A few days later.The resort on Full Moon Island.Because of the sudden influx of a massive number of guests, all the hotel rooms at the resort were full."Hoo."I lay blankly on the bed of a suite room overlooking a beautiful beach, staring up at the ceiling.Rest granted after everything was over.The Faction War itself had ended in great success.But after that, there had been the sudden, large-scale appearance of fishmen, and because of the defensive battle to block them, the students—including me, Ciel, and Elena—had gone through hell.Calling it a life-or-death struggle wouldn’t be an exaggeration.Ciel and I had literally fought on the very front line, putting our lives on the line.Because of the fishmen’s raid, complaints from the students poured in, and the Union faculty, at a loss, smoothed things over by granting the students a period of rest.They arranged for all fifteen hundred students who had gone through this incident to stay in top-class hotels regardless of their exam results, and they made active use of the medical facilities inside the floating ship to treat the wounded.Of course, there had been no deaths in this battle.Aside from Charlotte, everyone had gotten off with things like mana exhaustion, bruises, and scrapes—light injuries.Looking out at the gorgeous beach beyond the glass window, I thought,'Well, honestly, we were lucky.'To have only one seriously injured person after a battle of that scale.This achievement was thanks to my command and the students’ struggle, but a lot of it was also because the Director showed up before it was too late.Even if I’d demonized, taken down all the Gons, and returned to the fortress, time still would’ve been on the fishmen’s side.Food had already been in short supply, and how many more days could the students alone have held off the endlessly swarming fishman army?Three days at most, and that would’ve been the end.Later, the Director told me that the other islands hadn’t experienced any unusual incidents; this had only happened on the jungle island we were on.'…Because of me?'Thinking about it, the odds were high that I was the reason.For some reason, the Twelve Apostles were appearing one after another and trying to make contact with me.Of course, even if it was because of me, I didn’t feel any pangs of conscience. It wasn’t like I’d done anything wrong.This was just one of the main story beats unfolding across the world.Something that might be unavoidable no matter what you did.While the students hadn’t taken heavy damage from this incident, I heard the Imperial fleet stationed near Full Moon Island had suffered some.Rumor had it that some of the soldiers guarding the lighthouse claimed to have seen an octopus the size of an island, but people weren’t exactly inclined to believe them.An octopus the size of an island, in this world, seriously?However, some people had combined those eyewitness accounts with the reports of fishmen appearing on the jungle island, and finally concluded that the Twelve Apostles had begun to move.'Those who know, more or less know.'We’d reached a point where you couldn’t block out the sky with the palm of your hand.It seemed like they’d reached the point where the stirrings of the Twelve Apostles could no longer be hidden.The time had come for the entire continent to start preparing against them.'Of course, it’s not a situation you can be that optimistic about.'Even if a pan-continental crisis was looming, everyone was too busy just trying to take care of themselves.Getting all of humanity to unite and do something was never an easy thing.'Even in the real world, it’s like that.'When all sorts of talk about global warming came up, did each country stop using fossil fuels to prepare for it?They signed agreements that were all talk, then turned around and kept selling oil behind the scenes. ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) This world wasn’t much different.Maybe if aliens suddenly invaded, everyone might somehow manage to unite.'Well, they’ll handle it themselves.'Stretching my arms, I let out a lazy yawn.Either way, I was tied to the academy.I was doing my best within the range of what I could do; national- and world-level affairs were for the leaders of each country to handle on their own.I was rolling around on the bed, lost in thought, when—Knock, knock-.A knocking sound came from outside the door.From the rhythm and strength of the knock, it was Ciel."Come in."Ciel opened the door and entered.Instead of her usual school uniform, she wore a thin short-sleeved blouse with frills and loose, breathable pants.Maybe she’d tried to match the resort atmosphere a bit.She bowed to me and said,"Did you rest well? You shouldn’t just stay in your room. Let’s go for a walk.""Sure."I sprang up from the bed and slipped my feet into slippers.I’d been lying around in the hotel for days after the battle, so it was about time I moved.And I’d just been starting to get sick of ordering room service and eating alone.After thinking briefly about what to wear, I threw on a random aloha shirt with palm trees on it and left the room.***Ciel and I stepped outside and walked around the hotel grounds.Tropical flowers in bright colors had bloomed along the neat, elegant landscaping.Past the garden of tall, refreshing palm trees, a wide beach greeted me.A cobalt-blue sea so clear you could see beneath the surface, and a pure white sand beach.Under the warm southern sun, students gathered on the private beach to enjoy swimming, tanning, and volleyball.The atmosphere was so relaxed and peaceful, it was hard to believe we’d been fighting for our lives just a few days ago.'The students currently staying at this hotel were about three thousand in total, including those who’d fought on the jungle island and those who’d gotten top grades on the other three islands.'Not only the students from the other three islands, but even the students from the jungle island who’d fought a desperate battle against the fishmen seemed to have recovered both body and mind, laughing and enjoying the summer sea with the others.Everyone looked good, strolling along the beach in cool and pretty swimsuits.Watching from a distance, I smiled faintly.'Well, the past is the past.'It might have been hard at the time, but now that they’d overcome it, it was a kind of medal, something to be proud of.Later on, they’d probably look back on what happened and spin some tales.If even one person had died or been grievously wounded and left with irreparable trauma, they wouldn’t have bounced back this quickly—but fortunately, that hadn’t happened.Looking around at the students leisurely enjoying their vacation on the beach, I opened my mouth."Thankfully, everyone seems to be walking around just fine.""It’s thanks to you, Loen.""What’s this, you’re actually complimenting me."All she did was badmouth me every day, and now this?"I’m merely stating objective facts.""Well, I won’t deny it."If I hadn’t been there, they wouldn’t have been able to stop the fishmen raid properly, and a huge disaster would’ve happened.Of course, if I’d never existed, the incident itself might not have occurred—but that was more like giving someone the disease and the cure.As Ciel and I chatted about this and that while walking along the beach—"Ah, Loen~ over here!"From under a straw canopy in the distance, Elena waved her hand.Unlike the other students in swimsuits, Elena wore a fluttery white dress and a straw hat.She’d matched the atmosphere just enough, while still being mindful of other people’s gazes.In her position, it would be difficult to strip down and enjoy swimming or tanning.Ciel and I made our way to the canopy where Elena’s sunbed was.Next to Elena stood Adler, neatly dressed in casual clothes, standing guard.For some reason, the way he looked at me wasn’t exactly friendly.His gaze was full of caution."Would you like some?"Elena offered me a plate of tropical fruit from the table."Sure, let’s see."I made a slightly reluctant face and bit into a date-like fruit.It was sweet, slightly bitter, and refreshingly cool—pretty good.Elena looked me up and down and asked,"You’re not wearing a swimsuit? Aren’t you going to swim? There won’t be many chances like this.""You’re not exactly planning to swim either, are you?""In my position, it’s a bit tricky, you know that.""Same here."For slightly different reasons than Elena, I also felt self-conscious about walking around shirtless.Loen’s infamy still lingered quite a bit.I’d be lucky just not to get cursed out.An aloha shirt like the one I was wearing was about the limit."Don’t just stand there, sit. You too, Ciel."At Elena’s gesture, Adler brought over a few sunbeds and set them out.I gratefully accepted the gesture and lay back comfortably on the sunbed.After I’d lain there for a bit, Adler also brought over something like a coconut drink and shoved it at me rather roughly."Thanks."Lying on the sunbed, sipping the cool coconut juice, I heard Elena speak up."Honestly, you were kind of cool back then.""…?""When Ciel fell under the wall. You ran right down to save her. I’m a little jealous of Ciel.""I just did what I had to do."I had the power and the will to save Ciel.There was no reason not to.Of course, if I’d been an ordinary person with no power at all, I don’t know what choice I would’ve made—but that’s a pretty pointless hypothetical.'I’ve been training hard all this time precisely so I don’t end up in situations like that where I can’t do anything.'When I answered readily, Elena’s tone turned a little playful as she asked,"Then if I had fallen under the wall, do you think you would’ve saved me too?"'Elena doesn’t need my help, though.'If it were Elena, she could probably beat down several Gons on her own—who’d be saving who?Still, if I said that out loud, I’d just end up ruffling Elena’s feathers, so I gave a suitably evasive answer."Well, I wouldn’t even need to go. Your reliable bodyguard Adler would save you, wouldn’t he?""…You’re good at dodging the question. So are you saying you would save me, or you wouldn’t?""Think whatever you want."I didn’t answer any further.Elena looked a little miffed by that, but Ciel sitting next to her somehow seemed pleased."Whatever, it’s fine. It’s not like I was expecting anything."Elena knocked back the rest of her drink and set the glass down with a thud."Anyway, what do you think of what the Director said? About the stirrings of the Twelve Apostles."Elena suddenly shifted to a heavy topic.At her words, I recalled what had happened that day.After rescuing the students with the floating ship, the Director had called Elena and me in separately to give us some information.About the massive evil presence that had appeared near Full Moon Island, and the emergence of its minions.It was the moment the things I’d vaguely suspected were confirmed.According to the Director, the fishmen suddenly clutching their throats and collapsing together had been the result of the floating ship’s power temporarily repelling Kral.'The fishmen’s power originally came from Kral.'If the source of that power, Kral, was struck down, its vassals, the fishmen, would also weaken drastically.On top of that, they had come ashore and left the sea; once their connection with Kral was severed, they all went into shock and died, apparently.In any case, since the Director had personally brought up Kral, one of the Twelve Apostles—It was no wonder Elena was asking for my thoughts on the incident.I sighed and shrugged."Whether the Director’s words are true or not has nothing to do with me. It’s not like there’s anything I can do.""That’s optimistic. Or should I say indifferent?""No, more accurately, I’d say I don’t waste my mind on things I can’t solve. I have plenty of other things I need to do."Letting yourself get so caught up in problems you can’t solve right now that you can’t do anything at all—that’s the worst choice.It’s a better choice to handle the small things in front of you one by one.It’s better to start by folding the blanket on your bed than to charge around aimlessly saying you’re going to change the world.When I conveyed that sentiment, Elena’s eyes went wide, like she was seeing me in a new light."So you’re an extreme realist, huh?""I’ll take that as a compliment."I hadn’t originally had this kind of personality.I’d ended up like this after possessing Loen’s body in order to survive.Maybe I’d been influenced by the body’s original owner, Loen, too.After that, I spent time chatting about all sorts of things with Elena, Adler, and Ciel.Lying on a beautiful beach with a cool sea breeze blowing, enjoying leisurely time—it was like a precious treasure for someone like me who’d been running nonstop until now.After we’d chatted about various topics for a good while, Elena got up and stretched."Shall we get moving?""Do we have somewhere to go?""Yes, there’s an academy-versus-academy beach volleyball tournament final around eleven. Let’s go together."

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