Chapter 1: Returning to the Academy

Ten days had passed since the No-life Gamers departed Rohzenheim, and it was now late March. The group was currently eating inside a private booth at one of Academy City’s high-end restaurants, sharing their table with the slender son of Count Hamilton, Rifol. One of the reasons Allen had invited Rifol today was to ask him what House Hamilton knew about the war’s progress on the Central Continent, as its forces had been dispatched as a part of the Ratashian contingent. In return, Allen was catching him up on the current situation in Rohzenheim.

Rifol whistled softly. “Wow, so much happened.”

“Well, that’s the gist of it, at least.” Allen shrugged. “It shouldn’t be all that different from what you already know, right?”

“Yep. My father told me how surprised he was when he found out two million monsters were attacking.”

According to Rifol, the Empire of Giamut—one of the major powers of the Five Continent Alliance—had declared victory against the Demon Lord Army attacking the Central Continent. The forces from Ratash who had been redeployed when one of the few fortresses came under attack had now begun returning to the fortresses they had been manning originally.

Rifol’s information network is as impressive as always. I see, so things are going back to normal for Ratash.

When Keel saw that Allen and Rifol’s exchange was finished, he spoke up. “By the way, thank you for taking care of my family while I was away, my lord.”

Rifol waved a hand. “Come on, you don’t need to address me by my title. We’re classmates, Keel.”

Back when Allen’s group had hurriedly departed from Academy City for Rohzenheim, they had only had less than a day to get things in order. During that limited time, they had approached Rifol and asked him to take in Keel’s younger sister and their servants; Rifol agreed on the spot. House Hamilton was the parent family of both House Granvelle and the now-defunct House Carnel—Cecil’s and Keel’s households, respectively. Just like her older brother, Nina had lost her family name, but the Hamiltons still treated her like any noble daughter. In fact, today’s lunch with Rifol was in part to thank him for everything he and his family had done.

Allen lowered his eyes to the table. Among the many plates in front of him, there was one loaded with confections around half the size of a fist that looked like a cross between bread and cookies. A small flying squirrel was currently holding one in his tiny hands and nibbling away at it.

Right, Rohzen switched so that he’s contracted with Sophie instead of the queen now. Ha ha, so even the God of Spirits needs to eat.

After the war in Rohzenheim ended and Allen’s group had indicated they were leaving, Sophie and Volmaar had asked to join them. And despite Sophie being the crown princess and next in line for the throne, when she expressed her intention to accompany Allen, her mother had given her blessing, saying, “Go. Stay by Lord Allen’s side and fight for the sake of the world.”

“Many thanks for catching us up on the situation on the Central Continent, Sir Rifol,” Sophie told him warmly, gently inclining her head in gratitude.

“O-Oh, of course. The pleasure is all mine.” Although Rifol had just corrected Keel about using a title with him, he could not very well say the same thing to a princess.

“Now, my turn,” Allen said. “Like I said before, the war in Rohzenheim is almost completely over. To go into more detail...”

Allen proceeded to give an account of what he and his companions had just experienced. He described the elves defeating seven million monsters in just under three months, glossing over the specific details of his own group’s contributions. Rifol seemed deeply curious as to how the elves managed to pull off such a feat, but Allen had no intention of telling him the truth.

“Sir Keel was able to focus on helping us in no small part thanks to you and your household’s generosity in accepting his family.” Sophie made a small gesture. “Volmaar.”

“Yes, Your Highness.” Volmaar stood up and carefully fetched a wooden box that had been sitting on another table.

With questioning eyes, Rifol asked, “Um, what is this?”

“Basically, a thank-you present from Rohzenheim,” Allen replied. “Go on, open it.”

“O-Okay...” Rifol gingerly lifted the wicker lid of the box and found ten red, peach-like fruits lying within.

“These are elven elixirs,” Sophie explained. “I’m afraid we could not prepare too many. I hope you accept them even so.”

The puzzle pieces fell into place in Rifol’s brain. The elven elixirs that Rohzenheim sent to the Central Continent had displayed efficacy that was simply mind-blowing. Not only did they heal physical injuries—even going so far as to regrow lost limbs—they also restored MP and erased fatigue. What was more, they could heal many within a massive area all at once. This was a miracle beyond what even a Saintess’s Healing Magic could achieve. Thanks to these elixirs, the number of casualties on the Giamutan front this year was the lowest in recorded history, despite the Demon Lord Army attacking with record-breaking numbers. Taking this into account, the worth of just one of the fruits in this box was unfathomable.

Rifol was so touched he could only manage a simple “Thank you.”

“You’ll continue taking good care of Keel’s family, yes?” Allen asked in a tone that sounded more like confirmation than question.

“O-Of course. However, the war’s over now and the school year is about to begin. Wouldn’t they prefer to return to Academy City and live together?”

It was easy to forget, in light of everything that happened so far, but Allen and his group were still only second-year students. As the Academy’s curriculum was three years long, they still had one more year to attend.

“Nah, we’ll be graduating.” We no longer have any time to waste attending school.

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“We’re asking the headmaster to let us graduate early.”

The question “Is that even possible?” was on the tip of Rifol’s tongue when he noticed the total lack of concern on the rest of the group’s faces and started to doubt himself instead. He had initially intended on asking about the squirrel on the table once there was a lull in the conversation, but he had much bigger things to think about now.

When the meal was over and Rifol had left them, Allen turned to Sophie. “Do you think they’re done talking?”

“I believe so, Lord Allen.”

“Let’s go, then.”

With that, the group boarded a magic train headed for the heart of the Academy. Then they walked straight into the campus, still wearing their street clothes.

I feel like an alumnus revisiting the ole alma mater. I remember when I did this back in my previous life.

Before long, the Gamers reached the building where the headmaster’s office was located. Allen knocked on the door.

“Sir, it’s Allen.”

A voice that Allen was extremely familiar with but did not belong to the headmaster answered, “Come in.”

The group walked in to find the headmaster not behind his desk but at the conference table. With him sat two other elves, one of whom Allen had met in Rohzenheim—Field Marshal Lukdraal.

Headmaster Theodojiil’s eyes widened when he saw Sophie. Apparently he was very surprised to see her back safe and sound.

She smiled at him, then turned to the field marshal. “How went the talks?”

Lukdraal bowed his head without getting up. “We’re finished, Your Highness.”

“Meaning we can graduate now, right?” Allen asked plainly to make sure.

“Indeed,” the other elf answered as he picked up one of the papers on the table with a wrinkled hand. “The Five Continent Alliance charter does not specify that Academy students must complete three full years of attendance before graduating. There is even a precedent of those who have graduated early. As such, your diplomas have already been ordered.”

This was the Elder in charge of Rohzenheim’s internal affairs, Filamehl. Because he and Lukdraal were already on their way to have an audience with the king of Ratash, they had stopped by Academy City to help the Gamers sort out their school affairs.

Though to be honest, I don’t really care whether we graduate or not. Neither do Dogora nor Krena, I bet.

Sophie and Volmaar had graduated from the Rohzenheim Academy once already, so they had no need to do so again. This left Cecil and Keel, whose situations were different from the rest. Cecil was a noble of Ratash and therefore needed to graduate by all means. Keel was not currently a noble, but he was working hard to restore his house someday, so the same went for him.

In light of this, before they left Rohzenheim, Allen had asked the elven queen to help his friends get their diplomas, no matter the method. That request was why Lukdraal and Filamehl were now here. Theodojiil had not pushed back against it either. Perhaps he thought there was no longer anything for the Gamers to learn at the Academy.

“Thank you for the confirmation, Elder.” Allen lowered his head in thanks. “By...