Early Summer Days with Hilde

It was an early summer day during my first year, and Hilde and I had an interesting encounter.

As we walked further from the school grounds, past rapidly diminishing buildings, we entered the wilderness. There, students camping out to conquer dungeon gates or hideouts for delinquent students dotted the landscape.

Hilde and I met by chance in the wilderness and decided to travel together.

"Hello―☆ Brunhilde―♪ Did you find anything interesting♪" "Not really. It’s still hard to find a dungeon suitable for my level." "Hey☆ A first-year freshman already pushing through high-level dungeons―☆" "Anyway, I was looking for a high-level dungeon with new terrain and structure." "Hmm♪ All the dungeons generated around here are favorable to girls with magic skills―☆ Ignoring that and challenging them―☆ Brunhilde, you’re amazing―♪"

Hilde looked at me with curious eyes.

"It’s not something you, who fought me to a draw, should say." "Th-that was thanks to a girl's intuition―☆ I haven’t become a strong and cute girl who wins everything on my own yet―♪" "How can strong and cute coexist?" "Cuteness is strength itself―☆" "…"

Hilde shook her head.

Hilde, who had been quite prickly when I approached her, finally gave in to my friendliness after a few months. We started to travel together whenever we met.

Hilde sighed suddenly.

"Really… I can’t understand why you approach someone like me who neglects family duties and just drifts around the school." "Haha―☆ Just a girl's intuition♪" "If you truly want to get stronger, you should seek guidance from the third-year or second-year seniors at each school or go to a school like <Scarlet Academy> where Eir is, which trains fighters." "Hmm~ I don’t know about that~♪ Eir always picks a fight with me, so there’s no need to go see her―☆" "That’s true."

I responded vaguely.

I still didn’t have any particular feelings about <Central Prism Academy>, but I felt a strong aversion to leaving behind Frida-senpai and the others to go to another school.

'If this world is similar to the game, you’re the only ones I truly want to defeat...'

I glanced at Hilde secretly.

"…" "What is it?"

Hilde had already noticed my gaze and turned to look at me.

‘Ah…’

Her silver eyes were so beautiful.

A nobility that made me gaze at them in awe.

Even with her face dirty with dust, those jewel-like eyes never lost their shine. If I were still a man, I might have blushed and run away just from looking into those eyes.

‘Being near her feels like smelling something nice...’

Ah. That’s a bit perverted. Being conscious of someone’s scent.

‘Even if I’m pretending to be Clara, that’s not acceptable...’

I felt embarrassed and looked ahead again.

"…?" "Hehe―♪"

You are destined to become the strongest in the academy city's history, and I want to challenge and defeat you. Saying that would certainly get me labeled as crazy, and our partnership would end.

‘Traveling with the future strongest was more enjoyable than I thought.’

Hilde and I both preferred wandering outside rather than staying at school, so meeting up and traveling together every three days had become routine.

We walked side by side through the wilderness and the outskirts of the city.

Step Step

Because of the weight of Hilde’s lance, we couldn’t ride a horse together. So we moved slowly, pulling a red bicycle by hand, and I felt drawn to the Pretty Filter.

Start a girls’ conversation! This is a precious opportunity! Gather information to get closer!

Such was the instinctive feeling. But the Pretty Filter didn’t always give such advice.

It would sometimes tell me to collect stuffed animals when passing by a doll shop. Or to eat all the sweet desserts when they were in front of me. It often gave strange orders leading to impulsive actions.

As I found satisfaction in these impulsive actions and tendencies, I began to act like Clara even without the Pretty Filter’s influence.

As if Clara and I were merging little by little...

‘Sometimes the Pretty Filter feels like another self, but no matter how much I talk to myself, it doesn’t respond.’

There were many times when I was scared, thinking it was Clara’s remnant trying to erase my soul from this body. But now, with much of the discomfort gone, I didn’t think it was bad that I was starting to like what the Pretty Filter suggested.

‘It feels like having a friend with a distinct taste…’

You become what you’re surrounded by.

If it were the Jojo Filter instead of the Pretty Filter, would I have shared that dangerous and dark female preference with an average of 90 abilities?

Maybe that was Jojo’s taste, too.

Thinking that made me newly grateful for the Pretty Filter's wholesome taste.

‘Thanks for not having strange preferences... Clara!’

I preferred spending time learning about the future strongest over silent awkwardness. So, following the Pretty Filter’s guidance, I chatted away to Hilde.

"Whew―♪ It’s hot―☆ By the way, did you hear? The seniors recently befriended the shopkeepers and got some really fragrant tea leaves. When we tried it, the aroma was worlds apart from the usual canned compressed tea leaves." "Canned tea leaves? Clara, why are tea leaves in cans?"

Hilde tilted her head, genuinely puzzled.

‘Hey, you being from the game world and not knowing that is a bit...’

I answered her obvious question, feeling flustered.

"Uh, well… Since <Holy Alvenheim High School> is the only place with a large agricultural district, places that can't grow their own tea leaves rely on long-term storage items from the outside world―☆" "I see. I’ve never seen canned compressed tea leaves, so I didn’t know. Usually, the tea in <Aesir Girls’ High School> dorms is prepared with high-quality leaves by students who serve as attendants." "…" "I never indulged in luxuries with the seniors, so I didn’t know… It’s quite enlightening. I remember throwing away boxes of them distributed for maintaining dignity." "…" "Next time, I won’t discard them but try them. The attendants always looked so miserable…" "…"

I shivered quietly.

Aside from combat tournaments, tea time was a common and popular pastime in the academy city. Therefore, non-canned tea leaves were at least twenty times more expensive, and getting hold of them was quite difficult.

‘I brewed the same tea leaves with the seniors ten or twenty times…’

What? Personal rooms? Attendants? Dignity maintenance? What kind of world does Hilde live in?

I glanced at Hilde’s face again. She nodded, mumbling about gaining good knowledge.

‘Well, the game did say she came from a prestigious military family. <Aesir Girls’ High School> is a prestigious school that essentially rules the academy city…’

Even though we were walking side by side, sweating and dirty. Ultimately, Hilde and I lived in different worlds. The only world we shared was the battlefield.

That realization made me sigh deeply.

"Sigh―☆" "…?"

At that moment. Hilde and I sensed something and looked in the same direction. There, dozens of elegant red ether spears floated in the air, pointing at us.

Shushushushushushuk――

Magical projectiles. Fired from a distance by swinging a staff. The method used by furry creatures skilled in magic.

The form of the five weapons left by the [Golden Witch] used this method, taught to students from the prestigious <Public Bana Boarding School>.

‘Students from <Public Bana Boarding School> have such high pride that they charge in headfirst like this.’

Of course, there were kind and friendly characters like Rota...

‘But she probably hasn’t even enrolled yet at this point.’

In this world, only students with magic skills could use magic.

Moreover, due to the nature of magic skills requiring mental calculations instead of instinctive ether control, it was rare to see someone using them freely in combat situations.

‘Using spear forms like this means a third-stage level expert… No way a student president or officer would be here, so the only ones free at this time would be first-years without any positions.’

As I scrolled through the list of furry creatures in my head.

I remembered a droopy purple cat ear.

"…!"

There was one. A student who grew stronger rapidly like us since first year. That student would become one of the five strongest in the future.

Paaaat――!!

A timid voice came from among the threateningly approaching spearheads. A girl in the <Public Bana Boarding School> uniform walked towards us.

"Um, there’s… a… dungeon gate I… found first… so, um… could you… leave…?" Droopy purple curly hair. Droopy purple cat ears. Eyes filled with timidity.

But she was arrogant.

"Um… could… you… weaklings… leave…?" "…" "…"

I spoke to Hilde.

"Left or right? I don’t mind either―♪" "I’ll take the right." "Okay―☆" "What… what are you saying… you rude girls… won’t you leave…?"

Hilde and I stood up and started cutting down the spears in our respective areas.

Tatatatatatang―!!

Dozens of spearheads vanished under the rapid punches.

Kugugugugung―!!

The lance, swung like a club, deflected numerous spearheads.

"Oh… oh?!"

The magical projectiles that had dominated the space were nullified in an instant.

The girl, who had been momentarily flustered, tried to replenish the disappearing spearheads, but she was too slow. Cornered, she stood trembling in front of us.

"Haha―☆ Brunhilde♪ If you glare at her like that, we can’t talk to her―☆" "Clara, it would be more convincing if you said that with your fists unclenched." "Hii…! P-please spare me." "Hmm♪ Shall we try the tickling method first―☆" "Hii…?!"

That day, I learned that people could wet themselves from laughing too hard. But even after that, I showed no mercy to arrogant furry creatures.

Every time I met her again, I called her ‘Peeing Cat’ as a nickname.

That was my first meeting with Freyja, the genius who would later be known as the [Purple Spindle] and the researcher of the Bana Magic School.

＊

Memories flowed like a corridor. Waking from a deep dream felt like surfacing from the depths of the abyss.

Hands touching like a mirror image. Starlight falling under the dark sky. The story of the girls ended with a lively high-five.

I reflected on the sensation of reality slowly returning from the darkness.

'Although I managed to talk with the original Clara… no, Urd, there are still many unknowns about this game-transmigration situation and the altered world.'

The prophecy mentioned by the priest of <Ratatosk>. The unstable situation of <Yggdrasil Academy>. Many important things remained shrouded in mystery.

What I received from Urd was only...

"Do your best!"

"…"

But somehow, just that. Made me feel I could overcome the journey ahead. Just like how 'Clara', despite being incompetent, gave me strength by her mere presence.

‘But the situation has become a bit difficult.’

I checked my entire body as I slowly regained consciousness.

The impurities and others’ fates accepted to exert over 300% power had made my body unstable. Now stabilized, but the crude total amount of ether I had gathered was also gone.

Like a vehicle miraculously repaired but with an empty fuel tank. That was my situation.

"…"

Though feeling regretful would be shameless since Urd helped me avoid becoming crippled, losing all the dungeon buffs I gathered over the past year was painful.

‘All I could do was increase my ether capacity.’

I had increased my total capacity so much that natural recovery couldn’t keep up, so sitting still would take forever.

‘Naturally recovering would take three months…’

Though troublesome. There were many ways to quickly recover ether capacity. And I still had my levels and cognitive abilities.

But… But more important than that was a fact that thrilled me.

‘I gained weapon aptitude.’

Although it was still at the [Basic Ether] level. Even though recovering normally would be faster. I had gained a sense of weapon aptitude that Clara never had.

"…!"

Realizing that, I felt tears well up, even in my dream.

‘I can become stronger on my own…!!’

Just one step. I had finally started walking the right path, not shortcuts.

‘My journey is not over yet…!!’

Thump Thump

Holding my bursting heart, I thought about what I needed to do next. Emerging from the unconscious corridor, I began to see light.

I opened my eyes.

And what I saw…

Silver hair cascading like waves. A doll-like girl was lying with her face buried in my hair.

"Ssss…" "Hilde?" "Lara…?" "What… are you doing☆" "…" "…"

I felt I had misjudged the timing.

"Snore, snore―☆" "…"

So I went back to sleep.

To be continued...