I Killed an Academy Player - Chapter 212
212. Return to I Killed the Academy Player
Autumn Harvest Festival (9)
I’ve been going to see it from time to time, but the Lady of Autumn itself is a week-long parade through the city.
Many women participate in the competition, each wearing pretty dresses to appeal to themselves, receiving cheers from citizens and receiving ribbons.
Citizens celebrate the harvest festival and give the colorful ribbons they like as free gifts throughout the festival. These are converted into points and the total score is calculated.
Of course, not all ribbons have the same score. For example, the gold, silver and bronze ribbons obtained by participating in the harvest festival boasted clearly high scores.
“Hey Kane. I heard you won a silver ribbon this time. Who are you going to gift it to?”
“Hmm…! That’s right…”
Kane, a third-year student at the academy, scratched his cheek and blushed.
“Ma Marie…”
“Oh…”
My classmates couldn’t honestly support that.
At the Academy, the ribbon gift given at the Fall Harvest Festival has a different meaning.
The legend goes that if you give a golden ribbon at the harvest festival, you will be married.
This type of legend is strong and overflowing, but it is clear that it can be appealing in that it presents a ribbon earned through hard work.
Therefore, giving a ribbon as a gift has become synonymous with dating, and the success rate is surprisingly high, perhaps thanks to the swing bridge effect of the festival.
“Marie…”
“Wouldn’t it be difficult?”
But that’s also when there is no owner.
Marie Dunareff.
As the most popular person in Merkava’s third year, no one knows who she likes.
“There will be no competition…”
“I have decided! Corin Locke! I can make Marie happier than that flirtatious swallow!”
Kane no longer plans to tolerate the love he has harbored since first grade. He waited for Marie on her way to the party venue.
“Ugh… okay, it might be a good idea to break down and give up your mind at this point.”
Putting aside his friend’s worries, Kane faced Marie as she came out of the costume waiting room.
“Ma Marie!”
“Huh? Kane?”
Marie was truly dazzlingly beautiful.
A high saturation blue silk dress that matches fresh blue hair. Jewels and expensive silk were lavishly cut, and the shoulders were finished with silk in the shape of bright blue potato flowers.
She is the daughter of a southern dukedom, because she usually carries around a basket of potatoes. She is a princess that everyone envies and admires.
“Oh, you look pretty today.”
“Yes, Kane is wearing a tuxedo too? It suits him well!”
Marie’s attitude is no different from usual. Kane bit his lip.
Yes, to her, she is still just a classmate in the same grade.
But now things will change. Today, Kane plans to confess his feelings. Marie would look at herself differently if she received this ribbon.
“Ma Marie! This!”
Kane handed over the silver ribbon he had worked hard to win at the event.
This ribbon implicitly conveys that I love you. What will she think after receiving this?
“Wow! Thank you! Are you taking a picture of me?”
“Huh? Uh…yeah.”
“After all, I only have ‘friends’. I’ll take care of it!”
That was the end of those words. Kane raised his head to see if he could read any trace of emotion on Marie’s face.
A bright smile. It was still beautiful and bright, but that was all.
Marie did not realize at all that she had done something absurd.
“I am…!”
It was when Kane was about to confess his true feelings.
-Senior Marie~
From far beyond him, Corin was waving at Marie.
“Oh, it’s Corin! Thank you Kane! I’ll boil some potatoes for you later!”
As if she couldn’t even hear Kane’s muttering, Marie ran down the hallway toward Corin.
“Look at this! Isn’t it pretty?”
Kane looks dejected as he sees Marie spinning around as if to show off.
“I told you it couldn’t be done.”
“…Ugh.”
Comfort from a friend who was watching this. It was Kane who Marie just scolded.
* * * *
The Woman of Autumn selection ceremony has arrived.
The last day of the festival. The main auditorium, large enough to accommodate everyone on campus, was decorated to resemble a royal party hall, and they looked forward to who this year’s fall lady would be.
-Seventh candidate, Ms. Arisha Arden! I’m the second-year student of the engineering department! Please give everyone a warm welcome!
Alicia walks out onto the stage amidst applause.
As befits the Aden family, which is in charge of the border area of the kingdom connected to the East, it is quite different from the dresses that have been shown so far.
For example, could we say that it is a fusion dress that is closer to the East?
-Wow….
-As expected, Alisha is pretty too.
-Marie was also amazing. I have never seen such a gorgeous and beautiful dress.
-The saint was no joke either. I thought a goddess had come.
-I liked Holland. I thought she was a scary girl, but she was really pretty when she dressed up like that.
Previous turn. Erin Danua, the only senior, felt embarrassed as she watched the academy girls stand on stage.
Beautiful girls in their prime adorning me and showing off.
How alien a being you must be to walk into the middle of it all.
“Haa……”
“What are you lamenting so much about?”
Erin confessed her honest feelings after being scolded by her long-time friend and student, Josephine Clara.
“I thought it didn’t suit me a little…”
“What? I also entered and won this competition.”
“Isn’t that… 70 years ago?”
At that time, Josephine was at an age when she was called ‘young.’ At that thought, Josephine smiled.
“You know what?”
“what?”
“There is less resistance to being 1,000 years old than to being 100 years old.”
“uh?”
“If it’s 100 years old, people will reject it because they say it’s a grandmother, but if it’s 1,000 years old, they’ll think it’s just a long-lived species. Surprisingly, their charm as a woman is much more stable this way.”
“What is that…”
“It’s a fact. It’s a common concern among witches who live for quite a long time.”
Seeing Erin’s expression of not knowing what she was talking about, Josephine corrected her makeup and said,
“Beautiful. You are so beautiful. No man will be able to reject you.”
“Ugh, why are you saying such strange things…” “
So don’t be scared and be confident. Show off how much it would be a loss not to choose you.”
match! And Josephine pats her bare back exposed by the structure of the dress.
100 years.
I was with her for 100 years.
He picked up the miserable little witch who was being persecuted, beat her up, fed her, and taught her.
Even Josephine, who has lived a long enough life to be considered long enough for a human being, cannot dare to compare the history of this woman.
But still. I just sincerely hope.
-Then it’s the last turn! This year’s participant is the only faculty member and our new board president! This is Board President Erin Danua!
“You deserve it, my dear teacher and my mother.”
As if sending off a daughter in love, Josephine pushed Erin’s back.
-Waaaaaa…!
Erin walked out onto the stage with people applauding. But the applause gradually subsides. It gradually transitioned into silence.
“………….”
“………….”
The new chairman is quite a celebrity for one reason or another.
Newly appointed Chairman of the Board due to last year’s Mab Tower incident.
Aside from her skills, she was also a hot topic for her beauty.
Even though she had no interest in decorating herself, Erin had the appearance of a goddess.
Thin, silver-threaded hair and clear, jewel-like blue eyes.
The adult atmosphere, which was quite different from that of girls of the same age, stole the hearts of many boys.
Even his usual unkempt appearance was like that. And now Erin was wearing a pure white dress.
Her hair, which had been braided and fixed as a headdress, was let down coolly, and the white soles of her feet were covered with sparkling glass shoes.
-Wow…
-It’s pretty.
The audience just stares blankly at the stage. Even Erin’s hesitant expression, as if this place was awkward, was a picture.
This year’s Women of Fall contestants were all beautiful girls… but Erin Danua had a mature charm that stood out among them all.
Erin rolled her eyes at the audience, feeling uncomfortable with everyone’s gaze. And soon I made eye contact with the person I was looking for.
-Master, you’re pretty!
Disciple’s support. Erin smiled openly at the cheering. The audience was breathless with that smile.
-Chairman. You look so… beautiful today.
The emcee, who had been lost, struggled to come to his senses and continue the proceedings. While repeating the questions and answers, this question suddenly came up.
-Is there anyone you would like to show this to?
Questions asked to all participants. But to Erin, it sounded particularly different.
“Ah…”
I’m trembling.
My heart was pounding, my lips were sparkling, and I couldn’t bear to part them.
my disciple
My lovely student.
A boy who willingly signed a contract with the Shinigami for himself, having lived a repetitive life in the city of death for 300 years.
A hero who is willing to choose a painful path after experiencing the future and returning.
“I see. There’s someone I want to show you.”
-Oooh…!
-Chairman! Take a look here!
The audience cheered even more.
But in Erin’s eyes, they are invisible.
It is just filled with images of students waving their hands in this direction and cheering.
* * * *
These people are confident enough to participate in Women of Autumn, so their foreign affairs skills are outstanding.
Among them, there is one person who particularly attracts attention: Mariena, the 3rd year student at the head of the Magic Department, and Arisha, the second year student at the Knights Department.
Such as the non-standard Dutch or the kingdom’s highest-ranking Estelle.
Even in the face of these powerful candidates, ribbon holders who actually have voting rights look bitter.
“Ha~ What are you doing if I give you a ribbon? Everyone owns it.”
“That’s just one guy…” While
the Woman of Autumn is a beauty contest that separates prominent beauties, there is also an aspect where the boy who presents the ribbon woos her openly.
Of course, this isn’t the case in all cases, but I still have high hopes for it.
But those in front are guilty. That’s one person too.
-Corin Locke Ugh…!
-You envious bastard…!”
The time has come.
Numerous candidates go on stage.
Marie, Alicia, Hwaran, Estelle Erin.
In addition, the sight of girls who decorated themselves beautifully standing side by side was a great sight in itself.
-Then . The woman of this fall! Who will she give the ribbon to? Who will be the first one? The person who gets the most golden ribbons at the harvest festival! There are as many as five! -Auction! Magic fair! Cooking sale! Hunting contest! Gold at the cross-dressing contest
! The first person in history to win a ribbon and a silver ribbon in Linton’s various trials! This is Corinne Locke! There were
many topics in this competition, but Corinne Locke’s struggle was especially famous. An unprecedented achievement of
winning in as many as six competitions. . Five of them are golden ribbons, and even men like me can’t help but admire the struggle they put in to even participate in a cross-dressing competition.
– Wow… You have to do that to have a harem.
– You envious bastard… What a bastard…
-No, but I crossed the line.
This… Anyway, Corinne stood on the stage and took out the golden ribbon I won.
“Thank you always, Marie.”
“Thank you for your hard work at the Arisha tournament.”
“Hwa-ran. Please take care of me in the future as well.”
“Congratulations on winning the tournament, Estelle.”
“Master… you are truly beautiful.”
Each time each person receives Corin’s golden ribbon, the colors stand out.
Although he was not the only one chosen, everyone seemed satisfied because they knew he had worked hard for a week.
-Then what happens next──
The night passes.
The last night of the festival was coming to an end.
* * * *
The night when the whole city’s excitement comes to an end.
In the central square of Merkava City, there is a large clock tower that quietly does its job regardless of the atmosphere of the city.
The rooftop of the clock tower overlooking the city at a glance. There is a boy with a spear there.
“It’s awesome.”
A dizzying height. However, he had been here once before and it was the last night of the Harvest Festival. Waiting for someone at midnight.
──
Soon, light footsteps are heard, and a goddess shining with a soft light like moonlight approaches.
“The dress was pretty.”
“Hehe, so? I’ll tell you if I want to see you later.”
Erin, who had returned to her usual clothes, quietly sat down next to her student.
“Isn’t it cool? My city.”
“Yes, it’s a really nice city.”
Corinne spent five years here.
As a stranger, I woke up here, went with the flow, returned to time, and was running around like hell.
Over a period of five years. He experienced a lot and learned a lot about the city.
The city was beautiful until the moment it collapsed.
“You should decorate it often. It’s so pretty, but it’s a shame not to decorate it.”
“Who am I going to show it to?”
“You can show it to me.”
“…You really speak well.”
Erin leaned against Corinne’s shoulder as if trying to hide her reddening ears.
“cold?”
How did you interpret it?
Even though it was cool autumn weather, it was almost midnight. The wind from high rises carries a chill and robs the skin of its senses.
It is not logically wrong to have such a misunderstanding.
“Do you see that over there? That greengrocer in the shopping center. That’s where the first school was built.”
“Merkava Academy?”
“Hehe, it was an orphanage at first. It started with me and Josephine… and a few other children who lost their families to monsters.”
100 years ago.
A time when a wandering goddess settled in this land.
She established a small orphanage with children and a young witch who would later be called the Great Witch.
A village was formed around the orphanage she founded, the orphanage became a school, the village became a city… and it became Merkava today.
“That’s where it started. Those were the most intense times of my long life.”
The darkness of the night grows deeper.
The bustle of people was forgotten, and
only the moonlight overhead shone brightly on her.
Corin cautiously stole a glance at Erin as she continued her story.
My beautiful teacher did not hide her smile until the end. He protected his children with a smile until the very end.
Today is her last night.
“Master.”
“What do you want to say?”
Even with that answer, Corin falls into silence. It seems like he is desperately searching for something. It seems like he’s trying to continue the conversation.
I barely opened my mouth.
“I want to be happy.”
Erin listened leisurely to that unexpected topic.
“Not just me, but many people. To some, I might just be a worthless stranger. They might think it’s fake, or they might call it overindulgence.”
“Still, I hope everyone is happy.”
“Living. I want to protect that obvious thing.”
Erin doesn’t understand everything Corin says.
What he experienced outside of this world. Three years spent as a foreigner. Back again, now 2 years.
I don’t know everything, but I still feel one thing.
The good intentions of this boy.
“I think you can do it.”
“We must. And you must be in it.”
“…….”
A few more minutes.
Perhaps out of anxiety, Corin pulled Erin into his arms.
“You must stay by my side until the end.”
I couldn’t tell you not to worry. Erin knows.
If the time comes, if necessary, if I can save this child… the choice I will make is decided.
It’s sad that I can’t say for sure. But I couldn’t lie.
Time is gradually approaching. The hands of the clock tower are clicking.
midnight.
12 o’clock.
The starting point at which the date changes.
If it’s short, it’s short, if it’s long, it’s the end of a long festival.
The world stopped.