Chapter 219

“What did you say?”

At Frohadin’s sudden words of gratitude, I couldn't help but be bewildered.

“…It seems your standards of gratitude are a bit different from mine.”

“Not at all. I am genuinely grateful to you.”

Dark clouds billowed from Frohadin’s body, gradually expanding their territory.

“Thanks to you, I came to realize.”

I, too, emitted Stellar Force to resist him.

“That wealth and power are insignificant. That the true ultimate lies in that universe!”

Eight bundles of black tentacles whipped around.

“Dodge!”

At Gilbert’s shout, everyone took a block’s step back.

But this was on top of a moving train.

I retorted.

“Are you planning to die dodging, you idiot! Don’t you know what a positional battle is?!”

“Ah, uh, sorry…!”

We had to hold our ground on the train.

It wasn’t about worrying about falling to our deaths.

Even if we jumped, we might sprain an ankle but wouldn't be seriously injured.

Everyone gathered here was a superhuman.

But keeping up with the speed of a moving train was a different story.

I might be able to manage by riding Sebastian, but even that was only possible if Frohadin didn't interfere.

“Our goal is not to fall from here. The mana train is heading towards the Imperium Empire anyway.”

Time was on our side.

Once the train reached the empire, strong reinforcements would surely arrive, no matter who they were.

Gilbert smiled brightly and gripped the hilt of his sword.

“Martin! It’s an honor to fight alongside you!”

I scowled and raised my shotgun.

“I’m about to burst with frustration, you oaf!”

I charged recklessly towards the whipping black tentacles.

Gilbert flashed and chased after me, deflecting a tentacle aimed at me.

It was frustrating, but he was exceptionally good at combat.

‘Kill him.’

I didn't know if those two were the only Apostles of Chaos.

But Frohadin had to be finished now.

It wasn't a matter of capturing him and extracting information; Frohadin, who was already a Platinum Knight-level mage, had now accepted the Stellar Force of Chaos, so there was no telling how much stronger he would become.

He had to be killed when the opportunity arose!

“Frohadin! What is your purpose?!”

A bullet was fired.

A tentacle blocked the bullet, which was as fast as a lightning bolt.

“My purpose, well.”

Six of the eight tentacles were for attacking, but two never neglected defense, no matter the situation.

They were almost completely covering his body.

On top of that, their durability was so good that firing normal bullets at them for a hundred days wouldn't do anything.

‘Annoying!’

“For now, let’s just say my only purpose is to retrieve my humble colleague.”

A magic circle was drawn behind Frohadin.

As soon as I saw the magic circle drawn with black, gloomy mana.

- Know-It-All (Master) analyzes the magic circle. It’s a teleportation magic circle!

“Gilbert! He’s getting away! Go all out and push him back!”

“Okay, got it!”

Gilbert’s entire body shone with a bluish-white light.

A rampage of mana and Stellar Force.

Over Heat, a technique that explodes one’s physical abilities.

“Let’s go, Lina!”

“Yes! I will support you!”

As soon as my words ended, Gilbert shot off like a rocket, using his ultimate move.

Lina immediately caught up with her footwork.

Six tentacles whipped around indiscriminately to block their approach, but Gilbert and Lina also swung their swords to block them.

To an ordinary person, the speed and destructive power would have been unbelievable even if seen with their own eyes, but in my eyes, it was clearly a master-level swordsmanship that contained the profound principles of the sword.

However, Frohadin was no fool to just stand there.

“【Heavy Rain.】”

I had seen Mary use it often, but this power was on a different level.

Before we knew it, from the dark clouds that filled the blue sky, whip-like rain poured down.

Holes were punched through the thick outer wall of the train.

Gilbert and Lina raised their ki to protect their bodies, and I also hastily spread my Stellar Force to create a barrier.

The raindrops beat against the barrier like a machine gun.

‘This is not a battle that can be dragged out.’

Let’s settle this.

“Lilac.”

“Yes, Master. I will open the way.”

Lilac, who had been in a ready-to-fire stance without moving since a while ago.

Just one shot.

She was preparing a technique for a one-hit kill.

After some hesitation, I also took out a Diamond Bullet from my ammunition pouch.

If the angle of fire was off even slightly, the entire train could be blown away.

At best, the roof would be torn off.

‘This is not the time to hesitate!’

I didn't know the full extent of Chaos' power, but I knew that the current situation was quite advantageous.

Because we had launched a surprise attack!

I didn't know what the next battlefield would be like, but it wouldn't be as good as this.

Frohadin and Vistavern.

If I let them go now, they would surely appear in an even more annoying state.

To prevent future threats, the opportunity was now!

“Lilac, now!”

“Yes!”

Lilac’s anti-materiel sniper rifle fired.

The large-caliber bullet, fired with a white spiral tail, tore through space.

With perfect timing, Gilbert and Lina deflected the tentacles with all their might, and the bullet struck the two tentacles responsible for defense.

It must have been a rather heavy impact, as Frohadin’s brow furrowed.

“Hmm, but with just this, you can’t…”

And behind it, hidden by the large-caliber bullet, he discovered the shotgun’s bullet.

“…?!”

Frohadin’s face turned pale.

‘He hid a bullet behind a bullet?!’

All firearms were noisy, but it was a mistake to compare Lilac’s anti-materiel sniper rifle to my shotgun.

The shotgun shell had approached stealthily, hidden by the loud noise and effects of the large-caliber bullet.

Like a hunting dog.

“What?!”

Soon, the shotgun shell hit its mark.

Not a Diamond Bullet, but a magic bullet made of opal.

A tactical bullet that froze the mana in the area.

“You brat!”

Even if it was mana-freezing, its effect on Frohadin, a Platinum Knight and an Apostle of Chaos, was minimal.

Just enough to make his tentacles falter.

But, that was enough.

More than enough time to land one more bullet.

“Kuaap!”

“Hap!”

Gilbert and Lina rushed in and attacked the tentacles.

Frohadin’s front was wide open.

I immediately loaded a Diamond Bullet into the chamber and fired.

- Firearm Master (Lv 1) promises victory.

The Diamond Bullet was fired at a slightly higher trajectory.

A pure white light first dominated the field of vision, and a white flash comparable to a photon cannon was unleashed.

Gilbert and Lina deftly threw themselves to the left and right of the train, but Frohadin had no time for that.

“…Again.”

The holy light engulfed Frohadin.

The tentacles, strengthened by the Stellar Force of Chaos, instantly melted away and disappeared.

“I will return…!”

Frohadin’s eyes, filled with hatred, stared at me until the end.

Even as smoke and sparks flew from his entire body and he sustained injuries from the Stellar Force of Cosmos, he remained unchanged.

“Martin of Ulvhadin!”

I could see mana exploding amidst the flash.

The teleportation magic had finally been activated.

To think he would shield the magic circle with his body.

‘…A distasteful victory.’

No, it was practically a failure.

I hadn’t managed to kill either of them.

I sighed and walked forward.

“Let’s go, Lilac.”

“Ah, yes! Master!”

Gilbert and Lina, who had jumped to the left and right of the train, were clinging to the outer wall of the train, staring blankly up at the sky.

The aftermath of the high-angle Diamond Bullet shot across the sky.

And it pierced through the dark clouds that Frohadin had gathered, and then exploded.

A huge light erased the dark clouds, and light poured through the gap.

In that light, shadows were cast on Gilbert’s face.

“Martin.”

Gilbert called the name of the gunner who had displayed a miraculous divine might.

* * *

…A scoop of that magnitude graced the front page of the Imperium Magazine.

Apparently, someone had captured the exact moment I fired the Diamond Bullet with a photo artifact.

‘Tsk.’

The dark clouds that covered the sky and the rain that ravaged the train.

It went without saying that there was only one person capable of such a feat, Frohadin.

Naturally, the empire was in an uproar.

A criminal who had been exiled to the frontier had returned as the worst kind of villain.

‘I don’t know.’

Politics and the media would take care of themselves.

To be honest, I was pleased that Frohadin’s return was known.

Because the more people feel a sense of crisis, the more they unite and prepare.

I closed the special edition newspaper that Bianca had brought me and turned off the light.

‘I should just go to sleep.’

It was a tiring day.

‘I thought I could at least pretend to go on a train trip with Lilac.’

A train trip, my ass.

A train battle.

“Ugh, nothing’s going right. Really.”

And so, I closed my eyes.

“Master.”

“…”

Am I dreaming of Lilac today?

I’m really something else….

“Master, wake up. It’s snowing.”

“…?”

It’s not a dream?

When I opened my eyes, a gentle winter breeze tickled my body.

When I opened my eyes, it was already morning.

I closed my eyes and opened them to morning.

That’s exactly what it was like.

‘Was I that tired…’

I rolled my eyes and looked at the window.

She, who had opened the curtains and the window, was smiling refreshingly.

“Lilac…?”

“Yes, Master. Lilac is here.”

The white flakes fluttering outside the window settled on Lilac.

Was it dirty?

No.

It was pure, white snow.

“Master, Merry Christmas.”

“…Yeah, Merry Christmas…”

Like a flower blooming in a snowfield, Lilac was beautiful again today.

“Ah, Santa Claus left a present here too!”

Lilac took out a large wool sock.

My sock, with ‘Martin’ even embroidered on it.

I didn't remember putting it up, so Lilac must have.

“Let’s see…. Oh my! Master, look at this!”

What Lilac took out from inside was a genuine copy of the latest hit game, Nine Kingdoms.

It was even a premium box with all the DLC.

“Amazing! It’s a present for you, Master!”

Lilac handed it to me, but my Wild Instinct could feel the slight trace of coal dust and its scent on her fingertips.

It was still present inside the wool sock and on the Nine Kingdoms box.

‘Lilac, you really…’

Santa Claus must have put coal in my sock.

Lilac must have woken up first, taken out the coal, and put in the Nine Kingdoms series.

‘A lovely child.’

Instead of taking the Nine Kingdoms, I reached out and stroked Lilac’s head.

* * *

After my usual breakfast, I went to the Academy.

As soon as I entered the classroom, all eyes were on me.

I scowled and looked around, and everyone flinched and looked away.

“Again, they did everything by themselves again.”

“That’s what I’m saying.”

As soon as I reached my seat, Adela and Luri, who were reading a newspaper, chimed in.

“Why didn't you take me with you?”

“That’s right, Martin is mean.”

“I didn't know I would run into them there either.”

Gilbert was also being bombarded with questions.

Unlike me, an outcast, he was an insider, so a lot of people were clinging to him.

While we were in the middle of this commotion.

“Merry Christmas, everyone!”

Teacher Hailey, wearing a Santa hat, opened the classroom door and entered.

“Wow! Teacher Hailey!”

“Kya! You’re so cute!”

“Merry Christmas, Teacher!”

The cadets of Class A cheered.

This day had finally come.

Christmas.

“Now, just a moment…, ugh! Heave!”

Her struggling to move a bundle of presents was quite cute.

“Everyone, get your presents!”

Hailey had prepared different presents for each of us and handed them out.

I… received a puppy doll.

It strangely resembled Sebastian.

“I bought one that looks like Martin!”

‘Ah…, so it’s me…’

With an expression I couldn't even identify myself, I looked down at the puppy doll.

“Now! This morning, I will be your Santa Claus! Ho ho ho ho ho!”

Hailey imitated a Santa laugh.

“Oops, I have to do the morning assembly, the assembly.”

Belatedly coming to her senses, she stood in front of the teacher’s desk.

The morning assembly was nothing special.

It was the same as usual.

“Ah, and everyone’s preparing, right? The Duel Assessment.”

The end of the year.

December 31st.

The Academy’s Duel Assessment was scheduled.

This time, it was an internal assessment at the Academy with no audience.

In other words… a real sword fight with no need to save face.

The atmosphere in the class became a notch colder.

This was Class A.

The Academy’s elite.

If you won here, it was no exaggeration to say you were the best in the continent among your peers.

“It’s one of the parts that will be most heavily reflected in your cadet records, so let’s all work hard~.”

After the morning assembly, we continued with classes from first to second period.

For the first period, Hectia, in a Rudolph costume, conducted practical training, and for the second period, Faris, in a fir tree costume, conducted a target-breaking class.

After the closing assembly, the cadets started talking excitedly.

“Heehee, where are you guys going?”

“Ah, we got an invitation from the Amulrent Ducal Family!”

“Really?! Me too!”

Christmas.

The pronunciation was the same as on Earth, but the meaning seemed to be different.

On the continent, it seemed to be designated as a ‘day to make wishes,’ so it wasn't a public holiday as one might expect.

Still, thanks to the date and meaning, it was treated as a year-end event.

“Your Majesty Anette! Where are you going?!”

“Hmm? Ah, I plan to spend it with my family.”

Many also spent it with their families.

There were no semi-mandatory imperial banquets or anything like that.

“Eeeh, I have to go prepare for my family’s banquet…!”

Luri, the eldest daughter of the Elidore family, who had become one of the four great ducal families, was going to be busy today as well.

“Tsk, what’s so special about this bloodline.”

Adela also seemed to be stuck at the Imperial Palace.

I had also received more than one or two invitations.

Naturally, I refused them all.

‘It’s Christmas, of all things.’

I was going to be busy with cafe work for a while because of the dozens of large orders for Zazara Tea Relaxer and coco cakes that had come in.

“Martiiin…, see you after Christmas…”

“Tsk, I’ll come back alive.”

Carriages sent from the Elidore and Imperial families were waiting for Luri and Adela at the Academy entrance.

I also arrived at the cafe, and I could see a crowd of people.

“I heard the coco cake here is that good.”

“Ah, the one that was presented at the Elidore Ducal Family’s succession ceremony?”

“That’s the one!”

This was a problem.

I didn't expect it to be this busy.

I-I have to process the large orders too….

“M-Master, welcome…!”

Lilac was so flustered that she was stuttering.

I immediately changed into my barista uniform and started helping.