April 23rd, Monday.
After the third period in the morning, Siloque arrived at the infirmary right on time, as if clocking in for work.
He knocked twice on the door.
Inside, there was the sound of things being quickly placed and tidied up.
“Come in.”
Hearing the reply, Siloque walked into the infirmary.
Beiren was sitting in a swivel chair, a flawless professional smile on her face.
“It’s you…”
The moment she saw it was Siloque, her expression collapsed, turning speechless and tinged with a hint of disgust.
“Did something good happen to you? You’re dressed really cute today.”
A model-like figure, usually hidden under a white lab coat and sweater, was now adorned with a stylish, simple black knit turtleneck, the jeans replaced by a fitted skirt, and her legs wrapped in black stockings that emphasized their length, with the absolute territory faintly visible.
Honestly, even after playing for a year, Siloque had enough confidence to lick her legs to the point of a fracture.
“…Don’t get the wrong idea. I didn’t dress for you to see.”
“I didn’t even say anything yet.”
Suppressing the excitement in his heart, Siloque showed a playful expression.
“Ugh…”
A blush spread across Beiren’s face as she bit her lip in frustration, then simply changed the subject.
“The bet’s result hasn’t been decided yet. I didn’t agree to a date. What are you here for?”
“Whether there’s a date or not doesn’t affect me coming to the infirmary.”
“Have you been treating this place like your own home lately? Isn’t it a bit too frequent? Even if you pretend to be a girl with that appearance, it’s impossible to have a period every day, right?”
“Because I want to see you… is that not allowed?”
As he spoke, Siloque closed his eyes slightly, displaying a lonely expression.
“How could it not be!”
Beiren almost blurted out the words.
What was that!
A dreamy, ethereal aura filled the air — the kind that made people want to protect and hold him tight with all their might.
“Siloque… You didn’t use any strange item, did you…”
“?”
“Ahhh, geez, I get it. If you’re coming in, do it quickly. With the door open, all the cool air is escaping.”
That Priss guy, is it really okay to keep letting students skip class like this?
You and I are both teachers, right…
Beiren turned away in resignation, walking to the sink and taking two cups from the cabinet.
Siloque closed the door and sat on one of the beds.
“Just instant coffee for me. I brought coffee powder.”
“Who asked you!”
Despite her words, Beiren still took the small packet of instant coffee powder from Siloque’s hand and started boiling water.
“You always skip class to come here. Aren’t you afraid you’ll fall behind and fail to graduate?”
“If graduation is the goal, there’s no problem.”
Siloque thanked Beiren and took the coffee she handed over.
“Is that so? Then can I quiz you?”
“Is there a prize for answering correctly?”
“No.”
“Then forget it.”
“Stop talking nonsense. Here’s the first question. In what year did the City of Grana get its name?”
“December 21, 1905, named after the founder of the Benor Corporation, still in use today.”
“Hmm… That was fast. Next, what major historical event happened at Droy Station?”
“1971. The smallest scale Heaven’s Gate ever opened, and the caster has been held in a special prison by the Tuners ever since.”
Beiren hesitated for a moment.
“You even know that? Most people would answer that it’s the terminal of the railway… Siloque, I didn’t think you actually knew a bit.”
“Of course. Come on, worship me already.”
“Don’t get carried away.”
Beiren pinched Siloque’s face.
“Ouch, Beiren.”
“How is your skin even better than mine? So much collagen…”
How should I put it, even if Beiren asked a few more questions, Siloque had the confidence to answer them all.
The things teachers taught were basically Dungeon knowledge from the game, which Siloque had long since memorized thoroughly.
Though sometimes knowledge for the central exam was taught too, in his previous life he’d only graduated university half a year ago, so he was pretty familiar with that as well.
“Now you believe me, right? I’m going to rest a while. I still have to go to the Dungeon this afternoon.”
Because he had pulled an all-nighter Saturday, and spent Sunday with Cass test-swinging blades until the afternoon, he hadn’t rested much.
Siloque specifically came here to catch up on sleep.
“You really treat this place as your own room, huh?!”
Beiren sighed, holding her coffee as she sat back in her swivel office chair, spinning it twice.
Siloque lay on the bed to rest, thinking over his plans for what was next.
Yesterday afternoon, he met Cass at the monster spawn point in Dungeon Level 1, Area D.
Cass tearfully asked why he’d been blocked, leaving Siloque speechless.
Didn’t I unblock you and restore your friend spot less than ten minutes after blocking you?
Was it really necessary to get so worked up…
As expected, the young girl Cass had “acquired” through his “crimes” was actually the transformed Wraithblade.
Now, after merging, Wraithblade was asleep within Cass’s mana, at least saving him from having to carry around an obvious sword.
To be honest, there were already deviations from the game.
Wraithblade did have transformation abilities, but she wasn’t supposed to turn into a Pretty Cure just because Cass liked that.
But Siloque had gotten used to these differences — nothing was surprising anymore.
Still, to be fair, Cass’s sword being a loli and all did fit the vibe of a harem protagonist a bit, and he’d finally done something in line with the setting.
Originally, Siloque wanted to see Hertanid’s true form.
In the game, the horrifying mix of rotting flesh and organs drawn was even more shocking than Saya no Uta — Siloque was interested in what it would look like in reality.
Unfortunately, Cass said she’d kept him company until late last night and was catching up on sleep, refusing to appear.
Hearing that, Siloque looked at Cass with the eyes of a criminal.
After all, Hertanid had been turned into a young girl by Cass, and Cass, a perfectly normal high school student, said the girl had accompanied him until late…
Cass hurriedly argued that it was just for taking photos.
The criminal aura only got stronger.
Wraithblade—Hertanid’s identity was, from the very origin of the Dungeon, a bug on the Tree of Life connecting each floor.
Maybe not exactly a bug, but a creature inhabiting the Tree of Life.
Beyond those interesting effects, she could also grow, and depending on the materials given to her, she could transform into different forms.
There was no need to worry about the blade’s durability, and you could feed her people to recover.
Normal food worked, too, but bananas were best.
This sword would accompany Cass until the grand finale.
Take good care of her, Cass.
If I’m ever gone someday, this sword will be the one to save you.
Anyway, Cass’s level had reached a safe threshold, so for now, it was fine to let him trigger some minor side quests, helping Bried and Kersey level up.
If nothing unexpected happened…
It would be best if Cliff just didn’t show up, granting victory without a fight and allowing a date with Beiren that morning.
This afternoon, as promised, he’d take his little sister for a walk around Dungeon Level 1, then just wait until May 7 for the duel to end.
After the duel, there would be a period with no major events, but that didn’t mean he could relax.
At that time, Siloque had made Cass obtain a totem from an orc’s corpse in a certain room in the Underground Ruins.
It was the key to resolving a major incident.
Before that incident arrived, he would use this gap to train as much as possible.
His hand of cards wasn’t strong enough yet for complete peace of mind…
While thinking about all this, Siloque drifted into sleep.
The sound of the bell signaling the end of class echoed in his ears.
Siloque opened his eyes groggily.
A glance at the clock on the infirmary wall told him it was already the end of second period — time for the cafeteria to open.
“Why don’t you just sleep until the afternoon? Wouldn’t that be better?”
As soon as he woke, he saw Beiren’s profile as she worked, her words a mix of complaint and teasing.
It was truly wonderful.
“If you want, I can sleep here until you get off work, no problem.”
“Sure, then keep me company until the end of my shift.”
It seemed Beiren had gotten used to Siloque’s jokes, her response calm and relaxed.
Siloque finished the remaining cold coffee, got out of bed, and went to the water dispenser to pour a glass of water.
There was a knock at the infirmary door.
That was rare.
For someone to come to the infirmary at this time— In the game, the protagonist usually visited Beiren early on for medicine, or people came after being badly hurt in a duel.
Otherwise, there was only one other likely visitor…
“Come in.”
Beiren said this, glancing sharply at Siloque as if warning him not to say anything unnecessary.
The door opened.
First came the heavy footsteps of a single person, followed by the sound of something being dragged.
No way…
The moment Siloque saw the other party, his mind almost blanked out.
The class president of Class B, and also the top student in the class—Parenoa Kolo.
She was being supported by her friend, Lorin, who had purple hair and wore a side ponytail.
Her long, silver hair, braided into a cat-tail-like plait, gave her a delicate appearance, and her slender body with pinkish-white skin and legs wrapped in white tights lacked any sense of strength.
If Parenoa’s friend wasn’t supporting her, she looked like she could collapse at any moment — the kind of fleeting, fragile presence that felt like it might disappear at any time.
If mishandled, she really might pass away in a few months.
At first sight, Siloque wasn’t struck by her doll-like, porcelain beauty, but rather by memories of her tragic death, his face turning pale as his stomach clenched.
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