428 – The Resolve of One to Reclaim – 4 –

Staring at the ramparts, Ruin let out a quiet sigh, concealing the burden he carried.

‘Huu…’

He, who preferred to stand alone, now had people following him.

‘Why does the scale have to be so huge… It’s like we’re practicing for war, or something.’

He didn’t know what words to use to express this pressure, but one thing was certain: Ruin lacked confidence.

The moment he, unaccustomed to the weight of such responsibility, let out a long sigh and offered a disconsolate smile…

“…Senior.”

“…”

“What are you doing?”

Hanna’s irritated voice began to prick at Ruin’s ears.

Ruin, his ear pressed against the fortress wall, wore a serious expression as he addressed Hanna. It might look a little odd, but it was not something to dismiss, he insisted.

“I’m looking for a weak spot in the wall.”

“…”

“If it’s a wall made with magic, fissures tend to appear where sections join. Especially in structures built quickly, it’s a phenomenon you can explain with magical theory….”

“Aha…!”

“See? Easy to understand, right?”

“Not really.”

“…Just think of it as me looking for cracks in the wall.”

“Senior…”

“What.”

Hanna sighed softly, looking at Ruin.

“I could just cast a weakening spell and break it down. Or you could make me an ice spike, I could break it easier, why bother with this…”

Ruin thought to himself.

‘She’s a genius…?’

It seemed Histrania Hanna’s mind worked faster than his own.

“Hoo…”

But Ruin, wanting to preserve his pride to the very end, shook his head at Hanna’s brutal facts, determined to stand his ground.

“It’s not that simple.”

“…?”

“There might be traps laid out by the defense team on the other side of the wall.”

“Is that so?”

Hanna tilted her head, shrugged once, then stepped next to Ruin and stomped her foot.

-Thump.

“What are you…”

-Crumble…

“Huh…?”

Hanna offered a wry smile to Ruin, who stared with trembling eyes at the ground that had given way, and patted him on the shoulder.

“Maybe you should be listening to the ground, not the wall?”

“…You.”

“Pardon?”

“Care to learn a bit of magic?”

“…”

Ruin found himself sincerely detesting Hannah.

Five minutes ticked by thus. Evading the surveillance of the Mercury Team, Ruin located a vulnerable section of the ramparts. With a grave expression, he signaled Hannah.

Beyond this point, the wall should crumble easily.

Ruin was certain that the wall, subtly different in texture from the section directly opposite the main gate, could be brought down with but a small impact.

Even if he failed.

“Step aside.”

He held fast to the belief that this monster would somehow demolish it.

“You think you can manage?”

“…”

“If you don’t think you can, say so. I’ll look for another way.”

“…”

Hannah, her gaze upon Ruin laced with irritation, exhaled a long sigh and nodded slowly. No matter how idiotic the strategy might be, she had to trust implicitly in the leader she’d chosen.

“I’ll do it.”

Ruin returned the nod.

“Alright… here we go.”

-Clutch-

“What is it now?”

Just as Hannah reached to draw her sword, Ruin grasped her wrist, and spoke with a somber face.

“Are you really alright with this?”

“With what?”

“My plan, I mean.”

“…Haa.”

Hannah, sword still in her grip, squeezed her eyes shut and spoke to Ruin with genuine feeling.

“I swear, I’ll die.”

“…”

“Plan or no plan, you’re the leader, senpai. No one’s going to say a thing even if we lose.”

“…”

“Don’t just mope around like a fool; think about winning. One more slip-up and I swear I’ll crack your skull open with the flat of my blade.”

“…”

“…I will.”

“Good.”

Feeling the threat to his very life, Ruin nodded in response to Hanna’s words, and quickly steeled himself.

“Let’s go…!”

Come what may, he would do it.

“One.”

-Rumble, rumble, rumble…

“Two…”

-Rumble, rumble, rumble, rumble.

“Three.”

The numbers ticked softly from Hanna’s lips, and at once, the aura gathering in her blade flashed brilliantly, cascading towards the fortress walls.

-CRASH, CRASH, CRASH, CRASH!!!

The earth trembling with the vibration, Ruin muttered under his breath, “Isn’t that just magic at this point?”

-Crack, crack, crack, crack!!!

“It’s going to collapse…!”

“…”

“The enemy will have heard it, they’ll be swarming! Everyone, prepare yourselves!!”

-KABoooM!!!!

In the instant the fortress walls crumbled with a deafening roar, Ruin, through the billowing cloud of dust, was the first to sprint beyond the shattered ramparts.

“Everyone…! Run!”

Ruin’s sudden display of leadership stirred a strange feeling in the students, and they began to follow.

Usually, Ruin’s back felt like a prickly hedgehog, something you’d rather avoid, but today, it looked…reliable.

Of course.

‘Ah… I don’t know anymore.’

Ruin, charging in at the head, wasn’t thinking about anything at all.

“Take positions!”

One by one, the siege team entered the fortress, beginning to secure their positions before the dust cloud completely dissipated.

“Faulkner! As planned, find the stairs leading down from the wall and destroy them.”

“Yes, Sunbae!”

“And Sigor Look.”

“Yes!”

“You need to move with the Healing Department professor and the Healing Department personnel to secure a base of operations.”

“Understood!”

“And…”

Ruin, in command, watched Hanna brush dust from her hair with cold eyes, his lips twitching.

“Hanna, you…!”

“What?”

“…”

“Speak. Sunbae.”

“…”

“Quickly.”

Ruin seriously thought Hanna was frightening.

“Sunbae?”

He already found her scary, but after seeing that strike a moment ago, he figured getting hit on the crown of his head with the flat of her blade would probably kill him.

“Well, that’s…”

He’d always considered himself the one in charge, but today, for Ruin, Hanna was most definitely his personal tormentor.

“Speak quickly…!”

“You’ll move separately.”

“…Yes.”

“If you find the King, report it using the communicator the Healing Department instructor gave you.”

“Yes.”

And…

“Mikhail.”

“Yeah.”

“You’re coming with me.”

“Got it.”

Taking Mikhail, perhaps the siege team’s greatest asset, Ruin began to move swiftly toward the castle’s center, where the King was likely hiding.

‘That guy is definitely the King…’

Hoping the ‘King’ he envisioned resided at the heart of the fortress.

“Run!”

Ruin’s boots pounded the ground.

Along with the Elisia’s undead spilling from the ruined ramparts, Ruin and Mikhail ran countless times.

“Mikhail…! To the side!”

“Got it.”

The path was not smooth.

As if anticipating Ruin’s intent to strike at the fortress center, the garrison soldiers stood barring the way.

‘If I hadn’t come with Mikhail, I’d be in serious trouble.’

He could break through this force only because he was with Mikhail; alone, he would have struggled.

“Alright…!”

If they continued like this, they would reach the center of the fortress.

If they had concentrated this much power here, then surely the ‘King’ was just beyond. If he didn’t get too hasty, and took it slow, victory wouldn’t be difficult.

But.

“Ruin.”

Things never flowed so easily.

“Duck!”

“…!”

-Fwooosh.

In an instant, a colossal wave of flame swept before Ruin’s eyes, leaving behind only the legs of the undead soldiers who followed, turned to ash.

“…What is that?”

Barely escaping the magic thanks to Mikhail’s hand pressing down on his head, Ruin raised trembling eyes to gaze upon the figure standing before him.

“You…”

Ruin bit his lip at the unexpected arrival.

“Schuenzel!!!”

“…You.”

“APPEARANCE!!!”

Schuen, wielding flames in both hands, stood blocking their path.

“…Damn it.”

A formidable opponent.

Having shared classes, I knew Shen’s terrifying nature better than most.

A staggering amount of magical power.

Foolish, perhaps, but combat prowess that bordered on the extraordinary.

An opponent difficult to face alone stood before us, so Ruin, sleeves already rolled, gripped Mikhail’s shoulder, laying out his strategy – that together, against her, victory would be simple.

“She’s just a mage, after all.”

“…”

“If you close the distance, subduing her will be easy.”

“…”

“On three, we go in, all at once.”

Allowing no room for hesitation, Ruin began weaving his spell with haste. No matter how skilled a mage, incantation took time.

“One…”

But.

“So, you’ve finally arrived. Commoners.”

“…”

From the moment that cursed mouth of Shen’s began to unleash her true ability, Ruin’s spell began to falter.

“Quite impressive… for commoners, that is.”

Shen’s words were the ultimate debuff.

“Wouldn’t you agree? Stumpy commoner and Seaweed commoner?”

Hearing Shen’s words, Mikhail, maintaining his composure, whispered to Ruin. This was a tactic; don’t fall for it.

“Stay calm.”

“…”

“Don’t be provoked.”

“Do you take me for a child?”

“Perhaps.”

Ruin’s patience was well-worn.

Having endured so many dismissals, he could now accept being called ‘Seaweed’ without a flinch.

However.

“Heh… as expected of someone who has already lost to me.”

“…”

“Seaweed and Whitey joining forces? Even *I*, Shen, am surprised.”

“…”

“Especially you, Whitey…!”

“Whitey?”

“Don’t you get all cuddly with that red-haired commoner!”

“…”

“When she says she doesn’t like it! Don’t act so affectionate! I, Shuen, am a magnificent woman who seized first place in the rankings.”

“…Huh?”

Shuen cast a sly smirk toward Mikhail.

“Love is something you conquer, wouldn’t you agree?”

“…”

Mikhail pushed Ruin back by the shoulders, and spoke.

“Ruin. You go on ahead.”

“What are you saying.”

“I’ll handle Shuen.”

“Bullshit. We can take them both at once.”

“No.”

Mikhail’s eyes turned glacial as he bit down on his lip.

“There’s a duel left unfinished.”

A moment had arrived for Mikhail to avenge the humiliation he suffered during the rankings.

“I’ll be right there.”

“Hey!”

Ruin’s words were lost on Mikhail’s ears.

“Come on in. Commoner.”

Only a rival in love existed.

*

At that same moment.

“Hmnyari.”

Chatting together with the young lady, I smiled softly and stroked her chubby cheeks.

“EeEeEk…”

“So soft.”

“I prefer being called pretty, more than soft.”

“I like being called soft.”

“Mmh.”

Gazing up at the night sky, the young lady released a languid yawn, then carefully directed a question towards me. Where had I been, and what had I done, during the time I was away from the manor.

“Well…”

How best to put it?

Lost in thought, I considered two possible approaches. One, to answer with a fabrication that wouldn’t provoke her ire. The other, to speak the truth.

A lie would make things easier for me, of course, but as someone who held little affection for falsehoods, I offered a soft smile and cautiously parted my lips towards her.

“I was teaching a student.”

“A student?”

“Yes.”

“Riccardo is quite dense, you know.”

“…That still stings, you know.”

“Hee hee…”

Having delivered that bone-rattling observation, she offered a delicate smile.

“What are you teaching?”

“Well… I’m instructing them in survival skills.”

“That sounds rather amusing.”

“But they have to be self-sufficient in chocolate and rice?”

“Eeeeek?!”

The young lady, utterly repulsed, shook her head vehemently, displaying a powerfully negative reaction. At the very least, she implied, one should be provided with sustenance.

“Haha… I jest. I’m ensuring they receive three square meals a day.”

“…Eek?”

“Yes?”

“Is three meals a day enough?”

“…”

She continued, in many ways, to shatter common sense.