Chapter 95

Part 20: Return

Whoosh! Bang!

A signal flare shot up into the sky again. This time, it was a white one.

White meant that anyone who saw the signal flare should respond with their location.

After the Axel knight fired the signal flare, we all looked up at the sky.

We were waiting to see if the knights searching elsewhere would fire their own signal flares.

After a long wait, no other signal flares appeared.

Since no signal flares had gone up during the rescue request, I didn’t really expect any, but now it seemed even more unlikely that any other knights had survived.

The Labyrinth knight and Axel knight, along with me, headed to the cave where Professor Katrin and the students were waiting.

Since we weren’t moving alone, we couldn’t go up into the trees.

As a result, it took us a considerable amount of time to reach the cave.

“Is everyone alright?”

“Welcome back.”

The knights and the students waiting in the cave were delighted to see each other.

The knights had heard about what had happened from me, but seeing the students alive with their own eyes was a different matter.

The students and Professor Katrin were relieved that the knights who had come to rescue them were safe.

However, with a significant number of knights dead or missing, and some students also missing, they couldn’t be entirely happy.

While we were exchanging greetings, I was reading the message in front of me.

It was the save point I had expected, but thinking about it, it was a rather ambiguous time and place.

Unless another event created a new save point, if I died, I would restart at this time and place.

‘Well, I’ve repeated years before.’

I dismissed the message and approached the group that was talking.

* * *

Life in the Labyrinth was far from easy.

First, there was the issue of food.

The knights had prepared a week’s worth of food, but the students only had enough for a day or two.

If food wasn’t a problem, we could have stayed in the cave until we could return, but unfortunately, we had to gather food from the forest.

We spent the day searching for edible fruits and animals.

However, the forest in the Labyrinth had more monsters than edible fruits and animals. We spent more time fighting monsters than finding food.

Fortunately, with the help of the students, knights, and Professor Katrin, we managed to gather enough food.

Moreover, the cave wasn’t entirely safe.

One night, we were attacked by monsters.

We successfully defeated the attacking monsters, but that night, everyone was up all night.

We considered moving to another location, but we couldn’t find a better place nearby by the last day.

Many things happened, and we endured a lot, but by the last day, everyone had become quite close.

On the seventh morning, when the dean said he would return, we headed to our initial destination, the clearing.

One professor, two knights, and five students, including me, crossed the forest.

I led the way, having acted as the guide for the entire week.

However, a guide wasn’t really necessary.

Not long after, a pillar of light shot up ahead.

The knights fired the last remaining signal flare.

Whoosh! Bang!

Blue smoke filled the sky.

Blue. It was the signal that survivors had been found.

* * *

“You’re alive!”

When we arrived at the clearing, the dean welcomed us with open arms.

The knights who came with the dean were surprised to see us alive.

They had seen the signal flare, but they didn’t expect most of the students to be alive.

“Is this everyone who came?”

In response to the dean’s question, Knight Labyrinth and Professor Katrin nodded.

We had looked for other knights whenever we had the chance during the week, but we couldn’t find any.

“There are many things I want to ask and many things to say, but let’s return to the academy first.”

The dean closed the box that emitted light and gathered us and the knights who were guarding him.

When everyone gathered, he activated the magic circle.

I could see the mana moving with his gestures.

The gathered mana enveloped us and connected to the sky beyond.

“Let’s go!”

Before the dean’s words even finished, the world swayed, and the next moment, we arrived at the academy.

* * *

Instead of the vine-covered forest, a hard stone wall appeared in front of Katrin.

This was the building where they had started their journey to the Labyrinth.

“Katrin!”

Katrin, who had let out a sigh of relief, had a small child in her arms.

“It’s a relief. Really, it’s a relief.”

It was Princess Aisha, still a young girl.

She was clinging to Katrin’s clothes and rubbing her face.

“It’s dirty. It smells.”

“It’s fine. You’re not dirty at all. Katrin is back safely.”

Aisha, who had to act like an adult too quickly due to the scary king and her brothers, was a concern.

Now, she had taken off her mask and was crying like a baby in Katrin’s arms.

Seeing the princess cry, Katrin felt even more pity for her.

She quietly stroked the princess’s head, and after a while, the princess stopped crying and put on an adult face again.

Unfortunately, it was time for the princess to do what she was supposed to do.

“Aisha said she sent Alex.”

“Yes, I asked Prince Alex for a favor.”

“It’s good to know. Thanks to Aisha’s request, everyone returned safely. Thanks to Alex, everyone survived.”

“Really? I need to thank Prince Alex right away.”

“And comfort the students and knights who returned safely.”

“Yes!”

Perhaps because she heard that everyone had survived thanks to her decision, the princess approached Alex with a bright face.

Katrin watched as the princess talked to Alex.

Several students, including Aisha, were gathered around Alex.

Bria, who had spent the week with them, was also there, and a girl from the Inherited Ability Department, Varya, was handing him a towel.

“There’s something strange about the preparation.”

It wasn’t just them.

The students who had spent the week with them also recognized him, and the knights who had been with them, as well as a male student who had been talking to Mirisa, seemed to be thanking him.

It was a completely different scene from when they first entered the academy.

“Many students are still pretending not to know, but this is quite impressive.”

As the person who recommended and brought her to the academy, the scene was very satisfying.

“Professor Katrin, can I have a word with you?”

At that moment, the dean called her. He also called Knight Labyrinth and put up a sound barrier with mana.

“You must be tired, but I need to hear what happened, even briefly.”

The dean had said that if anyone died in the Labyrinth, there was nothing they could do, but the academy students were all awakened nobles.

The disappearance of the students, including the professor, who was the queen’s sister, was not a normal matter.

Many people, including the dean himself, wanted to know what had happened.

Katrin explained the events from the disappearance to their return as objectively as possible. After joining the knights, Knight Labyrinth added his own experiences to Katrin’s story.

The dean, who listened carefully, smiled when Katrin and the knight finished speaking.

“I heard from the princess, but Alex did a lot. I should at least give him extra credit.”

Knight Labyrinth also praised Alex.

“Yes, he was excellent in both character and ability. I don’t know what his ability is, but he was stronger than most knights.”

“He is the son of Duke Grecia.”

Katrin knew it wasn’t because of the duke’s family’s ability, but she didn’t argue with the dean.

There was something more important.

“I also want to thank the knights who participated in the search, including Knight Labyrinth. I will contact the families of those who didn’t return separately.”

The dean thanked Knight Labyrinth.

Realizing that the dean’s words were a polite dismissal, the knight bowed and headed to where the other knights were.

Only the dean and Katrin were left in the sound barrier.

The dean’s expression changed. He spoke to Katrin with a serious face.

“If what you say is true, it’s likely that Rhyd led us astray.”

No one else was listening, but the dean’s voice was lower than before.

Katrin sighed in response to the dean’s question.

“Given the circumstances, it’s possible that Rhyd used his ability to target us. But it’s only a possibility. There could be other reasons, or it could just be a coincidence...”

Katrin tried to find other reasons.

However, both she and the dean, who had heard her story, thought Rhyd was the culprit.

The dean shook his head.

“Even if Rhyd caused the problem, we can only report it as an accident this time. The person is missing, and there’s no evidence, so we can’t accuse the duke’s son based on circumstances alone.”

Katrin agreed with the dean. She thought it would be less painful this way.

“However, if it’s reported as an accident, Professor Katrin’s evaluation will be lowered. Your salary will be reduced for a few months.”

The dean looked apologetic, but Katrin didn’t mind. Her family was a duke’s family, her sister was the queen, and she had earned a considerable amount of money as a mercenary.

She had taken the professorship at the academy for Princess Aisha, and the evaluation and salary reduction didn’t mean much to her.

* * *

Katrin and the dean were having a serious conversation for a long time.

From their expressions, it was clear they were talking about Rhyd, not me.

There was no concrete evidence, but looking back on the events, it was hard not to suspect Rhyd.

However, with the person missing, or rather, eaten by a monster, and no other evidence, the matter would likely be buried with only suspicions.

While watching Katrin and the dean, Varya and Bria were chatting about what happened in the Labyrinth next to me.

“Prince Alex appeared out of nowhere and saved everyone, right?”

“It felt like an angel descended from heaven.”

Varya and Bria seemed to have become even closer after reuniting.

“After we realized Professor Katrin’s group had taken a different path, the princess put her hands together and looked at Prince Alex. Seeing this, the prince said, ‘If the princess wishes, I will risk my life to go,’ and disappeared into the forest alone.”

“Oh! So the prince came to find us.”

In the middle of this, Varya was exaggerating what I had said.

Listening to her, my face grew hot, and I couldn’t stay there any longer.

Other students were also leaving, and the princess had already said goodbye and left, so I decided to head back to the dormitory.

The first field trip. The first visit to the Labyrinth. So many things happened.

This time, I had sought out the incident, but it seemed that a normal academy life was impossible for me.

Tap, tap.

I patted the pouch on my side.

At least there was a reward, so I was satisfied.