Ch.116116. Handling the Leftovers

Despite many twists and turns, I finally succeeded in completing the report.

It was finished much earlier than expected, thanks to Celia’s help, who had seemed like she was just playing around.

“What? Did you really think I was just playing? That’s not possible.”

When I glanced at her after having that thought, she boldly made that statement.

To be fair, it was entirely Celia’s fault that we started working on the report—which should have begun much earlier—only after lunch, and even then, only after thoroughly enjoying dessert.

Starting late meant finishing late. If the person responsible for creating such a situation had just sat there shamelessly, the word “nuisance” would have been appropriate.

However, with Celia’s help, there was no need for such a word.

If we had finished late despite her help, that would be one thing, but the completion time wasn’t even that late.

Far from being late, I thought we might have finished around this time even if we had started early.

…Wait, did she calculate the completion time and spend all that time playing and eating accordingly?

Come to think of it, she kept randomly slacking off and clinging to me during the report writing. It gave me chills to think that all those actions might have been calculated to match this exact timing.

No matter how lazy her behavior seemed, her diligent nature hadn’t gone anywhere.

“Is it really finished?”

“Yes. I’ll do the final review, so you two take a break.”

As always, the Student Council President took charge of the final review. Well, Celia had already checked it and declared it problem-free, so Alkine just skimmed through it.

“…She’s truly impressive.”

Somehow, Alkine’s gaze toward Celia seemed different.

That strangely sticky look in her eyes suggested she was pleased to have discovered a talented individual.

I mean, I did say Celia would be the next Student Council President candidate.

“Well, I knew Celia was capable, but honestly, I didn’t expect her to be this good.”

When I subtly probed that point, Alkine awkwardly made that excuse.

I understand. The tasks Alkine considered difficult weren’t actually that challenging.

They were tasks that could be covered by familiarity despite some differences in ability… in other words, just slightly annoying work. Since they didn’t require special talent, almost anyone would show similar efficiency.

However, Alkine now realized the terrifying truth about Celia—that she created an insurmountable wall even in simple tasks.

Celia, whose thinking speed was unrivaled, was a monster even in routine work.

“This is crazy. Why is Celia so capable?”

Alkine began complaining that it felt like all her previous work was being invalidated.

But… despite what she’s saying, Alkine is quite a monster herself.

Celia has grown absurdly strong, yet even she must yield to Alkine’s combat prowess.

Celia, who had been listening to the complaints, cut in with a smirk.

“You say that, but honestly, you’re confident you wouldn’t lose to me in a fight, right?”

“If I lost at that, I’d have to quit being Student Council President and drop out of school.”

Isn’t that too extreme?

By that logic, the entire student body would be at risk of dropping out.

But it revealed Alkine’s determination not to lose in that area.

I’m really looking forward to seeing Alkine’s growth as she overcomes barriers and gains some ridiculous cheat abilities.

While those two keep getting stronger, I’m just… getting forcibly kissed. What is this?

Honestly, I felt a bit embarrassed.

But there wasn’t much I could do about it. Though my evasion and parrying abilities had been upgraded, my growth was still blocked.

Still, if I keep working hard like I have been, something will work out. Even if I can’t grow, my evasion and parrying remain intact.

“…Come to think of it, I haven’t had a chance to use parrying yet.”

I’ve been using evasion constantly, so I’ve long understood how it improved, but not parrying.

With situations constantly getting complicated, I haven’t had the chance to use it.

Tomorrow starts the weekend. Professor Reina asked me to come along because she has work to do over the weekend. Maybe I’ll have a chance to test it then.

While my thoughts wandered, Celia finished her conversation and came to my side, linking her arm with mine.

“Well then, I’m going to continue the date with Ludion that we couldn’t finish. Alkine, you should talk with Lilith.”

…Lilith?

That name came up so suddenly that I couldn’t help but wonder.

Of course, we had run into her earlier, so it wasn’t completely out of the blue, but I was curious why her name suddenly came up in the conversation they just had.

“Why Lilith?”

“I was planning to meet her anyway to invite her to join the Student Council.”

That was the answer to my question.

It made sense. Lilith was talented in her own right.

It’s just that compared to Celia and Alkine, she seemed less impressive, but Lilith was actually considered quite strong.

Especially considering she was just a first-year who had only recently enrolled.

…Still, the timing seemed too early. While the Student Council valued potential, since their purpose was Rift exploration, current combat ability was also important.

No matter how highly they valued her potential, the current Lilith was just a novice. Almost embarrassingly so compared to the current Student Council members.

“Yeah, I’m not asking her to join right away. Just checking if she’s interested, and if she is, helping her out a bit… I also have something to discuss with her…”

She seemed to recognize this fact and added those words belatedly.

That made sense. But what did she need to discuss with Lilith?

Being well-connected, Lilith probably had ties to Student Council members. In the actual game, most characters at the Academy had at least one story related to Lilith.

But I didn’t think there was anything specific for the Student Council President Alkine to discuss with her at this point…

“Something else must have changed.”

The information I had about these relationships had long been broken. Thinking with my prior knowledge? Looking at Celia and Alkine now, how could I say that?

But well… it doesn’t seem like something I need to worry about or get involved in.

“Then I’ll be going. I’ll leave the rest to you.”

“Am I really doing this?”

“Should I do it instead? I heard that juniors are supposed to handle the dirty work.”

“What are you talking about… Ludion taught you that, didn’t he?”

Dirty work? What is she planning to do?

I wasn’t sure, but I decided not to worry about it.

I just enjoyed the rare sight of hearing the word “dirty work” from Celia’s mouth as I left.

///

Somewhere secluded on the Academy grounds, Lilith was quietly walking alone.

The reason she was wandering in such a place was simple. Tired of being followed by others, she deliberately sought out these places when she wanted to be alone. It was ironic that someone with such a wide network had to avoid people’s gazes, but she seemed used to it.

Lost in thought, she suddenly realized her state and was startled. Without noticing, her expression had darkened considerably.

Though no one was watching, she couldn’t walk around looking like this.

Hurriedly managing her expression, she briefly recalled what happened at lunch.

“What was I doing? How foolish.”

Reviewing her actions didn’t help her understand. There was no reason for her to feel upset.

She couldn’t understand why she was acting this way. As someone who had watched and supported their relationship from the beginning, she should be happy for them.

No matter how much she thought about it, she couldn’t find an answer, which made her even more frustrated.

“Sigh.”

Since deep thinking wasn’t her forte, she decided not to dwell on it.

Yes, it must be because she skipped lunch.

“I shouldn’t have skipped lunch for no reason.”

Though she knew this excuse had nothing to do with the real cause of her discomfort, she settled on it.

She thought she’d feel better after getting some rest. Just as she was about to head back, someone’s voice stopped her.

“Lilith.”

It was a familiar voice. Also, one she didn’t want to hear right now.

Lilith turned around and faced someone she shouldn’t normally encounter.

“Student Council President. What brings you here?”

“I wanted to talk to you. Do you have a moment?”

“Yes… that’s fine.”

“That’s good.”

And just like that, she was caught.

It was awkward. She could feel her suppressed discomfort creeping back, making her uncomfortable.

Of course, Alkine felt similarly to Lilith.

Though her expression showed a smile, inside she was going crazy not knowing what to say.

That was because she was here in place of Celia, who should have been the one to come.

Though she had mentioned inviting Lilith to the Student Council, it was just an excuse; from the beginning, the purpose was to sound out Lilith. A proxy, if you will.

Though she knew this was something Celia had been doing all along, she never expected to do it herself… so it was extremely awkward.

So the two stood facing each other in silence for a long time.

“Celia! Save me!”

Alkine cried out internally, but of course, no one could hear it.

The silence continued in what felt like an endless awkwardness.