Chapter 134
“The festival at Academia is coming up soon… I’m worried about whether it will be okay since outsiders will be allowed in.”
People sitting at a large round table.
In this place, where dozens were gathered, even a casual remark held the power to disrupt the balance of the world.
Although not actual people, hologram-like figures resembling humans existed in multitude.
「Round Table Conference」
These individuals were connected to Yggdrasil and were major figures occupying the peaks of their respective domains.
The meetings were either held regularly or convened suddenly when unusual phenomena occurred.
There was an annual face-to-face meeting once a year at the Central Church, but this time, it was a typical online conference.
The figure representing the Holy King of Dortmund shifted slightly and continued what he hadn’t finished saying.
“In order to interfere with the second danger level, the movements of the third danger levels have become more active lately. The bishops might take advantage of the festival to invade Academia.”
It wasn’t an unreasonable statement.
If they created chaos in the institution that nurtures heroes, they could showcase their strength significantly.
Moreover, the chances of filling the vacant Archbishop position would dramatically increase.
Echoing the words of the Holy King of Dortmund, another figure rippled.
“We need to be cautious.”
This voice belonged to a relatively young man among those present.
He spoke calmly yet precisely identified the issue.
“Academia has already made a mistake once, so it is quite likely that the Altipe might seek another opportunity to undermine it.”
The mistake he referred to was the Bishop Zagan and several other bishops crashing the End of the First Semester exam.
Pointing out Academia’s blunder like a competitor was the Chancellor of the Hero Training Academy ‘Rikeion.’
He was responsible for one of only two such institutions in the entire world.
“…….”
Chancellor Gulemashia of Academia wore a bitter expression while sipping his coffee, stroking his beard.
This was a painful blunder where he failed to fulfill his role as a guardian of the students.
As Gulemashia remained silent, someone else opened their mouth instead.
He was the most authoritative figure present.
“The Academia festival shall proceed as planned.”
Holy Emperor Liovergo.
Upon hearing his voice, most attendees zipped their lips shut, opting for silence.
Even the heads of regional churches did the same.
The paramount of the prestigious learning institution.
The five heroes, hailed as the strongest force in existence.
Emperors, kings, and leaders of any empire present…
All these individuals, who belonged to the pinnacle of their fields, appeared like docile sheep before the highest authority of the Yggdrasil Church.
They were beings of high status, yet before the supreme authority of the Yggdrasil Church, they were as meek as lambs.
Holy Emperor Liovergo licked his parched lips.
“The festival of the Academia is also a sacred event to offer prayers to Lord Yggdrasil. …If the festival does not take place, people will surely become anxious.”
He was worried it would publicly announce the chaos surrounding Academia, and even the world itself, to the point of not holding even the annual prayers.
Whether they participated in the festival or not, this news would spread quickly throughout the world.
People would be gripped with fear, and Altife would grow even more emboldened.
Therefore, the festival must not be canceled.
But… what about the dangers involved?
Liovergo had some confidence in this countermeasure.
“…We all know why Altife has not yet touched the Academia.”
The assembly fell silent.
Despite the poor communication leading to static-like noise, no one interrupted Liovergo’s words.
Not just because of his power but because it was a truth everyone already inherently understood.
The reason Altife had not dragged the Academia down from the heavens was simple.
“The absolute defense system established by the ‘first magician’ when creating the Academia… And…”
Liovergo’s image flickered as he turned his head.
His aged eyes were looking at another figure who had also aged.
“My long-time friend, Gulemashia.”
Not only had he mastered the total quantity of mana, but he also excelled in various fields of magic, reaching a state referred to as a transcendental being.
Considering that a typical genius might barely reach transcendence in one field after a lifetime of effort, he was a figure of another caliber among geniuses.
This was why no one objected to him holding the position of chancellor of the Academia for so long—because of his monstrous credentials.
“With these two bravely protecting it… what is there to worry about?”
In reality, the Altife were extremely vigilant against Gulemashia.
His past actions were etched into their minds and history and were still discussed to this day.
“…Ho ho ho. I am grateful for your high evaluation of this old man.”
Gulemashia chuckled like he had a cough. However, unlike his words, there was no vigor in it.
His following response was somewhat negative.
“The grace and favor of the Holy Emperor should indeed be a joyous matter… but my body is old and no longer functions properly.”
Gulemashia implied he might not be able to cope with unforeseen situations, and the Holy Emperor shook his head.
“My friend Gulemashia. Isn’t magic akin to wine? No matter how old and creaky your body may be, your mana and magic are becoming ever denser.”
The Emperor spoke as if pleading.
The reason he was this persistent was that he had sensed Gulemashia’s intention to step down from his position.
“Gulemashia. Do not push yourself into the annals of history. …The world still needs you.”
“…….”
In the end, Gulemashia fell silent.
The agenda moved on to the next topic.
There was much commotion in the world, and time and manpower were woefully insufficient.
*
“This is why the festival will certainly proceed as planned.”
If those old men were to reach such a conclusion, they wouldn’t be wrong. Unless a tragedy was to descend upon the Academia.
With the bishops just beginning their bloody quarrels, following order and structure, the sub-organization of the Church, the Academia, would have no reason to cancel the festival.
There isn’t.
I settled into the laboratory and shared a probable storyline with Liam for a while, and he nodded seriously.
“…Is that so? Then what should we do…?”
“What do you mean what should we do? Are you planning to cancel the festival again like last time?”
“…….”
The bitter memories of the final exam surfaced in Liam’s mind, causing him to grimace. Then he opened his mouth to speak.
“…To be honest, I want to stop the festival, but… I lack confidence.”
“Afraid it will lead to the sacrifice of innocent people like last time?”
“…Yeah.”
“Finally starting to think like a normal person.”
I let out a hollow laugh.
Stop the festival?
That’s a ridiculous thought. This situation is both a crisis and an opportunity.
The incident concerning Francesca that needs to be resolved during the festival.
The forces of the Goddess Church lurking inside the Academia.
Moreover, with the Archbishop selection being moved up this time, it might even be possible to eliminate bishops with power rivaling that of an Archbishop.
If I could convince myself that the merits of stopping the festival outweigh this, then I might consider it, but otherwise, there’s absolutely no reason to do so.
…Besides, stopping the festival would take extra time and effort anyway.
“If by any chance you plan to obstruct me again, you should prepare yourself. One of the plans I’m considering is to imprison and restrain you somewhere during the festival.”
“To say such things in front of the person involved….”
“Why wouldn’t I?”
Emily would weep blood over such a development since I’m planning to enjoy the festival with Liam, but I’m seriously considering it.
Liam shook his head and replied.
“I’ll try not to interfere as much as possible. I told you, I plan to help Jo.”
“Why the hell are you putting in that informal term?”
“Because I don’t fully trust you. …Right now, I’m barely at about 50% confidence.”
Liam’s words meant he thought half of what I was doing was correct.
At first, he was busy rebelling over trivial things…
Even though I want to toss this kind of positive signal from this guy into the Scavenger Bug’s den, this guy is the protagonist.
He’s the protagonist… the protagonist. He’s useful… phew.
Calming my mind, I opened my mouth.
“You can sell that kind of trust if you want, but just act with some insight.”
In a friendly tone.
It seems he wasn’t fully satisfied with that.
“…You really say what you want. I don’t think the original Vargan was like this… Ah, now that we’re here, let me ask a few things.”
“Is it related to the development?”
“Sort of.”
Liam didn’t continue on his own thoughts about the festival and changed the topic.
It was a rare opportunity, and since we had slightly more time than expected, I allowed him to ask.
“What is it?”
“What was your original name?”
“Haa….”
I let out a long sigh unbeknownst to me for such a trashy question beyond my imagination.
If it were me, I would’ve picked substantial and valuable information to prepare for the future.
The information he wanted was only to confirm my nationality, name, and whether I was part of his social circle or not…
…It wouldn’t have hurt for him to not resemble me in this aspect.
Not receiving an answer, Liam awkwardly scratched the back of his head and said.
“I know this question isn’t particularly useful… but I thought we should know each other’s names since we’re in the same situation.”
“Still, we should at least know each other’s names since we’re in the same situation, right?”
“If you knew, it would have been better to just keep quiet.”
“Don’t want to say? Is your age a secret too?”
“….”
As I looked at Liam with a mix of contempt and pity, he averted his gaze and sighed heavily.
“To be honest… I’ve been doing a lot of soul-searching.”
“Soul-searching, huh?”
“Yeah. Especially with everything related to Alicia and a bunch of other stuff. I think I’ve been pretty narrow-minded about things.”
“Narrow-minded, inefficient, and irresponsible as well.”
“…W-well, yeah… But let me throw in one excuse that’s not really an excuse.”
Liam chuckled as memories of the past came rushing back.
“Honestly, how can anyone view positively a guy known as the worst villain among villains who bought the main heroine as a servant?”
“The talk of soul-searching seems tossed aside for justifications.”
“Okay, okay. Anyway, Alicia, Emily, Erica, Finn… there are a lot, right? I think I’ve pretended not to notice the positive changes you were making.”
Liam said that even if it was ultimately for his own benefit, witnessing that process changed his perspective.
He helped the formerly unfortunate characters overcome their problems and showed them a way forward.
Alicia overcoming her trauma.
Emily regaining her confidence.
Erica, who hasn’t become a villainess.
Finn finding ways to get stronger, and so on….
“I’ll admit it. Vargan, you’re steering things toward a much happier ending for everyone compared to the original story.”
“……”
“On the other hand, I haven’t done anything. If anything, I’ve only caused more problems…”
“Your tongue is long. We’re running out of time, so get to the point.”
As I waved my hand dismissively while showing a bored expression, Liam let out a hollow laugh as if he expected this and got to the main subject.
“I’m really sorry for all this time.”
He continued before I could even respond.
“I don’t want to just brush aside trust or anything; I sincerely want to apologize. …Well, it’d be nice if people from the same background could get close. There’s no one here to talk about the outside world with.”
Seeing his unnecessarily bright eyes, I stood up.
“Guess that main topic was of little value.”
I walked out of the laboratory.
The time I had intended to spend with Liam was completely consumed, and now I had to proceed with my next schedule.
“Are you really leaving without telling me your name and age? I could share mine with you.”
I considered ignoring Liam’s voice from behind but decided mentioning at least one detail wouldn’t hurt, so I tossed out a line.
It may not mean much here, but age is a pretty significant figure regarding relationships in the world we came from.
I should keep it somewhat casual from now on.
“I’ve lived longer than you.”
Creak—
I closed the laboratory door and headed down the hallway.
There’s so much to do.
Why is a day so short and time flying by so fast?
Hurrying along,
…Oh, speaking of which. What did Liam say again?
He said he was leading everyone to a happy ending, right?
This is a big deal.
If I pull the antics I plan during this festival episode, he might just faint.
*Tap, tap.*
Francesca, the Spirit Summoner, one of Liam’s heroines.
Would she maintain the same attitude after witnessing her own demise at my hands?
From where I’m standing, that seems highly unlikely.
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