Frondier gave instructions to everyone through Gregory.
From now on, everyone was to wear masks.
This time, the instructions applied to both men and women.
‘Charon must know that his plan to kill us has failed. There’s no telling what he’ll try next, so it’s better to be safe than sorry.
Clack.
Frondier arrived near the hospital. He landed in a deserted spot, not wanting to cause a scene.
He already knew that Carla wasn’t here, but he had to check on Pielott and Basileo.
Gregory hadn’t seen anything wrong, but he had only seen them through the eyes of a crow, so he couldn’t check their Mana or overall condition.
[I hear there’s going to be a vote in the capital soon.]
Gregory spoke as they walked towards the hospital.
“A vote to decide who the most beautiful woman is?”
[Oh, you know about it.]
The crow nodded. Frondier’s expression turned troubled.
It was certainly similar to the story of the Golden Apple that he knew.
‘I can’t pass this off as a coincidence anymore. Is this also part of the game’s scenario?’
Frondier hadn’t cleared the game ‘Etius’ to the end.
In other words, there was a high probability that there was more to the game’s story even after the war with Manggot.
If this Golden Apple story wasn’t originally part of the game, the developers might have borrowed part of Greek mythology.
‘If this scenario is really based on the Golden Apple, that vote will mark the beginning of the war.’
The Golden Apple, which should have remained undecided, had been decided, and thus became the trigger for war.
It was the beginning of the great story known as the Trojan War, so it wouldn’t be strange to borrow it as a scenario.
As he walked, lost in thought, he arrived in front of the hospital.
Frondier already knew where to go, so he went straight to Pielott.
Pielott was lying quietly in bed in his hospital room.
He saw Frondier, his face brightening, and tried to get up.
“Senior!”
“Pielott!”
Frondier hurried over and examined Pielott.
His head, eyes, cheeks, ears, neck, shoulders, arms, legs, and so on. He checked everything he could.
“He’s alright. Aside from the arrow wound, there are no major injuries.”
“That arrow was the problem. He wasn’t poisoned, was he?”
“Something like that, but I’m fine now.”
What did he mean, something like that?
As Frondier was wondering, Pielott looked up as if he had just remembered something.
“That’s right! I have something to tell you, Senior!”
“What?”
“I had a dream after I got hit by that arrow, and it…”
Pielott frowned, trying to recall the dream.
“...Huh, I can’t remember…”
Pielott tilted his head, confused. Frondier tilted his head as well.
“It was just a dream, maybe you forgot because time has passed?”
“No, it wasn’t an ordinary dream. That arrow was imbued with demonic energy from the demon realm, and I think it’s affecting me because I absorbed it…”
Frondier’s expression hardened.
Demonic energy from the demon realm.
Considering that the Obsidian Frondier currently possessed was originally from Helheim, he was worried about Pielott’s condition after having that inside of him.
“Are you sure you’re okay?”
“My body feels fine. Of course, at the time, I really thought I was going to die.”
Even as he joked, Pielott turned his head this way and that, as if trying to recall his dream.
“...What? That’s strange...”
Pielott seemed to find it hard to accept that he couldn’t remember the contents of his dream.
Frondier lowered his gaze to the crow sitting quietly beside him.
‘Did Athena do this?’
The meaning behind his gaze was obvious, and the crow nodded in agreement.
Frondier softened his expression.
“It’s probably the aftereffects of the fight. You’ll remember if you rest.”
“Hmm, you think so?”
“By the way, where’s Basileo? I heard he’s in the same hospital.”
“I heard the same thing, but I haven’t seen him yet. Every time I try to walk even a little, the nurses get angry and tell me to stay in bed.”
That was understandable. Pielott had been injured with an arrow through his body. If he tried to walk around now, he would look insane.
“I see. I’ll go find him. You get some rest.”
Frondier patted Pielott lightly on the shoulder and stood up.
He was bothered by the fact that Athena had erased Pielott’s memory, but other than that, he seemed fine. That was enough.
“Senior.”
Pielott called out to Frondier’s back as he was about to leave.
“Was I… helpful at all?”
Frondier stopped at the question and looked back at Pielott.
He did so with an expression that clearly asked, “What are you talking about?”
Pielott averted his gaze, embarrassed.
“Or, was I a burden after all? I fainted back there and had to be carried all the way here…”
Pielott muttered as if reflecting on his actions.
Frondier stared at him for a moment, speechless.
Was he joking? Could he just laugh it off?
It was too difficult a joke to laugh at…
“Next time, I’ll do better—”
Thud.
Frondier approached Pielott, who seemed to be making some kind of resolution, and placed a hand on his shoulder.
“You did well. Everyone’s safe because of you. Thank you.”
“…Yes.”
Pielott replied blankly.
This was probably the first time Frondier had ever praised him. And thanked him.
Frondier spoke again.
“Don’t get hurt. That’s all I ask of you.”
“…I understand.”
Pielott nodded.
After confirming that, Frondier finally left the hospital room.
Pielott, left alone once more.
He clenched his fists tightly and nodded.
‘My next challenge is to defeat the enemy without a single scratch! That’s Senior for you!’
A new determination was burning within him.
* * *
Frondier searched for Basileo.
However, no matter where he looked – the lounge, the restroom, the hallway – Basileo was nowhere to be found.
There were so many people that it was difficult to pinpoint Basileo's Mana.
‘I’m worried.’
Basileo was blaming himself too much for what had happened.
The enemy’s sudden surprise attack had been too much for Basileo, who wasn’t ready yet.
Frondier hadn’t wanted him to face such a situation. It was only natural that Basileo couldn’t cope.
‘I thought that if Pielott was safe, Basileo would be fine too, but I guess not.’
If only he could shake off the guilt he felt towards Pielott…
[Frondier, I’ve looked everywhere. He’s not here.]
The crow flew over and reported to Frondier.
[Looks like he moved to a different location. I don’t know where he went, though.]
“No. He’s probably still in this hospital.”
[I told you, I’ve looked everywhere.]
“But you’re a crow.”
[What was that?]
Gregory’s voice rose. Frondier shook his head.
“No, I mean, you can only see through the eyes of a crow. Basileo probably used some kind of concealment magic to hide himself.”
When someone felt overly responsible…
It was only natural to want to hide.
If Frondier had known how to use such magic, he would have used it dozens of times by now.
[Why didn’t you just say so? You make it sound like you’re calling me stupid just because I’m a crow.]
“But you’re a crow.”
[What was that?]
Frondier lightly bickered with Gregory as he climbed the stairs.
There was a place people usually went at times like these – the rooftop.
Creak.
He opened the door to the rooftop and walked out, looking at the scenery.
But as Gregory had said, there was no one there.
He couldn’t see anyone.
‘…This is amazing. I can barely even sense him with my sixth sense.’
But he could still faintly sense him.
He sensed someone’s presence in the center of the empty rooftop.
Frondier stopped in front of that spot.
After a moment of silence, Frondier spoke.
“Mind if I intrude?”
“…Teacher.”
A voice came from thin air.
It was Basileo’s voice.
“I’m sorry.”
“…You don’t have to worry about Pielott. He’s not seriously hurt, and it seems like he’ll make a full recovery. So you don’t have to blame yourself. None of us could have done anything about it. You, me, we were all the same.”
Frondier spoke with all sincerity.
It wasn’t Basileo’s fault. He wanted to make sure that simple fact got through to him.
However, Basileo was silent for a moment before he spoke.
“…That’s not it.”
“Huh?”
As Frondier was about to ask, the concealment magic disappeared. And there, Basileo appeared before him.
“I’m really busy right now.”
“….!”
As soon as the concealment magic faded, Frondier felt it – an overwhelming surge of Mana, and a complex array of spells densely packed around Basileo.
Each of these spells branched out in dozens of different directions, lying dormant, waiting for the moment of their activation.
‘Preemptive…!’
Frondier held his breath as he took in the sight.
He couldn’t comprehend what he was seeing. He had no idea what Basileo was trying to accomplish, what he was preparing for.
But one thing was certain.
Basileo hadn’t been crippled by guilt or seeking to escape his responsibility.
It was quite the opposite.
“…I’ll come when I’m needed. And this time, I’ll definitely—”
His eyes gleamed with determination, his breathing deep and steady.
Frondier felt a shiver run down his spine and couldn’t help but smile.
“…I’ll go ahead and wait.”
“Yes.”
With that reply, Basileo vanished back into thin air, the traces of Mana disappearing along with him.
‘Teacher.’
That title, “Teacher,” which he had been hearing ever since they returned from Agoris.
As he recalled Basileo’s determined expression, Frondier could only shake his head in the end.
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Bruh, Pierrot is denser that harem mcm protagonist.
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