Chapter 141

Chapter 141

After the commotion, while my friends and I were enjoying the grand finale of the Heavenly Saint Festival, a summons arrived for the final rehearsal, even though it was a bit early.

I understood the intention to ensure everything was perfect for the festival’s conclusion, but that didn’t make the inconvenience disappear.

However, as one of the main performers of the closing ceremony, I couldn’t possibly skip the rehearsal. With no other choice, I trudged towards the assembly point with weary steps.

“It’s been a while, student.”

“Ah, Desk Staff… no, Professor. Hello.”

On my way, I ran into a familiar face again after a long time. It was the gentleman who had greeted me at the magic department’s information desk from the middle of the first semester to the beginning of the second. At first, I thought he was just a regular information desk employee, but I was surprised to learn later that he was a professor in the magic department.

Perhaps he was assigned to the information desk as a form of disciplinary action, and then took over the professorship after Master retired?

“You look quite busy during the festival?”

His hair looked unwashed, greasy, and his clothes were so wrinkled that I could tell he’d been wearing them for days. I thought only the graduate student assistants were busy, but it seems the magic department is also quite busy with professors preparing for classes and papers. Presia is the exception, of course.

It seems like there are many busy people around me lately. Ms. Sharon, who took over the information desk duties after the professor’s disciplinary period ended, was also working during the festival, as were the investigation team leader, Erin, and Stella.

“Haha. Is it that obvious? I’ve been busy with various preparations, so I’m quite swamped.”

Honestly, his appearance made it impossible not to notice, but I didn’t point it out. Did he not want to wash himself? He was truly too busy to wash.

“How… Is Lady Elysia enjoying the festival? You must have been very busy as a hero.”

“Haha… I was a bit busy with some events, but they still gave me time to enjoy the festival. Thanks to that, I think I made a lot of good memories. Ah, I’m sorry. Boasting in front of someone who’s busy…”

Although I was answering his question, I felt I had been too openly enthusiastic, so I apologized immediately. Fortunately, he didn’t seem to mind, waving his hand and accepting my apology.

“It’s natural to enjoy yourself and make memories during your student days. I’m not jealous of a student, so you don’t have to worry too much.”

“Still… Ah! Do you perhaps have some time later? If you’re free, would you like to come and watch the closing ceremony? Saint, myself, and many others have practiced extensively, so it should be quite worth watching.”

Honestly, even though I practiced for the closing ceremony, I can confidently say it’s the most spectacular and worthwhile event among all the Heavenly Saint Festival activities. With a slight exaggeration, one could say that just by watching the closing ceremony, they’ve enjoyed more than half of the festival.

“Ah, don’t worry. I’m running around like this precisely to make it in time for the closing ceremony. I’m looking forward to it too.”

Even as we were talking, he kept glancing at his watch, perhaps wary of the passing time. It would be a bother to keep him any longer, so I should quickly say goodbye and leave. I also have something to attend to.

“Then I have an appointment, so I’ll be going now. Please be sure to come watch the closing ceremony!”

“Yes. I’ll see you at the closing ceremony later, Lady Elysia.”

After exchanging farewells, I parted ways with him and headed back to my original destination, the assembly point.

Come to think of it, although we’ve known each other for quite some time, I never knew his name. I always called him Desk Staff, and later Professor, but I never even asked for his name. Yet, he never showed any signs of displeasure and always called me by my name, showing a courteous demeanor.

Well, actually, Elysia isn’t my real name. My real name is Zeno…

“…Ugh.”

Damn it, thinking about irrelevant things again gives me a headache. I have to be careful even when letting my consciousness wander. Zeno Frentz, I’ll have to recall memories related to my true identity later, after the Heavenly Saint Festival, when I’m alone. If I don’t want to ruin the closing ceremony, at least for now, I need to be careful not to let the headache worsen my condition.

I quickly moved my feet, desperately ignoring my consciousness’s tendency to drift towards my true identity.

***

“Huhu. Hero, are you nervous? I’ve never seen the Hero look nervous before?”

Similar to the opening ceremony, Mariel, standing beside me as we waited for the closing ceremony to begin, teased me. It’s adorable how she talks about nervousness, completely forgetting that she herself was nervous during the opening ceremony. However, thankfully, Mariel didn’t seem nervous now.

“Well… I am human, after all.”

Actually, it wasn’t so much nervousness about the closing ceremony as it was the unavoidable awkwardness in my demeanor due to consciously avoiding thoughts to ward off the headache. But I couldn’t say that honestly, so I responded by playing along with Mariel’s teasing.

“At times like this, you seem so pure, Hero. Truly, you can’t judge a book by its cover…”

“Um… Is this the part where I’m allowed to get angry?”

“Hmm? What do you think?”

Mariel’s smile clearly indicated she was teasing me, but I knew without her saying it that her intention was to help me relax. That’s why I was responding with a joke.

Mariel’s efforts were not in vain; while talking with her, I was able to escape my useless thoughts.

“Please prepare!”

Following the staff’s call, Mariel and I slowly walked onto the stage that had been used for the opening ceremony. Unlike the opening ceremony, which began from outside the stage, the closing ceremony started on the stage.

Standing on the stage and looking around, I saw that, just like during the opening ceremony, there were even more people filling the surroundings than during the opening ceremony, which had been held in the early morning.

Standing on a slightly higher vantage point and looking around, it was fun to spot familiar faces one by one.

In the distance, Celian, Yuri, Anne, and Rinne were visible, standing in a similar location to the opening ceremony. Whether they noticed me looking at them or were simply cheering me on, they were all enthusiastically waving at me.

I shifted my gaze away from them and looked around a bit more, spotting Presia sitting on the roof of a small building in the distance, watching me. The Bear and the Bunny were also sitting on either side, watching. It was a relief to see them enjoying the festival.

Ah, I spotted another one. This time it was Lindy. Since Lindy had been helpful to me in many ways, I felt quite pleased to see her now. However, Lindy couldn’t stay still even in this situation, and was hitting on the woman next to her, being flirtatious. …Let’s pretend we didn’t see her getting slapped.

As I turned my head with a mix of pity and embarrassment, I saw some unexpected faces. It was Erin and Stella, who had been busy working throughout the festival. They didn’t seem to be here to watch the closing ceremony, as they were heading somewhere, parting the crowd instead of looking at me on stage. Still, I wished they could watch for a moment, even if they had no spare time, considering how hard I had prepared for the closing ceremony.

Following my gaze naturally, I soon spotted another familiar face. It was the magic department professor, whom I had encountered before coming for the rehearsal. As he had stated earlier that he would definitely attend the closing ceremony, he seemed to have finished all his urgent tasks and was looking this way with a happy expression.

…However, it seemed he didn’t have time to wash up, as everyone around him was keeping a distance from him. Well, he didn’t seem to care, so it might not matter.

“It’s about to start.”

As I carelessly turned my head around, looking for familiar faces, Mariel next to me whispered, letting me know that it was almost time.

To help ease any potential nervousness I might have, I took a deep breath in and out, practicing deep breathing. I also did some light neck stretches.

“Huh?”

While stretching my neck, I noticed something floating in the blue sky.

Even when I raised my hand and rubbed my eyes, the unnatural black dot in the middle of the blue sky didn’t disappear and remained in place.

“What’s wrong, Hero?”

Mariel, who was beside me, asked, noticing my strange behavior.

“No… It looks like something is floating up there in the sky…”

“Huh? Where?”

At my words, Mariel followed my gaze and tilted her head up. In the meantime, a new red dot appeared above the black dot floating in the sky.

“Huh? You’re right? But that… it seems to be getting bigger…?”

As she said, the black dot remained still, without any movement, just as it was initially. However, the red dot floating above it was gradually growing larger, becoming clearly visible, and yet it continued to grow without stopping.

No, that’s not getting bigger…

BOOM!

But by the time I realized it, the red dot had already become a massive meteor and fallen into the heart of the city.