Okay... now that was easier than I expected.
I had assud Kagami would jump at the chance the mont he heard about the Heavenly Divine Pills, but I suppose a family man like him wouldn't trade that familial bond for anything.
...Well, anything besides love, that is.
I'm glad I paid attention to his character in the ga...
The fact that he has a secret crush on Senior Lorraine was a huge plus. It was the perfect leverage to get him on board. With this, I now had the first mber of my party locked in.
Since the minimum required party size for hunting dungeons outside the academy was six, that ant I needed four more mbers.
Lucas and Janica were absolute musts.
Lucas, in particular, was soone I needed to assess.
After all, the goddess herself had personally bestowed a blessing upon his holy sword.
If my assumptions were correct, the synergy between his divine prowess and his weapon should be at an all-ti high right now.
All he needed was to level up.
Knowing him, I highly doubted he had slacked off in training. Lucas and laziness didn't belong in the sa sentence.
But just in case... I needed to make sure he was as sharp as he was at this point in the ga.
Now, all I need to figure out are the last two mbers...
Easier said than done.
Rose, Seo, and Snow were the most probable candidates, and any of the three would likely accept an invitation without hesitation.
Normally, that would be a good thing, but in this case, it was a problem.
If I asked one of them and not the others, there was a high chance of jealousy or disappointnt.
The last thing I needed was unnecessary tension between the three of them right now.
But considering Snow's role as the Student Council President, I highly doubted she'd even have the ti to participate in the practicals.
She was already strong enough, and I couldn't imagine the academy taking the risk of putting soone like her in danger.
If I were to bet on it, she'd probably be exempted from the entire exam.
That left with Seo and Rose as my best options.
Still, I'd have to wait until she returned before informing her about it.
I rotated my right arm in a slow stretch, casually glancing around.
That's when I noticed a group of first-years staring-their gazes locked onto with an intensity that was hard to ignore.
I sighed.
I knew this lot had a lot of free ti now that their practicals were mostly over, but could they at least be a little more subtle about their gossiping?
I understood that this kind of thing was normal in noble society, but no matter how long I'd been here, it was impossible to get used to it.
I wonder what kind of absurd rumors they were cooking up about this ti...
If I had to guess, the rumors were probably about the stunt I pulled with the S-Class first- years during their practicals.
As long as it wasn't anything debaucherous, I could live with it.
I ignored the stares around . I was in a pretty good mood right now, and honestly? I couldn't bring myself to care about anything else at the mont.
A part of still couldn't believe I was actually official with Senior Alice now. It felt surreal.
But this situation was very much real.
'Senior was quite the hugger as well....'
Although it was our first ti sleeping together she hugged up like a Koala... although it made it a bit hard to sleep, that can be ignored due to how cute she was...
Of course my relationship with Alice, ca with its own set of problems, but I knew-without
a doubt that this was the best way to handle everything.
Liyana probably already knew exactly what I was doing at this point.
Or maybe not.
But considering the sheer number of eyes that had been on when I ascended yesterday, the chances of her being one of them weren't zero...
After all, it was Lucas's divine nature that made her fall madly in love with him.
Just thinking about eventually fighting Liyana in the future was already giving a headache.
But once I was done with the White Queen, all the necessary preparations would be in place. It wouldn't be a problem.
All I needed to do now was gather all the people I needed, make sure they were at their absolute best, and ensure they were ready.
Because if I wanted a successful happy ending for everyone in this world...
I couldn't afford to fail.
'Just like in the ga Harem routes really are grueling....'
Stretching my body for a bit I let loose so of the remnant excess divine energy within my veins as I inhaled and exhaled it out of my body, feeling refreshed I turned around as I looked at Killian hall in the distance.
Around this ti, Lucas should be training in the public training grounds inside the
dormitory.
It was going to be a hassle trying to invite him personally, especially considering his personality and the way he treated .
But I didn't really have a choice-not when I was the one planning to test him out anyway.
Sigh...
I could already see it.
That golden retriever-like sparkle in his eyes the mont he spotted -the sheer excitent radiating off him like a damn sun.
That battle junkie would probably try to challenge to a fight the second I showed up.
Not that I'd decline, though.
Still, I had other matters to take care of today as well. I should probably visit the Saintess, Emilia, before the day ended.
The rings I had in my possession-and the task I needed to complete with the goddess-had to be dealt with before the sester wrapped up.
With that in mind, I turned on my heel and made my way toward Killian Hall.
...
Sigh-
"Enna, are you alright?"
"H-Hm? Ah-oh! I-I'm completely fine, Vanessa! Ehehe~ I'm just a little tired, that's all~"
Inside the grand, towering halls of Killian Hall, two girls walked side by side.
Emilia, under the alias of Enna, and her close friend Vanessa had decided to spend the day
together.
However, their outing wasn't exactly the kind of casual hangout one would expect from
normal students.
"Was the General Departnt's practical exam that hard, Enna?" Vanessa asked, casting a
glance at her friend.
She wanted to call her by her real na-Emilia-but due to the strict restrictions surrounding her identity as a Saintess, she couldn't afford to be too familiar in public.
Enna shook her head with a light smile. "No, not at all. In fact, unlike the Specialized Courses, we General Departnt students only did the absolute basics of what you guys were learning. We didn't have to fight enchanted war golems like you guys did-hehe..." She chuckled, though her expression dimd slightly. "The only hard part was probably the written
exam..."
Her voice trailed off, and a small sigh escaped her lips.
"Haha... Even though I studied hard, none of the things I actually reviewed even ca up..."
Vanessa forced a calm, reassuring smile, though a part of her couldn't help but feel bad for her
friend.
"Don't worry too much about it, Enna. I know just how hardworking you are, so I'm sure you
did great," Vanessa said reassuringly.
Although her words might have sounded like re encouragent, Enna appreciated the
sentint.
She took a deep breath, pushing aside her worries.
There were far more pressing matters at hand.
She had already been dealing with the suspected infiltration of demonic cultists within the
academy, and now, on top of that, there was the overwhelming surge of divine energy from
the previous night.
"The reason you're so exhausted... is it because of that light yesterday?" Vanessa asked, her
voice lowering slightly.
"...Yes."
"I see..." Vanessa nodded, her erald-green eyes glinting with understanding.
Now it made sense why Emilia looked as though she hadn't slept a wink.
Even Vanessa, with her high elven heritage, could barely comprehend what had happened.
Although she wasn't well-versed in divine energy, her lineage granted her the ability to perceive the essence of various energies in the world.
And what she sensed last night was sothing beyond comprehension.
"Even though I'm no expert in divine energy, my instincts told one thing... that power was
far beyond anything a mortal could handle," Vanessa admitted, her expression serious. "Did the Goddess say anything to you? Perhaps so kind of premonition or warning?" "Uh... that's what worries ," Emilia said, her voice growing quiet. She clutched her hands together, as though trying to suppress the unease bubbling inside her. "The Goddess has been completely silent... I haven't heard anything from her."
A sorrowful expression crossed her face, and slight tears welled up in her blue eyes.
"Hm? I thought that as the Saintess, you could freely converse with the Goddess through
prayer alone. Surely, she must have told you sothing..." Vanessa said, tilting her head in
curiosity. Emilia let out a frustrated whimper, her expression crumpling with distress. "Ugh~ What should I do, Vanessa? Actually... it's been over a week since I last heard her voice." She hugged herself, as if trying to shield herself from her own anxieties.
"I knew sothing was wrong the mont I started hearing less and less from her, but
yesterday... ever since it happened, not even a single hymn, not even the faintest whisper of the Goddess, would co through-no matter how much I begged."
Her blue eyes shimred with unshed tears as she clutched at the fabric of her uniform. "Did I
do sothing wrong? Maybe I committed so sin without realizing it? What if... what if she abandoned ?"
Before Emilia could spiral further into her doubts, Vanessa swiftly stepped in front of her, placing her hands on both of Emilia's soft cheeks and twisting them with a firm tug. "O-Ouchh! V-Vanessha?! W-What are you dooing?!" Emilia yelped, her words slurred from the constant stretching of her cheeks.
Vanessa sighed, shaking her head. "I've noticed this for a while now, Enna-you overthink way too much."
She released Emilia's cheeks, watching as the Saintess rubbed them with a small pout.
"You are the Saintess, the closest person to the Goddess in this mortal world. Her beloved
daughter. There is absolutely no way she would abandon you over so nonsense mistake you might have made without realizing it."
Vanessa's erald eyes softened as she placed a reassuring hand on Emilia's shoulder.
Ever since Emilia had revealed her true identity to her a few weeks ago, their bond had deepened beyond what one would call normal friendship.
At this point, Vanessa saw Enna as the little sister she never had-and the sa was true for
Emilia.
"I-I'm shorry..." Emilia mumbled, still rubbing her sore cheeks.
Vanessa chuckled, patting her head gently. "There, there. Just stop doubting yourself so
much, alright?"
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