Chapter 9
Prepare for the Predetermined Demise (1)
I clicked my tongue… People just don’t listen.
Ethan Behemoth was always like that. At certain points, he would be persistently stubborn to an excessive degree.
Nothing has changed. Of course. In this world, only I was wearing down and eroding away.
“Haah…”
I muttered while messing up my hair with my other hand.
“Well… I won’t be able to come back anyway.”
It should be fine.
After the subjugation exercise, I won’t be seeing almost anything in this academy ever again.
If I can just deal well with these unexpected variables now…
“……”
Then, suddenly, a sense of discomfort flashed by.
When I quickly turned around, a slightly chilly wind swept past, stirring up dust.
The wooden stumps surrounding the dueling ground had all their branches cut off, so there weren’t even any twigs or leaves to rustle in the wind.
So there shouldn’t be any corner for someone to hide in.
But why did I feel like I was being watched?
…Am I becoming too sensitive?
Right. If there had been any outsiders or intruders to begin with, Ethan Behemoth would have dealt with them before starting the duel.
I narrowed my eyes and glared at the back for a while, then reluctantly stepped out of the dueling ground.
Even now, time was short to prepare for the upcoming subjugation exercise.
🥀
The place Edith Crowell left was so devastated it was hard to believe it was just where two students had dueled.
The well-packed dirt floor was all dug up and cracked, with traces of fierce magical power scattered here and there.
Students who come to this dueling ground later will probably assume that professors had a sword and magic contest.
And between those traces, the one who skillfully hid from Edith Crowell’s sharp gaze smiled faintly.
“Edith Crowell… interesting.”
Concealed himself in the shadows. Leaving behind a heated mutter as if he couldn’t contain himself after discovering something intriguing.
🥀
“May you all return with glory. Be safe.”
‘All’ and ‘safe’. To think that not even two words from that short greeting will be kept.
Anyway, for now, this is all just a story only I know.
As the headmaster finished speaking and raised his arm to signal, the subjugation exercise group sitting on horses in academy uniforms began to move all at once.
Hundreds of students in similar clothes, urging their horses forward in rows and columns at the same moment. The sight was majestic, like watching a small-scale elite cavalry.
I was somewhere at the tail end of the subjugation group, so I could watch the movement of the grand march as if observing from a good position.
‘This is nice.’
However, the bonus was being directly hit by the cloud of dust rising from under the horses’ hooves and blowing backward.
‘…This, not so much.’
I frowned while raising my arm to cover my mouth.
I, too, was riding my horse, following at some distance behind the group ahead. Somehow, I felt peculiar.
Seeing this scene felt like something that had only happened in a distant dream. Perhaps because I was facing this sight again after hundreds of lives.
This subjugation exercise, officially composed of only students, was also a way for the academy to prove it wasn’t just an institution teaching theories from behind desks.
Perhaps that’s why the departure ceremony for the subjugation was so grand. Even I was momentarily surprised by the trumpet as big as my body that appeared in the ceremonial band.
‘Did they blow that?’
As I rolled my eyes while receiving lavish farewell greetings until we passed through the academy’s main gate, I saw black hair somewhere at the very front.
‘He’s over there.’
Confirming that Ethan Behemoth, who was highly likely to bother me, was far ahead at the front of the march, I felt much more at ease.
I had to carefully time my departure from the march, so I couldn’t afford to draw attention.
‘Focus on the magical beasts.’
Magical beasts that harm humans were distributed so sporadically that no group could deal with them perfectly.
To what extent? Even I, who had almost succeeded in subjugation in a previous life, didn’t know the origin of the magical beasts.
So the Empire, rather than struggling to eradicate magical beasts, had been dealing with them by sending subjugation teams to cut them off before they fully grew.
Just like this subjugation exercise.
So this march was literally a ‘practice’ experience for academy students who would become subjugation forces after graduation.
“He-hello!”
While absent-mindedly riding my horse, a human voice cut through the regular clop-clop of horse hooves.
“Hello.”
As I lightly returned the greeting and tilted my head, a figure in a gray hood came into view.
Messy white hair that wasn’t fully covered by the gray hood was floating.
It was hard to tell if the pale face was due to the shadow cast by the hood or if it was naturally sickly.
“Um… I heard from the headmaster just before departure that you said you’d be in a team with me. Th-thank you.”
He stuttered, unable to make proper eye contact with me. It seems he’s not only sickly but also timid.
‘So we’re in the same team.’
His two hands gripping the reins tightly were larger than they looked, but they were so tense that blue veins stood out on the pale skin. He looked like he was riding a horse for the first time.
“It’s nothing.”
I nodded lightly and scanned his face again. Light purple eyes and white hair…
Despite his distinctive appearance, the fact that I didn’t remember him meant he wasn’t one who had survived.
I’ll need to check if he’s not too picky in case I need to slip away later.
Calmly composing my face, I conveyed a simple thank you.
“You must have been surprised when I suddenly asked to be in your team… Thank you.”
If I could be in a team alone, that would be the best, but there’s no way the headmaster would allow such a team arrangement.
‘……’
A sense of discomfort flashed. Wait, was this student alone without a team member? Why? Was it really because the numbers didn’t match…?
The student smiled shyly and lowered his head slightly before raising it.
The loose hood fluttered with his head movement, dipping deeply, and blocked his view when he raised his head.
“Ah, aah.”
Then the student floundered, startled by his self-obstructed view.
‘Hmm….’
It was such a clumsy first impression that I felt sorry for having been suspicious even for a moment.
“The, the hood…”
“Let me help you.”
Perhaps to adapt to this life, I should start by breaking the habit of suspecting every little thing.
I reached out a nearby hand and lifted his hood.
“The hood… seems a bit big for you.”
“Ah, th-thank you. You’re kind…. M-my name is Ri-Rimos Therion.”
As the hood was removed, revealing long hair settling on top, the student stuttered out his name.
“Rimos Therion, is it? May I call you Therion?”
“Y-yes…. Of course….”
Rimos Therion, huh. Since both the first and last name were unfamiliar, I just nodded vaguely.
Should I tell him my name too? Just as I opened my mouth.
“My name is Edith—”
“Ah, I know.”
He interrupted.
I was a bit surprised, not expecting him to have the boldness to cut off someone’s words.
He smiled slightly and continued in a small voice.
“You’re Edith Crowell, right?”
He doesn’t stutter when saying my name.
“…Yes.”
I needlessly raised one hand to rub my nape. It felt a bit itchy, or maybe chilly.
…Probably just being oversensitive.
“You knew.”
“Who wouldn’t know Edith Crowell?”
…Am I that well-known? Surely not yet.
Sensing my narrowed gaze, Rimos Therion suddenly turned his head straight ahead, and with a flushed face, started rambling about himself.
“I, I… learned holy magic. So… I’m supposed to… provide healing support… from the rear. Also… if there are monsters with dense magical energy, I, I purify them.”
Ah. So he’s a holy magician?
That explained why he was placed alone in the rear.
I nodded with a faint smile towards him.
“I see. Therion, I look forward to working with you.”
He nodded back with a bright smile.
“Yes. M-me too….”
Holy magicians who can use holy magic without being clerics are rare, after all.
Even so, to be alone in a team. Was Rimos Therion the only holy magician at the academy this time…
‘Well, it could happen.’
There’s no point in wasting energy on trivial details. Honestly, it wasn’t my business anyway.
In any case, the fact that I didn’t remember Rimos Therion meant he was destined to die here.
He wouldn’t be a significant variable in this matter, and therefore, I shouldn’t get emotionally attached.
So, at that time, I didn’t know. How ‘terribly’ intertwined this divine mage and I would become.
🥀
Thank you for reading! ♡
