How to Survive at the Academy
chapter-190

Ed’s Subjugation Battle (13)

The enormous treasure of gold and silver hidden in the underground wine cellar, which Dun sought to use as a basis for Lortelle’s dismissal. The imperial escort corps hastened to assist in his endeavor. Taely McLore, driven by his single-minded determination to save Aila, had landed a heavy blow, which I managed to withstand but ultimately lost consciousness. These are the memories that roughly come back to me.

I had not anticipated that Taely, who had been exhausted to the point of not even having the strength to breathe, could deliver such a powerful strike. Pride is indeed a sin. I pushed Taely to the absolute edge, and thus, I underestimated his attack, which I should have taken more seriously. Taely McLore’s will was stronger than I imagined.

Ruminating on past mistakes serves no significant purpose. Now is the time to regain consciousness and attend to my wounds. With that thought, I opened my eyes to see an unfamiliar ceiling and the clichéd face of Lucy sitting atop me.

“… Deja vu?”

“…?”

“It’s just that I remember regaining consciousness like this before.”

“When you collapsed from overwork last year?”

“Right. Back then, you had significantly unraveled my twisted mana.”

“It’s similar this time.”

Our conversation flows naturally as water does. Looking at Lucy’s dazed expression helps me too feel relaxed, inadvertently maintaining my composure.

“It’s been a while, Lucy.”

“You can say that. It feels like we’ve been through quite an uproar and now returned.”

I tried moving my body, but a pain threatened to surge from around my chest, so I refrained. Taely’s slash had cut across my abdomen, but strangely, I didn’t feel much pain, even with Lucy pushing down on it. Despite her light-as-feather presence, it’s still surprising how little weight I feel.

“Applying unnecessary pressure would only worsen the wound. That’s why I used a weight reduction spell.”

“I see, that makes sense. But if you hadn’t sat on me in the first place, there would be no need for such a spell…?”

“That won’t do. It would be uncomfortable.”

“Why do you need to sit on me and unravel mana knots anyway?”

“It’s easier to see your face.”

I was lost for words at her response. Although she spoke nonchalantly, it was quite direct. Perhaps realizing how straightforward her comment sounded, Lucy pressed magic into her fingertips with an embarrassed gesture.

“Can I ask all the questions I should have when I first woke up?”

“Sure, go ahead.”

“Where are we, how come you’re tending to me, what has happened since I collapsed, what’s become of the empire, what’s happened to Taely, did Aila make it back safely, and how did things end with the Elte merchant group?”

“I’ll answer what I know.”

Lucy’s trademark dazed look and listless tone remain, yet her words seem more abundant than usual – a rather unexpected change. We have become quite close. From her days of simply roaming the camp for naps, we now share a profound understanding. Besides, in times of crisis, there are few as reliable as Lucy – she has always been a solid presence for me.

“We’re in the infirmary of Triss Hall, and as for Taely, I gave him a thorough beating.”

“…”

“…”

“… That’s all?”

I expected time to have passed while I was unconscious. Yet, it seems only an hour has gone by, given the basic emergency treatment I received and Lucy’s magical healing. My condition hasn’t improved as much as I thought.

“At least the rain has stopped. The morning sun is also rising.”

“Is that so?”

With a sigh, I covered my eyes with my arm, as if embracing a pleasant soliloquy. Only then did I begin to stir my once-stalled mind.

“I can’t just lie here. I need to check on everything, starting with the camp…”

As I was about to continue, Lucy removed her witch’s hat and pressed it firmly over my face. The darkness enveloped my vision briefly before I could sense the coarse brim of the hat against my skin.

“No.”

“…”

“Rest.”

Her words were brief but expressed with definitive emotion, a trait of Lucy’s. She rarely expressed feelings, so her decisiveness was uncommon. She has always carried a detached, somewhat ascetic demeanor, observing the ebb and flow of the world without getting involved.

“I can rest later. There are things I must confirm now… They’re too important…that I must see for myself. If I get to the camp, I’ll have a rough idea of the essentials.”

“Remember the promise we made before I left for the Rothtaylor estate at the start of the break?”

Caught off guard by her abrupt question, I hesitated for a moment before nodding in affirmation.

“I kept my promise. As you asked, I dealt with the eyeball monster at the Rothtaylor mansion and secured your safety with the empire.”

“Thank you.”

“I don’t need verbal thanks. I simply want the return favor I was promised.”

Lucy quietly retracted her hat, and though her face remained impassive, I have recently learned to decipher subtle emotions even within her stoicism. I could sense her mood from the slight downturn at the ends of her eyes.

“I’ve grown tired of solitude. All I want is a reason to live, something to focus on.”

It’s a recollection of a previous conversation, a promise I made to her. Lucy Meyrill was always alone, keeping her distance from others by nature. Not prone to understanding or seeking understanding from others, she never tries to keep anyone within reach, knowing the pain of loss all too well.

“If I intend to hold someone close, it’s only after making a momentous decision. Even if twisted, I can’t dismiss the feelings at the heart of it as wrong. Emotions are subjective and cannot be crudely labeled as right or wrong.”

“So, try not to get hurt.”

Lucy bowed her body and rested her head on my shoulder, burying her face in the pillow. Her hands clasped around my head, holding it as if it were a precious object she refused to lose… and I had no words to respond.

“Some experiences are so aversive; you hope never to repeat them.”

Without any other words, I apologized after a momentary pause.

“I’m sorry for worrying you.”

It was manageable.

Anyway, the sword wound inflicted by Taely didn’t seem very deep in itself. Given that just lifting the sword made my hand tremble violently, the fact that I managed to slash at all was a miracle.

The cut was wide, hence the bleeding was severe, but with proper first aid to stop the bleeding, there should be no aftereffects.

However, the scars would be harder to erase… Let’s just consider it the price of my own actions.

“And to think, you beat up Taely…?”

It was only then that a delayed sense of unease crept over me.

“You… Even though she was already battered, you beat her even more…?”

“I was so angry I almost caused a scene. But, I’m working on being a better person. I held back with just a few punches.”

Lucy’s punch—devoid of any magical force—was likely less painful than even a bee sting.

Her words were truly reassuring.

“Ugh, cough…”

As I somehow managed to sit up with my upper body, Lucy was sitting beside me on the bed, gnawing on a piece of jerky.

She even thought to bring jerky from the cabin, which was impressively quick thinking.

She chewed a mouthful and kicked her feet, with a face that looked relieved as if she had rediscovered a taste of nostalgia.

“I didn’t just wreak havoc like I used to. After thinking it through, I saw your intention.”

“My intention?”

“No way you’d easily allow the attack of a worn-out kid like that.”

Certainly, tailie’s last sword strike was a desperate, indiscriminate attack that would devastate anything in its vicinity.

In the moment before collapsing from exhaustion, it was a frantic attempt to overcome her foe with one last hope.

The reason I had rushed to prevent a clearly self-destructive opponent was obvious.

“It was to protect the girl who was inside the wooden shelter, wasn’t it?”

“… By the way, is she okay? To be frank, I tricked her somewhat, so she was more or less innocent. I was worried she might have gotten hurt. Is she alright?”

When I asked, the answer did not come immediately.

Chewing on her jerky, Lucy hesitated before suddenly leaning forward and squinting at my expression with half-moons for eyes.

As I quietly looked back, wondering what the matter was, Lucy flopped back on the bed as if to say she didn’t care.

“She’s fine. She came out on her own after the escort arrived, hugged that Swordmaster with teary eyes and a startled look.”

“…”

“Seems like the Swordmaster was quite flustered. Maybe she realized you jumped in to protect that girl.”

… I see.

From Taely’s perspective, my actions must have appeared puzzling.

Charging in to shield her at that moment was tantamount to risking my own life from my angle.

Even if Aila was important material for the holy sword magic research, it was strange to risk my own life to save her.

Taely probably thought the same.

“That girl said something interesting.”

Suddenly, Lucy started speaking again, then sat up and—unlike before when she sat beside me—she now sat with her back to me.

She hugged her knees, resting her head upon them, and pressed hard on the sleeve edges of her oversized uniform jacket.

“Sacred Dragon Bellbrook.”

I stayed silent for a moment.

“She ranted about something unbelievable, something crazy. A legendary dragon resurrecting from myths to destroy the Acken Island—I would’ve doubted it too, thinking it was nonsense.”

“…”

“… Only if you don’t remember what happened during the joint combat drill.”

What I hadn’t considered.

This meant that the boss battle in Act 3 of “Sylvania’s Disqualified Sword Saint” had been completely skipped.

As a result, Lucy Mayrill—a girl deeply scarred and isolated—was finding new purpose and life, her dulled eyes becoming vivid once again.

The existence of an irregular like Ed Rothtaylor had a profound influence, bringing significant change even to the life of Lucy Mayrill.

Above all, Lucy was the girl who had acknowledged the existence of Sacred Dragon through that repeating loop.

“Why try to handle it alone?”

“…”

“You could have talked to me about it.”

Truth be told, even with Lucy’s involvement, the opponent wasn’t someone we could easily defeat.

Even Lucy would face tremendous difficulty against the ultimate boss of this entire scenario.

The burden of the descended Sacred Dragon, covering the skies of Acken Island, lay heavily on my shoulders.

“I figured you wouldn’t believe me.”

“You would’ve dismissed it as nonsense, as you would have in the past.”

As the outsider who had intruded into the set scenario of “Sylvania’s Disqualified Sword Saint,” that was the reality I had endured as Ed Rothtaylor.

Thinking I knew what was going to happen. Having a vague sense that I could see the flow of the future.

Laughing off such ludicrous claims wouldn’t win anyone’s sympathy.

Because I started from the very bottom.

From the depths where no one trusted me, mocking me, I alone shouldered all problems and trudged on.

“But it’s not the same as before. It’s different now.”

However, one tends to realize changes belatedly.

Just like realizing how far you’ve climbed only after reaching a vantage point on a mountain.

There are truths that become apparent only when you take a fresh look around, which is the irony of change.

I remembered the first day in the forest.

Without a place to sleep, I lied in a wooden shelter made from hastily joined trees.

The sporadic calls of insects in the tranquil forest, the landscape desolate without anyone.

Sitting alone in the darkness, I waited quietly for the sunrise.

Though I discussed the pain of loss and loneliness with Lucy…

In truth, I was closer to loneliness than anyone else.

But the realization that I had become habituated to that feeling,

“I believe whatever you say and will help you.”

was because Lucy, leaning back, said something very uncharacteristic, which felt odd.

It was then I understood why Lucy had deliberately sat facing away from me. It must have been embarrassing to say face to face.

I didn’t strain to imagine the expression on Lucy’s face behind me. Out of consideration for her, I didn’t try to look.

When I looked up, all I saw was the parched wooden ceiling.

“Let’s go to the Elte Company.”

Eventually, I managed to get myself out of bed.

Lucy looked at me with puffy cheeks and disapproval, saying that she’d accompany me if I was so worried.

I couldn’t just sit idly by any longer.

It was time to confirm the situation with my own eyes.

Taely and Aila. Lortelle and Durin. Princess Phoenia and Princess Persica. And Vice-Principal Rachel as well.

Amidst the tangled web of rights and convictions, where had I ended up?

And most importantly,

Whether it was Durin or Lortelle sitting as the acting head of the Elte Company.

That result—was something I had to verify.