Despite our best efforts—and Vesta’s brilliant planning—our forces continued to dwindle.
0400: Dolph and Fey - killed in action.
0730: Stella, Coco, and Char - killed in action.
1000: Kate and Lala - killed in action.
Our final stand came at around half past eleven. Jewel, Maggie, and Pisces quickly fell, but we managed to corner Godolphen at the end of a winding passage—just as time ran out.
Godolphen and I both immediately collapsed, spread-eagle.
“A draw?! Seriously?! Damn it! You’re too stubborn, you stupid old geezer!” I screamed in frustration. We’d technically “won” the scenario, but it wasn’t the crushing victory I’d been aiming for—not when the cockroach remained uncrushed.
Godolphen chuckled. “Well, it seems I’ve managed to hold on to at least some of my dignity in the end! All those wicked traps you set up, just to torment a man of my years... I’m utterly exhausted. Youth is a fickle foe, indeed!” Our usually reserved teacher began to laugh once more, sounding—despite his claims of decrepitude—every bit like a downright giddy child.
✦ ✦ ✦
It was finally time for us to head toward the Vanquish family’s holiday estate on the banks of Lake Sitting for a well-deserved soak in the hot springs. Naturally, our journey wasn’t a particularly swift one. My feet felt like lead, and if their groans were anything to go by, my classmates were in just as much pain as I was. Incidentally, Leo—being the certified idiot that he was—had apparently asked Tim to give him some supplementary training after both had arrived at the casualty zone, so when we finally caught up with him a few kilometers from Lake Sitting, he was even more exhausted than the rest of us.
All that time to sit around, and he didn’t even think to use it for a nice bit of romantic gossip? What an idiot...
Finally, we arrived at Lake Sitting. It was a breathtaking sight to behold, with the lake’s crystalline surface perfectly mirroring the fiery shades of the surrounding fall leaves. Obviously, our class was the last to arrive.
“Well, if it isn’t Class A! What took you so long, huh?! Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but all the good rooms are already taken!” yelled Connie, a member of the Hill Path Club from Class B.
“The whole point of this camp was to challenge us to surpass our limits, you know? Don’t worry—I’ll tell you all about how we seized first place, and maybe you’ll learn something, hey?” added Rodrigo—a member of the Emissive Magic Club, also from Class B—with a friendly smirk.
Those Class B bastards are really rubbing it in...
“Oh, sure... You can tell us all about it later, okay? I just need to take a little nap first...” Al muttered in response, patting Rodrigo on the shoulder a few times before continuing to (slowly) make his way toward the grand estate. Understandably, the usually happy-go-lucky Al’s sudden change of character did lead to a few confused glances being exchanged between the gathered students. Al wasn’t the only one who seemed different than usual either; all of my classmates seemed like pale imitations of their regular, overwhelmingly intense selves.
Hushed whispers followed us as we shuffled inside the entrance hall in twos and threes, at which point a girl—a Class D student from the Reverence Region, if I remembered correctly—called out to Jewel.
“You must be exhausted, Lady Jewel... I never imagined Class A would be the last to arrive, but your first scenario was so difficult, so I expect the ensuing ones were just as challenging? I’m so glad to see you unharmed,” she gushed, clasping her hands together. “I know Master Godolphen said the last class to arrive would have to sleep on the floor here in the entrance hall, but please let me offer you my bed, Lady Jewel. Class D arrived second, so while our room isn’t too luxurious, I hope you’ll find it comfortable.”
Jewel smiled graciously but shook her head. “That room is the prize for your efforts, Noara, not mine. Take pride in your accomplishments, and enjoy your reward. So Class A is to sleep here, then? Perfect.” With that, Jewel collapsed to the floor, with the rest of my classmates—still in their tattered, dirty clothes—immediately following suit. The hushed whispers stopped instantly.
“What are you all doing?!” I exclaimed. “You can’t sleep yet—we need to hit the hot springs first! We’ve been wiping ourselves with dirty rags and bathing in freezing cold rivers for nearly a week, remember?! Wake up, Al! Push yourself! What’s Rodrigo gonna think when his club captain’s so quick to throw in the towel?! Come on, Dolph! What about you?! I know the Demon Co-Captain is still in there somewhere!”
Unfortunately, my classmates were too busy impersonating corpses to bother replying.
“You look just as exhausted as they do, Allie... How come you haven’t collapsed yet?” Tudeo asked bemusedly.
“Hey, Tuey. I guess I got a lot more sleep than the rest of these layabouts toward the end of our final scenario, thanks to Godolphen... By the way, have you tried out the hot springs yet?”
Tudeo shook his head. “Nah, I needed a nap first—but I was just about to go, actually.”
Hell yeah!
“Let’s go together! We’ll have a nice, long soak, then it’s time to swap romantic gossip! Do you have a special girl you like, Tuey? Wait, do you already have a girlfriend?!”
Tudeo turned bright red. “What?! Of course not! I’m too busy with the Magicar Club—I don’t have any time for stuff like that!” he spluttered, pointedly looking away.
Mwa ha ha... Perfect.
“Well, let’s hit the hot springs first, okay? We’ll have plenty of time to discuss your love life after! How does that sound, Tuey?” I asked, throwing my arm around his shoulder.
“I don’t have a love life, Allie! Sure, there’s a girl I’m kind of interested in, but I don’t like her or anything—”
✦ ✦ ✦
After enjoying the hot springs to my heart’s content—for the time being, at least—I barged my way into the large servant’s quarters currently occupied by the boys of Class E and treated them to an evening of unsolicited idle chatter. Once I’d gleefully coaxed a variety of romantic gossip out of everyone there, Tuey turned the tables on me by asking about my own love life. My (reluctantly recounted) tale of my bittersweet time with Rosita from the Sixth Legion was met with howls of laughter, much to my chagrin.
Oh well... Embarrassment is a key ingredient in the recipe for youth, I guess.
And thus, at long last, I got to enjoy a little taste of the fundamental adolescent experience I’d been desperately longing for.