Ch.8988. Raid (4)

# 88. Raid (4)

At those words, she smiled and replied.

“It’s different from Albert, but it’s quite special. Usually it’s the opposite.”

“People always think the grass is greener on the other side.”

Typically, one tends to notice the strengths others possess more than their own advantages.

That’s why I admire her defense while she’s impressed by my offense. I believe defense is more important than offense, while she thinks offense is more crucial than defense. We’re each guiding our team members in those respective directions.

“Albert’s aggression looks quite impressive.”

“I feel the same about you.”

Of course, eventually we’d need to master both offense and defense, but right now, time was limited.

According to information I’d previously received from Riel, the Babylon Kingdom’s army would invade within a month.

Unfortunately, we couldn’t obtain any further information at present, so we didn’t know the exact date.

In other words, an invasion could happen at any moment without warning.

‘At least we’ve prepared well…’

We had positioned massive numbers of troops from the cities closest to the Babylon Kingdom all the way to the capital, where the Imperial Academy and Michael Palace were located.

We were in a position to minimize damage no matter when they attacked.

Of course, we couldn’t afford to let our guard down.

We didn’t know how or where they would attack, and crucially, we didn’t know who would be coming.

‘At least one or two Executioners will definitely come…’

According to plan, we could have obtained much information from Lilith, who had turned her back on her side and joined ours.

But worryingly, I hadn’t seen Lilith even once since then.

‘Is she still deliberating…?’

I trusted her because Lilith would never side with the demon race, but I couldn’t help feeling anxious.

The future had changed significantly, and there was no guarantee that Lilith’s future hadn’t changed as well.

Still, her considerable dissatisfaction with the current royal family probably remained unchanged.

‘Given her reaction back then…’

It was certain that Lilith still desired coexistence with humans and the downfall of the current royal family.

Otherwise, there would have been no reason for her to spare my life.

As I pondered these thoughts alone, she spoke to me.

“Don’t stress too much about it. I faced them before, and the demons weren’t all that impressive.”

“But is it really true? That the demons are going to invade?”

I had recently told my party members about this fact, but they were having trouble believing it.

“That’s definitely happening, probably?”

“It’s better to assume it will.”

“Then shouldn’t we… evacuate?”

Ellin seemed quite frightened. It wasn’t a reaction befitting a top elite of the middle school division, but it was understandable.

“That’s why they’re putting up barriers around the academy now.”

“So those wizard guys coming to the academy lately are here to set up barriers?”

“That’s right.”

Ellin had known about the demon invasion but only just realized this fact.

“Since we don’t know where they’ll attack, we’re protecting important facilities like the academy and the palace first.”

“But won’t it still be dangerous…?”

“Yes, it will be dangerous.”

Since Lilith had appeared at the academy, there was a high probability they would attack somewhere nearby.

Either the palace or the academy or…

‘The clock tower might be more likely than the palace.’

The palace would be less likely since the Emperor was holding it; unless they were insane, they wouldn’t enter the palace.

“But we need to stay here. I think one of the knight orders will be stationed at the academy soon, though even one knight order might not be enough.”

“That’s not the real reason, is it?”

She was indeed perceptive.

The truth was that even if the knights were sufficient, I would still head to the battlefield.

Curious about the reason and sensing I wouldn’t give a proper answer, Ellin turned to her, who already knew the answer.

“Then what’s the real reason?”

“Everyone, do you know when your levels increase?”

Hearing that question, Rachel answered without a moment’s hesitation.

“When we gain experience points, right?”

“And when can you gain experience points?”

“Um… when our bodies grow or when we hunt monsters?”

That wasn’t an incorrect answer.

However, the latter part needed some clarification, so I modified her response.

“More precisely, ‘when you kill living beings.'”

“Correct. You don’t necessarily have to kill monsters; as long as what you kill is a living being with life, you gain experience points. That’s why killing animals or plants can also increase your level.”

But such actions were inefficient.

The reason was…

“However, animals and plants only give a tiny amount of experience points. And they don’t register on your status window. Why do you think that is?”

“Because their levels are too low, right?”

“Correct. That’s also why status windows don’t register for newborn babies. You can’t apply buff skills to them either.”

This phenomenon occurs because they are weak creatures with levels below 1.

Of course, among animals, creatures like lions register on status windows despite not having mana stones.

“Now we can think differently. If low levels give small amounts of experience…”

“High levels give a lot, right?”

“And humans are also living beings. Of course, elves and demons are living beings too.”

Hearing her words, Ellin widened her eyes and glared at me.

“You don’t mean…”

“Demons live for a very long time, so their levels are high. But their stats only increase by 1 for every 3 level-ups on average. Some only get 1 stat point per 10 levels.”

Actually, humans were the only race whose stats increased by 1 for each level, making us the unusual ones.

Anyway, demons typically have higher levels than us, but their stats don’t differ as much as the level gap would suggest.

Of course, thanks to their insane mana capacity, one direct hit could send you straight to the afterlife, making them extremely dangerous.

Ellin knew this fact as well.

“But… it’s still dangerous…”

“It’s a gamble worth taking.”

“You could die…”

“I know.”

I knew that fact all too well.

I had seen too many people killed by demons and had taken quite a few hits myself.

“But I’m not the type to worry about such things.”

“Seriously…”

Ellin was giving me that same look she used to give me back when I had just returned and was pushing myself too hard.

Seeing that concerned gaze made me reconsider a bit, but there was nothing I could do.

As I remained silent, deliberately avoiding her gaze, she called Ellin’s name.

“Ellin, it’s okay. I’ll be with Albert too.”

“Still…”

“I don’t think I showed you properly last time, so this time I’ll show you how strong we are when Albert and I work together properly.”

We had indeed mostly operated separately during the last survival test.

But…

“Are you talking about the upcoming survival test?”

The final exams were in about three weeks, so we were actually in the exam period now.

“That’s right. Come to think of it, it is exam period now.”

“Oh… you know that?”

“I’m a student here too, you know?”

I was a bit surprised that she knew it was exam period.

“Of course I know that.”

“Just so you know, I’m also first in the written portion.”

“How do you know you’re first?”

I asked Eve, who seemed genuinely curious.

“Because I get perfect scores on everything, so naturally I’m first.”

“Heh.”

“It’s really unbelievable. You sleep through all the classes and still rank first in the school… Don’t you feel sorry for your classmates?”

As she finished speaking, I felt a sharp gaze from behind.

When I cautiously turned around, Briton, Rachel, and Reina were all glaring at me.

And the owner of that particularly sharp gaze was Reina, who seemed especially angry.

“Don’t tell me you think you’re any different?”

“…”

Come to think of it, I was no different from her.

“At least I don’t sleep during class, right? I mean, I do sleep sometimes, but still…”

“Are you confusing ‘sometimes’ with ‘always’?”

“Do I really sleep that much?”

Hearing my question, they all nodded in unison.

“You sleep through all the theory classes, so…”

“Is that so…”

I did tend to sleep a lot during theory classes.

After all, I already knew all the content, and lately I’d been clearing dungeons until late at night, leaving me short on sleep.

“You get perfect scores on everything despite sleeping through classes, and you have the nerve to say that? You’re just the same.”

“…”

Reina’s words left me speechless.

And somehow, I felt that even if I had something to say, the atmosphere suggested I shouldn’t say it.

We took a short break after that.

Before long, dinner time approached, and people started heading to the dining hall one by one.

“Let’s go eat.”

“It’s already dinner time…”

After everyone except me, her, and Riel had left for dinner, Riel approached us.

Then, in a calm voice, she asked her:

“By the way, Your Highness, when will you introduce me to Her Majesty the Empress?”

“What??”

Seeing her startled reaction, I became curious about what was happening.

“Introduction?”

“Yes, Her Majesty the Empress asked me to bring you to the palace. She mentioned it the first time and again recently. But you’ve been stalling all this time.”

Looking at her expression as she heard those words and Riel’s expression as she spoke them, I started to feel uneasy.

‘Ah… could it be…’