Chapter 15: Prepare for the Inevitable Ruin (7):
I mentally smacked myself as I stood up to follow Camilla Guinevere.
She smiled as she gently tugged on one of my arms in a friendly manner.
“Great. Edith! Want to come by our tent for a bit?”
“It would be an honor if it’s Lady Guinevere inviting me.”
“Just call me Camilla.”
“Yes, Camilla.”
I dropped the formal speech quickly.
Thanks to her timely appearance, I’d been able to catch my breath—this was the least I could do.
Every time her long, curly hair brushed against my arm, it tickled.
“I heard you saved my foolish little brother~! Oh, do you know his name? It’s Cain…”
“Yes. I know.”
“He’s always been a coward. Thank you for helping him. I heard you used magic on quite an impressive level.”
“You flatter me. If Prince Behemoth had arrived earlier, I’m sure he would’ve saved him instead.”
I played along with her praise appropriately, then suddenly looked at her face.
Camilla had a fresh yet elegant face, somewhere between a girl and a young lady, and wore a carefree smile. She was genuinely a good person.
I knew her well.
She was one of the few who survived this subjugation mission and went on to become a hero.
And if I had to name just one person in my entire life that I’d call a “friend,” it would be her.
It’s not easy to be both a hero and a good person.
Not to mention her exceptional social skills—her bright personality had helped me countless times in my previous life.
…And yet, I still couldn’t feel even a sliver of affection for her rude little brother. Maybe I’m just that petty.
I could hardly remember him. Even after hearing his name and seeing his face, I hadn’t connected him to Camilla.
Probably because Cain, her brother, died during the subjugation training.
In any case, there aren’t many people as useful as her.
She thought highly of my talent and sympathized with my unfortunate background, so all I had to do was act a little nice.
A vague memory of a conversation I had with Camilla in a previous life surfaced.
‘She said she was assigned to the rear lines during the subjugation training.’
I clearly remembered her shaking her head while showing me a large scar on her neck, saying she’d survived thanks to being in the support unit.
I wondered if she was still stationed in the rear. So much had changed from what I remembered that it was hard to guess.
‘…It feels like we’ve already passed all the rear tents.’
After walking through most of the resting area, I spotted a large tent at the front.
Surely not that one?
Camilla pulled aside the tent flap and stepped in just as she spoke up.
“By the way, are you feeling okay?”
“Huh?”
My body? Why would she suddenly—ah, did she hear it from Cain?
I tilted my head, about to answer, when I caught sight of the inside of the tent.
“I’m fi—”
“You’re here.”
…Ethan Behemoth was sitting at a table inside the tent, reading a book.
Camilla beamed.
“Ethan told me. You sparred with him yesterday, didn’t you?”
“Ah…”
So you snitched.
Still, given how casual the mood was, it seemed they didn’t know the full extent of the damage Remus Therion had discovered in my body.
“…Weren’t we keeping that a secret?”
I looked at Ethan incredulously. He averted his eyes, muttering something that sounded like an excuse.
“There are no eternal secrets in this world.”
“And that’s your justification?”
“I made him tell me, Edith. Ethan kept glancing at me ever since the march started.”
Camilla cheerfully ignored Ethan’s words and hopped up on the table, motioning for me to sit.
“I was wondering why, and then I realized—he forgot I’d taken your place in the front squad and kept staring at me every time he wanted to talk to you. Isn’t that hilarious?”
“Ah… yes. A bit.”
So Camilla was moved up to the front squad because of me.
I’d thought the front squad would be fine even in my absence, with Ethan Behemoth there. But apparently, the headmaster wasn’t satisfied with that and added Camilla too.
I never expected them to pull her in.
‘But even with just Camilla and Ethan Behemoth… they won’t be able to handle that.’
Maybe if they were older…
Should I give Camilla a heads-up? I was lost in thought when—
Camilla suddenly stared at me and blurted out,
“Ethan really likes you, huh?”
“…What?”
“What nonsense are you spouting now.”
…Or maybe he doesn’t. Maybe he could die and I wouldn’t care.
I didn’t think Camilla Guinevere would ever talk nonsense like this.
So many things I wanted to say surged to the tip of my tongue.
I mean, I thought he liked me too, okay? But do you know what he said to me? He asked me to spar.
He must’ve gone brain-dead from excessive fighting when he confessed to me in the past. Now he’s back to normal.
“Haha, well… Anyway… Want a drink? Something cold?”
“…Yes. My throat’s a bit dry.”
Camilla picked up a white pitcher from the center of the table and poured it into a glass.
Near her fingers where they touched the pitcher, a bluebird spirit shimmered. I spoke without thinking.
“Oh, that…”
“Yes. My spirit.”
Camilla smiled brightly and stretched her pinky a little, revealing the bluebird more clearly.
Cool droplets began to form on the pitcher where the bird touched it.
“First time seeing one in person?”
“…Yes.”
I’d seen it countless times before, actually.
That thing had saved my life more times than I could count.
Camilla’s spirit wasn’t just excellent in manifestation and maintenance—it was especially suited to amplifying others’ attacks.
For knights, it enhanced sword aura; for mages, it boosted magical power.
It had helped me several times in the past, when my unstable mind prevented my spells from working properly in a crisis.
In those desperate moments, Camilla Guinevere never abandoned her allies and ran. She was a true hero.
‘Even though she could’ve just left me.’
“I named it Bluebird.”
“It suits it.”
The bird didn’t flap its wings to fly—it rode the wind and circled softly around Camilla.
Despite the name, it wasn’t a real bird.
Its smooth, dense feathers shimmered like blue-tinged water.
As Camilla handed me the glass, she muttered,
“That’s strange. Edith, you must have good spirit affinity. I wasn’t making it visible to others just now…”
“I used to want to become a spirit mage, once.”
“Oh, really?”
Camilla brightened. Not wanting to give her false hope, I quickly added,
“But I didn’t have enough talent, so I gave up.”
“Aww.”
Camilla slumped her shoulders.
Even in my past life, she had tried multiple times to persuade me to become a spirit mage. She really wanted to meet others like her.
“Man… I wish there were more spirit mages at the academy…”
While Camilla was pouting with her cheek resting in her hand, Ethan Behemoth casually cut in,
“You seem to rule out Edith Crowell too quickly.”
What now? I sipped the drink Camilla had given me and glared at him, only for her to suddenly lean in.
“What? Did Ethan tell you to learn swordsmanship? Ugh, I hate that too.”
“Still, once we finish the subjugation training and return to the academy, we’ve agreed to do morning workouts every day.”
“Are you an angel, Edith? You agreed to that?”
“Pfft.”
I almost spat out the tea I’d just sipped—not just because of their conversation.
“Ugh, this…”
“Hehe.”
Wiping my mouth, I looked at Camilla. She crossed her legs and smirked slyly.
Ethan Behemoth held up his book to cover his mouth.
Are you even reading that? He’s definitely hiding his smirk.
“I added plenty of medicinal herbs.”
How can something taste this awful?
No wonder the color seemed off.
With a conflicted expression, I looked back and forth between the poison-like tea and sunny Camilla.
“…It smelled okay though…”
“Don’t tell me you’re picky like a kid?”
Camilla asked with wide eyes. I couldn’t admit that I had a slightly sensitive palate.
“…Not really. But doesn’t it taste a little weird? Did you drink this, Camilla?”
“Hmm, of course.”
Liar.
As my eyes narrowed, Camilla added quickly,
“I brought it for myself originally, but I’m letting you have it. Feel honored, okay?”
