Translator: Tsukii
Editor: Lilia
Read at Watashi wa Sugoi Desu!
Chapter 63 – The Classmates
The days were steadily passing by toward the day of Omike.
“Fu~h…”
I was taking a breather in the staff room, holding the progress memo Kuyumi had given me.
The three had already returned to their dorm. I was able to successfully complete both the doujinshi production and practical training today as well.
After the three returned to the dorm, it seemed they were having a discussion about what I had said.
Was there a better way to fight? Or could they update their fighting style to be more efficient? …I guess it was something like that.
I tried to tell them it was out of question to work something out overnight, but I guess I would look the other way if they stayed in their rooms for the discussion.
“You look tired.”
“Ah, hello.”
The vice principal smiled as she placed a steaming cup on my desk.
“It seems to be progressing well.”
“According to Kuyumi’s calculation, it’s already over 80% done. My role will be over by today.”
“So you have told them everything you knew?”
“Yes.”
I shared everything I knew from monsters to demons.
All that was left was to supervise the three as they completed their work.
“It feels nostalgic… back when you were a student, you also wrote some sort of book.”
“It’s a collection of poems by that Aias. I didn’t participate that day though…”
The man named Aias Vanguard was always consistent.
Although he led a terrible private life, flirting with women lightly as he spent his money like water, he was still a man with principles.
“I can’t imagine him ever stopping writing poetry.”
“Ignite-kun too, praised his carrying out of his will over something for such a long period of time.”
“That’s another nostalgic name…”
Ignite Burn End.
He was one of the five students in my generation, and unlike Aias, he was a natural flirt.
He returned to his home nation right after he graduated, so we hadn’t seen each other since.
In the first place, most students of my generation all already had a defined career path, or rather, the thing we would do once we were no longer students.
Cadenta and Ignite became military people.
I became a fake hero.
Aias became a bard (although this one was out of his own will).
The last one was a princess.
“Do you feel lonely?”
“Yes, but we aren’t people who could gather together even if we tried, after all. If we were going to meet up, I think it would be best to meet at this school.”
“That’s not allowed.”
The vice principal smiled.
It was a terrifying smile that made me think that the angel who burned down the city probably smiled like this.
I guess there’s no way she would agree considering how many times we destroyed the school building, I thought as I cringed in fear.
◇
For doujinshi to be released at Omike, people usually submitted original manuscripts to a printing shop where copies were made.
But, Haruto’s product was planned to be produced in large numbers, so they were introduced to a large printing press through Sharon’s connections.
Ordinary circles would use smaller locations with smaller lots.
“Fuih~ I’m tired.”
The man who had just submitted his manuscript to the printing shop, Aias Vanguard, took off his jacket as soon as he got home.
After throwing it roughly onto the bed, he sat down in a chair and looked up at the ceiling.
“This time I was able to submit the manuscript quickly by my standards. Isn’t that great?”
After nodding, he looked toward the window.
With a snap of his fingers, the closed windows automatically half opened.
“Don’t you think so, my friend?”
A dignified and brave hawk came in through the open window.
After deftly slipping into the room through the gap, the hawk opened its beak.
[“Thanks for letting me in, I appreciate it. Sorry for the rude visit.”]
“We are close friends, right? There’s nothing to worry about.”
Those who looked carefully would be able to tell that the hawk was a familiar created by weaving magic power into it.
There were only a limited number of people who could turn a hawk, which could fly powerfully over extremely long distances, into a familiar, but from Aias’ perspective, it was a familiar figure. 1
“So, what happened today, Ignite?”
When his name was called, the man who once studied in the same classroom as Haruto, Cadenta, and Aias, let out a deep voice that echoed through his familiar.
[“I heard that my rival Haruto will be participating in Tail’s event. It will be a valuable opportunity, but unfortunately, I’m so busy that I won’t be able to show my face.”]
“I guess so. You are just like Cadenta in that you are busy with field work.”
[“She has her subordinates, so it would be presumptuous to be compared with her.”]
He sure has a way with words, thought Aias as his cheeks twitched.
Aias had no idea what Ignite was doing after returning to his homeland. But considering that Ignite, a man who could represent a nation, still hadn’t made a name for himself despite working in the military, it was possible to speculate to some extent.
“……Well, I guess we will have an emotional reunion another time. I will need to make some money by then, though.”
[“If you just ask, I could lend you some money. Of course, it would be interest-free and have no lending period.”]
“Stop that. I won’t borrow money from a friend.”
Aias declared that clearly.
Aias often, or rather, almost all the time, was forced into a life of being chased by debt collectors, but it seemed he had his own policy.
[“You haven’t changed… how about my rival?”]
“I haven’t met him yet. However, from what I heard… It seems he’s getting much better. After all, he’s now teaching at our alma mater.”
[“Aah, I was astonished when I first heard that. I thought he didn’t understand the value of happiness like most people.”]
Aias wore a bitter expression at his friend’s words.
“……I wonder about that. He is an idiot after all.”
[“Hahah, I guess as his best friend, you evaluate him harshly.”]
Ignite surely understood as well.
Even if Haruto became a teacher, his heart wouldn’t change.
Should the world fall into crisis tomorrow, he would still head to the battlefield.
He would say things that sounded like nonsense to them with a natural expression, as if it were obvious.
(…………)
Just imagining that scene, Aias bit his lower lip hard.
Perhaps sensing Aias’s change in mood through the familiar, Ignite brought up the next topic.
[“How about Cadenta? You seem to support her love journey more compared to the princess…”] 2
“She’s just as usual. Her expression of love was about making others bleed.” 3
[“That’s just one language of love. I don’t think there’s a standard for a maiden in love.”]
“……Is she young enough to be called a maiden?”
[“A woman with flowers in her heart is always a maiden. If you want to pretend to be a womanizer, you should learn that, my friend.”]
“Tch, I guess a natural flirt just says things differently.”
Aias shrugged as he clicked his tongue.
“Well, I’m the only one among us who can act freely. You should regret that you should have had more fun back when you were a student. If you feel regretful, you might as well quit your job…”
[“Aah, that’s right. About that matter.”]
“Hm?”
Suddenly, Ignite interrupted Aias’s words.
The bard was at a loss for words at his friend’s unexpected behavior.
[“There’s a message from our friend with the least freedom among us. Tail’s side will notice soon, so please stop there. I have no wish to see you and Cadenta killing each other.”] 4
Hearing his next words, Aias’s expression changed.
“……Oi oi, you returned to your nation properly, right?”
[“Our side just happened to notice earlier than theirs by chance. Therefore, it won’t be long for Tail’s side to notice what you hid. It’s not hard to imagine what would happen once that occurred.”]
“…………”
Cold sweat ran down the bard’s neck upon hearing his friend’s words.
“But you know, right? I’m not someone who will obediently do what he’s asked to at times like this.”
[“If you intend to consult my rival, you better do it quick.”]
His friend threw his words back at him, as if to call out the bard’s bravado.
If they were actually facing each other, the bard was sure he would have grabbed the man’s collar.
“…………I won’t. This is my problem.”
[“Is that so? But I wonder what he thinks… won’t he treat his best friend’s problem as his own?”]
“I can easily imagine that. That’s exactly why──”
[“Indeed, you will hate the idea. I know that very well to the point it feels painful.”]
After saying that, the hawk suddenly turned its back on Aias.
“Are you going home already? How about a drink? I apologize for not having a jug for birds, though…”
[“Aias, my thoughts haven’t changed since then.”]
At that moment, the same scene flashed through their minds.
It was the day when they got into a serious fight with each other.
It was the biggest fight of Aias and Ignite’s lives, something that only Haruto didn’t know about.
[“My thoughts haven’t changed. My rival Haruto is a man who will demonstrate his true value only during the decisive battle to save humanity. My wish is to continue to be a warrior worthy of standing alongside him at that time.”]
“……Are you still saying that nonsense?”
[“The world isn’t kind enough for that to stay nonsense.”]
With that said, the hawk took flight into the night sky.
Aias closed the window with a snap of his finger, even as he threatened that he was going to shoot the hawk down.
Every one of them are just– were the words he almost spat out.
Friends were friends. The five alumni were irreplaceable people that Aias cared about and loved more than anything else.
But in regard to Haruto, the opinion of Aias, Cadenta, Ignite, and the last person differed.
“Is it really bad to wish for ordinary happiness for my friend…?”
Aias got up from the chair and threw himself onto the bed.
When he lay on his back, the spotless ceiling seemed unnecessarily white.
“……But well, I guess I’m not worthy to say that since I was selling his personal information.”
He really wasn’t worthy in that regard.
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