Ch.215215. Stupid Senior (5)

The girl had a long-standing wish she wanted to fulfill while watching a certain person.

That person was undoubtedly intelligent. It would be fair to say they were an exemplary student academically, and no one could match their diligence in training.

Just mentioning their exceptional intellect and consistent self-discipline would be exhausting, yet despite this, their reputation wasn’t particularly good.

There were envious and jealous gazes from somewhere. People who spread rumors and plotted with malicious intent.

Really, they were not someone who deserved such talk.

Despite clearly resolving matters on their own, they never revealed themselves, cleverly slipping away and avoiding attention—this senior.

The girl had been praying that this senior, Junon, would have their true nature exposed to the world.

Today, that wish was thoroughly fulfilled.

Enough to breathe a sigh of relief toward the bewildered and dazed Junon.

“Phew. Somehow we managed to pull it off.”

Renias wiped a bead of cold sweat from her collar. She tried to appear relaxed, but she hadn’t been able to relax for a moment since Junon had been suspicious in the hospital room.

Since there was barely any plan in place, they needed to carefully discuss and establish one, exchanging secret letters while constantly searching for methods. All while ensuring the person in question wouldn’t notice.

But the problem was that Junon was such a meticulous and thorough person, making the timeline even tighter.

Though plausible discussions had taken place, nothing had been decided, so they needed more time. But when Junon tried to leave the hospital much earlier than expected, it was like having fire dropped on their feet.

She tried suggesting that it might be better to rest a bit longer, but…

Not a chance. Never one to break a principle, he firmly shook his head.

This made Renias more desperate than ever before.

She hurriedly called over someone from the counter staff to spread the word, and deliberately messed up the patient’s unorganized clothes and some of her own to buy some time for preparation.

With time gained through what was almost causing an incident, the news spread rapidly. It seemed doubtful whether there would be enough time to gather everyone within the given timeframe.

Then, just when she thought she might run into trouble by meeting Senia…

-‘Go quickly. I’ll buy you some time.’

And then she winked knowingly…!

It was really troublesome in the hospital room, but fortunately now…! She was an ally!

Thanks to her, there was time to gather people.

Since he could leave the hospital entrance at any moment, she asked the Imperial soldiers to keep watch, and to buy time, she first called in the academy students.

Then the residents as well.

There was no time to set up materials or preparations. All they had were people.

Given the situation, she expressed her intention to create a Royal Road to highlight the hero of this subjugation battle, as no other method came to mind.

Even then, many thought it would be tight. Despite rushing around frantically, there was a significant risk that the path being created would be cut off.

Even though Professor Muniher gladly gave permission, she was anxious about the path being broken in an unreasonable place.

In this tight timeframe, luck was on their side.

“It was fortunate that senior went to see Adel at that point. Phew…”

Fortunately, by stopping at another location, the time it took to leave the hospital entrance allowed the path to be completed!

No. Perhaps it would be more elegant to say he completed the Royal Road himself?

Yes. This isn’t mere luck. This is what senior accomplished.

From the very bottom to the highest place.

Befitting the name Royal Road, he once again paved his own path.

Renias smiled as she looked back at the path Junon had walked.

All those people cheered enthusiastically for one person.

Because of this, her smile gradually spread, turning into a full-blown grin.

“Renias… what have you done…?”

In the midst of it all, he pinpointed the culprit. Junon had identified her so accurately that Renias momentarily let out a troubled “ugh,” but,

“Is that what you’re curious about now? Hurry up and go.”

All she had to do was push him forward.

What’s done is done, and there’s no way to take it back. Trying to clean it up would be pointless anyway!

As she pretended not to care, her cheek was pinched.

“Oww- Stop pinching my cheek and hurry up, senior. Everyone’s waiting, you know?”

“Sigh. You’ll explain everything later.”

With a complicated expression, he climbs onto the platform as she pushes him from behind.

As her cheek returns to normal, Renias falls into a somewhat happy contemplation.

“Explanation… hmm. That’s a bit difficult.”

To explain that, we’d have to go back to several weeks ago.

Back to when the foolish senior knew nothing?

***

The subjugation was over.

Since there would be no more waves inducing distortions in human society, it was time to focus on recovery.

Given cases of those affected by disease-carrying magical beasts like the Devourer, they needed to dedicate themselves to treating the Imperial soldiers.

“Senior Junon…”

Looking at the girl on the bed, she couldn’t help but feel sorry.

Renias knew.

The fact that the damage from this subjugation battle was limited was thanks to none other than the owner of this hospital room.

Despite legs being severed and arms being torn off, there were no fatalities.

People whose eyes had rolled back after being possessed by Pimpert’s magical wave.

If the situation had been handled even a little later, they would have drawn weapons and harmed their precious loved ones with their own hands.

Though they somehow managed to organize those who broke free from the interference and recognized allies… it was because of him, the one with the worst reputation, that there were no fatalities.

The same goes for the Lycans who invaded Levrant.

In an unprepared situation, they didn’t have the forces to face the invading magical beasts.

There wasn’t enough time to organize positions, understand the battle terrain, or form formations based on the enemy’s numbers.

Nevertheless, someone stepped forward.

The Lakan tribe, who bought time to switch to battle formation against the Lycans. They all participated as reinforcements following one person.

If the situation had been handled even a little later, if the preparation time had been even a bit shorter, dozens or hundreds would have easily died. It was none other than this man who achieved such results twice with insufficient forces.

And in the subjugation of the Sacred Emperor in Algenib Province, the man’s influence shone.

He alone stood against a power that would have turned everything to ashes if left unchecked, a power that made it hard to breathe.

Having accomplished such feats, it was only natural for the academy to recognize his contributions.

Yes, it was natural, but…

…

‘Everyone… must be busy.’

The number of people who returned unharmed was too few.

Those who had been affected by Pimpert’s mental interference had escaped the nightmare but were in an unstable psychological state, carrying deep trauma. Those who had fought against the Lycans bore deep physical wounds.

This subjugation battle was heavily influenced by the Great Shute Subjugation, so the composition of the subjugation team wasn’t very solid.

Those who had been infected by the Devourers and suffered mid to late-stage symptoms had already gone through retirement procedures. Although the Tembris Party and a few high-performing guilds were included, there were no experienced and seasoned commanders.

In other words, the soldiers participating in the subjugation were mostly young soldiers who had just recovered from the Lemtert Plague.

With the borderline being academy graduates or current students, it wasn’t easy to endure the psychological pressure flowing from trauma with immature mental strength.

Therefore, most didn’t have the luxury to care for others.

Except for a very few individuals, everyone was either taking care of themselves or suffering from aftereffects, so honoring the hero of the subjugation would have to wait a long time.

And by then, it would probably be forgotten. Even knowing it couldn’t be helped, Renias found herself grinding her teeth.

“Senior… can’t you open your eyes a little sooner?”

She wished everyone knew who had worked the hardest in this subjugation, who was responsible for limiting the damage to this extent.

With a heart close to urging, she kept asking him to wake up. Even though she knew it was rude to a sleeping person.

She wanted to go outside, link arms with her senior, and spread the word everywhere, boasting about him.

“Guardian, you’ll need to bring necessary items since you’ll be staying here from now on.”

“Ah, yes.”

As if telling her to stop even such urging, a nurse who opened the door of the hospital room conveyed the message to Renias, who was designated as the guardian.

The nurse left with a smile, and Renias carefully got up from her seat, said she would be back, and went outside.

The first day was busy.

It was almost like moving, wasn’t it?

From clothes to toiletries, she had to ask the maids to bring everything to the hospital room, so she had to leave the hospital first.

And then.

Not long after, Renias saw a sight that made her eyes widen.

***

“How is that young man doing…?”

“Pardon? Which young man?”

“The young man who often accompanies you, miss.”

At the mention of often accompanying her, she should have made a fuss saying it wasn’t like that, but the people gathered here…

All had eyes filled with sadness.

“Senior is…”

Should she tell them or not? Renias was lost in thought.

Then an old man approached and suddenly knelt down.

Surprised, the girl asked why he was doing this, grabbed the elder’s hand, and earnestly requested him to stand up.

Then the old man,

“Please tell us anything. If you know something, even a little…!”

With a desperate heart, he began to plead while even shedding tears.

Led by the old man, residents gathered one by one.

It seemed strange that this was happening outside the hospital, but they were all people who had personally rejected Junon’s requests.

“May I ask why you’re inquiring about senior?”

When Renias, knowing this fact, asked for the reason, they answered with terribly distorted faces.

“We’re just burdens. After receiving all kinds of help, we couldn’t step up when we needed to… we’re just burdens!”

Burdens, they said.

Even those who had thrown stones couldn’t filter out the instigators or criminals through self-regulation—they called themselves burdens.

Only after incidents occurred did they barely move, unable to even expel the instigators or culprits—they referred to themselves as burdens.

“With such a position, how could we suddenly make requests to that young man…?”

They lamented that even if they sent gifts with words of comfort, the wounds Junon had already received couldn’t be healed.

Cruelly, it was beyond their power to respond to someone who had saved their lives multiple times.

They couldn’t bear it. Facing Junon was hard enough, let alone entrusting him with requests—it was gut-wrenching.

Making excuses and refusing was the best they could do.

“It’s the same for us.”

“We couldn’t do anything either. And this isn’t the first time.”

As Renias was staring blankly at the scene, another person spoke up.

This time it was an academy student. It was the person she had seen when, just after barely escaping Pimpert’s mental interference wave at Levrant Academy, the battle with the Lycans followed.

There weren’t just one or two of them.

Bandages, casts, crutches—they looked like they had forcibly dragged their recovering bodies out.

“…It’s the same for those of us who went on the subjugation expedition.”

And it didn’t end there—even Imperial soldiers in blood-soaked uniforms.

Everyone was saying the same thing.

They just wanted to know if Junon was okay. That was all.

Currently, he had sustained serious injuries and fallen into a long sleep. Even if he woke up, only those with permission from Renias, his guardian, could enter the hospital room, apart from medical staff.

That’s why they kept asking Renias. Because she was the only one who could tell them how he was doing.

‘All these people…’

People who owed Junon.

At the same time, they were living witnesses who hoped his deeds wouldn’t be forgotten.

If so many people wished for that…

“Senior is fine. They say he’ll be okay if he rests well and recovers, even though he’s badly injured.”

“”Oh…!””

“So, I was thinking.”

For when senior wakes up.

To ensure this truth doesn’t get buried, as everyone wishes.

“How about we hold a grand event?”

It was necessary to use every possible method to keep senior from leaving.

***

─Clap clap clap clap clap!!

Back to the present, this award ceremony was what came of that event.

It goes without saying that medals are given to honor achievements, but this award ceremony was quite unique in that regard.

The luxurious carpet on the floor remained untouched, as did the vibrant flower petals scattered by the children to brighten the ceremony. Both the ground and sky were completely empty.

There were no fireworks or buffets to be seen, and looking around, most people were wearing school uniforms, casual clothes, and patient gowns rather than formal suits or dresses.

However, the path he walks is indeed the Royal Road.

A human path made of deep character and good deeds is more valuable than any decoration or precious metal.

“Foolish senior. You were the only one blaming yourself.”

How much she had wanted to say these words.

Renias wore a more refreshed smile than ever before.