Chapter 62

Good morning.

Today's weather is a downpour.

I feel disheartened at the thought of having to go out on such a rainy day.

After getting dressed, I headed to the dining hall.

Yugram and Digrée were already seated, and we exchanged brief greetings.

The talk around us was about the students who fled back yesterday.

It seemed that almost everyone already knew that the student who fled was a two-timing girl.

The young ladies were venting their pent-up frustrations, loudly criticizing the two-timing girl.

The student council president, who entered the dining hall, only frowned in discomfort without reprimanding the young ladies and left.

The two-timing girl was not present because she had been placed under house arrest in the punishment room.

The punishment room is locked with a complex magical key, making escape impossible.

Arshain told everyone about my idea from last night, and I was praised and patted.

After finishing the meal and standing up,

——Beeep Beeep Beeep——

an artificial buzzer-like sound echoed throughout the academy.

The lights in the dining hall also changed to a red color and began to flash.

Above the serving counter in the dining hall, text began to scroll:

*Emergency notification, a large number of monsters have been confirmed. Students, immediately prepare your equipment and head to the city gate.*

Next to me, Arshain, who rarely shows any emotion, made a bitter face and clicked her tongue.

We immediately moved to the carriage station to head to the city gate.

The wide capital is quite a distance from the city gate, so it's faster to take a carriage.

Under the guidance of the teachers, we boarded the carriages one by one.

A few young ladies, warned by the teachers, returned to the academy.

Were they the ones not suited for battle?

In this world, whether a student or not, those who can fight are expected to take the lead in battle, and this is a given for nobles, who are educated from a young age.

Using commoners as shields and watching from a safe distance is the most despised behavior.

Well, in this world, battles against monsters are far more common than battles between humans, so individual strength is also important.

I wondered what the second and third-year students, who were staying outside the city, would do.

The second-year students in the grasslands were rushing back, while those in the forest were securing safety under the guidance of teachers and adventurers, centered around their base.

The third-year students were on their own.

They were free to return or stay, but if they got injured, no one would come to their aid.

The academy teaches how to fight and survive, so injuries and deaths are considered personal responsibility, and everyone, along with their guardians, signs a pledge at the time of enrollment.

Inside the carriage, no one spoke, and the only sound was the rattling of the carriage.

Looking at everyone's faces, I saw fear, determination, and even some distorted faces trying to maintain a neutral expression, all tense and rigid.

Arshain looked the same as usual, but was she a bit nervous? Yugram maintained his usual expression.

Digrée was nervous but strangely smiling.

We arrived at the city gate without much time passing.

The carriage that dropped us off immediately returned to the academy.

The place where we were dropped off had the city gate in front, a makeshift barricade behind, and a medical station set up in between.

At the medical station, a few soldiers or adventurers were already receiving treatment.

Following the teacher's instructions, we were divided into defense, long-range attack, and close-range attack groups.

Meanwhile, carriages carrying merchants and students from the grasslands were entering the city gate.

No one was severely injured.

Since there were still few injured, I was carried by Yugram to the long-range attack group.

Sora was with me, but Hak had slipped into Arshain's pocket, extending and retracting tentacles.

Full of enthusiasm!

The close-range attack group headed outside the city gate, while the long-range attack group went up to the top of the city gate.

The wide top of the city gate was bustling with many soldiers preparing bows, javelins, and magic.

It's rare for monsters to use long-range magic, but some can fly, so we couldn't be complacent.

Yugram and I faced the enemy together.

A number of flags stood at a certain distance, marking the range for long-range attacks, about 500 meters away.

The heavy rain made visibility poor, and all I could see was a mass of black mist in the distance.

Thinking about how many people would be injured or lose their lives in the upcoming battle made me shudder.

Yugram slowly patted my back in a rhythmic manner.

I had grown up in the mountains in my previous life and was more familiar with life-and-death situations than a two-timing girl, but this was my first time in a real battle.

This was different from the usual monster hunts.

A battle carrying the weight of many lives.

Looking down, I saw many female knights and young ladies outside the city gate, using special magical devices to create a large barrier to protect the city.

Outside that barrier were Arshain, Digrée, Ingrid, and the knights I had met at the castle.

Everyone seemed calm, and Ingrid was even smiling.

It's okay, I'm not fighting alone.

My tension eased a bit.

——Clang Clang Clang——

The sound of a large gong echoed as the group of monsters approached within sight.

The long-range attack group launched their attacks simultaneously.

The battle had begun.

The power of the lightning magic in the downpour was immense, and the monsters in the area I attacked vanished completely.

I continued casting magic without pause.

The tremendous sound, light, and vibration reached us.

The black mist thinned somewhat but was quickly swallowed again by the advancing black mist.

Fast-moving monsters had already reached outside the city gate, and the close-range attack group had also engaged in battle.

The barrier created by the female knights and young ladies did not allow any hostile presence to cross its boundary.

In the downpour, the smell of blood wafted through the air.

I continued casting magic, thinking, "You're not going to die, and neither am I!"

I don't know how much time had passed when I was brought back to my senses by the feeling of being patted on the back.

"Keta-sama, Keta-sama! Please stop attacking for a moment! Keta-sama!"

Yugram, who rarely shows any emotion, was calling out to me with a distorted face.

When I looked at Yugram, he looked relieved.

"Are you okay? Let's take a break. You've been casting magic non-stop, Keta-sama. Even if you have plenty of magic power left, you must be tired. Excuse me for a moment."

Yugram picked me up.

When I saw my hands, which had been extended forward, they were trembling and stiff.

When I relaxed and clenched my hands, a slight pain ran through them.

When I slowly opened my palms, I saw numerous shallow cuts.

Sora licked the wounds.

Yugram headed for the medical station.

The moment we entered the barrier created by a few people, the pain in my palms subsided.

I was seated on Yugram's lap, who was sitting cross-legged in a corner of the barrier.

Yugram, looking at me with concern, frowned.

I must have been so engrossed that I lost myself.

Feeling guilty for worrying Yugram, I gave him a weak smile, and he showed a slight smile in return.

"Phew, Keta-sama, you went a bit overboard! Losing yourself in battle can be life-threatening! Please be careful!"

"Sorry, I'll be more careful."

Getting engrossed and losing myself is a bad habit I've had since childhood, and it sometimes causes worry for others.

As an adult, I've improved a lot and have more room to look around, but in this world, in my first large-scale battle, I must have been tense without realizing it.

Reflecting on this, I rubbed my head against Yugram's chest, and he seemed to be in a good mood, even in this situation.

"Hey, Keta! You were amazing! I was so surprised, I almost wet my pants! Hahaha!"

The one who approached, patting my back, was Nista, who had been in charge of our group during the forest training.

I coughed a bit from the patting.

Nista handed us portable food and, laughing, told us how my attacks were so impressive that a few people were caught off guard and injured. Nista had carried the injured here.

While munching on the portable food that Yugram had warmed up, I listened absentmindedly.

——Clang Clang Clang——

A loud bell rang.

Looking up, I saw a huge black shadow in the sky beyond the city gate.

Someone shouted,

"It's a dragon! A dragon has appeared!"

Screams could be heard from people inside the barricade who saw the shadow.

From outside the city gate, I couldn't tell if they were screams or battle cries.

I forced the remaining portable food into my mouth and held out my hands to Yugram.

Yugram nodded silently and carried me up to the top of the city gate.

The dragon, seen from the top of the city gate, looked even larger, like a mass of black mist, but strangely, I didn't feel defeated.

Despite the size distorting the distance, I cast a huge, sturdy barrier at the boundary between long-range and close-range, where the flags stood.

Of course, I made it transparent so the enemy wouldn't notice! The scenery might blur a bit, but in the downpour, it would go unnoticed until the last moment.

*Boom*

The dragon, flying straight, collided head-on with my barrier and was repelled with twice the force, creating a large crack but falling to the ground.

I immediately dispelled the barrier, and a barrage of magic from the long-range group rained down on the dragon.

I also cast a giant spear made of earth magic, aiming for the dragon's wings from above.

*Crack* *Roar*

The sound of the wings being crushed was followed by the dragon's roar.

The roar, making the body vibrate, caused many in the close-range group outside the city gate to lose their footing and sit down.

Meanwhile, the long-range group continued to rain down attack magic,

*Roar* *Roar*

The other wing was also deeply injured by the attacks of others.

However, many in the long-range group seemed to have run out of magic power and collapsed.

"Now! Are you going to let the long-range group take all the credit? A dragon that can't fly is just a big lizard! The finishing blow is ours!!"

Laughing, Ingrid charged at the dragon.

Arshain and the knights followed, and the adventurers, raising battle cries, also joined in, and those in the long-range group with remaining magic power,

"Let's finish it off before they reach it! Hahaha"

laughed and began casting magic.

What is this? Inside the city gate, people were lamenting and screaming as if the world was ending.

On top of and outside the city gate, people were laughing while casting magic or laughing while rushing forward.

The temperature difference is extreme.

Despite the harsh reality and situation, the sight of people laughing and rushing forward was childlike and enjoyable.

The people in this world are very reliable!

The world has faced many disasters, plagues, and monster invasions, but there are people who laugh and head into battle.

Ah, I thought it would be okay.

This world is strong.

It won't lose to the unreasonable whims of the Goddess of Shit!

Take that, former goddess! This world won't lose to you!

Learn the resilience of humans after being demoted!

Learn how much you have destroyed and how much you have disregarded life!

Before I knew it, I was smiling.

Thanks to the rain stopping, I could see a ball of magic power in the dragon's mouth.

I quickly created a hard, solid barrier and thrust it into the dragon's mouth just as it was about to cast magic.

My barrier was a perfect counter-barrier.

The magic that was countered inside the dragon's mouth returned to its body.

*Puff*

A large amount of smoke rose from the dragon's mouth.

"Hey! Keta! Are you trying to take my prey first?!"

Hearing Ingrid's barking voice from a distance, I laughed again.

Everyone in the long-range group was laughing.

The close-range group, who had finally arrived, attacked the dragon with their respective weapons.

Notable were those using magic swords, starting with Ingrid.

Their power overwhelmed other soldiers and adventurers, dealing deep wounds to the dragon one after another.

The dragon resisted, shaking its head, sweeping with its tail, and biting, but the damage from magic was significant, and its movements were slow, with no one receiving deep wounds.

*Thud*

The dragon fell, and the black mist from its body dissipated.

"Yaaay!"

Cheers erupted as the dragon was defeated.

Cheers also rose from the long-range group, informing the people in the city that the enemy had been defeated.

The female knights and young ladies who had maintained the barrier also sat down, dirty or not, and raised their hands with nearby people, cheering.

Cheers rose from all over the city.

The close-range group, upon seeing the dragon defeated, did not pursue the remaining group of monsters and returned to the city gate, cheering.

I was still being carried by Yugram as we descended from the city gate and headed to the medical station.

To treat the injured from the close-range group.

The healing magic that had filled the barrier was thinning and about to disappear.

We created a new, large barrier and filled it with holy magic, preparing to receive the severely injured.

Approaching the teacher in charge of medical care,

"Ah, Keta-sama, you've come! Our work is just beginning, so your help is a great relief!"

I had spoken to the teacher in charge of medical care a few times, and in a world without surgical procedures, where knowledge of human anatomy is limited, even my shallow knowledge was apparently useful.

Knowing the structure of the human body makes the image of magic more concrete, making healing magic more effective.

As soon as the close-range group arrived at the city gate, a large number of injured rushed in.

The medical team from the knight's order, who had been at the front lines, returned and raised their staffs, creating a tunnel-like barrier similar to one I had made before, separating the lightly injured from the severely injured.

The most severely injured were brought into the barrier where I was.

People with their sides torn by monsters, skulls almost visible from magic, both legs lost, and other clearly severe injuries were brought in one after another.

I treated them in the order they were brought in, but the smell of blood was overwhelming, making it hard to concentrate.

So, I asked Yugram, who was nearby and helping, to reduce the smell with wind magic.

I didn't have time to count how many I treated, but when Yugram stopped me and I looked up, it was already getting dark outside the barrier.

I hadn't noticed because the barrier itself was faintly glowing.

The students had been instructed to return to the academy.

With only a few of the remaining severely injured left, it seemed the healers sent from the church could handle it.

Yugram carried me to the academy's carriage, where Arshain and Digrée were waiting, and Hak, who had flown out of Arshain's pocket, jumped onto my arm.

Hak rubbed against my cheek.

We got into the carriage and headed back to the academy.

It had been a long day.

Sitting on Arshain's lap, I fell asleep as if I had fainted.