Chapter 27: Glasskan Subjugation Expedition (7)

Chapter 27: Glasskan Subjugation Expedition (7)

“Thank you.”

The damp air of dawn blew against my face.

Although now wasn’t the appropriate time to be thinking about this, there was still something I wanted to say.

The crisis just barely got solved before things turned for the worst thanks to the first-year ace students. Taylee seemed to have also acquired the Swordmaster Skill, and as long as he had that skill, the story shouldn’t run into any issues for the time being, which was a relief.

The half-destroyed Nail Hall and Glockt Hall.

The broken trees, the benches and fences that were piled up here and there that were used as a barricade, and the marble floor of the Student Square that had completely shattered into pieces due to Takan stomping around.

The other parts of the academic district were not in a good shape as well.

Calculating just how much damage had been done was meaningless. There was no way to exactly calculate it anyway.

There were serious injuries and an uncountable number of minor injuries as well. Fortunately, there were no casualties.

“Frankly speaking, I still feel resentment towards you.”

Taylee had his head lowered and his whole body was covered in wounds. He was the one who ran all over the academic district and gathered the members of the subjugation force, and he was the one whose sword cut down Velosper and Glasskan during the battle.

It was a glorious achievement that deserved praise from everyone around him but Tayle didn’t have the corners of his mouth raised into a smile at all.

“I think you know the reason why better than anyone else.”

Taylee’s eyes were still filled with hostility.

I looked around. The subjugation force members who went through all sorts of hardships were gathered together in front of the Student Center. They have completed everything and are on their way to a glorious return.

The students waiting at the base in the center of the Student Square would applaud and cheer for them once they return, and the long night’s story would finally come to an end.

It had been a long and tiring night but somehow, it was finally over. Act 1 ended on such a note. We would go straight into Act 2 next. The episode dealing with a war of nerves between the Elte Company and the academy.

“Still, I owe you a lot.”

Although Taylee said that, his hostility didn’t disappear.

“I need to at least pay my respects. No matter how much I resent you, the subjugation wouldn’t have even happened had you not blocked Takan in the first place.”

He made sure to show his gratitude even though he was clenching his teeth with such hostility. This was the kind of person Taylee McLaure was.

“Ah, Taylee. You’re quite uptight, huh? Haha! If you hate me, just say you hate me. Why are you compartmentalizing your emotions and saying you’re grateful for what I did even if you hated me?”

Nosy Elvira burst out laughing despite being completely exhausted.

“That’s right, Tayle! You don’t have to be polite to this guy. The only reason he helped was to save his own ass. Isn’t he the type of person who’d backstab you if your goals don’t align? When we were taking care of Takan, he only used me as bait and treated my life like some measly fly's...! Seriously! This dude...!”

“Clevius, you’re too loud.”

“You talk quite a bit, Clevius.”

“Be quiet, Clevius.”

Lortel, Princes Penia and Ziggs said one after the other, stopping Clevius from saying another word. He probably felt timid at being chastised so he quietly walked away with dropped shoulders.

“Taylee is right, Ed. I can’t just blindly trust you but it’s clear that you did quite a bit of work here. That’s definitely something deserving of praise. If you submit a post of recommendation to the academic council, whatever it may be, it will be accepted.”

“You don’t have to go that far, princess.”

And then I spoke of some objective facts.

“The biggest help during the Takan subjugation was Lucy, while Taylee was the one who cut Velosper and Glasskan down, so there’s no need to give me such praise. Please focus on them rather than me.”

“Oh my, you’re trying to give credit to others. Everyone already knows Lucy and Taylee played a big part during the battles. What we’re talking about here is something else... or wait. Is it... are you, perhaps, embarrassed?”

“He’s a whole year above you. Speak with some respect, Elvira.”

Ziggs flicked Elvira’s forehead, making her squeal as she stepped back, allowing Ziggs to come up and talk to me.

“Let’s talk about the details back at the base, Ed. We can't possibly come to a conclusion while walking on the street like this.”

“......”

But I stood still, unmoving.

The others were already heading back to the Student Square when they realized I was still where I was. They turned around one by one and looked at me.

As dawn settled upon us, these exhausted and injured characters were to return home with a victory.

Taylee, Ayla, Princess Penia, Ziggs, Lortel, Clevius and Elvira.

I trusted that these main characters would be able to progress through the story from now on. Pure baseless confidence it may be, but I trusted that they would somehow figure out how to solve any ordeal that would arise in the future.

I had been watching over them all these times, and they kept getting entangled in unexpected events due to changing variables.

This Glasskan Subjugation chapter could have potentially been a story-breaking event. And yet they were able to handle it to this extent. Didn't this mean they should be fine dealing with future events that wouldn't have an outside variable to mess things up?

I thought of that as I looked at this group of main characters.

I had been maintaining my distance from them so I wouldn't affect the flow of the story. However, seeing them up close like this, I couldn’t help but feel warm inside.

I had been watching them do their designated roles in this world, solving their own problems day in and day out.

There was Taylee who kept getting stronger with each ordeal he faced, and there was also Ayla who kept getting stronger so she could support Taylee. There was Princess Penia who was surely growing into an adult as she started to accept her destiny as the future queen, and Ziggs who was finding his own way in the midst of civilization. There was also Lortel who was starting to question her life of nothing but money, as well as Clevius who was starting to gain confidence in himself. And lastly, there was Elvira who was starting to realize that having fun wasn't everything life had to offer.

I was well aware of each of their hardships and the challenges that they would face. At the same time, I also knew of the successes that would later come to them.

Each of them had their own role. And although their roads may sometimes get bumpy and rough, the end of it was a sparkling red carpet for everyone.

Success awaits them at the very end, and everyone would praise them as the kingdom's brilliant heroes.

“There’s something I left behind at Nail Hall. You guys go first.”

I knew that fact very well, so I turned my head and walked away.

Now that the crisis was over, it was time to put the puzzle pieces together.

I went back to Nail Hall’s Combat Practice Field. I walked down the half-destroyed corridor and opened the large wooden door... to reveal what didn't look like the field at all.

Ziggs's wind magic must have blown all the seats away, and the floor was littered with craters and gaps here and there. The curtains were all completely burned down and the walls were also full of holes as well.

The air was cool inside as it blew in from the open ceiling where Glasskan’s right arm had pierced through. The roofless hall revealed a sky in which darkness was beginning to recede.

These were the traces of the final battle with Velosper.

The stage where Act 1 ended.

It was a place that would not show up again in the later chapters of ‘Silvenia's Failed Swordmaster.’

I walked between the spectator seats that had been blown every which way and headed for the podium up front. And right below it was the spare podium where Lucy took a nap that time during the Joint Combat Practice class.

Rattle!

I opened the door below and found Yennekar hugging her knees to herself as she giggled a soft ‘hehe,’ looking every bit as awkward since I caught her hiding.

* * *

It was cozier than I thought. I think I now knew why Lucy took a nap down here.

The spare podium in the half-destroyed Combat Practice Field.

I sat next to Yennekar as I looked up at the sky. The barrier that covered the sky and isolated the academic district was starting to crack little by little.

“I didn’t know I would be found so easily. The other students seemed too busy with Glasskan that they had forgotten about me.”

“With something that enormous summoned through the sky, who would have the time to worry about you?”

“Even then, it still hurt my feelings. I was doing this and that on such a grand scale but the moment everything was solved... I couldn’t believe they just left me behind. ‘Where is Yennekar?’, I thought they would have at least asked that and looked for me, if even for just a bit.”

The members of the subjugation force were already completely exhausted so they would have wanted to return to the base as soon as possible rather than search every nook and cranny of Nail Hall to find Yennekar who had disappeared immediately after the battle. The professors and faculty staff would eventually come and take care of the rest of the work here after they break down the barrier anyways.

“But you were hiding because you didn’t want to get caught.”

“That’s hard to deny... hehe.”

Yennerkar didn’t look normal either. Her whole body was covered in dust and the shawl that was wrapped around her shoulders was torn in several places. The results of a fierce final battle.

“Will I be... expelled?”

“Who knows?”

She didn’t get expelled, as far as I knew, because her face showed up for a brief moment during the ending credits.

However, what happened next to her from here on out was completely unknown territory.

Yennekar was now a character who had come down from the stage. Someone who was now completely separated from the main scenario. A villain that no longer had a big impact on the main story. Pushed aside.

The reason why that felt so familiar was because it wasn’t exactly just someone else’s story to me.

“The fact that you were a victim taken over by Velosper would be taken into consideration to some extent.”

“Really?”

“But your crimes wouldn’t be completely erased. Dean McDowell is the academy’s head dean, and he tends to be pro-students so he wouldn’t just carelessly expel the academy’s second-year top student.”

The second-years would be hopeless without Yennekar. So all the professors in charge of second-years would do their best to make sure she wasn’t expelled.

On top of that, she had a good reputation and was well-behaved. She had also contributed many things to the academy so the students would side with her. Probably even write a petition for her, if needed... If she was lucky, she would maybe end up with a probation or suspension at most. Though she was already quite lucky, if I were being honest.

“Hey, Ed. Can I say something embarrassing?”

“What?”

“I thought of something when the subjugation force arrived.”

Above us, all of a sudden, the barrier began to break under the bright early morning sky. It sparkled as the sun rose from the east. It was quite a dazzling sight.

“I imagined that someone with overwhelming power would show up and take care of the entire situation, and he would run away holding my hand. Wouldn’t it have been great if he could do everything so I wouldn’t have to worry? And then he would kindly tell me that everything would be okay...?”

“Would such a thing even happen?”

“...you're right. That’s something that only happens in fairytales.”

Yennekar let out a tiny laugh.

Then, with a big smile on her face, she nodded her head, as if to say, ‘Yeah.’

“Someday, by all means, please save Yennekar.”

The wind wolf’s message came to mind. It was a spirit that sincerely cared about and loved Yennekar.

Though I didn’t care about the message then, now that I thought about it, something felt strange.

The fact that Yennekar would be taken over by Velosper and destory the academic district was future knowledge that only I knew.

Even then, it asked me to save Yennekar, as if Merilda also knew about the future. But that couldn’t be true though.

Asking someone who knew about the future to save Yennekar was like asking them to take care of the ordeal that Yennekar was about to face.

But Merilda’s message shouldn’t have had that intention.

In other words, my information advantage had ended up giving me a role...

But, perhaps, Merilda had already noticed Yennekar’s heavy heart then.

But since giving encouragement, giving advice and being worried about her were poisonous acts towards Yennekar...

The more sincere someone was towards her, the heavier their sincerity became to her.

What she needed was something light but not cold, like a warm drizzle of encouragement. Words that were more precious than gold.

Everyone who loved Yennekar gave her their entire heart. Merilda must have come to the conclusion that a boy who had tried to push Yennekar away was more suitable to give her words of encouragement.

It wanted Yennekar to have someone to rely on emotionally. Someone who didn’t put pressure on her with a heavy heart.

“Hey, Yennekar.”

And that’s why I called out to her and told her,

“You did great.”

Would my one message be enough to provide her the emotional support she needed?

Yennekar forced out a smile as she quietly buried her face into her knees.

In the end, Yennekar Palerover had failed.

She tried to sign a contract with a new high-ranking spirit. But because she rushed the summoning ceremony, she ended up being taken over by a dark spirit and destroying the academic district.

It was quite the massive failure. Something that would be too difficult to look past. In any case, her process and goal must have originally been sincere.

Studying late into the night, training her magic power, smiling at her family, her classmates, and her teachers who sincerely supported her... she must have put a lot of energy and effort into meeting the expectations of these people.

Since the process itself was beautiful, ironically, the failure was as well. I didn’t know how comforting this thought was though.

As if to comfort her, spirits flocked to Yenneka whose back was quietly shaking. They seemed to be trying to say that she had tried hard enough.

Yennekar who would normally smile widely and hug the spirits... only for today, her shoulders shook without giving any response.

The sun was setting. The stage had now moved onto the next act.

Students cheered for the subjugation force as they returned victorious to the Student Square.

The proud main characters walked up the stage as a round of applause and praises poured in.

On the other hand, it was quiet and dark backstage. The Act 1 villain's exit was hidden by the main characters’ grand success.

Amidst the spirits, this girl who had experienced her first failure in life was left quietly sobbing.

I didn’t comfort or encourage her with all of my heart.

That was the answer.

Act 1.

The first act of the game that I had repeated countless times.

It felt like I had finally confirmed that this story arc had ended.

* * *

[Magic Skills Details]

Grade: Ordinary Magician

Specialized Field: Elements

Common Magic:

܀ Fast Casting Level 5

܀ Mana Sense Level 6

Fire Element Magic:

܀ Ignite Level 12

Wind Element Magic:

܀ Wind Blade Level 11

Spirit-type Magic:

܀ Spirit Resonance Level 10

܀ Spirit Understanding Level 10

〈 New Spirit Slot: Empty 〉

〈 New Spirit Slot: Empty 〉

《 Low-ranking fire spirit Elgo has taken an interest in you. 》

《 Low-ranking wind spirit Dries has taken an interest in you. 》

《 High-ranking wind spirit Merilda has taken a strong interest in you. 》