Dorothy’s Return (1)

"President! Big sis is back!"

WOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! YEEEEEEEAHHHH BABBBBYYYYY! THAT'S WHAT I'VE BEEN WAITIN' FOR, THAT'S WHAT IT'S ALL ABOUT!! LETS FUCKING GOOOOO!!!

"It's been a while, Senior Dorothy."

I couldn't help but smile as I saw Dorothy return from probation. As expected of my number one favorite character, her beauty practically radiated with starlight.

A lot of things have happened over the past few days.

On the day I tied up Luce, I witnessed her shady habits start to combine with her newly found interest in real-time. As it began to develop into a terrifying hybrid of kinks and hobbies, I quickly released the restraints and tried to distract her with lunch. Afterward, the topic of bondage never came up again, however, I continued to remain vigilant.

A few days ago, 「Act 5, Chapter 3, Blue Wolf V.S. Red Elephant」 of ❰Magic Knight of Märchen❱ was successfully concluded. I was able to confirm this through the use of [Clairvoyance].

Just like how I remembered it, a Red Elephant member picked a fight with a Blue Wolf member, pummeled him, and a conflict broke out between the two Constellations as a result.

This was because the head of the Red Elephant, Scarlett Atlas, used this opportunity to add fuel to the flames, claiming superiority over Blue Wolf.

As a result, all Blue Wolf members, including Ian, broke into the Red Elephant's base and engaged in combat. They eliminated their enemies as they climbed up floor after floor.

As expected of that PVP fanatic, Ian didn't faint when he fought against students. That was a relief. In the end, even the head of Red Elephant, Scarlett Atlas, was eliminated, leading to the end of the [Act 5, Chapter 3]. Chapter 4, where Heinkel the Hoarder appears, was omitted.

Sometime soon, I need to prevent the extra bad ending No.8 「Frog」 that occurred in the joint practical evaluation. Compared to the difficulties I had experienced up til' now, I should be able to resolve it with my eyes closed.

In the middle of Josena Forest, the autumn sky was clear and the surrounding trees were colored with red maple leaves.

Dorothy came to my hideout using the invitation I had given her. It was the place I brought Amy to during the childhood friend kidnapping case.

"Nihihi, President. I came with high expectations today okay? Now then, quickly satisfy this big sis of yours~!"

Dorothy placed her hand on her chest while huffing in excitement. It was painfully obvious she was giddy with joy.

Today, I prepared presents to celebrate Dorothy's return. Let's start with the first one.

I approached Dorothy and tucked a purple flower into her witch hat. It was a flower that never withers thanks to the enchantment imbued into it.

"A flower? Huh?"

As I drew closer, she let out a surprised expression.

"Oooh, what is this? Did you get taller?"

"I've always been growing. You must've only noticed because you haven't seen me in a while."

"Hehe. President, are you going through puberty?"

"Aren't I a bit past that age already…"

I replied in a tone of disbelief as Dorothy covered her lips with her mouth and smiled teasingly.

As Dorothy said, I was growing quickly like a teenager going through puberty, maybe thanks to [Physical Training Efficiency]. It was a late growth spurt.

For reference, I was 170cm during the first semester and now I am approaching 180cm. My growth would probably stop once Isaac reached his maximum height.

I stepped away from Dorothy and glanced at her face. The purple flower matched quite well with her witch hat.

"It looks good on you."

"Okay, I'll trust the President's taste. Thanks!"

Dorothy smiled brightly.

"What's next?"

I sat Dorothy on an outdoor table and brought out a croissant from a picnic basket.

Dorothy tilted her head and looked at me with a questioning gaze.

"When I worked as a carriage driver, there was a bakery near the commercial district. I became friendly with the lady working there."

"And?"

"Apparently, she is from Regel."

"Hmm."

She must have realized my intention as a slight smile adorned her face.

"Just think of it as a light snack."

Every little thing that Dorothy said she wanted to do with me was stored in my head. One of those was going to Regel and eating their famous croissants.

I poured some warm coffee I prepared beforehand into a cup and gave it to Dorothy.

Dorothy giggled as she took the cup I gave her.

The croissant crumbled as I stabbed it with a fork and brought a piece towards her. With a cute 'Ahh', she was happily fed by me.

"How is it?"

"It's delicious but not as special as I thought it would be. As expected, we should travel to Regel, dip one in chocolate, and feed me another."

"Here you go."

"Hap. It's delishus~."

After finishing the croissant, we went inside my hideout.

"Oooh!"

Within the hideout, there was an area lavishly decorated for a party. Its small size only made it look more gorgeous.

On the wall, there was even a banner that said,

Congrats to Dorothy for Her Return!

It was my masterpiece that I poured my heart and soul into.

The present that I gave Dorothy was a 'home party'. I decided that the present didn't necessarily need to be materialistic.

By the way, I didn't decorate all this by myself. I gasli-, I mean convinced Mateo Jordana to help. In front of him, I pettily thought 'Now that I think about it, I saved your ass during the first semester… Have you paid me back yet?' I then requested him to decorate the hideout with his lackeys.

To my relief, Mateo must have felt guilty for repaying his life debt with something so trivial and was happy to help.

"Teehee, I'm a bit touched!"

"I'm relieved that you like it so much."

"It feels like a continuation of the social gathering that I missed."

"It's a bit lacking comparatively though."

Dorothy tilted her head as she smiled sheepishly at me with flushed cheeks.

"No, I like this better. I like everything about it."

A sense of relief flooded into me as I saw her happy smile. I guess it was worth it to enslave Mateo and work him to the bone.

Afterward, we continued our small celebration.

We popped confetti as Dorothy used a gentle breeze to strike a stunning pose.

We ate cake while sharing fun stories.

We played simple games.

We even used magic instruments to play songs and we sang along excitedly as if we were doing karaoke. Since I didn't know the songs of this world that well, I could only hum and dance to the music.

Dorothy's wind magic blew the shining confetti into the air and a cluster of beautiful stars completed the decorated space.

Dorothy continued to let loose in this joyful atmosphere. I also got carried away and started to perform a rain dance. Dorothy, seeing this, burst into so much laughter that she was practically in tears.

"…"

While all of this was happening, I secretly lit [Frostfire] on my finger repeatedly. It was a technique to train my mana mastery.

Even if my aim today was to make Dorothy have fun, I could not be lazy with my training. Honestly, even in this joyful atmosphere, there was a small nagging feeling of impatience in the back of my mind.

'There isn't much time left.'

Heinkel the Hoarder was supposed to fight Ian in 「Act 6, Chapter 2, Decisive Battle」, but I had already eliminated him.

Leafa the Illusive, who was supposed to backstab Ian as the final boss of 「Act 6, Chapter 3, Fictional Hell」, was also defeated by yours truly.

That only left the Floating Island. Within two months, that bastard would arrive.

I heard the news that it first appeared in the West Sea of the Zelver Empire. Apparently, when the empire tried to send an expedition against it, it suddenly disappeared.

'It's about time for it to start to show itself.'

The Floating Island. The entire island flying overhead was but a singular demon.

It was the one responsible for cursing Dorothy and it had a base level of 190. In the first place, it wasn't a demon meant to be beaten. Act 6, Chapters 1 and 2 were the only main stages with combat.

Moreover, Dorothy would be absorbed by that bastard. Her curse would accelerate and she would be incapacitated.

I won't be able to expect her assistance at all.

In [Act 6, Chapter 1], the Floating Island created a huge magic circle. After the time limit expired, the magic circle would be casted, vaporizing a part of the sea and a tenth of the imperial territory. This included the island where the academy was located.

To prevent this, Dorothy sacrificed her life to activate the ultimate starlight magic [Last Light of a Dying Star], resulting in the Floating Island accompanying her in death. With this last act, Dorothy's smile glowed like stars in the night sky before losing her light.

I had seen it countless times.

While everyone called that heartbreaking scene a so-called masterpiece, I fucking hated it.

After letting go of her life's last lingering attachments and saving everyone with her sacrifice, Dorothy died a hero as a content smile lingered on her face.

In my eyes, however, she was a truly pitiful person who had her heart utterly broken throughout her entire life.

There wasn't a way to save Dorothy in ❰Magic Knight of Märchen❱ even if the player wanted to. If she didn't sacrifice herself, there was no one else that was capable of defeating the Floating Island.

Dorothy's death was already set in stone.

─'President, there's something I wanna try.'

And I am going to be the one to crush that very stone into a fine powder.

Compared to the difficulty of my dream, the life-threatening danger I experienced when fighting Galia was virtually negligible. However, I was determined to succeed.

If ❰Magic Knight of Märchen❱ was truly my reality now, I can't lose Dorothy. She's someone who holds immeasurable worth to me.

"President, Why did you suddenly get quiet?"

I unintentionally fell into deep contemplation.

Dorothy approached and stuck her face close to me while asking. With her witch hat off, her stunning face filled my sight.

Her teasing smirk and voice remained unchanged.

I was startled for a moment, but it wasn't hard to regain my composure. I answered slyly while pointing at my ear.

"It's nothing much. I was just entranced by your enchanting voice and lost my train of thought for a moment.

"Nyahaha, flattery huh? I wasn't asking you to tell me something so obvious."

The floating confetti scattered onto the floor and the cluster of stars died down.

"I was curious because you looked like you were suffering by yourself."

Dorothy gave me a meaningful smile.

"You don't have to suffer alone, you know?"

Her voice was subdued as she stepped away from me.

What kind of weird things is she saying? I can't understand the meaning behind her words…

I just assumed that she was willing to listen to my troubles, so I asked Dorothy.

"…Should I share my worries with you?"

"It's okay as long as it's the President. Ah, relationship problems are difficult though. This big sis has never dated someone after all!"

I didn't think it was something to be so proud of to the point of giving me a thumbs-up.

"I'm just worried about my future career."

"Nevermind then, that's boring so let's skip that."

She killed the mood in an instant.

Fake laughter naturally flowed out of me. It was just like Dorothy to say something like that.

"Whatever, never mind that. Senior, how was today?"

"Reaaally satisfying. It was worth getting the punishment, Nihihi."

Dorothy stroked my hair.

"I'm so proud. As expected, I made the right choice when I chose you as my fan. Thank you, President."

I couldn't read Dorothy's true thoughts because her starlight mana blocked [Psychological Insight].

However, I could easily tell that her smile was sincere even without using it.

Just like this, we fully enjoyed our party of two.

It was one of the happiest moments of my life.

* * *

Dear Eve Rophenheim,

How are you, Eve? It's your soulmate, Alicia!

As I've told you before, the Academy has been swamped with incident after incident while you were away!

This time, a demon appeared on Elt Island. Isn't that crazy? I don't feel comfortable even with the protection of the Imperial Knights. I don't know what the academy is thinking. Ah, the demon in Elt Island was killed by the Black Monster so don't worry~.

Also… There are quite a few people dropping out lately. Even though it was hard to get enrolled, if I'm being honest, the situation is pretty scary these days. I understand why they would want to drop out. But whatever. I'm sure it's all going to work out, right? I mean, even the imperial family has stepped in.

Anyway, that's enough doom and gloom!

I have some fun news!

Dorothy Heartnova brought a partner to the social gathering! But Razel, that unlucky idiot, tried to harm Dorothy's partner! He was utterly destroyed by Dorothy. Honestly, you should have seen it. It was scary but funny at the same time.

But you know, Dorothy's partner looks really similar to you! At least the hair color and eyes do. It's not like your looks are common either.

Do you actually have a hidden younger brother?

Hehe, I'm just kidding! I guess you'll be back soon. I have a lot of stories to tell you, so stop by to see me as soon as you get here!

Bye then!

-Sincerely, Alicia Armint.

There was a specific system for second and third years at Märchen Academy.

After taking a leave of absence from the academy, they joined various organizations such as the Academy Support Guild or the Magic Tower for a while to experience practical work. It was similar to an internship system. The competition was fierce as it was a rare opportunity to gain practical experience under experts as an academy student.

Today marked the return of several students who had left the academy to gather half a year's worth of practical experience

One carriage arrived at the academy's main gate.

From the carriage, a female student grabbed her bags and carefully stepped off.

A catlike face with pale skin as white as a sheet of snow. The sunlight made her pretty features shine as she supported herself with her magic staff.

The autumn wind lifted her long silver-blue hair as the silver earring on one of her ears shook.

Eve Rophenheim tied up her bothersome hair with a white snowflake hairpin as her red eyes glanced at Märchen Academy.

Contrary to the many unfortunate incidents that swept up this place, it looked quite peaceful.

"Devon, let's move our luggage."

Near Eve, pale blue mana clumped together into an ice element white tiger familiar as Devon's form manifested.

─Do you actually have a hidden younger brother?

Eve recalled the letter that her friend, Alicia Armint, sent.

Younger brother. Just hearing those words made her memories pass by like a panorama, despite wanting to forget them. These memories contained slivers of a silver-blue-haired boy.

They were memories of a six-year-old child smiling innocently while showering Eve with pure affection.

─'Sis, what are you doing?'

─'Look at this, sis. I drew our family!'

─'Sis… It hurts, heung!'

─'You're so cool, Sisl! How are you so good at magic?!'

─'Sis is the prettiest in the world after our mom!'

─'Sis, I'm scared of thunder… Let's sleep together…'

─'Sis is a god and I am invincible!'

─'Mommy, I want to be like my sis when I grow up!'

─'This bread is mine! I can't give it to you even if you're sis…! I'll give you half.'

─'If I work hard, can I use magic as good as sis?'

"There's no way…"

Eve murmured in a low voice as she hastened her steps.

The joint practical evaluation was rapidly approaching.