64. Catherine — “I Am Really The Protagonist.”
The day after Catherine and her group held their strategy meeting on the terrace, in the middle of the Friday night, just before the midnight, they gathered in front of the academy.
Accompanying them were the Dark Side assigned as their guards, with Chris being the only one absent from the group.
"You've done enough. You can stop here," Edgar said, instructing the Dark Side.
However, there was no way the crown prince could be left unguarded while investigating strange rumors.
At the entrance, the dark side firmly shook their heads. "We cannot comply with that order," one of them responded.
Edgar probably felt that it was bothersome chaperone to have someone watch over them during what was supposed to be a thrilling nighttime exploration, he furrowed his brow.
"But…" he started to argue, but the dark side remained firm.
"Lord Edgar, they're just doing their job," Catherine said as she stepped closer to him, urging him to hurry up before time ran out.
"The dark side will protect you, Lord Edgar, but… but who will protect me?" she added, her voice laced with a hint of vulnerability.
"Leave it to me, Cathy," Edgar declared, his earlier frustration instantly replaced by confidence.
"Thank you so much," Catherine smiled sweetly before turning to Dario and Arthur. "Of course, I'm counting on you two as well."
She didn't forget to flatter the other two, either.
Naturally, both of them responded cheerfully "Leave it to us," much to the exasperation of the dark side watching from the sidelines.
"…So this is the infamous 'temptress who can bring down a nation' we've heard about," one dark side muttered quietly.
"Let her be. It's only during her school years. In less than two years, the Saintess will start her journey across the lands," another replied in a low voice.
"So this is just a bit of fun before that, huh?"
Deciding to humor the children for now, the dark side quietly fell in line behind the reverse harem group, determined to watch over their youth antics with a resigned attitude.
"Let's go!" Edgar commanded, and with that, the group stepped into the academy building in the middle of the night.
"It's kind of creepy in here," Catherine said as she clung to Edgar's arm.
"Are you scared?" Edgar asked with a mischievous grin.
"N-not at all!" she pouted, puffing out her cheeks. "Lord Edgar, you're being mean!" she huffed, moving over to cling to Arthur instead.
"You need to learn how to treat a princess better, Edgar," Arthur said with a shrug.
"I suppose you're right," Edgar admitted with a wry smile, shrugging as well.
Catherine's attitude was ridiculous, but only the dark side remained serious, silently scanning their surroundings with vigilance.
Of course, no ghosts or wraiths would appear in the academy at night.
In the first place, the academy grounds were free of miasma, meaning the existence of ghosts was impossible.
Yet, unaware of this, the dark side maintained unnecessary caution while suffering from the absurdity of the scene playing out before them.
Their nerves were wearing thin.
This test of courage, as if accompanied by parents, came to an early end.
"There it is—the broken clock," Dario said, pointing to the end of the corridor.
Just as he said, there stood an old grandfather clock.
Even in the darkness, the clock emitted a faint glow, as if to say that something mysterious was definitely manipulating it.
"…Why don't they just get rid of this clock?" Arthur asked with a puzzled expression.
"Apparently, it's a keepsake from the first generation alumnis.," Dario, ever the knowledgeable one, answered Arthur's perfectly reasonable question.
Meanwhile, Catherine was processing everything in her mind.
(Hmm. So this is how the key items in the events are integrating with reality…)
…. Finally, Catherine had come to understand that, while this world based on the game, it was a world that was separate from the game.
Her mind had adjusted to the point where she now felt like someone who simply had some knowledge of upcoming events rather than a legit protagonist in a game.
Even so, the fact that she was a reincarnated person who knew about these events remained unchanged.
Because of that, she still considered this "Seven Mysteries" as an event encountered in the game.
"Anyway, shall we try setting the time, as the rumor says?" Catherine suggested.
As she pointed out, they didn't have much time left before midnight.
Whether the time was as strict as in the game or not was uncertain, but it seemed best to follow the rumor's instructions as closely as possible.
Everyone agreed and nodded. Arthur stepped forward as the representative, opened the clock's cover, and began adjusting it.
Four o'clock… thirty, thirty-five, forty… forty-four.
The moment he stopped the hands at 4:44, a small glowing door appeared on the right side of the clock.
The faintly glowing door was just large enough for one person to pass through.
With determination, Arthur led the way as the four students and two dark side stepped through the door. The remaining two dark side stayed behind to call for help if anything went wrong.
When the four of them passed through the glowing door, the scene they saw was the same as the rumors.
The floor, desks, chairs—even the blackboard and walls—all appeared old and worn. The classroom was unlike anything they had ever seen in the academy.
(This looks like… a modern classroom?)
Indeed, as Catherine observed, it strongly resembled a typical classroom in a Japanese school from movie.
"I've never seen anything like this before," Arthur said as he touched one of the old desks.
"Don't touch things recklessly," Dario warned him.
If the rumor were true, there was a risk that they could be trapped in this classroom and unable to return for several days.
"It's certainly unusual, but nothing seems particularly strange about it—"
Before Edgar could finish, his words were drowned out by the chime that suddenly rang throughout the classroom.
It wasn't the familiar bell sound of their academy, but "Ching~ Ching~" chime used in Japanese schools.
The sound made everyone tense up.
Then, without warning, countless figures began to materialize in the classroom.
They appeared to be made entirely of shadows and paid no attention to Catherine and her group.
Instead, they silently took their seats, as though waiting for something.
When the bell rang once more, a large shadow appeared at the teacher's podium. It was clear to everyone that this figure was supposed to be the teacher.
Indeed, after the shadow took its place at the podium, faint letters began to appeared on the blackboard.
Although none of them could read the writing, they felt an inexplicable urge to decipher it.
The strange, bewitching letters made Arthur subconsciously reach out toward an empty seat nearby—
"Stop! If you sit down, you won't be able to come back!"
Hearing Edgar's words, Arthur snapped out of his daze, saying, "Ah, right," and slapped his cheeks hard to regain focus.
"A strong temptation… It must be an Elemental." Dario speculated.
Catherine nodded vigorously, clasping her hands together in front of her chest.
"Light, come forth—"
A radiant light spread from Catherine, enveloping the area.
The shadows were consumed by the light and dissipated into nothingness, as though evaporating.
All that remained was the old, worn classroom and a heavy silence.
"As expected, it was just a prank by elementals," Catherine said with a gentle smile at the group.
Elementals—are mysterious beings classified differently from magic beasts.
They are believed to be the source of magical energy, though this theory remains unproven. The one known fact is that they often play pranks on humans who enter their territory.
Unlike magical beasts, elementals don't cause direct harm.
However, their pranks, while harmless to them, can be dangerous to humans.
Cases of people wandering aimlessly in dreams, having their souls drained, or going missing are numerous.
While no fatalities have been officially recorded, some individuals have disappeared without ever returning.
That said, as long as one does not intrude on an elemental's territory, they pose no threat.
From a distance, they are considered harmless and non-aggressive.
For this reason, they are classified as spirits rather than magic beasts, and their actions are seen as mere pranks.
The recommended approach upon encountering them is to leave quietly without provoking them.
You must not make the mistake of attacking an elemental. If you do, the enraged elemental could retaliate by creating catastrophic phenomena:
A fire elemental would summon a raging inferno.
A water elemental would create a flood.
A wind elemental would generate a tornado
"Don't touch the gods, and they won't curse you" perfectly applies here, as provoking elementals invites disaster.
Therefore, keeping one's distance is the safest approach.
However, there is one way to repel elementals: holy magic.
The wide-area healing magic that Catherine had just used was imbued with the holy magic, which, without showing hostility, caused the elementals to be afraid and return to the world they belong.
The church claims that elementals are servants of the goddess, but this remains unverified.
Nonetheless, this claim fuels the theory of "Elementals should not be attacked."
In any case, Catherine, capable of casting large-scale holy magic, is able to send multiple elementals back to the goddess.
"We're lucky to have you with us, Cathy."
"I'm glad I could help~" Catherine replied, smiling at Edgar.
As they exchanged smiles, particles of light began to fall from the ceiling.
The glowing particles gently rained down, sinking into the bodies of Catherine and Edgar.
"What's this…? This has never happened before," Catherine muttered.
Even though she had driven away elementals many times, this was the first time she had seen such glowing particles. None of them knew what this phenomenon was.
However…
"Hey, doesn't your body feel kind of… lighter?"
"Yeah, that's what I thought," said Dario, with Arthur nodding in agreement.
Catherine also felt a little bit better, as though her body had become more energized. It felt as if she could do anything at that moment.
As an idea struck her, she secretly collected one of the glowing particles into item box.
When she checked it, the description read: "Elemental Experience: Grants the recipient a portion of the elementals' experience."
(Is this… a power-up event?) she thought, her heart racing in excitement.
Although it's not an event, but it's still a power-up. These particles of light could be called the accumulated experiences of the Elements.
Unlike ordinary Elements, these ones have been learning by imitating humans.
The experiences they've gathered over the years have now materialized into particles of light, empowering Edgar and Catherine.
("It's here, it's here, it's here! This is it, this is what I was waiting for! I've got it.")
Catherine feels the thrill of seizing the event that Elizabeth was supposed to have—or so she believes.
And even if it just small, she could definitely feel her growth. Catherine now feels that luck is finally on her side.
If she can conquer this Seven Wonders event before Elizabeth, she would be able to leave her opponents dumbfounded.
The idea of Elements accumulating experiences through imitating humanis unheard of. This must be a one-time event. The more she thinks about it, the harder it is for Catherine to suppress her smirk.
When she opens the status window that only she can see, every stat has risen.
The increase may be small, but the fact that it happened—and that she snatched it away—drives Catherine to solve the next mystery.
"Everyone! We did it! Let's keep up the good work!"
Catherine flashes a triumphant smile and pumps her fist, and the other three return her smile.
In this moment, they are undoubtedly at the center of the story.
☆☆☆
Meanwhile, Randy was training alone in the backyard.
"You're working hard late into the night, young master," Harrison commented, stifling a yawn.
"Sorry about that, I'll rest now." Randy responded, raising a hand.
"That's fine, but by the looks of it… aren't you getting stronger?"
"Really? I do feel light… Wanna test it out?"
"No thanks! There's no way I can handle someone like you." Harrison replied, shaking his head vigorously.
"Tsk," Randy replied childishly, disappointed.
He had thought he could put up a good fight against Harrison
"You have to get up early tomorrow. It wouldn't do for the main character to oversleep, so get some rest."
"Yeah, yeah," Randy shrugged, slinging his jacket over his shoulder as he walked away. Harrison watched him go, letting out a small sigh.
"Seriously… He just keeps getting stronger. I've got to keep up as his bodyguard," Harrison muttered, drawing his sword and slashing through the air.
The wind carried away the sound in an instant.
"Maybe I'll invitr Luke to train with me."
Though Harrison wore a wry smile, there was a hint of excitement as he sheathed his sword.
He might not be at the center of the story, but even so, he still yearn for the peak.
He follows Randy's lead, and because Randy keeps moving forward, Harrison continues to chase after him.
Their cycle of mutual growth steadily pushes their abilities to new heights.
—
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