Ch.155154. New Semester (4)

# 154. New Semester (4)

Of course, this lifestyle will continue for a while.

But only for a while.

The Babylon Kingdom is currently in a rest period due to the aftermath of the last battle, but when Merlin passes away and time goes by, people’s vigilance about war will fade.

When that time comes, the Babylon Kingdom will once again accelerate its war efforts.

‘I should enjoy myself as much as possible now.’

Later on, there will surely be times when uneventful, boring days become a blessing.

That’s why I need to enjoy myself now, while I still can.

‘But school life will soon become… boring too.’

In my case, I’m only a first-year, so I still have about two and a half years until graduation.

However, about two of those years will likely be quite dull.

I thought about the reason while looking at her.

‘How will I survive without this noona…’

In her case, she’ll graduate in about half a year.

And once that happens, I won’t be able to see her at the academy anymore.

I don’t know what will happen now, but originally, she left for the Orion Kingdom immediately after graduation and commanded soldiers there to block the Babylon Kingdom’s army.

‘I want to follow her… Should I just drop out?’

Still, it would be better to graduate and officially become a special forces soldier before guarding her.

Not only because of people’s gazes but also to avoid feeling guilty.

“What are you thinking about so deeply?”

Her innocent question.

I gave an equally innocent answer.

“Thinking about you, noona.”

“What?!”

“More specifically, I was wondering how I’ll endure the two years without you.”

“You’ll manage just fine, and it’s not like we won’t see each other at all during that time, right?”

“That’s true.”

Seeing that she didn’t deny my words, it seemed that like before, she would be heading to the Orion Kingdom right after graduation.

She made a prim expression and worried about things that would never happen anyway.

“And! Don’t cheat on me while I’m gone.”

“That’s my line? If you cheat, I won’t let that person off easily, just so you know.”

“That’s what I should be saying!”

Riel, who had been secretly listening to our conversation after quietly approaching us.

She let out a deep sigh.

Then she spoke up for the first time.

“You two are really just playing around. And besides, that’s not even confirmed yet?”

It seemed she had been informed that post-graduation plans were still tentative.

However, she seemed convinced that’s how things would turn out.

“Seeing how Albert is talking, it seems like that’s just how it’s going to be?”

“There’s no guarantee it will be exactly the same.”

“But the probability is high.”

Even Riel seemed to gradually acknowledge this fact, unable to deny it.

“Well, assuming we’re leaving, then starting next year, we won’t be here.”

“Won’t be here?”

Riel continued, pointing at me with her finger.

“You’ll have to do well, though I think you’ll manage fine on your own…”

“Of course.”

“So if anything happens to the princess during that time, can I blame you?”

“That’s a bit… I’m not a special forces soldier yet, you know?”

When I receive the mission to protect Luna as a special forces soldier, if something happens, that would indeed be my responsibility.

But right now, I’m just a student attending the academy.

“Just hurry up and graduate. You’re uselessly young.”

“Yes…”

In terms of actual position and ability, I’m far above Riel.

However, perhaps because of Riel’s characteristically cold image, I couldn’t say anything back to such remarks.

“Sigh…”

After saying those words to me, Riel suddenly let out a sigh.

It seemed like something was bothering her.

“What’s wrong?”

“Ugh… when will I ever get married?”

It seemed she was having a moment of realization after watching us flirt.

I, having become a sage, answered Aelin.

“Don’t worry, you’ll get married someday.”

“So I do get married at some point?”

“Yes, you do.”

Sometimes we need to tell white lies to match the mood of the listener.

And that was exactly the situation just now.

‘Marriage… she won’t even be alive…’

Riel, like the Emperor, had died early.

The cause of death was a sniper shot from an enemy marksman.

Riel’s death was one of the reasons why the previous version of her became so cold.

After both her parents passed away, she was one of the few people Luna could lean on.

‘I wonder how it will be this time…’

Both Luna and I have grown exponentially compared to before.

And the same was true for Riel.

That was because she frequently trained with us, who were now much stronger than our previous selves.

‘She seems reliable.’

While I couldn’t say there was nothing to worry about, she was certainly trustworthy.

The somewhat reliable Riel asked me with an expectant expression.

“Who do I marry?”

“Is that important?”

“That’s the most important part.”

Seeing Riel’s sincere expression, I couldn’t help but laugh in disbelief.

“What’s so funny? Are you lying because you don’t actually know?”

“If I tell you everything, it won’t be fun.”

Although I truly didn’t know, even if I did, I wouldn’t have told her.

As I said earlier, that would ruin the fun.

And knowing such things might unnecessarily change the future.

“Ah! Really! You enjoy this… Is this fun for you?”

“Quite fun, actually. Just try to live earnestly for now. Then you’ll marry a good person.”

“So I guess I wasn’t going to originally…”

Although that wasn’t my intention, Riel interpreted it that way.

“Fine, the future can be changed. I’ll give it my best shot.”

The outcome seemed good enough.

Riel, who usually showed no passion whatsoever, was displaying unexpected enthusiasm at the mention of this topic.

“That’s a good mindset.”

“You should work hard too.”

“I always do.”

More accurately, I’m in a situation where I have no choice but to work hard.

We suffered quite significant damage in the previous battle.

We succeeded in driving out the demons who had occupied Eden, but in the process, we incurred substantial losses.

Ray’s death was obviously a major one.

“You two should work hard not to die when you go there.”

“We have the strongest magician in this world with us, what are you talking about?”

“Are you referring to me?”

When Riel nodded in response to that question, she continued with an incredulous tone.

“World’s strongest? I feel like I’d even lose to Albert right now…”

“It’s not convincing when you say that after winning like you did last time.”

“Oh… I see you’ve dropped formalities now.”

“It just happened naturally.”

“So, when are you two getting married?”

After hearing that abrupt question, we instinctively looked at each other.

For some reason, we both burst into laughter.

“What’s with you two? It’s kind of scary…”

“We’ll get married when the time is right, don’t you think?”

“That’s right, that’s right.”

“That’s what I’m asking! When is that time?!”

“How would I know? Am I some kind of prophet?”

“You’re pretty close to one.”

The fact that Riel seemed to genuinely believe that made me feel even more strange.

“I really wish that were true…”

“Is it very different from what you knew?”

“Yes, extremely different.”

Of course, there weren’t many differences in the grand scheme of things.

Instead, the timing, process, and results of events within that framework had major differences.

People who were supposed to die didn’t die, events happened much faster than they should have, and so on.

There were many variables.

“But it doesn’t really matter.”

“Well… if you say so, I guess that’s how it is.”

If things had gone according to the original timeline, not only Ray but also Light and the Empress would be deceased by now.

However, among them, only Ray had actually died.

Just as there were variables that worked against us, there were also variables that worked in our favor.

“I hope they work in your favor too.”

“Huh? What does that…”

“Nothing, you don’t need to know.”

I hope only positive variables affect both Riel and Luna.

And me too, of course.

***

A space shrouded in darkness so thick that one could barely see what was right in front.

In that space, there was a person who had been reduced to tatters from continuous torture.

An elf with black skin.

A race commonly known as Dark Elves.

That Dark Elf was reminiscing about what had happened.

“Why… did I fail? I aimed precisely… why…?”

In what seemed like an empty space, he was denying his miserable reality.

However, surprisingly, the Dark Elf was not alone in that space.

Standing before the Dark Elf, who had to surrender his body to the filthy ground because he lacked the strength to stand, was someone else.

That person presented a stark contrast to the Dark Elf’s wretched appearance.

“How pitiful.”

“Who… who are you?”

It seemed the Dark Elf hadn’t even noticed Lilith’s arrival.

“That’s disappointing. We’ve met once before.”

“Before…?”

The Dark Elf, lifting his head while pondering Lilith’s words, was surprised by the familiar face.

“Ah… you’re… the one who was with that monster…”

“Monster? Are you referring to Bael?”

He was also surprised that she casually mentioned Bael’s name.

“Aren’t you… that person’s subordinate?”

“I am a subordinate, yes, though I’m trying to bring down the boss despite being just a subordinate.”

“Bring down?”

Perhaps because he harbored resentment toward Bael like Lilith did, he showed interest in the mention of bringing Bael down.

“You know that boy who took the arrow you shot instead? He’ll come here someday. When he does, it would be good for you to make a good impression.”

“Why…?”

A clean and pure question without a trace of impurity.

Lilith answered with a meaningful smile.

“Because he might be able to fulfill your dream.”