Ah, how refreshing this day is.
When I looked up, I saw a blue sky without a single cloud, and I could get my fill of comfortable weather. The only annoying part of all this was that I had to greet and chat with very formal people. Still, as long as I ignored that, this weather was the best for departures. Indeed, departures. Today was a special day: the day of Lumiest’s graduation ceremony.
“Woooaaarghhh! Beeelll! That was the best valedictorian speech I’ve ever heeeeaaarrrd!” Gustav yelled to the heavens.
“Rion too. You tried so hard and did so well! I’m so proud of yooouuu!”
“May the guardians partake of the student cafeteria?” Mel asked.
As for what I was doing on such a precious day, well, I was attending the graduation ceremony as a guardian of one of the students. I was with Mel and my father-in-law too, with whom I was currently basking in the afterglow of the ceremony. The actual ceremony was already over, and we were both crying on a bench on school grounds. No matter how many tears we shed, no matter how much our feelings exploded, there was no sign of the feelings running out. Mel alone was nonchalantly sipping at a cup (super extra-large size) of tea, but my father-in-law and I were done for.
Yeah, I can’t even see anymore because of the tears...
Well, though I worded it like that, I was maintaining the barest amount of sanity using my Parallel Processing skill. Indeed, my skill was coming in handy. The rest of my thoughts were all decimated by my feelings, leaving only a flood of tears. But the calm part of me was thinking that we couldn’t afford to do anything weird during this celebration for Rion. Thanks to that extremely reasonable thought, I was just barely able to bring myself under control.
Oh man, well done holding the line, Parallel Processing. Good job, my skill. I give you my praise.
“But in the end, my Rion was the best!”
“What are you saying, you fool of a son!” Gustav argued. “Of course Bell was the best; she managed to give such a great speech to all the students, teachers, and guardians!”
“Ah, a standing tea leaf,” said Mel. “Is this a sign that it’s okay to go to the cafeteria? Yes, I believe it is. It has to be!”
“Don’t do thaaaat!”
Oh crap, that was close! This always happens as soon as I let my guard down! Destruction was just around the corner, heedless of the feels I was having! Once again, my calm Parallel Processing, well done staying safe. If not for you, Mel would have ruined the cafeteria. She was about to become one of the Seven Great Mysteries of the academy, and on graduation day too. Seriously, that was so close.
Though Mel looked normal on the surface, she was actually the most unpredictable member of our group. That was just how she was today. Put simply, she was excited like a child at an amusement park. Despite how she was acting outwardly, that was how she was on the inside. After all, a cafeteria was a novel way of serving food to her, and there were a lot of unusual dishes on offer because graduation was a special day. Thanks to that, the calm part of my Parallel Processing couldn’t let its guard down for even a moment. My father-in-law was being much better-behaved than Mel.
“Ah, right, I should be making a record of this to pass on to future generations. Papa will do his best to put it all to ink when he returns home, for Bell’s sake! Yes, no doubt it’ll be a best seller!” Gustav shouted.
Every once in a while he would say something unexpected, but he wasn’t causing trouble for the academy or those around him, so he was fine. Even if records of this were to be sold, only Bell would be hurt by that, but...in that case, she would condemn my father-in-law herself.
“That’s such a nice idea! Okay, I’ll write something too, for Rion’s sake!”
Hey, you idiot, stop! Don’t allow yourself to be overcome with emotion, me! If you actually do that due to sheer excitement, you’ll make Rion hate you!
As one might be able to see, the calm part of myself was busy enough to faint from exhaustion. Still, thanks to us acting so hard to approach, almost no one had come to greet us so far. The others were all keeping their distance and whispering among themselves, probably saying stuff like, “What? We have to talk to them?” or “Sure, it would be nice to build bridges with a Rank S adventurer and the ruler of the Northern Continent, but do we really have to talk to people like that?!” To be fair, though, I was quite thankful for that. After all, the calm part of myself already had his hands full wrangling this party of three.
“Honey,” said Mel.
“Gah! I guess writing something really is off the table... So, what is it, Mel? No matter how much you ask, you can’t go ransack the cafeteria.”
“Oh no, I didn’t want to talk about that. I just wanted to confirm our future plans once more,” said Mel. She placed her now empty cup on the bench and spoke with a very serious expression.
What’s going on? The difference from how you were earlier is giving me whiplash.
“Today, Rion and Bell have graduated. They fulfilled the conditions of skipping grades and completing school in the short period of a single year. Bell even graduated valedictorian. I don’t believe we could hope for better results.”
“Agreed. I’m very proud.”
By the way, Dorothy had also managed to graduate. Apparently she’d been given a whole heap of lectures from Rion, which had helped her clear all the conditions she needed for them to graduate together.
I gotta say, though, there’s no need to have taken all the same classes, even if you are friends. Well, I guess that goes to show just how well she gets along with Rion... She’s seriously going to object too.
Ah, but on the other hand, the Lightning Dragon King hadn’t managed to graduate, or so I’d heard. She’d wanted to graduate with Rion too but had sadly fallen far short of the credits needed. So short, in fact, that not only did she have to give up on graduating but she was in danger of having to repeat a year. I was told that up until a little while ago, she’d been having a very hard time avoiding that fate. She’d even declared that she would quit school if Rion wasn’t going to be there, but since she’d been recommended by Gaun, she couldn’t be so selfish. Well, either way, in the end she’d desperately poured in all her effort and managed to advance a year.
At any rate, I could only hope for the Lightning Dragon King to do her best so that she wouldn’t face the same trouble next year.
I mean, come on, aren’t dragons supposed to be the pinnacle of all life? And you’re a king! If she’s forced to repeat a year, it’ll be one hell of an unfunny joke. Ah, but if my Dragonz were to enroll, I get the feeling they would end up meeting the same fate. Will dragonkind be okay?
“You’re thinking something strange, aren’t you, honey?” Mel asked.
“No, no, I’m definitely not. I’m thinking very proper thoughts, ones that despair for the future.”
“I felt something very suspicious, but...I am also afraid for the future,” Mel admitted. “After all, even if Rion and Bell graduated, DarkMel is still a student. Now that Bell isn’t around to keep her safe, who will protect her?”
“Huh? Ah...you’re right! She no longer has a guardian!”
“I-I-I-Isn’t that a huge p-p-problem?!” Gustav stuttered heavily out of fear.
Both my father-in-law and I were extremely shaken, having only now realized this truth. Even to him, DarkMel was a precious granddaughter, and I of course loved her very much. So it was only natural for this to have happened.
“You really didn’t know...” Mel said exasperatedly. “So, what do we do? Should we ask someone else to keep an eye on her instead?”
Mel was terribly exasperated, seeing us panicking. But there was no need to worry. Sure, I was shaken by the revelation, but I had already put up countermeasures long before coming to this graduation.
Wait a minute, though. I have Rank S Nerves of Steel; isn’t my heart swaying way too much? I know Rion and DarkMel are involved, but shouldn’t all this be canceled out by my skill?
“Wh-What do we do?!” I asked Gustav.
“Wh-What indeed, my foolish son?!”
Come on, me! We know it’ll be okay! Get a hold of yourself!