NOVEL NEXT Chapter 56.1
Stage 2-25 The Fateful Day
“Yay! V for victory!”
Having defeated what we thought was our toughest opponent, the Misosona Magic Academy, no one could stop us.
Our opponent in the semifinals was the Haius Magic Academy.
They tried a series of water-attribute magical assaults, but they were a bad match for Mashiro, who wielded ice attributes, and were completely shut down.
With their attack options sealed, Reina and I overwhelmed them with physical force and magic.
At last, the semifinals for every division were over. The feverish excitement across the land was about to reach its peak.
But then, a troubling report reached each academy.
“…A participating student is missing?”
Only tomorrow’s final match remained. I continued to push my body to its limits to prepare thoroughly.
On a complete off-day like today, everyone was free to do as they pleased.
Reina had been called by Frone and went to her.
Mashiro, who had been training with me, and I were together when Reina, who should have been out, ran up to us, bringing up the missing person incident.
“What do you mean, Reina?”
“I heard from the teacher. Apparently, a few students from other schools have not returned to their lodging facilities…”
“Could they just be out having too much fun and partying?”
“That might be true for one or two. But… some students have been missing for two or even three days…”
“I see. That does sound suspicious.”
“Does that mean none from Rishburg are missing?”
“Correct. It was confirmed during this morning’s roll call that none of our students are affected.”
A small mercy.
To be honest, I couldn’t care less about other schools’ misfortunes.
I felt a bit of sympathy, but at the end of the day, they were strangers.
Saving people like that is for noble heroes, not villains like me.
Karen had arrived on a duke’s family-owned ship. A vessel that size could easily carry Rishburg’s representative students.
Then, let’s just grab Mashiro, Reina, and the others and escape from this island—
“Tonight, teachers from each academy will be patrolling. I received instructions from the teacher, so I’ll be joining them.”
“—Then I’ll join as well. More hands on deck can only help.”
This is bad. Really bad.
The students gathered on this island are all exceptionally promising. They’re skilled individuals.
If, by some chance, Reina were taken…
All my hard work would go to waste. While patrolling is a hassle, losing everything I’ve strived for would be the worst outcome.
It feels like having your game data erased after countless hours of play.
Persuading her might work, but it was a direct order from Frone. Convincing Reina to go against it would be too risky.
“Then I’ll join too! Bad guys need to be punished!”
“…Understood. I’ll inform the teacher.”
With that, Reina ran off toward the assembly point.
It must have become the crisis response headquarters.
As she left, Alice approached.
“I’m back.”
“Welcome back, Alice. How was Lambdave? Did you enjoy it?”
I had granted her a day off.
There were no scheduled outings, and Mashiro was with me, so I had a relatively light day.
Alice lives in a closed-off world at the Rishburg Magic Academy with me.
I encouraged her to roam freely, hoping she’d relax outside.
It was definitely not because Mashiro and I wanted some alone time.
“Yes, very much. Thank you for your thoughtfulness. By the way, Ouga-sama, here.”
She handed me a letter.
It bore the seal of the Vellet family, making it clear who sent it.
“Father…”
He already replied. Despite his busy schedule…
“Alice.”
“I’ll refrain from viewing it, Miss Riche.”
“Okay.”
Mashiro’s eyes were covered by Alice.
Once confirmed, I broke the seal.