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Translator: Vine
Chapter Title: Climax (1)
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The day passed quickly.
As I had instructed, or as each saw fit.
We moved busily, each in our own place.
Dian, who had returned to the academy, was bustling about with Hilda and the other professors to prepare for the attack that would strike tomorrow, all while diligently learning how to use the artifact I had given her.
Malik and Tweety spent the entire day scouring Adenia.
The chances were slim, but it was clear that if they could find Envy, Rose, or Sage before tomorrow, things would go much more smoothly.
Unfortunately, Malik ultimately failed to find them. However, that didn't mean he was of no help.
-"She's prepared a lot of magic. No one other than you, or more than one person, will be able to enter."
After searching Adenia and even visiting the location written on the letter I received from Envy, Malik told me everything he had seen.
How, when he visited the meeting place in advance, no one was there, but a spell had been cast that would teleport someone at a specific time.
And what other magic had been cast, and under what circumstances or conditions it would activate, and so on.
Simply put, it came down to this:
If I didn't go alone, at the exact time Envy had set, Rose and Sage, who would be teleported there, would surely be in danger.
If I hadn't heard this information from Malik beforehand, I might have sung the praises of efficiency and made an unreasonable choice.
A choice like sending Malik to that place instead of myself, while I headed straight for Envy, who would be preparing to greet Dian.
After all, it was clear that Envy and Mort wouldn't be at that time and place anyway.
It was a relief. If I had made such a choice, I would have succeeded in protecting Dian and confronting Envy, but Envy, who hated nothing more than her prepared story going awry, would have found a way to kill Rose, Sage, and Professor Kalmia.
Therefore, I had no choice but to head to the cave at the western edge of Adenia, the location written on the letter, just as I was now.
Did she really dislike my interference that much?
As Malik had said, the western edge was far, and it took exactly two hours to reach this vicinity, close to the meeting spot.
'Honestly, two hours is...'
In my opinion, it was more than enough. Enough time for me to secure Rose and Sage, then for Dian to hold out against Envy until I arrived.
Not just that. Two hours was sufficient, and I had even thought of a way to shorten that time.
So, all I had to do was move.
I didn't know who would be waiting, but I would deal with whoever was waiting for me at the meeting place, someone clearly weaker than Mort, then secure Sage and Rose.
After that, I would reach Envy much earlier than she expected, and then strike her down with my sword.
If the plan went accordingly, there would be no fear of Sage, Rose, or Professor Kalmia getting hurt.
Why? Because Envy hated nothing more than her prepared story going awry, and she was a stubborn author who would never change her prepared story mid-way.
The only thing I was truly worried about was Dian, who would be facing Envy.
'Dian has to hold out well.'
Having played [Harem Academy] countless times and read all of Narita's novels, I knew what kind of tricks Envy would pull on Dian.
That's why I gave her an artifact perfectly suited for dealing with Envy. And just in case, I asked Malik to follow Dian.
So, it was as if all the external elements Dian needed until I arrived were already in place.
But despite all that, what if Dian couldn't hold out until I got there?
I might have to deal with Dian in addition to Envy.
"Well..."
I was worried, but honestly, it didn't really matter much. It wasn't as if I hadn't considered that scenario.
I just hoped it wouldn't come to that, as it would just be a bit more troublesome and difficult.
"Are we here?"
Lost in thought as I walked, I suddenly saw a large cave, the designated meeting place. A question popped into my head. Why do these people like caves so much?
Pushing aside such pointless questions, I took out my pocket watch and checked it; I had arrived right on time.
"But..."
As I approached the cave entrance, I couldn't help but frown deeply at the sight of a man guarding it.
And for good reason. The man was all too familiar to me.
"...Why on earth are you here?"
The protagonist of my favorite game,
The chosen hero candidate, blessed by the star of this era.
Fran was glaring at me, radiating a menacing aura unlike his usual self.
*****
A dark night, where storm clouds had swallowed the moon.
Amidst magic lights and various colorful magic circles replacing the moonlight, a party with uninvited guests was in full swing at Aden Academy.
"Kuaaaah!"
"K-krrrgh!"
"Guaaaargh!"
Once they cried for freedom and equality, but now, stripped of their souls and pride, they had become specters, screaming as they charged towards the academy.
-Bang!
-Shwaaaak!
-Slash!
The swords and magic of the professors, who had stepped forward to protect this cradle of education, this precious home for their students, gleamed everywhere.
In truth, the party unfolding at the academy was closer to a massacre than a battle.
However, that didn't mean the professors carrying out the massacre weren't struggling.
Even though they were ghouls who had lost their souls, they were beings created by the Seven Deadly Sins, creatures known as calamities to humanity.
They possessed tough bodies and tenacious vitality that set them apart from other ghouls.
And above all, their numbers were simply too great. Anyone could see that the number of ghouls trying to breach the academy's main gate easily exceeded two hundred.
Perhaps that's why.
The professors, engrossed in battle, felt it acutely.
If it weren't for one female student, who was constantly supplying them with various potions using subspace magic, tonight would undoubtedly have been much more dreadful.
"Th-thanks, Student Daisy!"
"Mana potion over here too...! Argh! You bastard...! Daisy! Some healing potions too, please...!"
Daisy was moving more busily than anyone else on the battlefield.
To professors who looked overwhelmed, she pulled vitality potions from her subspace.
To those low on mana or injured, she handed over the appropriate potions.
She immediately provided swords to those whose blades had broken, and if someone was injured, she placed them in her subspace and moved them to a safe location.
She did not directly participate in the fighting. Why? Because Camel had said something to Daisy.
-"A terrible melee will surely break out. So Daisy, don't fight directly; just provide support."
-"Why do you have to do that? Why? Because a melee, not a one-on-one fight, is going to happen. You *could* fight directly. But if you do, someone will get hurt, and someone will die."
-"However, with the Blue Mont family's subspace magic, the story changes. People who might get hurt from exhaustion won't get hurt, and people who might die from injuries will live. Daisy, I assure you, this is something only you can do. And I trust you."
All those words were true, and Daisy was feeling it acutely now.
Everything Camel had said was right, and she was truly glad she had followed Camel's advice.
The ghoul attack, borrowing the name of 'Wings of Freedom,' was more horrific than Daisy had imagined.
Their grotesque appearance, the dreadful demonic energy, the unpleasant sounds that filled one with negative thoughts just by hearing them.
The black sludge and disgusting chunks of flesh that splattered everywhere whenever they were torn, ripped, or sliced.
Daisy, who had watched all this while busily moving with her subspace open, thought to herself.
Didn't even these terrible ghouls once have dreams or families?
They must have been people, and isn't such an end far too tragic?
Despite her pity, Daisy moved without rest.
No matter how pitiful they were, there was no chance of them regaining their original selves.
Above all, the people she didn't want to lose were more important to Daisy than those who had already lost their souls.
It was while Daisy was bustling about, thinking such thoughts.
"I'll take this for a bit!"
A woman reached directly into Daisy's subspace.
"Oh... Yes!"
Was there anyone other than her father who could directly put their hand into her subspace?
Daisy briefly wondered, but then, seeing the potion flask clutched in the delicate hand, she answered energetically and turned to another professor.
This was Aden Academy, and they were even professors, so it would be stranger if there *weren't* such people. Thinking that.
"Hee hee, how cute. To even prepare such a precious artifact."
The woman who had taken a potion from Daisy's subspace smiled gently and held up the ring in her hand.
That ring was an artifact imbued with 9th-circle teleportation magic.
An artifact with an absurd performance, allowing the contractor to teleport to where the artifact was located.
"Where on earth did he get something like this?"
Envy was curious. Camel, what on earth had that child been doing with his life to carry around such a precious artifact, something even she, once a princess, had never even seen?
"Well, there'll be plenty of opportunities to ask anyway."
Muttering that, Envy stopped thinking deeply and immediately flicked her finger.
-Crack!
With a loud sound, the ring in Envy's palm shattered.
"Alright, shall we go again?"
Envy, who had been gazing at the ring, now devoid of magic and discarded on the floor, turned and began to walk.
Towards him, her first love, who by now would be flailing helplessly, disoriented, in the chocolate-like swamp she had prepared.
To the place where he would be waiting for her, looking adorable.