Episode 76
The room was bathed in twilight.
One of the many rooms of the airship.
Liam sat alone on the bed, lost in thought while gazing at a special window that displayed the achievement of a “special skill” due to certain conditions being met.
With emotionless eyes, he absorbed the information on the screen.
At the same time, memories from the past started to flood back without permission.
Memories that were painfully sad yet warm.
The airship was well-equipped, so there were no difficulties in training. After focusing on skill growth for a day, Liam opened the door to the room he had promised to meet his team members in.
It was the room assigned to one of his team members, the spirit summoner Nikela.
“You’re so damn late! Hurry up and get over here!”
“Lucaiel! Don’t use such rude words!”
As soon as the door opened, Liam was greeted most grandly by a guy and a girl scolding him. The girl continued by apologizing.
“Liam, I know this is getting familiar, but please forgive us. Lucaiel didn’t mean any bad intentions; he just isn’t used to socializing yet…”
“Haliana, you sometimes act like my parents. You’ve done it since we were little. That’s a bad habit, you know?”
“Lucaiel… At least you’re aware of it.”
“Hey.”
Both were students from the Darek Union, filled with Ain tribes, and the boy called Lucaiel was the one who recently had a spat with Emily, possessing the tail and ears of a wolf along with sharp fangs and claws.
The girl apologizing on his behalf was Haliana, adorned with yellow flowers shaped like stars in her ears.
The two had been childhood friends since they were very young.
Haliana often played the mediator role for Lucaiel, who always spewed harsh words.
“Now that Liam’s here, how long are you going to keep this up? We didn’t gather to just chit-chat.”
The woman smoothing the situation was Ophelia, the noble from the Laban Kingdom, a region far from the Troa Empire and the Ocel Kingdom.
Tigres, who left the Academia after a humiliating defeat in the rank battles against Alicia, was also a noble from this kingdom.
Gathering everyone’s attention, Ophelia looked at Liam and naturally brought up the topic.
“I have something to discuss regarding tomorrow’s final exam?”
“Yeah, that’s right. But first, Nikela, thanks for lending the room. It makes it much easier for us to talk.”
“Oh, it’s nothing… I’m also a member of Liam’s team. I just want to help sometimes.”
The spirit summoner Nikela, the owner of the room, said shyly while not meeting his eyes and only looking at the floor.
If Liam kept looking at her, she would undoubtedly hide her face and try to avoid him.
“Nikela’s always helpful.”
“Th-thank you… That makes me a bit happy.”
Liam turned toward the main topic, leaving a small smiling Nikela behind.
Previously, Nikela had told Liam in a separate conversation that no matter how scared she was, she could fight Altife.
She had asked him to let her take the final exam together without being a burden, and when she pleaded with a frown, Liam couldn’t refuse. After all, he was just the team leader, without any real authority.
No.
If the group members are united, they play a role in helping to move in a better direction.
…If I had my way, I would have preferred for her to step back, but the others, including myself, would have to keep watch to prevent any unfortunate incidents. It’s a bit unsettling, but it should be fine.
Vargan is also changing the story of the original work to his liking. Until now, he had refrained from making significant changes due to fear of backlash, but from now on, he’s going to be a bit bolder.
The main heroine of the original, Alicia. To ensure that she no longer gets hurt. And for the upcoming prospective heroes.
“I’m planning to bring down the nest in tomorrow’s exam.”
Liam made this announcement to everyone.
“This guy’s gone completely nuts. I thought he was being serious lately, but he’s been wandering around with such strange thoughts?”
“Lucaiel, can you not use such pretty words…? But Liam… bringing down the nest… you’re talking about breaking the core at the actual altar, not just the mock altar, right?”
Lucaiel expressed anger and a hollow laugh, while Haliana showed concern.
“…Can I ask what you’re thinking?”
Ophelia calmly allowed Liam’s words to flow. Though Lucaiel huffed in annoyance and insisted he didn’t need to hear it, he changed his mind and agreed to at least listen, thanks to Haliana’s intervention.
Liam took a deep breath and spoke.
“We’re not ready to confront Altife yet.”
He avoided mentioning Alicia, as it wouldn’t appropriately aid in persuading them.
Liam expressed his honest opinion. With the information he had, he knew that in the original story, Nikela couldn’t overcome her fear and dropped out of Academia, and quite a few students suffered injuries. Some even left with irreversible large scars.
While Academia is certainly an institution for cultivating heroes, there are appropriate times for hardships. As Liam read the original, he felt that this exam was happening much too early.
It’s like pushing fledgling birds off a cliff. This episode feels wrong. It should either be delayed more or removed entirely if it can’t be done.
…Even if Liam isn’t aware of it, he witnessed Vargan’s radical storytelling shift and was under its influence.
Normally, he would have stuck to the usual safe route, but now, he’s progressing more boldly.
Having listened to Liam’s argument, Lucaiel scratched his ear and frowned.
“Hey, clean your ears and listen. This final exam is a tradition that’s been going on long before we were here. I might not care much about tradition, but it’s the path that our seniors have all gone through.”
Lucaiel’s sharp fangs glinted threateningly. He continued, glaring at Liam as if he would pierce him.
“Are you saying we should just cower like cowards and tremble?”
“…Then, let me add some further evidence.”
Liam pulled out a tightly rolled piece of paper from his pocket. As he untied it, it revealed a fairly large area densely covered with writing.
He pointed to one section.
“These are the casualties that occurred during last year’s practical training. Fortunately, there were no fatalities, but twelve students suffered serious injuries. Three of them gave up on becoming heroes and left.”
As Liam examined last year’s records, he began delving deeper into the past to support his argument. Among them was a year with dozens of casualties and two fatalities.
“This information is a direct transcription from the records kept in Academia’s library. You know that the books stored in the library have all gone through multiple verifications, right?”
Moreover, Academia is famous for keeping all records intact; however, in the end, they are merely someone’s notes.
Perhaps the figures written might be slightly edited and polished language.
As the conversation became complicated, Lucaiel anxiously scratched his head.
“Ah,… wait, what? This is getting weird again. If you had such solid evidence and arguments, you should have just said it from the start. There was no need for you to resort to such extreme measures to destroy the nest; couldn’t it have been solved more gently?”
“You could have just said it earlier. We could have solved this gently without you resorting to extreme measures like destroying the nest, right?”
Liam shook his head.
That method wouldn’t solve anything and would actually prevent him from using the terms ‘mistakes and misunderstandings’ as excuses for this action.
“Every year, a proposal comes up to replace the practical exam in this nest with another test, and a majority of people easily oppose it. If you look closely, it’s a vicious cycle that’s been going on for over 15 years.”
This was similar to the argument Lucaiel had brought up.
Even though the Academia is an organization that aligns closely with modern thoughts when compared to other countries or groups, it is, after all, a different world, and the waters within the group tend to stagnate.
Professors and staff members who value tradition and etiquette rise up in fierce opposition, causing those proposals to always fail and never pass.
In such a situation, if this proposal goes up to higher authorities and also fails, and then they destroy the nest? That would clearly be seen as a planned act with intent.
“So you’re thinking of destroying the nest while pretending it’s a mistake and misunderstanding, even if it’s extreme?”
This was not only for Alicia but also a preparation for future generations.
Originally, the materials prepared to protect Alicia and Nikela led to a deepened distrust in the exam itself and a conviction to abolish it the more they investigated.
Lucaiel relaxed his tense expression and, expanding his beastly senses, stared directly into Liam’s eyes.
“You’re serious about this?”
“I’m serious. I’m ready to be cursed at for it.”
Liam stated that once the exam begins, he’d slip away and head straight for the actual altar.
He disclosed this to the group members to seek their understanding and apologize since there would be unavoidable repercussions, and to prevent any secondary damages that might occur when they search for him after he suddenly vanishes during the exam.
“Tsk. Trying to look cool all by yourself.”
Lucaiel sat roughly in his chair with his legs crossed, shaking in place. It was his way of signaling that he wouldn’t argue any further.
“Are you really okay? The location of the altar is going to be hard to find…”
“I’ve also prepared a countermeasure for that. You don’t have to worry. Just pretend you don’t know anything… Please.”
In response to Halian’s worried question, Liam bowed his head and answered.
Thanks to the novel, he knew the actual location of the altar.
Just in case, he even sketched it out to review, so as long as the interior doesn’t change, he can find it.
Liam felt someone tugging at his sleeve, glancing down to see a shy Nikela.
“I want to help Liam…”
She intended to lend direct help to Liam’s actions.
Not just pretending to know nothing, but trying to join him in the task of destroying the core.
“No, Nikela. This is my stubbornness alone. Just being in the same group could lead to criticism, and I can’t let it harm you any more than that.”
Nikela tugged more insistently on his sleeve.
For the first time, she looked directly at Liam, a feat she had always struggled with.
“I want to help Liam.”
“……”
Nikela expressed her insistence with a firmness she had never shown before. The slight trembling of her hands conveyed that this was a significant resolution.
“Nikela…”
“I’ll help too. I know how hard it has been for you as a group leader, and as a noble, I can’t just turn a blind eye to that.”
When Ophelia declared her intention to join, Halian followed. It’s true that she felt anxious, but she believed what Liam was doing was right.
“Tsk. Is everyone’s brain made of muscle? Saying you’ll follow such a plan…”
“Lucaiel is right. There’s no need for everyone to feel this way. My unilateral action would suffice; I don’t want everyone else to be involved in this.”
“I still oppose it. And Halian won’t participate in that plan either.”
“Lucaiel…! I said I’m going to help Liam!”
“No. No matter how right Liam’s claim seems, we don’t need to shoulder that level of risk.”
“Even if Liam’s claim seems right, we don’t need to bear that much risk.”
Lucaiel held Haliana’s hand, hidden under the desk. He pulled out the side of her that she was trying to conceal.
“How are you going to help anyone while being this anxious?”
“Still…”
“Liam. Let’s make one thing clear.”
Lucaiel’s wolf-like eyes focused on Liam. The beast’s gaze grew serious.
“We’re group members, and what you want is for us to keep our mouths shut. Right?”
“That’s right.”
“Then keeping our mouths shut is enough, isn’t it?”
“Yeah. I said it, but I don’t want to inconvenience you guys any more than that.”
Having received reassurance from Liam’s lips, Lucaiel pulled her hand, making Haliana’s gaze turn toward him.
Their eyes met, and she wore a troubled face. Haliana hesitated.
Holding her remaining hand, Nikela smiled softly. It was a gesture to encourage Haliana.
“…Liam, Ophelia and I will protect you.”
“…….”
“Haliana and Lucaiel will help Liam in another way.”
Simply not revealing Liam’s plan to others was already enough help. So there was no need to feel guilty. Nikela was saying just that.
Haliana bowed her head and muttered an apology. Nikela hugged her.
Then, after a moment, when everyone’s resolve had solidified, everyone looked at Liam.
Liam engraved each of their faces in his mind. There was a strong resolution that would not waver, no matter what he might say.
Though the methods varied, everyone was on Liam’s side.
“Everyone….”
It had only been a little over three months since they had known each other. But they had become a precious presence for Liam, deep within his heart.
“Thank you.”
Liam sincerely expressed his gratitude to them.
…….
?Dadaladal.
Being alone in the room, Liam felt the subtle vibrations of the airship.
A fleeting memory masked as warmth and comfort.
It transformed, aiming for Liam’s neck.
That fluffy, cotton candy-like sweet moment turned into a ferocious guillotine trying to strike at his throat.
Thud thud. His heart ached.
As he tried to grasp his heart, he couldn’t due to the fingers wrapped in bandages.
“Lucaiel… Haliana… Ophelia….”
With a strained voice coming from his parched throat, he called out their names one by one.
Overwhelmed with unbearable guilt, drowning in extreme despair, he felt unworthy to utter their names. Yet, he forced them out.
“Nikela….”
In stark contrast to his dry throat, a lifeless tear rolled down Liam’s cheek. The tear reflected only the sign that his special skill had been activated against the translucent window.
Liam’s breath hitched, becoming torturous. His heart raced, and his blood circulated abnormally fast.
…Again.
He wanted to do it again.
He wished he could turn back time and ruthlessly beat his foolish past self for making such choices.
It’s a novel. This world is a creation.
Can’t he flip the pages back?
Isn’t there such a skill?
Really… is there no way to turn back…?
?Crash!
The place where Liam was, the infirmary of the airship returning to Academia after the chaotic final exams. He swept away all sorts of medical tools scattered around.
Wrapped in bandages, he shed tears of blood. He wept bitterly, regretting all the choices and time from that day.
“I’m sorry… I’m sorry…!”
In the darkened infirmary.
The light coming in through the wide window cast Liam’s shadow.
The shadow was darker than when it basked in the midday sun.
“Gwaaaaaah!!! Aaaah????!”
The wailing without an end danced alongside the shadow.
?All incidents occurred during the end of the first semester final exams.
