I Possessed the Villain’s Childhood Friend – Chapter 83

“497. 498. 499. 500.”

“Good job, Aike.”

“Thanks.”

I stood up and accepted the water and towel Reina handed me.

My back was drenched in sweat, and my throat felt parched with thirst.

“Have you been training more often lately? Is there a reason?”

“Just thought it might be good to put in a little more effort.”

“…As far as I know, aren’t you already at the top tier in Major Practice, Aike-senpai?”

Michelle, who had been watching us train with Reina, tilted her head in confusion.

“That doesn’t justify slacking off, though.”

“That’s true.”

“Still, don’t overdo it. If you get hurt, that’d be a huge loss.”

“I got it.”

Even if I said that, I had no intention of cutting back on my training anytime soon.

In the plans I had set, there was no way I could drop out.

For someone like me, who lacked talent compared to others, I had to do this.

“But don’t you think training every day like this will get boring?”

“Whether it’s fun or not isn’t really important when it comes to training the body, so it’s fine.”

Speaking of which, why was Michelle here with us now?

To put it simply, she was being ostracized by her classmates.

And the reason for that was me.

To clarify my relationship with Reina, it was practically an engagement.

But it seemed that only those within Arcana disregarded it now.

In high society, negative opinions about us were still rampant.

To put it bluntly, the stories about us were even banned within the faction of the second duke’s house.

So how were the new students who entered Arcana this year supposed to treat us, I wondered?

Naturally, following the opinions of high society was the mainstream.

To them, the opinions within Arcana didn’t hold much weight.

Of course, that didn’t mean they could cause us any harm.

Anyway, the issue arose on the day of the entrance ceremony.

To prepare for any unforeseen circumstances, I approached Michelle to have a conversation, and that news spread like wildfire among all the students at Arcana.

Consequently, Michelle, who ended up talking to someone she should have kept her distance from, became isolated.

Reina was the one who relayed that news to me, and while I was pondering what to do, Michelle came directly to me and said.

“Please take responsibility for me since I’ve become alone just for talking with you, senpai.”

Since I had no way to offer a solution that surpassed that, I ended up hanging out with Michelle during breaks after classes.

By being with her, I could maybe spot any suspicious behavior she might have, so it was certainly not a loss for me.

Of course, I couldn’t shake the suspicion that everything was unfolding too conveniently.

However, since I couldn’t impose punishment on Michelle, who hadn’t committed any crime at the moment…

In other words, it was unavoidable.

“Reina-senpai! How about we go to the café together in a bit?”

“Hmm, should we?”

“Of course, Aike-senpai should come too!”

Michelle’s personality could be described as lively, like a playful puppy.

She chattered non-stop, ran around, and always wanted to do something simple, like a puppy.

It almost felt like she would fit right in with puppy ears and a tail.

I hadn’t known her to have such a personality since she only appeared as a supporting character in the assassination incident in the original story.

“But where are the other seniors today?”

When Michelle mentioned this, she was, of course, referring to Sophia, Leon, Helen, and Atal.

Especially, she seemed disappointed that Sophia wasn’t around.

“I told you yesterday, didn’t I? They went on a two-day, one-night field study for the second-year major practice next week.”

“…Ah. I think I remember hearing that!”

As Reina just mentioned, those four were currently out on a field study for their practice.

The offer had come to us too, since both Reina and I were performing well in practice, but we had each rejected it for our own reasons.

Since it was merely a suggestion and not an obligation, there were no major issues arising from it.

“So we won’t see Sophia-senpai until tomorrow?”

Among us, Michelle liked Sophia the most.

It wasn’t that she was awkward with the others, but perhaps it was the sense of kinship she felt as a special admission student from the common folk.

Plus, considering Sophia’s bright and positive atmosphere, being of the same gender could only make her feel more comfortable.

We all knew that, so we didn’t particularly pay attention to such things.

But reina was the only one who would always become dejected every time she saw such a scene.

“…Are we lacking in some way?”

This was how she would feel every time.

Her expression and demeanor didn’t convey such a feeling, but it was a mix of various emotions, jealousy.

“Ah. Th-that’s not what I meant, Reina-senpai!”

Reina was discouraged, and Michelle was trying to cheer her up as best as she could while observing her.

This pattern had become an unspoken routine of our days.

“Let’s go to the café as we just mentioned, Reina.”

“Okay.”

As we tried to move to the regular café and resolve the situation, suddenly—

<Students who are hearing this voice, please gather in the auditorium immediately.>

Someone’s voice echoed in my head.

“…Just now.”

“Did you hear it too, senpai?”

“Yeah, I heard it too.”

Reina and Michelle tilted their heads in confusion.

<Once again, I say, all students hearing this voice must gather in the auditorium immediately.>

As if to confirm that all three of us hadn’t misheard, the voice echoed again.

“Telepathy that delivers the message directly to our heads through our student IDs. If my memory serves me correctly, this function shouldn’t be used unless in an emergency.”

“Is it really? W-wait, is it related to that terror incident from last year…?”

“No way. It can’t be that. Still, I hope it’s nothing serious.”

Hearing that it might be an emergency made Michelle tremble, and Reina took her hand to calm her, and together they stepped forward.

I followed behind them quietly.

“Aike?”

“Ah, yeah?”

“You okay? You don’t look so good.”

“…It’s nothing. Just a bit hot.”

“…Alright.”

While I was throwing a cover to Reina, I was really sweating coldly on my back.

The reason was simple.

This telepathy through student IDs had never been a function used in the original story.

In other words, it was an unknown danger looming over us.

What worried me the most was that if the information I had was correct, there was only one situation where this function would be used.

That was to call forth troops that could be activated at a moment’s notice.

★

Over twenty students had gathered in the auditorium.

But something felt off about the balance.

There were six red ribbons representing the first-year students.

Ten golden ribbons representing the third-years.

But there were only Reina and me left, wearing the silver ribbons of the second year.

“Attention!”

Just as everyone was bewildered by the sudden assembly, Ender Dean stepped forward, shouting, and began speaking from the podium.

“Everything I’m about to say is based on actual events. Please remain calm and listen.”

The usual gentle demeanor on Ender Dean’s face had completely vanished.

Because of that, a sense of tension began to rise among the students gathered in the auditorium.

“We’ve received word that a large number of magical beasts have appeared at the Southern Frontline. I immediately requested troop support from other regions, but it will take three days for additional troops to arrive. Because of this, we need to call forth those who can assist at the frontline from among the students currently attending Arcana until reinforcements arrive.”

“….”

I couldn’t comprehend it.

A large number of magical beasts?

In the original story, the setting had only utilized magical beasts once.

And even then, they hadn’t appeared directly.

“The students gathered here are those who are immediately available for combat, and only you second-year students who have gone on the field study have been dispatched to the Southern Frontline.”

“And…”

“Uh, um, is there any way to refuse?”

The student who suddenly interrupted Ender Dean’s speech was a first-year girl I had never seen before.

With a clearly pale face, she trembled visibly.

To put it accurately, most of the students in the auditorium had already turned pale.

“…Not all of you, but at least three from each year will likely be selected.”

So, that meant a third of us here would need to go to the frontline?

“I d-don’t want to….”

Upon hearing Ender Dean’s response, the girl, holding her head, shook it.

Of course, she wouldn’t want to.

“However, you won’t be fighting magical beasts directly. Basically, what you’ll need are supporting personnel for the knights and mages, after all.”

Even if he said that to calm everyone down, the fact remained that the frontline was where anything could happen.

Originally, they were taking us because there was a shortage of personnel, so there was no way such explanations would hold any persuasion.

“Let’s first gather the volunteers. If you wish to volunteer, please raise your hand.”

When he said that, the ones who raised their hands were—

“…It’s a total of four people?”

One upperclassman I didn’t know, Reina and me, and lastly, Michelle.

The other students quietly trembled, glancing at those around them.

I didn’t particularly feel like blaming them.

I had raised my hand too, only because I felt an inexplicable anxiety surge up.

An incident that hadn’t existed in the original work.

And the warning that the real Aike had given me in a dream.

Plus, the story of how Sophia, Leon, Helen, and Atal, who left for field studies, had immediately moved to the frontline.

All these factors combined left me unable to think of staying idle at Arcana.

If the Avatarara was involved in the current situation, it was undoubtedly my past misdeeds coming back to haunt me.

“…Alright. Including the second-year students who have already headed to the frontline, that makes eight in total, so this should be fine. We won’t be recruiting anyone else. Everyone except for the four who raised their hands, please go back.”

At his words, the other students, including the first-year girl who had been holding her head in despair, let out a sigh of relief.

And then they quickly fled the auditorium.

As the number of people dwindled rapidly in the auditorium, Ender Dean quietly scanned the remaining students and began to speak.

“I trust all of you remaining here understand the meaning behind my words.”

His tone was not that of using respectful language typical in official situations with students.

The meaning was clear.

He was indicating that he would speak the truth even if he shouldn’t.

“To be frank, the situation at the Southern Frontline is dire. I mentioned we were recruiting support personnel earlier, but I can’t guarantee how things will turn out. It means there’s a possibility you will face magical beasts directly.”

“How serious is the situation exactly?”

The question came from a third-year upperclassman.

“…Recently, we received reports that the number of magical beasts at the Eastern-Western Frontline has been decreasing. Upon verification, it was found that all the magical beasts previously seen there have emerged in the Southern region.”

“What does that mean?”

“Although support troops from the Eastern-Western region have immediately departed for the Southern Frontline, as I mentioned earlier, it will take at least three days for them to arrive. Hence, we had no choice but to request troop support from Arcana, which is closest to the Southern Frontline.”

A somber tone could be sensed in Ender Dean’s voice.

Since he had been the most vocally opposed when Sophia and Leon had to fight against Avatarara in the original, it made sense he would feel this way now.

To put it differently, the situation at the frontlines was just that serious.

“No matter how bad the situation is, shouldn’t this be a problem for the adults to resolve? Forcing you students into battle is really…”

“It’s fine, Ender Dean.”

The one who intervened when Ender Dean was about to apologize was the same upperclassman from earlier.

With a faint smile, he scratched his head, continuing to speak.

“After all, I’ll be a knight starting next year, so I can think of this as gaining experience beforehand.”

“I-I’m fine too! My mother said my talent was given to help many people! This must be that time….”

Michelle stuttered, her voice fading at the end, but her gaze remained steadfast.

“We’re fine too. Our friends are heading there, and we can’t just sit back and relax. Right, Aike?”

“…Right.”

Thus, Reina and I gave the same reply.

“Really, thank you.”

Eventually, Ender Dean bowed his head.