Ken left the tower for the Survival Event, and the fourth night had arrived.
Inside the dark room of the tower.
Despite it being late at night, Raphne was sitting on the floor surrounded by her dolls.
Her eyes were emptily staring at the ground.
Sadly, she was hugging her knees.
Tears had stopped flowing since the third night.
She spent time engulfed in an endless sense of loneliness and despair just as she was.
And when she sat like this surrounded by her dolls, those dolls soon began to speak to her.
[Raphne, you’ve been abandoned again. How sad.]
The first doll she received looked at Raphne with pity.
[But it’s okay! We’re here for Raphne!]
The second doll comforted Raphne.
[We will never abandon Raphne!]
The third doll chimed in with the reassurance.
Of course, the dolls did not actually speak.
It was just Raphne’s imagination, which had gone wild on the cliff of despair.
But such imagination only heightened Raphne’s anxiety.
“…No, no. He said he would come. …Ken definitely said he would come.”
Tears that had stopped flowing began to well up again, and the dolls around her laughed.
[Raphne, are you falling for it again?]
[Don’t get your hopes up; getting hopes will just hurt you.]
[Give up on that guy. He probably left to live a happy life with another girl.]
“No, no, no, no…”
Whispers created by loneliness and anxiety.
Those whispers again bred anxiety, and that anxiety pulled Raphne deeper into loneliness.
In the repetitive cycle, Raphne became increasingly despaired.
At that moment, a doll said.
[Then check it out. Raphne.]
“……Huh?”
[If you can’t believe it, you can check for yourself.]
As Raphne lifted her head at the doll’s words, what came into her view was the door to the room that Ken always entered.
The next day, after joining Emily.
During a meeting held alongside breakfast, I explained the strategy for the remaining survival period.
“…Huh? Aren’t we doing anything?”
“Is it really okay?”
At my words, Emily and Alicia expressed doubt.
The end time of the survival event was noon on the fifth day.
The plan was to hide and wait until that time.
“If Ken suggested it, I won’t oppose it… but why is that?”
“Eek! Is Emily-senpai okay? With Ken-senpai’s strategy?”
“Y-you idiot. Ken wouldn’t say something like that for no reason!”
Alicia’s bewildered reaction isn’t surprising.
After all, the three of us formed a team, so it would be better to collect as many badges as possible.
But my thoughts were different.
In this game, there’s already a set place where the final badges will converge.
“We’re aiming for the Golden Goblin.”
“…Golden?”
“Are we talking about a Goblin?”
Of course, it can’t be a real goblin.
The Golden Goblin I’m referring to is the prominent number one candidate in this survival.
Adrian Faraday.
If it were just me, Adrian would be the top target to avoid.
But with the three of us together, it would be adequately challenging.
As the last day approaches, the number of participants will dwindle while the number of badges held by individuals will increase.
In such a situation, targeting a single person with a mass of badges becomes more efficient.
Most importantly, doing so allows us to avoid the risk of fighting multiple uncertain opponents.
Since we wouldn’t know what abilities those participating in the survival might have.
The more battles occur, the greater the potential for unexpected dangers.
Therefore, I’ll target Adrian, who understands abilities better than anyone else.
“Now, let me explain the strategy.”
Time flowed to the morning of the fifth day.
A quiet forest, where a man was walking.
‘As expected, there’s not a single shadow of people around here.’
A nobleman with flowing golden hair and red eyes. Adrian was exploring the forest.
Five days had already passed, and many participants had fought and been eliminated.
And the central figure of it all was Adrian.
With overwhelming strength, he had knocked down numerous participants and already held a significant amount of badges.
However, he was walking through the forest to look for other hidden people.
At that moment, in a clearing beyond the trees and bushes, the form of a person began to appear.
“…Huh, help me….”
And what could be heard was the voice of a crying girl.
In the stillness of the forest, the foreign sound of the girl’s cries reached Adrian clearly.
He walked toward the clearing.
‘…Is it a trap?’
In the center of the clearing stood a tiny girl.
Given that this forest is under the academy’s management, external access is restricted during the ongoing survival event, allowing for only one participant to be there.
‘What a typical trick.’
Adrian had already encountered such traps multiple times during these five days.
A simple trap where participants who formed teams throw one member as bait and ambush whoever falls for it.
‘…But.’
The time for the survival event was already approaching its end.
Are they really going to create such an awkward trap now?
At this last moment, protecting oneself is more critical than gathering badges.
So, the possibility of it not being a trap exists.
‘Perhaps she really got lost….’
She could be someone among the eliminated contestants who doesn’t know the way and is lost.
Therefore, Adrian approached her.
Sure, the chance of it being a trap was high, but such a lousy trap would be easy prey.
It could provide an opportunity for Adrian to obtain badges through a counterattack.
So, it was even harder to dismiss the possibility of her being a girl in trouble.
Because of his personality, Adrian found it hard to ignore a crying girl.
“What’s going on? Are you lost?”
“Ah…!”
Seeing Adrian stepping into the clearing, the girl stopped crying and seemed relieved.
“Th-thank goodness! I-I don’t know how to get out….”
While the girl explained her situation, Adrian surveyed the area around her.
‘…Nothing seems wrong.’
He looked for any magical traps around, but there didn’t seem to be any.
“I’ll help you. Come on, let’s go together.”
After all, there was just a little girl in this clearing.
Even if someone showed up, he was confident he could manage.
Adrian extended his hand to the girl with a smile.
“Ah, kind older brother. …And you’re good-looking too.”
Taking Adrian’s extended hand, the girl smiled brightly and blushed.
The girl who had just been sobbing gently now somehow looked mischievous.
“You’re a handsome brother; your eyes are lovely.”
Then, the girl looked at him with a captivating gaze.
As if she had fallen in love, once she locked eyes with her prince charming, she grinned slyly.
And a peculiar pattern appeared over her eyes.
‘……Maan!’
Noticing the unusual sign, Adrian tried to pull his hand away and create distance, but it was already too late.
There are many kinds of Maan.
The girl’s Maan, Alicia’s Maan, was hypnosis Maan.
The moment their eyes met, he was already in her clutches.
“Do not move for 10 minutes.”
With a chilling smile, Alicia’s voice echoed.
Her intent infiltrated Adrian’s mind through his eyes.
“……Crap.”
Adrian found his body petrified and unable to move.
“Yay! The operation was a success! We’ve captured the Golden Goblin!”
Alicia, who had used her ability to trap Adrian, was joyfully bouncing around.
“I certainly didn’t expect Maan indeed.”
“Hu hu hu! So you can’t let your guard down like that!”
Alicia arrogantly wiggled her finger in front of the immobile Adrian.
Despite the cheeky demeanor of the girl, Adrian remained calm and assessed the current situation.
His body was frozen like a stone.
He couldn’t even wiggle a finger.
‘I can’t move… But.’
Though his actions were restricted by the hypnosis Maan, he could control the flow of his mana.
Then.
“Waaah!”
Adrian’s will surged through his entire being and soon sparked immense flames.
“Is it too early to assume victory just because I can’t move?”
“That, that’s true?!”
Alicia was startled and quickly backed away as flames soared around Adrian.
‘I will just have to hold out for 10 minutes.’
Certainly, the emergence of Maan was something he hadn’t foreseen and could be fatal.
But as long as he could cast magic, he would be fine.
As he concentrated his mana to increase his firepower at that moment.
Swooosh!
Numerous shining chains plunged into Adrian’s body.
“…What, this, …Emily?!”
Adrian recognized the ability that had entered his body.
Chains formed of mana flowed into him.
The mana he was raising dissipated, and the flames surrounding him dwindled.
“I’m sorry, Adrian. I really want to win this prize.”
Then, from where Alicia was looking, Emily and Ken appeared with smiles.
“Well, there’s truly no way out now.”
He couldn’t move. He couldn’t use magic.
He was completely cornered.
“Just like Ken-senpai! I knew your strategy would work!”
“Stop lying. You totally didn’t believe it.”
“Ugh.”
Feeling the sharpness of Ken’s response, Alicia grimaced.
But not believing it was quite fair.
There was indeed a point to Alicia’s argument; who would fall for such an obvious trap?
But Ken knew Adrian’s character well.
His confidence in his abilities.
And his good nature, which meant he couldn’t ignore someone in trouble.
It was a character trait fitting for the main protagonist of the game, making him unable to just leave a crying girl behind.
“Then, Adrian. Sorry, but I’ll be taking the badges.”
“Emily, isn’t that a bit harsh for a friend?”
“Ugh, I’ll make it up to you next time somehow.”
“No need for that.”
But there was something Ken overlooked.
“It’s not over yet.”
“What do you mean…?”
That was the assumption that Adrian, being confident in his abilities, was alone.
“I have allies too, you know.”
In that instant.
Wham!
A massive wall of ice encased Adrian.
“Gyaaaah!”
“E-Emily!”
Ken leaped forward to catch Emily, who had been knocked back by the impact of the ice wall.
“How ridiculous, Adrian. You had agreed to gather badges together and regroup.”
Emerging with flowing blue hair was a girl with cold eyes.
Mary slowly approached Adrian.
“M-Mary.”
With Mary’s arrival, the situation flipped.
With Emily and Alicia joining forces, they could have subdued Adrian.
However, with Mary joining in, everything would change significantly.
‘Of all the people, it had to be Mary….’
An unexpected collaboration between the two.
Two of the few elemental magic users from the academy had united.
Mary glanced at Ken and, upon meeting his gaze, turned red and looked away.
“I’m s-sorry, Ken. But this is all for the sake of the meal tickets.”
‘How delicious must that place be for her to be this serious…?’
Ken was increasingly puzzled by her reaction.
But no matter how much Mary had joined, they couldn’t just succumb now.
Even if Adrian was currently rendered motionless, this was their golden opportunity.
“Emily! Did you grab the badge pouch?”
“Y-yeah! I’ve got it here…!”
Thank goodness, when Emily approached Adrian earlier, she had retrieved the pouch from him.
Then there was only one thing to do.
Ken quickly made his move.
“…K-Ken?”
He charged straight for the most threatening individual.
“Emily! You run away with that! And Alicia! You take care of Adrian!”
“Y-yes!”
Mary, caught off guard by Ken’s sudden charge, couldn’t do anything to resist his approach.
While Mary was stunned, Ken sneaked around her.
From behind, he wrapped his arms around Mary’s body.
“Gyaah!”
Mary let out a cute scream at Ken’s sudden approach.
“I’m sorry, but there’s no time for that right now!”
It might have been an unpleasant approach for a young girl, but there was no room for consideration in a critical moment.
He needed to buy time for Emily to escape by restraining Mary in any way possible.
With that decision, Ken tightly wrapped his arms around Mary.
“……K-Ken.”
‘…Huh? She isn’t struggling more than I expected?’
Ken thought she would flail around and try to escape, but Mary remained curiously calm.
She merely glanced back, blushing, and carefully spoke.
“It… definitely renders me unable to move.”
I see; Mary might have a weaker physique.
Seeing Mary’s inability to escape despite the tight hold gave Ken some relief.
“Alright, Emily! While I’m holding her, you run!”
“Can I escape?!”
But now, Emily’s reaction was odd.
Despite it being an opportunity to flee, her face was flushed as she pointed a finger at Ken and Mary.
“Mary! Are you kidding? Stop blushing and break out of that lame hold so we can escape!”
“N-no, but I really can’t move.”
“A-and Ken! Why did it have to be you to hold onto Mary? If you’re going to hold someone, hold Alicia!”
“Um, uh? Well, Adrian can’t move right now… But you need to run, Emily! There’s not much time!”
“Aaah—! Seriously—!”
As Ken’s desperate shout rose, Emily finally turned around with frustration.
Leaving the four behind, Emily took off running into the forest.
“This, this definitely makes it hard to move. Ohohoh.”
“Right now, it’s quite troublesome, but this is also an amusing sight.”
Alicia and Adrian next to her were watching Ken and Mary with expressions of interest.
A moment later, they weren’t the only ones running.
“Waaah!”
As ice arrows rained down.
Alicia, running beside me, screamed.
“Isn’t ten minutes too short?!”
“W-we have no choice! The maximum for hypnosis is ten minutes!”
After buying time for Emily to escape, Alicia cast a hypnosis that restrained Mary, and we took off running.
Staying still in that situation meant that once the ten minutes elapsed, we would face Adrian head-on.
As time passed, the situation now was dire.
With heavy breaths, we were trying to run through the forest while…
A familiar figure appeared in front of us.
“K-Ken! Isn’t that Mary behind us?!”
As Mary glided across the ice like a skating rink, Emily began to panic as she ran faster.
‘What do we do now?’
Originally, we had planned to regroup at a designated area, but now, Emily met up with me mid-escape.
The original plan was to neutralize Adrian and gather the badges while hiding leisurely.
But with Mary’s unexpected appearance, everything became jumbled.
In that moment.
Crash!
A massive barrier of ice erupted in front of us.
“What—what is that!”
“Our path is blocked!”
The sudden appearance of the wall left us unable to proceed forward.
‘…Did she lead us here when Emily appeared?!’
Considering how swiftly Mary was pursuing us on the ice, I wondered why she hadn’t caught us earlier.
We were played like puppets.
With no time to think, panic filled the situation.
“Now, Ken. Please hand over that pouch.”
Mary and Adrian slowly approached us, now like a rat caught in a trap.
“K-Ken…!”
“Senpai, what do we do now?”
With terrified expressions, both looked to me for guidance.
But my mind was just as scrambled.
If this continued, we would lose all the badges we had painstakingly gathered.
What do I do?
Do I use Calorie Burn to hold them back?
Adrian and Mary would definitely have their guard down regarding my strength.
So there might be a chance of success.
With that conclusion, I was left pondering, but did not want to use the skill easily.
The risks of things deviating from the plan were exceedingly high.
If I missed the timing, it could lead to our demise.
‘Damn it, what do I do? How can I fix this….’
The relentless approach of the two disasters, fire and ice.
After being reincarnated, the most urgent moment I had to think was now upon me.
Just then.
“Caw caw!”
A familiar bird call resounded.
The unexpected and alien sound drew our attention, including everyone at the scene, towards the bird.
What arrived was not an ordinary bird.
It was a familiar spirit bird that I had seen frequently of late, made of mana.
The spirit bird flew in and perched on Adrian’s shoulder.
Then it opened its mouth, producing human language.
“Raphne Bell Martinez has escaped, Raphne Bell Martinez has escaped.”
The unexpected appearance of the spirit bird and the surprising mention of a name.
The four of us, who recognized the name, froze in shock.
Emily and Mary had puzzled expressions, while Adrian and I stiffened.
“Approaching here.”
