Chapter 35
Earlier, the corpses that Therion had revived were down below the cliff, so this movement must be…
I hurriedly turned around and saw two tattered, filthy people climbing up the cliff wall, catching their breath.
“Haah… What the hell… why did the monsters suddenly run off?”
It seemed that the monsters they had been fighting had suddenly fled.
The knight, struggling to climb the cliff, collapsed haphazardly upon reaching the top and, taking off his helmet while running a hand through his hair, said,
“I don’t know. But thanks to that, we survived… Huh?”
Our eyes met.
“……”
And in an instant, he scrambled away sideways, butt-first.
“Th-this….”
“This?”
“Edith Crowell?!”
“You’re… alive…! I’m not hallucinating, am I?!”
“No, no. I can see you too…”
I gave a light nod in greeting to the flustered pair.
“Hello.”
“…Gah. Hello! Is this place safe?!”
“…Yes. Probably… And Prince Behemoth and Therion also survived.”
“…! Even the prince?!”
When I pointed to Ethan lying on the ground, they reacted dramatically.
Ah, now I remembered.
Ethan Behemoth—the knight who had thrown his sword to save me from the spider monsters.
So he had survived after all.
“You saved me earlier… I saw you take down that giant spider monster. I’m sorry I couldn’t help.”
“It’s alright.”
Given that his own life had been in danger, he probably had no time to help anyone else. Surviving alone was miraculous enough.
He asked, slightly awkwardly,
“So… are the monsters here dealt with?”
“It seems so. Do you want to take a look?”
I offered him a spot with a clear view of the entire gorge. Supporting his companion, he stood at the cliff’s edge, looking out, and let out a sigh straight from the heart.
“Wow…”
Seeing the once-ferocious monsters lying scattered, and the teachers and knights apparently alive down below, must have been both astonishing and hopeful.
“There… seem to be other survivors down there.”
“Yes. I intend to go down and meet them.”
The thought of others’ lives being treated so recklessly left a bitter taste in my mouth.
Yet looking at Therion’s shameless expression somehow cooled the uneasy feeling in my chest.
“Really, truly… I’m so relieved…”
However, the student, unaware of the full circumstances, clung to another student and began sobbing.
I thought of how, just moments ago, I had subdued the gigantic Arachne and almost been caught in the collapse, and how Ethan had risked himself to dive into the rubble to save me…
That student probably assumed they were the only survivors, which must have been emotionally taxing.
“Yes. Just accompany us to the campsite, and show that our party is normal.”
“We’re heading back to the campsite. Could you help support Prince Behemoth?”
“Ah, of course! Leave it to us.”
Though I had repeatedly asked Therion, his brazen expression—“Do I really have to do this after killing the monsters?”—made me decide to use these students instead.
“Th-thank you. I… am not feeling well. Thanks to you, Edith, I barely survived here…”
Therion, pretending to be weak again, pulled his hood over his head.
Thanks to the thick smoke, the two seemed completely deceived and looked at Therion with sympathetic eyes.
We accompanied them, winding down through the gorge.
Below the cliff, “living” teachers, knights, and scouting students awaited us.
“Oh! You all survived. That’s commendable.”
“Professor…!”
A student supporting Ethan, thrilled to see a professor thought dead, could barely keep themselves from running over, tears welling up.
‘He actually was dead,’ I thought.
Even the two knights who knew them well didn’t seem to notice anything unusual.
They moved and spoke as naturally as if they were truly alive.
I turned my head, and Therion caught my gaze and smiled softly.
I felt uneasy again.
The horrific, nightmare-like gorge expedition, where some could be embraced and some could not, was finally over.
We returned to the campsite with the “survivors” and the “living.”
At dawn in the campsite, faint gray smoke rose from the extinguished campfires.
And, unexpectedly, an ambush awaited us.
“B-but… everyone should be dead…?”
“What are you talking about?”
The professor, tightly wrapped in bandages, pointed angrily at the other professors who had returned alive.
The students, initially thrilled to see them, began whispering as they witnessed the scene.
“Professor Ella, you analyzed that as a mimic and tried to prove it, but then… everyone died! I saw it with my own eyes!!”
“What did you say? Professor Evento, your words are harsh!”
“It feels like Professor Evento wants us dead?”
“That’s not what I mean…!! How did you even get out of there?!”
Eventually, the argument escalated into a full-blown shouting match.
More students gathered, drawn to this rare sight.
Those who had survived the gorge clung to us, crying tears of joy, but now were distracted by the professors’ fight.
I decided it was the perfect moment to slip away.
As I tried to weave through the crowd, something felt off.
‘Hmm…?’
The number of students kept increasing.
…Though thanks to Ethan’s efforts, fewer monsters had reached the campsite than expected, still, far too many were alive.
It was hard to believe Professor Evento had taken care of all of them.
Then, lastly, Yan ran up.
“Edith!”
“Ah.”
Behind him, a dazzling knight on a white horse appeared.
A knight in solid alloy armor, helmet on, with ornate markings on the horse’s back.
‘…Royal Knights.’
The Royal Knights.
Luckily, Yan had arrived at the campsite quickly with Camilla and summoned the Royal Knights in time.
Thanks to that, even though some students were heavily bandaged, there were no corpses.
The feeling of all these small events intertwining organically was strange.
Impulsive actions taken without calculating the best strategy returned to me like a reward.
Good intentions turned into miracles…
I was reminded of a life principle long forgotten.
“…Prince Behemoth is over there.”
“Thanks! I’m glad you made it back alive. We’ll talk more later!”
“Yes.”
I gestured to the students supporting Ethan for Yan, who was looking for him.
Yan only gave me a brief greeting before rushing off.
…but the Royal Knights, who seemed like they would follow him to Ethan Behemoth, kept approaching without stopping.
…Why are they coming this way?
“Are you Edith Crowell?”
The horse and rider finally stopped in front of me, and a calm, mature voice came from beneath the helmet.
‘What now?’
“…Yes, that’s me.”
“You arrived just in time thanks to you. I must express my gratitude.”
“Sir Gardwin did the summoning, though.”
“I’ve heard. They said Crowell worked hard too.”
“Ah…”
‘Are they really going to take credit for this?’
I felt unsettled by Yan’s unexpected toss. Surely he didn’t just push this onto me to avoid being caught?
The knight’s polite and composed demeanor made it even more unnerving.
“I know it must have been difficult at your age, but may I request a statement about what you witnessed in the gorge?”
A statement.
I glanced back and saw the professors still bickering, Therion looking pale, and two students, bloodied, supporting Ethan.
‘Ah… perhaps…’
I probably look the most intact. That works in my favor.
“Yes, I’ll be glad to help.”
I nodded.
By shaping the statement as I wished, I could erase all suspicious circumstances—so this was actually a good thing.
I shot a sideways glance at Therion to silently warn him against causing trouble, then followed the knight.
From behind, the sound of professors still arguing reached my ears.
“Isn’t this strange? Alright, fine, we’ll let you all slide. But the students? How did they survive amidst all this! They’re just students! Even we barely made it!”
“Looks like you survived thanks to the students’ emergency care, yet your shame knows no bounds!”
Professor Evento’s words were met with backlash.
At least over there, things could settle for now.
