Categories: Zero Attack Power

ZAP – Chapter 96: 4th Arc Epilogue

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TLN: Next week’s chapter will be Weakest Mage!

—–

“……”

I woke up and what entered my vision was a plain white ceiling, white wall, and white curtains.

(This is…the infirmary of the academy…?) (Eugene)

The infirmary having a lot of white is because of the taste of the professor.

I come here often…is what I thought.

The infirmary of the Lykeion Magic Academy has better equipment than a big hospital, so this is the first place injured students get carried to.

My head hurts a bit.

My body is sluggish and heavy.

My memory is hazy.

Why am I here…?

“……Eugy? You woke up?!”

A voice I am used to hearing but is nostalgic.

A voice that I heard more often outside of dreams.

“…Airi?” (Eugene)

The blue eyes of my childhood friend were on the verge of crying.

“I am so glad! Cami, tell everyone that Eugy has woken up!” (Airi)

“Yes, Airi-sama.” (Camilla)

I hear the sound of footsteps growing further away.

“I…lost consciousness?” (Eugene)

“That’s right. I was worried since you didn’t wake up for a whole day! We were the whole time by your side with Sumire-san and Sara-san in shifts.” (Airi)

“That far…? I really worried those two…” (Eugene)

I slowly got up while wondering ‘was Airi that close with those two…?’.

And then, I was steadily getting my consciousness back.

Right.

I was fighting together with Principal Uther and the 1st Knight Clair-sama…

“Speaking of which, what was the result of the trial…?!!” (Eugene)

I asked in a hurry and Airi showed a shocked expression.

“What are you saying, Eugy? Don’t you remember?” (Airi)

“Uhm…it got pure white with the fairy magic of Clair-sama, and after Principal Uther carried me with Teleport…” (Eugene)

“You have successfully cleared the Deus Discipline. You dropped a head of the Hydra with your strange Mana Blade, right? Hey…what was that Mana Blade? I thought it resembled the Mana Blade you used when defeating Cerberus… But I felt an even more apprehensive feeling from it…” (Airi)

“O-Oh well, that doesn’t matter!” (Eugene)

I left it vague.

“Also, I heard that you are going out with another woman aside from Sumire-san and Sara-san…” (Airi)

“I don’t know what you are talking about…” (Eugene)

“…”

“…A-Airi?” (Eugene)

Airi stared at me.

“Looks like you are hiding something.” (Airi)

There have been almost no cases where I have been able to lie to Airi when we were young.

I avert my gaze.

I hear several footsteps from the corridor.

This way of running…

“Eugene-kun!!”

“Eugene!!”

It really was Sumire and Sara.

The two hug me just like that.

Airi moved a bit away from me as if giving way.

“I was worried! You were not waking up at all.” (Sumire)

“Haah, you really are reckless.” (Sara)

“Sorry, you two. I have worried you both.” (Eugene)

I hugged the shoulders of the two after thinking a bit about it.

I feel an intense stare from my childhood friend.

“Eugene Santafield-dono, do you have a bit of time?”

I thought Airi was the only one staring, but an unknown man spoke to me.

Seems like he is a dungeon staff judging from his attire.

“What is it?” (Eugene)

I thought for a moment that maybe my contract with the Demon Lord was discovered, but the head of the Dungeon Alliance is Principal Uther.

He should have pulled some strings…I think.

Right, Principal Uther?

“There have been many calls from all the nations regarding the Hydra head you cut off! The head of the Divine Beast that has fatal mythological poison. There’s no doubt it is Legendary Tier as a material! Please allow us the right to auction it through the Dungeon Alliance! The Alliance has stored the head of the Hydra and its cast-off skin! Now, now! Please sign here!”

Looks like his aim was the materials of the Divine Beast.

Speaking of which, it was the same with Cerberus.

“Uhm, I just have to sign here, right?” (Eugene)

I took the pen and was about to write my name, but…

“W-Wait, Eugy!” (Airi)

“Moment there, Eugene!” (Sara)

Airi and Sara stopped me.

“Is it okay to sign that easily?!” (Airi)

“Quite a lot will be taken in fees.” (Sara)

“The materials of a Divine Beast can reach hundreds of millions of G!” (Airi)

“Think more carefully!” (Sara)

They closed in on me from both sides.

As expected from the upcoming Empress and Holy Maiden, the both of them are pretty strict when it comes to gold.

Sumire seems to not be interested in this, she isn’t joining the conversation.

I am the same as Sumire.

“It seems like the contract is the same as the last time, and the eyes of Principal Uther are on the Dungeon Alliance, so there aren’t any weird pitfalls. There should be no issues.” (Eugene)

I say this, sign the contract, and give it to the dungeon staff.

“Thank you very much! You have our gratitude, Eugene-san!!”

He was almost about to hop his way out.

Please sell it at a high price, okay?

“Airi-sama, it is almost time for the Flying Ship to leave.” (Camilla)

Camilla came to call for Airi.

“Eh, already?! Eugy woke up just now though!” (Airi)

“The promise was to stay until Eugene-kun woke up to begin with, and you stayed for 1 day more.” (Camilla)

“Really?” (Eugene)

“That’s right, Eugene-kun. Airi-sama has been staying with you from day to night. Us bodyguards were—mgh.” (Camilla)

“Shut up!” (Airi)

Airi covered the mouth of Camilla.

“Thanks, Airi.” (Eugene)

“I-It is okay!! I just did it because I wanted to anyway!” (Airi)

Airi faced away.

Her mannerisms haven’t changed.

“Sorry that I couldn’t spare any time at all to talk.” (Eugene)

“I said it is fine. You are feeling better now, so come back to the Empire again, okay?” (Airi)

Airi was smiling gently, giving off an even more mature atmosphere than before.

“……”

Sumire and Sara were staring this way.

I feel like they are going to complain about this later.

“I have to get going now.” (Airi)

“Be careful, Airi.” (Eugene)

I was about to get up from the bed and see her off.

“You idiot, just stay there. You are a patient.” (Airi)

Airi stopped me.

“Yeah, I’ll do that.” (Eugene)

I ended up saying that.

It was so natural and casual.

The face of my childhood friend was right in front of my eyes by the time I noticed.

—And she kissed me.

Her lips separate from mine.

“……Eh?” (Eugene)

“Hm? Is something the matter, Eugy?” (Airi)

My childhood friend looked at me, who was dumbstruck, as if saying ‘did something happen?’.

“Just now…what did you…?” (Eugene)

“What, getting all riled up just from this much. You have been playing around with a lot of women in the academy, right?” (Airi)

T-That’s not true! -is what I wanted to say but couldn’t.

“…L-Listen here, Airi…” (Eugene)

“See you later☆.” (Airi)

Airi winked at me with an impish face and left the infirmary.

…*Rumble Rumble Rumble Rumble Rumble Rumble Rumble*

The air is trembling…literally.

It is the mana of the Ifrit Sumire.

The hand of Sara had her shining Holy Sword drawn out.

“Please wait, you two!!” (Eugene)

“Wait for what~? For Eugene-kun who kissed Airi-chan?” (Sumire)

“My my my, Eugene, when did you fix things up with your childhood friend?” (Sara)

“T-That’s not it! I am also surprised—” (Eugene)

“That was an awfully natural kiss. You must have been all kissy kissy with Airi-chan at our backs, right? I won’t get angry, so try saying how many times you have done it.” (Sumire)

I was about to answer with ‘Only once!’ at the question of the smiling Sumire, but I suddenly notice…

(Is the kiss we had when we were children also included?) (Eugene)

I remember the time when we kissed as a joke when we were barely 10 years old.

“Could it be…Eugene…” (Sara)

The shine of the Holy Sword of Sara grew sharper and sharper.

That way of accumulating mana is dangerous.

“Eugene-kun, speak what you are hiding.” (Sumire)

“Eugene, pledge to this Holy Sword that you will speak the truth.” (Sara)

The two of them are scary.

A magic circle appeared in midair all of a sudden.

“Ooi, Eugene, you apparently woke up. Clair-kun and Lloyd-kun were worried about you, so they said to show up when you are feeling bette—wait, what are you doing?”

The one who showed up in the infirmary with Teleport was Principal Uther.

He is holding a magic book under his arm and carrying papers in his usual style, so he must have come here to check on me in between his work.

What Principal Uther saw was the Ifrit Sumire with her hair standing up and turned red from the red mana, the upcoming Holy Maiden Sara readying her shining Holy Sword, and me who is cornered and curled up on the bed.

That’s when the wise principal understood the situation in an instant.

“A kiss isn’t that big of a deal. Eugene is the Legendary Hero that saved the Academy from the threat of a Divine Beast.” (Uther)

That was way too specific, so he must have seen the past with magic eyes.

“It is not good, Principal!” (Sumire)

“If you pamper men in that fashion, they will end up becoming bums!” (Sara)

Sumire and Sara went ‘Kiih!’ and glared at the Principal.

He simply chuckled at this.

“Eugene seems to be lacking mana due to his fight against the Hydra. His recovery will most likely fasten if someone were to share their mana.” (Uther)

““?!””

He acted as if he were talking to himself, but that statement was directed at Sumire and Sara.

“P-Principal?!” (Eugene)

I had a bad feeling. I wanted to retreat, but it was already too late…

“Then, make sure to show up in the Dungeon Alliance when you are feeling better. Good grief, I am so busy because of this whimsical Dungeon Master.” (Uther)

‘So much work, so much work’ -is what the Principal said as if having fun for some reason and left with Teleport.

What a busy person.

*Click!*

I heard that sound.

Sumire locked the door of the infirmary.

On the other side…

*Swish!*

Sara closed the curtains.

“Uhm… Sumire… Sara…?” (Eugene)

The two of them came this way with smiles on their faces.

“Aha☆.”

“Fufu♡.”

The eyes of the two smiling cutely were those of a predator.

The bed creaks a bit from the added weight of two people.

“This is nursing…” (Sumire)

“For you to get better quicker…” (Sara)

“Thanks…you two.” (Eugene)

I resolved myself after seeing the heated expression of the two.

And so, I had my mana ‘replenished’ by the two.

…It was awfully intense to be called nursing though.

◇◇

“Hmm, so you forgot about me because you were dealing with two women?”

“N-No, it is not like I forgot. Of course, it was thanks to you that we managed to defeat the Hydra, Eri.” (Eugene)

I apologize to the Demon Lord who is in a bad mood.

The infirmary nurse told me it was okay to go back to my lifestyle, so I immediately went to the 7th Seal Prison.

We managed to fight off the Divine Beast thanks to the 4th mana I borrowed from Eri.

In order to show my appreciation…

“Come here already.” (Eri)

“Got it.” (Eugene)

I approach Eri after she beckoned me over…and was pushed down onto the bed.

The spine chilling beauty of Erinyes was looking down straight at me.

“Hmm, it seems like the ultra violet mana…isn’t eroding your body that much.” (Eri)

Eri touched my body all over as if checking.

“So it really…was a dangerous power for people to use?” (Eugene)

“The ultra violet mana is a god killer element. You lose the divine protection of the Goddesses the more you use it, and eventually fall into evil. Eugene, try spreading your angel wing.” (Eri)

“I can’t use my wing normally…” (Eugene)

“You got a whole ton of mana from the Holy Maiden just now, didn’t you?! I know, so don’t hide it! Come on, bring it out! Quick quick!” (Eri)

I can’t hide anything from the Demon Lord.

Or more like, I couldn’t do so with my childhood friend, and couldn’t with Sumire and Sara.

I might just be really bad at hiding things.

I spread the mana of the wing.

The wing is pure white like usual…or not.

“W-Wa?” (Eugene)

“Aah, it really is turning black.” (Eri)

The tip of my wing is faintly black.

“Hey, Eri, is this…” (Eugene)

“The proof of a fallen angel.” (Eri)

“…”

Cold sweat came out.

Isn’t this…bad?

“It will return to being white again if you leave it be. By the way, you haven’t been skimping on praying to the Goddesses, right?” (Eri)

“I do worship them once every 7 days…technically.” (Eugene)

“So little!” (Eri)

Eri was baffled.

The number of prayers I did grew smaller since the moment I got my talent.

I greet my mother in the Divine Realm every day though.

“I will try to pray more.” (Eugene)

“Do that. But there’s something else you have to do today. You know what I mean, right?” (Eri)

Eri’s hand touches my cheek.

That hand is cold, soft, and traced its way from my lips to my chest.

My clothes were opened by the time I noticed.

Eri was looking at me like a carnivorous beast and licked her lips.

“E-Eri-san? I just recovered so…” (Eugene)

“There’s no way I can allow those brats to keep their marking on you. I have to make them understand who you belong to.” (Eri)

She is serious.

“Please be gentle.” (Eugene)

“Nope☆.” (Eri)

The sadistic face of Eri approached me.

…I feel like I lost more stamina here than when I fought the Divine Beast.

◇A few days later◇

The Dungeon City is thriving.

It is apparently rare for there to be more people after the school festival is over.

The reason is because of the renewed rules of the Zenith Tower by the Dungeon Master.

It is because there’s rumors that the challenges against the Divine Beasts have gotten easier than normal.

The source of the rumor is the Dungeon Master herself.

She apparently has an announcement to make through the Satellite System.

The students of the Lykeion Magic Academy have been limited their entry to the Zenith Tower temporarily.

It is out of worry for irregular situations.

The explorers on the other hand were thinking ‘isn’t this a chance to strike big?’ and there’s more of them gathered than usual.

The battle against the Divine Beast Hydra the other day.

There were apparently a lot of people who were motivated by this.

As for me, I would refrain from fighting the Hydra one more time if asked to.

It is probably hard to transmit the despair through the screen.

It seems like the impression of Principal Uther’s magic and the Mana Blade of the 1st Knight-sama won over that.

There’s apparently explorers who were going ‘I can do it too!’ due to the fact that an academy student sliced off the head of the Hydra.

There have been no casualties as of yet.

And so, a lot of explorers have crowded the Dungeon Alliance.

The academy students are watching things unfold.

That’s the current state of affairs.

I have fully recovered, so I was taking classes together with Sumire in the Normal Department, but Principal Uther showed up in the class all of a sudden.

“Eugene, Sumire-kun, come with me at once!” (Uther)

“O-Okay. That’s so sudden.” (Eugene)

“Okay~, let’s go~.” (Sumire)

Sumire and I exit the classroom just like that.

I thought we would be going with Teleport, but it looks like we are going to be walking there.

Principal Uther went up the stairs and we walked through a part of the academy that I normally don’t go to.

“Principal Uther, what’s the matter?” (Eugene)

“You will know soon enough.” (Uther)

I asked, but he just dodged it.

That said, Principal Uther doesn’t say anything thoughtlessly, so we will most likely really be able to tell quickly.

“Now then, we are here.” (Uther)

We were in front of a single classroom.

It is my first time here.

Principal Uther opened the door and entered.

““…””

Sumire and I looked at each other.

There was no explanation, but I assume he wants us to follow.

This is my first time entering this classroom.

It is completely different from the big auditorium that Sumire and I have classes in.

It is not a classroom that can have more than 100 people, but one that would allow around 30 people inside.

It is not a shared desk, but big desks for each person.

They are not wooden desks with no back, but big chairs with cushioned backrests.

And the students in that class were all wearing the attires they wanted instead of the academy uniform.

I am familiar with them.

Each and every single one of them will eventually be influential people of the Empire, Holy Union, and the Blue Waters Federation after all.

“Heya, Eugene. You are finally here.”

There was a man who spoke to me casually.

Looks like he has also recovered from his wounds of the other day.

“Welcome, Eugene, Sumire-chan.”

The one who said that was the student council president, Sara.

“Eh? Eh? Wa? Sara-chan? Claude-kun?” (Sumire)

These two being here…must mean that.

I had a feeling that would be the case, but it seems like Sumire didn’t.

I look at Principal Uther, urging for an explanation.

There’s already no point in hiding it.

Principal Uther announces with his usual theatrical gestures.

“Esteemed members of the Lykeion Magic Academy’s Legendary Department, allow me to present to you your new classmates! Eugene Santafield and Sashiogi Sumire-kun. Make sure you get along.” (Uther)

(Haah…) (Eugene)

I sighed in my mind.

“Eeeeeeeeeeeeh?!!!!” (Sumire)

The loud surprised voice of Sumire rang in the classroom.

—This is how Sumire and I ended up ‘changing classes’.

■Comment Response:

>The Hydra is way too strong. Is it on the same level as Cerberus?

-They are both old Divine Beasts that have experienced the Divine Realm War, so they are on the same level.

>King Uther is strong! Isn’t he stronger than the White Great Sage?

-I will be showing the strong side of the Great Sage in the next update of Zero Believers!

■Author’s Comment:

The 4th arc is over!