While Seiichi and the others were finalizing their plans for a seaside getaway, far away—hidden in the ruins of an abandoned village on the outskirts of the Kaizell Empire—the empire’s summoned heroes, Karen Kannazuki, Shouta Takamiya, and their companions were…
“H-Huh?! Seiichi-kun in a swimsuit?!”
“Wait, did you just say Sei-chan is going to the beach?! In a swimsuit?!”
“What the hell are you two even talking about?” Shouta muttered coldly.
Karen and Airi looked absolutely stricken, like the sky had fallen. Their faces were twisted in despair, as if they had just learned the world was ending. Shouta, meanwhile, stared at them with the emotional investment of a man watching paint dry.
They were supposed to be in hiding, after all, taking refuge in a forsaken village far from the Kaizell Empire’s reach.
And yet… this was their concern.
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Karen and Airi stared at him in disbelief, like they were questioning his very humanity.
“Shouta… do you really not understand?” Karen said, her voice trembling. “Seiichi-kun… in a swimsuit… in front of other girls. This is a disaster!”
“Right?! This isn’t a drill! This is a situation!” Airi added with dramatic flair. “How can you just sit there like it’s nothing?!”
“Okay, wait… am I the one who’s wrong here?” Shouta asked, looking around helplessly.
“No idea,” came a calm voice beside him.
The one who replied wasn’t Karen or Airi; it was none other than Blud, a former student of Class F, the same class Seiichi had once taught.
Shouta turned to him. “Seriously. You get it, right?”
Blud remained unshaken. “Focus. Even if this is the frontier, that doesn’t guarantee safety. Soldiers could still pass through. The Kaizell Empire’s been stirring up conflict all over the continent lately. It wouldn’t be strange if they’ve already dispatched troops in this direction.”
“Tch…” Karen bit her lip in frustration.
“Yeah… if we get spotted, it’s all over,” Airi admitted, visibly sulking.
Blud’s voice, calm and logical, seemed to pierce through their emotional theatrics, and both girls fell into reluctant silence.
But how had Karen and the others ended up traveling with Blud in the first place?
The truth was… a string of coincidences.
After the closure of Barbodel Magic Academy, Blud had returned to his homeland: the Kaizell Empire.
Returning home came with baggage—namely, his older brother and First Prince of the Empire, Theobolt. It was obvious Blud would be hounded by him the moment he stepped foot back inside the capital.
So Blud didn’t wait. As soon as he returned, he took his loyal maid Lilian and fled. But Theobolt was already one step ahead. He anticipated the escape and closed in with his personal knights, ready to capture Blud, and ensure he was punished.
And just when things looked grim—
“I’m back.”
“Hey, brought some food!”
“No signs of trouble outside!”
Three familiar voices rang out: Agnos, Berard, and Leon had arrived.
The three had gone their separate ways after leaving the academy, but they’d all remained worried about Blud’s situation. Agnos had taken the lead, gathering Berard and Leon, and the three had come together to help Blud just in time.
Thanks to the timely rescue, Blud and his companions had successfully escaped the imperial capital. Now, they were hiding deep in the frontier, holed up in an abandoned village so remote it had long been forgotten by civilization.
Meanwhile, the heroes summoned by the Kaizell Empire had also begun relocating after the closure of the Barbodel Magic Academy. But in the middle of that process, Karen Kannazuki had made a bold suggestion: to break away from the main group. Following her lead, she and her closest allies slipped away and eventually found their way to the very village where Blud had taken refuge.
Fortunately, the soldiers of the Kaizell Empire weren’t expecting anyone to attempt escape. Because of the Armlets of Subordination clamped around the heroes’ wrists, they assumed resistance was impossible. The idea that someone might flee never crossed their minds, so their surveillance had been lax, and that lapse had given Karen her opening.
The way the soldiers had begun treating them lately had been the final sign. Karen had sensed it. Their status as heroes was slipping; soon, they would no longer be guests or honored warriors; they would be tools. Weapons. She could feel that day coming. And though she’d hesitated, wondering if it was right to abandon the others, she’d finally made her choice. She’d acted.
Those who followed her were a tight-knit circle: her childhood friend Shouta Takamiya, Airi, and Airi’s small group of friends.
And—
“U-Um… Are you sure it was really okay for us to run away like that?”
That uncertain voice belonged to Youko Hino.
Her presence here was no accident. Karen had personally invited her.
Why?
Because she had learned something that shook her: back when Seiichi had been bullied, when no one else had lifted a finger, Hino had been the one to reach out to him.
Something I couldn’t do…
For Karen, that made Hino someone worth respecting… and someone she couldn’t ignore. She admired her. Envied her. And, above all, believed she was worth saving.
She also remembered the time Seiichi had stepped in to protect Hino from a group of delinquent girls. That memory had left a strong impression on her. After that, Karen had begun keeping an eye on Hino, watching from afar. And when she found out that Seiichi had removed the Armlet of Subordination from Hino’s wrist, just as he had for her and Airi…
There’s no way I could leave her behind after that.
Of course… the fact that Hino was now the third girl Seiichi had freed from those armlets made both Karen and Airi a bit… uneasy.
Still, what mattered now was that they’d escaped. Karen and her group had shaken off the Empire’s control, and now they were staying as far from towns and settlements as possible. They moved cautiously, traveling through uninhabited forests and wild terrain to avoid detection.
It had been sheer coincidence.
While out hunting for food, Agnos, Berard, and Leon had stumbled across Karen’s group in the forest. Recognizing each other from their academy days, they’d exchanged updates and information. And before long, they’d naturally begun traveling and living together.
Now, the freshly hunted monsters were being butchered, with Berard and Leon working in tandem to break down the carcasses. Agnos could handle the task if needed, but given his naturally rough approach, the job was better left to the more precise hands of his companions.
The meat was passed along to Lilian, Blud’s personal maid. Calm and competent as ever, she moved smoothly into cooking preparation, her hands a blur as she lit the fire and began seasoning with a skill that suggested years of training.
Even the heroes had started pitching in: Youko Hino, along with Eri, Shouta’s girlfriend, took the lead in assisting with prep and logistics.
As they all worked together, Shouta glanced over at Berard and the others, then turned to Blud.
“Still… we’re all just sitting here like this. What exactly are you planning to do?”
Blud closed his eyes in silence for a moment before answering.
“If I had it my way,” he said quietly, “I’d live out the rest of my life in peace. But given my position, that’s not something I can afford.”
“Huh? What the hell does your ‘position’ matter now?” Agnos interjected with a scoff. “Screw all that political crap. Just ditch the Empire and head to another country.”
“Agnos,” Blud said, opening his eyes and fixing him with a level gaze, “even you understand it’s not that simple. The Kaizell Empire has already swallowed up nearly every nation on this continent. There’s nowhere left to run.”
“Didn’t you say the Kingdom of Winburg is still standing? Sounds like a plan to me. Let’s head there.”
“That peace won’t last,” Blud replied firmly. “Even now, Kaizell’s soldiers have begun acting… unnaturally. And besides, the Kingdom of Winburg is far from here. Reaching it would mean crossing through multiple border nations. Especially for those fleeing Kaizell, the roads and checkpoints leading into Winburg will be under heavy watch.”
“But why?” Shouta asked, his brow furrowing. “Why go so far just to keep people from leaving?”
“The answer’s obvious,” Blud said coldly. “If citizens escape, the nobles lose revenue. And they can’t have that.”
Karen let out a sharp breath. “Hmph… I already knew that, but hearing it laid out like that really drives home how rotten this empire is.”
“K-Kannazuki-senpai!” Shouta said quickly, flinching. He moved to stop her, but Blud simply shook his head, unbothered.