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Chapter 220: Academy Heroine's Right Diagonal Back Seat

Chapter 220



[No matter how much we search, there's no trace of the witch here! We came this way because of the signal, but what's going on?]


[It seems that the signal was a mistake! We can’t let the witch escape, so expand the perimeter to the outer boundary and tighten the defenses! This is for Captain Yoon Si-woo’s revenge—we cannot let her slip through!]


The communicators were filled with the chaotic voices of the heroes.


Having lost track of the witch they had been chasing, their frustration was palpable.


This mishap occurred because of a single firework that had shot into the sky moments earlier.  

While the signal indicated that the witch had fled north, in reality, she had headed south.


A boy, listening to the angry shouting over the communicator, looked down at the ground with a hardened expression.


Lying there was a small girl with orange hair, collapsed and clutching the spent magical device she had used.


No one knew that this little girl was the one who had fooled all the heroes currently chasing the witch.


And after causing such a major disruption, she passed out, leaving the mess behind for others to deal with.


"Overexerted herself…". The boy let out a small sigh as he cast healing magic on the injured girl, his face troubled as he recalled what had just transpired.


She had stormed out with a deadly look on her face after hearing the order to kill the witch.  


He had been asked to follow her in secret to make sure she didn’t do anything reckless, but never imagined he'd witness something like this.


As he chewed on his lip, lost in thought, the boy, Dwight, adjusted his communicator and connected to the first-year exclusive channel. He opened his mouth to speak to the person who had asked him to follow the girl.


"...Mei, are you listening?"


[...Yeah, I'm listening, Dwight.]


Mei responded immediately, as if she had been waiting. Dwight's expression remained conflicted as he spoke to her.


"...You saw it too, right? I put the vision-sharing spell on earlier since you were worried."


[...]


A brief silence followed.


Dwight understood why Mei was so quiet; her emotions must be just as tangled as his, after having witnessed everything.


He let out a long sigh and posed a question to her.


“I don’t know what to do… What do you think is the right thing here?”


[Uh... I... I’m not sure…]


Mei hesitated, repeating herself several times. What eventually came out of her mouth was not an answer, but another question.


[...Is this really okay?]


Her words made it clear to Dwight that she was grappling with the same thoughts he was.


The realization that he wasn’t alone in his conflicted feelings relieved him somewhat. The weight that had been pressing down on him lightened, and he stopped chewing his lip, letting out a deep breath.


Knowing that someone else shared his thoughts gave him courage.


With a determined look in his eyes, Dwight spoke again.


"Send someone over here. I’m going to move now, but I need someone to take Jessie to the hospital."


[Dwight, you…]


Mei’s voice trailed off, sensing something in his tone. Dwight looked off into the distance and said calmly.


"...I don’t know about the others, but for now, let’s act first and think later."


His gaze was firmly fixed on the direction the witch had gone.


---


In the distance, I could see the barrier that marked the front line.  


If I could just get past that, I’d be out of the city.


With that thought in mind, I picked up the pace.  


"Check the area thoroughly! Don’t let even a rat slip through!"  


"Don’t give the witch any room to escape! Stay patient and maintain the perimeter!"


At the sound of the shouting, I quickly slipped into an alley between two nearby buildings.


Peeking out cautiously, I saw the tightly-formed perimeter near the barrier I needed to cross.


Damn it, I was so close...


I ducked back into the alley, cursing under my breath.


They clearly weren’t planning to let me go easily.  


I had managed to slip past them by taking advantage of a brief lapse in their formation, but now, right at the final hurdle, the way was blocked.


If I wanted to get through, I’d have to create another opening somehow.  


Thinking this, I set off a decoy firework, like the one I had used earlier.  


"Since it might be another trick, only send a small scouting party to check it out. Maintain the perimeter."


It seemed they weren’t going to fall for the same trick twice. Aside from the small scouting group, the perimeter didn’t budge.


Realizing that I wouldn’t be able to break through here, I started to look for another way. Just as I was about to step out of the alley…


"...What the hell is that?"


I caught sight of drone-like flying devices hovering in the sky, and quickly ducked back into hiding.


They were clearly for surveillance. With those things watching from above, I couldn’t just wander out in the open.


I was stuck in the alley, pondering my next move, when I suddenly heard voices nearby.


"Search everywhere! There aren’t many places to hide around here. If she’s hiding, she’s probably close by!"  


"I’ll check over here. You take a look at that side!"


I grimaced as I realized a search party was sweeping the area.


Unlike the city center, the outskirts of the perimeter didn’t have many buildings. There were very few places to hide, so it was only a matter of time before I was discovered.


But if I bolted now, I’d be spotted by the surveillance drones.


I was truly stuck, with no way out of this impossible situation.


That’s when I heard a voice.


"Scarlet, this way."


Suddenly, the air in the alley shimmered, and a familiar face appeared.


"...Dwight?"


“Hurry. Over here.”


Seeing Dwight appear out of nowhere, I was startled, but he beckoned urgently, telling me there wasn’t time to waste. Realizing I had no other choice, I gritted my teeth and ran toward him. As soon as I reached him, my body became invisible, blending into the surroundings.


At the same time, I saw one of the search party members poking his head into the alley.


"...? I swear I heard something from over here."  


"Hey, is there something on your side?"  


"No, I must’ve imagined it! There’s nothing here!"


...Are they gone?


I held my breath as the search party, still suspicious, eventually moved away from the alley. Only then did I exhale a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding.


Though the immediate danger had passed, I was still confused by Dwight's sudden appearance and whispered cautiously toward the presence next to me.


"...Dwight?"


At my whisper, Dwight revealed himself from his invisibility spell and responded.


"Why? You don’t need to thank me."


“What?! Hey...! Don’t talk so loudly...!”


"What are you so worried about? There’s no need to fear being overheard. I’ve cast a spell that hides both our presence and our voices."


Looking around, I realized there was now a shimmering barrier surrounding us.


Sighing in relief, I muttered, "Then at least tell me beforehand…" But I quickly refocused and asked Dwight more seriously.


"Are you sure this is okay...?"


"Okay? What do you mean?"


His calm voice confused me, and I lowered my head as I mumbled.


"...I mean, is it okay to help me like this? I’m… I’m a witch now… and I hurt Yoon Si-woo..."


"Technically, no, it’s not okay. As a witch, you’re humanity’s sworn enemy."


At his words, I flinched.


But if that were the case, why had Dwight helped me?


I glanced at him, puzzled, silently asking him *why*.


Dwight, wearing his usual stoic expression, muttered in response.


"You’re wondering why I helped you, aren’t you?"


"...Yeah."


When I nodded cautiously, Dwight spoke.


"There are two reasons why I helped you, even though I shouldn’t."


"Two reasons...?"


"Yes. The first is because I’m a mage."


Seeing my confused expression, not understanding what he meant by that, Dwight continued.


"A little while ago, Jessie attacked you, didn’t she?”


“...You were watching?”


“Yes. To be precise, I was hidden, ready to pull Jessie out if things got dangerous. I was prepared to attack you if necessary. But you didn’t harm Jessie. Despite her relentless attacks, you even worried about her and tried to stop her from overexerting herself.”


Hearing that Dwight had witnessed everything with Jessie made me feel a bit embarrassed, and I stayed silent. Dwight continued speaking.


“You remember what I told you before, right? A mage believes only what they see with their own eyes. And you showed me. You showed me that you’re not like the other witches, that you’re not someone who intentionally harms others. I’m a mage, so I trust what I see with my own eyes. That’s why I helped you.”


“Oh… I see.”


“And the second reason—”


I was still processing what he had said when Dwight continued.


“—is because you’re my friend.”


Friend.


I hadn’t expected those words to come out of Dwight’s mouth, and for a moment, silence lingered between us.


Dwight, apparently interpreting the silence differently, mumbled with a somewhat awkward tone.


“...Was I the only one who thought that? I’ve always considered you a friend.”


“N-no! You’re right! We’re friends...! I just wasn’t expecting that answer, that’s all...”


“Then that’s good. The point is, I trust you because you’re my friend, and I helped you for the same reason. That’s reason enough.”


Dwight said this with a calm, matter-of-fact expression, as if it were no big deal.


But my face was probably the complete opposite of his. It was twisted with emotion.


In this situation, where it wouldn’t be surprising if everyone hated me, the fact that he still believed in me, that he still thought of me as a friend… it hit me hard.


I fought back tears, trying to keep them from spilling out, and said to him quietly, “So, you’re still the only one who considers me a friend…”


Dwight, observing my reaction, muttered in a slightly mischievous tone.


“Not quite.”


It was then that—


Boom, boom!


Fireworks exploded in the sky far in the distance.


“?! Multiple signals... all at once?”  


“What’s going on? Did the witch appear in that direction?”


I could feel the confusion among the heroes guarding the perimeter as they watched the fireworks burst in rapid succession.


One firework after another, then another, lighting up the sky, all pointing to a specific location.


But the direction those fireworks pointed wasn’t where I was. It was in a completely different direction.


I stared up at the sky in bewilderment, and Dwight, gazing at the same scene, muttered quietly.


“It looks like they’ve all made up their minds.”


“Dwight, what’s going on…?”


I asked him, sensing he knew something about this situation.


“Don’t you get it?” He pointed toward the fireworks illuminating the night sky and said, “Your friends—they all still consider you their friend.”


I let out a quiet gasp.


Because I realized who was setting off those fireworks.  


Because I understood who, and why.


The sound of fireworks exploding echoed through the night sky.


As the fireworks bloomed overhead, I softly muttered names.


Mei.  


Boom, another firework.


Daniel, Andre.


And with each explosion, I thought of more names—the names of my precious friends who must have been lighting the fireworks from somewhere.


Their names filled my heart until it overflowed, and the sight of the night sky covered in fireworks blurred before my eyes.


As the names of all the people who came to mind spilled from my lips, I quietly looked at Dwight.


His expression remained stoic as usual, but I noticed for the first time that his hand trembled slightly.


It wasn’t surprising.  


He knew better than anyone what he was doing, the consequences of it all.


Everyone must have been feeling the same way.  


They were all undoubtedly anxious.


But even so, despite that...


“Why… Why are they all doing this…?”


Without meaning to, the question slipped out of my mouth.


Dwight muttered in response.


“Everyone probably has a reason similar to mine, but since you seem to need an answer, I’ll tell you something I heard from someone earlier.”


I nodded.


“There’s a phrase in the oath that heroes make when they’re appointed.”


I nodded again.


“It goes something like this: ‘I swear that, no matter the circumstances, I will not abandon my comrades.’”


I nodded once more.


“We all came to the academy because we wanted to become heroes, and we swore not to abandon our comrades.”


Was there any need for a more detailed explanation?


Dwight’s words made me shake my head as I buried my face in my hands.


Dwight gave me a gentle nudge on the head, as if to stop me from getting lost in my thoughts.


As I raised my head, I noticed that my hands, which had been hiding my face, were gradually becoming transparent.


“It’s a spell to make us invisible and hide our presence. The duration isn’t long, but with everyone’s attention on the fireworks, it should be enough. There’s no chance anyone will see that tear-streaked face of yours.”


Dwight’s playful comment made me look at him with a strange expression, somewhere between laughing and crying.


“Worry about yourself instead… You’re definitely going to get in a lot of trouble for this...”


But Dwight, who always wore a serious expression, actually smiled.


“Don’t worry. Students getting in trouble is just part of the process.”


With an uncharacteristic smile, he replied.


I burst out laughing and turned away, feeling Dwight’s hand give me a gentle push on my back.


“Go, and we’ll meet again.”


“...Yeah. Thanks.”


---


Passing by the heroes, who were all mesmerized by the sky.


Leaving behind the fireworks that bloomed in the night sky.


A single witch quietly slipped out of the city.


------------------------


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