The sun was setting over the harbor of the Sunrise Empire.

    “...Gulp.”

    I was there, secretly infiltrating the harbor with Glare.

    “Hero! You should have shown them who’s boss earlier! If you keep acting like a pushover, I’ll get angry–”

    “Shh...!”

    “Mmph.”

    Glare, still nestled in my arms, was grumbling with a dissatisfied expression before I hastily covered her mouth.

    I was sweating and nervously scanning the surroundings.

    “Phew.”

    “What’s wrong, Hero?”

    Luckily, no one seemed to have noticed us. I wanted to handle this quickly and quietly, without being discovered.

    “By the way, kid, where did you learn that technique?”

    Speaking of which, the kid’s magic was no joke. When I mentioned we needed to do some infiltration, she smiled and cast a light barrier over me, which has incredible stealth effects, far beyond typical invisibility spells.

    People were passing right by us without noticing. In terms of stealth alone, it was even better than the ‘Cloak of Deception.’

    “Have you used this technique before?”

    “I used it a lot for gathering information!”

    “Gathering information?”

    “Yes! And it was useful for spying on the Hero’s enemies too.”

    Glare crossed her arms and smiled proudly.

    She’s adorable.

    Maybe it was because she saved my life earlier, or maybe she was just naturally cute, but her cheeks looked extra plump and rosy today as she struck that pose. Р

    “Oh, and I also spied on you a few times...”

    “Uh? What do you mean... Ah, there they are.”

    Suppressing the urge to pinch her cheeks, I listened to her mumbling until I noticed something and looked up.

    “Found it...”

    The reason Glare and I had come to this harbor was gathered over there.

    “...”

    I was about to move forward when I froze.

    “...

    Cold sweat started to trickle down my back.

    - Wooshhh...

    The familiar presence he felt from a distance had turned quite sinister, enveloping the whole harbor.

    I should have responded sooner.

    A sudden wave of regret hit me. But it couldn’t be helped.

    - Sizzle...

    “Huh? What’s happening to this?”

    After realizing the situation had gone awry, I tried to respond to them, but the continuous incoming messages had overheated the crystal ball, causing it to emit smoke and become unusable.

    For security, the frequency had been encrypted, making it impossible to connect with another crystal ball.

    So I had come to the harbor as quickly as I could, but for some reason, I felt a terrifying chill down my spine.

    “...”

    I should assess the situation first.

    - Slip...

    As I quietly moved toward the source of the eerie energy, a shabby cabin came into view.

    It was the place I had told them was the meeting place.

    They had to be gathered there.

    - Peek...

    Lowering my body, I peeked through the window, seeing a room filled with dark energy.

    “...Alright.”

    Carefully opening the window, I climbed into the room as quietly as possible.

    “My connection with the Young Master... it has been severed.”

    Just then, I heard a familiar voice from afar.

    “Since last year, the connection with the Young Master has never been broken, but now it’s completely severed.”

    Kania?

    Despite the sorrow in her voice, I recognized it as my butler, Kania.

    - Creak...

    Unable to resist my curiosity, I opened the door slightly and stepped into the living room, only to be met with a scene I could barely believe.

    “Young Master... where have you gone...?”

    Kania wasn’t speaking to anyone but herself.

    “The Young Master should always be with me.”

    She was muttering to herself with dead eyes, hugging herself tightly.

    That scene sent chills down my spine.

    “Kania, you once held Frey’s soul within you, right? Do you still have any fragments left?”

    “...”

    My body trembled as I heard Irina, who was sitting next to her, speak with a nonchalant expression.

    “No, it’s nothing. I just need to borrow it for a little experiment.”

    “It’s mine.”

    “Hand it over.”

    No... When I saw it again, her expression wasn’t nonchalant but rather slightly unhinged.

    “...Tweet.”

    Meanwhile, Clana had turned into a canary as usual and made a nest in the corner.

    Something silver was shining under her nest; was she holding a starflower?

    “...”

    And there were Serena and Ferloche, sitting in complete silence with no expression.

    “We’re not too late. If we find Frey and turn him into an ego sword now, we can still...”

    Isolet, holding an old book and her sword, was fervently explaining her plan.

    - Twitch, twitch...

    Lulu, with a blank expression, was scratching her arm and then looking down at her stomach, before lowering her head.

    “My system is gone... why? How? How...”

    - Thud, thud, thud...

    Lastly, there was Ruby, holding the smoking crystal ball tightly in her hand and quietly hitting her own stomach.

    “Uh, uh...”

    It was a complete mess.

    What should I do?

    If I reveal myself now, it would be like pouring oil on a fire.

    A gentle and peaceful resolution was needed.

    So, maybe I should get out of here first and think of a plan.

    It wasn’t because I’m scared of what might happen.

    Really, that wasn’t the reason...

    Not at all.

    “Huh? Oh...”

    Another message appeared before him.

    “Am I perhaps being raised...”

    Main Quest: Siege of the Academy

    Completion Reward: Entering the Final Chapter

    “...Ah.”

    Frey couldn’t gather his thoughts as the flood of system alerts covered his view.

    “Siege of the Academy, huh...”

    Seeing the quest for the Siege of the Academy in front of him, he clenched his teeth and pondered.

    Since I already finished the third-year scenario ahead of time, the Siege of the Academy is effectively the last main scenario...

    Originally, it was the scenario where the story turns grim, with two-thirds of the faculty and five-sixths of the academy students perishing in the worst scenario imaginable.

    As Frey faced this infamous ‘Siege of the Academy’ as the final gateway before the final showdown, his expression grew darker.

    ...I shouldn’t go back to the academy.

    Frey already made up his mind.

    I should stay hidden in the empire and strike at the Demon King’s army and Aishi on the day of the siege.

    His mind began to work calmly and logically.

    And... honestly, I can’t stay at the academy any longer. I already submitted my resignation letter, and my Ancestor advised me to maintain discipline about such things...

    “Hero?”

    But what about the heroines...

    His thoughts turned to the heroines inside the cabin.

    “Is it really right to involve them...?”

    He muttered with a troubled expression, pondering what he should do with the heroines,

    “Well, like Kania and the kid said, I can’t shoulder everything alone forever... huh!?”

    He suddenly froze, his body covered in goosebumps.

    “W-What?”

    A chilling sensation crept over him, sending shivers down his spine.

    “Am I getting sick...? But it’s summer...”

    “Wha–”

    As he sat crouched by the window, hugging himself and shivering, Frey looked up and turned around, letting out a small cry.

    “...”

    Kania, Irina, Clana, Ferloche, Serena, Isolet, Lulu, and even Ruby.

    The women who had been sitting in the living room with dead eyes were now gathered at the large window of the cabin, staring down at him.

    “H-How...? I was sure...”

    Panicking as he touched his body, Frey shifted his gaze to Glare.

    “K-Kid? Why has the light vanished...?”

    “I erased it!”

    “A-At what point?”

    “When you were frantically waving your hands at those pretty sisters!”

    Upon hearing this, Frey’s face turned pale with shock.

    “W-Why...”

    “It’s simple!”

    Glare declared loudly with a smile.

    “No more frustrating moments!”

    “What do you mean... Uwahh!?”

    Just as Frey tried to stand and speak, he froze in place.

    - Clutch...

    Ferloche, Isolet, and Ruby were holding onto Frey’s left prosthetic arm, right arm, and hair respectively.

    “U-Uhm...”

    As he looked at them with a trembling expression, he opened his arms wide, clinging to a faint hope.

    “S-Surprise~”

    “...”

    That was reportedly the last thing seen of him that day.

    ***Meanwhile, at Sunrise Academy Student Council.

    “Yes, ah... yes, yes.”

    Sitting in the student council president’s office, Limia was sweating profusely as she spoke with someone on a communication crystal.

    “But, they said they left on their own...”

    - ...!!!

    “Yes, yes...”

    She trailed off as the voice on the other end grew angrier.

    “Yes, yes... understood.”

    Finally, the call ended with her in a submissive tone.

    “...Ugh, so annoying.”

    As soon as the call ended, Limia’s demeanor changed completely.

    “Isn’t it good that that piece of trash is gone? And it’s not like I kicked him out, he withdrew on his own. Why is everyone making a fuss?”

    “Well... perhaps the rulers of each nation are protesting for a reason...”

    At the maid’s suggestion, Limia spoke coldly.

    “It’s laughable. Just a few years ago... no, just a few months ago, they were groveling before me... Now that Clana has taken power, they’re getting cocky...”

    “Princess.”

    “What?”

    At that moment, a student council member entered the room with a pale face.

    “Intel report.”

    “I said I’m busy, come back later–”

    “Frey... they say he’s the Hero.”

    “...What?”

    Limia, who was about to throw a pen holder at the member, froze at those words.

    “A rumor circulating within the school–”

    “Idiot! It’s just a rumor!”

    “But... given the source of the rumor...”

    “...Who is the source?”

    Crossing her legs and laughing sarcastically, Limia asked, frowning.

    “The Hero Party.”

    “What?”

    “The entire Hero Party has confirmed the rumor.”

    Limia looked down at the resignation letter Frey had submitted just a few hours ago with a blank expression.

    - Beep! Beep! Beep!

    - Beep! Beep! Beep!

    - Woooo... Wooo...

    In her office, the communication crystals began glowing red and emitting smoke.