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Translator: Vine
Chapter Title: Team Recruitment Continues
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The search for team members continued.
Having found no suitable candidates among the second-years, I decided to visit the first-year floor this time.
Perhaps because they were still fresh new students, unlike the calmer second-years, many first-years were chattering and making noise.
'The second-years had already experienced the Demon Palace as first-years.'
There was a clear difference between these 'chicks' who hadn't yet faced the Demon Palace and those who had.
Yet, even among these first-years, there were individuals who defied expectations. Specifically, the first-year special class.
Their combat power was such that they could be immediately deployed with the second-years without issue. The special class, formed by gathering these individuals, was on an entirely different level from the regular first-years.
"Huh? Someone small is coming."
"Yeah, they're tiny."
I heard the voices of the students chattering as they looked at me. But the students quickly shut their mouths when they saw my name tag.
The blue color symbolizing second-years and the student council emblem. These two things – being a senior and a student council member – lent me a weighty aura.
The first-year students naturally made way. Their treatment was entirely different from when I walked through the second-year hallway.
'I'd already checked the members of the special class beforehand.'
And before that, there was someone I needed to bring along.
"You, junior."
"Y-yes?"
When I called out, one junior, flustered, quickly replied. True to a first-year, they were full of spirit.
"Do you know where Aisha Bizbell is?"
The Greatsword Ironclad.
Aisha Bizbell.
She was a junior who trained with me every morning.
Since I'd been indebted to her all this time, I figured I'd impose on her a bit more this time.
The junior, hearing my question, easily found Aisha for me. That's because she supposedly always did extra training during lunch break.
'Morning training, then more training after lunch.'
At this point, I wondered if Aisha was truly made of steel. Aisha was an even more ironclad human than my own steel skin.
When I went to the training room, sure enough, Aisha was there. Wearing a training uniform instead of her school uniform, she gripped a greatsword and swung it.
It was clearly a ridiculously large greatsword. Yet, her greatsword drew a clean curve.
Her muscles were still incredible to behold.
"Aisha."
When I called her name, Aisha stopped swinging her greatsword. She belatedly turned to look my way and smiled, as if seeing someone she was glad to see.
"Oh, Senior, what brings you here?"
When Aisha smiled, the junior who had guided me looked dumbfounded.
"T-the Greatsword Ironclad… is smiling?"
Seeing his reaction, I roughly understood the situation. Aisha held a position among the first-years that made her difficult to approach.
Marchioness of the Empire.
The Bizbell Marquisate.
In short, the Bizbell family was a warrior clan from the northern regions.
Men and women alike were uniformly tall, and their physiques were incredibly robust.
Indeed, the moment one encountered a male from the Bizbell family, ordinary men would realize their biological inferiority and be utterly intimidated.
Aisha was considered to possess exceptional talent even among the direct descendants of the Bizbell family.
Furthermore, when she entered Jerion Academy, she was a student admitted through recommendation rather than the entrance exam.
Her martial arts combat score was currently the highest in her class. Moreover, as she spent nearly every day training, her social ties with other students were not deep.
It was to the point that I, a second-year senior, was probably the one who talked to Aisha the most in the entire academy.
Thus, Aisha was always a formidable presence to the first-years. So, when such an Aisha saw me and smiled, the junior who had guided me was naturally flustered.
The junior stared at me with a blank expression. It was clearly a look that asked, 'Just who *are* you?'
'It seems my reputation hasn't really spread among the first-years.'
Well, it made sense. They were all busy adapting to the academy and keeping up with their studies. It wasn't the time for them to be concerned with academy rumors.
"You can go now."
When I gave him the cue, he finally snapped out of it and quietly exited. Even as he left, the questioning gaze fixed on me refused to disappear.
"Senior, what brings you here?"
Meanwhile, Aisha wiped her sweat and approached me with a bright smile. With good sense, I handed her the drink I had brought.
I'd brought it because I figured Aisha would be like this anyway.
"Ah, thank you."
"Aisha, have you decided on a Demon Palace team yet?"
Aisha, who had opened and drunk the beverage, shook her head. As expected, I thought Aisha wouldn't have yet.
"I'm planning to form a team this time. What do you say, want to join?"
If a combatant of Aisha's caliber joined, there would be no better vanguard. So, when I offered, Aisha finished her drink and gave a healthy, vibrant smile.
"Was this drink a bribe for that?"
"That's right. The moment you drank it, you couldn't escape. If you tried to run, I'd threaten you with all sorts of things for accepting a bribe."
"That's scary. I feel like Senior would only make strange threats."
"Well, I was thinking of starting with threatening to reduce your morning training volume."
"I'll stop that, even if I have to throw myself at you."
The thought of Aisha body-slamming me made me feel a chill.
"So, about the team?"
"I'll join. I think I'd work well with Senior."
We'd spent a lot of time training together. At least within the academy, no one else matched Aisha's synergy as well as I did.
With this, I had two vanguards secured.
What remained was…
'A healer.'
A Divine Studies student.
* * *
Time continued to flow.
Gradually, summer was approaching, and the early summer air began to be felt. Jerion Academy had entered a state of tension greater than ever before.
The birth of the Apostles by the Evil Lord was determined through the astrology of the four seasons.
The day when spring weather was at its finest.
The day summer began.
The day in autumn when night became longer than day.
The coldest day of winter.
When a season reached its peak, an Apostle would be born.
Newly born Apostles possessed weak power. Therefore, at this time, academies across the world deployed their students into the Demon Palace.
And today.
It was the beginning of summer, the season when the heat truly began. At the entrance of the Demon Palace in the Western Sector, managed by Jerion Academy, numerous students gathered there, guided by professors and teaching assistants.
Naturally, such a large number of people didn't rush into the Demon Palace all at once.
Starting with the top-ranked third-year students, they were deployed in order.
'The Demon Palace has a bizarre structure.'
The Apostles' ultimate goal was to emerge from the Demon Palace, harm the world, and hatch the Evil Lord.
Therefore, all Apostles were initially born in the 1st Floor Hatchery. However, to emerge outside, the Apostles needed to reach the Evil Lord's side.
The power of newly born Apostles was weak. In this state, even if they came out, they would merely be hunted down by the knights of the Final Demon Palace Frontline guarding the entrance.
So they chose to descend deeper into the Demon Palace. To go down, absorb the Evil Lord's power, and grow stronger.
Thus, the deeper an Apostle reached, the stronger their power became. And the moment they became complete beings as Apostles, the Apostles would begin their reverse ascent towards the surface.
The purpose of academies worldwide was to stop these Apostles before they began their reverse ascent. For that, students were deployed four times a year.
'Even thinking about it again, it's a bizarre structure.'
In front of the Demon Palace entrance, third-year students were being deployed first.
I quietly gazed at the Demon Palace.
As if it would swallow everything on the surface. An utterly repulsive entrance, like the gaping maw of hell.
That was the entrance to the Demon Palace.
'If I were the Evil Lord, I'd have created the Apostles right by my side from the start.'
Was there really a need to create Apostles at the entrance of the Demon Palace? Even I, who had played the game for so long, didn't know why the Demon Palace had such a structure.
'In the first place…'
The very existence of the Evil Lord was full of questions.
Even in the 'Flame Butterfly' ending, it was ambiguous whether the Evil Lord was truly defeated or not. It presented a very vague outcome.
'Deus ex machina.'
A god from the machine.
It was called a kind of plot device inserted for the smooth progression of the story. Users called the Evil Lord that.
'Some said the Evil Lord was left ambiguous to be used for the final chapter in a sequel to Demon Palace Slayer.'
It was a pity, but the developer of Demon Palace Slayer hadn't released any news for over five years since then.
Ultimately, only user speculation ran rampant. There was no official information regarding the Evil Lord anywhere.
"Burnt Sweet Potato, are you going to keep ignoring me?"
As I watched the Demon Palace, a nagging voice came from beside me. There stood a girl with a prominent forehead and fiery red ponytail hair.
"When are our team members coming? Honestly, you tricked me, didn't you? It was all a lie!"
Seron Parmia.
She had sought me out the day before I finalized the team, around evening.
"Uh, *ahem*, hey, Burnt Sweet Potato, I heard your team is short one person."
I wondered what she wanted when she called me over. Seron kept clearing her throat as she spoke.
"Look, I *might* be able to join your team. Hmm."
Seron had searched everywhere for another team until the very last moment. But no team had ultimately called her.
At this rate, she'd be forced into a ragtag team put together by the professors. For Seron, there was nothing more humiliating.
In the end, her eyes landed on my team. She decided that my team, which was strong enough to contend with the top half of the class, was better than a ragtag team.
I looked at Seron for a moment, then tilted my head.
"Why are you talking as if you're doing me a favor?"
Does this girl not understand her position right now?
"W-what? I'm specially joining your team, aren't I? You probably couldn't even gather proper teammates anyway!"
And then I finally understood. Seron didn't know our team's composition. That's why she was acting so brazen.
"Our team's rear guard is Poara Sillyn."
"Huh?"
As my next words followed, Seron's expression turned dumbfounded. Seron must have heard Poara's name too.
The entire academy had been abuzz about the Spirit Lord incident. Even third-year members, not just second-years, had tried to recruit Poara.
It would be stranger not to know Poara's name. That Poara was on our team. With just that, our team's value instantly shot up.
"And our vanguard is a first-year, Aisha Bizbell."
"Huh, huhh?"
Seron was an imperial noble. As a noble, she couldn't possibly not know the name Bizbell.
Her face slowly began to turn pale. She realized it only then. That the team I had assembled was stronger than she had imagined.
It seemed she thought I had just haphazardly gathered people to form a team.
"Even now, quite a few people want to join my team."
After the rumor spread that Aisha and Poara, promising first-years, had joined our team, I had occasionally heard people express a desire to join the team.
Regardless of how our team would perform, many had decided it was a good idea to get on the good side of Aisha and Poara beforehand.
This is why one's reputation is so important.
However, Seron had mostly been on her own for a while. Since being expelled from the 'Fearsome Foursome,' there had been no one willing to associate with Seron.
Thus, Seron hadn't even heard how my team was composed.
And now, in this situation, what reason did I have to specifically accept Seron?
Seron finally became aware of her position and took a step back.
"Seron Parmia."
I spoke Seron's full name. Her shoulders flinched, and her haughty demeanor faltered.
"If you want to join the team, you shouldn't talk like that."
I smiled faintly.
"Say it again, properly."
Do you want to go to the ragtag team? Or join our strong team?
If she joined the ragtag team, her grades would undoubtedly be a mess. And she didn't know what kind of ridicule she'd face from others.
There was no way the proud Seron could endure that.
Seron's shoulders twitched. She stared at me with wide eyes, then bit her lip tightly.
Her forehead began to turn red. It was to the point where steam seemed to be rising from her forehead.
But she somehow suppressed her shame and endured it. Then, she quietly bowed her head to me.
"P-please, put me on your t-team."
"Louder. Properly."
"Please put me on your team!"
"More desperately."
"Please, please put me on your team! Ugh, I'm begging you! *Sniffle*!"
Was this her limit?
"My dad, my dad said he'd kick me out if I don't get good grades this time, *hic*, please put me in!"
Watching Seron, who was now sitting down and starting to cry, I gave a special nod. And so, Seron became a member of our team.
"Right, it's not like someone like Poara or Aisha would team up with Burnt Sweet Potato. I was tricked. Tricked!"
…Is this girl a complete airhead?
Even after being humiliated by me like that yesterday, she's acting cheeky again overnight.
At this rate, I wouldn't be surprised if she'd erased yesterday's events from her mind with an eraser.
I raised my hand and firmly grasped her mouth. Seron's eyes widened, and just as she was about to shout, 'What are you doing?' I simply turned her mouth, shifting her gaze.
"Open your eyes and look closely. They're coming right there."
Aisha and Poara were approaching. When their eyes met mine, Poara bowed her head, and Aisha gave a short smile.
"…It's t-true."
Seron, whose pronunciation was slurred because her mouth was held, replied blankly. I let go of her mouth and wiped her saliva on Seron's clothes.
"Th-then, who's the other one?"
Come to think of it, I hadn't told her about the last person, had I?
As I turned my head, someone happened to be walking towards us. One by one, the students' gazes began to gather in that direction.
As expressions of surprise and reverence mixed on the students' faces, Seron's face, in contrast, began to gape and her eyes widened.
"Uh, wha, what?"
Seron had truly become a blockhead.
"Let me introduce you."
I showed Seron the person who had walked over.
With pure white blonde hair, wearing clothes of a pristine white base embroidered with golden threads – the only attire permitted to them at Jerion Academy.
"It's Saint Sirmiel Saint Eden."
Our team's final healer.