The hero is now gone, but I’m still here, now what? (Undergoing editing)

“The crowd is starting to get bigger,” I heard Zathania murmur in worry, she bit her lip and turned to me and Fafnir, “aren’t you two worried?” She asked as she walked away from the balcony, I turned my head and smiled reassuringly as she sat next to me, “Neo?..”

 

“It’s fine,” I soothed, my lack of care about the situation showing itself in all its glory, which is pretty justified because those students- “they’re not gonna do anything to us, the teachers are gonna come here and prevent anything bad from happening, and by the time we leave this place, the outside of the tower is gonna be empty, just watch.”

 

Ingame, this particular event- which is to say, the crowd of students, - always passes whenever something important happens, and I was glad that I knew this would come and will eventually- if I wait it out, - also get quenched down by the teachers, if I didn't know that this will eventually pass, I would be shaking in the same way Zath is right now.

 

“They’re here for us,” I said, trying to encourage her to understand the students outside, “let them have it, killing a Demon Duke is a pretty big deal so it’s safe to say that there’s going to be a crowd of students wanting to congratulate me and Fafnir,” I said and added something else so that she doesn't feel left out, “they probably think you’re a hero too since you killed a lot of Demon Captains and saved a lot of students,”

 

"Are we sure that things are gonna be fine?” I nodded and my maid decided to leave it at that, staying silent.

 

Since there's nothing better left to do than think, I decided to consider whether going out right now and talking to the crowd outside of the tower is a good idea because ingame, the Player can choose to interact with these guys, which who wouldn’t? They give free items after all- but sadly, this world is now realistic and I'm pretty sure that the students below us wouldn't just have simple dialogues that consist of “wow! You did great work!” or “Thank you for keeping us safe!” or whatever, they're gonna want to talk and more importantly, touch my arm or something which… jeez, I'd rather not.

 

Anyways, since this is practically commonplace- when I was playing the game, this event always happens whenever a milestone in the main quest gets passed, - I knew that after a while, the staff would come down and stop anyone from doing too much or acting a bit… much.

 

Eventually, the crowd would just fizzle out, we just had to wait.

 

“Alright, fine, I trust you,” Zath said and I smiled.

 

I decided to fully relax and slumped down on the couch and just stared at the giant chandelier hanging on the ceiling of the living room lazily-

 

Honestly? The students are a problem (socially speaking,) but I’m more worried about how me killing that Demon Duke will affect the world going forward, I mean, it’s nice that I managed to do it- especially since it saved all of the students in the process, - but I knew that the Demon Lord wouldn’t take this lying down and since a first year student of Pledge Academy is somehow capable of killing a Demon whose rank is only below him in terms of hierarchy; chances are, he's gonna do something about it- do something about me and spend his energy to boost a few of the lesser Demons under him.

 

And that will be a problem for the regular men and women that make up the infantry, if worse comes to worse, said boosted Demons might even kill important Pledge Bearers, which sure, doesn’t affect me but a struggle is still a struggle, and I'm not as important to the bigger picture as everyone else thinks I am- I know this.

 

But can I do something about it?

 

I looked away from the chandelier and turned to Nir and Zath.

 

“Say,” I started, getting the attention of the two girls, “what if we do something like an after-school activity? A club maybe?” I suggested, remembering that it is possible to join a predetermined club ingame to get stats during the “after class” phase of the day but this is real life so it’s possible for me to go beyond that and create a club on my own, “What if I make a club?”

 

Surprisingly, it wasn’t Zath or Fafnir who replied to my suggestion but the person we’ve been waiting for instead- “and what? Hire a bunch of secretaries? Do you know how many people will want to join your club if you make one?”
We all turned to the freshly showered Laceresta, who was bare naked right now, which I already knew she would do, no surprise there- and also we’re all girls so it doesn’t really matter, - and from Fafnir’s reaction, she felt the same way.

 

Zath though…

 

My maid was as red as a tomato-

 

“Zath?” I poked her cheek and she pushed herself away from me in panic and proceeded to cover her face with a pillow. Okay… that’s a pretty extreme reaction, What? “It’s only Laceresta, this is normal for her,” I explained as my maid buried her face deeper, “and you should be happy, Beastmen only do this to people they consider as family,”

 

“Yep,” Laceresta nodded before going to her room, when the door shut, I poked Zath on the back, causing her to flinch.

 

“She’s gone,” I said and my maid peeked at me and the living room with one eye, “see?”

 

“W-why are you both so calm? Especially you!” She pointed at me accusingly, hand shaking and voice panicking, “why?!”

 

“It’s normal for them,” I said, that’s a full answer on its own, isn’t it? There's no need for further explanation because Laceresta trusted us and If I reacted like Zath, then Laceresta would just feel out of place, or foreign. Alienated. “You shouldn’t react like that if Laceresta gives you this much trust,”

 

Shaking her head, Zath stood up and huffed before stomping over to her room, “you’re both insane!” She yelled at us before she slammed the door shut.

 

I met Fafnir’s eyes, “I’m a Dragon,” she said, shrugging, “I’m surprised you honestly didn’t react to it yourself,”

 

“She’s not a guy though?” I replied idly, putting out my one other reason for why I didn't mind seeing Laceresta naked, I mean, back in my first life, I used to swim for the school so a locker room full of naked girls had been a daily sight for me, so with that being said- “I don’t think seeing her naked really matters?”

 

Fafnir sighed but didn't say anything.

 

We only sat there after that, not exchanging words while waiting for Laceresta to finish changing- Also, Zath came out of her room seconds after she slammed the door on us and when she sat right next to me, I explained to her that Laceresta doesn't mind so she shouldn't as well, and to also not react the way she did for all the previous reasons.

 

When the Lioness finally came out of her room- now with clothes on her back, - we started moving immediately, eager to get started for our first day of class. And to our surprise, when all four of us got out of the suite and stepped into the elevator room- I swear it has a term… lobby? - we were greeted by the current President of the Student Council.

 

With a head of chestnut hair, a slender neck, and a lithe frame that’s almost as tall as me, Prescine Crescate met us outside of the elevator with a chipper smile and a wave.

 

She had a black and white suit, which, oddly enough, was the same type of clothes I wore: a white waistcoat that went down to her knees, black combat boots, as well as a pair of long, white pants with black belts running on top of it.

 

… well, I guess not the same as me because this type of uniform belonged to would-be leaders, and she’s literally the current President of the student body of the entire school so it should be expected that she'll wear the same thing as me.
Still, it is pretty strange that our uniforms had the same colors, ingame she had a set of vibrant and emerald green, which in my opinion made her more beautiful than this drab looking thing but that's just me, her fashion sense is up to her.

 

“Hi!” Prescine greeted me before raising her hand, I shook it, “it’s nice to finally meet all of you,”

 

“We feel the same way,” I replied for all of us.

 

“So-” Prescine started as she pressed the button of the elevator and as the feeling of weightlessness overtook me and we started going down, Prescine continued her small talk, “I’m guessing that you’ve heard stories about me, especially from your brother?”

 

I nodded, sort of, Adamantite never really talked about her to any of his siblings but I knew that she and Adamantite were in a relationship, both ingame and here I think? Or are we so early in the timeline that none of that has happened yet?

 

Instead of silently wondering, I decided to ask her about it, “Are you and Adamantite already together?”

 

A frown crossed Prescine's pretty face and she quickly shook her head, “what?! No!” She denied loudly- enough that her voice bounced around the cramped elevator- also, oof, poor Adamantite, guess the girl doesn't want to be his wife, which come to think of it, ingame was more than guaranteed…

 

Why?

 

What changed for her to answer in denial like this?

 

I stared Prescine down- okay, what changed? You know what- no- I’m not going anywhere with only staying silent, “why?” I decided to stop wondering, “I thought you liked him back?”

 

“No- of course not,” Prescine shook her head, “I don’t… uhm, like guys?” She said, a tad bit too unconfident, “like you,”

 

“I’m not gay,” I replied reflexively, “- but that’s not important,” I shook my head, a few pieces were already clicking for me, if she needed help then I'll provide it, she didn't have to wear… this.

 

“I thought that Adamantite was helping out Exube? And your parents agreed to your marriage because of it..?” I trailed off with a frown, Adamantite’s been doing his best to push for aiding that particularly beautiful Kingdom for what? A year now? Maybe less if I’m remembering things wrong- or- “wait, he wasn’t funneling money out of Dad’s pockets wasn’t he?”

 

“No- no- not at all! He helped us as best as he could!” Prescine waved me off and I felt relieved, thank Goddess that he didn't throw away his life like that, it would've been very stupid, “there’s uhm- just- well he did help me out and I did like him back then but… you know, lately, he's been?.."

 

“Aggressive?” Zath cut in and Prescine nodded, “it wasn't just you who noticed that, even Neo's been complaining about it lately,"

 

I nodded, "yep.”

 

“Oh.” Prescine sighed, “so- you're probably thinking I led him on-"

 

“Or that you're now considering other options,” I cut her off and placed a placating hand on her shoulder, “I kind of get it,” I said, “you liked Adamantite but then he started… losing screws on his head so you became scared and now you're considering other, less violent options, which are girls,”

 

“Can someone just change like that?” Laceresta asked, “their preference?”

 

“Hm? Yeah, she's probably just bi or something,” I answered, it does make the most sense.

 

“... uh, yeah?” Prescine said dumbly, “what's it mean when you say I'm bi?”

 

“It means that you like both girls and boys,” I answered.

 

“Huh,” Laceresta said and I turned to her but she only shrugged in response and didn't say anything.

 

“... right,” Prescine nodded, “guess I'm that?”

 

I nodded at her, “well, if you want I can help in Adamantite's place,” I offered, “I can ask Dad to give you aid and he'll probably say yes,”

 

“Uh…” Prescine trailed off.

 

Fafnir huffed, “Neo, do you know what you're doing right now?”

 

I turned to her, “what? Helping her out?”

 

“Goddess-” She closed her eyes and chuckled, “you're hopeless.”

 

I blushed, are they seriously doing this now?! “Yeah… I get what you mean but I'm doing this out of the goodness of my heart!! I swear!”

 

“Oh, you're following your heart alright,” Laceresta grinned.

 

“By the way, if you say yes to the offer,” Zath started to say, mentioning Prescine, “then I'm sure that the King would immediately agree to provide aid to your Kingdom, even when it's basically on the edge of the Everlast borders.”

 

“It doesn't have to be quick since it's not like Exube is gonna get invaded by Demons,” I said and Zath raised her eyebrow in response, "what? You sound like you were implying that.”

 

“It won't get attacked by Demons?” Prescine asked.

 

“Hm? No?” I replied, murmuring, it's never been under threat ingame as far as I'm aware, “I think it's too far from the current “cone” of the main horde and also beyond the reach of other, smaller hordes, and that's me not mentioning the fact that there's also the forest surrounding your Kingdom, as well as the several, literally harpy filled floating islands found around your skies, and the swamp that's being lived in by Fault Crabs,” I met Prescine's eyes, “your home is kinda hard to invade,”

 

“Oh…” she had a small smile on her face while saying that, “that's good.” She nodded.

 

“Yeah, well, don't expect it to be impossible to invade, I only said hard,” I ignored the searing look everyone else shot me. She needed to know the truth, “and if an actual invasion happens, then the resulting war will ruin everything.”

 

“But it'll rarely happen right?” Prescine asked.

 

I nodded, “yep.”

 

“That's good.” She nodded again, “I'm glad that I accepted this task,”

 

“What task?” I asked.

 

“To… lead you guys to your classroom?” She said, “I know that you know where it is but I've been told that you'll have problems going there?”

 

“... we do,” Zath nodded with a sigh, “there's an entire crowd of students outside of the suite-”

 

“It's been taken care of,” Fafnir replied, “look behind you,”

 

And we did, we stared out the glass wall behind us and saw that the space around the tower was now empty of students. I met Zath's gaze and shot her a smug smile, “see? I told you.”

 

Zath nodded, “I suppose you were right,”

 

There was only silence until we reached the bottom and by then, Prescine told us that her presence was no longer necessary and after giving me a thankful hug, she walked away to head to her own classroom while we went to our own- and as we walked through the hallways of the school, the students let me know of their appreciation for my killing of the Demon Duke by staring at me like some sort of zoo animal, but since their faces were full of smiles as they piled on top of each other just to look at me through the window I… kinda didn't mind?

 

Also, why are most of them girls-

 

“We're here, Neo,” a large hand dropped on my shoulder and I snapped back in the present.

 

I nodded at Laceresta in thanks and slid the doors open to the sight of…

 

Silence- which after experiencing just how loud and annoying my peers can be, I kind of appreciated, my classmates let me know of their congratulations by either nodding at me as I walked past, telling me that I did a good job for saving everyone, or in the case of Naviri, hugging me tightly just as I took a seat right next to her-

 

“I didn't know you were that strong!” She tightened the hug and from the way that she felt stronger than before, I just knew that she was using a strength-boosting Technique while doing this- she tightened the hug even further and I wheezed, “how are you that powerful huh?!” She broke the hug and started poking my cheek, “tell me!”

 

Satti nodded, “she does have a point,” he said, tone serious, “I didn't know you were holding back during… well, everything,”

 

“My pact with Fafnir helped with it by a lot I think?” I pointed out and only got dry stares in response.

 

“A Pact only makes both parties grow stronger when the human is stronger than the magical creature,” pointed out someone from in front of us and it's… uh, a girl with black hair and pale skin, who is she again- oh- there's an emblem of a silver crow on the right side of her uniform's chest.

 

Korbinian turned to me, “Korbinian,”

 

“Neophyte,” I replied, “nice to meet you.”

 

“Likewise, so, you were stronger than Fafnir before you made your Pact, why hide it?” Korbinian looked at me with narrowed eyes while I remained silent. “Also, how? She's an adolescent Dragon, one of them would've been enough to kill an Omegafauna that can threaten an entire Kingdom.”

 

“Uh…” what do I say here? That I had a past life so I know about endgame level Techniques? Bad idea- okay, how about that I spent most of my childhood literally working to become stronger? Is that a good answer? It's an honest one sure but will they even believe-

 

“Neophyte has been training from the day I came to her side,” Zath replied for me and Korbinian turned to her, “that's why she's strong,”

 

“Right, guess it does make sense,” Korbinian nodded, "but-” I held back a frown, what's up with this? “That's the case for most of us isn't it?” The summoner turned to Naviri, who averted her eyes, “almost everyone here trained ever since they were a child, and I'm pretty sure that none of us can beat a Demon Duke 2 on 1, or, really, cut its hand off when it's guard is down,”

 

“Well…” I started, “I uhm- train on a Gravity Well?”

 

“I do too, actually,” a guy to my right said and turning to him let me see a boy with dark-blue hair and a muscular build, from the hair and eyes, I recognized him as Brine, a member of Whirlia, “and I will never claim to be as strong as you-”

 

"Then you're all weak,” Laceresta cut him off loudly, “the problem here is obvious, you're all weak.” She said, “either work harder or deal with it.”

 

I stared blankly before the situation caught up to me and this is the perfect time to pitch this out isn't it?-

 

“... we can start a club and train together,” I suggested, “I don't know how to do it yet-” okay, maybe saying it out loud when I haven't planned things out is a bad idea now that everyone is staring at me expectantly… “- and uh- I mean but maybe we can… you know, try to make a club and train together there?”

 

“Neo your face is red,” Naviri pointed out and- yeah, yeah it is, my cheeks feel like they're burning right now.

 

“I know,” I squeaked, “I'm a bit embarrassed.” I chuckled nervously.