episode_0025

“What are you talking about? What did I even do?”

“Are you really that dense? Or are you just pretending?”

Chris thumped her chest in frustration.

“You really don’t get why Cecile unni is so obsessed with us?”

“No, I don’t.”

I genuinely had no idea.

There was no reason for them to be like that.

“Oppa—ugh, never mind. There’s no point explaining it to you now.”

Chris began gathering the scattered letters.

“Anyway, you sacrificed yourself to save us, and Cecile unni became fanatically obsessed with bringing you back. That’s all you need to know for now.”

“It’s hard to believe, but… fine. Then, does Cecile have any particular reason for wanting to destroy the Church?”

“Because it’s rotten.”

“Besides that obvious reason.”

As Chris said, the current state of the Church was so degraded that it was embarrassing to even call it a Church.

But even so, it wasn’t something a single student could bring down so easily.

“I guess she just doesn’t care what happens anymore.”

“Explain properly.”

“Well… sigh. Cecile unni must have felt like her life as a saintess was meaningless. She worked so hard, only to find out it was all a lie. Though, she wasn’t the only one who felt that way.”

“So she’s turned into a pessimist?”

“No. If she were just a simple pessimist, it’d be easier to reason with her. That’s why I told you we need to deal with her first.”

“‘Deal with her’? You say such scary things so casually.”

“I couldn’t think of a better word. Just know that Cecile unni’s situation is our top priority, got it?”

“Got it. I’ll keep it in mind.”

“Good. Then let’s move on to the next issue—your return to the Academy. I talked to them today, and we got the results.”

“What? There’s no way the Academy would process things that fast.”

“Oppa. I’m a Grave. Even from here, I can push paperwork through that quickly.”

“So, what’s the verdict?”

“You start attending tomorrow. The second semester just began, so getting you into a class won’t take long. But I can’t help you with your reputation among your classmates, so handle that yourself.”

“Huh? That’s it?”

“It’s not like you were going to listen to a long explanation anyway, right? So if the other unnies try anything, I’ll let you know. That’s enough, isn’t it?”

“Well, yeah, but…”

“I told you, retreating when things get tough is also an option. Didn’t I say I’d be useful? I’m just acting on that.”

With a casual wave of her hand, Chris tore open the air. She reached into the rift and pulled something out before tossing it to me.

“Here, your uniform.”

“When did you learn spatial barrier magic?”

“I just remembered what I already knew. Everyone else probably can too, right?”

“That’s a relief.”

Spatial barrier magic was one of the few spells I had gone out of my way to make Chris learn in the past.

If she could use it so effortlessly, the other three must also remember the spells I had them master.

Less work for me.

“Come to think of it, you were the one who told me to learn this… Ugh, seriously. What kind of person am I—”

“Stop with the pointless self-blame.”

“Right, I don’t even have the right to do that, do I? But you’d better get used to this, Oppa. If this shocks you, you’ll faint when you see Rue unni.”

“She’s practically a monster, so I doubt I’d even flinch if she pulled out a holy sword right now.”

“True.”

I examined the uniform Chris had given me before pointing at the door.

“School starts tomorrow. Don’t be late.”

“Got it.”

“Ah.”

Just before leaving, Chris turned back to me.

“From now on, Anna will be fully assigned as your guard, so you’ll have to go to school together tomorrow. That’s fine, right? It’s a good chance to show everyone that the Grave heir is back in action.”

Though she asked casually, her real intentions were obvious.

Using Anna’s guard duty as an excuse was just a pretense.

If I walked to school with Chris tomorrow, I’d inevitably draw attention—whether I wanted to or not. So, she wanted to make sure everyone remembered our relationship.

Either way, it wasn’t a big deal to me.

“Fine. Do what you want.”

“R-Really?”

“It’s just walking to school together.”

“O-Okay. I’ll make sure everything’s ready!”

The bluntness from earlier vanished as Chris closed my door with a brighter expression.

Thud—

I tried the uniform on over my clothes.

It fit perfectly—meaning Chris had either done her research or asked Anna.

Or maybe she talked to Elia when they met.

Either way, it was unsettling.

The next morning arrived in the blink of an eye. Normally, anyone would dread getting out of bed on the first day of school, but my body felt perfectly fine—even refreshed.

Was it because I could finally leave the house? Or because this was the closest I could get to my goal of returning home?

Either way, no one could stop me now.

“Have a good day, Young Master! Starting today, you’ll finally be back to a normal life. I was really worried for a while, but I’m so glad things turned out like this.”

“What do you mean ‘have a good day’? You’re coming with me.”

“Huh?”

“Why act clueless? You’re my guard now. Didn’t Chris explain?”

“B-But I have the important duty of guarding Lady Christine—”

“Don’t worry about that, Anna.”

Chris, already in her uniform, walked out casually as Anna and I bickered at the entrance.

“I’m stronger than you now.”

“Ehehe, My Lady, you don’t need to joke at a time like this.”

“Wanna test it?”

Whoosh—

The moment Chris taunted her, Anna vanished.

And in the next instant, I realized what had just happened.

Clang—!

“That’s… impossible…”

“Oh my, you’ve gotten better? Last time, you could only land two strikes.”

“This can’t be happening!”

Anna’s twin swords, which had appeared out of nowhere, stopped just short of Chris’s neck.

“I’m not the cowardly young lady you had to protect anymore. Besides…”

Chris glanced at me.

“I have someone I want to protect now, too.”

Her obvious intentions made me snort lightly in response.

As if I’d let her.

“So your guard duty ends today. Thanks for everything, Anna.”

“What are you saying, My Lady…?”

“Oh? Why play dumb? Anna, what was your mission?”

“To protect the heir of House Grave!”

“But I’m stronger than you now, right?”

“Y-Yes. Personally, I’m overjoyed, but…”

“Then who should you protect now? Go on, say my brother’s name.”

“Tch… Uuuugh!”

“Say it.”

“Eric… Grave.”

Anna slumped her arms in defeat.

Seeing that, I had to admit it.

The current Chris was strong enough that I hadn’t needed to raise her myself.

“Alright, let’s go. We can’t be late on the first day.”

With Chris striding ahead confidently, me following, and Anna dragging her feet at the back—clearly wanting to run away—we set off toward the Academy in an odd formation.

“Oh, right, Oppa.”

After a few minutes of walking, with the Academy’s main gate in sight, Chris spoke up.

“Yeah?”

“Just a heads-up before we go in. Be careful at the Academy. There’s more than one or two people who’ll be after you.”

“I already figured that much.”

“I’m not talking about the unnies. The ones you really need to watch out for are the other students.”

“Because of what I did?”

“Yeah. The unnies and I understand you better than anyone, so even if you do something strange or dangerous, we’ll get it. We’ll even cover for you if needed.”

“How reassuring.”

“This is what authority is for. Anyway, we know what you’re carrying. But others don’t.”

“So you’re telling me not to tarnish my already ruined reputation further? Thanks for the advice.”

“What are you talking about? What reputation is left to ruin? You’re going to keep moving forward no matter what, right?”

I nodded. As Chris said, this Academy was a paradise of opportunities and connections. In the original story, several major events branched from this place.

Missing out on them would be worse than being labeled an Academy dropout.

“What I’m saying is, know your place. You didn’t even finish your first year, and now you’re returning in the middle of the second year’s second semester.”

“It’s not like I wanted this.”

“Whether you did or not, to everyone else, you’re just a lunatic spouting nonsense. And even now that you’re back, most people think you won’t last long. So, who do you think will approach you first?”

“Uh… the professors?”

In the last world, there had been an all-out war between the professors trying to keep me in check and me manipulating my attendance records.

If those professors heard I was back, they’d probably start watching me immediately.

But Chris dismissed my assumption with a single sentence.

“Leeches.”

She cut straight to the point.

“The kind of trash who’ll cling to you just for the Grave name, trying to scrape even a crumb of benefit from you.”

“Uh… so what do I do?”

“That’s for you to figure out. Did you forget? I’m not in your grade.”

“Ah.”

I’d overlooked the obvious.

“You… you’re a first-year.”

“Yep. This year’s freshman representative, Christine Grave.”

Chris spun halfway around, locking eyes with me.

“Take care of me, Senpai?”