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Monday, the first day of the Victory Day celebration.

The Capital City of Sangria was completely immersed in a festive atmosphere.

-Waahhhhh!!

-Long live the Empire! Long live His Majesty the Emperor!

-Glory to the Galatea Empire!

The streets were filled with the flags of the Empire, and people scattered colorful flower petals into the streets.

Even though it was midday, intoxicated people sang and cheered, while the citizens of the Capital City enjoyed the festival by walking the streets with their families and friends.

Not only the Empire, but people from all over the continent gathered to enjoy the festivities, packing the central street of the Capital City with a crowd.

In the face of the overwhelming throng, Saladin shook his head and said, “Heh, anyone would think we won the war yesterday. What’s with all this enthusiasm?”

Schurz brushed flower petals off his shoulder and replied, “It’s because the Victory Day means so much to the people of the Empire. It’s a day to commemorate the great war that led to the Empire’s victory over the crisis of humanity’s extinction. Surely they can’t help but feel proud?”

“I wouldn’t know; I’m not an imperial citizen.”

“Don’t you have a Victory Day in the Al Kamil Kingdom?”

Saladin answered with a nonchalant tone, “We do. But the Empire celebrates it a month earlier than we do. Are they thinking their holiday is special by celebrating on a different date?”

“That’s because the Empire interprets the date of the victory differently. It’s not a day to commemorate the end of the war, but the victory itself. The significance is different from other countries.”

“They must also want to attract a ton of tourists by moving the date up.”

“…Don’t you think that’s a bit of a negative outlook on everything?”

“I don’t think so. I just think it’s better than blindly defending it like you do.”

The other Opal Black students were used to the bickering between the two.

Just as Schurz and Saladin were about to get heated and raise their voices again, I placed a hand on their shoulders and quietly said, “Enough. This isn’t the dormitory.”

“Ugh…!”

“…Instructor.”

“Let’s save the debates for later. But we’re not here to just enjoy ourselves. Now, return to the formation.”

The two had unknowingly drifted a bit away from the other students while engrossed in their conversation. I crossed my arms and watched as they hurriedly caught up with the others, surprised.

Then Instructor Rilya approached me.

“You’ve been working hard since early morning, Instructor Graham.”

“Same to you, Instructor Rilya. Thank you again for the joint patrol arrangement.”

“Oh, we should help each other in tough times! By the way, it looks like you’ve become accustomed to the instructor role, seeing how easily you handle those two students.”

“Neither of them is that difficult of a student.”

Saladin had just been a little off-track at the beginning of the semester, and while he was a bit tricky, he didn’t have a bad temperament. Schurz sometimes got caught up in Saladin’s provocative remarks, but he was usually calm and dignified.

Instructor Rilya smiled brightly. “With you saying that, it seems you’ve really gotten to know your students well over time. Hmm, good! Seeing your rapid growth makes me feel that my efforts in teaching were worthwhile!”

I nodded seriously. “Yes. It’s thanks to you, Instructor Rilya.”

“…Huh?”

Instructor Rilya’s young face turned slightly red.

“Uh, that was just a light joke! I didn’t expect you to take it so seriously…”

“It’s true that you’ve been a great help to me.”

Almost a month has passed since the semester started. Without Instructor Rilya’s advice, it would have been difficult to play the instructor role properly among such unique students. There had actually been a few incidents.

As I walked through the festive streets, I spoke in a calm voice. “Feel free to ask for my help anytime you need it, Instructor Rilya. I’m not bragging, but I’m pretty confident in my strength.”

“Um… uh…”

Instructor Rilya nervously twirled the ends of her brown hair for a while, and after a long pause, she spoke in a small voice.

“Then… could you spare some time tomorrow, if possible?”

“Tomorrow?”

“Yes… I don’t need you for strength; I just…”

Instructor Rilya spoke in a shy, soft voice, keeping her head down.

“How about we… uh, just walk around the festival together… or something…?”

It was hard to tell what expression she had since her hair covered her face.

But since it was Instructor Rilya asking, there was no reason to refuse such a simple request.

I nodded in agreement. “Where should we meet?”

“Huh! You mean it? Are you really going to go with me?!”

Instructor Rilya excitedly couldn’t hide her joy at my response. She lifted her head and wore an extremely cheerful smile.

“…….”

I realized it might be rude to think this, but she looked like a child who had just received her favorite toy for her birthday.

Did Instructor Rilya really want to enjoy the festival this much? I didn’t expect that such a small request would make her so happy.

I felt a bit curious; wouldn’t there be others besides me wanting to join her?

“Really? Should I come to Garnet Red Dormitory to pick you up tomorrow?”

“Ah, um…! The dormitory is too conspicuous… Let’s meet at 12 noon, in front of the Tram Station in District 3!”

“Tomorrow at 12 noon, in front of the Tram Station in District 3. Got it.”

“Great! Hee, eheh…”

Instructor Rilya clenched her tiny fist and lightly bounced on her toes as she walked.

Despite her energetic stride, her steps were too short to keep up the pace, so I had to adjust my speed accordingly.

Since I was walking with Instructor Rilya, a bit of distance separated us from the students ahead.

Moreover, the festival atmosphere made it pretty noisy, making it hard to hear what anyone was saying.

In that situation, Gwen suddenly turned around.

Her gaze was fixed on me, staring intently.

“Huh?”

As soon as our eyes met, Gwen seemed startled and quickly turned away, walking along with the other students as if nothing had happened.

I looked at her, perplexed.

*

As Schurz and Saladin mentioned, the Empire’s Victory Day is held a month earlier than in other countries.

This is because the Empire commemorates the victory day differently than other nations.

Most kingdoms celebrate the day the Demon King withdrew his forces from humanity, marking it as the victory day. However, it’s different for the Empire.

The Battle of Ragnarok Plains.

The last phase of the war, in which the largest battle ever occurred during the previous war. It was the day of great victory when the Hero Party and the Seven Heroes of the continent worked together to defeat two demon generals.

The Empire celebrates that day as its Victory Day in such a splendid manner.

Military and historical experts of the Empire believe that the Demon King completely gave up on the war against humanity after that battle, unable to sustain his forces.

When the war broke out, there were seven demon generals, but after the Battle of Ragnarok Plains, only two remained.

In contrast, while the Empire suffered enormous casualties in its military, all Seven Heroes of the continent remained unscathed. Considering the significant impact of an overwhelming number of absolute power on the war, it was not strange for the Demon King to give up then.

That is why the Empire’s Victory Day arrives a month earlier than in other countries. Countless people gather from across the continent to celebrate this festival.

Thus, the scale of the Victory Festival in the Capital City is far larger and more splendid than that of other countries, befitting the Empire’s status.

Naturally, it became difficult to maintain public order with only the existing gendarmerie force, so all gendarmerie personnel were mobilized without a break from duty, and when that was still not enough, they called in nearby forces and knight orders, and when that was also lacking, students from Philion Academy were brought in to help maintain order.

Today was the first day of the festival.

Even though it was the day with the least people over the five days, the central road was chaotic with an enormous crowd.

“Excuse me! Coming through!”

Around twenty students from Garnet Red and Opal Black classes, whom Instructor Rilya was responsible for, were surrounded by such people that they could hardly move.

There were simply too many people around.

Moreover, as time passed, more people flocked to the central road, worsening the situation.

I finally made a decision.

“This won’t do. We need to split up.”

It was a waste of resources to have twenty students patrol together from the start. We needed to divide them into smaller groups to cover wider areas.

Only Gwen, who had mastered the Sword of the Rock, and Batar, who was a head taller than everyone else, could walk through such a large crowd.

Gwen, Marian, Schurz, and Saladin.

Batar, Titania, Osnia, and Elizabeth.

I instructed them to pair up into groups of four for the patrol, while I decided to wait with Instructor Rilya near the busiest gate.

Each class’s students would patrol the area for about an hour and then meet again at the gate at the scheduled time.

As Instructor Rilya and I guided people and maintained order against petty crimes like pickpocketing at the gate.

Schurz and Saladin returned from their patrol.

With the news that Gwen and Marian had gone missing.

 

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