Chapter 27: Admission? (2)

Battles, big and small, erupted throughout the forest as if a war had broken out.

Of course, a real war hadn’t started. If a war were to break out in the middle of the Academy, where renowned powerhouses of the continent served as professors, it wouldn’t be on this small a scale.

“Leon! They’re coming from the front!”

“Got it!”

Leon reacted immediately to Elena’s urgent cry.

Twisting his body to avoid the incoming attack, he swung his sword, sending the attacker flying.

“What kind of test is this?!”

“I don’t know!”

Elena yelled in frustration.

But despite her complaining, her hands continuously fired new arrows.

Thanks to her cover fire, the enemies couldn’t easily approach.

Those who occasionally broke through her barrage were no match for Leon or Alicia and fell quickly. With Lucia’s holy power buffing them, there was no one who could stand in our way.

As we continued running, Alicia spoke, as if realizing something.

“Something’s strange. We should be faster, but why are the enemies coming from the front?”

As she said, the closer we got to the main Academy building, the more enemies appeared.

We still had about half the distance to cover, but it was odd that there were so many enemies already.

“That would be the case if they all started from the same location.”

“What? You mean they were ahead of us?”

“It’s not surprising, considering they received the exam details first.”

The rejected applicants were already waiting at the entrance ceremony venue.

However, out of the eighteen hundred, only about two hundred were there.

That meant about sixteen hundred were unaccounted for.

“I wonder where they could be?”

“…They were prepared from the start.”

Their faces paled as they grasped the truth.

But that wouldn’t change the reality of the situation.

Honestly, if I were alone, escaping this encirclement would be a piece of cake.

If I revealed even a fraction of my power, none of the students could match my speed.

However…

‘Too many eyes are watching.’

Magic circles were hidden all around us.

The professors were likely observing us through them.

I could easily deceive the weaker professors.

But Lian and Glesia were formidable opponents, even for me. No matter how much I tried to hide it, they would see through me. Any suspicious behavior would immediately draw their attention.

Just then, a pillar of fire erupted from the middle of the forest.

Its power was clearly visible despite the distance, momentarily startling not only the enemies but also the Hero’s party, except for me.

“What was that?”

“I think I know who it is.”

The party turned to look at me.

It wasn’t difficult to guess the person’s identity.

There was only one person among the incoming students who belonged to a family that wielded fire magic.

“Diona Scarlet of the Scarlet family.”

“What?”

“There’s only one person among the incoming students who can use a technique with that kind of power.”

Leon’s expression hardened at my words.

He was probably contemplating whether to help her.

“What are you going to do? You’re the leader of this party, Leon.”

“Of course…”

Leon tried to answer my question immediately.

But I wasn’t looking for a simple answer.

“There’s no benefit for us in helping her. On the contrary, we might put ourselves in danger.”

“…”

This was a question to myself and a confirmation of sorts.

If he were the protagonist, he would go to her aid, just like in the original story.

But now that the original story had become reality, there was no reason for us to help her.

We could just ignore her and move on, like the other battles we’d seen.

“…I’m going to save her.”

“Why?”

“A Hero doesn’t weigh things based on personal gain.”

So, a protagonist is a protagonist after all.

There wasn’t a shred of doubt in his eyes about his decision. As if it were the most natural thing to do.

“Aria? Are you okay?”

“…We should hurry.”

That technique Diona used was likely a gamble for her.

Just like in her sparring match with Elena, she must have bet everything on one powerful attack.

In other words, she didn’t have much magic power left.

“She probably doesn’t have much time left.”

“Understood.”

Well, he was the leader of this party for now, so I would follow his lead.

Whether it would remain that way in the future, I didn’t know…

There was no further conversation after that.

“Gasp… Gasp…”

Diona Scarlet, the red-haired girl, gasped for breath, exhausted.

There hadn’t been any problems at the beginning when she entered the forest.

But somehow, she had been surrounded and forced into a defensive position by those attacking from the front as well.

Having just used a wide-area magic attack, she was out of magic power.

Although the number of enemies had decreased significantly, there were still quite a few left.

“As expected of the Scarlet family? She’s a real monster.”

A man clicked his tongue in annoyance.

Being eliminated here would bring dishonor to her family.

She could see them approaching to finish her off, but in her current state, she couldn’t even lift a finger.

Just as the man’s hand reached for Diona’s brooch.

“Take your hand off her.”

“What…!”

The man stopped, interrupted by a black-haired girl who suddenly intervened.

The shadow cast by the sunlight fell darkly over her, but her crimson pupils glowed ominously.

Even those around them involuntarily stepped back.

The man, regaining his composure, tried to say something, but he was struck by the girl’s attack and sent flying backward.

Adjusting her grip on her sword with one hand, she glared ahead and spoke.

“It seems I’m not too late.”

Well, it was to be expected.

This world was kind to its protagonist.

He was gifted with talent, a prestigious family, and many other things.

He couldn’t possibly fail to save a single heroine, could he?

I could feel gazes directed at me from behind.

“Do you have something to say?”

“Ah, I… um…”

I wish she wouldn’t drag this out.

The girl flinched, seemingly noticing my look.

“Thank you for saving me!”

What was I supposed to say?

She wasn’t even the reason I did this.

“Thank him, not me.”

“Huh?”

“I wasn’t planning on helping you.”

I raised a hand and pointed at Leon, who was running towards us.

This should be enough.

This was a form of repayment.

A repayment for confirming that this world still followed the original story.

Yes. Nothing more, nothing less than repayment.

Just that much.

Whoosh

I dodged an incoming arrow by tilting my head.

The arrow grazed past me and embedded itself in the tree behind me.

I glanced at the arrow, then at the attackers. I could see them freeze in place.

If they showed such blatant fear on the battlefield, they would be the first to die.

Once consumed by fear, there was no coming back.

A single moment of hesitation would be their end.

“You b…”

Finally, after a prolonged silence, a man spoke.

He looked familiar… who was he again?

“Karon Heinrich, the young master of the Heinrich Marquisate.”

Alicia’s voice came from behind, answering my question.

Aha.

Karon… I remember now.

The tutorial boss in the original story, who clashed with Leon to save Diona.

“You know me, so this makes things easier.”

“…”

“If you hand over the brooch of the young lady from the Scarlet family, I’ll let you go without a fight.”

Karon said, pointing at Diona.

She glanced at me with an anxious look, but it seemed Leon had no intention of handing her over, so there was probably no need to worry.

“You mobilized this many people just to capture one person?”

“Well, she is from the Five Great Families.”

Diona was strong, but he should at least make it sound believable.

Others might not know, but I, who knew the original story, wasn’t buying it.

“You had no intention of letting us go, did you?”

“Haha, what are you…?”

“Mobilizing hundreds of people just to capture a single member of the Scarlet family?”

There’s no way this many people gathered just for her.

It meant there was more attractive prey.

For example…

“‘Capturing the Hero’s party members, who all have red brooches.’ Something like that.”

“…How did you know?”

“The answer was so obvious. It wasn’t difficult at all.”

Karon’s demeanor changed immediately, his plan exposed.

At the same time, those lined up on either side of him began drawing their weapons.

“Hey, commoner girl. If you run away now, we won’t chase you.”

He spoke to me as if offering a final chance.

“You have no reason to get caught up in this. It’s not a bad deal, is it?”

“…I refuse.”

Did he really think he was in a position to offer me a deal?

Born as the young master of a Marquisate, he likely got everything he wanted growing up, so his arrogance was understandable.

But.

“It’s not you who’s in control here, it’s me.”

He should at least understand the situation.

I may have distanced myself from them, but that was only on a personal level.

I had no intention of letting go of those who were essentially at the center of this world’s fate.

“So, if you still can’t grasp the situation…”

Besides, now that the fight had begun, this place was a battlefield.

And on the battlefield, the first target was always the enemy commander.

In other words,

“…Stop running your mouth and come at me, you bastard.”

You’re dead.