novelnext Chapter 212 : Before the Mock War
Chapter 212 : Before the Mock War
The day before the Mock War Practice Training.At lunchtime in the Yggdrasil Academy cafeteria.
While waiting at his table, Jennings sat reading a newspaper folded in half.
...Just then, someone approached the seat beside him.
“Hello~ Professor Jennings. There aren't any empty seats, so would it be alright if I joined you?”
A woman with long black hair covering one eye.
Professor Hilda of the Finders Department... formerly of the Dark Arts Department.
She was not someone Jennings particularly wanted to associate with.
Wearing a polite smile, he spoke.
“Professor Hilda. Thank you for honoring me with your company, but unfortunately, my assistant is supposed to sit here.”
“Really? Then I suppose I'll have to look for another empty seat...”
At that moment.
A Magical Communication call came through, and Jennings placed a hand to his ear to answer it.
[Professor, pardon me, but something urgent came up, so I don't think I'll be able to make it for lunch, sir. A mountain of work suddenly landed on my desk that has to be handled immediately...]
You little brat, Chariot. Of all times...
“Is something wrong, Professor Jennings? You look a little frightening.”
Folding his newspaper, Jennings smiled.
“It's nothing. It seems my assistant won't be coming.”
“Oh my, is that so? Then may I sit here?”
“Of course. Please, have a seat.”
“Thank you, Professor Jennings~”
Hilda took her seat and placed her order with the waiter.
“It's been over half a year since I came here, but the food is always delicious. I look forward to it every single day.”
“Haha, I agree.”
Jennings casually played along with the conversation.
...However, he could roughly guess why she had approached him.
The reason was none other than the Schuler he hated the most—Villed.
“Oh, right. I thoroughly enjoyed reading your paper, 「An Empirical Study on Mobility Optimization」, Professor Jennings.”
“...I'm glad to hear that.”
The meaningless conversation continued.
After some time passed, the waiter placed their meals in front of Hilda and Jennings.
“Wow, our food is here. Yours looks delicious too, Professor Jennings.”
“......”
...He was beginning to grow tired of humoring her.
“Professor Hilda.”
Jennings set down the knife he had been holding.
“Did you come to speak with me because I treated your Schuler poorly?”
“Hmm~ No.”
Hilda smiled brightly.
“Actually, it's the opposite.”
...The opposite?
Jennings fell silent for a moment at the unexpected answer.
“I've always been grateful to you, Professor Jennings. Please continue giving Villed even greater trials.”
“......?”
Jennings blinked.
He had assumed she had come to protest the way he had treated her Schuler.
“Aren't you curious? About why I chose Villed as my Schuler.”
The reason.
Ever since winter, when it had been announced that Villed was Hilda's Schuler, a rumor had circulated among the Academy professors.
Why had Hilda chosen Villed of all people?
...The answer was obvious, wasn't it?
Money.
The enormous backing of a prestigious family.
No matter how principled or respected a professor might be, it would be difficult to refuse an overwhelming amount of money.
“Professor Jennings, please. Tell me honestly.”
When Hilda asked again, Jennings finally let slip the words that had been stuck in his throat.
“...Because of the family's sponsorship, wasn't it?”
The moment the words left his mouth, Jennings regretted them.
It had been an incredibly rude remark—more than enough to make Hilda angry.
But Hilda didn't become angry.
Instead, she nodded and accepted Jennings' conclusion.
“So you thought the same thing too, Professor Jennings.”
Yes.
There was no other answer.
After all, she had selected a student with overwhelmingly little talent as her Schuler.
Naturally, the other professors would think the same.
“But I've never spoken with the Dedencman Family. When I first proposed taking Villed as my Schuler, I didn't even know he was Dedencman's second son.”
...Hilda's statement.
It didn't seem like a lie.
Was it simply an incredibly convincing performance?
“Then why on earth...?”
“It was curiosity. He looked exactly like someone I liked when I was young. That's why I chose him as my Schuler.”
That was...
The reason she selected her Schuler?
Just because of that?
Jennings was so dumbfounded that his glasses slipped down slightly.
His eyes widened, and without even pushing them back into place, he spoke.
“Professor Hilda... are you serious?”
“Yes.”
Hilda nodded.
“...But at some point, what began as curiosity became genuine.”
With a thoughtful expression, she continued.
“He was clearly an unremarkable student. Yet no matter what kind of trial came his way, he always overcame it.”
What was she remembering?
Before he realized it, Hilda had clenched both fists tightly.
Her eyes had widened slightly as well.
“I... came to enjoy watching that student get back up again, like one of those roly-poly toys.”
A smile appeared at the corner of her lips, as though she were feeling exhilaration.
Her gaze...
Locked onto Jennings.
A chill ran down Jennings' spine.
He had already disliked meeting Hilda before this.
But now he understood it even more clearly.
...He himself might have been twisted.
But Professor Hilda was completely twisted.
Avoiding her gaze, Jennings picked up his knife and fork.
“I'll think about what you've said.”
“Thank you, Professor Jennings.”
After they began eating, Hilda didn't speak again.
...And Jennings' opinion of Villed also changed.
He had never expected anything from the student because he possessed almost no Magical Energy and appeared utterly mediocre...
But seeing how confident Hilda was, he found himself thinking that perhaps Villed really might show something.
At the very least, Hilda was not the kind of professor driven by vanity.
...Therefore, after carefully considering the possibility that his strategy might collapse, he decided to assign Villed the position of “Free.”
There were a total of eight buildings in the enemy camp.
There were two main routes, each lined with three watchtowers.
The objective was to destroy all of the enemy's watchtowers before breaking through the castle gate.
Once inside the gate, destroying the small building shaped like a Throne would end the game.
This Practice Training was the final mock battle before the official Mock War Training.
Professor Jennings had undoubtedly assigned detailed strategies and tactics to every student.
...However.
Jennings had assigned me the position of “Free.”
The “Free” position was one in which the professor gave no specific orders, leaving every decision entirely up to the student.
As a result, it was normally reserved only for the highest-ranking students.
But giving me the “Free” position meant...
It was probably nothing more than simple curiosity.
Or perhaps he wanted to see what decisions someone with such little Magical Energy would make.
‘I'd already prepared plenty of excuses so I could operate independently anyway... This actually works out perfectly.’
If Jennings had restricted my position, it would have been difficult to carry out the strategy I had planned.
‘The combat ability I lack... I'll make up for by hunting monsters and obtaining their spoils.’
Whenever a monster was defeated, it dropped an item called an Object.
That would become my weapon.
‘Once the game begins, I need to start hunting monsters immediately... but it'll be difficult alone.’
I could defeat them somehow.
But it would waste far too much time.
Compared to the other Schulers, I was already starting from behind.
Time was priceless.
Because of that, I needed help from someone wearing the same red armband as me.
I looked around at my teammates.
Among the dozens of students, three stood out above the rest.
“Grrrk...”
Kunking, grinding his teeth as he glared at Heidel, apparently displeased that they had ended up on the same team.
Heidel didn't even spare him a glance.
...And over in the corner, standing alone while absentmindedly fiddling with the scarf around her neck, was Sia.
Those three were the Red Team's aces.
‘At least we won't lose because of our team.’
Of course, there was still the enormous variable known as Kaelyn.
But as long as those three were on the same side, the chances of defeat were significantly lower.
‘Among the stronger Schulers, someone who might actually help me would be...’
Kunking didn't seem like someone I could even have a conversation with.
Heidel had never spoken to me before and wasn't the type to readily accept someone else's proposal.
‘...That leaves Sia.’
There wasn't much choice.
I walked over to where Sia was standing by herself.
She looked up at me before speaking in a displeased tone.
“What.”
“I need your help.”
“......?”
Sia frowned and silently stared at me.
Ten minutes before the training began.
“How much farther are we going?”
“We're almost there.”
Despite grumbling the entire way, Sia followed behind me.
She had reluctantly agreed after I promised to buy her several homemade cakes once the game was over.
“...Tch.”
Sia placed a hand against her ear and clicked her tongue.
“What? Something wrong?”
“Since I left my post, that annoying brat keeps whining nonstop.”
“Annoying brat?”
“Who else could it be besides that glasses professor?”
“Hmm...”
So she'd already given him a nickname.
As I continued forward while observing the terrain, a familiar landscape came into view.
A massive boulder surrounded by thick bushes.
It was the location where a ‘certain monster’ appeared.
“If we wait here a little while, a monster will show up.”
“......”
Sia barely seemed to listen.
Leaning against a tree, she continued absentmindedly fiddling with her scarf.
‘She really likes that thing, doesn't she?’
As I watched Sia, Lapin suddenly came to mind.
Lapin often talked to me about Sia.
...The fact that she deliberately brought it up every time meant she wanted me to personally invite Sia to move in.
But I hadn't done that.
Sia was a villain.
There was too much risk in having her as a resident.
‘In a few months, Sia will fully emerge as a villain and become both Ren's enemy and mine.’
There were only two possible outcomes for Villain Sia.
Kill her.
...Or save her.
However, the route where Sia survived required leaving her with less than 1% HP without accidentally killing her.
It was an extremely difficult feat.
In the game, if Sia survived, she escaped from the Academy and disappeared completely from the episode.
You never met her again.
Instead, during the ending credits, you could see a brief epilogue.
A single photograph of Sia after she had become a chef.
However, because keeping Sia alive was so difficult, and because the ending only changed by adding a single picture, most players didn't bother and simply killed her.
It was at the moment I wondered whether Sia might be in circumstances similar to Lapin's...
That I remembered something Lapin had once said.
“I feel like that girl is the me from before I met Villed.”
...Before I realized it, the words had already left my mouth.
“Do you remember when Lapin asked if you wanted to move in?”
The hand that had been playing with her scarf came to a stop.
“If you don't want to, then at least tell Lapin directly. You keep giving vague answers, and she's holding onto false hope because of it.”
“......”
Sia stared straight at me.
“I... I...”
After a long period of hesitation, she finally opened her mouth.
Kuuur-!
Boom!
A monster suddenly burst out from somewhere.
It was a small armored golem, only slightly shorter than I was.
It appeared in exactly the same place, with exactly the same design as it had in the game.
“......!”
Sia stopped mid-sentence, clenched her teeth, and tightened her fist.
In an instant, she closed the distance and swung her arm at the golem.
Then—
KWAAAAAAAAAANG—!
A deafening explosion echoed through the area.
The impact was so overwhelming that it felt as though even the blood inside my body had vibrated.
‘What the...!’
The small golem's entire upper body was blown clean through in a single strike, leaving it on the verge of destruction.
“Hey! You hit it way too hard!”
She had nearly obliterated the monster in one blow.
If Sia had completely defeated it herself, the right to obtain the Objects would have belonged entirely to her, meaning all the waiting up until now would have been for nothing.
“......”
However, after looking at me for a moment, Sia silently turned and ran off somewhere.
...Good.
I didn't bother stopping her.
Since the golem had appeared, the training must have just begun.
‘Huayo.’
I reached out into empty space.
As a burning card appeared in my grasp, flames ignited around Illaune's Heart in my other hand.
I swung it toward the small green gemstone embedded in the golem's forehead.
Crack—!
Already covered in fractures, the gemstone shattered completely from my strike.
Kuuuuurrrr—!
The golem collapsed to the ground.
As its body turned into black ash, two small treasure chests rolled onto the ground.
They were chests containing Objects.
Dropping to one knee, I picked them up with both hands.
‘...I hope I get something useful.’
Slowly, I opened the chests.