The surviving members of Oswald's group used mass teleportation to leave the scene.
Head of Security Rok immediately issued an emergency summons to all faculty members, including those from the Hero Department, and proceeded to handle the aftermath, including fact-finding.
Despite suffering severe internal injuries that could not be quickly healed even with high-level healing magic, Rok did not show it and led the situation on the ground.
For the first time since its establishment, Elinia Academy was invaded by an external armed group, an unprecedented event.
How they respond will drastically change everything about Elinia Academy's reputation and direction.
No faculty member was unaware of this fact.
That's why, shortly after the emergency summons was issued, about 100 faculty members gathered near the site of the special performance stage where the incident occurred.
"Professor, it seems we have recovered all the artifacts that the armed group was wearing!"
"Okay, send those straight to the Alchemy Department for analysis! Don't forget to ask them to find out who made them, what their functions are, and so on!"
"Yes, I understand!"
"Damn, they really used mass teleportation. These guys are crazy. Who are they and what have they been up to?"
"That's not all, Professor! Just now, 'Berserker Potion' was detected in part of the stage floor! As you know, this is a drug banned in all countries on the continent. In the empire, getting caught using it means at least life imprisonment."
"Really, they're completely insane. Lead me to the place where it was detected."
Even after receiving treatment from healers, those who were still in a comatose state were moved to [The Hilté]'s ward.
A total of four people were moved to the ward: three instructors and Theo.
Piel and Alphs did not go home, and stayed beside Theo, who still hadn't woken up, lying on the white bed.
Later, Amy arrived at the ward carrying Little Fist.
She had been searching for Theo, who hadn't returned home late at night, and learned that Theo was involved in Oswald's incident.
Amy listened to Theo's breathing as he lay on the bed as if dead, then calmly nodded her head.
Piel, puzzled, spoke to Amy.
"You don't seem very surprised…?"
It was Piel's first time speaking privately with Amy, and more than anything, the atmosphere she exuded was extraordinary, prompting Piel to use formal language.
Piel was intrigued by Amy's expressionless face as she looked down at Theo.
For a servant, the well-being of their master is of utmost importance.
Yet here was her master, who had not come home until late at night, suddenly hospitalized.
Piel herself was surprised, having just sent away a maid who had come to the infirmary for her, in shock.
Amy calmly answered.
"Please speak comfortably, Lady Piel. To answer your question, I'm familiar with the current state of the young master; I've seen it often."
"Familiar...? He's been treated for his injuries, but he fainted during a fight."
"Since the beginning of the semester, I've frequently seen such cases. The young master always pushes himself beyond his limits. If it had been a dangerous situation, he would have given me a sign."
"I see."
Piel looked up at Amy, who stood beside her.
Amy, with her posture perfectly straight and not a hair out of place, gazed calmly at Theo.
Her attitude, completely sure that he would soon wake up, conveyed her faith in Theo.
Piel then looked back at Theo, who was sleeping without snoring, just lightly breathing.
Even in the most vulnerable state of sleep, he looked serene.
Piel's gaze, filled with weariness, swept over Theo's entire body.
She suddenly thought how much he had grown.
'Always pushing himself beyond his limits...'
Piel knew well that Theo trained hard and continuously achieved outstanding results.
She thought he wouldn't last long, but he has consistently maintained his relentless attitude.
─You're talking about despair? That's really disappointing.
She remembered what he said to her at the beginning of the semester during the practical dueling evaluation, when she was in despair.
Yes, Theo had no talent.
He had the right to say such a thing.
It hadn't even been a month since she had exchanged swords with him.
Back then, aside from his spirit and persistence, there was nothing much to see.
But the Theo of today was a completely different person.
He had even managed to take the left arm of Oswald, who she struggled against even using her bloodline ability.
The breathing technique he taught her today was also an amazing skill.
'Really, you've been continuously breaking your own limits, haven’t you?'
Piel smiled bitterly.
She didn't quite understand why he was so obsessed with becoming stronger, but it made her feel pathetic for having sounded so weak before.
"..."
But why is it that in front of Theo, weak words just slip out?
That never happened in front of other kids or professors.
Strangely enough, at the same time, her desire to protect him grew stronger, even if it meant sacrificing something.
Several hours had passed, but Theo showed no signs of waking up.
Amy sat quietly in a chair near the bed, silently watching Theo.
Piel, apparently exhausted from her first real battle, was asleep on the bed.
Alphs, who had been sitting upright in a tense posture, was now struggling with sleepiness.
Her eyes fluttered tiredly.
She too was tired, having used a lot of her divine power.
'I must hold on,'
Alphs thought, pinching her thigh.
Compared to Theo and Piel, who had directly fought the leader of the armed group, all she did was use a few buffs.
She couldn't possibly sleep.
Of course, from a third-party perspective, she had performed her role as a buffer excellently and even called for reinforcements.
The completely different snores of Theo and Piel reached her ears.
"..."
"Hoo-hoo-hoooo~ Hoo-hoo-hoooo~ Hmm, hmm."
The sound seemed to tempt her, saying it was now okay to sleep.
"Uh,"
Alphs bit her lower lip to stay awake.
Watching Alphs, Amy spoke up.
"I'll watch over them, Alphs. You can rest."
"No, no...! How can I sleep when Theo and Piel risked their lives, and I did nothing..."
"Theo and Piel wouldn't want you to act like this."
Claire entered the room and joined the conversation.
Alphs looked at Claire with wide, surprised eyes.
"Ah, hello, Claire. I didn't even get to thank you for your support."
"It's okay. I just did what needed to be done."
Saying so, Claire approached Alphs.
Well, more precisely, she walked towards the bed where Theo lay.
After looking down at Theo, who was sleeping beside Amy, Claire said to Alphs,
"I heard from the senior professor about the situation before I arrived. Thanks should be given to him. While everyone was panicking, he was the one who devised and executed a strategy to resolve the situation."
"Is, is that so?"
"Anyway, you should rest too. According to the branch chief, it's just fatigue, and he'll be fine after some sleep. And you must have heard, but there's no need to worry about another attack. All the academy staff are on high alert."
Claire said to a somewhat embarrassed Alphs.
Finally relaxing, Alphs eased the tension in her back, albeit only slightly.
As soon as I opened my eyes, the first thing I saw was the quest completion screen.
'Hmm. Fortunately, there are no hostages dead.'
That meant Aisha and Siena were safe too.
"Phew."
I felt relieved.
I woke up quickly.
'Ouch.'
My muscles were seriously sore.
When I got up and moved around, various parts of my body creaked as if broken.
'What are these girls doing here?'
Three women were sleeping near my bed.
Amy was nodding off with her head bowed, Piel was sprawled out asleep on my bed, and Alphs was asleep in her sitting position without dropping her head.
"Cough."
If that's a skill, it's quite a skill.
How can they sleep in those positions?
"Hmm, uh, ah... Theo! You're awake!"
Alphs woke up at the sound of my cough.
She hurriedly got up and repeatedly bowed to me.
Seeing this, I frowned.
From the author's note:
The subtitle ???? is taken from the song of the same name by C Jamm.
As a side note, when I ran it through a spell checker, ???? was corrected to 's*xual relations haha'. In reality, it means 'riddle'.
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