constantly on edge about walls or buildings suddenly collapsing.
‘If I can’t control it anyway…’
It makes more sense to keep it somewhere I can see.
Moreover, I had my reservations about the student council. The truth is, that’s the real reason.
Given the timing, it would be about time that brat causes a big fuss.
‘At least if it’s the original perennial bottom of the class, that is.’
I don’t know how it happened but anyway, the protagonist who is at Rank 6 should be able to stop that brat from causing trouble.
I’m leaving this in your hands, protagonist. Seriously.
Moreover, from the protagonist’s perspective, this is not a negative story either. Training or sparring doesn’t mean much at Rank 6, and the only things worth gaining from the academy are connections like friends.
‘The student council should make that easier to establish.’
The Grandis Akademi student council holds quite a special position.
While it doesn’t hold massive power, its presence bears a considerable amount of influence, which can’t simply be disregarded.
“What do you think?”
“……Will the finance director really create a spot for me in the student council?”
“It’s a special recommendation system for faculty.”
Of course, there’s no such thing, but that’s not a problem. If I just meet that brat and ask them to put her in, they’ll immediately accept.
You call this parachuting? This is what a true parachute looks like. Besides, even if she joins the student council as a Rank 6, everyone will buy it.
If she responds positively? Just proceed as is.
If she responds negatively? Then I’ll recommend her again until a positive answer comes. Keep repeating that until I get a positive answer.
After a moment of hesitation, the protagonist said,
“I understand.”
“Are you accepting?”
“It seems like a really good opportunity in many ways.”
“Excellent choice.”
That brat is truly a good kid, you know? Good in a somewhat ambiguous sense, so hope she adapts well.
By the way, also do some work during the festival. The student council collaborates with the guard force for patrols.
Anyway, having achieved my goal, I needed to return to the office…
“Um, Mr. Finance Director?”
“What is it?”
“Do you happen to have somewhere you’re staying now?”
“Huh?”
“Um, I just got curious all of a sudden.”
Why is he curious about where I live all of a sudden?
Could it be that he found some records in the dormitory? After all, this dormitory was the one the former headmistress intended for me.
“Just at a dormitory on the outskirts. It’s quite nice.”
“Outskirts? Which outskirts?”
“……Ruth student?”
Why is this kid suddenly flipping out?
And why is a student so interested in a staff member’s home—
“Mr. Finance Director.”
“……?”
“I’m here to meet you.”
Suddenly, someone grabbed my shoulder, and when I turned around, there stood Chloe, whom I had met yesterday. Just as promised, she made it on time.
But.
“………….”
“…………….”
These two.
Were they always at odds…?
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