Chapter 67

The rumbling vibration and the voice calling my name in my ear gradually brought me back to consciousness. Just before I lost consciousness, I felt an intense chill, but now I feel a warm, cozy warmth.

“Kento, Kento, try to hang on, don’t die, come back to us…”

The tearful voice I hear by my ear must be the Student Council President’s. It seems I am being held in her arms, leaning against her. The warmth from her palm on my stomach is flowing with healing magic. Come to think of it, I was stabbed from behind, so my back must be covered in blood.

“Yui… Your clothes are getting stained with blood…”

“Idiot, Kento, you’re more important than clothes, idiot…”

The Student Council President hugged me tightly. Ah, I wish I could stay like this forever, but that’s not possible, is it? Before getting up, I touched and removed the black bracelet on my wrist.

“Ah…”

The Student Council President, who had been freed from the bracelet, raised her left arm, and the classmates around her began to murmur.

“Hey… Yui, the bracelet is…?”

“No way, how did the Student Council President take it off?”

“Seriously? The Student Council President isn’t wearing a bracelet…”

With the Student Council President’s help, I sat up, and I felt a slight dizziness. It seems that even though my wounds are healed, the blood I lost hasn’t been replenished. The blood that had flowed down to my ankles was starting to clot, and it felt slimy and unpleasant.

“Kento, you shouldn’t push yourself, you should still lie down…”

“Um… Where are we exactly?”

‘We just entered the Forest of Demons… but there’s no need to worry about pursuers…’

“Freddy, what do you mean there’s no need to worry about pursuers?”

‘I raised the drawbridge… and made it so it can’t be lowered… we should be safe for a while…’

“Then, we’ll stop in the middle of the forest and remove everyone’s bracelets…”

‘Understood… I’ll inform Zae and the others…’

I noticed that the classmates on the carriage were looking at me with puzzled expressions.

“Kunifumi… Are you okay?”

“Are you seeing hallucinations…?”

“That’s bad… you should rest more…”

My conversation with Freddy must have seemed like mumbling or delirium, so I couldn’t help but smile wryly. Leaning against the back of the carriage next to the Student Council President, I briefly explained the situation to my classmates.

“So, the first five and the next fifty are all alive?”

“In a different country… finally able to enjoy this different world?”

“Sorry… but please don’t get too excited…”

When I mentioned that the boys who were rescued first had caused trouble and were now restrained and forced to work, my classmates sighed in exasperation. But I thought, if I hadn’t said anything, you guys would have caused problems too, right? I kept that thought to myself. Even Mr. Sato, our homeroom teacher, was holding his head in his hands.

“So, Kunifumi, what do you plan to do from here?”

“I intend to safely deliver everyone to Volzard and then negotiate with Camilla.”

“Of course, that negotiation is to return to our original world, right?”

“Yes, and if possible, I’d like to collect some precious metals as compensation…”

“Will it work out?”

“I don’t know. After all, we’re dealing with Camilla…”

When I mentioned Camilla’s name, my classmates looked bitter.

“Kunifumi, shouldn’t we just kill that damn princess?”

“No, not just the princess, all the knights too.”

“Right, I can’t forgive them.”

“There are fifty-five people alive, but Funayama is dead, right? We should avenge him.”

As one person suggested a radical idea, others quickly agreed. It seems everyone is still upset about how they were treated at the Lastock garrison.

“By the way, Kunifumi, what did you do with the knight who stabbed you?”

“Huh? I knocked him out, tied him up, and brought him along…”

“Wh-What? Are you an idiot? You were impaled, why didn’t you kill him?”

“Yeah, I understand what everyone is saying, but…”

I explained that we haven’t confirmed if anyone other than Camilla knows the summoning and return spells, and that to facilitate negotiations, I’ve tried to avoid bloodshed. I also mentioned that if the knights are gone, the people in the town will be in danger because the Forest of Demons is active.

“Hmm… But won’t they take advantage of us?”

“Maybe not… After all, they might think that if we could have killed them, we would have.”

“Normally, yes… but they’re not normal.”

“True…”

I’ve prioritized smooth negotiations, but it might backfire in some cases.

“By the way… can we really return?”

“Sorry, I’ve been focusing on the rescue, so I don’t know yet.”

“What will happen to us from now on…?”

When a girl muttered this, the atmosphere in the carriage became heavy.

“But if we go to Volzard, we can have proper meals and take hot baths.”

I felt the power of food and baths, as my classmates, who had been looking down, suddenly looked up.

“Oh… Really? Finally free from the bad food?”

“Bath… I want to take a hot bath quickly.”

“Oh, no… I haven’t informed them about the early operation…”

“Oh! Is there no food?”

“Bath, hey, what about the bath?”

“Wait, wait… I’ll contact them, just wait!”

The intensity of my classmates, who pressed me when they heard there might be no food or baths, was as strong as a rock ogre.

“Malt, tell Donovan that the situation has changed and we’ll bring the classmates to Volzard by evening.”

“Wafu, understood, Master.”

When Malt, who was sitting between my feet, poked his head out to answer, my classmates looked surprised. Thanks to the healing magic and the restorative pills, I felt much better.

“Then, I’ll remove the bracelets one by one.”

“Oh, great! This is true freedom!”

I removed the bracelets from my classmates while we were on the carriage and removed the rest when we stopped in the middle of the forest.

“What? I thought the Forest of Demons would be full of monsters.”

“Yeah, yeah, it’s just like a regular forest.”

While waiting for their bracelets to be removed, my classmates looked around the forest, seemingly disappointed. But the reason there are few monsters is that Reinhardt and the others have already cleared them.

“Don’t go too far. Salamanders appeared here yesterday.”

“Salamanders… do they breathe fire?”

“Yes, with a power several times greater than Takayama’s magic, and they can keep spewing it endlessly.”

“No way… such things exist?”

After removing everyone’s bracelets, everyone seemed to feel a deep sense of liberation, and the atmosphere of the group became more relaxed. The only thing left is to safely reach Volzard. With Zae and the others’ speed, we should arrive by mid-afternoon.

With everyone’s bracelets removed, we continued our journey to Volzard. Thanks to the path cleared by Reinhardt and the others, the carriage moved smoothly without much vibration. After a while, Halt, who was left to monitor Lastock, came to report.

“Master, they’re starting to wake up.”

“Understood, Freddy, go check it out.”

‘Understood…’

Since we put Camilla and the others to sleep first, they are likely awake and planning a response.

“Kunifumi, are you okay? What about pursuers…?”

“Hmm… I think we’re fine. We’ve passed the halfway point of the forest, and Volzard is closer.”

“That’s good, but if we’re taken back…?”

“That’s something we can’t allow. But to return to Japan, we need to use the return spell, and we need to confirm if it’s the correct one… there’s still a lot to think about.”

We’ve almost succeeded in rescuing our classmates, but there are still many challenges ahead. When faced with this reality, my classmates fell into deep thought. It was Mr. Sato, our homeroom teacher, who spoke up.

“Kunifumi, you’ve really done a lot. Implementing this plan required a lot of preparation and hard work. Thank you, I really appreciate it.”

“Mr. Sato…”

“Kunifumi, thank you, I thought I was done for…”

“I also thought I was going to die, thank you.”

“Seriously, I’m forever grateful, thanks a lot.”

“Everyone…”

Hearing thanks from everyone, I felt a warmth in my chest, as if I was finally being recognized after being treated like a failure.

“Kento, you’ve been supporting me from the shadows all this time, thank you, Kento.”

“Yui…”

The Student Council President, along with her thanks, kissed my cheek, and the carriage, which had been silent for a moment, was suddenly filled with various shouts.

“What… Student Council President!”

“Kyaa, I’ve been suspicious of you two calling each other by name…”

“Wait, wait, wait, I’m grateful for the help, but I didn’t hear about this, Kunifumi!”

“No, I don’t accept it! We don’t accept it!”

The boys’ complaints, the girls’ teasing, the murderous glares, the warm gazes, all fell upon us, but the Student Council President, as if it didn’t concern her, held my left arm and showed no intention of letting go. This kind of situation, even in Japan, never happened with Takayama, and while I felt a bit of superiority, I also felt a pain in my stomach thinking about what would happen after we arrived in Volzard.

‘Mr. Kent… Camilla is in a rage… but there’s no pursuit…’

‘Understood, look into the response strategies…’

‘Understood… Mr. Kent… the harem is just ahead…’

‘Guh, I hope it’s not a bloodbath…’

According to Freddy’s investigation, some advised Camilla to pursue us, but without a clear understanding of the situation and the scale of the enemy, they decided against it. This means we no longer have to worry about pursuers, and all we need to do