Beyond that false confession of love, a flash of light cleaved through the empty air once more. Surging flames. A deafening roar. A man who came looking with a sword in hand. Familiar elements scraped away at the still-unhealed scars from three days ago, dragging the Academy into yet another nightmare.

Was it a firecracker spell? I had always anticipated only anti-personnel magic, so I hadn’t prepared for this kind. The casting speed was fast, there was no killing intent, and the preparation time was short.

I was clearly caught off guard. Even excluding this instance, I never thought magic could pierce through fabric. No, wait, I think I heard about it once. I just forgot, perhaps due to my shallow inferiority complex.

Maybe Rebecca was right when she told me to learn magic. The lessons ingrained in her experience were manifesting in a twisted way.

“Looks like you’re panicking, Lope.”

“…”

“Everyone’s sensitive to explosions because of what happened recently, so they’ll rush out in no time. Sparks are flying right now, so even an idiot would know the source is the Student Council Room.”

“Effective magic.”

“It’s basic, too. Don’t even think about running away and leaving me behind. You won’t have time for that, and I won’t let you.”

I had no intention of doing that in the first place. Footsteps were already starting to echo from over there. Besides, if Roselia deliberately interfered, things could get even bigger.

I could incapacitate her somehow, but I wasn’t confident I could get her out of here along with me afterward.

…

This is a dilemma. Truly.

“Did you really have to go this far, Roselia?”

“It’s because you keep resisting. A man playing hard to get isn’t very attractive. Just say you’ll quietly follow me, even if it’s late.”

“Do you have a way out of this situation?”

“I have plenty of ways. I consumed quite a bit of mana for the communication, but I can hide one person like you. As for me, well, even if I’m caught here, Duke won’t do anything unnecessary to me. But we don’t have time. So hurry up and give me your sword.”

“Why. You must be confident you can stop me if I don’t have my sword.”

“No. But you handing over your sword is practically the same as surrendering your body. I’m keeping it as collateral.”

Roselia extended her hand toward me. At that, I found myself gripping the sword handle tightly. In that brief moment, something like an instinctive attachment moved my body.

“Time keeps ticking, Lope.”

“I know.”

“If you get caught, you’ll die for sure. It was already like that, but now there’s almost no one left in the Academy who favors you.”

“You wouldn’t want me to die either.”

“That’s why I’m pleading, not threatening. Please, Lope. Think wisely.”

Amidst all that, the sound of footsteps grew louder and louder. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Along with the bustling movement, my heartbeat pounded in sync. It felt as if I were running alongside them.

Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Footsteps. At least six. No, ten. No, maybe twenty. The sounds didn’t just grow louder; they multiplied. It sounded as if they were furious, demanding who woke their night, who dared disturb their sleep.

Were these guys always this quick to move? Or perhaps the memory of the explosives that went off that day remained as a sort of nightmare? That might be why they reacted so sensitively to the sound of an explosion. The thought that even those beastly bastards had nightmares brought a slight smile to my face. Probably everyone who was awake had rushed out.

Thanks to that, did that little girl looking for her mother in the classroom earlier get a brief respite?

If so, this might be the first good deed Roselia has ever done.

Bang!

“…!”

Amidst my pointless thoughts, a heavy footstep suddenly echoed. I tried to dismiss it as just a slightly larger guy, but Roselia looked exceptionally terrified. And then she pressed me once more.

“Lope. We don’t have time. Stop thinking stupid things and give me your sword quickly.”

“…”

“Lope, please. Hurry. Don’t make things harder than they need to be.”

“…”

“Lope!”

Eventually, she let out a sharp ‘ppik’ and shouted. It was loud enough that it might have been heard outside. But she didn’t seem to care about that, extending her hand toward me. This was the last moment to make a choice.

Quietly follow Roselia.

Or do something crazy again.

A normal person would have definitely chosen the former.

But well…

…

“…Haha.”

A laugh suddenly escaped me. I felt like I could finally understand Lena’s heart. In a moment of crisis. Would you break your own wings and surrender to the hand of a savior promising happiness? She shook her head and flew into someone else’s hand.

Now it was my turn to answer that question.

“Lope!”

Roselia shouted one last time. The footsteps had already reached almost right in front of the door. Her hand was now reaching out as if to grab my sword entirely.

“Give me the sword right now!”

“…”

“We don’t have time for this. If you’re going to be like this, just…”

“…Sorry. Roselia.”

“What?”

“But you know, too.”

I took a deep breath and lifted my sword. Roselia’s eyes slowly followed the rising tip of the blade. In the exceptionally pale moonlight, the shadow of the massive sword cleaved her body in half.

Watching that sight, I dropped a single remark.

“I’m a crazy bastard.”

“What…”

Roselia parted her lips in disbelief. At the same time, the sharp sword sliced through the wind, aiming above her head.

And the next moment, I rushed past Roselia and shattered the communication equipment on the desk to pieces.

“…!!!”

Startled by the sudden action, Roselia couldn’t even scream. Was she shocked that the pinnacle of Magic Engineering was smashed by simple violence? Her lips trembled for a long time before she finally turned her head toward me only after hearing a thud outside the door.

“What are you doing…!”

Her voice barely came out, but before she could finish her sentence, I pulled her in by the shoulder. And slipping the raised sword back into its sheath, I whispered into her ear.

“Things are going to get a lot harder for you from now on.”

“You… you… do you even know what you just did…”

“I know. And your value in the Academy ends with this, too.”

“I… I…”

“From now on, I’m the only one on the island who needs you, Roselia.”

Thud!

That heavy footstep echoed again. It seemed they had entered the Student Council Room. Right before the guy came into the room, I added one last thing.

“So you run, too. If you don’t want to die.”

“I…!”

Bang!

The next moment, the door opened, and several men poured in. At the front was a particularly large man. I glanced at that man and then turned my head back toward Roselia.

And, I pressed my lips firmly against hers.

“Mmph…!”

“…”

“…What?”

Through the suppressed breaths, all sorts of noises leaked in. Roselia’s startled gasp. The footsteps stopping all at once. And someone’s surprised voice. Glancing sideways, a large man was frowning in this direction. If nothing else, it was an expression of someone in a very foul mood.

“What is this situation right now…”

“Sorry. Roselia.”

But without even giving that direction a glance, I pulled my lips away. And stroking her astonished cheek as lovingly as possible, I said.

“I’ll definitely come back.”

“What… what do you… Lope…?”

“You fucking bastards…”

While Roselia stuttered, not understanding what was going on, a curse flew from over there. But before the guy could even finish his words, I ran to the opposite side. And I threw my whole body against the window with all my might.

Once again, the boundary of reality shattered into pieces, and a sharp tearing sound ripped through both my ears. Behind that, the sound of someone screaming my name rushed at me as if grabbing me by the nape of the neck.

“Lope!!!”

“Lope, you bastard!!!”

But all those sounds vanished without a trace the moment gravity seized my body. But that bizarre silence was brief. The irresistible law of falling roughly grabbed me by the hair.

“…!!!”

Soft wind and solid earth. The two rushed toward me at full speed as if racing. When that match, which had continued with a swishing sound, finally ended in the earth’s victory, I clenched my teeth tight.

…

…

…

“Haaak…! Hahk… ahwk… aaak…!”

When air rushed into my crushed lungs, I exhaled a painful breath. Right before landing, I rolled my body on the ground to minimize the impact, but I still felt the illusion that all my internal organs had burst.

Maybe I passed out for a moment. When I looked up, a commotion was coming from the window I had just escaped from. Was the Student Council Room on the second floor, or the third? The impact made my head spin.

But the world didn’t even give me time to gather myself. When I reached toward my legs to see if anything was broken, a voice came from over there.

“That son of a bitch Lope is here! He must have fallen over there!”

“Find him! Even if he ran, he’s around here!”

“Hah…”

When I heard their vicious voices, a laugh escaped me without me realizing. I think I really did something stupid this time. No matter how much I hated handing over the initiative, the risk was too great.

Should I have brought Haru after all…

“There he is! There’s something over there!”

“Got you, you son of a bitch. Here, here!”

They’re quick to find me. Did I really pass out? They’re only competent when it comes to things like this.

I guess I really did do something stupid.

“Hoo…”

But the process was merely stupid; what the result will be is still unknown. What kind of future this action will lead to. Because it’s unknowable right now.

I spat out the pooled blood in my mouth and stood up, flourishing my pure white sword under the exceptionally bright moonlight. The deed was already done, and now it was time to prove it. Whether this was the right decision. Or the wrong one.

“Let’s find out, starting now.”