Chapter 54

The afternoon after finishing the sleeve-stuffing with Gojek, I found myself being dragged into the president’s office.

“Eduuu?? What on earth have you done?!”

Ryuje, frowning, pulled on my cheek, causing my cheek flesh to stretch like a rice cake.

“Ah, ahayo (it hurts)…”

“So you thought you could do such a thing without getting scolded?!”

“Uh, that’s not it….”

“What were you thinking, causing such a problem? And Banetta, do you have any thoughts or not?!”

Ryuje shouted while abruptly turning his head.

Following Ryuje’s gaze, I rolled my eyes and saw Banetta in the corner of the room, hands raised.

For the record, while Edward was involved in the matter, he didn’t take the lead in anything, which was taken into consideration, and he received a light punishment of writing a reflection letter and was not called to the president’s office.

On the contrary, the two of us were called to the president’s office as the instigators.

“Why would you let Edu do such a thing?!”

“I-I’m sorry, President…. But that guy started it—”

“Hey, you talk too much! Are you still not thinking straight?! And can you not hold your hands up properly?!”

“Yes, yes….”

Banetta raised her arms again at Ryuje’s voice. Yet, she kept glancing nervously at Ryuje, looking pitiful like a herbivore before a predator.

“Really, you kids are something I can’t take my eyes off for even a moment…”

Ryuje sighed, muttering to herself.

“I-I’m sorry…”

“Aah…”

With a sigh, Ryuje still didn’t release her grip on my cheek.

Ugh, it hurts….

“Tsk, what’s done is done. So, Banetta, while it’s fine that you caused the trouble, did you make sure to follow up afterwards?”

“Of course, President.”

With that response, Banetta quickly seized the opportunity to elaborate.

“When we first went there, we made sure to eliminate any potential witnesses or problems. You and I are the only ones who know about Edu’s abilities, right?”

“Well, that’s true.”

“So how could they suspect we were involved? Even if they somehow noticed what we did, they wouldn’t have any evidence to act on.”

“Hmm.”

Ryuje nodded at Banetta’s words.

“Then that’s settled. But you were the one who reported anonymously to the security team, right?”

“Yes, I reported it right when that guy returned. That Gojek guy must have been really surprised, huh?”

Banetta answered, slightly lowering her head, a wicked smile appearing on her face.

“Well, it’s too bad I couldn’t see that for myself.”

“Hmm….”

Conversely, Ryuje’s reaction was dry, but if you looked closely, you could see the corners of her mouth lifting slightly.

Seeing that, it seemed Ryuje was worried not so much about the act of retaliation but about what problems might arise from it for us.

Thinking back, she had spoken that way from the start.

“Okay, then. But about the tank and armored vehicle, was it really necessary to add offensive capabilities to them?”

“Huh?”

Hearing something new, I looked at Banetta, but instead, she stared earnestly at Ryuje and me.

“No, we had to!”

With a confident voice.

“That way, the incident grows bigger, and we can hit that guy hard!”

“And what if innocent people get caught up in it?”

“You don’t have to worry about that. Would I not care about such things?”

“Hmmm….”

Seeing Banetta’s confidence, Ryuje furrowed her brows and fell into thought for a moment before nodding.

“Well, that’s true. It is your specialty, and I’ve heard there weren’t any innocent victims or injuries, so I won’t say more.”

Ryuje responded fluidly, her tone and actions conveying the wisdom of an elder.

But she still wouldn’t let go of my cheek….

Ugh, is it really going to stretch?

“Oh, but there is one variable.”

“What is it?”

At Ryuje’s question, a dark shadow crossed Banetta’s face, and the corners of her mouth stretched.

“If that Gojek guy is near the tank and armored vehicle, he’s going to face quite a rough time, right…?”

“Are you talking about the explorer guild leader?”

“Yes, I’ve prepared a little surprise. If things go as I think, he might lose an arm or a leg…”

Heh heh heh.

With a low chuckle and chilling content, I instinctively flinched, and Ryuje looked at my face.

“Banetta, don’t go overboard. Edu might get scared.”

“Ah, I’m sorry. Edu.”

“A, it’s fine.”

After answering that, Ryuje turned her head back to me.

“Edu, have you reflected a little?”

“Y-yes.”

“Hmm.”

Only then did Ryuje release her grip on my cheek. With a pop, my cheek returned to its original shape. I lightly touched my cheek, relieved to find there was no sign of stretching.

“I’ll let this slide this time, but next time, make sure to tell me before you do something. Who knows what they might do?”

“Yes… I’m sorry.”

“Banetta, do you understand?”

“Yes, I’m sorry.”

“Hmm.”

After hearing our replies, Ryuje finally relaxed her stiff expression.

“Now then, you two can start heading back. Someone will be here soon—”

– Bang bang bang bang

Before Ryuje could finish her words, a heavy sound reverberated from the hallway. The noise sounded as if a hammer was hitting the wall, rapidly approaching our direction.

– Chooongjaaaammmmm~

From the other side, a woman’s voice rang out.

“…Oh, it seems they’ve arrived already.”

The footsteps quickly drew to a halt at the door and, with a bang, the door slammed open. At the same time, a black figure dashed between us and lunged at Ryuje.

“President!!!”

Thud.

A dark shape clung to Ryuje’s small body, almost like a headbutt, and though the action was sudden, Ryuje didn’t move an inch, receiving it as if she were already used to it.

“Aah, you really are small and cute, President, no matter how many times I see you.”

Nuzzling her cheek against Ryuje’s, the woman couldn’t help but smile.

At first glance, she looked like a silly adult woman acting spoiled with Ryuje.

However, the number of shining stars on the epaulettes of her uniform startled me.

Five stars, arranged in a pentagon.

The rank of a general.

Moreover, the general rank in AOE was held by only four people across all humanity, and among them, only one was female.

The commander of the ground liberation force, known as the red demoness.

Freya Agria.

“Ugh, can you not cling on like that!”

“No! It’s been so long since we last met, I deserve to be spoiled a little!”

Ryuje tried to push the woman clinging to her away, but Freya remained steadfastly attached.

“What do you mean spoiled?!”

“Even if I’m grown up, compared to you, President, I’m just a baby!”

“You brat!”

“Not a chance!”

A lively exchange of banter.

As they playfully pushed against each other, it was clear how close their relationship was and how long they had known each other.

…So, she can tear a tank apart with her bare hands.

No, well, Ryuje indeed had immense specs in AOE, but now given the statement that she can tear a tank apart, it feels different somehow.

A bear…. that sounds somewhat convincing?

“Really now, how can you speak so harshly to your beloved student whom you haven’t seen in ages and resort to violence? Isn’t that a bit too much?”

As she muttered this and turned back to us, despite her complaints, her face wore a gentle smile.

“Now now, you don’t have to be so tense. You said your name was Edu Nimbusday, right? Can I call you Edu?”

“Yes, yes.”

“Hmph, you’re really cute.”

Freya patted my head.

The warmth transmitted from her touch was similar to Ryuje’s, but it weighed heavily on my heart.

“Hmm? Why is that? Don’t you like having your head patted?”

Was that expression I had betraying my feelings? She paused and asked me.

“A, no. I was just thinking for a moment…”

“Really? Then can I keep patting your head?”

“Yes, yes.”

Receiving her permission to continue, Freya patted my head, yet I couldn’t bring myself to look at her smiling face.

Freya Agria.

The commander of the ground liberation force and one of the four generals.

But even the seasoned players deeply immersed in AOE do not know much about her.

Because she dies before meeting the protagonist.