Declaration (2)

As Prometheus departed and the demonic energy within Manggot dissipated, Frondier, who was sitting down and resting, raised his head.

Aten, who was healing Frondier, did the same.

“...Lord Frondier.”

“Yes.”

The gazes of the Constel students naturally turned towards Frondier. Even those who weren’t particularly adept at sensing Mana could feel the change in the wind.

They all waited for Frondier to speak.

Although Aster was the leader, this declaration was not his to make.

“We won.”

A single, low murmur.

A dry tone, devoid of any embellishment, hung in the air.

“Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!”

A roar erupted, soaring towards the heavens.

Just then, someone emerged from within Manggot.

It was Osprey, gliding through the air as if swimming.

“Headmaster!”

Frondier called out, and Osprey approached.

Frondier spoke with relief.

“You’ve succeeded.”

“Yes, there’s no longer any need to worry about the God’s descent.”

Osprey delivered the answer Frondier had longed to hear. However, his expression was grim.

“...Something happened in there.”

Frondier noticed his expression and spoke, to which Osprey nodded.

“There’s something I need to tell you. Not now, but later.”

Frondier nodded in understanding.

Honestly, he wanted to postpone anything that could be postponed. Fatigue and exhaustion were piled high, leaving him with no desire to do anything.

First and foremost, they had won the war, and that was enough. Now was the time to savor the feeling of victory—

“...No.”

Mid-thought, Frondier came to his senses.

He gently pushed away Aten’s hand, which was casting healing magic, and stood up.

“Lord Frondier?”

“It’s not over yet.”

Frondier’s face hardened with determination. Seeing his expression, Aten asked,

“...Don't tell me, the barrier…?”

“Yes. It might be fine here, but the Manggot Shepherds and the monsters outside are still attacking there.”

Frondier looked around. Most of the students didn’t seem to have any serious injuries.

‘But these are comrades who have already fought at the barrier and then fought another battle here. I can't force them to go.’

“Headmaster, could you connect us to the barrier with a gate? I’ll create another workshop.”

“You’re thinking of going to help the soldiers?”

“Of course.”

At his words, Osprey stroked his chin, seemingly lost in thought.

He wasn’t worried about Frondier, but rather seemed to be concealing something he wanted to say.

“...I see. So you really were keeping it completely secret.”

“Excuse me?”

“No, it’s nothing. Anyway, I agree with going back.”

As Osprey spoke, Frondier, as if waiting for his cue, extended his hand and erected the workshop once more.

Several students, upon seeing this, let out gasps of admiration.

‘It’ll be difficult to hide it all now.’

As he created the workshop, Frondier sighed inwardly.

He had revealed his power to everyone here. During the battle with Belphegor, he had poured out everything beyond his usual limits.

No matter how preoccupied they were with fighting the army of corpses, there was no way they could have missed the absurd Mana blade he had created.

In a war of this magnitude, it was impossible to conceal his power from the entire Empire, even if he tried. There was never any point where hiding his power would have been feasible.

‘Still, we fought in Manggot, where the Empire's eyes couldn’t reach, and the only ones who saw were a handful from Constel, so…’

Compared to the entire Empire, this number of people was minuscule. Rumors were bound to be distorted and exaggerated. Like before, it would all be mixed with nonsense and exaggeration, eventually fading away.

“Oh, Aster!”

Frondier called out, searching for Aster. Aster turned his head and looked at Frondier.

“What?”

“Let’s go help the people at the barrier!”

“Aren’t you tired?”

Despite his words, Aster approached Frondier, his light steps indicating that his condition was perfectly fine.

Frondier pointed towards the workshop gate with his gaze.

“Let’s go. I wish I could take everyone here, but they must all be exhausted.”

“Don’t I look tired to you?”

“Not really?”

Half of Frondier’s words were sincere. Aster genuinely seemed to have recovered, showing no signs of fatigue. His recovery ability was truly befitting of the protagonist.

‘Right. The protagonist should be at the forefront.’

Frondier walked towards the workshop but deliberately slowed his pace, following behind Aster.

He didn’t want to be the first one to emerge from the gate and attract attention. It was better to let Aster draw the attention and then discreetly shift positions. That was Frondier’s plan.

“Hey, are you two going alone?”

Just then, Elodie, who had grasped the situation, flew over with a light leap. A smirk played on her lips, suggesting she still had the energy to fight.

She wasn’t the only one.

“If there’s still work to be done, we must see it through.”

Sybil approached and spoke.

“I won’t let you leave me behind.”

Aten also stood behind Frondier.

Frondier looked at them, his gaze filled with concern, making sure no one was pushing themselves too hard.

“Frondier, are you their mother?”

At that moment, Robald Lieff walked up to them, his voice laced with amusement.

“They can all take care of themselves.”

“...You’re right.”

Frondier nodded in agreement.

With that, Osprey moved his hand, creating a spatial magic formation on the workshop gate. Everyone stared at the gate, their faces etched with determination.

“This time, let’s end the war for good.”

“Yeah.”

With Aster in the lead, they strode forward and opened the gate.

And then…

“Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!”

They were met with the sight of soldiers cheering triumphantly at the barrier.

“...?”

Stepping back through the gate, they all blinked in unison, their faces blank with confusion.

Everywhere they looked, all they saw and heard were cries of joy, with no enemies in sight.

“...It’s over?”

Elodie, the first to regain her composure, asked in a daze.

Just then, one of the soldiers spotted them emerging from the gate.

“Hey! Look over there!”

“Uh oh…”

Frondier quickly tried to discreetly step aside.

It seemed word of his exploits had spread quickly, thanks to his friends’ enthusiastic reports from the barrier. After all, news of victory in war had a knack for traveling fast.

Fortunately, he had Aster and his other friends here to shield him.

‘But how did the war end so quickly?’

He could understand the monsters outside, but eliminating all the Manggot Shepherds shouldn’t have been easy.

As Frondier pondered this small question, attempting to slip away unnoticed…

“It’s Frondier! Frondier’s over there!!”

An unexpected shout stopped him in his tracks.

“Huh…?”

Frondier’s face contorted in bewilderment at the sound of his name. Why was his name being called out in this situation? It should have been Aster, Elodie, or Sybil receiving the cheers.

Besides, did they even know him?

“Whoa! It’s really him! It’s Frondier!”

“Over there! Wow, Frondier!”

“Frondier de Roach!”

“Frondieeeeeer!!”

It wasn’t just one person.

Upon hearing the initial shout, everyone’s attention turned towards Frondier.

The voices of countless individuals atop the barrier merged into a single, thunderous roar. Those who had spotted him were beaming, waving their hands enthusiastically in his direction.

Soon, the scattered cries coalesced into a unified chant, echoing Frondier’s name. The sound reverberated through the air, filling the entire battlefield.

“Wh-What is going on?”

Truly, genuinely, and utterly bewildered, Frondier looked around.

What was this? He hadn't done anything. Well, he had done a lot, but there was no way these people could know about it.

It was as if he was being mistaken for the key figure responsible for the war’s victory. This was a highly undesirable situation for him.

A mischievous grin spread across the faces of everyone in Frondier's group, except for Frondier himself, who stood frozen in the spotlight.

Whoosh!

“Wh-What the…!”

It started with Aster.

He swiftly scooped Frondier up from behind. Or rather, he practically tossed him into the air.

Elodie then used her magic to keep Frondier afloat. Naturally, he had no control over his own levitation.

Aten joined in, conjuring ice from the ground to encase Frondier. To onlookers, it might have appeared as a dazzling magical display, but to Frondier, it felt like being trapped in a glamorous prison.

Sybil then drew her rapier, igniting its blade with flames before slashing through the air. The fiery trail left behind by her movements spelled out the name ‘Frondier de Roach’ in large, blazing letters across the sky.

‘What in the world…!’

His friends were just messing around, riding the wave of cheers directed at him. He could understand that. However, the immense roar from the crowd was undeniably genuine.

All these people knew his name, and they were chanting it in unison with heartfelt enthusiasm.

‘Don’t tell me!’

At that moment, the memory of Osprey’s enigmatic expression flashed through Frondier’s mind. He whipped his head around to look at the Headmaster, only to find Osprey quickly averting his gaze.

“Headmaster! You knew about this, didn’t you?!”

“Hmm, I’ll explain everything. Not now, but later.”

“You should have told me sooner!”