“Lately, all I’ve been hearing from Second Elder’s side is bad news.”
…
Second Elder, Landgar of the Nameless, couldn’t respond to the pointed remark.
Because it was an undeniable fact.
It had all started with the theft of the Sandglass.
Admittedly, the theft of the Sandglass wasn’t solely Landgar’s fault, but he was still the most deeply involved.
After all, the supposedly impenetrable barrier had been his design, and he’d been in charge of overall security.
To make matters worse, his plan to capture the offering using undead had failed spectacularly.
And amidst all that, he’d even lost the d*ath Knight of Corrosion.
“Next time, I’m sure there’ll be good news.”
“I’m unsure if I should help you with that.”
Landgar seethed at the blatant condescension in Elder Three’s voice but had no recourse.
It was a voice-only meeting, after all, and his side had been failing repeatedly.
“Any new leads on the Sandglass?”
“Grrr. The thieves have been so thorough; it’s hard to get a grip on their trail.”
Landgar had turned up nothing on the Black Shadow Guild either.
Not that he’d expected much, but the actual outcome had been far worse than anticipated—no leads whatsoever.
“At least the rumors about the undead haven’t spread.”
“Hmph. That’s obvious. If we couldn’t even handle that, it’d truly be…”
‘d*mn it.’
Landgar gritted his teeth, careful to keep his voice under control.
Elder Three’s remarks had been grating since the start.
To think he was being treated this way.
Prideful Landgar struggled to accept it, but now wasn’t the time to raise his voice.
“Still, there’s hopeful news.”
“What is it?”
“The potion is almost complete.”
“Hm.”
Landgar finally turned to the one piece of news he could confidently report.
The organization was developing a drug to enhance the combatants’ abilities in preparation for an upcoming battle.
It was a sort of elixir that temporarily boosted personal stats exponentially.
Of course, there were side effects, but they were gradually being mitigated through various experiments—including extensive human testing.
“Next meeting, I’ll definitely show you the results.”
“It’s necessary. This failure has set back our plans.”
‘Tch.’
At every turn, Landgar clenched his teeth at Elder Three’s scolding.
He resolved to succeed next time, no matter what, to silence Elder Three’s tongue.
“Sigh, what am I even doing?”
Cynthia muttered to herself as she trudged along.
Once again, she hadn’t mustered the courage to talk to her friends today.
At first, it was a mix of guilt and self-loathing.
Guilt for not contributing anything during the inter-class competition, and self-disgust for trembling in front of the enemy.
Cynthia thought she’d quickly overcome these feelings.
She reasoned that apologizing to her friends would clear the guilt, and putting in more effort would strengthen her abilities.
But the emotions ran deeper and lingered longer than she’d imagined.
She hadn’t found the right moment to apologize, and the self-disgust for her lack of skills hadn’t lessened.
As time passed, she missed her chance.
It had been over a week since the competition ended, and people were already starting to forget about it, while Cynthia remained stuck in her own mental loop.
That made talking to her friends harder.
Her classmates, including Ryu, had tried their best to help her out of it, but she couldn’t bring herself to engage.
It had become too awkward and difficult with the passing time.
And it’d feel strange to suddenly act like nothing happened.
“Sigh.”
Cynthia sighed deeply and wandered aimlessly.
She’d told her friends she had work, unable to join them for dinner, but the truth was she just wanted to avoid the uncomfortable situation.
“Cynthia Suplus, is that you?”
Cynthia flinched and looked around when she heard her name called out.
“Who’s there?”
Facing her was someone she didn’t recognize.
From the academy staff uniform, she guessed this person was part of the academy staff.
“Yes, I work directly under the Vice Principal.”
“Under the Vice Principal…?”
“Yes.”
The gentlemanly man smiled politely, giving off an instant sense of trust.
“Why are you here?”
“First, congratulations on your Interclass Competition. It’s quite an achievement for first-years to secure first place. The Vice Principal was truly impressed.”
“Ah.”
At the mention of the competition, Cynthia involuntarily scowled.
For the other three team members, it might have been a proud accomplishment. For Cynthia, it wasn’t.
While others saw her as part of the successful team, she viewed herself as a mere headcount who didn’t contribute at all.
“Particularly, the Vice Principal was impressed with you, Cynthia.”
“…I didn’t do anything.”
Cynthia said this with genuine belief.
The man only smiled gently, undeterred by her self-deprecating comment.
“That’s incorrect. You had plenty of chances to shine. You just lacked courage.”
“So, could you get to the point already?”
Cynthia felt another round of forced encouragement looming and wanted to leave immediately.
She’d already endured far too many pep talks on this subject.
“The Vice Principal hopes you’ll find more courage going forward.”
“Huh?”
Out of the blue, the man said something Cynthia hadn’t anticipated.
“What do you mean?”
“Had you been braver, perhaps you would’ve shot arrows at the ghouls without hesitation, preventing Elaine’s distress from happening in the first place?”
“…”
“And if you had drawn the d*ath Knight’s attention from afar, perhaps Ryu would have found it easier to deal with them.”
Cynthia bit her lip, stung by the man’s accurate jabs.
She’d mentally replayed those scenarios hundreds of times without needing his input.
If only she had done this or that back then…
Yet replaying these scenarios was meaningless.
“The Vice Principal hopes that if such a situation arises again, you’ll bravely pick up your bow.”
“So, your actual point is…”
“Take it.”
Before Cynthia could protest, the man extended something towards her.
It was a small pouch.
“What is this?”
“It’s something to bridge that tiny gap in courage.”
“Huh?”
Though confused, Cynthia eyed the pouch with suspicion.
“You don’t need to worry. Just take it.”
Reluctantly, Cynthia took the pouch.
Through the cloth, she felt a few round objects inside.
“Think of it as courage-inducing candy. Specially distributed to select students by the Vice Principal.”
“Candy?”
The description fit. Cynthia untied the pouch cautiously.
Inside were several colorful round candies, giving off a sweet aroma.
“What’s…”
“Then, see you later. I’ll root for your academy life.”
“Huh? Wait!”
The man turned away as soon as he handed over the candies, seemingly done with his mission.
Cynthia watched him leave, then turned her attention to the candies in her hand.
“It’s from the Vice Principal…”
Cynthia pulled out a red candy and studied it.
There were five in total, each with a different color.
“Huh.”
Cynthia smirked at the sight of the red candy.
Maybe the Vice Principal thought the academy students were like 6-7-year-olds who’d cheer up with a simple offering of candy.
Did he believe she’d shout “Wow, thank you!” and immediately cheer up?
“I guess I’ve been a bit too serious these days.”
Cynthia reflected that maybe her recent stress was noticeable, even from an outside perspective.
Without much thought, she popped the red candy into her mouth.
Immediately, the sweet flavor spread throughout.
She’d expected something fruity like strawberry but, no, it was just pure sweetness.
Despite its hard exterior, the candy melted instantly upon contact with her tongue.
She had planned to roll it around in her mouth and head home.
But…
Gulp.
Before she knew it, the candy had dissolved into liquid and flowed down her throat.
‘Now that I’ve eaten courage-inducing candy, will I suddenly feel braver?’
She chuckled at the absurdity of the thought as she took a step forward—only to hesitate.
Her gaze had caught a tiny ant crossing her path.
Thump.
“Wha…”
Suddenly, small details she’d never noticed before became vividly clear.
Not necessarily a different world, but a view she hadn’t consciously paid attention to until now.
‘What…”
Thump.
It felt like she had stepped into a completely new universe.
From the ant beneath her foot to everything around her, it all now seemed strikingly clear and alive.
Thump.
More than that, the candy lived up to its claim. A wave of confidence washed over her, convincing her that she could do pretty much anything.
If a ghoul from the competition appeared before her now, she was sure she’d aim an arrow at its head without hesitation.
Thump… Thump…
Cynthia’s heart began pounding with the sudden rush of newfound courage.
