I Realized It Was an Academy Game After 10 Years

“The first battle is my victory.”

I confidently brushed aside the Dark Elf’s words while listening to the Elf. The Dark Elf that fell from the horse crashed into pieces on the floor.

[Hmph. Those guys are the weakest of my collection.]

And here we have our outsider spouting lines like a Four Heavenly King.

Well, it’s probably true that they are the weakest.

I turned my gaze away from the horse board and looked down at the tower. This was just the beginning of the real game.

It feels a bit off to call a life-and-death fight a game, but since it was at least taking the form of a game, I suppose it wouldn’t be strange to call it that.

At least for now.

“With the Elf battle over, it’s time for the fight between humans and monsters.”

[Do you think those human beings can defeat my collection?]

“Well, we’ll know once we try.”

I shrugged off the creature’s words and gazed at the Imperial army densely packed in the plains. My focus lingered on where Viola and Sif were. They were looking ahead, armed differently than usual.

Seeing their tense faces, I wondered if bringing them was a mistake.

I tried to hide my worries and shifted my gaze to my support from the Quartz Family, Peymin and Hazel.

Thinking about it, what are their abilities?

Edmund mentioned that both are exceptional fighters, but since I had never seen them in action, I had no idea how they fought.

Given they were wearing restraints, I could guess they had to possess abilities great enough to need them… but what about Hazel, the older sister?

[Could a human defeat an Azidahaka?]

“It’s a matter of testing lengths.”

I purposefully added a tremor to my voice in rebuttal.

As expected, the response was a triumphant tone.

[You think you can win against my toys?]

…What a simpleton who’s just incredibly strong. I inwardly cursed the Observer and looked back down.

From now on, it was the real fight between the Imperial army and the monsters.

———————-

“Your Highness! A gigantic dragon has appeared up ahead!”

“I know.”

‘Can you believe it? Fighting a dragon again.’

It was shocking when the entire unit suddenly moved to the plains, but the realization that there were numerous monsters and dragons on the far side plunged the entire Imperial army into chaos.

Somehow, Killian, the Second Prince who had become the Crown Prince, managed to rally the generals to calm the tumult, but just because the turmoil subsided didn’t mean the enemies vanished, so now they had to engage in battle meticulously.

“We’ll let the soldiers deal with the smaller monsters while the knights and mages handle the more powerful beasts and dragons.”

“Sir Kalintz, do you think you can lead the elite to face the dragon?”

All eyes turned to Sir Kalintz, the commander of the elite knights who had stepped forward for the continent’s crisis. Sir Kalintz quietly knelt before the Crown Prince and said,

“God Kalintz. I will risk my life to present the dragon’s head to His Highness.”

“I’ll only trust you.”

“Your Majesty.”

“Sir Merlin. I ask that you prepare special magic with the mage battalion.”

“I will obey your command.”

The Crown Prince issued orders one by one to the commanders assembled in the command center.

After receiving occasional suggestions from the commanders, the exhausted Crown Prince gazed at the slowly approaching hordes of monsters in the distance.

‘Can we win?’

Fear started to rise.

‘…Whatever, all we can do is try.’

Unknowingly shaking his head, the Crown Prince shook off the fear. After all, if he wasn’t going to become the Crown Prince, he could be wiped out at any moment.

Since when had life been so precious that he was scared?

Laughing at himself, the Crown Prince lifted his head, gazing determinedly at the commanders.

The commanders looked at the Crown Prince, noticing a relieved expression, with worried eyes.

Thinking about it, they were in a situation where failure meant immediate annihilation. The Crown Prince smiled at the worried expressions of the commanders.

“Everyone, stop frowning. Just because you’re staring at my face does not mean the dragon is going to retreat, right? Let’s all focus on showing these monsters the might of our Imperial army.”

“…Yes!”

——————–

“Are you okay?”

“…I’m a little shaky.”

Viola awkwardly smiled, feeling the heat of battle saturating the plains. Sif patted her back like a caring older sister, trying to comfort her.

“Don’t worry too much. Johann prepared everything so you wouldn’t get hurt, right?”

“But I don’t know if things will go well—”

“With your inventions, you can wipe out anything that comes, right?”

“But I didn’t expect there to be so many…”

Viola gazed at the monstrous military filling the plains with a grim look.

‘It seems like all sorts of monsters have gathered.’

From goblins to dragons.

There was nothing missing; it wasn’t strange to call it a monster zoo sprawling across the plains.

They were simply let loose in the plains, and even she, who typically showed inquisitiveness, couldn’t help but loathe the situation.

“I’m not sure if my medicine will work on the dragon…”

“Don’t worry too much. After all, we are here to support.”

Sif’s caring voice, like a proper person with two siblings, soothed her as she mentally went over what she needed to do.

‘My role is to drop what Johann prepared right in the middle of the battlefield when the time comes.’

Until then, she had to be cautious. Caution was her specialty, so it wasn’t a hard task. They were standing at the back, after all, so ideally…

“Meow?!”

Sif’s hand suddenly grabbed Viola’s neck. Caught off guard by the firm hold squeezing her neck, Viola was lifted into the air before she could protest.

“These shoes are so hard to handle!”

The leap-boosting shoes Johann made were rapidly increasing her speed. It was a speed incomparable to normal.

Thanks to that, the two managed to evade the dragon’s breath that swept across the plains.

“I-I really thought I was going to die…”

“Sif, your way of speaking is completely…”

“Forget it…”

Sif’s ears drooped. Escaping danger was one thing, but her embarrassment was still there.

“Is this breath… did Johann fight something like this?”

“My legs are weak…”

Sif pouted as she rubbed her legs. Viola massaged her opposite leg while watching the dragon. The dragon, spewing smoke from its mouth, licked its lips while surveying the destruction it had caused.

“Is it even possible to catch something like that? I think about a thousand have already fallen…”

“You guys are here?”

“Uh… Peymin?”

“You all rest in the back! I’ll handle that thing! Hahaha!”

Peymin laughed cheerfully, seemingly oblivious to the fact a thousand soldiers had instantly disappeared from the battlefield.

‘Not what I wanted, but I guess I have to team up with my sister.’

Simply shedding the restraints would allow her to unleash enough power, but to draw out all her strength, Hazel’s cooperation was absolutely necessary.

Peymin felt displeasure at the reminder but was not foolish enough to prioritize her personal feelings over public matters.

“Viola, can you unlock the latch on my back?”

“The latch… what?”

Viola looked at Peymin’s back at her request. There, a lock as big as a person’s head bundled the chains that bound her body together.

‘I don’t think I’ve seen that before… does Peymin only allow it to be seen by those she permits?’

Viola quietly observed the lock. It had a structure where inserting a key and turning it would unlock it. After confirming the existence of a keyhole, Viola spoke awkwardly.

“Peymin, I need a key…”

“Damn sister.”

“Pardon?”

“Hazel! Where are you?!”

“Oh my. Do you need my help?”

“You have the key, don’t you? Open it quickly.”

At her words, Hazel’s mouth curled upwards, likely due to the memories of their happier days. Hazel took a pendant from her pocket.

When she opened the lid of the pendant, a key placed on top of a screenshot with four family members gathered appeared.

“Is it really… been years since we did this?”

“Shut up and hurry! People are dying while you’re talking!”

“Oh dear. Alright. Don’t be mad; it scares me.”

Hazel replied in a cheeky tone, inserted the key into the lock, and turned it.

With a click, the lock fell to the ground.

“Shall we have some fun now~”

After an endless stretch of time, the chains fell away from her body. The chains were heavy enough to crush the ground. Viola and Sif instinctively took steps back.

“Our heir’s girlfriends, I…”

“We’ll handle everything, so stay still. Got it?”

The two nodded blankly.

“Then shall we go~”

Peymin stretched and stared at the horizon of the plains.

‘Is it okay to go wild?’

Taking a deep breath in and out.

She repeated that simple process more than ten times.

‘There’s only scum here who deserve to die.’

A resolution.

Another resolution.

After repeating that for a while, Peymin finally stepped forward.

With her truly beloved but also truly hated sister.

“Let’s go… damn sister.”

“Sure thing, little sister.”

The sisters, long confined, began to march toward a hell known as the battlefield.

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