Ch.7171. Festival (10)

“So in this life, I won’t join Tembris even if it means avoiding death. Remember that clearly.”

The question-and-answer session ended there. No more opinions to express. He didn’t want to recall these complicated and nauseating memories anymore.

Before he knew it, Renias had returned with the food they ordered and placed a hand on her hip as she asked, “Senior, are you done talking?”

“Yeah. You weren’t secretly listening with magic, were you?”

“Wow. Isn’t that too harsh? I keep my promises. Besides, I deliberately waited a bit longer to avoid overhearing.”

Judging by her expression, she was clearly displeased. Someone who couldn’t stand by when witnessing injustice had even begged for time to allow this conversation.

“Sorry for keeping you waiting. Let’s go.”

“Wait, about what we discussed earlier…”

“That’s enough. The time I permitted was only until I returned, wasn’t it?”

Erika desperately tried to grab Junon, but Renias stopped her.

That cold voice reminded Erika of the moment when Renias had threatened her with vast magical power.

Recalling Renias’s intense threat, Erika flinched and closed her mouth despite having more to say.

“…”

When Erika stopped pursuing him, Renias finally caught up to Junon with quick steps.

Regardless, Erika stood watching Junon walk away in the distance. Then she quietly murmured to herself.

“Killed by… a Tembris party member?”

The fact that someone who seemed like they would have survived tenaciously, even at the expense of others, had died.

She couldn’t help but be shaken by those ambiguous words.

***

Meanwhile, at the same time.

“…”

“Hello, Aris?”

After Erika’s visit, it was Senia’s turn.

Unlike with Erika, whose reason for visiting had been somewhat predictable, Senia’s purpose was completely unclear.

“What brings you here? We’re not even on good terms.”

“Is being on good terms relevant? We’re teammates.”

“Even as empty words, it sounds really strange coming from you. You know that?”

When Aris responded with disgust, Senia countered, “You’re the strange one, Aris. Don’t you think?”

“What did I do?”

“I looked into it, and your written exam scores aren’t very good, Aris. Particularly in formation theory, you’re quite behind—to the point where I wonder how you knew about the Hasirt Triple Formation.”

“I-I could learn that with just a little studying…!”

“True. That’s possible. You have much more practical experience than I do. You could have managed the Osoptera defense that way.”

Senia seemed to shrug it off. However,

“But you know what? The concept that two Splash Outs can cancel each other out is covered in the Magic Phase Theory lecture. You never took that course, so how do you explain that?”

Senia, who had thoroughly investigated the Ripol Gorge incident, struck at Aris’s core.

Aris’s throat tightened as she swallowed hard.

Knowing she couldn’t be discovered, Aris tried to respond to Senia’s accusation with the most brazen face possible.

“I knew I was lacking in written subjects, so I studied it separately. You’re so mean.”

“You studied secretly? That’s a flimsy lie.”

“…What?”

“If that were true, you should have pointed out to me earlier that two Splash Outs must collide in reverse direction, not in the same direction, to cancel each other out. This confirms you never touched Magic Phase Theory.”

“…!”

In fact, Junon had divided the four carriages full of magic stones into two groups and asked for the magic to be cast in opposite directions to detonate the stones.

Aris’s excuse was far too poor to support such detailed theory, and Senia, having seen through it perfectly, smiled like a fox.

“The formation changed before entering the Alcaid Building, and you collapsed from mana exhaustion around that time. And who happened to appear just then?”

Aris’s lips trembled at Senia’s confident tone.

As she said, Senia’s unique magic allowed her to read magical threads, making it possible to identify people.

“The four people who seemed to appear suddenly were Silvia, John, Noel, and… Junon, who received top scores in Magic Phase Theory. If we assume he was at Ripol Gorge. What do you think?”

The final punch leading to a knockout.

Under Senia’s flawless reasoning that left no room for excuses, Aris wavered continuously.

Now only one option remained.

“Everything is as you said… Senia…”

“Ah, Aris? Why are you suddenly like this?”

“Please, don’t tell anyone else… Just that…”

Aris bit her lip hard as she slumped to the floor.

Even if she had to kneel, even if she had to appeal to emotions, this fact had to remain hidden.

“Sigh. Calm down and get up. You know our team needs to share all our secrets, right?”

“I know, but…”

“I understand, Aris. You want me to keep it confidential. I’ll keep it secret, but I might need to help you if necessary. Someone else could find out.”

Senia promised to keep the secret while gently comforting Aris.

However, Aris shook her head, knowing Senia would never understand. After all, there was no point in explaining the demise of Tembris, which never even became a proper party.

Nevertheless, Senia continued persuading her for a long time, saying it was okay and that she would believe everything.

Finally, Aris ended up revealing everything she knew to Senia.

“…That’s all. That’s why I’ve been covering up Junon’s actions.”

“Hmm…”

While Senia was organizing her thoughts, one thing remained incomprehensible.

‘Since I didn’t experience those memories myself, it’s really hard to accept…’

The problem is that this isn’t a lie. There’s no reason for Aris to mix falsehoods into this desperate confession.

Moreover, this piece is necessary for the correct solution, so despite her doubts, Senia had no choice but to believe it.

And hasn’t the conclusion already been reached?

“For now, let’s do as you say, Aris. If Junon doesn’t want to join Tembris… I don’t think it’s right to force him either.”

When both the person involved and those around him refuse, it’s certainly not right to insist on it.

***

“Sigh.”

“Why are you sighing like that, Senior? Were you hurt by what that person said earlier?”

“It’s not that, so don’t worry.”

“There you go again, saying it’s nothing. You’ve been sighing so much the ground might cave in.”

Since earlier, huh? I must have been doing it more than I thought.

Seeing Renias counting on her fingers how many times she’d heard me sigh, she must have heard them all.

They say if you catch the same disease twice, you develop immunity. But that doesn’t seem to be the case.

Although I’ve revisited the past many times, it feels no different now telling Erika than when I first told Aris.

Not that I’d be indifferent if others came looking for answers next.

So I wanted to ask.

“Renias. Can I ask you something?”

“What is it?”

“If you knew a vicious villain was about to appear in the empire, and you were the only one who knew about it, what would you do?”

“What kind of strange question is that?”

“Just asking for fun. I read a novel recently where the protagonist was in that situation.”

It’s not really for fun.

Who will be next after Aris and Erika? Will the others appear in turn with similar thoughts?

After today’s events, I couldn’t help wondering. That’s why I’m asking.

My position is firm, so I have no room to consider others’ perspectives. That’s why I need to ask someone else.

It would be helpful to know how Renias, who judges evildoers, would think and act.

Waiting with tension, Renias finally spoke.

“…I don’t know. Fiction is fiction. You have to think about it differently from reality.”

“What? That’s no fun.”

…What an insipid response. It made my tension seem ridiculous.

Well, I should probably end today’s activities here. Who has the energy for snacks in this situation?

“I’ll have to postpone the snack recommendations.”

“…”

Normally, she would have responded with a cheerful voice saying we could do it next time, full of positive energy.

Uncharacteristically, Renias continued her silence.

“Come to think of it, Renias, why were you so angry today? It wasn’t a big deal.”

“Senior.”

Now I understood why that silence had persisted.

“How is getting hit by someone not a big deal? Do you know how frustrating it is to watch from my position?”

I had misspoken.

Renias was narrowing her eyes, clearly expressing her dissatisfaction.

“Look. You suffered an unjust incident, but I don’t understand why you’re not angry. From my perspective, it’s definitely a situation worth getting angry about.”

“Umm…”

Well… it’s because that person is also a Tembris member.

My behavior must have seemed quite frustrating to her. But then again, it’s not strange for someone who unhesitatingly judges injustice and evil with that bright light to see it that way.

“Next time, just try getting hit somewhere and coming back. I’ll be really angry with you.”

“…I got it.”

It was time to send Renias off into this festive night.

A luxurious carriage parked at the intersection was coming into view.

Standing just a few steps away, Renias hesitated to get in and suddenly called out to me.

“…Senior.”

“What is it?”

“Tomorrow… would you like to go see the festival again?”

After calling me, she seemed to be contemplating something before finally saying what she wanted to say.

I chuckled once, then patted Renias’s head and said, “If you exercise hard tomorrow.”

“Really? You promised!”

“Well, I can’t back out now, can I, Renias?”

“I know. I’ll follow along well without skipping, so don’t take back your word, okay?”

“Yes, yes.”

Is the festival that enjoyable? Renias, who had been angry until just now, had turned into a little rabbit.

After boarding the carriage, Renias leaned her upper body out, just like during the end-of-term evaluation, and waved until I was out of sight.

“A festival… that’s not bad.”

I could just keep going back and forth between the dormitory and Mizar Building, but it’s better to get out on the streets a bit rather than just doing that.

I could also check the gradually rising magic stone prices while I’m at it.

Things to prepare were starting to emerge one by one.