#36
This is enough. No additional personnel were required. Nebiros thought so.
Therefore, when the labyrinth shook violently and began to collapse, all first-year students except those in the cavity were forcibly ejected from the imaginary world at once.
“What, what… What happened?”
“This… … ”
“… … did you drop out? It would not be possible.”
Gabriel Ramanica, Iris von Hegarde, and Hector de Alcantra, each of whom had almost reached the end of the labyrinth in their own way———————————————————————————————— having just woken up in the middle of the lobby and grasped the situation, the supervisor Professor Robert had disappeared.
You knock on the door of the supervisor’s office, but there is no response. Of course. This is because Professor Robert Guillaitin has already faithfully carried out Neviros’ orders and then left Frontier.
It is unacceptable that the supervisor, who must evaluate the students in real time, is absent.
Of course, it reflected some of the evaluation received from the observation room on the upper floor, not the supervisor alone, but the people who were there – from the distinguished guests to the knights to protect them – were all asleep by someone’s magic.
When Hector and others forcefully open the door to the overseer’s office, thinking that something cryptic is happening.
“… … No one.”
The crystal ball that was supposed to illuminate the scene in the labyrinth was completely smashed and shattered, and the inside where the supervisor was supposed to be was empty.
The portal that only the supervisor can enter and exit has completely disappeared. Therefore, no one can enter the labyrinth except for the owner of the labyrinth.
Not only that. While escaping, Professor Robert stopped by the practice observation room and purposely left evidence of his actions. A glass bottle of very powerful sleeping powder. It was something that Robert Guillaitin, who was a professor at the Faculty of Alchemy, could easily manufacture himself.
In addition, according to Nebiros’ order, Professor Robert had the culprit pointed to by the circumstances of the case point to him first, and when the truth investigation began soon, the Frontier had to pursue him first.
After all, though, you’ll realize that the real culprit is different… Until then, it could be said that it was a brief use of cheating.
However, there are many weak points. It’s not a perfect crime. There was also a way to slow down the time at the supervisor’s discretion, control the students and the system, and delay the discovery of the crime until Neviros’s business is over.
But Nebiros did not do that. Rather, it chose to cause confusion early on. The reason was very simple.
Because that one is more interesting.
Last but not least, I was going to hide in the shadows, as always.
Because he was going to emigrate with new believers to a faraway place where there was no fear of being captured by the imperial pursuers.
There was nothing complicated to think about. Nebiros did a few big things, breaking his contract solely for his own interest, which involved a few first-year Epic classmates in the process.
In that case, the Frontier would do everything in its power to rescue the students involved in the incident without any damage as much as possible, and then pursue and arrest the true culprit, Nebiros. I doubt it will be easy to catch.
On the other hand, even if they just fell asleep without any bloodshed, even the high ranking people in the Empire and other countries were involved in crimes.
The aftermath and aftermath will never be small.
Perhaps it was a major event that will remain as a blot that will never be erased in the deep-rooted history of Frontier… …
It’s something far into the future.
Realizing that this was an unusual situation, there wasn’t much they could do right now.
“Ugh, I’m sleepy… … ”
“… uh, there’s a problem? What, what is it?”
“Hector, so how many people are missing now?”
“I’m counting, so wait.”
Gabriel, Hector, and Iris—the three of them woke up all their classmates who had been sleeping soundly from exhaustion, and counted the number of people who were not present.
“There are ten people here in total, five are missing. … Everyone, call your number. I’ll check the missing number.”
“—Huh? What, you don’t even know the numbers of your classmates? Hector, aren’t you too indifferent to your children?”
“No. 14 Gabriel Lamanika, this is not the time to joke. That’s because it’s faster and more accurate to write down what you call them.”
“Five? Surprisingly impressed that he remembered my number… … ”
“Everything is noisy. Shut up.”
Hector, who quieted Gabriel, counted the students and began to quickly memorize the missing numbers.
“4 times, 6 times, 7 times, 8 times, 9 times, 10 times, 11 times, 12 times, 13 times, 14 times… So, the numbers not here are 1, 2, 3, 5, and 15.”
“number 1! Number one is Mew!”
Sasha jumped and shouted.
“No. 2 is Yuri von Artina, number 3 is Stella de Feltrein. 5 is Rubia. Number 15 is Ezio Cranil. As far as I remember, yes.”
Luke de Endures said with a serious face.
“… Are you sure?”
The person who answered Hector’s question was Hati Uresian, who was fixing his glasses next to Luke.
“Gabriel, Hector, and Iris… Am I right? After all, except for you, the kids who stayed until the screen suddenly turned off are right. I kept watching.”
“Right.”
Hector nodded.
There are certainly no familiar faces.
At that moment, a gloomy voice was heard from somewhere.
“Woah, woman, woman, woman, four, Nana, one man… … this, this… Joe, you might be a little concerned… … Heh heh, heh.”
“… … ”
“… … ”
“… … ”
Canilla Ametint, rubbing her index fingers together and letting out an eerie laughter.
All the students kept their mouths shut and paid no attention to her. Because I didn’t want to get involved.
“what… … It’s work, so?”
Gail Wehard, who had been soaked in the murmur, raised his hand and opened his mouth in a low voice, and Hector answered silently.
“The supervisor is gone. The overseer’s office was also empty. The portal to the practice area was also closed.”
“What, what?”
“We were forcibly deported during the training for no apparent reason, and the remaining five were not summoned with us. It’s clear what’s going on inside.”
“Well, then, they’re trapped there… ?”
Hearing Hector’s words, the students fell into confusion.
“If that’s true, we should tell the seniors and professors as soon as possible! What are you doing now, everyone!”
After a long time, Sasha Elne was right.
“We cannot get out of here until the practice is over according to the established rules. … However, given the situation, it would be better to act quickly. Divide the group into groups of five, each go upstairs to understand the situation of the second and third graders, and the rest visit the faculty.”
After Hector’s words continued, Hati opened her mouth.
“As no action has been taken yet, the staff may not even know what happened, or the headquarters may have been occupied. I don’t think the latter will ever happen, but… … ”
“Or maybe it started at the same time we were summoned here. The more we stay here, the more we can no longer be responsible for the safety of the guys inside. Let’s move as fast as we can.”
Hector reacted resolutely after finishing his judgment rationally. It is somewhat contrary to the usual indifferent to other students.
Gabriel, who moved with Hector as he divided the number of people in half, murmured quietly next to him.
“Surprisingly, he knows how to take care of his friends. I saw you again.”
“… … Do you really think that watching an emergency like an idiot is an act of noble dignity?”
“Hey, what do you have to say about nobles? It’s a place that doesn’t mean anything like an outsider’s status.”
“… … ”
Hector didn’t answer. It’s not that there’s nothing to say. It was because he did not want to talk anymore with Gabriel, who is the epitome of an uneducated person.
After that, Gabriel didn’t bother Hector at all. When everyone is in such a serious situation, I thought I needed at least one person to make my thoughts flexible, so I was rude… Come to think of it, I don’t think there’s any reason to do that.
As he quickly headed upstairs to where the seniors were, Gabriel muttered softly as he swallowed a deep sigh inwardly.
‘… … Is it you again, Ezio?’
In fact, I was starting to think that he was the source of all evil.
#37
“I didn’t mean for this to happen… … I can’t help it. Well, isn’t that a good thing? A group is better than being alone.”
There was no sign of regret permeating the tone of Nebiros who said that. Contrary to what I just said, it seems that this flow was intended from the beginning.
“Ouch… … ”
“Ugh… … ”
Without even scolding Rubia and Yuri for stroking the parts they bumped into because they fell tangled, I got up and quickly grasped the surroundings.
‘Here… … ‘
Except for the mysterious objects placed in the middle, a huge cavity that was only infinitely wide.
The change was noticed immediately.
‘… uh?’
I felt no more pain in my forearm. No blood stains stained red. The torn part of the shirt had returned to its original state. He stuttered and touched various parts of his body, and everything was clean with no abnormalities. As if everything that happened in the labyrinth was just a fantasy.
The backpack and the weapon were all gone.
Passing through the portal, Nebiros completely healed us, or… … Was it all a lie from the beginning? I think the former is never going to happen, so the latter seemed the most likely.
That was never a good answer.
“How are you… … .”
Stella with a puzzled face was in the distance.
His eyes widened as if he couldn’t believe it. Then Stella bit her lip and bowed her head.
‘Stella… Why are you here?’
My brain couldn’t keep up with the situation.
—Jump, buck.
Leaving us in chaos, Nebiros continued to walk, stuttering loudly to the sound of footsteps.
Then the next moment,
I had to stiffen for a while.
Black hair fluttering from the tip of her waist.
It was to make eye contact with the person who was standing in close proximity to Stella and was looking at us.
… … Last but not least, it seemed that no one had been seated before us in this vast void.
“You can all talk slowly. I will be preparing to welcome you formally for a while.”
Nebiros’ voice echoes with a smile.
… I don’t know what the heck it was, but it didn’t seem like he had any intention of harming us right now.
It seemed more dubious, but it seemed certain that they had time to share what they knew.
As I turned around, I saw Rubia and Yuri, each looking around and expressing their doubts about this place.
“… Why did you follow me, you guys?”
to my question like that.
Yuri was the first to sigh.
“I’m sorry… It’s me who wants to be angry, right? Do you think it’s the right thing to do if you decide and act your way? And don’t get me wrong. It’s not that I really trusted you, it’s that I didn’t trust him.”
Yuri looked at Nebiros’ back without saying a word.
“What if we don’t talk like that and get us out? It’s a situation where at least one more head to put together right now is not enough. It would have been better if all three of them were together. … At first, I didn’t even trust what he said. You look like a pseudo-teacher when you speak.”
“… … ”
At the end of the day, I partly agreed. is it. When I listened to the end, it seemed to be the right thing to say.
Yuri, though.
“Rubia, you… … ”
“I, too, had similar thoughts to Yuri.”
Rubia opens her mouth softly. Eyes full of determined will. It’s like you’re beating me up somehow.
Then, at some point, Rubia’s eyes took on a sad look.
“and… … Do you really think I could let you sacrifice yourself?”
“… … ”
I kept my mouth shut.
leave some time
Rubia swallows a hot breath and then continues.
“Ezio, if you disappear in front of me again… I really thought about how I would feel when I was left alone… ?”
Rubia’s trauma.
I, who knew this better than anyone, left Rubia behind and tried to disappear from her sight again.
Rubia, who said she never wanted to lose me again, would never tolerate sacrificing her own way. That’s why you chose to follow me.
As a result, there was no such thing as a sacrifice on my own, but Rubia was now feeling deeply sad about my choice itself.
I understand Rubia’s heart like that.
However.
“Ezio, I… … ”
“It’s called country.”
“… uh?”
“Because I’m me, do you think I want to hurt you?”
“… … ”
Rubia opens her mouth slightly.
I said, pressing my forehead with my hand, as if I was slightly annoyed.
“It’s a problem that can only be done by myself, but if you guys get involved too because of me, much less if it leads to bad results, how should I feel about you guys who have been hurt because of me alone?”
“that… It’s my own responsibility. It’s a result of my choosing entirely of my own, Ezio, so you don’t have to feel guilty.”
“Say something that makes sense. If you tell me not to feel guilty, do you really think I can?”
“But… … i’m really fine No matter what happens in the future, Ezio will never blame you. Yeah, I can’t. Sure enough, Ezio, you are my… … ”
“Even if you’re okay, I’m not okay.”
“… … ”
Rubia shut her mouth for a moment.
He licked his lips slightly.
“… Ezio If you will live cowardly at the cost of your life, I would rather die with you.”
“Rubia.”
The conversation doesn’t work at all.
mutual understanding is completely inconsistent.
What has already happened is unavoidable. So I don’t even have time to argue like this…
“The reason I am here today, Ezio, is because you gave your life to save me… … Did you forget?”
Let’s hear that pitiful voice.
All accidents had to be stopped for a moment.
“If you hadn’t saved me then, I would have been brutally killed by the demons that kidnapped me.”
“… … ”
“You barely saved me by risking your own life, so why shouldn’t I give my life for you… ?”
Rubia’s pale green eyes look at me as if appealing.
“… I owe you too much by now. and… I’ve made too many mistakes They are not long enough to repay them over a lifetime. If I could save you and die… … I will definitely do that. I will never regret this choice now. Even if there is no chance, I will die after I do my best to save you.”
It was such an absurd word.
Yuri’s red eyes, who were listening to our story next to him with an anxious look, grew a little.
With eyes full of strong conviction, Rubia said.
“… So, Ezio, I can’t live in debt to you again. If you leave me alone and go away forever, I’m going to have a hard time in a world without you, and I’m going to collapse somewhere and die.”
“… … ”
Can not be done. You can’t dry rubia.
Rubia seemed to plan to either die with me when I die, or to follow after I died for some reason. The level to be considered a joke has already gone far beyond that. Yuri, who was next to him, was staring blankly at Rubia with a sign of disbelief.
Rubia’s feelings for me… It was kind of heavy and heavy enough to make you goosebumps at first glance.