Free Web NovelChapter 169: Goodbye, Loogam
It was the day of everyone’s departure.
However, as it was still early with the sun just starting to peek from the horizon, only a few were awake. While those, who were awake, packed their things in the shelter and helped with putting the tents away, Sara and Yarjak were somewhere else.
"..."
"..."
With blank expressions, the two stared at the rubble in the area of the previous east gate. Standing, on the roof of a building that was still barely standing, they had a clear overview of the field.
Sara closed her eyes.
"I’m sorry..." she muttered with trembling lips.
Tears started to well up in her eyes.
"Don’t apologize. That would be disrespectful. Instead, thank them for their efforts to fight back." Yarjak consoled her as he put his hand on her shoulder.
During the invasion, the Tiam siblings led the first-year students in the battle against the monster horde. With Yarjak joining later, Sara had to take over the command at first. And while she was taking over, she noticed her flaws as her army got pushed back, which also resulted in the deaths of many.
Even to this date, she was ridden with guilt.
"You are right..." she said, trying to be firm even though tears rolled down her cheeks.
The siblings decided to head back to the shelter.
And thus, they turned their backs on the vast field in front of the east gate, where roundabout 60 stones with flowers were lined up next to each other.
A few hours later.
Everyone from the shelter assembled outside the tents and prepared for the departure.
Many did some last checkups whereas others used this opportunity to talk with others one last time.
"Heh, so you were unofficially promoted to the red class, huh?" Mika huffed with a smile.
"Yeah, seems so, haha! The teachers praised me for fighting back against the demons. However, if I had to guess then Mr. Togin most likely put in a good word for me." Gerard explained.
Those two were further away from the horde of people as they wanted to talk alone.
"He really seems to like you... I’d be careful if I were you though." Mika shrugged his shoulders.
Gerard chuckled.
Then, the two stared to the front, where the people began to part ways.
Stakew was in the east while Grat was in the west, therefore, the two parties had to go different ways.
"The next time we can talk like this again will be in three months, I guess..." Gerard said with a sentimental smile while his gaze was still focused on the people.
"Yeah..." Mika replied softly but contrary to Gerard, he did not smile.
Gerard shifted his eyes towards Mika slightly.
"!"
Mika flinched when Gerard slapped his back.
"W-what was that for...?!"
"Haha, why do you look so sad? It’s only three months!" Gerard laughed.
"..."
Grumbling, Mika caressed his back.
"I don’t know how you feel but I’m pretty excited, to be honest. I hope that in the next three months, I will get much stronger so that I can proudly call myself a red-class student!" Gerard stated earnestly.
"Heh!"
Mika returned the slap.
"!"
"Rather than hope, you will achieve that." Mika corrected him with a smirk.
"..."
Gerard smiled at him.
"That hurt, you know?"
And again, he slapped Mika’s back.
"Again?! I was paying you back, you lunatic!"
The two exchanged laughs before it was time to go.
"Don’t create a scandal over there, you hear me?" Gerard shouted after Mika, who was on the way to his group.
"Scandal...? Who do you think I-"
Mika paused in the middle of the sentence.
"Ugh..." he groaned embarrassed, remembering the things he did in the past up to now.
He turned his head to Gerard.
"I will try my best...?" Mika stated doubtfully.
Following those words, the two friends each went their own ways.
But little did they know that this was the last time, they could hold a conversation under normal circumstances.
"Do you have everything you need? This is the last chance before we go." Ophelia asked.
"Nah, I’ve got everything already." Mika replied with a smile.
"Good."
Ophelia directed her next words to everyone else.
"We can go now!" she shouted.
Because the methods for transportation, like the number of tamed monsters and normal horses, were limited, some people entered carriages while some opted for riding a horse. It was a mix of everything.
"I want to ride a horse!" Sara declared excited.
"S-Sara, calm down!" Yarjak responded as he was about to enter a carriage with Sara.
Ophelia was also there and it seemed like she tried to convince Sara to ride inside the carriage as she was the princess of another nation. It was unacceptable for them to let a princes ride a horse.
And after Sara reluctantly entered the carriage with her brother, Ophelia got on her horse.
"I missed the chance to ask you but why are you here? Shouldn’t you be in Rostanta with the black class?" Mika wondered.
That question also piqued the curiosity of the other white-class members, who were near them.
"Oh, seems like I forgot to tell you but there was a teacher swap." Ophelia replied bluntly.
"?"
"Ms. Werensten, the former red-class teacher, is still recovering from her injuries. Considering that and the fact that we’re heading to Grat, I proposed to switch classes with her. However, Mr. Linster asked me if I wanted to join the white class on their trip to Grat as their official teacher."
"Why did he ask that?"
"..."
Erwin Linster, the former white-class teacher, was scared of the sea and the rumors surrounding it.
"Due to personal reasons, I guess..." Ophelia answered with a wry smile, averting her gaze from Mika.
"A-anyways... From now on, I’m the teacher of the white class." she added.
Aside from that, there was another announcement to be made concerning the white class.
"Well, since we’re on that topic, I, Ophelia Ross and the teacher of this year’s white class, will make a final roll call before we depart." she announced with crossed arms.
Every student with a white uniform and Mika assembled in front of Ophelia. They straightened their posture with their hands behind their backs and wore indifferent expressions.
"Belian Ziva."
"Here."
"Sylvia Pyril."
"Here."
"Harik Srong."
"Here."
"Rachel Troa."
"Here." freēwebnovel.com
Those four students were judged as white-class students once they enrolled.
"Lily Hayth."
"Here."
Lily was promoted to the white class after she won the promotion tournament.
"Lisa Vonder."
"Here."
A faint smile formed on Ophelia’s face.
"And special student Mika Elbar."
"Here."
Although he was not really fond of the title special student, he understood the meaning behind it as his strength was worthy of a white-class student but as he did not take an exam or the like to promote, he was listed as an unofficial white-class student for now.
"Seems like everyone is here. Now, let’s not waste any time and depart." she stated.
While they were on their trip to one of Malnor’s port cities, the carriage with the Tiam siblings and the carriages with the few people, hoping to live in Grat for the time being, were surrounded by the horse-riding students.
Ophelia and Belian rode in the front. Sylvia and Harik left from the carriages. Lily and Rachel right from them. Mika and Lisa behind them. Meanwhile, the other few students, including Cail Maystra, who previously declared to join an academy in Grat, filled in the spots between the white-class students.
Their pace was still slow as they were still in Loogam and had to be careful due to the rubble and destroyed streets and buildings.
"So what are you doing here? Weren’t you supposed to be a second-year student?" Mika started some small talk with Lisa, who was riding beside him.
"The headmaster, the teachers and I talked about it a lot. Because I was an exceptional student in their eyes, they offered me to skip the year and join the ranks of the current third-years."
"Then, why is such an exceptional student here?" Mika teased her a little.
"I declined their offer." she replied with a smile.
"Hm?!"
Mika looked perplexed at her.
"Of course, studying with the best would be beneficial for me but I prefer to enjoy my time as a student and after watching this year’s batch, I decided to join the first-years again." she elaborated as she faintly smiled to the front.
"..."
"And because I was already a second-year, the teachers compromised on me not needing to take any exams. This means I can relax for now." she giggled quietly.
"You’re crazy..."
Mika shook his head. He was smiling at her ridiculous decision to go back a year.
Still, he was not against having her in the class he was attending for now.
"Let’s pick up the pace!" Ophelia announced from the front.
The group was about to leave Loogam.
"..."
Mika twisted his neck and took a look at Loogam once more.
And with a melancholic smile, he shifted his attention to the front again.
"Goodbye, Loogam." he muttered.
He looked forward to returning here after the exchange was over.
However, unbeknownst to everyone, the next time Mika would set foot on Loogam again, it would be for sure not due to a happy occasion.
Far from it.
