Ch.82Chapter 82. Goal Achieved (2)

“Where could he be…?”

“Ryu!”

I looked everywhere, but he was nowhere to be found.

The last time I saw him was at the party with Yuria.

“Elaine! Are you okay?”

“Miss Cynthia. Have you seen Ryu?”

“Ah, Ryu? N-no, I haven’t seen him.”

“Sigh. Where on earth did he disappear to?”

“R-Ryu will be fine. You know how strong he is.”

“Even so…!”

Elaine barely managed to hold back the outburst that nearly escaped her.

The massive undead wyvern that suddenly invaded the party venue.

When the wyvern first entered the building, she thought disaster was imminent.

But surprisingly, the situation was resolved quickly and safely.

The undead wyvern, which had made a dramatic entrance by smashing through the outer wall, immediately went back outside.

Though students scattered in panic due to the rising dust and building debris, everyone evacuated safely under the professors’ guidance.

When nothing further happened, the students quickly regained their composure.

Some even started suggesting this might be part of the event, showing how carefree they’d become.

As expected of Academy students.

The ice wall spread across the building entrance also helped reassure everyone.

It was ice so beautiful it inspired awe beyond mere surprise.

“Professor Amillion!”

“Huh? Oh, Elaine. Are you alright?”

“Yes, I’m fine, but Ryu has been missing for a while now.”

“Ryu…”

Elaine immediately called out upon spotting Professor Amillion walking around nearby.

The professor glanced around briefly before looking back at Elaine.

“I’m sure Ryu will be fine.”

“…Pardon?”

“Don’t worry too much. He’ll probably show up soon.”

“But Professor, even so…”

Elaine felt a surge of frustration as Professor Amillion echoed Cynthia’s nonchalant attitude.

Of course, she knew well.

She knew Ryu was strong enough to cross swords with her father, and reliable.

But still, wasn’t everyone being too optimistic about the situation?

This wasn’t just anything—it was an undead, a flying undead wyvern at that.

What if Ryu had been caught up with the undead wyvern and was in danger?

Elaine bit her lip and reached for her waist.

But there was nothing there.

Today, she had left behind the sword she always carried.

If only she had her sword, she would have gone looking for Ryu right away.

‘Of all days…’

“Come to think of it, I haven’t seen Emily either.”

“What?”

“I’m actually worried about Emily.”

Only then did Elaine realize.

Ryu wasn’t the only one missing.

Now that she thought about it, she hadn’t seen Emily either, who wasn’t even wearing a dress.

‘Could it be?’

As she realized both were missing, a hypothesis flashed through Elaine’s mind.

Maybe it wasn’t Ryu but Emily who had been caught up with the undead, and Ryu had gone to rescue her.

The undead wyvern was nowhere to be seen, suggesting it had moved far away.

‘This is no time to stand around.’

Elaine could no longer contain her frustration.

Both Cynthia and Professor Amillion were being too casual about this.

“Elaine? Where are you going?”

“I’m going to look for Ryu and Emily. I can’t just stand here doing nothing.”

“W-what? Elaine? You don’t even have your sword right now!”

Elaine paused at Cynthia’s words and looked around.

She spotted a fallen branch of suitable length nearby.

If she infused it with mana and used it like a wooden sword, it would be serviceable enough.

“I’m still going.”

“…Elaine?”

Elaine picked up the branch and grabbed her skirt.

She realized anew.

Such clothes really didn’t suit her.

Clothes that made it difficult to even walk quickly, let alone run.

“Elaine! Do you even know where they might be?”

“I’m going to check inside the building first. If I go to where the undead wyvern first entered, I might find something.”

“Hey, hey. The professors would have already checked there. They’re probably all searching around.”

“No. Don’t you know, Miss Cynthia? There aren’t many professors around here anymore.”

“Huh…?”

Cynthia looked around at Elaine’s words.

The professors who had been visible everywhere until just a moment ago were now hardly to be seen.

At most, only two or three professors remained, including Professor Amillion.

“The fact that the professors have collectively gone somewhere in this situation means there’s still some problem.”

“No, you…”

Cynthia was surprised by Elaine’s calm assessment of the situation while trying to figure out how to stop her.

Though Cynthia didn’t know where Ryu was either, she did know what he was probably doing.

He was likely resolving the incident at the Academy together with Yuria.

“Elaine, wait!”

Cynthia urgently grabbed Elaine’s arm and tried to pull her back.

Of course, Elaine didn’t budge.

“I need to go.”

“I understand how you feel, but you don’t even have a weapon. If something goes wrong—”

Swish—

Elaine seriously held up the branch in front of Cynthia.

Whoosh—

The thin branch became enveloped in golden mana, glowing brightly.

This was unmistakably a “weapon” to anyone who saw it.

“If you’re not coming with me…”

“Hoho. Elaine, was it? True to the Sinclair name, you’re quite brave.”

“Huh?”

Just as Elaine was about to shake off Cynthia’s arm and move forward, someone appeared before them.

Someone wearing a dress without a single stain despite the chaotic situation.

“Lady Yuria?”

“E-Elaine.”

“Emily?”

The ones who appeared before Elaine and Cynthia were Yuria Phrysis and Emily.

Yuria was smiling continuously as if something amused her, while Emily was holding onto Yuria’s dress as if hiding behind her.

She looked like a child hiding behind her mother.

“Miss Emily? Weren’t you with Ryu?”

Seeing Emily appear with Yuria, Elaine realized her hypothesis was wrong.

At the same time, she was confused.

If Emily was safely here, where on earth had Ryu gone?

“Ah, Lady Yuria. One of our companions, a student named Ryu, might be in danger. He’s been missing for a while.”

“Is that so? You mean that black-haired boy?”

“Yes, that’s right!”

Elaine felt hopeful seeing Yuria take her words more seriously than Professor Amillion or Cynthia.

Moreover, Yuria Phrysis!

If someone as renowned as Lady Yuria joined the search, they would probably find him quickly.

“He’s been missing since the undead wyvern attacked the party venue.”

“Hmm. Where was Ryu at that time?”

“At that time…”

Elaine started to explain but suddenly found herself at a loss for words.

Come to think of it, right before the wyvern broke through the building, Ryu was with the person standing right in front of her.

He was dancing with Lady Yuria.

“Um… the last time I saw him, he was with you, Lady Yuria…”

Grin—

“Uh…?”

Elaine became even more confused seeing Yuria smiling calmly.

What was going on?

Additionally, she felt strangely reassured.

The last person Ryu was with was Lady Yuria, and Lady Yuria was smiling as if nothing was wrong.

Somehow, her smile gave Elaine confidence that Ryu was safe.

“Miss Elaine seems to worry a lot about Ryu.”

“Well, that’s…”

“That’s?”

“W-we’re classmates, after all.”

“Is that so?”

“Y-yes! That’s right.”

Snicker—

Elaine couldn’t shake the feeling that she was somehow making excuses to Lady Yuria.

‘Ah, this isn’t what’s important.’

“S-so! Did you see where Ryu went last? He was definitely on the first floor.”

“Hmm. As I recall.”

Gulp—

Elaine focused on Yuria’s words.

Yuria rolled her eyes upward as if thinking deeply, then continued.

“When the loud noise occurred, he seemed to be the first to run toward the entrance without even looking back?”

“What??”

Elaine asked in genuine surprise.

“He’s a student with quick judgment. Trying to secure safety by escaping from the danger zone first.”

“No, Ryu wouldn’t…”

Elaine couldn’t easily believe Yuria’s words.

The Ryu she knew wasn’t like that.

Even if he didn’t have the heart to protect others, he wasn’t the type to flee first when something happened.

If he were, he wouldn’t have stepped forward during the competition or during the Cain Hover incident.

“Why don’t you think he would?”

“Because Ryu has always been in front of me.”

“Hmm. I see.”

“A-and if he was the first to leave the building, I should have run into him here! I’ve been looking around everywhere…”

“Maybe he’s already returned to the dormitory?”

“Huh?”

“Or perhaps… he’s looking around the area.”

“That’s even more problematic! With an undead wyvern rampaging, looking around would be so dangerous…”

Elaine reflexively scanned the surroundings once more.

Some students had already returned to their dormitories or homes, while others were chatting among themselves, not taking the situation seriously.

Some students were even touching the beautiful ice wall.

It was a scene that didn’t feel “dangerous” at all.

“…”

Elaine stopped mid-sentence, at a loss for words.

Yes, the surroundings certainly didn’t look dangerous.

However.

“Oh…”

Elaine suddenly felt numerous gazes directed at her.

Cynthia, Emily, Yuria Phrysis.

And the black-haired boy visible in the distance behind them.

“…Ryu?”

At Elaine’s murmur, everyone turned to look behind them.

There was Ryu, walking toward them while waving his hand.