NOVEL WEB Chapter 26
“After moving Ageha, I immediately dashed back inside to drag out the collapsed Im Changwon along with a pile of hostages.”
Lionel also gave a few casual kicks to roll them out.
Justitia smiled bitterly, but still declared our victory with a “Well done.”
“You might have some injuries, so please go see Maria, Blanca. And… see you during feedback time.”
Leaving a hint of “I’ll catch you later.”
Well, to be fair, the way I fought wasn’t exactly heroic. Justitia probably didn’t like it.
But what can I do? This is all my head could come up with.
Shrugging my shoulders, I headed over to Maria.
There sat Morgan, looking like he just woke up from a catnip nap, hitting his head with his fist in shame, and Im Changwon quietly sitting with his head down.
And there was Ageha, barely half-up, rubbing her eyes as if she had just woken up.
“Don’t push yourself. Even though you just woke up, you fainted from lack of oxygen. Please don’t run around, just rest well.”
“Ugh… w-wait, did we… did we win…?”
Even when told to rest, she was grabbing Maria and asking if we won, showing her fierce competitiveness.
“We won, Ageha.”
As I said we won, I crouched down and gave her a light pat on the shoulder.
“We won…? Thank goodness…”
Ageha then flopped back down on the floor like a relieved noodle, sighing with relief.
“I’m sorry. I boasted so much and ended up being a burden. I was just being stubborn for no reason… If it weren’t for me, you could have won even faster by yourself…”
She was apologizing to me.
Looks like she was subtly acknowledging what I said. Seeing her downcast while apologizing for going together.
As expected, Im Changwon went down without putting up a fight, so it’s understandable she’d feel that way.
“You weren’t a burden. If you weren’t there, Lionel would have been a much bigger hassle.”
“…It’s okay, you don’t have to comfort me like that. It won’t improve my lacking skills, you know.”
“Take compliments with grace. I mean it. If you weren’t here, um… maybe a bone or two would have been broken.”
Even if I could easily take down Morgan, if I got all of Im Changwon’s attention, I would have had to fill a non-sealed room with nitrogen.
It would have turned out to be a pretty painful fight.
Even though I was just flailing around, it was thanks to Ageha diverting the attention that I didn’t end up with a broken bone.
“R-really…?”
“What that cat said is right. I don’t know what wizardry you pulled, but to send ecstasy mixed with wind…”
“See? Even Morgan agrees. And by the way, you call yourself a cat while you’re a cat?”
“I’m a cat, so I call myself a cat. You think I’d call myself a cat with human ears?”
…Hmm.
It’s annoying, but I can’t come up with a comeback.
Morgan later flashed a hearty smile, saying we should have a proper match someday.
“Hah, it’s gonna be the same then.”
“Guess we’ll find out if that’s true when we fight!”
Anyway, I’m the type that doesn’t avoid a fight.
Ageha, it seems she realized she really was helpful, blushed, and regained her lost confidence with a bright smile.
“Y-Yeah! There’s no way my skills didn’t help! Heh, heh! Be thankful, Blanca!”
“Sure, sure.”
I replied casually, and Ageha got a bit indignant, asking if she couldn’t answer with more sincerity.
But she didn’t seem genuinely angry, quickly regaining her smile and looking at me seriously, declaring a kind of rivalry.
“And… I’ve repaid the humiliation of that day! Someday, I’ll become a hero so outstanding that you’ll be truly impressed! So, watch out!”
I encouraged Ageha to give it her all.
Honestly, no matter how much she twisted her body, she wouldn’t even come close to my toes.
But I didn’t mind watching that futile struggle.
“…I’ll learn everything I can from you, and surely surpass you.”
After hearing Ageha’s words, even the quiet Im Changwon seemed to be provoked and glared at me, declaring that.
“I’m not really in the mood to teach a student with such an attitude.”
Changwon just shot me a fiery gaze.
Since it didn’t seem like I’d get an amusing reaction if I poked at it now, I got some healing from Maria and headed back to the stands.
To be honest, the fights after that didn’t really offer much to see.
Of course, the main characters of the game facing off was pretty entertaining, but it ended up being just enough to say it was barely entertaining.
It was spectacular, though. How could you complain when ice and fire clashed and exploded?
But the outcome of the fight felt a bit deflating.
It wasn’t exactly a heavily fought battle, and they ended up KO’ing each other at the same time, which wasn’t exactly impressive.
So, it mostly felt like a one-on-one battle between Fukukin and Lucia.
It was more enjoyable to watch Lucia, hiding in the shadows throwing needles and spears, discreetly trying to extract hostages, and Fukukin tackling all of that head-on.
In the end, when Fukukin wrapped his whole body in shadows and reduced his value to zero to overpower him, I had to clap a little.
The fights afterward left me with just the thrill of watching a short video while waiting for a monorail.
“Group 7, victory for the villains!”
Justitia called all the students together right after the last match and the healing were finished, to commend their hard work while announcing the feedback session.
“First, let’s evaluate the first group’s battle. If you found any shortcomings or points for improvement, please don’t hesitate to share. Everything will be reflected in your attitude score, so I recommend presenting at least once.”
As she said this, some extra raised his hand and spoke up.
“The Heroes’ combined attack was perfect. However, if the opponents had responded, it could have been dangerous — it was a high-risk, no-backup blitz. If the villains had reacted even a bit faster, the heroes would have been in trouble.”
“Exactly. It’s a chronic issue with blitz attacks. If there’s any delay or flaw even for a moment, the entire plan goes awry.”
Justitia launched into evaluating Group 1’s tactics.
She mentioned that the villain team was in a tough spot due to Katyann’s abilities, yet the heroes’ strategy was too lacking in contingency.
She relayed feedback to Minho and Lapiz, saying that if this were real combat, even a moment’s delay would result in being trapped right in the enemy’s midst.
“Are there no more presenters? Good. Then let’s move on to Group 2.”
And aside from that, not much was said.
It was the best the students could do, after all. It’s the protagonist’s strategy.
Group 2 had a bit longer feedback than Group 1, and Group 3 was similar.
There weren’t any main characters, so I didn’t pay much attention.
Then, it was finally our turn.
“It’s Group 4’s turn. I have a lot to say, but first, let’s hear the students’ evaluations. Are there any presenters?”
To that, Im Changwon raised his hand.
Justitia looked at him in surprise, but then called him over graciously, as there was no reason not to.
So self-feedback as well!
“The villains’ tactics were too arrogant. If Morgan and I had fully focused on defense, we wouldn’t have ended up being taken down so easily. And I was conceited. I should have taken them down in an instant, but I gave them a chance out of personal feelings.”
“You understand well, Im Changwon. Just as you say. If you had shown your true strength, no matter how talented Blanca is, there wouldn’t have even been a chance.”
But she said there was no problem with the deployment. On the contrary, she noted that if they had grouped together, they would have both been wiped out.
The next to present was Yeonhwa.
“I think there was a slight problem with the hostage rescue process. Even though we were going to wake them up soon, suffocating hostages alongside the villains…”
“That’s correct. Heroes are those who protect and reassure citizens. In that regard, Blanca was not very heroic. Of course, it might have been inevitable due to the abilities and opponent. But was that really the only way?”
Of course, since there was no lasting damage for the hostages, in the end, there was no issue, but morally, there was a problem, she scolded.
After presenting, Yeonhwa apologized from the back.
…Geez, if it weren’t for Yeonhwa, I’d think about glaring at her. But what can I do?
The presentations continued. Most criticized the villains’ complacency and the heroes’ excessive suppression.
“Using violence to subdue an already neutralized opponent is not heroic behavior, Miss Blanca. Please engrave that in your mind.”
“…I understand.”
Seriously, why am I the only one getting picked on? I wondered if the classmates had developed some irrational dislike for me without me knowing.
“Ageha.”
“Yes. I believe there was a problem with my actions. If I had focused on supporting from the rear, maybe the outcome could have been better.”
Ageha seemed to genuinely reflect on her actions.
“That’s not wrong, Ageha. But at the same time, it’s not entirely correct. Even if that’s where you can exert your full strength, it doesn’t mean you can always fight from the position where you can give your best effort.”
Certainly, fighting near allies who can’t be identified is something to reflect on.
After scolding Ageha, Justitia turned to me for the last feedback.
“Miss Blanca. Just because everything worked out in the end doesn’t erase all the problems. Please pay attention to the process as well.”
Somehow, despite winning, I ended up feeling all torn apart.