episode_0187

As the first year at the Academy came to an end, winter arrived.

A brief respite from the daily swordplay of Academy life during the winter break.

The hero, Kaito Joeschegit, spent his vacation caring for children at a remote orphanage in the west.

“In the end, I still couldn’t confirm it this time.”

Lilith Rosewood, the personal maid of Edan Richard Blackwood.

Although she now used the name Lilith Blackwood Rosewood as a noble of the Blackwood family, Kaito Joeschegit couldn’t help but recognize her as Lilith from the original game.

And now, he harbored suspicions that Lilith, like himself, might be a possessor.

Observing her attempts to prevent Agnes from drinking at the banquet and her effortless handling of Natalie’s drinking, he couldn’t help but wonder if she was indeed a possessor like him.

Of course, there was still room for doubt, and Kaito Joeschegit wanted to be more certain.

“I should have somehow gotten Lilith to speak up at the last banquet.”

In the end, that day’s banquet was disrupted by Natalie’s drunken antics. She got drunk, challenged Edan to a duel, and caused a scene.

While Kaito Joeschegit managed to calm her down and put her to bed, that was as far as he could go.

Once Natalie calmed down, Edan and Lilith left the afterparty, and the atmosphere among the remaining guests was far from pleasant.

“It seems that these gatherings are not my cup of tea. Since Natalie’s mood seems to have soured because of me, I should leave first.”

“Wait, Master Edan. I will apologize on Natalie’s behalf, so please allow me a moment to speak…”

“What’s the point of an apology that the person who caused the trouble doesn’t hear? And receiving an apology doesn’t give me a reason to stay here.”

“…”

“Since Master Edan has spoken, I shall also take my leave.”

“…Lilith can stay a bit longer. I saw that there were acquaintances among your fellow hero comrades. It’s fine to socialize with them.”

“No, I will also take my leave. I should start preparing to leave for Blackwood early tomorrow morning.”

“…In that case.”

Already not on good terms with Edan, Kaito Joeschegit remembered Edan’s frown upon meeting him.

Feeling even more displeased, he expressed his complete discomfort due to Natalie’s actions.

As Lilith, Edan’s personal maid, showed signs of fatigue while trying to calm Natalie, she naturally left with them.

Although Seraphine tried to keep the conversation going with the remaining guests, the ruined atmosphere couldn’t be salvaged.

Despite being a precious opportunity created by Seraphine’s request, the truth about Lilith’s possession remained unknown.

…Or perhaps it was better that he didn’t achieve what he wanted.

Ultimately, the banquet that day turned out to be the worst outcome for Hero Kaito Joeschegit.

Even the carefully planned initial composition of the Hero Party began to show cracks.

“Hey, hey, everyone, stop it…! If you mess around with the food, I-I’ll do something about it…!”

“I lost my doll, and you’re asking me what to do? Can’t you find it yourself? I came all the way here in this uncomfortable carriage to take care of you all, you know?”

Volunteer work at the western orphanage.

It was one of the episodes that could be chosen for the 1st-year winter break at the Luminor Academy.

Serista’s hometown, where she grew up, was also known as the place where the children’s disappearance case at the orphanage was taking place, and the removal of the roots of the dark cult.

It was supposed to be a large-scale event in its own right, so originally, it wasn’t planned for just the three of them to come.

From that side, aside from Serista and Sirena dealing with the children, it was also planned to bring all the other party members to deal with the remaining cultists, in order to significantly increase the party members’ experience points, intimacy, and camaraderie, as well as to make the final battle with the cult leader, the culprit of the disappearance case, a little easier.

However, the originally planned volunteer activity members for the orphanage had decreased by half, leaving only three people.

Natalie, after seeing her own disgrace shown by Seraphine’s video magic, was shocked and returned to her hometown.

Thomas, who had planned to stop by the hometown village and join a little late, sent a letter saying he was worried about Natalie’s condition and might not be able to come.

And Agnes, seeing Natalie’s tumultuous state, seemed to have lost interest in the hero party and returned to her family home without a word.

In the end, only Serista and Sirena, who were willing to follow her no matter what choice she made, remained to follow them to the orphanage.

…In this orphanage event, only the two people who were the youngest and didn’t get along.

“Sigh…. I don’t know why you’re crying as if you did something good. You’re the one who couldn’t control yourself. Can you stop crying already?”

“Ugh, I told you not to play with food…! W-why do you keep bothering me…! Sniff….”

One person making the child cry. And one person crying because of the child.

Sirena, who was too individualistic to take care of the child, and Serista, who was too tender-hearted to deal with the children’s mischievous pranks.

Seeing the two of them, it was inevitable that they would miss the others who should have been here.

If Natalie and Thomas, who had a lot of experience taking care of the neighborhood children from the same hometown, were here, it would have relieved Serista’s burden a lot.

Even Agnes, who wasn’t good at interpersonal skills, seemed to get along well with younger kids, subtly matching their wavelengths.

The volunteer activity at the Western Orphanage, missing those three people, hinted at a tough road ahead.

‘Did I mess things up by causing unnecessary trouble that wasn’t in the original work…’

In that case, maybe it would be better to move thoroughly according to the original strategy.

But if things go according to the original plot, in the end, by the end of the second year, he would have to make a life-and-death decision with Ethan.

‘I don’t know. There’s still about a year left.’

Thinking about how he wasted the past year, it didn’t feel like a long year.

For now, he had to comfort the tearful Serista and teach Sirena how to handle children.

“Sirena, they’re still children. How will they understand if you scold them like that? Stop crying, Serista. If you make the priest cry, demons will come out from under your bed while you sleep….”

To him, who just wanted to defeat the demon king and return to his hometown, every day was a tiring succession of days.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

Unlike the various annoying things that happened during the summer vacation, the winter vacation passed by quickly in the blink of an eye.

Due to Seraphine’s student council duties, returning to Blackwood Manor was delayed, and likewise, returning to school due to student council duties also happened quickly.

Of course, due to the incident that occurred at the last banquet, the atmosphere upon returning to the scene was still not great.

“……”

“……”

“……”

“Oh my, why is everyone acting like this today? Why is the student council room so quiet?”

Only Orion, who did not participate in the afterparty, spoke in his usual manner, while the rest of the members exuded a slightly awkward atmosphere.

“R-Release… Here is the club’s first semester budget list…”

“Thank you, Auguste Yeong-ae-nim.”

“Uh, yeah…”

Lizzie, who had interrogated me while under the influence of two cocktails, avoided my gaze with a strange expression.

“…Here are the thank you documents for the last quarter’s water dispenser replacement, President.”

“T-Thank you, Ethan Gongja….”

Even Seraphine, who had caused Ethan to experience an embarrassing situation in front of everyone without prior consultation, could not lift her head in front of him.

It was a gathering with only four people, clearly consisting of an undeniable perpetrator and victims. Naturally, the atmosphere was not pleasant.

Even if Lizzie miscalculated her alcohol tolerance, Seraphine could be unjustly blamed for not knowing Natalie’s drinking habits.

But even if she had expressed her grievances, she should have at least assured the student council members that the hero party would attend.

Seraphine, as a princess who had received early etiquette education, was knowledgeable in various fields, and finding common topics to build rapport with people was one of her strengths.

However, even she could not prevent Natalie’s ruthless drinking habits, and as a result, Seraphine found herself in a situation where she was just as guilty as Ethan.

During winter break, Seraphine’s handwritten apology letter and gift flew to Ethan, which somewhat eased my mind, but it seemed that Ethan still held onto that incident.

“Just because unnecessary things keep happening that weren’t in the original work, everything keeps getting twisted…”

At this point in time, antagonizing Seraphine was not a good sign.

Anyway, she was a character who played a leading role in ‘Luminor Academy’ from beginning to end.

Opposing Seraphine meant repeating the conflict with the hero, and if things went wrong, Seraphine might perceive Ethan as a villain from her standpoint.

Even if the relationship became a bit strained and was somehow compensated, standing in her opposition was a completely different story.

While quietly pondering over such worries in my mind, the hour hand of the clock was ticking, signaling the end of the student council’s duties.

“I have finished all the accounting audit-related tasks, so I will be leaving now, President Seraphine.”

“Oh, Ethan Gongja. If you have time for dinner tonight…”

“I’m sorry. I still haven’t finished organizing the luggage brought from the mansion. I think I won’t have time before the semester starts.”

“…It can’t be helped. Please be careful on your way home, Ethan Gongja.”

“Yes, President Seraphine.”

Although Ethan’s abrupt interruption of Seraphine’s gesture of reconciliation was blatantly rude, everyone except Orion and Lizzie knew that the root of his anger ultimately lay with Seraphine.

In the end, no one else could easily stop Ethan’s actions, not even Luke, who was Seraphine’s right-hand man.

“Lilith, let’s go.”

“Yes, Lord Ethan.”

Up until now, I thought I could still easily unravel the relationship between Seraphine and Ethan.

“I’m not going to join the student council in the second semester, Lillis.”

…Until these words popped out of Ethan’s mouth as he returned to the dormitory.