Regressor, Possessor, Reincarnator

The procession headed for their destination.

Nothing significant occurred along their journey from the Academy.

The typical batch of monsters had tried to attack, only to die by the hands of protective professors. Perhaps due to the number of people in the party, or perhaps because of the prestige associated with the Academy's name, no bandits appeared.

Nothing happened on the first night after leaving the Academy, apart from the addition of one new team member.

"Hello, hello. Nice to meet y’all."

Milred Pseudos.

An upperclassman—a junior—who joined Allen's group for the dungeon practice-raid and a member of the student council he met alongside the second heir to the empire.

"This is our first time meeting, right? Lookin’ forward to workin’ with y’all."

She wore a relaxed expression, magenta hair, and a general air of friendliness.

Allen turned his head to look at the crew, who were concentrating on her story.

"Does everyone know about the history of the Academy?”

The location of Galshdin Academy was quite special, but not in the sense that the Holy Sword was kept in the city or that relics from the ruins were constantly flowing in. The reason was even more direct, stemming from the brutal desert environment surrounding the vicinity of the Holy Sword.

The desert terrain was a harsh one to traverse. In particular, it was said that the Great Desert, one of the largest magical sites, was more vicious than any ordinary desert.

From the scorching midday sun to the biting chill of a night on the sand, there were countless monsters that could appear at any time from out of nowhere and traps that remained buried in the sand.

The sandstorms blowing about at random periods were an added bonus, too.

Varying by dozens of degrees, the temperatures of the day and of the night were difficult for ordinary soldiers to withstand, and mercenaries working in the desert had to purchase expensive artifacts worth several gold pieces to overcome the conditions.

Exploring the Great Desert to any meaningful extent required taking on a lot of risk.

Surrounded by such an environment, Elpis served as a fortress within the desert.

"But… y’know there are still idiots out there, right?”

In the past, there had been several attacks on the Academy.

"There was once a group of merchants who were unhappy with their monopoly on artifacts… This other time, there was an aristocrat who was dissatisfied with his child’s treatment at the Academy, and then another time, a greedy king of some derelict country…"

However, their attacks did not succeed.

Not even once.

"As far as I know, the Academy has never needed to mount a serious response to any threat."

There was never any motion to gather soldiers, let alone any official statements released.

"Then what about the people who tried to attack the Academy…?”

Milred stood in front of Evan, who was concentrating on the story, and smiled strangely at his question. "What do ya think happened?”

"I've never heard of Elpis being attacked…”

They all failed.

Those who tried to demolish the Academy had rushed in with hope—the namesake of its city—like moths to a flame. And that hope of theirs had withered away to ash.

"That's how the Academy came to be in the present day.”

"The environment of the Great Desert itself became a natural border… And that's how our racially and socially intermixed community came to be.”

No empire could invade, nor could any aristocrat wield power.

However, the Academy held tremendous influence through its possession of excavated artifacts.

Even then, it would be correct to say that though the Academy’s prestige was unable to be swayed by any one country or race, half of it was developed as a result of the school’s special geographical location and its possession of the Holy Sword.

"That's right, you're pretty bright, William.”

She patted William’s head, as if he’d done well.

In less than a few hours, she had naturally integrated herself into the party.

"Th-thank you!" William blushed, slightly ashamed.

Next to him, Ariel opened her mouth with a hint of uncertainty. "Then… does that mean the student council President being a commoner… doesn’t have a solely symbolic meaning? And that he actually has real skill?”

"That's right, too! The President is a real monster, y’know? If I pat your head, I'll ruin your hair… Would ya like a snack instead?”

Ariel was biting into a crispy cookie before she could refuse. She mumbled through the snack in her mouth. "Weph, I…”

"Oh, Evan, do ya want some snacks, too?"

"No, I…”

Evan shook his head in an apparent ‘no’, but the snack flew into his mouth faster than he could articulate that sentiment.

"Isn't it good?"

"…Yes."

Given the faint expression of satisfaction on Evan's face, it appeared as though he didn’t dislike it at the very least.

Having quieted Evan in an instant, Milred turned to Allen, the only one left who had not intervened in the situation.

"Do ya want one, Allen?”

"I'm alright."

"I heard ya helped me by listening to the Vice President. I’ll peel an apple, just for ya.”

She took the apple out of her inventory and smiled knowingly. Allen waved his hand to refuse.

"It's really alright. Instead, I'd like to ask you a few questions, would you mind?"

She became sullen, putting the apple back in.

"Well, if ya really don’t want one… But, yeah! Ask away! I'll explain everything that I can!"

Her personality had suddenly changed to be more lively once more. Thinking it was quite erratic, Allen asked the question in his mind.

"So… is it true that you’re joining our group?"

"That's right!"

"Only sophomores could apply for the practice-raid, right?"

She wagged her index finger and shook her head.

"No, no, considering the difficulty of this site, they allowed juniors to apply as well this time. Ya didn't know?”

When she turned her attention toward the others, everyone shook their heads with faces that said that they had never heard of the topic at all.

"Nobody told me either."

"Even the upperclassmen in my club didn't say much…”

"Huh? Really? The student council definitely asked the chairman for approval, but um…”

She tilted her head as she tapped her lips with her index finger.

“Oh! That's why there were only applications open for sophomores. I thought it was an exchange thing.”

"Exchange?"

"Oh. I guess the freshmen still wouldn't know. The Academy has an annual exchange with the magic towers.”

"…I think I might’ve heard something about it from my sister. No, that's not the point."

Ariel reversed the story of the exchange by being straightforward and asking, "Then, as a junior who applied just now, Milred Pseu—”

"Just call me Milred!"

"Alright, is there anyone else apart from you?” 

"Not really… probably only a few people from the student council applied, though.”

At her answer, William asked her a question in a trembling voice— Maybe his anxiety had returned.

"Well, isn't that dangerous?"

"Perhaps…” She looked out the window of the carriage and smiled. "But that won't happen. Not ever."

"What!? Did you receive any confidential information from the student council…?”

"It's just my maternal instinct," Milred replied with a languid smile again.

"No, what does that mean…?”

William's weak voice did not stop her from smiling. "It's okay! It's okay! It's not the first time I've been in a megaruins! So don't worry!”

"…That's very comforting."

"Right?"

Her cheerfulness relaxed their party.

Allen squinted at her.

No one else seemed to notice, but Allen could see.

The fact that her gaze instantly landed upon one specific carriage in the procession.

Allen’s five senses had been honed more keenly than before. What would be a fleeting moment for others would be more than enough time for Allen to see exactly where she was looking.

'If nothing too disruptive happens, this safety device should be enough'

Feeling the waves of energy that engulfed the entire area, Allen loosened the tension in his body that had been wound tight ever since arriving at the Academy.

Their destination began to draw near.

* * *

* * *

"Are you okay?"

"I’m alright."

"If you don't like the food…”

"It's edible, I’m fine."

“If you want to get something else…”

"I'll take care of it, so get out of here."

Jaqnelle looked at the people leaving the wagon with a sad face. All of them were Academy professors in a hurry to make conversation with him.

He shook his head with a wry smile.

The Top Eight.

It sounded like something grand, but it was all just a show.

Jaqnelle knew that there were many strong people hiding out there somewhere, outside of those eight, and that their skills were only just one step ahead of the masses.

He had earned his position in the Top Eight because he knew that his opponent, the former member, was weak in a battle of attrition.

If it weren't for that, he would have fought a much more even battle, in which he surely would’ve lost.

"…I didn't even mean to end up at the Academy.”

Jaqnelle sank into thought, leaving himself lost in his own mind within the swaying carriage.

Heaven's Shield.

The youngest of the Top Eight.

The last wielder of now-lost sacred magic.

And…

"…the heir to a fallen throne."

Not many people knew this aspect of his identity.

The world was too caught up in its own affairs to remember the successor of a country that had collapsed more than a hundred years ago.

Thus, there were only a few people who knew of his other status after becoming a member of the Top Eight.

Obviously. 

There was a saying that nothing escaped the touch of time—even mountains and rivers changed every ten years. And a hundred years had passed.

That was enough time for those who were once small children to die and return to dust.

That said, there were some things that were not forgotten, their legacy living on. Even if that legacy was nothing but a useless, wandering thought.

Jaqnelle remembered his father in his childhood.

'You must take revenge.’

‘On who?’

'Those bastards at the Academy, of course.’

‘…Why?’

‘Didn't they destroy our country?!’

Even his father, who had declared such venom against his foes, had never even experienced that age. He longed for times he’d never experienced and obsessed over revenge, grieving the collapse of a country he’d never had the chance to witness.

Nevertheless, Jaqnelle received those instructions, and his family’s motivation combined with some talent and luck allowed him to climb the ranks of the Top Eight. 

After that, he was invited to the Academy and took over the position as the Guardian of the city…

'I’ve cut off my family and connections.’

Because he’d expanded his horizons.

Having spent his whole life trying to achieve his family's goals, he only realized the uselessness of doing so after coming to the Academy.

After spending months there, he’d arrived at that moment.

"Phew, I have to do my job."

Perhaps because he was too busy to think it through earlier, his mind was racing with thoughts. 

Jaqnelle closed his eyes and slowly heightened his senses.

Students wouldn't be able to notice him sensing around at their comparatively elementary level.

Some of them were good enough for him to want to watch out for…

‘But they're still just students.’

100 meters, 200 meters, 300 meters…

Gradually expanding his scope and exploring the area thoroughly, he raised his eyebrows.

"Hmm?"

At the edge of his range of detection, he had caught something that disappeared in an instant.

"Was I mistaken?"

* * *

Several kilometers away from the procession of wagons, a mysterious woman stared at the carriage where Jaqunelle was sitting with a smile on her face.

"Master Bjorna, why don't we move back a bit…” The man sitting next to her looked at her, sweating profusely. "If we get any closer, he may notice."

She ignored what he said. The man added more, careful of her attitude.

“If we don’t move according to the plan, your work might be set back somewhat… Cough.”

"I know, I know… Why are you so naggy?"

"Sorry, I'm sorry…”

"Shut up. I'll take care of it."

He wet his pants in fear of losing his life, and stepped back with his face deathly pale.

"For those already ruined to be so prideful… Tsk."

She knew, too.

That she had to step down now.

According to the information they had extracted from the Academy, the large megaruins site was about to change.

It was just amazing where one could find such information nowadays.

Although it was already ruined, she speculated about the possibility of exploiting its remaining potential.

"And yet… ah, what a waste."

It was a three-year-old grudge.

Even though she would soon be able to resolve her grudge in a few days' time, it wasn’t easy to contain herself.

"But, soon enough.”

It wouldn’t be long now.

There was much more to the ruins than the parts that had already been revealed.

Therefore, it wouldn’t be too implausible for any of the Top Eight to lose their lives to a particularly unexpected and treacherous trap waiting within.

She hid herself from the intangible waves that felt around the surrounding area. Soon, his senses swept through the area once more.

Two days remained before their arrival at the megaruins.

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