Chapter 121 - Circulatory System (23)

I wonder if there’s a reason to chase this far. Did she really dedicate her life to swordsmanship? Will beating me improve her life somehow? 

If she just wanted my sword, I could at least understand that.

Still, since she's nearly dead... I suppose we should take her.

Luna said with a troubled look, "We can't... just leave her?"

Funny enough, Luna seemed to be thinking the same thing as me.

"I'd like to, but she's too talented to become eagle food, so I guess we should save her."

She wasn’t unreasonable enough to repay being saved with violence. She was the great Sword Master's disciple after all.

I laid Sion on the wolf's back. Then, we continued our journey.

Sion didn't wake up until evening.

And the dark clouds hanging since yesterday finally began pouring rain.

We took shelter where a rock face jutted out like an eave and prepared to camp.

When I lifted Sion from the wolf's back to move her near the warm campfire, something rectangular fell with a thud.

I first laid Sion in a sunny spot then picked up and checked the letter.

Luxurious packaging with a purple ribbon attached. Like some noble's party invitation.

Who could it be for, that she'd bring a letter all the way to the circulatory system?

Then, I saw the back and felt a chill down my spine.

There [To Candy] was written in large letters. It was addressed to me.

Feels like I saw something I shouldn't have.

Too fancy to be a challenge letter. Isn't Sion the type to scrawl on rags with blood? 

It was hard to imagine her carefully preparing an invitation like this.

Suddenly, her words from our previous confrontation flashed through my mind.

— My master really wants to see you.

No way? Why would a Sword Master want to see me?

I wasn’t sure if I should take this. Quietly keeping it feels like theft, but returning it would make the next meeting awkward.

After internal conflict, I finally put the letter in my chest.

Luna quietly warmed herself and watched the rain.

I followed her in appreciating the circulatory system's scenery. Since we were heading back after finishing practice, even the heavy rain wasn't so hateful now. It felt peaceful like it was cooling our overheated minds.

Having an uninvited guest was a flaw, but well, as long as she didn't wake up suddenly wanting to fight, everything would be fine.

After killing time like that for a while, Luna carefully asked, "What will you... use the potion for?"

She meant the love potion, the first-place reward.

"Split it with you, of course."

A faint smile played on her face as she looked at me.

"...You're not greedy."

"What do you want to use it for?"

Luna watched the rain for a moment before speaking, "...I'm fine. There’s no need to split it with me."

"You should definitely keep your share. Thinking about doing group work together in the future, we should be clear about reward sharing..."

I stopped mid-sentence, having unconsciously revealed my true intention to keep moving together with Luna if there were more group activities.

"...Well anyway."

Luna covered her mouth and laughed quietly.

"...I've already received a lot. This practice... was really fun."

Though I felt a bit guilty for making her work so hard, I was just grateful she said that.

"Just tell me... what you used the potion for. That's enough."

The next day, we set out again.

Around noon, we met some welcome faces.

It was Iris and Polson.

They were lost in the foggy oak forest on the outskirts. Judging by their beggar-like appearance, they must have been trapped there for days.

"D-damn it, people!"

Iris' group waved their hands and chased after us like we were a rescue team, their faces gaunt.

Faces streaming with grime and clothes turned the color of dirt. Their cheeks were sunken from days of hunger.

Additionally, Polson's face was swollen on one side as if someone had hit him.

At first, I thought they might try to plunder us, but seeing their state, even that thought vanished.

No need to make trouble where there isn't any.

Polson and Iris were surprised seeing our intact appearance, then even more surprised seeing the unconscious Sion on the wolf. An unconscious Sion must be a rare sight indeed.

"H-h-help us!"

When Polson tried to approach, I drew my wooden sword and aimed at his throat saying, "Stay back."

He raised both hands and stepped backward.

"We've been starving for t-three days. We're fellow students, can't we help each other!"

I took out a piece of jerky from Sion's pocket and threw it in the mud. With a splash, the jerky was soaked in muddy water.

Though I had no intention of tormenting them, I had no intention of helping either.

We left with Luna, shaking off their attempts to follow.

As we neared the end of the circulatory system, we frequently encountered Planteras. They were serving as guards dealing with students or beasts lost in the forest.

Since various rumors might spread if the three of us returned together, I entrusted Sion to the Planteras.

Then, after some discussion, I also decided to separate from Luna and be carried on a Plantera's back.

Though not strictly necessary, I still needed to leave evidence that “Damian” had participated in the practice too. It would also be strange to just sit quietly wearing a mask where other students were.

And Luna and I agreed to act like strangers until returning to Eternia.

I wrapped bandages around the wooden sword to disguise it and entrusted all remaining possessions from my time as Candy, including the phantasmal beast's horn, to Luna. Luna would quietly return to the dock from here, while I would stay at the safety barrier where students gathered.

I dirtied my clothes to look like I'd struggled a lot, referencing Iris' group's appearance. Then, perching on the Plantera's shoulder, I said to Luna, "Well, this is it for us for now."

"Yes."

"I'll invite you to my place soon, so come visit."

"...Yes!"

She waved to me as I moved away.

Arriving at the safety barrier area on the Plantera, I dismounted and surveyed the scene.

Eternia students had gathered there forming a large village.

Some emerged from makeshift tents to check my face but quickly lost interest, apparently finding nothing noteworthy.

Then, contrary to expectations, someone gave me an intense welcome.

"Damian!!"

Trisha had spotted me somehow and came running energetically, her hair flying.

Thanks to her shout, my plan to blend in quietly instantly turned to bubbles.

Trisha approached and wrapped her arms around my waist like binding me with rope.

"I was worried!"

Then, she buried her face in my chest and stayed still.

"...?"

Several nearby students watched us with tender gazes.

Following that, Cecil and her friends watched from afar. Cecil's eyes were wide.

Well, that’s slightly concerning.

"...What are you doing?"

What's gotten into her all of a sudden?

Trisha answered in a sulky voice, "Let me worry about my friend too."

I replied in a low voice while watching our surroundings, "I was trying to blend in quietly without drawing attention. If you do this..."

"You don't care anyway because of Sion."

"...What about Sion?"

"You don't know? Sion was brought in unconscious hours ago. Everyone was talking about who would bring the phantasmal beast's horn, but when even Sion returned, it caused quite a stir."

"..."

"More importantly, it's troublesome if people notice I don't have a group."

"The groups here all split up long ago. It doesn't matter."

"..."

Well, that's fortunate then. Others don't care about me, and I was just being overly sensitive.

Trisha whispered so no one could hear, "The horn?"

"Don't know."

"Couldn't get the horn?"

"...Couldn't meet the phantasmal beast."

"I thought so. Even the overall first-ranked and top seat of the Magic Department together couldn't handle the phantasmal beast!"

For some reason, Trisha sounds excited about the failure.

Right, who's worrying about whom? She definitely just rushed over curious about the horn.

"Hehe, I'm going!"

She patted my back as if comforting me then ran back to where Cecil was, almost like escaping.

The practice entered its final stage.

The Planteras escorted all dropout students to safety, and everything wrapped up without further incident.

"Gale might have brought it."

"How could he when even Sion couldn't?"

"Did really no one bring it back?"

"Remember what the professor said at the start? They didn't even expect anyone to get the horn."

Discussions about who would take first place were in full swing at the safety barrier, but no conclusion was reached by the end.

They seemed to have secretly hoped for the top students to fail, yet acted shocked that not a single person had accomplished anything meaningful.

After staying one more day, they moved to the dock for the return journey.

I leaned on the ship's railing watching the gentle river flow as we returned to Eternia.

For a long while, I debated internally whether to read the letter taken from Sion.

While killing time like this, someone approached, making the deck creak behind me.

Then, they stood right beside me, shoulder to shoulder.

It was Trisha.

She silently took two bites of an apple, then looked at me with smiling eyes.

She casually offered me the half-eaten apple, "Eat."

"..."

"Aren't you hungry?"

When I shook my head to decline, she finished eating it herself before throwing it into the river.

After checking that no one else was on deck, she said, "They want me back at that foggy dormitory next week. I really don't want to go."

"You're going back already?"

Just when I thought they might be loosening up, Trisha's being confined again.

"They told me before practice started. Didn't they say anything to you?"

"No."

Trisha made a gloomy face.

"Lucky you."

"I should visit Witdruff Hall sometime soon too."

Trisha leaned limply against the railing.

"Ah, you'll even get to experience the freshman welcome ceremony... I never got to experience that."

"Welcome ceremony?"

"Yeah."

"What do they do?"

"Don't know. But I'm envious."

"How can you be envious of something you don't know about?"

"Just... ‘cuz."

Come to think of it, I remember Silveryn mentioning something about a freshman welcome ceremony when I first moved into Witdruff Hall.

I only knew it involved doing something with underwear and messing up rooms.

Seeing a dejected Trisha made me feel sympathetic. I thought for a moment about what to say to cheer her up.

"We can have our own welcome ceremony."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I'll learn how to do it and come back."

"Good, good. Really good!"

Now I need to prepare to return to daily life. I'd forgotten how much I had to do.

***

Two girls walked secretly to the left end of Witdruff Hall's third floor and stopped in front of room 31F.

Art Club President Haley twirled a stolen copy key ring on her finger and said, "This is definitely it?"

Art Club Vice President Zenia grinned and replied, "Yes. They say it's our cute freshman's room."

"Why's it so far in the corner? Did they offend someone? No, the pig girls didn't get here first, did they?"

"We've kept the stolen key, so we're first."

Without hesitation, Haley inserted the key into the door and turned her wrist.

With a click, room 31F's door slid open and they carefully entered.

Expecting the raw atmosphere of a teenage boy, Zenia was somewhat disappointed by the excessively well-maintained appearance.

"Hmm, our freshman... is disappointing."

Haley locked the door and said with smiling eyes, "Disappointing your seniors? We need to establish discipline."

Zenia went to the wide window and checked the view. The silver guardian tree swaying in the wind was centered in the outside scenery. Though it was the most remote room, it had the best view.

Haley nudged Zenia and said, "What are you doing? We need to work."

She approached the dresser and began rummaging through the clothes one by one.

Soon after, she held up a bundle of underwear.

"Found it, kindling."

"Pfft, hahaha."

Zenia held her stomach laughing at the sight.

Haley crumpled the underwear into a basket she'd brought.

Meanwhile, Zenia began thoroughly searching the bed.

"Where has our junior hidden the forbidden books?"

If they could find a passionate teenager's secret weakness, they could bind the freshman tightly to the Art Club. Finding these books was their main objective.

While searching under the bed, something strange caught Zenia's fingertips.

"What's... this?"

She pulled it out completely.

"...!"

A woman's bra came out caught in her hand.

The stricter the school rules, the more intense the hidden deviations tend to become.

As a reaction to Eternia's strict rules, an extreme and implicit welcome ritual of "burn the old underwear, leave new underwear" had taken root.

Finding this meant someone had already broken in and claimed the freshman welcome ceremony.

Zenia shouted as if boiling inside.

"Damn, those pig girls already came and went!"

Haley, startled, immediately responded, "What? That's impossible!"

Zenia waved it around as if to show her. It was a high-quality artisan-made bra with elaborate embroidery. Zenia checked the initials embroidered on the shoulder strap.

"S. Who uses these initials?"

"Ha! Must be someone from the Drama or Dance Club!"

Zenia briefly held it against her chest and was shocked.

"This... this... really is from those damn pig girls."