Ch.171171. End of the First Semester

As Lilith and I were performing spectacularly, Celia and Alkine were also showing off their prowess in their respective positions.

Celia was unleashing some kind of mana storm in all directions, grinding through monster hordes like a blender, while Alkine had suddenly disappeared only to reappear somewhere else, cleaving monsters in her path clean in half.

The Duke’s dumbfounded expression was a bonus, after he had tried to show some adult dependability by telling us we could rest.

Perhaps it was because our performance was so unbelievable. Despite being on a dangerous battlefield, people were zoning out all over the place, but it wasn’t a problem. We had annihilated all the monsters before they could even approach those areas.

Farming. I’m not sure if that’s the appropriate word when dealing with monsters, but nothing else seemed to fit.

Yet despite this glorious moment that should have made one’s heart swell with pride, what Lilith was concerned about was truly trivial…

“Why are they so good at killing these things?!”

She was fixated on the idea that she needed to kill more than the others.

Of course, that had been our goal when we joined forces from the beginning, but shouldn’t she be a little concerned about all those awestruck gazes directed at us?

“I’m used to being in the public eye.”

“Ah, I see.”

Come to think of it, as a saint, appearing before people was her job. No wonder she was used to it.

The monster extermination continued afterward.

Though we were sweeping away monsters with the overpowered trinity of Celia, Alkine, and Lilith, there were still gaps through which some monsters slipped, but the northern warriors stepped in to handle those.

As everyone did their best in their respective positions to deal with the monsters, the seemingly endless monster offensive visibly weakened as time passed.

At first, the monsters had appeared in dense formations, but gradually gaps began to form, and now their numbers had clearly diminished to the point where “few” was the word that came to mind.

But that didn’t mean it was over.

Although the enemies before us had decreased, we had been fighting monsters for so long that physical exhaustion would be significant, so we couldn’t simply assume we had an overwhelming advantage.

That would have been the case under normal circumstances.

“Not many left.”

“That’s a shame.”

I had unlimited stamina, so I was only mentally tired with no issues moving around, and Lilith, despite taking down plenty of monsters, seemed fine as she had such good compatibility with the task that she hadn’t expended much energy.

As for Celia and Alkine… there was no need to worry about them.

So we finished cleanly right to the end.

After confirming that no more monsters were heading north, we gathered together and returned to the north.

///

Clink-

The sound of numerous cups colliding rang out.

It was to celebrate the successful end of the monster invasion event.

Though such celebrations were normally held after events ended, the atmosphere was particularly bright this time, perhaps because it had concluded without any casualties.

That made sense. Originally, the festival included elements of mourning, but there was no need for that now.

Moreover, what would normally be a day-long subjugation had ended in just half a day thanks to our participation.

No casualties and work finished early? This could only be exciting.

Maybe it was because this was a real festival atmosphere. Unlike the private banquet the Duke had hosted for us, there was less pressure.

“A toast to our heroes!”

“Cheeeers!!”

We were getting quite a bit of attention… but honestly, being praised like this felt good.

“Ugh, it’s so noisy and chaotic.”

But Celia seemed to miss our private banquet from before.

She disliked crowded and noisy places, so it was understandable.

“Should we head back then?”

“Can we really leave without enjoying more?”

“You know I can’t drink.”

I’d already made a spectacle of myself after just one drink in front of Alkine.

By the way, this festival had no non-alcoholic beverages. Just alcohol, alcohol, and more alcohol.

I wanted to escape quickly rather than stay and risk getting drunk just from the smell, which would be truly embarrassing.

“Then I’ll stay a bit… I still have a lot to talk about with my father…”

Since Alkine was leaving tomorrow, she either wanted to spend more time with her father or simply couldn’t resist drinking at such an occasion, so she said she’d enjoy the festival a bit longer. Meanwhile, I left with just Celia and Lilith.

By the way, Lilith doesn’t drink.

“We’re not allowed to drink yet anyway.”

Despite her boisterous personality, she was surprisingly law-abiding.

Perhaps that’s why, when she saw Alkine downing a drink over there, she had an expression like her illusions about the student council president had been shattered… I should keep that a secret from Alkine.

As we walked back, the streets were still bright as the sun hadn’t set yet, but there were no people around.

Everyone had gone to enjoy the festival, which was to be expected.

This made it easier to have a conversation, and Celia brought up a certain topic.

“By the way, I heard you two were having some kind of competition.”

About the reason why Lilith and I had joined forces.

“We did.”

“And Ludion, you helped her with that?”

“I suppose so. I thought she needed some competitive edge.”

“…You pretend not to care, but you look after Lilith a lot.”

“That’s…”

It wasn’t about looking after her, but about fairness.

“Ludion, someone who doesn’t care wouldn’t have bothered whether she was at a disadvantage or not.”

Hearing Celia’s words, I realized she was right.

Come to think of it, the condition was something Lilith had proposed herself, so there was no need to consider fairness.

But well… even if I knew that and could go back, I’d probably help her the same way.

I might tease her out of habit, but as Celia said, Lilith was one of the people I cared about.

“Sigh. I wish you’d pay attention to me too.”

“For you, not helping is the best way to help.”

“Do you really think so?”

Of course.

Unless someone appeared who could threaten Celia, there was nothing I could do to help her. At most, I could treat her to desserts that matched her taste.

“There’s a mountain of other things you should be paying attention to.”

“What are they? Just tell me and I’ll do everything.”

“…Everything?”

“…Well, not everything. Tell me and I’ll listen and decide.”

“What happened to ‘a man doesn’t go back on his word’?”

“Then I must be a woman.”

“That won’t work. Then we can’t get engaged. Ugh, this isn’t what I wanted to talk about.”

Celia redirected the conversation, chastising herself for getting caught up in my nonsense.

“Anyway, so you were going to have a competition.”

“Yes.”

“Did you count how many you killed?”

“…No.”

For hours, we had swept away waves of monsters over a wide area. Calculating the number of monsters killed? That was impossible.

Naturally, Lilith was in the same situation.

“That’s right. We just got caught up in killing them and didn’t count how many.”

“Then how do you determine who won or lost?”

She had a point.

It was such a valid point that Lilith and I just laughed, feeling quite embarrassed.

Seeing us both like this, Celia sighed with a somewhat complicated expression.

“You two really suit each other.”

That was truly unexpected. I never imagined Celia would say something like that about Lilith and me.

But saying that in the current situation was almost like teasing us.

Lilith would understand that and not read too much into it…

“…”

She’s totally reading into it. Look at how red her face is.

Somehow that’s making me feel embarrassed too.

In the end, without determining the result of our competition, our last day in the north came to an end.

///

After returning from the north, peaceful days continued.

The academy’s vacation is quite long.

This was the result of the academy’s consideration, as it takes considerable time for students to return to their hometowns.

Of course, for people like Alkine whose hometown takes months just for the round trip, even this consideration becomes meaningless. But well, you can’t always satisfy everyone.

Still, the fact remains that the vacation period is long, and having more days to rest is always good. So during this vacation, I really rested well.

I was dragged out every day and treated like a toy by three women… but quality rest requires some level of stress.

I decided to enjoy it while I could. After all, this peaceful vacation would only last until this break.

‘From the next vacation, I’ll be busy.’

By then, the Demon King’s Army would start moving in earnest. It would be impossible to spend time so peacefully.

Of course, we wouldn’t be traveling all over the world to resolve issues related to the Demon King’s Army, being mere academy students, but ultimately, the Demon King’s Army’s goal is to dominate the human realm.

The Empire at the center, and the academy within it—it would be stranger if nothing happened there.

But I wasn’t too worried. There were already plenty of talented individuals who could handle most incidents single-handedly.

Celia, Alkine, Lilith.

As long as these three were around, there was no need to worry about such a future.

I’m truly grateful that such people trust and like me.

I’m grateful, but…

“Ludion! I found a really nice outfit today! Let’s go on a date wearing this!”

“Wait, Celia! That’s the outfit I found! Why are you casually trying to monopolize him with it?”

“If we’re all going to end up going together anyway, aren’t you tired of fighting like this every day?”

Right now, I wish they’d just let me rest.

Don’t you all ever get tired…?