Chapter 89: The Hero’s Mysterious Pain and a Hidden Festival Plan

“Hmm… There doesn’t seem to be anything wrong? No wounds either.”

In the infirmary at the academy, I unbuttoned my shirt, exposing my bare skin in front of Karim, the school nurse.

Karim lifted the bra slightly beneath my unbuttoned shirt, letting it rest on the upper part of my chest as she examined the center of my chest, where I had mentioned the pain.

However, just as I had seen in the mirror, she, too, could not find any trace of a wound on my body.

“For now, it doesn’t seem to be pain caused by a physical condition… Have you ever had a wound in the place where you felt pain? Sometimes, people experience phantom pain from old injuries.”

But back when I was an assassin, I had only been stabbed repeatedly in places like my thighs and forearms during torture training. I had never been stabbed even once in the location of my heart.

“No, not at all. There’s no way I could forget being stabbed in the heart.”

“Hmm… Then could it be a curse? But there are no traces of curse magic either.”

Karim, lost in thought, muttered different possibilities to herself, only to dismiss them one by one.

I had come here just in case, but it seemed that even Karim couldn’t figure out the cause of my pain.

As an academy nurse, Karim was as talented as the other teachers. She had abandoned the rigid life of a nun, feeling stifled, and had extensive medical knowledge in addition to her divine magic.

If even she didn’t know, then there were likely very few people on the continent who could diagnose my condition.

That meant this pain was probably not something ordinary, but rather a phenomenon related to the hero, just as Celian had said.

In the end, I left the infirmary feeling unsettled.

**

“Come to think of it, our class hasn’t talked about what we’re doing for the Celestial Festival, have we?”

While I was away at the infirmary, my friends had set up the cakes they had bought from a café. Curious, I asked about something that had been on my mind.

“Huh? What do you mean?”

As Celian and Yuri prepared forks and tea, Anne, who had been playing around with Rinne, tilted her head in confusion and asked back.

“I heard that each class or club does something for the festival, but I haven’t heard anything about ours.”

“Oh, right. El, you didn’t know.”

Since Anne was busy chasing Rinne, who had just poked her in the side, Yuri, who had been setting down teacups one by one, answered in her place.

“Our class already decided what we’re doing.”

“Huh? But no one told me.”

“Well, since you have a lot of responsibilities as the hero, we thought it would be difficult for you to handle class event preparations on top of everything else. The class already settled everything.”

I had no idea.

It must have been decided while I was constantly being pulled away for festival preparations, whether during class, breaks, or after school.

But even so, the fact that I hadn’t heard anything about it at all…

That meant they had deliberately kept it a secret from me.

Even if it wasn’t meant to exclude me, I couldn’t help but feel a bit left out.

Sensing my thoughts, Celian spoke up as if to reassure me.

“We figured you’d worry about it, so the class decided to keep it a secret from you. But you’re not completely left out. You still have to help during the festival.”

“What am I supposed to do? At least tell me that much so I can prepare for it.”

“Hehe… That’s a secret. You just need to show up, El.”

“Yeah. Just come, and we’ll take care of the rest.”

They were probably saying that to ease my burden, but for some reason, instead of feeling relieved, I felt even more anxious hearing Celian and Yuri say that.

“Anne! If you don’t come soon, we’ll eat everything without you!”

“Ack! No way! I’m coming right now!”

Whether they understood my feelings or not, Yuri, having finished setting everything up, called out to Anne.

Anne, who had been hopping around trying to catch Rinne, who was floating midair teasing her, immediately dashed over at Yuri’s words.

As expected, when it came to handling Anne, no one could match Yuri.

“Anne, how’s the festival preparation going?”

As we sat around the table enjoying cake and tea, I casually asked Anne, as if it was no big deal.

“Of course! We already… Ah!”

With her mouth full of cake, Anne beamed as she spoke—only to quickly clamp her hands over her mouth in realization.

Tsk. I thought I could get something out of Anne, but she’s surprisingly good at keeping secrets.

“Alright, alright. I won’t ask. Just eat your cake.”

Worried that she might accidentally spill the secret, Anne was holding her mouth shut, unable to even eat her favorite cake.

Seeing that she might actually sit there like that until all the cake was gone, I gave up first.

It would be polite to just let it go, considering how thoroughly the whole class is hiding it from me.

I’ll set my anxiety aside for now and, instead, look forward to what they’re preparing with such effort.

“By the way, what are you planning to do for the Celestial Festival?”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

Yuri suddenly brought up an unexpected topic.

“Actually, I have other plans during the festival, so there might be days I can’t be with you.”

“Me too.”

“Same here!”

As if they had been waiting for this moment, the other two immediately responded to Yuri’s words.

“Oh? Hmm… I see.”

…It’s disappointing, but it can’t be helped. My schedule is mostly packed on the last day, but I don’t know what might come up before that.

The academy officially requested my attendance only at the opening and closing ceremonies, the winner’s award ceremony on the final day, and the prayer to the goddess.

But since it’s such a grand festival, unexpected requests might come up.

That’s why I mentioned that I might not have much free time either.

“No!”

However, as soon as I said that, Celian immediately denied my words.

I turned to look at her, surprised by her sudden outburst. She seemed flustered and, unusually for her, stammered.

“Th-that’s… As far as I know, there isn’t much assigned specifically to the Hero. The academy probably won’t bother you with anything beyond the events they mentioned.”

Well, that makes sense. Since Celian was originally a Hero candidate, she might have received some information about this when she enrolled.

It’s only natural that I, who suddenly became a Hero, wouldn’t know these things.

“Really? That’s a relief… But all three of you have plans, right? Then what’s the plan?”

“That’s the thing. Our schedules overlap in an odd way.”

After listening to them, I realized that on the first day, Yuri and Celian would be busy. On the second day, Anne and Celian had personal commitments. And on the third day, Anne and Yuri would be occupied.

“So in the end, I’ll only be with Anne on the first day, Yuri on the second, and Celian on the third?”

“Aha… Yeah, that’s how it turned out.”

“Well, it’s a shame we can’t all go together, but it can’t be helped. Then can we be together after that?”

“…Unexpectedly, all three of us are busy on the fourth day. So we can start going together from the fifth day onward.”

The Celestial Festival lasts a week. That means we’ll only be together for about three days.

“Hmm… I guess I’ll explore on my own on the fourth day. There will be plenty to see anyway, so I won’t be bored.”

Even as I said that, one person came to mind.

A girl at the academy with whom I was as close as my friends.

I had a feeling that, festival or not, Presia would just sleep in her room all day.

Alright. Then I’ll spend the fourth day with Presia.

A Few Hours Earlier

While Elysia was away at the infirmary, three people and one ghost were sitting around a table at the campus café, having a serious discussion.

“I’ll be honest. We all want to spend time with Elysia during the festival, right?”

Up until now, they had been reading between the lines, but this was the first time someone said it out loud.

However, Yuri wasn’t fazed by Celian’s sudden statement.

“Spending time together is nice, but honestly, I also want to walk around the festival with El alone.”

“I-I don’t really…”

Unlike her usual confident self, Anne spoke in a small, timid voice.

“Then should we leave Anne out and just talk between the two of us—”

“N-no way!”

Anne jumped from her seat and shouted.

But as soon as Celian, Yuri, and Rinne turned their attention to her, Anne’s face turned as red as her hair, and she quietly sat back down.

“Alright, so when should we schedule this? Anne has a tournament, so we should avoid that as much as possible, right?”

“Then the first day is best. The tournament starts on the second day. Is that okay, Anne?”

Anne didn’t answer and simply nodded her bright red face up and down.

“I’ll be with El on the second day. My father is coming on the third, so I really do have plans then.”

“Then naturally, I’ll be with El on the third day. We can all go together from the fourth day onward. Everyone okay with that?”

“I object—”

A voice cut in, but it wasn’t from Yuri, Anne, or even Rinne.

Even Celian was caught off guard and flinched as she slowly turned toward the source of the voice.

“I’ll take the fourth day.”

Somehow, knowing exactly what was going on, a girl they had only met a few times through Elysia barged in—Presia.

“You’re…”

“Presia.”

“No, I wasn’t asking your name… Anyway, what right do you have to suddenly—”

“I’m close with Elysia. If you don’t include me, I’ll tell her everything you’ve been scheming.”

Presia felt a bit uncomfortable saying something so out of character for her.

But if it meant spending a day alone with Elysia, she was willing to endure it.

“Isn’t it fine? The festival lasts a whole week, so there’s plenty of time.”

Perhaps because Presia had helped her with her contract with Rinne, Yuri showed her some support.

Anne, on the other hand, remained silent, still fidgeting with her fingers, her face red as ever.

“…Alright. Then we’ll include Presia as well.”

In the end, Celian had no choice but to accept another competitor.

Even after settling the dates, the discussion between the four people and one ghost continued for a long time.

No unnecessary touching, excessive skinship was off-limits, no cutting in line, and absolute secrecy.

A schedule and a set of rules were established—completely unknown to the person they were all planning around, Elysia.