Ch.303303. Broken Clock Hand (3)

After that, Charlotte had to endure being treated like a monster for quite some time.

News of her rampage spread like wildfire. Since many people had already been injured because of her, she had to endure being pointed at, and there were plenty who called her a monster.

Like that, with such a small body, with the mental strength of a child barely suppressing the beast within.

While directly facing the harsh criticism from those around her, she found herself on the verge of being expelled by the nobles who had extended their influence to the Academy.

But.

“L-let go of this! I said let go!”

“Owww!! Let go of my hair before you speak!! You’re going to fall if you keep that up!!”

“I don’t care, just put me down…!”

Contrary to everyone’s concerns, there was no further rampage.

The beast within had been quieted by taking medicine with the exquisite ratio that Dahlia had praised endlessly, and Charlotte herself had decided to face her unique constitution head-on.

But the process was by no means smooth.

She could have collapsed at any moment, and hearing the word “monster” from people’s gossip would have made her sick to her stomach.

Nevertheless. What firmly held the hand of the youngest member, whose body and mind were both in a precarious state, was…

“Ugh… how many strands of hair did I lose?”

It was him, who had many strands of hair pulled out after carrying the sleeping youngest member on his back.

“…”

One might think that just creating the rampage suppression solution would have been enough to ease her mind…

But because there was someone like this by her side, taking care of her.

Because there was someone who wasn’t even given time to face the beast within their own mirror, awkward as it might be.

That’s why Charlotte didn’t become twisted or broken.

If that was the past, then how about this time?

“When I arrived…”

Everything was already over, but.

This time was clearly different.

The number of Giant Cud Rats visible around seemed significantly fewer, and like before, Mysteris was heavily applied and taking effect.

And Charlotte’s condition…

“Please, please save this person…”

The girl who had rampaged was now at a loss at the sight of a blood-soaked body, her handkerchief stained crimson as she begged with a trembling face.

To save him.

After that day, Charlotte visited Junon’s hospital room, and following Professor Muniher’s advice, she entered Tembris of her own accord and began more intense training.

Whether past or present, since she was the one who took care of Charlotte’s recovery whenever she was exhausted, the difference was all the more apparent.

That her mindset was completely different.

But before she could fully process this, her vision shifted rapidly once again.

“What do you mean Levrant is in danger… What nonsense is this all of a sudden?”

The colleague who spoke impulsively while pushing back her pink bangs was Aris.

And the person she was speaking to was, once again.

“The natural enemy of Canolatlls is the Osoptera. It’s strange that despite so many of them dying, they were hardly seen in Lemtert village.”

If it had been just a moment ago, she would have complained that this was nonsense, but it was Junon.

She had just heard what happened from Charlotte.

And now a conversation with Aris, who appeared out of nowhere, was continuing.

“This time… it’s about Aris?”

She vaguely realized that not only Charlotte but Aris had also received Junon’s help.

As if everything was proceeding in some kind of order.

Her mouth kept feeling increasingly dry.

***

Canolatlls.

The Canolatlls that had swarmed into Lemtert village in Shute Province at a strange timing were now determined to be a sign.

The Shanbereshu plague. The Lemtert epidemic. The Great Shute Extermination.

And even the Canolatlls Eradication Operation.

All of these were connected.

The characteristic of magical beasts seeking safer places to escape from natural predators remained unchanged, and it was concluded that they had attacked humans to survive the plague rats called Devourers that had appeared in the Moras Great Swamp.

However, just as with the Canolatlls, the Osoptera should have naturally shown themselves after dealing with the Canolatlls.

In other words, the food chain.

Junon said that Levrant Academy could be attacked because they had missed this part of the natural order.

Tembris had overlooked the laws of nature, but Junon had not.

Junon, Aris, and Erica, who couldn’t participate in the Canolatlls Eradication Operation for various reasons, remained at Levrant. Although there were only three of them, it would have been enough to assign positions and gather people.

However.

The sight of Erica Scherfen, who seemed completely unable to understand, only made her bite her lip.

“It’s not too late to prepare right now, don’t you think?”

Junon had doubted many times and tried to persuade them that they should not overlook the food chain and prepare accordingly.

Nevertheless.

Though she pretended to listen, she didn’t properly prepare.

Even though she could have gathered people and established appropriate countermeasures, she didn’t lift a finger.

She used ridiculous excuses like: she had used too much divine power yesterday and had no strength; she overslept because of it; she was tired from visiting the temple.

As a result, the Osoptera continued south and attacked Levrant, leading to numerous casualties when they descended upon Levrant Academy.

Though efforts were made to save the remaining people, the lives of those who died could not be brought back.

That was the Osoptera Defense Battle of the past.

What about the present?

The defense battle that had ended in failure in the past led to a reversed outcome in the present.

“Why is this…?”

Why show this? Like before, when it led to some kind of change in Charlotte, she thought there might be something she didn’t know.

But in this Osoptera Defense Battle, only the result was reversed; nothing else had changed.

Moreover, this wasn’t Junon’s part, but Aris’s.

As she pondered this question, Erica suddenly saw herself before her eyes.

Her beige hair disheveled, eyes closed. The image of herself pierced by the sharp, sickle-shaped forelegs was unmistakably from the Osoptera Defense Battle she had directly experienced.

“I know Aris played a crucial role then! So why are you showing me this—”

“Everyone, Hasirt 3rd Formation!!”

At that moment, a man’s shout made her breath catch.

By now, she felt she could recognize who it was just by the voice.

“N-no way…”

Though covered in blood, there was no way she wouldn’t recognize herself.

“This… can’t be…”

The newspapers had reported that Aris had executed the Hasirt 3rd Formation and brilliantly defended Levrant Academy.

Though Professor Dahlia had helped, the students weren’t in particularly good training condition, and there were freshmen who had just entered and fugitives whose true faces were exposed due to position troubles.

The media had lavished praise on how she had embraced and led even these students to victory, and Aris had personally commented that she had learned a lot during her mercenary life.

So she had always been grateful to Aris. After all, she had saved her life then.

But the reality was different. The one who ordered the execution of the Hasirt 3rd Formation, a combat method not well-known at that time, wasn’t Aris as reported in the newspapers, but Junon.

Could one argue that Aris’s role was more significant than Junon’s?

Looking now, she had collapsed from exhaustion. She was in no condition to take command properly.

“Professor Dahlia said she would arrive much later…”

If not for the two collapsed Tembris members. If even Professor Dahlia arrived late.

Who else could have led this battle to a successful defense?

Again, Erica’s eyes turn to one person.

“That can’t be…”

Based on the Hasirt 3rd Formation, he weakens the Osoptera’s forces and rescues surrounded squads one after another.

With an efficiency incomparable to the Kenik 6th Formation, the tightly united students all begin to enter the building.

In the process, her body was already being carried on Junon’s back.

It wasn’t Aris.

It wasn’t Professor Dahlia.

The one to whom she owed her life was none other than Junon, whom she had considered almost an enemy.

“What… is this?”

Her legs wobbled. She wanted to grab onto something to stay standing, but since she passed through everything, she collapsed.

And shortly after.

Using even the Bluschuar Arc and giving his all, Junon completed the rotation and ultimately bought enough time for Professor Dahlia to arrive.

With the help of Professor Dahlia, who arrived just in time, the Osoptera Defense Battle ended, and they had time for recovery and cleanup.

At this point, a defense battle without casualties didn’t register. A sudden anxious thought occurred to her.

Would her body, pierced by the Osoptera’s abdomen, really be safe?

Of course not. With a large laceration and pierced internal organs, she would die instantly if not treated in time.

She vaguely remembered casting a regeneration spell before closing her eyes, but that alone would be far from enough.

So she wanted to beg.

Please let it be Professor Dahlia who treated her.

Please don’t let it be Junon’s hands that touched her.

She desperately wanted to beg.

But sadly, what entered her shifted vision was.

“If it’s not you, we might not be able to save her.”

It was a scene of someone trying to persuade Junon that they needed someone to assist in the surgery.

“No way…”

Junon entering the makeshift operating room with a reluctant face.

“It can’t be… no! Y-yes… it could be Aris instead of me, right?”

After all, Aris was badly injured too!

As his back disappeared, she clung to another desperate hope that it was Aris, not herself, in the makeshift operating room.

“Shall we begin?”

At his voice, having completed sterilization flawlessly, Erica…

“AAAAAHHHHH!!!!!!”

Let out a scream. A scream more agonizing than any other.

This scream did not stop for a while.

Because the reality, which made her face a truth far heavier and more painful than the past, began to distort Erica mercilessly.