“That is everything you need to know for this mission. Please keep each other in check and strictly follow the rules!”
“That concludes the briefing. Dismissed.”
“Yes, ma'am!!!”
After Erylin finished her last sentence, the students lined up in front of her dispersed, quickly and orderly forming their respective individual groups.
Some distributed the food and water required for the mission, while others gathered to check the quantity of various potions and ensure their stoppers were sealed tight...
Erylin's role in this mission was to serve as a group leader, easing the commanding burden on the lead instructor during battles with monsters.
The students preparing for tomorrow's departure couldn't help but chat among themselves.
“It's so great to be on a mission with Erylin...”
“Just listening to her speech just now makes me want to go out and beat those monsters to a pulp!”
“Heh, want to show off in front of our goddess? I get it, I get it. But before you even get a chance to make a move, Erylin will have already taken care of all those monsters...”
“Sigh, I've lost count of how many people have had the exact same thought as you.”
Quite a few veterans in Group Three were filling the newcomers in on Erylin's glorious achievements.
Her individual combat power could rival an entire squad.
“By the way, where is Ain? Didn't they say he was transferred to our group?”
“Oh, you mean the Ain who's been getting close to Erylin lately? I heard they might already be...”
“No way! Don't be ridiculous! Ever since Erylin enrolled, she's rejected countless love letters. She even publicly declared that she has zero interest in romance!”
“Why else do you think Erylin is the academy's idol? It's because of her academic attitude! She never wastes time on such trivial matters!”
The student spoke passionately, as if defending the sacred image of his goddess.
“True. How could Erylin, who has never cared for romance, possibly...”
“Isn't it just because Ain hooked up with her best friend? To keep her best friend from being sad, she had no choice but to invite Ain over to her place too, right?”
“To make my goddess play the third wheel... That guy Ain is seriously detestable!”
...
“Huh, why isn't Ain here...”
“Erylin!”
A young girl hugged Erylin from behind.
“Eh? Vanessa?”
Erylin looked at the girl in surprise.
“I thought you said you had something to take care of?”
“And aren't you in Group One? What are you doing here?”
Vanessa looked at Erylin with a deeply resentful expression.
“I was! But my dad suddenly said the auction was postponed, and the academy just happened to send word that they were desperately short-handed, so here I am...”
“It's so annoying. I thought I'd get to enjoy my summer break for over two months...”
Quickly bouncing back, Vanessa smiled happily. “But it's not bad being on a mission with you.”
With that, Vanessa feigned indifference and asked, “By the way, where's Ain? Did he come too?”
The girl bared her fangs.
Erylin nodded.
“Yes, he's been transferred to Group Three too...”
Vanessa eagerly pressed, “Where is he?! You guys didn't do anything weird over the summer break, did you?!”
Erylin was startled by Vanessa's intensity.
Realizing she had lost her composure, Vanessa quickly collected herself and said, “Ahaha... I was just asking. Don't you like him?”
Erylin's face flushed slightly, and her gaze drifted to the side.
“N-No, I don't like him like that...”
Vanessa was about to explode with frustration.
“You can fool anyone else, but we've lived together for almost three years! The way you looked at him in the cafeteria last time was like a starving wolf staring at a fresh leg of monster meat!”
“What on earth did that kid do to make you and Lillian like him so much?!”
The blush on Erylin's face deepened, her hands unconsciously twisting together as she said bashfully, “W-Was it really that obvious...?”
“If you ask why I like him, it's because...”
Erylin briefly recounted her encounter with Ain on the night they rescued Lillian.
Vanessa was stunned. “Huh? He actually said something like that? You like him just because of that?”
Erylin gave a shy, gentle nod, then added, “Well, it's probably not entirely because of that either...”
Erylin couldn't quite put her feelings into words.
But this only left Vanessa more confused.
“Then why did you say you didn't like him just now?”
At the mention of this, a flicker of disappointment crossed Erylin's eyes.
“Because he said... he doesn't like me...”
“Huh?!!!”
Vanessa really wanted to crack open Ain's skull to see what was inside.
The goddess that countless students dreamed of, and he actually didn't like her?
Does he like men or something?!
However, this also made Vanessa a little happy.
It seemed Ain knew he wasn't worthy of Erylin, showing he had at least some self-awareness...
Soon, the girl asked another question.
“Then why are you still so happy?”
Erylin said shyly, “Well, we still have plenty of time ahead of us at the academy...”
“If we take things slow...”
Erylin bashfully pulled up her collar, as if trying to hide her blushing face inside it, her eyes darting to the side.
“As long as he can grow to like me even just a little bit, that's enough...”
Then, Erylin repeated the most crucial reason—the words Ain had spoken to her that morning.
Bowing her head in embarrassment, she added somewhat helplessly, “T-That's it... That's what he said...”
At this moment, Vanessa's worldview felt as if it had suffered a massive impact. She stood frozen in place, processing the information Erylin had just shared.
Is this a human...
Is this even a human being!!!
“I don't like you, but I want you to be happy”?
Are those words a normal human being would actually say!!!
At this moment, Vanessa had a brand-new understanding of Ain.
“He—he's totally stringing you along!”
Vanessa gnashed her teeth in pure fury.
“First he gives you a sliver of hope, and then when he gets tired of Lillian, he'll come after you!”
“Damn that Ain! He's a complete scumbag! A total piece of trash! Playing with your feelings! A parasite of society! The public enemy of all girls!”
Erylin waved her hands in a hurry, her expression turning serious. “No, Ain isn't that kind of person!”
Erylin puffed her cheeks slightly, looking adorable as if lecturing Vanessa.
“He's different!”
By now, Vanessa was completely despondent.
What is wrong with this world?
When did the academy's goddess get brainwashed to this extent!
As if making a final, desperate stand, Vanessa simply rattled off everything she found wrong with Ain.
“He already said he doesn't like you! And he's so weak, how is he supposed to protect you in the future? Just like in this mission, he's definitely going to...”
At this, Erylin grew even happier.
“Actually, no. Ain is very strong!”
“When we faced a Tier 3 magical wolf last time, he defeated it all by himself! And, and...”
Erylin spoke with excitement.
“His magic is amazing. With him on this mission, nothing will go wrong!”
Vanessa said anxiously, “But I heard Senior Sevis threw the match that time?”
Just as Erylin was about to answer, a series of hurried footsteps rushed past her and Vanessa.
“Something happened over there, right?”
“It seems to be a student from our academy...”
“Let's go check it out!”
Erylin and Vanessa looked toward the distance at the same time and saw a crowd gathering in a circle.
“That seems to be... the direction the instructor said he would handle personally...”
Erylin briefly explained the situation to Vanessa.
“A swordsman looking for trouble with our academy? Huh? Who gave him the nerve!”
Vanessa, already in a foul mood, had nowhere to vent her anger.
“Come on, let's go teach him a lesson!”
“But the instructor said he would handle it... There's probably some unspeakable reason behind it...”
While they were talking, a student ran up to Erylin and said, “Captain Erylin! A student has been injured over there!”
“What? Someone actually dared to raise a hand against our academy?!”
Vanessa wanted nothing more than to find a punching bag.
“I heard it's really bad. There's blood all over the ground!”
Erylin couldn't help but grow anxious as well, asking, “Why did this happen? Wasn't the instructor over there too?”
“I don't know, everyone is rushing over right now!”
“Let's go, Erylin!”
“Okay!”
Vanessa took Erylin's hand. Just as she was about to pull her toward the scene, the student behind them added another line.
“Oh, right, I heard from others that the injured person seems to be a student who was newly transferred to our group. The one with silver-gray hair...”
Erylin's steps froze instantly. Her pupils dilated, and she turned her head in utter shock, stammering, “Did you say... a student with silver-gray hair?”
“I'm not entirely sure, I just joined Group Three today myself... I've got to go, Captain! I need to find the healers from the other groups!”
Watching the student run off, Erylin stood frozen in place, staring toward the crowd in disbelief.
“No... It can't be...”
“Erylin!”
Ignoring Vanessa's calls, Erylin's heart pounded violently as she dashed toward the crowd, throwing all caution to the wind.
“Ah, look, Erylin is here too!”
“It's no use... The instructor won't let us intervene...”
The moment she saw the face of the person lying on the ground, Erylin's breath seized.
Her pupils dilated sharply, her mind went entirely blank, and a deathly silence fell over her ears.
Layers of frost instantly coated her fair skin. This time, the frost did not stop at her neck; it wrapped all the way around her entire arm.
The girl could no longer even hear the beating of her own heart.
“Erylin, the instructor said we're not allowed to interfere...”
“Saying it once is enough. It's not like Erylin can't hear you.”
Behind her, several students murmured about Erylin.
“Why do I feel like something is wrong with Erylin?”
“Huh? You're a newcomer, so you must be underestimating her. Erylin isn't the type to act on impulse...”
The surroundings suddenly fell quiet, followed by a burst of gasps.
Everyone looked down in alarm and confusion, only to see layers of frost rapidly spreading beneath their feet at a visible rate.
Erylin slowly stepped out of the crowd, her body trembling uncontrollably.
Before anyone realized it, the entire area had been blanketed in ice.
“Ai... n?”
Once she clearly saw Ain's face, she saw that he was deathly pale, spitting blood, with a horrific sword wound carved across his chest. He showed no signs of life whatsoever.
Terrified, Erylin clutched her chest. Her face was paper-white, and her eyes were filled with panic and dread.
Her voice was broken and fragile. It was as if all her strength had been drained from her. As she mumbled to herself, her words were filled with utter denial and disbelief of the sight before her.
“No... please, no...”
Rate on N.U.
