Chapter 167: Stella Falls for Him All by Herself!
The raging flames were extinguished by materialized magic.
Countless pieces of rubble rose from the ground and gathered in the air, slowly piecing themselves together until they formed buildings once more.
The reconstruction of Hagun Academy was proceeding at full speed.
Under Shinguuji Kurono's power, the campus gradually returned to how it had looked before Shiro and the others left.
Her ability was unexpectedly useful for post-disaster reconstruction.
The only downside was that almost all the work had to be done by Kurono herself.
Everyone else could only help extinguish the remaining fires.
The enormous workload seemed to age Kurono by ten years in an instant.
She was not even thirty yet, but she was already being forced to experience the miserable overtime life of a middle-aged corporate slave.
The more boldly she had declared that Hagun could serve as a training ground for the students—The more miserable she felt now.
The enormous gap between fantasy and reality made her glare once again at the main culprit behind Hagun's destruction.
"Ahaha... Director, the fires over here are all out too..."
Stella smiled awkwardly while using magic to suppress the surrounding flames.
She absolutely did not want to provoke the furious woman right now.
Her head was still hurting from earlier.
'Ugh! Somebody, please get me away from the Director already!!!'
"Are you finished over here too?"
Fortunately, as though heaven itself had heard Stella's prayers, Shiro's voice came from behind them.
Delighted, Stella immediately turned around to seek help.
But the instant she saw his current appearance, her pupils contracted and she froze.
Their battle against Akatsuki had already been extremely intense.
Even Stella and Ouma, who had fought the hardest, had only suffered a few tears in their clothing thanks to magical protection.
Shiro was completely different.
Hagun's male uniform used the opposite color scheme from the female one.
It should have been primarily white with only a few black accents.
Yet the uniform covering Shiro's body was now almost entirely dark red.
Tears covered it everywhere.
The sleeve on his left arm had completely disappeared, while a hole nearly the size of a basketball had been ripped through the fabric around his abdomen, exposing his skin.
Stella knew Shiro possessed recovery abilities.
Even so, the ruined state of his clothes allowed her to imagine just how horrific his condition must have been before arriving.
'Could it be that Shiro left halfway through because he went to hold off some powerful enemy for us?'
'And he got injured this badly doing it...?'
Completely unaware that Stella had already started writing an entire dramatic story in her head after seeing him, Shiro walked over and spoke to the busy Kurono.
"Director, I need to take about a week off."
This was the result of careful consideration.
Over the past few days, more and more unanswered questions had accumulated in Shiro's mind.
The origin of the Transmigration Gate.
The true nature of his Device.
And how to achieve a perfect Excessive Awakening.
Those questions were like fish bones stuck in his throat.
There was still a little over a week before the Seven Star Sword Art Festival began.
And this period was technically vacation anyway.
Shiro wanted to see whether the Transmigration Gate could send him to a world capable of answering those questions.
Or perhaps he could find someone there who could answer them instead.
Maybe he could even find the person who had revived him in the first place.
"Oh?"
"Normally, prying into a student's private affairs isn't ideal, but can I ask what you plan to do during this leave?"
Kurono raised an eyebrow.
"I have some personal matters to handle."
"I should be back in around a week, so it won't interfere with the Seven Star Sword Art Festival."
"Honestly, can't you just assume I'm asking because I'm worried about one of my students?"
"Whatever. Approved."
"Just make sure you aren't late when the time comes."
Kurono waved her hand dismissively, as though shooing away a fly.
She had a rough idea of who Shiro had fought.
The commotion had been audible from an enormous distance.
And with Sword Intent that terrifying, they would have been discovered long ago if Nene had not deliberately gone to deal with the authorities.
That was also why, despite having arranged for two people to watch over the students, only Kurono had appeared in the end.
Even now, Nene was still stuck at one of the League's branch offices.
At the earliest, she probably would not return until tomorrow.
However, neither Shiro nor Kurono bothered hiding their conversation from Stella.
As a result, their words took on an entirely different meaning inside Stella's head.
'His injuries are so severe that even he can't heal them himself?!'
'And he doesn't want us to worry, so he's planning to secretly disappear and rest for a while?!'
A wave of guilt suddenly washed over Stella.
With Shiro's strength, there had been no need for him to confront Akatsuki Academy now.
He could simply wait until the Seven Star Sword Art Festival and defeat them one by one.
Yet Shiro had willingly suffered such terrible injuries just to stop those people from interfering—All so they could continue growing without worry.
And during this battle against Akatsuki, the only person who had gained anything truly significant was Stella herself.
Everyone else had essentially been supporting actors.
In other words—
'Shiro was injured this badly because of me?!!'
In a corner unnoticed by either Shiro or Kurono, Stella successfully conquered herself.
Tears shimmered in her eyes.
She clenched her fists tightly and silently made a decision.
...
After returning to the student dormitory, Shiro removed his blood-soaked, ruined clothes and collapsed into the bathtub.
Several members of Hagun's representative team were still returning to stay at the academy tonight.
Because of that, Kurono had prioritized restoring the dormitory area and its surrounding facilities first.
The bathroom and other facilities requiring water and electricity had therefore already returned to normal operation.
Shiro submerged most of his body beneath the water and stared at the rippling surface while silently thinking about what came next.
There was no urgent need to return to Loki yet.
His accumulated Great Feat was probably already enough for another level-up.
But wasting an opportunity to explore a new world just for that upgrade seemed far too unfortunate.
Besides, Shiro suspected Loki would probably prefer him to return only after reaching the realm of the gods.
After all, personally entering another world would be far more entertaining than merely listening to him tell stories about one.
'I wonder if my power over fate can influence the Transmigration Gate.'
If it could, his future travels would become much more convenient.
"I'll test it tomorrow."
"If it doesn't work, I can only hope the next world has someone knowledgeable about this kind of thing..."
Shiro murmured to himself.
Knock, knock, knock—
At that moment, someone knocked on the bathroom door.
Then Stella's nervous voice came from outside.
"U-Um... I-I'm coming in."
"???"
…
(Don't forget to vote, review, and leave a comment below! :D The more you vote, the more chapters I upload.)
...
Read more chapters(25+):
patréon.com/U22
(Note: Replace "é" with "e" on your web browser.)