It felt like it had been a very long time, but in reality, it had only been a few days since I had been to the student council building.
As I arrived in front of it, someone opened the door and came out.
The person who appeared, almost as if they knew we were coming, was Grain, a senior who always treated us to meals.
“Hey, Grain-senpai.”
“Long time no see?”
As she said, it had been a while. Since the disappearance of the previous student vice president, I hadn’t seen Grain much.
“Seria, you’ve… gotten pretty close to her, it seems.”
“Can you tell?”
“To me, yes.”
It wasn’t an awkward atmosphere, probably because Seria and I had met from time to time. As we exchanged light conversation for a moment, Grain’s gaze suddenly focused on my clothes. She stared at what I was wearing for a while, then asked in a slightly flustered tone:
“Hey. Where did you get that outfit?”
“It was a gift.”
To be more precise, I had asked for it, and they brought it to me.
“Who gave it to you?”
Hmm… the servants brought it, so I don’t know who exactly prepared it. The emperor? The empress? I’m not sure. But why is she so fixated on this outfit?
“You wore it without knowing anything, didn’t you?”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
While I knew all about the performance tiers of equipment, I didn’t know much about actual clothing.
I had assumed it wouldn’t be an ordinary outfit, since it was prepared by the royal family. But from her reaction, it seems it was even more remarkable than I had expected.
I thought to myself that I should avoid wearing it from now on to avoid unnecessary attention.
After a moment, Grain shifted her gaze away from my outfit and said:
“Don’t ever ask me to buy you food again. Seriously.”
“Uh… Okay.”
I didn’t really have a desire to ask for anything anymore, so that wasn’t a concern.
“Anyway, enough with this nonsense….”
Perhaps thinking that we were wasting time with irrelevant chatter, Grain immediately got to the point after the conversation ended.
“You came to help, right?”
“Yes. Professor Reina told me to go to the student council building. Is anyone inside right now?”
“No one. It’s just me.”
She had been alone in the student council building?
The brief question I had was quickly answered by Grain.
“I let my guard down and got a bit hurt. I just got treated and came back to rest. The others went back to dealing with the rift.”
Apparently, she had tried to go with them, but someone had told her to rest. If Reina had treated her and told her to rest, just how badly had she been injured?
“It wasn’t a serious injury. My upper and lower body almost came apart, though….”
“Senpai, we’re going to call that a serious injury.”
“Yeah. You almost died.”
When Seria and I firmly rejected her lighthearted comments, she laughed awkwardly.
“Ahaha, that’s a little embarrassing.”
“This is not something to laugh about… Really.”
Though she laughed nonchalantly as if nothing had happened, it was likely that without Professor Reina, she would have actually died. If her injuries had been a little worse, even the time it took to visit Reina might have been too risky.
We almost lost a key person.
“Could you stop looking at me like I’m already dead? I’m alive, you know?”
“Ah. Sorry.”
“Rudion, your gaze is so obvious. But since you’re concerned, please don’t see it in a bad light.”
“Uh, yeah… But why are you defending him?”
The conversation shifted for a moment, but anyway, that was the conclusion.
The rifts were open, and the other student council members were all exploring those rifts.
So, the next destination was naturally decided.
“Then, we should head straight to where the rifts are. Seria.”
“Yes. Let’s go.”
“Wait. Are you two going alone?”
“Of course. Why?” Grain seemed a little taken aback for a moment, but then, as if realizing something, she became calm again.
“Ah… Well, I suppose it’s fine.”
She was one of the few who knew I had dealt with demons before.
If she remembered that, it wouldn’t be hard to understand.
In fact, wouldn’t it make me seem reliable?
“Hey, I have a favor to ask. Can you take me with you?”
…Did I trust her too much?
“Don’t you need to rest?”
“I’m really fine. Seriously. So, yeah, remember when I treated you to a meal? Let me join you as repayment.”
Well, she was going this far. I couldn’t just refuse coldly.
Maybe she wasn’t in need of rest after all, considering she was bringing up the meal from before.
“Alright, let’s go together.”
“Really?”
“Why would I lie about it?”
“Thank you so much! I’ll cancel what I said earlier about killing you if you ask for food.”
“That’s fine, you don’t need to cancel that.”
She seemed so happy about it. How sad would she be if I left her behind?
Even if something dangerous happens, with Seria around, it should be okay.
“…Hmph. Being so kind…”
“Don’t worry, Seria. I have no feelings for her, nor any interest.”
“W-What are you saying? It’s not like that!”
“It’s not? You can’t fool my eyes.”
“Ugh…”
After I responded appropriately, they started whispering to each other.
What was Grain so amused about?
Then, suddenly, Seria dashed ahead.
“Let’s hurry up and leave!”
“Yeah, we should. But that way? It’s this way.”
…So we started heading toward the cracks, following Seria, who corrected her direction.
As we walked toward the cracks, Grain cautiously spoke up.
“I think I was being too arrogant.”
It was an unexpected moment of self-reflection.
Well, honestly, I think it’s understandable that she’s been arrogant.
However, her abilities are more specialized for non-combat situations, and that’s why something like this happened.
Of course, her skills could be used in combat too, but if we go down that road, there’s nothing that couldn’t be applied to anything. So, let’s leave that aside.
In a situation where everyone else is wandering around aimlessly without any information, she alone is opening up a radar-like mini-map and exploring. That’s how big the difference is.
In reality, it’s more complicated than that, but even when simplifying it, the difference is that big.
So, to be honest, I really admire the student council for continuing the exploration without her.
If we had just taken her along after her treatment, things would’ve been easier, but they insisted she rest and left her behind.
In the end, it was probably the strong opinions of Alkine and the two men following her that influenced the decision, but the fact that they prioritized her rest felt really good.
“I think with my abilities, I’d be more of a hindrance.”
Despite the good intentions, she seemed to have taken it negatively.
With her skills, she shouldn’t be saying things like that. Especially since she’s in the student council. If others heard that, they’d think it’s a bit… suspicious.
But even if I told her that, it wouldn’t mean much.
When people’s self-esteem is low, they can’t accept compliments.
So, the only way to help is to directly show her how absurdly strong her abilities really are.
Well, she’s probably using them just fine on her own… but who am I? The surrounding people have gotten stronger, so my own skills have slightly faded, but I’m still an expert.
Even if I don’t know the exact principles, I’ve memorized how to use them to perfection.
If I can use her abilities to quickly deal with the cracks, maybe her pride will recover a little.
‘Let’s give some advice and boost my contribution points.’
Of course, this wasn’t entirely for her; I had my own reasons too.
But whether or not using Grain’s abilities will count toward my contribution is uncertain.
But it’s better to try than to not attempt it. If it doesn’t work, it’s unfortunate; if it works, great.
With these thoughts, we eventually reached the cracks.
But… the cracks were much larger than I had imagined.
“I forgot to mention. This rift is a ‘Composite Rift.'”
“There’s such a thing?” I had never heard of it.
Was there some setting I didn’t know about?
But Grain shook her head and denied it.
“No. This is the first time. The term ‘Composite Crack’ was made up by the president after hearing me mention it.”
A Composite Crack. Literally, it means several cracks fused into one.
It seems like she just made it up as it was. A very Alkine-like naming sense.
While I was thinking about that, Grain continued explaining.
“When I first saw it, I was quite shocked, but the inside turned out to be pretty much the same as a normal crack. It’s just a little wider.”
“How many cracks are combined?”
“Probably three.”
Three, huh…
“Does that mean there are three Crack Stones?”
“How did you know? Yeah, I think so. I haven’t found any yet, though.”
As soon as I heard that, I immediately thought about my inventory.
[This function is currently locked.]
[Unlock condition: Conquer 5 cracks with at least 40% contribution (2/5)]
If each Crack Stone counts as one, and I deal with all three on my own, I can immediately unlock it.
“Let’s go in right away.”
“Huh? Why the sudden rush?”
The student council was hard at work exploring, and here I am, barging in, taking everything for myself, and unlocking the inventory?
It might stand out a bit too much and look suspicious, but… can I really resist?
‘I just can’t hold back.’
Time to unlock the inventory!