Let’s Block the Ruined Route in Advance Chapter 50

Eileen found the old room still standing. She knew the current children would be fine, but the death she had seen in her vision was too much to bear.

 

“You!”

 

Laquerta, who had opened the door for the children, yelled when she saw Eileen. She didn’t understand why Eileen had brought an outsider.

 

“I was just passing through and wanted to feed the kids something tasty.”

 

Eileen smiled and held out the paper bag. It was filled with sandwiches, fresh fruit juice, cheese, and candy she’d picked up on her way home.

 

“Wow! Candy!”

 

“Idiot!”

 

Lua slapped Moa lightly on the back of the head as he looked at the lunch box, oblivious to the mood. Ignoring her brother, whose lips parted in frustration, Lua glanced over at Laquerta.

 

He looked very embarrassed.

 

“Wasn’t it only yesterday that I told you I didn’t need your pity? And you brought another human with you?”

 

Cordelia’s voice was deep, like an animal’s throat, and she stepped in front of Eileen.

 

The children in their tattered clothes and the suspicious look of the Suyin before her made her realize what was going on.

 

She clicked her tongue, then spoke nonchalantly.

 

“Don’t worry. I don’t care that you’re Suyin. I just follow Eileen wherever she goes.”

 

He was about to raise his voice when the words left him even more confused. Eileen said, her face impassive.

 

“I don’t pity you.”

 

“What?”

 

“It’s not pity.”

 

‘That’s right, isn’t it?’

 

Cordelia thought to herself, but thankfully didn’t say it out loud, and turned to look at Eileen.

 

“I’m sorry if it’s a burden, but I just want them to be fuller and more comfortable.”

 

“I don’t know why you care…”

 

“Speaking from experience?”

 

Pushing past a stunned Laquerta, Eileen handed the bags to the children. The children, who had eaten breakfast but were still hungry after lunch, took the bag from her.

 

“You should eat first,” Eileen said, quickly stopping Moa from diving into the chocolate.

 

“You have to eat first.”

 

“Hmph. I want the chocolate first.”

 

“Snacks are for after dinner.”

 

Eileen patted the children’s heads as she served them sandwiches and fruit juice, and the stiffened children soon relaxed. 

 

Turning to Laquerta, who watched the scene uncomfortably, Eileen said, “And if you think I’m doing this out of pity, I’m not, because I really want them to be happy.”

 

The children smiled innocently at the fountain and waved their arms excitedly at the delicious food. Children chasing after Cordelia with white ribbons.

 

Every scene she’d seen had been overwhelmingly adorable, and Eileen couldn’t let it go.

 

The childhood of her former life. She had hated being hungry and feared being lonely, but now that she was Eileen, those things were a distant memory.

 

“I’ve learned that saying “everything will be okay” isn’t just a greeting.”

 

When the good things pile up on top of the bad things, a person can move past the pain. Eileen learned this from one of the most radiant people she has ever met.

 

If Lua and Moa are smiling and innocent now, after a short but difficult life, it is because of Laquerta.

 

The bond they formed with Laquerta must have healed the wounds in their tiny, delicate hearts and restored the smile to their faces.

“I admire you.”

 

He was a man with many scars, but he was also only sixteen years old.

 

“I’m not going to insist that you do what I say right now. But you’ll have to forgive me for being a bit of a jerk sometimes.”

 

With that, Eileen and Cordelia returned to the Academy. Laquerta was still sitting on the floor with a confused look on his face, staring at the door they had left through.

 

“Brother, this…”

 

Lua crept over and shoved a piece of chocolate into Laquerta’s gaping mouth.

 

“It’s delicious, isn’t it?”

 

“It’s the most delicious thing I’ve ever tasted in my life, big brother, let me give you more!”

 

It had been a long time since the children had eaten chocolate, as there were no sweets in the Academy’s lunch.

 

Lua and Moa looked at Laquerta and smiled, remembering how delicious the candy had been.

 

“If it’s so good, you should eat it all.”

 

“No!” Moa said excitedly as Laquerta looked at her with a confused face.

 

“It’s the most delicious, and I’ll share it with you, because you’re our favorite.”

 

Laquerta’s eyes grew hot and he hugged them both as tightly as he could. The chocolate was so sweet it brought tears to their eyes.

 

Looking back, he realized that he hadn’t dealt with evil people his whole life.

 

There was the old woman who offered him an apple as a favor, the old priest who healed him when he fell off his volunteer work, and the farmer who cleared a wagon for him on his way to the Academy.

 

But when he trusts something and is betrayed, the pain is his alone. Countless wounds made him suspicious of favors.

 

Laquerta’s heart began to pound as he greeted the warmth like a parched mouth begging for more water.

 

* * *

 

“Eileen, you are guilty.”

 

“Suddenly?!”

 

Cordelia’s words were met with a questioning look from Eileen as they rode back to the Academy. 

 

Cordelia shook her head at Eileen’s blank expression. No wonder she was so good at finding and saving bizarre lives.

 

By the look on her face, Cordelia got some more competition.

 

Eileen will deny it now, but the big man from earlier was going to turn into Lucian and Felix sooner or later. 

 

Cordelia clicked her tongue.

 

“Yeah, well. I don’t mind the kids getting trampled in the snow and doing good, but you haven’t forgotten about next week’s elementalism assignment, have you?”

 

“Oh?”

 

“Creating a special move.”

 

“Oh!”

 

Eileen’s face went white. She had obviously forgotten.

 

“You-you did it?!”

 

“Of course.”

 

“Show me!”

 

Eileen asked excitedly, not sure if she was more curious about Cordelia’s special move than about her own forgetfulness. Cordelia smiled brightly.

 

“No.”

 

It was a timid punishment for a guilty human.

 

* * *

 

“Special move. Torso strike!”

 

“Chew?”

 

Eileen exclaimed curiously as she rented one of the private practice rooms attached to the School of Magic annex. 

 

Star sighed at the unfamiliar spell. Eileen sank to the floor, a little stunned by the answer, as if asking if it was for the best.

 

“Special move, what is that? How does it work?”

 

The problem was, she wasn’t really interested in shonen manga or action movies. She wanted to shout out the name of some awesome technique and use it, but her imagination was crude.

 

“Special move, annihilation flower?”

 

“Special move, flower beam?”

 

“Deadly, deadly energy flower!”

 

“Pfft!”

 

Eileen turned around, startled by the sound of laughter as she tried to guess the combinations. 

 

Felix stood there, trying desperately to hold back his laughter.

 

“Aaahhh! How long have you been here?!”

 

“Ah, shhhh. Hahaha, not long, just since the Wraith bloomed.”

 

Damn.

 

Eileen’s face turned salty. She felt like someone who had sung a breakup ballad without realizing there was a person behind her.

 

“Smile.”

 

“It’s okay. It’s okay. It was cute.”

 

“Cute. So what’s going on?”

 

“Oh, I rented the room next door, and it has your name on it, Eileen. Is it for your assignment?”

 

“Yes, it is. Creating a special train.”

 

He spoke lightly to Eileen, who had dropped everything and was now in a daze.

 

“Um, Eileen. Do you have to call it a special move?”

 

“……?”

 

Eileen nodded, stunned. Come to think of it, it was.

 

Felix remembered Eileen from years ago, when she had wrapped herself around an exploding greenhouse to prevent mass destruction. She was so strong, yet so fragile in unexpected places.

 

“Eileen, look.”

 

Felix left Eileen and stepped forward, reaching for the wall, and without warning, a giant zine unfolded in front of his hand, shooting beams of light. It was so powerful that it shattered all the targets in the training room and melted their supports.

 

“That? Without a spear?”

 

The original youngest mage was different.

 

His pink hair was arranged in a half-bun, and a light purple aura glowed in the aftermath of his magic. His black robes fluttered in the gusts of wind created by the magic and slowly settled back into place.

 

Felix, looking only slightly lazy in contrast to the chaos before him, smiled sheepishly.

 

“So, Eileen. If you were to name this technique, what would you call it? Oh, Power Ten Times Greater Than This.”

“Ten times more powerful than that?”

 

Eileen replied, a little dazed after admiring Felix’s face and abilities without thinking.

 

“It’s so awesome, I can’t even think of a name for it.”

 

“Really? Isn’t that a specialty? The kind of ability that overwhelms you even if you don’t have to name it?”

 

“Oh!”

 

“So you don’t have to bother naming it, and it doesn’t have to be an offensive skill. Making a plant bloom in a short time or changing its shape into something useful could be a special move.”

 

Eileen nodded, because it was true. 

 

In a playfully serious voice, she said, “I’ve learned a trick. Master.”

 

“Good, now leave me alone.”

 

Felix echoed, his voice still tinged with laughter. 

 

Their eyes met for a moment and they both laughed. It was a sweet moment, a welcome change from the carnage of the training room.