Harvest Festival (5)

1.

The dawn was as quiet as the calm before a storm, eerily so.

“Kuh-ack…!”

Gale collapsed onto the ground, drenched in sweat.

“Hehe, how can you be panting already?”

Elia looked at Gale, who was gasping for breath, and clicked her tongue in disapproval.

“It’s… it’s been two hours!”

He had been dragged out at this early hour, before sunrise, and had been sparring continuously for two hours.

He wasn’t allowed a moment to catch his breath, as if every minute and second was precious.

He rolled and rolled and rolled.

He was picked up when he fell, only to fall again.

Even during his lowest days, he hadn’t rolled around this much.

“Such dramatics. That kind of dramatics won’t work on the battlefield. If it’s a long battle, you have to fight for hours.”

The longest battle in her past life had lasted three days and nights.

About 50 years ago, a gate to the Demon Realm had opened in the western plains.

Magical Beasts poured out like rain.

They had to keep catching the Magical Beasts to prevent them from spreading until the Wizards closed the gate.

That was really fucked up.

Two knight orders were annihilated.

All her limbs were twisted, and she had to be hospitalized in the temple for 30 days. Because she had overused her Magical power beyond her limits, she had to receive additional treatment at the Magic Tower for her tangled Mana circuit.

It was by no means a good memory.

“If I listen carefully, it sounds like you have war experience?”

Elia, who had been nagging on and on at Gale’s words, flinched.

Oops.

She had become too comfortable.

She didn’t have to be mindful, so she wasn’t mindful at all.

And because he was an Imperial Knight she had met after a long time, she had been excitedly chattering away as a senior.

“I… I read it in a book, in a book.”

Elia made an appropriate excuse.

“I was deeply moved by Legion Commander Heinkel’s autobiography.”

Legion Commander, Heinkel.

Long dead.

Elia’s superior.

‘Read this once.’

A book handed to her from his sickbed.

‘It’s my autobiography.’

‘Why suddenly an autobiography?’

‘A person who is about to leave for the other side wants to leave something behind, even like this.’

‘Oh, what are you saying, you’re so healthy.’

‘Just read it once.’

‘You know I don’t read books.’

‘Well, a subordinate does what their superior says. I didn’t even show it to my grandson, wanting to show it to you first.’

‘Okay.’

‘I’m expecting a review. I won’t accept anything less than 100 pages.’

Legion Commander Heinkel, laughing heartily.

That was his last appearance.

In the end, she had sent him off without giving him the review.

“Ah! If it’s that, I also read it with great admiration.”

Gale chattered excitedly about Heinkel’s autobiography like an excited child.

It was required reading for those walking the path of a knight.

Even children could read it easily, so nowadays it was instilling the dream of becoming a knight in many boys.

“By the way, have you found out anything?”

Elia cut off Gale, who was enthusiastically presenting his book review.

“About what?”

“Related to the Demon.”

After hesitating for a moment to answer, Gale trusted that he could tell the Saintess and said, “Whether this is fortunate or not… I investigated all the professors and Assistant professors at the academy, but they were all clean.”

“Is there a possibility that they are not involved?”

“Considering that as well, I’ve been going around the entire academy searching for Demonic energy, but nothing has been found yet. For now, I’m thinking that there was external contact, and they came into the academy after making a deal.”

Elia crossed her arms and fell into thought for a moment.

If you trace the incident backward, the end leads to one thing.

Legion Commander, Mortis.

A lich who has lived for hundreds of years and is researching creation.

Whenever that guy was involved, something shady always happened.

She still couldn’t forget that night.

The day she had to stab her sword into the heart of an ally.

It was a deep night.

It was a night when the sound of insects chirping quietly.

When she went outside the tent because it was noisy outside, there was a commotion.

Knights who had become Mortis’s test subjects were rampaging, digging into the hearts of normal knights with their hands.

When the commotion was calmed down, the company Elia led had lost the strength of two platoons.

There were several more points of contact after that.

Each time, the Imperial Knights suffered great damage.

After being victimized like that.

When she finally faced him.

Elia had driven him to the brink of death.

But in the end, she couldn’t catch him.

She had pushed away his test subjects and finally reached him, but as expected, it was difficult for a swordsman to face a Wizard.

Especially if the Wizard’s rank was unknown.

Magic poured in from all directions.

Dozens of corpses that stubbornly rose up even after being knocked down.

She had to concentrate on dodging the magic and avoiding the rushing corpses, so there was no time to attack.

She barely managed to approach him, but Elia’s sword only cut through the air.

That was a long time ago.

If we meet again next time…

Then she will cut off his eternal life.

“Just in case, investigate everyone you can investigate.”

Elia assumed the worst-case scenario.

“Without even knowing it…”

Such a thing must not happen.

“They might be a puppet.”

It was a gloomy feeling.

2.

The day of the Harvest festival dawned.

Participating students gathered at the academy’s main gate.

“Ugh, I’m nervous.”

Estel wrapped her arms around her shoulders as if she were cold and stamped her feet.

“Don’t feel pressured. We just have to do as much as we can.”

Yohan said with a relaxed smile.

From the beginning, they weren’t aiming for victory.

They were thinking of using this Harvest festival as a time to verify their skills.

To show the results of the training they had received from the Saintess.

If they won, the Saintess would be happy, but…

Realistically, it was impossible.

“What are you talking about? Of course, we should aim for victory!”

Estel was nervous, but she was as motivated as she was nervous.

“Yuriel, you think so too, right?”

Estel approached Yuriel in a friendly manner.

“Huh?”

Yuriel’s eyes widened for a moment, as if she didn’t expect to be spoken to.

Estel was friendly to everyone.

Her swordsmanship skills were in the mid-range, but.

She played a role like a class president in the Swordsmanship department.

Even the foul-tempered delinquents became docile when she spoke to them.

Should she be called an idol, apart from her skills?

“I, I…”

Yuriel stuttered, as it was the first time someone had spoken to her in such a friendly manner.

Seeing this, it seemed like he knew Yuriel’s personality.

She wasn’t indifferent and cold to those around her.

She was just a shy person who couldn’t be honest.

But when she held a sword, she became too honest.

Yohan thought Yuriel was a little cute.

Yohan turned his head and looked at another cute being.

Although her language was harsh.

Reine, a lovely girl in herself.

“Reine.”

There was no answer.

Reine was staring blankly into the air with a dazed expression.

Her eyes were half-closed, as if she was sleepy.

Was she too nervous to sleep properly last night?

Yohan called her again.

“Reine.”

“Heueh?”

Reine flinched and came to her senses when he tapped her shoulder.

“Ah… why?”

“Didn’t you sleep well last night?”

“No… I slept well…?”

“Tell me if you don’t feel well. Your health is more important than participating in the Harvest festival.”

“I’m fine. I’m just weak in the morning.”

Reine stretched with a creaking sound.

It sounded like a puppy waking up and stretching.

“At exactly nine o’clock, all participants will be transported to the entire academy.”

The Headmaster pointed to a huge Magic circle floating high in the sky.

Dimensional teleportation.

Only the range setting was done, and the coordinate setting was not.

When the Magic circle was activated, the various parties under the Magic circle would be randomly moved.

“Future talents, show off your skills to your heart’s content today.”

While the Headmaster’s long speech continued.

People who were looking at the clock tower shouted.

“10!”

The countdown began.

The numbers decreased one by one.

When the hour and second hands formed a right angle, the bell of the clock tower rang loudly.

The Magic circle was activated.

All the participants standing at the main gate disappeared.

Along with the ringing of the bell announcing the start of the Harvest festival, people cheered.

3.

A quiet forest.

Yohan’s party had fallen somewhere unknown.

Judging from the dense bushes, it seemed to be the forest north of the academy.

“Everyone ready?”

Yohan checked his party members.

“Yeah, I’m ready.”

Estel smiled brightly and stroked the hilt of her sword.

“…Me too.”

Yuriel nodded slightly.

And Reine was.

“……”

She was staring blankly into the air with a dazed expression.

“Reine?”

Yohan approached Reine.

Did she get motion sickness while teleporting?

Sometimes there were people like that.

“Reine?”

He called her name again and tapped her shoulder.

At that moment.

“■■■■■■■■.”

While muttering an unidentified language, Reine’s body began to tremble.

She twisted her neck from side to side and giggled.

Bubbles were rising from between her white teeth.

Yohan’s group was startled by the sudden bizarre behavior and couldn’t say anything.

Drip.

Reine’s body stopped as if time had stopped.

Thud.

Her legs gave way as if she had collapsed.

What was going on?

Yohan only blinked as he looked at Reine, who had fallen.

“……Reine?”

Yohan carefully approached Reine and shook her body. Then, Reine turned her head and looked at Yohan.

And she said with a smiling face.

“They are coming. It opens. They are coming. It opens. They are coming. It opens.”