Ch.192The Wrath of NPC Women. (2)

Grace Mueller, the second daughter of an Imperial Count family, who entered the Neti Academy as the top student.

The fact that I had just been at death’s door and only realized it thanks to someone else’s voice was simply absurd and shocking.

I thought I saw some black mass emerge from the mountains, then rush toward the teaching assistants visible in the distance. That was all I could see, but suddenly there was a wolf-like monster opening its jaws right in front of my face—how could I not be shocked?!

Normally, I would have immediately used spirit magic while frantically lashing out at the enemy threatening me, but…

‘…I-Ira?’

“Answer me.”

“Peep~ weak!”

-BOOM!!!

“Why did you target Grace? Answer.”

“Peep! Weak~”

-BOOM!!

“Hey, are you scared now?”

“Peep~ peep! Weak!”

-BOOM!!

“Hey, I’m asking you. Why aren’t you answering?”

“Peeee~! Weak!!”

-BOOOM!!!

My close friend Ira, emitting a purple aura and showing anger I hadn’t seen once in the past week, completely erased any thought I had of expressing my own anger.

Above her head was something red and round that looked like a sparrow? Chick? Finch? It chirped “peep peep” in response to each of Ira’s words, alternately raising its wings, and with each chirp, the empty air would explode, pushing away the monster that had lunged at me.

…Could that possibly be a spirit? Are there spirits that look like animals?

And at that sight…

“Oh…!”

“Wow…”

“Oh!!”

“Whoa…”

All the students who had been struggling against the monsters let out small exclamations. Huh? Wait. Where is everyone looking…

“Ah, in front!! Monster in front!!”

“Huh?”

“Ah.”

[KUOOOO!!!]

[keeeeee!!!]

Because everyone’s attention was stolen by the sudden situation, no one noticed that monsters had approached right up to the shield line at the front!!

This is bad, the children with shields could get hur—!!

-BOOM!!!

-SWOOSH!!

“Uwaah…! Ah, huh? Huh? Huh?!”

“Wh-what? Spirits?”

The children who were hurriedly raising their shields had their eyes grow as wide as saucers at the sight of massive rock and fire spirits that suddenly appeared behind the monsters, crushing and burning two of them.

But, wait. Those spirits look at least intermediate-level…?

“Peeeeee~ weak!!”

[Guooo…]

[Whoosh…]

After making those sounds, the seemingly intermediate-level spirits turned around to guard the children with shields and began looking up toward the mountain.

Wh-what in the world? I never heard about any elementary division student having a contract with intermediate spirits. Could the professors have arrived?!

I looked down the mountain with that thought, but I still couldn’t sense any other people approaching.

‘Seriously!! What is going on here?!’

I know it’s a bit awkward for me to say this after shouting various instructions at the elementary kids, but the truth is, I had my doubts before organizing this raid formation.

No matter how I thought about it, even I, the top student, couldn’t “escape on my own” from this bonus time, so I was beginning to wonder if this really was a bonus time at all. And then…

[Grace, I have a favor to ask.]

[Haa! Haa! U-um? Wh-what favor?]

[Gather all the children. My voice probably won’t reach them, but if the pretty and smart top student Grace speaks, I’m sure everyone will listen.]

[Haa! Haa! *inhale* *exhale* Okay!! Leave it to me!!]

[Because… Huh? You’re agreeing without even hearing the reason?]

[Of course! Ira is my best friend!! Ah! But I should know briefly, I need to explain to the kids. So, what are you planning?]

[Ah! F-form a raid formation to ensure everyone’s safety…!!]

Clearly, Ira also felt something was wrong with this situation. But rather than blaming me for needlessly misleading everyone, she showed leadership to overcome the current situation, and even now…

“I hate you.”

-BOOM!!

“Really, really. Hate you.”

-BOOM!!

“Disappear quickly.”

-BOOM!!

“Go away now!!”

-BOOM!!

“Get out of heeere!!!”

-BOOOM!!

She’s pushing back against the most dangerous monster, using incredible spirit magic she hasn’t shown once all day.

I’m truly so happy to be friends with Ira!! Even now, thinking that she’s fighting for my sake makes my heart pound more than when I was in danger!!

“Explooode!! Burst apart!!!”

“Peeeeep!!!”

– ⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯!!!

[⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯!!]

When Ira shouted while swinging the staff she was holding, an explosion much stronger than before occurred, and the monster disappeared into the flames.

The professors had warned us not to use any fire-related magic or spirit arts today because of the risk of forest fires, but for some reason, despite such a tremendous explosion, the surrounding trees and bushes showed no signs of burning.

How is she controlling it like that? Ira had asked me to teach her spirit art control before, but isn’t she already more skilled than I am?

“Hiss! Hiss! Hmph!! I really hate you!!”

“Peeeep!”

As Ira turns around and stomps toward us, snorting angrily, she looks incredibly cute despite clearly being very upset. And then…

“Grace! Are you hurt anywhere?!”

“Ah, hahaha. No, not at all! Thanks to you, I’m completely unharmed!”

“Uuu!!”

-GRAB!!

“I was so worriiied…!!”

Ira immediately approached me and, as if she hadn’t just been angry, embraced me with teary purple eyes, and I naturally found myself patting her head.

Hahaha. I wonder why she was hiding such skills, and if she knew spirit arts, she could have told me so I could teach her, but I’ll have to ask about that after this situation is over.

Right now, I think calming down this kind and cute friend who’s sniffling slightly out of concern for me comes first… Huh?

-Rustle.

“”””……””””

“Sniff, sniff.”

The number of monsters coming from the front has decreased thanks to the guerrilla team, and there are even two large intermediate spirits in front of the shield formation.

As a result, all the children’s hands have become idle, and they’re now looking at us in the rear formation.

But, why is everyone so quiet…?

“You…”

“Hm? …You?”

“I’m seriously going to kill you!!”

“Wow!! What was that just now?!”

“Sh-she’s so cute!! What do I do!! C-can I ask to be her friend too?! I’m in Class B, is it okay if I talk to her?!”

“Sh-she was incredibly cool. Then suddenly became adorable. What is she? Is she really the same girl?”

“Who spread rumors that she was violent?! They must have terrible eyesight?! Is there something wrong with Class A students’ vision?!”

“…That was amazing magic. It felt like space itself was exploding!”

“To face such a terrifying monster without taking a single step back! That’s truly amazing!!”

“Are all Class A students that skilled? No, since Grace is the top student, is she even more amazing?!”

“…Hey, Rock Bell. How did you end up in a party with them? Introduce me too…”

As the children cheer and even clap for Ira who’s sniffling in my arms, she slowly turns her gaze toward them upon hearing the sound.

Then, the boys’ cheers grow louder… and suddenly the girls around them start hitting the boys on their heads.

Geez. No matter how cute she looks when crying, what’s wrong with these kids cheering when a girl is crying? Are they idiots?

“Ira.”

“…Yes.”

“Looks like we’ll be able to make lots of friends now?”

“Yes… *sniff*.”

Ira smiles brightly at my words, which is cute, but, hmm. She has a bit of a runny nose, so I end up wiping it with my handkerchief. Why does such a confident and strong girl become such a crybaby when it comes to friendship?

When I wipe her nose with my handkerchief, Ira grabs it with her own hand and… well.

She blew her nose into it.

Anyway, it seems the danger is over now. The only loss is this handkerchief. That’s really fortunat—

[KAWOO!!!]

“…Huh?”

At the sudden roar, I feel as if time has slowed down.

When I slightly raise my gaze, I see the monster that had half its upper body blown away by the explosion earlier, somehow approaching without me noticing, directing its horribly torn and burning maw toward me and Ira.

Its teeth have already started to touch Ira’s crown.

Oh no, this is bad. Ira is currently leaning into me, and my spirit art activation is too slow. This, this kind of end is really too—!!!

-SCREECH!!

“The children are all enjoying themselves. Please…”

[Read the room, you son of a bitch.]

In the moment I thought it was over, I felt a gentle breeze caress my cheek.

With a sound like nails on a chalkboard, the burnt black was painted over with intense gold and heavy gray.

*

“Is-is everyone alright?!!”

The professors and teaching assistants who came up the mountain when the monster cleanup was almost complete were drenched in sweat.

They weren’t being leisurely in arriving late. What’s rather unbelievable is that all of this happened within the two-hour elementary division skill assessment practical session.

It took about 1 hour and 10 minutes for the elementary children to reach the target point on this mountain. The time it took for them to get here, including the round trip to report the emergency, was 30 minutes—meaning they climbed up in less than 15 minutes, so they truly hurried.

[That’s the end of it.]

-Crack. Swish.

After twisting the neck of the last troll and confirming it turned into a magic stone, I turn around to see the teaching assistants and professors beginning to check on all the children who have collapsed from exhaustion.

Well, according to my status window, the most severely injured child only has a fractured arm, so it will be over once the academy gives them a potion and casts healing magic. The real problem is…

“Teaching assistants!! Protect the children as you descend!! And you two!! Class C and D professors, quickly go to the summit!! We need to find out immediately what this ‘incident’ was all about!!”

That’s the issue.

I wanted to end this quietly, but the situation is becoming an official incident. Ragni went with the headmaster to catch the remaining demon, so if it becomes known to the academy that this was his fault, it could cause problems for us who are registered as guardians. If that happens, Lady Ira’s academy life could end today. That is something we sincerely do not want.

“Ira, shall we go down now?”

“…Yes.”

The two girls whose legs gave out from shock after being ambushed by the war wolf’s final struggle—Lady Ira and Miss Grace—begin to descend, holding hands, under the guidance of the teaching assistants and Ray’s protection.

…Sigh. The moment I saw that monster’s teeth touch Lady Ira’s head, I truly thought the world was collapsing.

[I shouldn’t be the one to say this, but we shouldn’t rely too much on the status window.]

The monster killed by Lady Ira’s attack clearly showed 0 HP and was marked as [Dead] on my status window. But suddenly, its HP recovered to 2, and it targeted Lady Ira. No matter how I think about it, this wasn’t some skill-based self-revival, but rather a final desperate attack before death.

I’ve heard that some people’s bodies can move briefly even after their hearts stop, but I never thought that would apply to monsters too.

[Truly, what would have happened without the preparations Master made…]

[Guardian Jewel: Completely blocks attacks below 30 damage. Reduces damage from stronger attacks by 30 percent. [May this ward off all malice directed at you. – For the one I truly love -]]

[+6 Purple Dress: Made by the Aigram craftsman. Thin and light, comfortable to wear underneath. Modified to be shorter. (+6) Overlapping enchantments increase defense. (Defense +300) [That adventurer who asked me to make this, does he want to put a chastity belt on his little sister? -The emotions the Aigram craftsman felt that day-]]

[Blue Evasion Necklace: Increases the wearer’s evasion by 10 and agility by 5. [Thanks to the sparkle of the necklace he gave me as a gift, I was able to dodge the monster. – The story of a wife who survived a monster-]]

[+4 Multi-Enchanted Magical Barrier Staff: Made by the Aiti craftsman. (+1) Automatically deploys a magic barrier using the holder’s MP. (+1) Casting speed of all spells increases proportionally to intelligence. (+1) Consumed durability can be restored once a day by consuming the holder’s MP. (+1) Improves magical operation ability and recovery circulation while equipped.]

[(Magic barrier reduces damage by 30 per 1 MP. Maximum damage reduction: 30,000) (Casting speed increases by Intelligence×0.3) (Automatically absorbs mana from the last person who touched it 1 hour after use to restore durability. Consumes 5 MP per 1 durability. Current durability: 100/100) (Recovers 3 MP per minute. Existing spell power increases by +20) [-When Aigram asked us to make a quadruple-enchanted staff for 10 million kan, I thought they were suckers. But when I saw the materials they sent and the enchantments they wanted, it turned out we were the suckers?!- The Aiti weapon craftsman who considers this staff his life’s achievement but thinks he sold it too cheaply-]]

[…Because of those items, the attack that ‘touched’ her head didn’t affect Lady Ira at all, but we… were too late.]

-Crunch.

The golem’s teeth crumble. Far away, Lady Ira walks unsteadily, with Ray beside her.

…Her hands are covered in blood right now.

Yes, she noticed too. Unable to bear her own pathetic failure to realize we were too late, she’s clenching her fists so hard that her nails are digging into her palms.

[…The Empire. Demons. I cannot forgive any of them. And above all else.]

I cannot forgive myself.

Furious at myself for nearly causing Lady Ira serious injury had it not been for Master’s preparations, I quietly followed behind the children.