Chapter 261
—Kekekek!
—Kwahang! Kwahagagang!!
Adalhyde’s barrier magic, wielded with elemental magic, protected the airship like a solid outer wall.
I was providing her with an endless supply of mana, helping to withstand the bombardment from the bishop and the special entities.
Thanks to that, the airship could continue advancing at full speed without much trouble.
However, with the significant might of the bishops and the limits of Adalhyde’s mental strength, as well as physical issues,
the shield we had been holding for four hours was on the verge of breaking.
On the deck were myself, Adalhyde, several student council members, and a few professors.
I conveyed my proposal to the professors through the student council president, Diphelia.
I suggested removing the previously set magical spells and instead actively utilizing the students.
While the spells were effective, their limits were clear, and the students had become more of a hindrance when entering combat.
Diphelia seemed to find my suggestion reasonable; without a second thought, she brought the students up to the deck in less than five minutes.
Considering the Cattia rankings, the combat personnel were determined, with everyone from Arbol Frutal naturally participating, along with capable junior and senior students.
—Kwahji, jizijik!
“The barrier will break soon! Everyone get ready for battle—!!”
Seemingly not forgetting her active days, Louisa, who had the highest ranking in the past Hero Ranking, directed everyone.
Just as she said, the shield that had been drained of Adalhyde’s power ultimately shattered.
—Kekek!
—Krrik!
Then, Altife, grinning with their mouths stretched wide, cascaded down like a waterfall.
The six bishops led them into the fray vigorously.
Most of the professors took charge, while the remaining students struggled against the self-destructing Altife.
The remaining enemy force stood at about 1,500.
Even after Adalhyde’s barrier magic sent 500 of them to another world, there were still quite a few left.
—Kwahgakang!
—Kekekek!
“Magic Team 1, spread the barrier! Team 2, blow them up from the air before the archers approach! Close combat users, cut down the cores of the approaching enemies! Got it! You need to slice the core before it explodes!”
—Kwahagagagagang!
—Swaaaak!
Amidst this chaos, two individuals stood out especially.
Second-year Arterion and third-year Clemens.
The transcendent red aura emanating from Arterion was quite the help.
Unlike the Altife’s slimy skin, the beautiful transparent and clear red aura resembled maple leaves and swept the enemies away.
With leaf shapes, the enemies were swept away.
Clemens was also performing brilliantly, just like Arterion.
Dressed in full plate armor and riding a wyvern, her fierce presence while cutting through Altife’s group was enough to invoke the name of Dragon Knight.
Though she couldn’t reach the crimson aura of transcendence, it was indeed Clemens who caught more attention than Arterion.
—Kreeeeek!!
Thus, the Altife group that had covered the sky all fell.
When their screams replaced the silence, the 7-hour siege by Altife came to an end.
The fleeing remnants of Altife were ultimately brought down by the archers and magicians.
All six bishops had their heads severed and returned to the soil.
On the other hand, only two severely injured students emerged from Academia. It was a clear victory, no matter how you looked at it.
“We won!!!”
“Woooooah——!”
The students let out instinctive roars.
This was true for not only the new students who faced Altife for the first time but also the fourth-year students with much battle experience.
Six bishops and two thousand special entities.
Altife’s invasion turned out to boost the morale of the students.
It became their experience points.
“Those who can, use healing magic. Share mana with anyone showing early signs of mana deficiency!”
At Louisa’s command, the students moved once more.
Since Alicia, Serena, and Emily had sustained little damage, they eagerly took on support roles.
I also supplied mana to Adalhyde, who had exerted herself the most today, and adjusted it to prevent any side effects.
“I’m fine… Senior. This is already enough.”
“It’s fine. Hold still. We’re almost done.”
“…Thank you.”
I gently pressed one side of Adalhyde’s neck while moving the mana.
Adalhyde’s body was unusually hot, likely due to having exhausted her energy. Her head, tilted to reveal her neck, was busy rising and falling with her breath.
Knowing she had pushed herself beyond her limits, I coordinated the mana while also working to dispel her heat.
“It’s over now. You can head inside and rest.”
“…Is it really over?”
“Yeah. When you wake up, you’ll feel more refreshed than usual.”
“I see…”
Adalhyde seemed somewhat disappointed.
After nudging her once more, she got up and stepped back.
She would surely fall asleep as soon as she lay down.
“Oh, Emily. You’ve got quite a talent, huh?”
A sudden unfamiliar voice.
Emily has talent? What’s that about? My eyes instinctively turned toward the source.
Emily looked just as surprised. She was assisting with the treatment of the injured.
Next to her was a professor who primarily dealt with healing magic, overseeing the process.
“Me? I…?”
“Yeah. Your wounds heal quickly while maintaining high restoration. For a second-year student, that’s quite an accomplishment. Were you always good at this?”
At the mention of grades, Emily awkwardly smiled, probably thinking that wasn’t the case.
The professor advised her to consider studying healing magic more deeply after this war, then left to attend to other students.
“Me, healing magic….”
Then she continued to treat the next person.
This time, it was someone familiar to her.
“Emily. Are you okay with the amount of mana, considering that over a dozen people have already seen you?”
“I’m fine, I’m fine. Don’t worry, Liam.”
Emily, checking the wound on Liam’s arm with a brave smile. The swordsman had burned his arm. It seemed he got hurt fighting a self-destructing special entity.
As Emily cast a magical spell on Liam’s wound, she noticed his worried gaze and spoke up.
“I… I haven’t been much help in this fight, so I hope this can at least be of some assistance.”
“That’s just because the opponent had a bad match-up for you. Don’t stress it, Emily. You know your swordsmanship is steadily improving.”
“…Yeah, that’s true. But sometimes…”
I stopped there and turned my gaze away. The conversation wasn’t going to yield much, especially since a woman approaching me wanted to speak.
A woman with crimson hair.
Ocel Julio Clemens.
A woman with a fierce gaze, perhaps even fiercer than mine.
The blood-stained helmeted woman loosened her tied hair as she spoke.
“Looks like you’ve been quiet this time, Vargan.”
“Well, sometimes it’s good to take a step back. If I’m always sticking my nose in, I’ll just end up being disliked.”
“You’re saying something interesting. Since when did you care about other people’s opinions?”
“Come on, that’s harsh. I’m more sensitive than you think. If I overheard someone talking bad about me, I’d lose sleep over it.”
“Are you spending the night thinking about how to bury it? That’s going to make your opponent pitiful.”
Clemens chuckled softly.
Adalhyde dragged a chair over and sat down to face me.
She was always bold in her actions.
She seemed to have guessed my behavior and commented,
“You’ve been maintaining a stance of observing from a distance. I guess you wanted to see how much the Academia students have grown?”
“Something like that. It was nice to get a good look at their levels in the confined space of the airship.”
“Is that also to select talents to add to the Arbol Frutal members?”
“Well, I suppose it’s just a habit of mine to evaluate without thinking much about it.”
“Really…?”
“Yes, Senior Clemens, you especially stood out to me among them. It seems you’ve been sharpening your skills significantly.”
“Compared to my father, I’m still far off. I haven’t even surpassed the red aura’s threshold yet, so I have a long way to go.”
Clemens smiled a wry smile that was uncharacteristic of her.
She had considerable talent herself, but her comparison targets were too daunting.
Her father is the number one ranked hero in the Hero Ranking, one who even Helion couldn’t surpass.
And another is the protagonist of the original story.
“……”
Clemens leaned back, taking a calm breath to regain her composure from the battlefield’s earlier energy. Though she didn’t show it, she too was a little worn out.
In the moment of silence, Clemens lifted her head to gaze at the sky.
Night had arrived, and the surroundings were filled with countless stars.
Among them, a crescent moon stood out prominently.
The crescent moon reflected in her red eyes, and those eyes shifted sideways to face me.
“Francesca… where do you think she might be right now?”
“…Are you talking about the Francesca who turned the festival into a chaotic mess?”
“Francesca, you say?”
“Yeah. She was my classmate and had a deep connection with my father. …I guess you don’t know much about our relationship.”
“…….”
I held my tongue as she continued.
Her tone sounded less like an inquiry and more like a ramble.
“Francesca absolutely despised me. She had a complicated relationship with her father, one that’s hard to talk about. Even though it ended up being a rift between us. It was heartbreaking for me to realize she was associated with the Goddess Church.”
Both Pertigle, the spear master, and Francesca were unforgivable sinners, but they were also incredibly talented individuals.
Clemens said this with genuine regret.
At least in her dialogue, there was no trace of deceit.
“You ended her life instead of me. That’s what made me think. What happened to the necromancer who used to bring back the dead? Where could they be wandering now? I’m curious.”
Just a pointless thought.
She evaluated her words as such and changed the subject, sighing alongside her upper body.
Her line was almost a reflex whenever she saw me.
“Are you still not thinking of becoming mine?”
“You really are persistent, senior. I’ve turned you down more than ten times now.”
“This time, my meaning is a little different.”
“…Ha.”
I looked at Clemens in disbelief.
She was unabashed, almost boldly so.
Clemens reiterated her intentions to avoid any misunderstanding.
“What I meant by asking you to become mine this time was not to be a subordinate or an underling. I meant, as a partner, to share life together. Do you have no interest in becoming my husband?”
“Is that how far you’d go to gain my abilities?”
“Valuable talents must be treasured.”
“So, you mean this is a special treatment….”
I scoffed at her audacious consistency and continued speaking.
“Thank you for the offer, but I’ll have to decline.”
“Don’t be so hasty. Think it over, Vargan. This is the last time I’ll ask, so I hope you’ll make a regret-free choice. Who knows, this decision might greatly influence your future.”
“Influence… Not sure about that. By the way, I didn’t think this question would ever end.”
“I can’t keep asking the same thing until I’m gray-haired, can I?”
“But my mind hasn’t changed.”
“Such a stubborn one, aren’t you?”
Clemens chuckled lightly before standing up, as if she had no lingering attachments.
Watching her, I casually asked, “Are you leaving already?”
“Clinging to the unattainable is just a waste. I have other things to do.”
“I appreciate that you value your time.”
“Thank you for that.”
Clemens left with a brief smile, truly not glancing back.
There was no trace of sadness from the woman who was rejected.
A woman who never bends her sense of self, no matter when or where.
Ocel Julio Clemens was that kind of woman.
…
And so, three days went by as night turned to day.
The academia’s airship reached the starting point of the battlefield.
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