Chapter 78

With the announcement to gather at the training ground for the medal ceremony, I supported Lucian and headed there.

Since I was supporting him, our pace was a bit slow, so we were a little late compared to everyone else.

Should I have hurried to get less attention?

While I was hesitating about whether to go in or not, Lucian, oblivious to my inner turmoil, just kept walking.

And so we entered…

“Waaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!!!!!”

I really should have hurried.

A cheer so loud it literally made my ears hurt.

Pushing through it to get to where Zephyros and Lerwon were was, in many ways, an embarrassing affair.

“Look, the main character.”

“I don’t want to hear that from a loser.”

Lucian, grinning from ear to ear, expertly stabbed him with a verbal dagger.

It was the one thing that would hurt Zephyros the most right now.

“Ah, right. Zephyros is the only one here who didn’t even make it to the finals.”

I couldn’t let a moment like this pass.

Thinking ‘this is it,’ I promptly raised my voice, and Senior Lerwon was by no means an opponent to be trifled with enough to miss such a good opportunity.

“It must be embarrassing. You act all high and mighty, but your actual Flowering Festival results are the worst.”

“The luck of the draw—”

“Still, you were only the runner-up in the Knight Division.”

Lerwon, with a beaming smile, delivered a sharp and stinging remark.

“No matter how high, still second place.”

Aren’t we teasing him a bit too much?

If I had teased him this much, Zephyros might have tried to shut me up somehow, but the opponent was Lerwon. Hahaha!

Seeing him tremble pitifully as if he would burst at any moment—I want to tease him more! Sincerely!

Isn’t it the law of nature that you should tease your friends to your heart’s content when you get the chance?

But, unfortunately, I had to politely give up the opportunity before me.

[Ah, ah. The medal ceremony will now begin!!!]

Kalen, who had been the commentator throughout the Flowering Festival, was now the host of the medal ceremony.

[Before the ceremony, I would like to acknowledge all of you. The Flowering Festival was a festival for everyone to enjoy together. From the club promotions to the highlight, the tournament matches! Everyone, please give a round of applause to acknowledge yourselves and your fellow students!!]

Kalen was truly a genius at lifting the mood.

Applause erupted from all over, from students who had achieved their desired results, to students who hadn’t met their expectations.

Even students who had achieved their goal of promotion—

Everyone became one in heart and mind, sending sincere applause for the challenges and passion of the week-long period.

This is the true meaning of the Academy! For some reason, I felt good.

After a long round of applause, Kalen, with a bright smile, began the next part.

[Now, it is time for the much-anticipated medal ceremony. Unfortunately, the Academy’s Headmaster is away on a conference schedule.]

Oh, no way—

[The pride of the Academy! The guardian of the Academy, for whom the expression ‘the strongest in the Academy, no, the Empire’ lacks not a single bit of exaggeration or wastefulness! Professor Evan Lisitoel will be presenting the awards on his behalf!!]

Is it really Father?

I was so surprised my mouth dropped open.

No, more importantly, the headmaster is away—

‘That wasn’t in the Original Storyline.’

I didn’t even want to guess where the butterfly effect had occurred again.

Just… there must have been some reason, yes.

[This year’s Flowering Festival was so close that it wouldn’t have been strange for anyone to receive a medal, so I heard there was trouble just selecting the candidates!!]

[Now, I will announce the name of the first medal recipient!!]

Please, please! I clasped my hands together and prayed earnestly.

I wonder if this is how Caesar felt when he said the die is cast. I couldn’t have tried any harder than this.

If I were asked to repeat this, I would be able to scream at the world to just kill me, unable to spew all sorts of profanities.

So… please—

[From the 2nd year, to the 4th year, and now the 5th year! Receiving her third medal and proudly having her name engraved in the Academy’s Hall of Fame, Cecilia de Laurent!]

[The Lily Knight of the Academy! There is no distinction between men and women when it comes to losing one’s heart to her—]

“Be quiet.”

The girl’s clear voice echoed through the auditorium.

The armor, with lily flowers elaborately carved on the shoulders and breastplate as if they were real, scattered a faint luster.

Her sky-blue silver hair was neatly tied, and her grayish eyes were endlessly calm.

Cecilia de Laurent, a beauty so striking you’d believe it if you were told a lily had become a knight. She was a Lily Knight who was quite popular within the game’s fandom.

[Could you please share your thoughts?]

Kalen willingly stepped aside from the magitool, and Cecilia stood where Kalen had been and spoke briefly.

[Thank you for your support and encouragement.]

With a bow, Cecilia’s gaze momentarily turned towards us, specifically me.

I didn’t unknowingly incur Cecilia’s dislike, did I…?

She has some slightly quirky parts, but Cecilia is a character who can subdue the early-game Lucian with one hand… I’ll be okay, right?

[Now, I will announce the name of the second medal recipient. Who could have possibly imagined this when the Flowering Festival first began?]

[An alchemist receives a medal for the first time in a whopping 20 years, his name is Lerwon! The strongest alchemist of the Academy is born!!]

Sunbae was so genuinely surprised that he stood there blankly, like a person in a daze.

Not acting, but genuinely, as if he never imagined he would receive it.

“Sunbae, you have to go up.”

“No, but. Me? How?”

“Because you’re the 1st place of the 3rd year.”

Is that all? I heard that in the 3rd-year Flowering Festival tournament, it was practically Sunbae’s solo show.

Even though he was an alchemist and in the Magic Division, he took 1st place in the preliminaries with an overwhelming score. What’s more, he won leisurely in the special match, so it would be stranger if Sunbae didn’t receive it.

Even Zephyros looked at Lerwon with a “what are you doing not going up” face, without any protest.

Lerwon, blinking blankly, was practically pushed onto the stage and proudly received the medal of honor on his chest.

[Now then, please share your thoughts.]

Kalen stepped aside as he had for Cecilia, and Lerwon stood in his place.

Lerwon, standing in the spot where everyone was watching, couldn’t easily smile or contort his expression, and just blankly fiddled with the medal.

[Haha! It seems the afterglow is lingering quite a bit!]

It was an honor that would not have been permitted under normal circumstances.

An honor originally permitted only to the protagonist, an honor not permitted to the shadow that stood as a wall to block the protagonist and grew up imbued with the world’s darkness.

That is, if things had been as they were originally.

What filled the void of Lerwon, who could not easily continue his words, was the sound of a hand clapping against another, jjak!

Once the applause started, it poured down on Lerwon like a chain of exploding firecrackers.

Lerwon’s trembling eyes turned to me.

It seemed to ask, “Did you know that I could be happy?”

To answer that question…

‘No.’

I mouthed the word.

My will must have been conveyed to Lerwon.

Therefore, I willingly murmured that will.

“But, for some reason, I felt like it would happen.”

Senior Lerwon, you were an evil that could not become good.

So I just believed that this time, you could become a good that could not become evil.

* * *

[Wow, the atmosphere has really heated up.]

Amidst the applause pouring solely on him, Lerwon eventually couldn’t hold back and burst into tears.

Fortunately, there were no students so heartless as to not wait for the tears of a senior, classmate, or junior, so Lerwon stood tall in that spot for a long time, shedding tears.

When he finally calmed down and came down, for some reason, people were sniffling here and there, and Kalen, as if he were one of them, his voice was a little choked up.

[If I knew this would happen, I should have saved it for last! You know I’m kidding, right?]

Kalen, with a wink, cleared his throat lightly before calling the last medal recipient.

[Actually, there was a lot of debate in selecting the third medal recipient, to the point where I wondered if it was even possible.]

A calm and even voice, as if nothing had happened.

No one doubted the truth.

Those who had been enjoying the closing of the Flowering Festival in a boisterous and joyful manner fell silent as if nothing had happened and waited for the words to follow.

[Lapis Academy is a place founded on the principles of fairness and salvation by the first hero and first emperor, the Hero of the Holy Sword.]

[The Flowering Festival is one of the festivals that represent Lapis Academy. It is the unified opinion of all the Academy’s faculty that not even a hint of unfairness can be allowed in the results.]

A seriousness could be seen in the expressions of those listening.

And, one by one, they began to understand what Kalen meant by those words.

[I believe everyone knows of one person who deserves to receive a medal. However, the fact that he is related by blood to a professor of the Academy, one might suspect that this was ‘advantageous’ in the progress of the Flowering Festival, or that there was unfairness in the process.]

[The faculty, too, could not overlook this point, and for that reason, there was some controversy in the awarding of the medal. I offer my apologies to the student concerned.]

Everyone’s gaze turns in one direction.

The student Kalen is talking about, the star of the 1st year’s Flowering Festival.

The white-haired young man who lacks nothing to be awarded a medal—

[Under the observation of the Academy’s Vice-Professor, Beatrice Belfiar, the falsehood detection magic of Artemia Baelin was used to determine any wrongdoing by the related professor of the student concerned. As a result, it was determined that there was no wrongdoing during the progress of the Academy.]

[However, suspicion in the heart is like a weed. We did not think it would be so easily uprooted, and such thoughts made the Academy faculty hesitate once more.]

If Kalen is going this far, I guess there’s no choice but to think that getting the medal is a lost cause.

You have to know when to give up.

It was when Theo was smiling bitterly inwardly.

[However, the Academy was founded on the principles of fairness and salvation. The fact that one has a faculty member as a parent cannot be a reason for not being rewarded for one’s achievements.]

[That is what harms the fairness that the Academy pursues. It is the conclusion of the Academy’s professors that it is an extremely foolish act to focus on the trees and not see the forest.]

Which means—

[The Academy hereby announces to you, the students, that the name of the third medal recipient is these six characters: Theo Lisitoel!]

* * *

An announcement with a completely different feel from Cecilia’s or Lerwon’s.

It was something that was bound to happen because I was my father’s son.

But none of that mattered in the slightest.

I strode onto the stage in a single breath and stood before my father.

My father smiled gently and pinned the medal on my chest.

“I am proud of you.”

“Father.”

“…Of course, even the you who did not receive a medal is my son. So be proud.”

My father patted my head with affection.

A system window popped up before my eyes, but I closed it without even reading it.

And so, I stood before the entire student body.

I lightly cleared my throat. Having never stood before anyone in my life, this position was very awkward.

The corners of my mouth tremble. I must have forgotten how to smile naturally for a moment.

I didn’t quite understand when Senior Lerwon first went up, but I think I get it now. Yes, this place feels a little, a lot… strange.

I’m grateful to the Academy for giving me the medal based on my performance, even knowing it would cause controversy. I want to boast to my father that I’ve become a son he can be proud of.

And, there are so many other things I want to say… but a more rugged word comes out of my throat.

[Everyone, thank you for your hard work during the Flowering Festival!!]

There were times when it was hard and painful, but it was a festival that was never painful—above all, it was a fun festival

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