“Phew—! It’s hot!”
“…”
The greetings ended quickly. Eir dropped the sword she carried, which resembled a spine, and plopped down next to on the bench. Up close, her scruffy appearance was even more noticeable.
The black coat and fla-like red uniform emitted a faint sll of sweat, and her long red hair looked like it hadn’t been washed for days.
'If it’s hot, why doesn’t she just take off the coat... Is the current trend in the academy city to walk around unwashed? With the delinquents and everything, things seem a bit chaotic.'
Eir, who usually stayed around her school, , being in the northeastern district far from the north was unusual and caught my attention.
I couldn’t suppress my curiosity and spoke to Eir, who was giving off a musky scent of sweat.
“You’re here—☆ so you must be here to take the finals, right?”
“Huh? Oh… yes. There wasn’t anywhere else to drop by and take the exam while passing by, so here I am. Well, I didn’t know anything, so I just randomly guessed and left.”
I see. As expected of my sister, my close friend. Heroes don’t bother with studying.
‘But I don’t recall seeing Eir in the exam hall…’
It seed Eir had been assigned to a different exam room than I was. Even so, it was odd for her to co all the way here to take the exam.
“Oh my☆ From what I know, there’s a separate administrative office in the north—☆ And as the student council president of , wouldn’t the kids at your school be crying for you~☆”
“…”
“If you’re here for so reason— you could rest at our —☆ We’re sister schools now, after all♪”
“…”
Eir didn’t deny it when I subtly ntioned we were sister schools, which ant the promise to consider each other as sisters was still valid.
‘Though it’s a bit rough, honestly, the school that suits best… is , so I’m happy.’
A school of warriors. Deep down, I still cherished the passionate send-off from the students of . The enthusiasm contained in their cheers and stomping feet was deeply engraved in my heart.
Even though we parted in such a solemn atmosphere due to misunderstandings.
‘I guess it’s ti to clear up those misunderstandings…’
If was having any issues, I wanted to help. With that thought in mind, I subtly suggested to Eir.
Eir widened her eyes and then chuckled. The shark-like teeth visible between her pink lips were quite striking.
“Khehe… our kids, well… there’s nothing to worry about them. They’re getting ready to choose their new leader, so I have to step aside sotis. There’s already a strong candidate.”
“Ohh~☆ I see… then why did you co all the way here…?”
“…”
Eir didn’t answer for a while. But she eventually looked up at the sky and responded in a cheerful tone.
“Just as I vowed that day, to reach beyond [Unique Ether]… I figured I had to push myself to the limit. I’m traveling around, adapting to dungeons and environnts I haven’t been to. Hehe.”
“Hee…☆”
“Wandering alone like that brought here. I took the exam while I was at it. Keke… though I guessed everything.”
“Ohoho…☆”
“Anyway… seeing things from a different perspective, I’m running towards where I need to go.”
“Oooo…☆”
I couldn’t help but express admiration.
‘She instinctively found the right path to enlightennt…’
A state of selflessness.
Going beyond [Unique Ether] and completing a world entirely of one’s own.
In ga terms, it’s reaching the maximum level of experience, perfecting character growth without external influences.
‘Hilde and I reached the limit through PVP experiences.’
Freya had her awakening through a boss fight. Eir was awakening through various experiences and adventures.
“Hmm.”
Eir nodded proudly.
“Venturing far brought new experiences. Last night, I encountered delinquents who didn’t recognize and gave them a lesson… Keke, it’s been a while since soone challenged . After getting beat up by , they abandoned their hideout and ran off to a distant corner.”
“…”
A flash of intuition crossed my mind. For so reason, the ntion of that made recall the familiar sll of green hair.
“Could it be, did they have green hair?”
“Oh, are they famous?”
“No…☆”
I see.
The green-haired delinquent girl gang that beca a giant sushi roll… ended up getting beaten by two people in one night…?
No wonder they were excessively frightened.
“…”
Well… anyway. I was relieved that there was no significant issue with Eir or .
“…”
“…”
So we sat quietly, observing the passersby. With our heightened senses, the street bustling with countless presences felt like a magnificent fountain show to us.
“…”
“…”
A comfortable silence lingered for a while.
‘…I guess it’s ti to clear up the misunderstandings.’
Eir, smiling brightly after a long ti talking with soone.
Despite being a student from the rough slums, her true nature was good and gallant. I couldn’t let her harbor any more misunderstandings toward soone who showed such deep friendship, calling ‘sister.’
I spoke cautiously to Eir.
“You know.”
“Huh?”
“…I’m all better from being sick, and I can use ether—☆ Actually, I could use [Unique Ether] back then too♪ The [Faded Spiral] was a lie…”
“Oh, was it? I figured. You’re good at acting.”
“…?”
…?
I was taken aback by her nonchalant attitude.
I expected so kind of reaction, if not a few hours of sulking like Hilde.
Lara, why did you lie to ?
Huh…! Wait a minute…! Not the nape of my neck…♪
Lara, Lara… I have to punish naughty Lara.
‘That day, I had to give Hilde five kisses to be forgiven… She kept asking for kisses in more and more peculiar places…’
I was curious about Hilde’s mindset for requesting such things despite knowing my inner self.
Anyway…
Eir was surprisingly unfazed even when hearing the sa truth.
“I see, so?”
“…”
Eir yawned widely, bored with the lengthy conversation, and scratched her ear. She then blew it off and smiled a shark-toothed grin.
“Hehe… If the sincerity’s already been conveyed, what’s the point of the truth? Is that how you always live?”
“…”
“[Spiral], you don’t seem to realize this, but at , explanations longer than 10 minutes are forbidden. Got it?”
“Hehe…☆ And yet you talked for more than 10 minutes yourself—☆”
Eir frowned at my coback and shook her head. Then she shouted loudly, as if not wanting to hear any more.
“Oh, shut up! Anyway! In the autumn tournant, I’m going to beat the [Blue Lightning Spear] and beco the strongest in the academy city! I’ve decided! So I must go beyond [Unique Ether]—!!”
A roar as she raised her hands to the sky.
Passersby were startled and stared,
Recognizing the appearance and title of the one who shouted and were shocked.
I chuckled at the sight.
‘Eir doesn’t seem to know that Hilde has reached the level beyond enlightennt… ‘Weapon True Na Liberation.’’
[Gungnir]
Hilde’s weapon that holds [Fate].
Weapon True Na Liberation.
Unlike ‘enlightennt,’ a term temporarily used in the ga system. Regardless, Hilde had clearly moved one step beyond those of us who remain in ‘enlightennt.’
‘The difference between max-level characters and breakthrough characters that raise the level of their exclusive weapons…’
Seeing Eir’s actions without knowing this, I could only smile wryly. Her goal had unknowingly taken a step back.
I decided to tell Eir about the growth Hilde and Freya had achieved.
“Haha…☆ Well, you see…”
In the end, Eir decided to stay at today.
Albite and her party, who diligently completed their exams, were startled when they saw her.
“Eek?! [Red Trail]?! Why are you here?!”
“Haha…☆”
“Oh. It’s .”
A following silence.
“…”
“…”
“…”
However, they soon regained their composure with their seasoned, steel-like spirits. There had been too many events in the first sester to be surprised by such a thing.
Albite cald her initial surprise and muttered.
“Well… It’s beco familiar now with sudden appearances of the five colors…”
“We’ve already seen three people of the five colors…”
“Not to ntion the strongest of the biggest and second biggest schools… and the person we live with used to be the strongest…”
Albite suddenly realized the truth and exclaid.
“Is there any reason to be surprised by the five colors now?!”
“No.”
“I don’t think so.”
“Then let’s welco Eir, the senior!”
“I agree.”
“Agreed.”
Thus, the juniors welcod the unexpected guest, Eir.
The guest reception protocol had beco familiar by now. We took her dirty clothes to the tailor shop for cleaning and lent her so training clothes. We also opened up the showers to help her wash.
’s showers.
The newly repaired ether pump gushed out a strong stream of water. Eir stood under it, letting the droplets cascade over her bare skin.
“Damn it…! Gah—!! How could this be…! To think I’m beneath that geeky cat…?! Now instead of [Blue Spear], it’s [Wheel] below [Trail]…? No way, that can’t be…!”
In truth, it was not Freya but I who was subjected to Hilde’s kisses… But there was no need to reveal that.
Her voice was so loud it could be heard in the dormitory dining hall.
Perk
The orange cat ears twitched with each loud noise.
“…?”
Rota, wearing an apron and preparing dinner, tilted her head in confusion. But she quickly dismissed it and busied her hands, putting ingredients into a pot.
Albite and Kara were handling errands around the shopping district, which I had been doing in the past. They had beco the new mascots of the shopping district, receiving affection.
‘The juniors have settled into their ways of life and are now boldly exploring dungeons…’
Everything was unfolding naturally.
Everyone was growing.
Every misunderstanding was slowly being unraveled.
“Hehe…☆”
I smiled, feeling proud of it all.
We were now moving forward with genuine hearts.
The blade pointed at my neck.
“D-don’t move!! If you don’t want this pink head to get hurt!!”
“…?”
“…?”
“…?”
Ah, it’s been a while since I’ve had to hide my power.
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