episode_0066

Monday, from early dawn, chaos erupted in Leone.

As a side note…

‘Hehe… Ras, shall we do this and that with Teacher-nim?’ ‘What in the world is “this and that”…!’ ‘I guess I’ll have to show you directly…?’ ‘…..!!!!’

I had been having a truly excellent dream like that, but I swallowed my tears and woke up at the emergency assembly order for all students.

Since I’m not particularly well-educated, I didn’t quite know what the emergency assembly order for all students at Leone meant.

However, I did know that this school usually thoroughly guaranteed dormitory students’ right to sleep.

“Hey, Chatterbox. Do you have any idea what’s going on? What kind of disaster is this, right from dawn…?”

My chatterbox-like roommate, who would clearly sneakily inform Leon about my movements even now, what was his name? Was it Raoul??

Anyway, he was a guy whose name I didn’t even care about, but I figured he’d know all sorts of trivial information, so I asked him.

He noticed my rising stock as I was on a winning streak recently, then quickly answered.

“Oh…! Well… maybe His Majesty the Emperor suddenly came for an emergency inspection…? Honestly, I don’t really know.”

It was a rough guess, but it did have some plausible points.

Since I had killed Lergo, who had been constantly casting ‘Decay’ on the Emperor, the Emperor would at least be free from that extremely malicious curse.

Originally, curses begin to be dispelled from the moment the person who cast them dies.

Of course, I don’t know the exact range or limitations of ‘Decay,’ but if the continuous damage had disappeared, then as a martial artist who had reached the profound realm, he might show a rapid recovery.

Furthermore, it was contextually certain that Rosalie-nim herself had attended to the Emperor’s body, so it was highly likely that the Emperor was already convinced that he had been the target of a cursed assassination.

‘Old man, please impeach that scoundrel Leon. Don’t kill him, because then I can’t torment him anymore.’

I walked briskly towards the auditorium, murmuring this non-prayer in my heart.

*

“…..Therefore, from now on, the Academy will enter a state of combat readiness.”

And the truth I faced was incredibly surprising, no, beyond that, it was astonishing.

‘Demons? High-ranking demons, at that, came into Delphi via the Maugendorf Forest. It seems they did something unknown in the forest….’

No matter how much I searched through my memories of my past life, demons had never caused a disturbance near the Academy at this time.

Even though my memory wasn’t particularly good and I wasn’t even in a normal state at the time, there’s no way I could have forgotten an event of this magnitude.

Furthermore, before my regression, I had spent my entire mid-twenties in fierce wars with Azuldah, so demons were not unfamiliar foes to me.

Thugs whose individual racial stats were overwhelmingly high, where humans only had an advantage in sheer numbers….

Why did they come? I kept racking my not-so-good brain, but no clear answer emerged.

Meanwhile, Professor Leonard, the first-year head, was calmly leading the trembling first-year students, who were shaking like gristle.

“First, the scale of the demon invasion has not been confirmed, but it is strongly suspected that they came as a small elite force, targeting something. As the Academy is the most important facility in Delphi, there’s a high possibility they are targeting this place.”

What could they be targeting…?

What am I missing…? There must be something very important I’m overlooking, and it’s frustrating that I can’t reach a clear conclusion.

“Although we will take a defensive stance, it will be troublesome if they cause a disturbance in Delphi. We have urgently formed punitive and search teams for extermination. As for the first-years, you will defend the Academy under supervision. You lack both experience and skill, so you cannot participate in direct combat.”

For now, the Academy’s greenhorn students probably haven’t fought proper demons.

If you ask whether Leon or Skada, who are said to be already catching up to the professors in skill, have experience fighting true high-ranking demons, well?

Of course, the Sephiroth imperial family raises its heirs very strongly, but that doesn’t mean they recklessly push undeveloped children into death traps.

They might have combat experience with demons, but it’s highly probable that neither Leon nor Skada has much experience fighting proper high-ranking demons.

Just then, a beautiful voice, very familiar but with a slightly different feeling than usual, was heard.

“Professor Leonard, I apologize for interrupting, but I’ve come with a message. May I take over for a moment?”

“Ah, of course. My message was almost finished anyway.”

Rosalie-nim, with her usual cheerful demeanor entirely gone and replaced by calmness and discipline, was approaching.

Even amidst all that, Rosalie-nim gave me a gentle smile, and seeing that smile, my chaotic mind somehow felt as if it was calmly settling.

She calmly continued speaking, looking at the first-year fledglings lined up.

“Normally, first-years aren’t deployed directly into real combat. You should focus solely on protecting yourselves, following the professors’ guidance as much as possible. However, the following three individuals will be deployed in the attack team’s operation. Leon, Marisa, and… Ras. The three of you, follow me.”

Seeing the individuals chosen for the attack team’s operation, the rest of the rookie first-years began to murmur, making sounds of awe—”Oohhh!”

Well… I naturally expected that some students would be selected.

Both Leone and Sephiroth were nations where it was rare for high-ranking individuals to sit on their bottoms and pull out when something big happened, due to their national ethos itself.

Even when Semere and I attacked Sephir together before my regression, none of the high-ranking officials defending the imperial capital fled.

Even the ‘Sage’ and the ‘Hero,’ who held the highest positions below the Emperor and the imperial family, had met a glorious end at the hands of our ‘Ras and Semere duo.’

Even Leon, despite being an idiot, had waited inside the imperial palace and fought a one-on-one duel with me…

Well… up until then, he must have firmly believed he would win, so maybe the story’s a bit different? Anyway.

Marisa and Leon are both extremely outstanding compared to their peers, and Leon, in particular, is said to have already reached the professors’ level. Even the phrase ‘a crane among chickens’ [a proverb about standing out among the common] is insufficient to describe him.

In my case, I instantly killed Garett, who maintained a top rank in the second-year student council… so Leon and Marisa are probably the only first-years rated higher than me.

Anyway, I thought it worked out well in various ways, so I quickly followed along.

Even if the past I knew and the current events unfolding have changed, the solution is simple anyway.

Even if I don’t know what they are, any entities that provoke conflict with impure intentions can be beaten to death or burned to death, and the problem will be solved.

“Which team are you on, Teacher-nim? The punitive team? The search team? Or the Academy defense team?”

“Teacher-nim will be with the punitive team. I expect Ras will also be with Teacher-nim. Alright, Leon and Marisa, come this way too.”

I naturally closed the distance slightly and conversed naturally with Rosalie-nim.

After all, even in the face of a war crisis, the warmth of love is bound to blossom.

Perhaps, no matter who looked, from any angle, we two would appear quite affectionate and intimate?

The reactions of the onlookers were quite varied.

For instance…

“No, why are those two so close…? Anyway, that wicked bastard, not content with Lizley, now even Professor Rosalie-nim… I truly wish he’d die. No… but wasn’t Professor Rosalie-nim married…?”

“…….” The idiotic Lizley glared at Rosalie-nim with sharp eyes, and Emma, my slave, stared at me with hollow eyes, worn out by labor and verbal abuse.

Lizley, in their own way, seemed displeased that I was being recognized by the faculty, and by the pink current flowing between Rosalie-nim and me…

As for Emma… needless to say, she was utterly worn out by relentless labor and Heidi’s verbal abuse these days. Of course, there was still no sign of her becoming a decent person.

“Ras, you absolutely must not come back hurt!”

And then there was our cute minion, Irha, waving her hands wildly, putting aside all jealousy or envy, and only showing concern for me.

“Don’t worry. I’ll just beat them all to death and come back.”

I waved my hand as if to reassure my worried minion, then moved towards the attack team.

“Don’t worry about Ras. Teacher-nim will make sure you don’t get hurt. Even if I look like this, Teacher-nim was once voted the most reliable woman on the battlefield~”

I thought Rosalie-nim, joking to ease the tension, was very lovely, but I also thought it might not be a joke and could be serious.

Anyway, by pre-regression standards, she was a Saint, and her personal combat power was enormous. She had even personally taken the head of Kardmos, the Demon King of Azuldah…

Wait a minute.

Demon King?

As I looked at Rosalie-nim, who was speaking with a gentle smile, a fragment of buried memory surged up from the past, piercing through my mind.

*

“So, Master, should I consider you the greatest of all time…? That’s a rather enviable title.”

Semere stroked her beautiful pink hair with her fingers, as if showing it off.

With a slightly smug expression, like a neighborhood boss, which didn’t quite suit her usual prim demeanor.

“That’s right. There has been no one stronger than Semere Laufeyga Kashmir in the past, nor is there now. Hmm… well, perhaps the Founding Emperor of Sephiroth. But that’s someone from too long ago…”

Semere might not know it, but when she boasts about her strength, she’s incredibly cute.

So much so that I want to nip her soft, white-looking cheeks.

“The era we live in now is one where an unusually large number of people have entered the profound realm. And there were quite a few strong individuals as well. Who were the representative strong ones…? Let’s see, yes.”

Semere absolutely loves teaching me things, and if I listen with interest, she pretends otherwise while feeling proud.

Perhaps if Semere had attended school as a child, she would have been a brilliant child who always came first?

“First, let’s exclude the Emperor of the Sephiroth Empire. Those rabbit-like creatures never intend to crawl out of the imperial palace, which is their advantageous battlefield. What kind of freezing-to-death strong person is that? Ras, for your revenge, you must defeat the guy who cowers in the imperial palace and receives all sorts of buffs. Do you understand?”

“Even if a rabbit digs a hole and hides, it’s enough to burn it to death with fire. Whether it hides in a hole or not, it can’t escape anyway.”

“Oh my~ Just like my cute puppy. Indeed, what greater disgrace is there than a dog losing to a rabbit…? Anyway, the important first hurdle in the Sephiroth capture campaign isn’t the Emperor, but the Empire’s Hero. A divine being of the church who appeared suddenly. Their age is… annoyingly young, as it happens. And since they’re called a beauty, I dislike them even more. If I meet them, I’ll tear them to death myself.”

“Why does your conclusion go that way? They probably aren’t even prettier than you, so why do you get defensive whenever beauties are mentioned?”

When I stated the facts to her, who was suddenly accelerating, she turned beet red and shrieked, “Ack!”

“Argh! Don’t say such embarrassing things. Hmph! Anyway… I don’t like it, but it’s true they’re strong. They’re one of the ones who finished off that impertinent ruler of Azuldah, that fool who called himself the ‘Demon King.’ ‘Hero’ and ‘Saint’… they’re utterly tacky, not some children’s fairy tale characters, but…”

The Saint… Rosalie Berhart was dead. When Semere reconfirmed that, my heart settled down.

I wanted to see her again, who had left me with such great kindness, but so vainly….

“That woman called the ‘Saint’ from the Empire’s Heavenly God Church must also have been an incredibly strong individual. If she had been alive, we would have had to reconsider breaking through Sephir with just the two of us. Especially since it was the Saint, not even the Hero, who personally butchered the Demon King…”

“Do you know much about the Demon King? How impertinent, calling himself the Demon King. That lowly bastard.”

I was just utterly displeased with that audacious scoundrel who killed Rosalie Berhart.

A guy I would have sought out and burned to death if he were alive, a guy I regret is dead.

“Roughly. I haven’t directly confronted him on the battlefield, but according to the information I’ve gathered, he was almost at the very forefront among the profound realm users of his era. I would win, but the casualties would be heavy.”

Semere’s estimates are always accurate, so that wouldn’t be arrogance or underestimation.

“Well… I guarantee that someone like you would suffer a hundred defeats in a hundred battles if you faced the Demon King right now.”

“It must be because my Nine Heavens Extinction Flame Art is shabby..! Tsk.”

As a rule, a man’s pride is hurt when he hears someone say they’re stronger than him to his face.

It’s proper for a man whose pride is hurt to immediately blame others.

*Thwack!*

“Ugh…!”

“You fool. Don’t even think about blaming the Nine Heavens Extinction Flame Art. After I carefully chose it for you, that’s what you say…!”

It was Semere, who had flicked my forehead herself and then gotten sulky and angry, but her puffed-up cheeks were cute, so I decided to let it slide.

“For now… don’t let your pride be hurt by being weak. Not to mention myself now, but the Demon King Kardmos was probably also on the verge of exuviation. However, taking that final step is the most difficult thing in the world. Ras, it’s highly probable that your speed in catching up to me is faster than my pace in taking a single step. So, strive hard. Shouldn’t you grow enough to sink your fangs into my nape?”

“Why on earth would I bite your nape? If I become stronger than you, instead of doing something so disgusting, I’ll flick your forehead five hundred times a day. All the ones I’ve received, with interest…”

“Idiot.”

Semere sulked again.

Having a Master who sulks because I said I wouldn’t bite her nape… This is why my pet dog life is so difficult…

*

I barely managed to escape from the brief flashback.

Demon King Kardmos, who Semere said was on the verge of exuviation.

According to her explanation, exuviation means shedding the cycle of mortality and becoming a higher-dimensional being.

The Queen of Witches, who never spoke empty words and was the strongest in the world, had personally certified that the Demon King was such a being, one who had come very close to the realm of gods.

The being who was on the verge of divinity died, and just a few years later, the world was destroyed by an incomprehensible entity called ‘The End.’

And time completely reversed, returning to the year 998, and I regressed with all my memories intact.

I dared to say that I was special at the time of my death, so I simply thought, ‘I must have regressed with all my memories because I was special,’ and didn’t take it seriously.

Others’ regressions? I had never even considered such a thing, but thinking about it, isn’t that an incredibly arrogant and foolish thought?

Before the destruction, there was no guarantee that I was the only special person in the world.

Perhaps I, Semere, Kardmos, the Hero, and the Saint… all of us might be beings who regressed with our memories intact.

How exactly regression works and what principles activate it is beyond my understanding, so dwelling on it is meaningless, but the important thing is the situation that has already occurred.

The thought kept recurring that this current situation might be a trick orchestrated by the Demon King Kardmos to keep the Saint in check.

Ultimately, I still don’t know how much of this is my speculation and how much is truth.

However, I decided not to rule out the involvement of others in this situation, which is unfolding so differently from the past.

After all, carelessness is something only dimwitted guys like Leon do.

“Ugh… Ras. You need to stop thinking about some unknown woman…”

Meanwhile, Rosalie-nim, timidly whispering in a slightly sulky voice, somehow didn’t seem like a regressor at all.

“I’m sorry. When you mentioned demons, old memories suddenly came to mind….”

“Hehe… It’s wartime, so it’s a bit hard to be childish… but you have to let me do it to my heart’s content later, okay?”

“Of course.”

While desperately suppressing the urge to pat Rosalie-nim’s clever head, I composed myself into a state of clear water.

Mountains are mountains, and water is water…. [A Zen proverb about accepting reality as it is.]

For now, the task is to overcome this chaotic situation.

I took a deep breath.

Rosalie-nim’s captivating scent wafted strongly towards me, allowing me to grasp my dizzying mind.