Hm? Come to think of it, why isn’t the hot-tempered Kohinata saying anything? Only Tsuji and Satō are getting worked up. Looking at Kohinata, I see him intently watching the priest operate the transfer formation. Is he interested in that kind of device?
The light of the magic formation intensifies, and Ikeda’s figure quietly disappears.
“Well then, who’s next?”
The next to raise her hand is Kimijima. Her eyes are still red, but she gives Sakuragi a small smile, saying she’ll be fine, and walks to the magic formation.
I hadn’t noticed until now, but Kimijima isn’t carrying a sword. She has a long pole, almost as tall as herself, tied to her back. Come to think of it, I heard there was a student who chose a spear.
The priest looks at Kimijima standing in the magic circle and asks the same question as before.
“Where would you like to go?”
“To the Kingdom of Zibe, please.”
From Kimijima’s attitude, I had somewhat expected it, but it was indeed different from where everyone had said they were going earlier. However, the three third-years watched silently as if they had known this would happen.
“Yuzuki… Are you sure about this?”
Kohinata asks with a sharp glare, but Kimijima doesn’t even meet his eyes. Something must have happened between these two. The priest, assuming the conversation was over, begins to operate the stone tablet.
“Take care, Kimijima.”
“…”
I call out to Kimijima just as I did with Ikeda. But Kimijima remained looking down. And then, the moment the magic circle began to emit light.
Suddenly, Kohinata rushes to the stone tablet, pushing away the priest who was operating it.
“Kohinata!”
The pushed priest looks up at Kohinata in surprise, but Kohinata starts fiddling with the stone tablet without even glancing sideways. So that’s what he was watching earlier. Kimijima notices and frantically reaches out.
But the magic circle had already started moving, and the light was growing stronger and stronger. In the light, Kimijima’s figure, face still frozen in fear, quietly vanished.
The priests quickly gather and restrain Kohinata. Stunned by the sudden turn of events, we didn’t know what to do. If she had been sent to some kind of dimensional crevice… The worst-case scenario flashes through my mind, and I approach the priest who was checking the stone tablet.
“What happened to Kimijima?!”
“W-Well…”
The priest turns towards me but only stares back with a troubled look. As I’m about to ask again, growing impatient, High Priest Gregory’s anxious voice comes from behind.
“Where was she sent?!”
“Sh-She’s been set to the Gallar Blue Temple…”
“W-What a disaster…”
Gregory’s face turns pale at the priest’s words. His expression makes it clear that Kimijima has been sent to a dangerous place.
“Mr. Gregory, what is Gallar Blue…?”
“…It’s a temple that used to be in the Hodgkin Federation. …A temple that was abandoned over fifty years ago.”
“Abandoned? Don’t tell me, because of a Monster Parade or something?”
“…That’s right.”
This is the worst. If I remember correctly, that’s a place where humans were driven out by an invasion of a large number of monsters. I’ve heard that a considerable area of the Hodgkin Federation lost its human habitation because of that. If she’s been sent there alone, surely… This is bad. We have to do something.
“Is there any way to send someone there for a rescue?”
“Unfortunately… It’s quite far from any human settlement. Even if we could send someone, it would be difficult to escape from there…”
“Then… Is there any way for her to transfer back here?”
“While the main temples in each country have reception circles for transfers, the magic circles for sending… are only here and at the Envirion Cathedral.”
“No way…”
Is there nothing we can do…? Damn it. What have you done, Kohinata!
Kohinata, still restrained by the priests, looks at me with triumphant eyes.
“Heh heh heh. It’s her own fault. Even though I graciously offered to be with her. How dare she refuse! So I decisively broke it off with her!”
“T-That’s because Senpai Akira seemed to have changed after coming here! Even yesterday, he did such a violent thing to the sensei. There’s no way a girl would accept someone like that!”
“Shut up! A first-year like you doesn’t know anything!”
“Senpai, you’re childhood friends with Senpai Yuzuki, aren’t you?! This is… terrible!”
Sakuragi, her eyes red with anger at the situation, shouts at Kohinata.
Damn it. A rampage over a love affair? The other students are completely put off by this.
…What should I do?
Domoto? They say he has quite the potential…
…No. …I can’t.
…In the end, it would only sacrifice a student.
…Damn it.
Thinking about my own danger at a time like this. Am I an idiot?!
It’s already decided. There’s only one thing I can do, isn’t there?
…
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT LOCALIZERMEERKAT.PAGES.DEV
I take a deep breath. That’s right. Thanks to the power of my guardian spirit, this calms my heart. For a martial artist, a clear and calm mind is the most important thing.
Alright. I won’t back down now.
“Mr. Gregory. I’ll go. I might not be able to do anything, but… I can’t let Kimijima be… alone in such an unknown world… all by herself.”
“B-But Mr. Shigeto. Even if you go, you can’t… Even Kyohei, who has the highest rank among us, probably couldn’t do anything against the monsters…”
“That may be true… But I can’t abandon her. Please. Transfer me to where Kimijima is.”
“But…”
I’ve already decided. If I abandon a student, I’m sure I wouldn’t be able to live with the regret.
“I-I’ll go too…”
“Don’t. You heard what they said. It probably won’t make any difference who goes. There’s no need for you to bear this burden too.”
“But…”
“sensei, me too!”
Along with Sakuragi, Nishina also volunteers.
“It’s alright. I don’t intend to die. I have my iaido skills too.”
“sensei…”
“That’s right, you two, you received some preserved food, didn’t you? Can you share some with me?”
“Huh?”
“I won’t die. I’ll desperately try to escape with Kimijima. But even so, we’ll need food, right?”
“Y-Yes!”
The two open the lids of the bags hanging from their shoulders and offer me several days’ worth of emergency food. I smile at them, saying “Thanks,” and take the food from them. Then I step into the magic circle.
“Kusunoki! Don’t do something useless!”
Kohinata, still restrained, shouts at me, but Domoto steps in front of him, blocking his view. Even Kohinata looks up at Domoto, flustered, saying “D-Domoto?”
What’s this? As I look at Domoto, he suddenly takes off the sword at his waist and throws it towards me. I reflexively catch the sword.
“The habit of a sensei, huh… Well, struggle as much as you can.”
“…This helps.”
“I heard you told Akira that you can’t use a sword in kendo. …Can you handle this?”
“I have to, don’t I?”
“Heh.”
Domoto shows me a smile I’ve never seen before and steps back. Indeed, a short sword might be a bit inadequate. Looking at the sword, I see it has the same hilt design as my short sword. It seems promising.
“Take care, all of you.”
I smile at the other students and urge Gregory to start the transfer. Tsuji and Sato seemed shocked by the sudden turn of events. The priest in front of the stone tablet, not knowing what to do, looks to the High Priest, his superior, for help.
“Mr. Gregory! Please!”
“…Understood.”
After pondering with a troubled face, Gregory finally gives up and authorizes the transfer.
“Mr. Shigeto!”
I hear Miree’s voice. When I turn around, I see Miree looking at me with slightly moist eyes.
“Please be safe!”
“Ms. Miree. …Thank you for everything.”
I bow my head to Miree, who has been so helpful. Yes. Now I have no regrets.
As the priest starts manipulating the stone tablet, the letters of the magic circle immediately begin to glow faintly. The voices of Nishina and Sakuragi calling out “sensei!” seem a bit distant.
…I remember there was a sensei in my hometown who jumped into a river to save a drowning student and was swept away. Such a memory suddenly crosses my mind. As a child, I wondered why he jumped into the river if he couldn’t swim.
…Heh. That’s exactly me right now. I can’t help but laugh at myself.
Crack.
The moment after I’m hit by a slight sense of dizziness, I find myself in a dilapidated ruin.
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