Became a Childhood Friend of an Academy Genius

25 – The end signals a new beginning

Only a faint voice lingered in my ears and in my head.

Some were Lone’s voice, some were the voice of a man I had never heard of, and sometimes the voices were countless.

It was too close and clear to feel like a dream.

It was a bit far and blurry to feel like reality.

Sometimes the voice was full of joy, and sometimes it was full of worry.

Before long, I felt something shaking my body violently, and my eyebrows furrowed.

‘Leave me to sleep.’

This one’s body is screaming as if it had been sparring with Professor Seras all day yesterday.

I wondered what kind of rude bastard he was, trying to wake up from a sound sleep without thinking about other people’s positions.

The moment I reached that point.

I felt something warm on my cheeks and hands.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

It dripped onto my cheeks and the back of my hand at regular intervals, like water pouring out of an open faucet.

Only then did I intuitively know that they were human tears.

Who is crying and why?

If you’re crying, are you crying for me?

Strange.

My parents and older sister now live far away, so I wonder if there is someone who will cry for me.

The moment I thought that far, only one face came to my mind.

Then my consciousness, which had been foggy, became clearer.

Before long, I felt as if something was pulling me out of the water.

Kung!

At the same time, I saw a star in front of my eyes.

I’m not kidding, it felt like my head was splitting in an instant.

“Huh!?”

“Big….”

Painful saliva flowed from my mouth, followed by the voice of someone who seemed to be in the same pain as me.

When I finally opened my eyes while stroking my hair, wondering if it might have been me, I saw a familiar face in front of me.

Rone Elua.

That’s what my childhood friend looked like.

“Bee, Bell… !? Are you awake?”

Lorne, who was holding her head like me, looked at me with disbelief.

Only then did I know that I was in a hospital room.

And what happened to me right before I lost consciousness was also replayed in my head, and the scene came to mind clearly.

‘I must have collapsed.’

I remember that she cut down the lightning spirit that she thought she couldn’t cut and threw herself into the magic of Sirius.

In the end, the magic was somehow cut with a sword, but the damage she had to endure with her body would be enormous, so she exhausted herself and lost consciousness.

Warak.

As I recalled my memories and became aware of the reality, something heavy came into my body.

It is none other than Lone’s body, which is presumed to have been shedding tears a moment ago.

Normally, I would have been dazed for a moment by the tingling and soft sensation I felt in my chest, but that didn’t happen this time.

‘I’m going to die of pain.’

Because his body, which hadn’t healed yet, let out a scream with just one head-butt.

But what can I do?

Since I have committed sins, I can’t even tell you to leave, and now I have no choice but to pat Lone.

“Bell! I really, really know what Belle is like… !”

I’m sorry for worrying you.”

When I felt something warm permeate my shoulders, I felt somewhat sorry.

He wasn’t good enough with words to defuse the situation with a joke, so he decided to pat Lone on the back and wait for this feeling to subside a bit.

Knocked up.

At that moment, the door to the hospital room opened without a message, and a woman came inside, showing signs of hesitation.

It was Mari, a class B cadet with a familiar face to me.

“What are you doing here?”

It’s just absurd to me that saying “As soon as you wake up” Sounds like this, but it was a question I asked out of pure curiosity.

Marie’s eyebrows twitched as she stared at me dumbfounded, and a short sigh escaped her mouth.

Somehow, if her trademark pink hair looks a bit droopy than usual, it must be because of her mood.

“… Is that all you have to say about being conscious in three days?”

“Three days? Has it been that long?”

This time I was dumbfounded by the unexpected answer.

I thought it only happened a few hours ago, but it’s already been three days.

So, does that mean post-processing and post-processing are to some extent finished?

“Yes. Do you know how much the woman over there worried about you? Apparently, she stayed up all night.”

“Every day?”

Unbelievable, I carefully grabbed Lorne’s shoulders and dropped her from my arms.

Then, the dark circles under the reddened eyelids caught my eye.

His face is also quite emaciated and haggard.

“Anyway, I’m glad you look fine. I was worried for nothing.”

“What, were you worried too?”

“That, that’s not what it meant! You stupid! Why am I worried!?”

It was a fairly unexpected answer, so I responded reflexively, and Marie suddenly got a fever and dyed her cheeks red.

No, Ji said it was a useless worry, so why are you angry?

I can’t really fathom what Pingchang’s true intentions are.

“Anyway, have a good time with your lover. I’ll get out of it.”

Marie, who had brought something like a small flowerpot in her hand, put it on the table in her hospital room and turned around and tried to leave.

It took a moment for me to think that I should express my gratitude for the hospital visit.

For a moment, I thought she had a strange word mixed in her words. I grabbed Marie as she was about to leave.

“Wait. What do you mean Lone is your lover?”

When I asked if there was a strange rumor somewhere, Marie’s face caught my eye as she turned around.

Rather, she was staring at her with both eyebrows frowning, saying that she couldn’t understand.

“… What? Wasn’t she your lover, the woman now in your arms?”

“It’s not a lover, it’s a childhood friend. She’s so open-minded that it wouldn’t be unreasonable to misunderstand her.”

“A childhood friend?”

As if to confirm, she nodded her head at Marie who asked again.

Then, as if she couldn’t understand even more, she looked at me cryptically with wrinkles between her brows.

“Then… ?”

She was a guy who eventually mumbled to himself and suddenly became immersed in contemplation alone.

As you can see, it wasn’t just a speculation, it seems there was a rumor or an opportunity somewhere to be sure.

I tried to check the source, thinking that I would give a shout out to anyone who spread the rumor.

“Is that so? Have you heard any rumors?”

“Oh, no. It’s not like that…. Anyway, as long as it’s not a lover, that’s fine.”

Misunderstanding alone, understanding alone, and understanding alone are perfect.

Meanwhile, I don’t know why his expression looks particularly bright when he finds out that they aren’t lovers.

Is there, by any chance, the ideology of supremacy of looks following the ideology of supremacy of the nobility?

So you feel relieved to hear that someone like me isn’t a lover with Lorne?

I thought that it would not be that much, but on the other hand, I thought that it might be possible with this ping-chang.

“Once you wake up, the professor asked me to let you know, so I’ll be back. If you don’t want to embarrass yourself, don’t hug me this time.”

“Did you do it because you liked me?”

It’s not some kind of horny dog, but I wonder if there’s a crazy guy who likes to cuddle with a girl as soon as he wakes up after three days.

When I said a word to her because she was dumbfounded, Marie instead looked at me with her sharp eyes and snorted at her.

“Hmph, it looks good, but pretend not.”

It was really hard to have a good night, but apparently she helped Lorne for three days and she looked after me. She decided to put up with it for today.

After leaving the hospital room, Marie brought two familiar faces to her.

“I’m glad you woke up.”

“It was a lot of hard work. A Dinaur cadet.”

It is none other than Seras, my homeroom professor, and Professor Wilhelm, who accompanied me during my exploration of the Wizard’s Forest.

Only then did I get to hear about the circumstances that had occurred that day and what happened after that, so I leaned back against the backrest and straightened my posture.

* * * *

As expected, the conversation became very long.

Because there were not only things to be heard from this side, but also quite a lot of things to be conveyed from this side.

First of all, this is a brief summary of what happened while I was unconscious.

Enya, who was attacked by the spirit at the time, recovered surprisingly quickly and regained consciousness within a day.

And fortunately, Astesia’s blessing, which was the biggest concern, was successful in retrieving it without falling into their hands.

However, the unfortunate thing is that by the time Professor Wilhelm arrived, they had already disappeared.

They hurriedly tried to track it through the traces of blood and magic that had fallen on the floor, but at some point the traces were cut off.

‘It’s unfortunate.’

When I heard the news, I couldn’t hide my bitter feelings.

I thought the final blow was a proper blow beyond Sirius’ expectations.

In the end, it seems that the damage that would lead to death was not inflicted.

Well, in the first place, with my current skills, even the fact that I gave Sirius a shot is a big deal.

You don’t have to die with this.

I succeeded in not handing over Astesia’s blessing, and in any case, no one died and everyone returned safely.

“So I asked the cadets who were with me at the time if there was anything I could guess about their identities…. It seems that there is no corner that should be pointed out. Is that the same for you, cadet Dinauer?”

Wilhelm, who was writing down my words with a magic pen without missing a single word, asked the question again.

Somehow, from the perspective of the faculty, it must be regrettable that they couldn’t even catch the clue of a person who smelled of such a premeditated crime.

In the original work, just before Barter died, he revealed his identity like a third-rate villain and boasted that he would come, so the existence of his followers was revealed on the surface, but this time, that scene did not happen either.

In the end, it is already a twisted story, but in order to follow the original story to some extent, their existence must be revealed at all costs here.

And the only person who can do that is me at this academy.

“… Could you use some sound insulation magic?”

“It was opened from the moment you came in, so you can talk about it freely. Is there a corner to catch up on?”

Professor Seras responded to my request with a twitching eyebrow.

It’s going to be an important story, so it seems you’ve worked on it beforehand.

This is good news.

“Yes. Actually, I heard a rather significant story from the wizard who fought last.”

“A meaningful story… ? There were no other messages from the other cadets.”

Professor Wilhelm flicked through his notebook and seemed to reconfirm the contents of the conversation he had with the other three.

I guess so.

Since the story I am about to tell you is purely made up.

If only one of the four eyewitnesses brought up a different story, it would be enough to raise doubts about the authenticity, but I have come up with an excuse to dispel the question.

“It must have been. At that time, Sistina was struck by her lightning and her back row was confused, so I rushed to buy myself some time. It wouldn’t be strange if the three of them didn’t hear.”

“Certainly…. It seems to match the situation Cadet Elua described.”

Originally, if you mix only lies, you may be suspicious, but if you mix lies with the truth, your credibility will increase.

In that sense, Lorne’s detailed statement of the situation at the time of the incident in advance was a good stepping stone.

Thanks to that, my words will be more credible.

I drank the water Lorne left behind and stared at the two professors who were listening with bated breath.

Even in the original story, when this news came out, the whole academy was really upset.

What kind of reaction will you show this time?

“The wizard who controlled the spirit clearly called himself a ‘follower’. And, you said that you need Astesia’s blessing to bring him back to life.”

At the words that came out of my mouth, the eyes of the two gradually widened, and soon they looked at each other in disbelief.

Yes. Only now has it been reached.

At the biggest turning point in the story penetrating this world.