Epilogue In the silence, Nina stood rooted on the spot.
Before her lay the decapitated corpses of the larvae. No one at the scene understood what had happened.
The medical students were the first to collect themselves. They started to work on the injured.
The medical student who had dragged Nina back applied antiseptic liquid, haemostatic and cell regeneration gel to her wound. He then bandaged the wound, not too gently.
What had happened?
Only a few minutes had pa.s.sed since the Student President began the countdown. No one else had done anything, yet the larvae were torn apart one after another.
Did Layfon do this?
Probably. She shivered. Was this due to her blood loss? Or excitement......
Or fear?
Extraordinary skill. Was this what a Heaven"s Blade successor was like? She thought of this as she pressed down, hard, on the trembling of her body with her right wrist.
The students who didn"t know anything began to move. Some shouted in shock. Others were joyful for being alive.
Yes, they should be happy.
She tried to think along those lines.
Damage was minimized because of Layfon. She didn"t plan to deny that point. As long as Layfon was here, they could safely win the next Military Arts compet.i.tion.
But, was this really okay?
To resolve a crisis by relying entirely on one strong person?
If she had lost her life, she wouldn"t be here, thinking like this now. Without Layfon"s help, she would"ve died already.
He wasn"t proud of his exceptional skills in the Military Arts, and his viewpoint was totally different from everyone else"s.
She didn"t think the way he thought was totally wrong. The former Nina, who didn"t have to worry about money, could never understand, but now she could. She understood because she also had to work to pay for her own school and living fees.
But......
"No, what am I thinking?"
She turned around, about to give the retreat order.
And her gaze came across him.
"Layfon......"
Layfon stood on the edge of the city, on the other side of the larvae corpses.
He wasn"t there before.
He had just flown up from the ground, using one of the wires. It looked as if he had just jumped up one step to stand on Zuellni"s edge.
No words came from Nina.
"Ah, it"s great that you"re okay, Senpai."
He staggered to her, his appearance appallingly terrible.
His face and part of his arm not covered by the uniform was swollen red. His eyes were all red and tears tracked down his cheeks.
"This......?"
"Sorry, I ran too far from the city."
So he was in pain, but his smile looked more like a spasm.
"If I hadn"t destroyed the mother, other filth monsters would have come......"
As if he was shyly......No, looking at him trying to smile and break the awkward atmosphere, she felt her thoughts were too foolish.
"You were stupid. We have gear tailored for combat outside!"
"Eh!? Really!"
"Of course. This might be an Academy City, but even so, it"s a famous one. You can find standard equipment here."
His dumbstruck expression looked ridiculous. She laughed. And he also smiled, if only a bit sourly.
Then......
"Sorry, I"m a bit tired. Let me rest a bit," he said, and toppled.
"Hey!"
She supported him, but he showed no signs of waking up. As she herself was weak from blood loss, she also fell, unable to fully support his weight.
"H-Hey, you shouldn"t sleep in such a place!"
He hadn"t planned to, but Layfon was using Nina"s chest as a pillow.
Though she looked fl.u.s.tered from the pressure on top of her, she couldn"t move.
"And you look so thin too......You"re heavy!"
No matter how much she pushed at him, he remained inert. For some reason, none of the medical students nearby came over to help. Angry, she struggled to get him off her.
The sound of peaceful snoring.
"Geez......" she sighed.
"Well, you did really well," she patted his hair that was roughened by soil.
He said he partic.i.p.ated in the underground matches for money, but he risked his life in a fight that had nothing to do with it.
Wasn"t this the right thing to do for a person trained in the Military Arts?
She herself probably hadn"t discovered that Layfon"s nature wasn"t bad. He was just too honest.
To the level of rushing forward to do the right thing without harboring any doubt.
(If only I could do something for this guy.)
She thought as she patted his hair.
And......
"Cough."
"Huh!? Aaahhhhh! Blood! He"s vomiting blood! Stretcher! Get a stretcher over!" she shouted.
With Nina"s panicked voice, the medical students finally stirred.
(So noisy......)
Layfon thought, half asleep and half awake.
(Oh yes, I have to write a letter back to Leerin.)
The normal days might come.
And they should be more relaxing than the past.
He"d report everything to Leerin. As that thought fled, the background noise also fled, and he fell into a deep slumber.