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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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“I’m sick of riding in carriages.”
The competition had ended yesterday, and it was time to bid farewell to the city of Bairn, where we had stayed longer than expected.
I was glad to finally be free from sharing a room with Ares, but the thought of having to take a long carriage ride back to Aios filled me with dread.
“Sit next to me, I’ll lend you my shoulder.”
Eve said with a smile, trying to be considerate, but I politely declined.
“You just want to make sure I’m reading the book, don’t you?”
“…N-No, that’s not it.”
Look at her, averting her eyes and pouting.
Seeing her shrink back to her usual self after yesterday’s barrage of forgiveness punches gave me a strange sense of relief.
“Students! Take some drinks and sandwiches here! You all worked hard!”
The dean’s face was beaming as he handed out simple meals before we boarded the carriages.
Was he that happy about winning the competition?
Aios Academy had made a comeback victory, dominating in the big matches of the second day, mana volleyball and the large-scale battle.
Not only had the 13-year losing streak been broken, but the second day had truly showcased Aios’s potential.
Especially since my pretense of having a broken right hand had been exposed, I, who had been packed into nearly every event as a reserve player, ended up participating in most of the games.
I heard that the Pales dean had suggested considering putting a limit on the number of reserve players allowed to participate next year, looking dejected as he spoke about me.
“Hmph.”
Sen approached from the side.
The medal hanging on her chest was given to the winning team in mana volleyball.
Sen had played a perfect role as a joker in mana volleyball.
Although it would have been difficult for her to secure victory alone, the situation changed when Elise, a reserve player who hadn’t shown her face in the competition before, joined in the middle.
She said she participated because of me, and as a result, her reputation as a princess who mingles with citizens had improved quite a bit.
As for the large-scale battle, well…
Of course we won, since I participated.
“Sen! The medal on your chest looks so pretty,” Eve complimented.
“Thank you.”
Sen replied with a strange smile of satisfaction.
“How many times is that since yesterday?”
Tana asked, pointing at the two of them, but I pretended not to notice.
Sen had worked in teams with many people before, but this seemed to be her first time feeling a sense of achievement for accomplishing something other than assassination, so she appeared quite pleased.
I heard she had accepted the volleyball team captain’s offer to join the club from now on.
‘Well, whatever’s good is good.’
Seeing her come out of the shadows of the Chokugen Faction and interact with people made me think that Sen’s future might not be as dark as I had feared.
“Hey, switch seats with me.”
Just then, I noticed May half-threatening one of the male students from Class E.
I slipped between May and the bewildered male student who didn’t know how to react to a delinquent suddenly talking to him.
“……”
May immediately averted her eyes like a kid caught stealing, and tried to whistle nonchalantly, but couldn’t do it properly because of the lollipop in her mouth.
“What are you doing?”
“Will you let me off if I tell you?”
“Tell me first.”
“I was trying to get on the carriage you’re in.”
“Go back.”
I sighed and pointed to the Class A carriage.
May stuck out her tongue, saying it was unfair, and walked away grumbling.
I really couldn’t let my guard down for a moment.
“Master, Master.”
Elise whispered, sidling up to me and offering me her sandwich.
“Please eat this.”
“You want me to eat it? What about you?”
As far as I knew, this was supposed to be her lunch for today.
If she gave it to someone else, she’d have to go hungry until dinner.
Had she eaten a big breakfast?
“It’s fine, please eat it.”
Elise whispered, conscious of the gazes of the surrounding students, perhaps because her identity as a princess had been revealed.
Feeling uneasy about her offer, I looked at Bertia standing behind her.
“The princess skipped breakfast as well…”
Bertia provided only fragmentary information.
She couldn’t outright betray her mistress in front of her, so she spoke briefly, but I immediately understood the situation.
“You must be very hungry, then?”
At my question, Elise’s eyes sparkled as she exclaimed.
“That’s the good part! If you eat my lunch, Master, the hungrier I get, the more you’re essentially inflicting pain on me!”
“Bertia, stick to her side and make sure she eats the sandwich. Make her eat everything else too.”
“…You’re asking for something difficult.”
Despite her words, Bertia nodded in agreement.
I had managed to avoid Elise’s crazy plan.
Usually, when you accomplish something, you should feel satisfaction or a sense of achievement, but I felt none of that, just fatigue piling up.
“Ah, I’ll just sleep in the carriage.”
While the other students were still chatting outside with some time left, I quietly entered the Class E carriage and sat in a corner, leaning my head against the wall.
Perhaps because the carriage wasn’t moving yet, sleep came quickly.
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“Hmm.”
In the depths of the Demon Realm Forest.
Kurika, the ancient beast who had been sitting quietly in a proper posture, slowly opened his eyes.
His eyes, emitting a soft light like moonlight, began to read a subtle energy.
He had just returned from completely crushing a unique party consisting of an elf, a dwarf, a beast-person, and even a witch outside.
He had been cooling down from the faint heat of battle he had felt after a long time, but…
It seemed the time had come for his claws to meet the moonlight once again today.
A heavy rustling sound, different from the passing wind, echoed through the forest.
This was the deepest part of the Demon Realm Forest.
He didn’t know how she had managed to ignore the other ancient’s and come this far, but nevertheless, he greeted his visitor.
A woman wearing a black priest’s robe who was different from before.
The pocket watch she used to wear, and the hour and minute hands that had been embedded in her ears, had all burned away.
Her right arm was also missing, leaving an empty space.
From the energy he sensed, Kurika realized she was a formidable opponent unlike any he had met for a long time.
The very fact that she had come this far alone, unscathed, was a testament to her extraordinary nature.
“Kurika, keeper of the forest’s storehouse, I’ve come to meet you.”
A weighty statement came from such a small mouth.
Kurika furrowed his brow unconsciously as he looked at the woman.
“You speak of things that shouldn’t be spoken of so carelessly.”
To Kurika’s warning, filled with hostility, the Priestess of Time responded with an incredibly benevolent smile.
“It is my duty to expound the wisdom given by the gods. Even if it’s the deepest secret in the world.”
“You dare speak of gods before me?”
Kurika’s claws appeared as he slowly raised his massive body.
It happened in an instant.
Like a predator crouching before pouncing on its prey, Kurika lunged forward in a flash, completely tearing apart the Priestess of Time.
The Priestess of Time’s entire body was ripped to shreds.
Her corpse would become mere chunks of meat, a special feast for the surrounding beasts.
That was what Kurika thought.
A darkness deeper than the thick darkness pervading the Demon Realm Forest flowed from the Priestess of Time.
The darkness began to pull her body back together, visibly fast.
It reconstructed her body back to its original form.
In the end, the Priestess of Time returned to her original appearance.
The only difference was the imprint now embedded in her forehead.
For the first time, Kurika’s eyes flashed as he clenched his fist.
“The Goddess of Death?”
He knew he couldn’t just stand still.
Thinking that she might be the ‘Earliest Apocalypse’, Kurika prepared to use his full strength for the first time in a long while, but…
Something felt off.
Her power was too weak to be called the ‘Earliest Apocalypse’.
“The gods make their choices. Although I don’t know their intentions, I have received the choice of the Goddess of Death in accordance with the will of the Goddess of Time.”
“The Goddess of Time wanted this?”
Kurika had lived for a long time and had kept unspeakable secrets of the world, but he found it difficult to understand what the Priestess of Time was saying.
However, the priestess only gave a subtle smile and said nothing more.
She slowly extended her hand towards Kurika.
“O Emperor who became a magical beast due to possessing great power, O guardian who protects an unknown storehouse trapped in this wretched forest due to the irresponsible pleasures of various gods.”
“……”
“I need your help. I am the savior who has come to save this world. The agent of the gods where the Goddess of Time and the Goddess of Death coexist.”
Two goddesses coexisting in one body.
Kurika wondered if such a thing was really possible, but it was clear that she knew something even he didn’t know.
“Join the holy war to kill the ‘Earliest Apocalypse’ that will devour the world.”
“Are you saying you know where the ‘earliest apocalypse’ is?”
Kurika growled as he asked, and the Priestess of Time gave a strange smile.
“Did you know that the King of Insects has died?”
“Yes, I heard he died after leaving the forest to keep a pact with the witches.”
Although they were both ancient magical beasts, they didn’t particularly have camaraderie among themselves, so Kurika answered indifferently.
If anything, he welcomed the reduction of the large insects crawling around the Demon Realm Forest.
“According to the pact, that witch proved her own power. We judged that she could handle the taboo, so we no longer discuss it.”
If a witch killed an ancient magical beast that came to execute her for breaking a taboo, she would essentially earn the right to handle the taboo, so they wouldn’t pursue it further.
Of course, Kurika didn’t know that Adriana, whom he had defeated not long ago, was the witch who had broken the taboo.
But the Priestess of Time clicked her tongue and shook her head.
“Apviel was not killed by a witch.”
“Not killed by a witch?”
Following the flow of the conversation to its natural conclusion, Kurika’s eyes flashed as he asked.
“Are you saying that the ‘Earliest Apocalypse’ was involved in his death?”
With a twisted smile, the priestess answered as if giving an order.
“Emperor, come with me.”
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