Chapter 27 – After the Storm

Regardless of the empire’s turmoil and struggles.

Yggdrasil recovered its normal rhythm in just two days.

The faculty still worked at the damaged Sealstone sector.

The victims of the recent accident remained in the infirmary.

But to shake Yggdrasil like this would require more, all were far from ‘normal’ standards.

“Just because a gate opened in Yggdrasil doesn’t mean you’re getting out of the exam?! Focus up!”

“Given the situation, we need to work even harder! Students!”

Soon they’ll be the ones who take over the mantle.

If those juniors can’t pull their weight? Then they’ll be forced back into action.

There’s nothing worse than retiring only to be dragged back.

So, the teachers grit their teeth and threw themselves into their classes with fervor.

“That’s it! Pop quiz first thing tomorrow!”

“I warned you. There will be a self-evaluation next class.”

“aaargh!!”

“Gaaah!!”

All through the morning classes. From freshmen to seniors.

It was, in a way, only natural that every student clutched their heads.

*

“….”

“….”

—Clatter, clatter.

Today, too, no one sat near Deus.

Only one. Yurishia alone faced him.

Deus, now resigned to the situation, didn’t mind much.

He even thought it for the best. What if someone sat next to him and got bumped by his arm?

From his perspective, it would be a mere ‘tap’, but for the other person, it would be akin to a traffic accident.

So then, why? Why were the students of the Cradle still like this?

He was a newly emerged star who had effortlessly defeated a new enemy, single-handedly.

Truly, a junior worthy of the title, ‘Hero of the Cradle’!

‘No. Hero, rising star, whatever… Why is he scowling like that…!’

‘Could it be? That if you approach and talk to him, he’ll split you in two with his spoon?’

‘Looks like plenty of people have already bothered him? That’s the face of someone who’s buried someone alive, for sure.’

‘How is *that* a junior?! I’d faint if I ran into him on the street!’

His already rather fierce face had surpassed even that level today.

It felt as though the cafeteria would split in two and collapse the moment he shouted “Gah!”

‘I want to talk to him. I really, *really* want to talk to him…!’

‘I’m curious. aaah! So curious!’

‘Junior. We don’t even ask for a smile, please just don’t scowl….’

Everywhere, the battle waged: the reason to approach the heralded prodigy, to say just a single word, versus.

The survival instinct that told them they might actually die if they got close.

If there were sound effects, it couldn’t have been more intense.

“Mmm.”

The very protagonist of the scowl. Wasn’t feeling bad, or bothered, but rather.

‘The cafeteria menu today… changed! Thank you. Thank you! Thank you, oh Devil!’

Until receiving his tray, he had thought the menu was seafood bibim sauce, a cruel twist.

Apparently, all the canned goods destined for the cafeteria had been damaged due to the Gate incident.

As a result, the Cradle’s lunch today had been hastily changed to another menu.

‘In a world with nationalistic pride mixed in, it’d be a shame to miss bibimbap. Absolutely.’

In a world that felt like it should be all bread and soup, here was seasoned vegetables with gochujang! Hahaha!

And, as if to truly ground it, they’d even drizzled it with sesame oil!

Deus, about to eagerly dig in, paused and looked at Yurishia.

“Yurishia.”

“Ah, yes. Deus.”

“Please, slow down a bit. I feel like *I’m* going to choke watching you.”

“S-Sorry. I’ll be careful!”

She *said* that, anyway.

— *Fwap fwap fwap!*

“…”

Today, Yurishia ate even faster than Deus, as always.

The truth is, she wanted to eat slowly too. She wanted to match the pace of the person sitting across from her.

But, the thought that Deus might be waiting on her…

Her speed picked up on its own, and she ended up shoveling it down automatically.

Deus watched Yurishia for a moment, then shrugged his shoulders once.

Well, there are people like that. People who are naturally fast eaters.

Yurishia must be one of them. Or maybe she just really likes bibimbap?

“You only worked that part-time job for one day?”

“A-At first, that’s what I planned… but it turns out it’s kind of fun. I think I’ll keep doing it for a little longer.”

“That’s good. Work hard. Fighting.”

Deus thought of it as a struggle to earn pocket money.

Yurishia perceived it as genuine encouragement.

The two were entangled in each other’s misinterpretations, putting on quite the show.

“…Deus.”

The pink-haired puppy, sitting obediently, cautiously opened her mouth.

“I, I heard everything. This time… it’s no different from Deus saving everyone in the Cradle.”

At that, Deus had to pause his spoon for a moment.

Saved? Me? Shouldn’t it be seen as I endangered them all?

Honestly, if the Sealstone had been intact, the Gate wouldn’t have been created in the first place.

It was lucky the opponent was Luciel. The Third Imperial Princess.

If it hadn’t been her, even he wouldn’t have been able to avoid responsibility.

“The investigation team entered the Cradle earlier. By now, they’re probably examining the monsters that Deus defeated…”

“Demons.”

Huh? What did she just say?

“Not monsters. Demons.”

“D-Demons?”

“Think of them as the masterminds who have been using monsters to send them through the Gates for the past few decades.”

“How do you know that?”

“The bosses always have a bit of an explanation-fiend tendency.”

Explanation-fiend? What’s that? Yurishia blinked her eyes.

“I mean, they told me with their own mouths.”

“Ah.”

“After I petted them a few times, they told me everything without me even asking.”

Still, they had some pride left, so they didn’t reveal everything.

Soon, other vanguard units, the main force, even the King would come, so wait for them, they said.

Deus shrugged a shoulder, just as he was about to speak.

“If it wouldn’t be a bother… I’d like to hear this story as well.”

Yurisia, startled, whipped her head around.

She hadn’t noticed at all. Him approaching this close.

There hadn’t been a trace of his presence. He’s a person, but… not quite human!

“May I sit? Student?”

“Eh? Ah, yes! A-ah, please do!”

“Thank you.”

Next to Yurisia. Across from Deus. Seated there, a middle-aged man.

His identity? None other than the man who had appeared before Luciel not long ago.

“Heard on my way over. You’re the one who took down that unidentified monster. Or… demon, was it?”

“…That’s correct.”

“I see. Ah. My introduction is late. Helken, Deputy Commander of the Investigation Unit.”

The Investigation Unit. The group Yurisia had been talking about earlier.

Judging by the name, he must be here to figure out what’s going on.

“And you must be Student Deus. This young lady here?”

“Y-Yurisia, at your service!”

“A pretty junior. If my daughter grows up, I hope she’ll be like this.”

“T-thank you!”

After a perfunctory exchange of pleasantries, Helken stared intently at Deus.

I get the gist of it. He wants to discuss the details elsewhere.

We’re almost finished with lunch anyway. Yurisia already has an empty tray.

Deus rose from his seat and headed towards a more secluded area with the two of them.

“…Phew! I thought I was going to suffocate…!”

“Now I know what it means to be able to tear someone apart with just your aura.”

“Seriously, he’s hiding a monster behind his back, isn’t he? Feels like it!”

Completely unaware that the dining hall he had left had become like a lake after a predator departed.

*

Ten minutes into listening to Deus’s story while sitting on a bench.

Helken opened his mouth after scribbling furiously in his notebook.

“…So. That monster – or rather, demon – that you defeated. It said that for decades, they’ve been sending beasts, monsters in our terms, that they controlled to scout this area?”

“He babbled something along those lines.”

“I don’t understand. Was there a need for such a long reconnaissance?”

I don’t know either, he gestured by shaking his head.

Helken also didn’t seem inclined to press him for more details.

“I’d like to ask if there’s anything else.”

“What I can say for sure is that’s all there is.”

“Understood. I’ll have to examine the evidence you’ve kindly provided and see what I can discern. Thank you very much for your cooperative answers.”

If this were the novel I was reading before, I could have become a prophet.

Here, you can’t even see an inch ahead, so it’s better not to blabber recklessly.

“Deus.”

Yurisia approached as the two men seemed to have finished their conversation.

“I, uh, should get going. My part-time job starts soon…!”

“Oh? You’ll be late. Go on, hurry. Why didn’t you say something earlier?”

“I, well, it didn’t feel right…”

Ugh. Always worrying about nothing. Just go. Hurry!

At Deus’s prompting, Yurisia waved her hands and left.

“…”

“…”

The pink hair receded. Then, it disappeared completely.

Between the two remaining men, a strange current began to flow.

“…Deus-ssi.”

“Yes, Deputy Commander Helken-nim.”

“You knew all along, didn’t you? Correct?”

Perhaps? Instead of answering, Deus offered a faint smile.

At that, Helken could only exhale a frustrated “Huh.”

“No use pretending. I was unsure back then. Seeing you today, I know it. From the moment you spoke with Her Highness. You knew I was nearby, didn’t you? Am I wrong?”

“No comment.”

“Silence speaks volumes. No wonder the way you treated me felt… peculiar. Haa, this can’t be happening. Guess it’s time for me to retire. Even that Shaber couldn’t detect my presence, yet a young…no, a mere student sees right through me.”

A sudden wave of melancholy washed over him. Proof that he was aging.

A sign that he truly needed to step down from the front lines!

The only comfort was that the one who saw through him was no ordinary student.

A monster who turned into a corpse the existence that even one of Cradle’s instructors and dispatched troops were struggling with.

‘I’m starting to admire Her Highness’s judgment. I understand why she was so bright-eyed.’

Was it simply because she discovered a talented junior?

Or was there something… else to it?

After a moment of reflection, Helken quickly cleared his mind.

This was something a subject had no reason to ponder, and shouldn’t.