“Phew—! It’s hot!”

“…”

The greetings ended quickly. Eir dropped the sword she carried, which resembled a spine, and plopped down next to me on the bench. Up close, her scruffy appearance was even more noticeable.

The black coat and flame-like red uniform emitted a faint smell of sweat, and her long red hair looked like it hadn’t been washed for days.

'If it’s hot, why doesn’t she just take off the coat... Is the current trend in the academy city to walk around unwashed? With the delinquents and everything, things seem a bit chaotic.'

Eir, who usually stayed around her school, <Scarlet Academy>, being in the northeastern district far from the north was unusual and caught my attention.

I couldn’t suppress my curiosity and spoke to Eir, who was giving off a musky scent of sweat.

“You’re here—☆ so you must be here to take the finals, right?”

“Huh? Oh… yes. There wasn’t anywhere else to drop by and take the exam while passing by, so here I am. Well, I didn’t know anything, so I just randomly guessed and left.”

I see. As expected of my sister, my close friend. Heroes don’t bother with studying.

‘But I don’t recall seeing Eir in the exam hall…’

It seemed Eir had been assigned to a different exam room than I was. Even so, it was odd for her to come all the way here to take the exam.

“Oh my☆ From what I know, there’s a separate administrative office in the north—☆ And as the student council president of <Scarlet Academy>, wouldn’t the kids at your school be crying for you~☆”

“…”

“If you’re here for some reason— you could rest at our <Central Prism Academy>—☆ We’re sister schools now, after all♪”

“…”

Eir didn’t deny it when I subtly mentioned we were sister schools, which meant the promise to consider each other as sisters was still valid.

‘Though it’s a bit rough, honestly, the school that suits me best… is <Scarlet Academy>, so I’m happy.’

A school of warriors. Deep down, I still cherished the passionate send-off from the students of <Scarlet Academy>. The enthusiasm contained in their cheers and stomping feet was deeply engraved in my heart.

Even though we parted in such a solemn atmosphere due to misunderstandings.

‘I guess it’s time to clear up those misunderstandings…’

If <Scarlet Academy> was having any issues, I wanted to help. With that thought in mind, I subtly suggested to Eir.

Eir widened her eyes and then chuckled. The shark-like teeth visible between her pink lips were quite striking.

“Khehe… our kids, well… there’s nothing to worry about them. They’re getting ready to choose their new leader, so I have to step aside sometimes. There’s already a strong candidate.”

“Ohh~☆ I see… then why did you come all the way here…?”

“…”

Eir didn’t answer for a while. But she eventually looked up at the sky and responded in a cheerful tone.

“Just as I vowed that day, to reach beyond [Unique Ether]… I figured I had to push myself to the limit. I’m traveling around, adapting to dungeons and environments I haven’t been to. Hehe.”

“Hee…☆”

“Wandering alone like that brought me here. I took the exam while I was at it. Keke… though I guessed everything.”

“Ohoho…☆”

“Anyway… seeing things from a different perspective, I’m running towards where I need to go.”

“Oooo…☆”

I couldn’t help but express admiration.

‘She instinctively found the right path to enlightenment…’

A state of selflessness.

Going beyond [Unique Ether] and completing a world entirely of one’s own.

In game terms, it’s reaching the maximum level of experience, perfecting character growth without external influences.

‘Hilde and I reached the limit through PVP experiences.’

Freya had her awakening through a boss fight. Eir was awakening through various experiences and adventures.

“Hmm.”

Eir nodded proudly.

“Venturing far brought new experiences. Last night, I encountered delinquents who didn’t recognize me and gave them a lesson… Keke, it’s been a while since someone challenged me. After getting beat up by me, they abandoned their hideout and ran off to a distant corner.”

“…”

A flash of intuition crossed my mind. For some reason, the mention of that made me recall the familiar smell of green hair.

“Could it be, did they have green hair?”

“Oh, are they famous?”

“No…☆”

I see.

The green-haired delinquent girl gang that became a giant sushi roll… ended up getting beaten by two people in one night…?

No wonder they were excessively frightened.

“…”

Well… anyway. I was relieved that there was no significant issue with Eir or <Scarlet Academy>.

“…”

“…”

So we sat quietly, observing the passersby. With our heightened senses, the street bustling with countless presences felt like a magnificent fountain show to us.

“…”

“…”

A comfortable silence lingered for a while.

‘…I guess it’s time to clear up the misunderstandings.’

Eir, smiling brightly after a long time talking with someone.

Despite being a student from the rough slums, her true nature was good and gallant. I couldn’t let her harbor any more misunderstandings toward someone who showed such deep friendship, calling me ‘sister.’

I spoke cautiously to Eir.

“You know.”

“Huh?”

“…I’m all better from being sick, and I can use ether—☆ Actually, I could use [Unique Ether] back then too♪ The [Faded Spiral] was a lie…”

“Oh, was it? I figured. You’re good at acting.”

“…?”

…?

I was taken aback by her nonchalant attitude.

I expected some kind of reaction, if not a few hours of sulking like Hilde.

• Lara, why did you lie to me?

• Huh…! Wait a minute…! Not the nape of my neck…♪

• Lara, Lara… I have to punish naughty Lara.

‘That day, I had to give Hilde five kisses to be forgiven… She kept asking for kisses in more and more peculiar places…’

I was curious about Hilde’s mindset for requesting such things despite knowing my inner self.

Anyway…

Eir was surprisingly unfazed even when hearing the same truth.

“I see, so?”

“…”

Eir yawned widely, bored with the lengthy conversation, and scratched her ear. She then blew it off and smiled a shark-toothed grin.

“Hehe… If the sincerity’s already been conveyed, what’s the point of the truth? Is that how you always live?”

“…”

“[Spiral], you don’t seem to realize this, but at <Scarlet Academy>, explanations longer than 10 minutes are forbidden. Got it?”

“Hehe…☆ And yet you talked for more than 10 minutes yourself—☆”

Eir frowned at my comeback and shook her head. Then she shouted loudly, as if not wanting to hear any more.

“Oh, shut up! Anyway! In the autumn tournament, I’m going to beat the [Blue Lightning Spear] and become the strongest in the academy city! I’ve decided! So I must go beyond [Unique Ether]—!!”

A roar as she raised her hands to the sky.

Passersby were startled and stared,

Recognizing the appearance and title of the one who shouted and were shocked.

I chuckled at the sight.

‘Eir doesn’t seem to know that Hilde has reached the level beyond enlightenment… ‘Weapon True Name Liberation.’’

[Gungnir]

Hilde’s weapon that holds [Fate].

Weapon True Name Liberation.

Unlike ‘enlightenment,’ a term temporarily used in the game system. Regardless, Hilde had clearly moved one step beyond those of us who remain in ‘enlightenment.’

‘The difference between max-level characters and breakthrough characters that raise the level of their exclusive weapons…’

Seeing Eir’s actions without knowing this, I could only smile wryly. Her goal had unknowingly taken a step back.

I decided to tell Eir about the growth Hilde and Freya had achieved.

“Haha…☆ Well, you see…”

In the end, Eir decided to stay at <Central Prism Academy> today.

Albite and her party, who diligently completed their exams, were startled when they saw her.

“Eek?! [Red Trail]?! Why are you here?!”

“Haha…☆”

“Oh. It’s me.”

A following silence.

“…”

“…”

“…”

However, they soon regained their composure with their seasoned, steel-like spirits. There had been too many events in the first semester to be surprised by such a thing.

Albite calmed her initial surprise and muttered.

“Well… It’s become familiar now with sudden appearances of the five colors…”

“We’ve already seen three people of the five colors…”

“Not to mention the strongest of the biggest and second biggest schools… and the person we live with used to be the strongest…”

Albite suddenly realized the truth and exclaimed.

“Is there any reason to be surprised by the five colors now?!”

“No.”

“I don’t think so.”

“Then let’s welcome Eir, the senior!”

“I agree.”

“Agreed.”

Thus, the juniors welcomed the unexpected guest, Eir.

The guest reception protocol had become familiar by now. We took her dirty clothes to the tailor shop for cleaning and lent her some training clothes. We also opened up the showers to help her wash.

<Central Prism Academy>’s showers.

The newly repaired ether pump gushed out a strong stream of water. Eir stood under it, letting the droplets cascade over her bare skin.

“Damn it…! Gah—!! How could this be…! To think I’m beneath that geeky cat…?! Now instead of [Blue Spear], it’s [Wheel] below [Trail]…? No way, that can’t be…!”

In truth, it was not Freya but I who was subjected to Hilde’s kisses… But there was no need to reveal that.

Her voice was so loud it could be heard in the dormitory dining hall.

Perk

The orange cat ears twitched with each loud noise.

“…?”

Rota, wearing an apron and preparing dinner, tilted her head in confusion. But she quickly dismissed it and busied her hands, putting ingredients into a pot.

Albite and Kara were handling errands around the shopping district, which I had been doing in the past. They had become the new mascots of the shopping district, receiving affection.

‘The juniors have settled into their ways of life and are now boldly exploring dungeons…’

Everything was unfolding naturally.

Everyone was growing.

Every misunderstanding was slowly being unraveled.

“Hehe…☆”

I smiled, feeling proud of it all.

We were now moving forward with genuine hearts.

The blade pointed at my neck.

“D-don’t move!! If you don’t want this pink head to get hurt!!”

“…?”

“…?”

“…?”

Ah, it’s been a while since I’ve had to hide my power.