"What did you do to Lady Elena?"As the guide voice announcing my victory rang out, Adler, who had been under joint attack from Ciel and our allies, shouted at me.Supporting Elena, who had collapsed on the sand, I replied,"It's nothing harmful. She just fell asleep for a bit. Elena will wake up soon enough."It was sleeping powder that could knock out an elephant.But with Elena's level of status ailment resistance, she would wake up within a few minutes."Don't touch her!""……Fine."I handed limp Elena over to Adler, then used Transmutation again on the half-sphere Cube that had been dividing the space.Crackle—.When the Cube that had been enclosing us in darkness vanished, bright sunlight poured in and the outside situation came into view.The troops of both factions were tangled together.Thanks to the guide voices coming from each of their Cubes, the fighting had come to a halt for now."What the hell happened?""It says Loen won.""Lady Elena lost?"Looking around at the students who were dazedly trying to grasp the situation, I tilted my head."And yet…… there’s no separate recall from the airship?"Normally, once the exam was over, the airship's mana light would teleport us somewhere else.Just like ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) how eliminated students had vanished straight from the island."Maybe it's because there are too many people?"At Ciel's words, I nodded.Even for a Mage Tower airship, it would be hard to move this many people at once.If we waited, they'd eventually teleport us."All right. Until we're transported somewhere else, we'll deploy the Cubes and let the students rest. The fighting's over."***That night.Most of the students had collapsed from exhaustion and were fast asleep.Even though it was already getting dark, there had been no teleportation, not even any contact from the airship.So Elena, I, and the other top brass gathered in a nice, air-conditioned conference room to hold a meeting."……"Elena was still sitting with her arms crossed, wearing a sulky expression.She had apparently been looking forward to a proper fight for once, but since she'd been taken out by a cheap trick involving sleeping powder, she seemed to be in a bad mood."Just get over it already. I'm sorry.""Hm? I'm not in a bad mood at all though?""……"Elena tilted her head as if nothing was wrong.She was totally pouting.After that, Elena ignored me and deliberately spoke to Ciel, who was sitting next to me."Ciel, do you think something happened outside the island?""Could be.""Oh my, I wasn't asking you.""Talking to myself."Ignoring Elena's lingering grudge, I sank into thought.It had already been half a day since the exam ended.It was hard to think it was simply taking a long time to teleport us; not a single person left on this jungle island had been transported by the airship.There was no way Union didn't know the exam was over.'The Cubes even played the guide voice.'You could assume the airship's teleportation system had simply broken down, but you couldn't rule out the possibility that something worse had happened.After thinking for a moment, I opened my mouth."Either way, we can't just sit around waiting to be rescued. We don't have much food left."The Cubes could solve the housing problem, but food was short.Even if we hunted wild animals and gathered fruit, it would be hard to keep feeding all fifteen hundred students."How much food do we have left?""About a week's worth.""A week……"An amount that was neither a lot nor a little.If we stayed on the island and just waited for rescue, it would be insufficient. But if we decided to escape on our own, it was a decent amount."What's the distance from here to Full Moon Island?"Ciel answered."About five kilometers.""Too far to swim."At the mention of swimming, Tepes frowned."This isn’t a swimming pool; trying to swim across the sea is insane. The current’s strong, and who knows what could happen out there.""What about getting help from spirits?"This time, Silphiette made a troubled face."That won't be easy either. We don't have enough spirit-users or enough mana to move all the students."Even if we got help from water spirits, the number of students we had to move was simply too large.Letting out a sigh, I spoke."Then there's only one method.""Using the Cube?"At Ciel's question, I nodded."Yeah. With my Transmutation magic, I can reshape a Cube into a ship. We'll ride it to Full Moon Island."The eliminated students would already be gathering on Full Moon Island, and there were resort facilities there, so the food supply problem could be solved.In the current situation, where Union had yet to respond, it was the best option we had.And the plan after the exam had been to rest at the resort on Full Moon Island anyway.After listening to the conversation for a while, Elena asked,"Ciel, how long do you think it will take to Transmute the Cube into a ship?"Why are you asking Ciel that?I shrugged and answered,"Two days…… no, it’ll take about three."The Cube I'd used in my fight with Elena had been a Level 7 Cube.I had only Transmuted an appropriate portion of the Cubes I had.If the Cube's volume was too large, it would consume a lot of mana and the difficulty of Transmutation would increase.But this time, we had to carry fifteen hundred students.To hold that many people, I needed to use a Level 10 Cube to Transmute a ship of sufficient size.And if something went wrong in the middle, we'd be in serious trouble, so I couldn't just make it look decent on the outside and call it done.I had to pour my full power into a careful Transmutation, and since I had to make about two ships, it would take at least three days."Loen, won't you need a power source to move the ship?"At Hildegard's question, I looked at Silphiette and said,"Right, we'll just borrow the help of wind or water spirits. As long as it moves steadily forward, speed doesn't matter."Since the distance to the main island was about five kilometers, it wasn't that far.As long as we went in the right direction, speed wasn't a big issue.I asked Hildegard,"Can you observe the other islands at all?"I was curious whether the situation on the other islands was similar to here, but—"No, since last night, there’s been a thick sea fog over the water. It's a little strange.""……"'A thick sea fog, huh.'Feeling something ominous, I spoke to the people gathered in the conference room."For now, we should set up night watches and keep a guard rotation. For safety."At the mention of a night watch, Tepes looked puzzled."Don't tell me you're worried about monsters? At our size we might as well be an army. We could take down an ogre with no problem."At her words, I gave a cold order."Do it if I tell you to. Don't argue."The situation might be more serious than we thought. Leaving aside the airship problem, there was even the possibility of a hostile force appearing.We needed at least a night watch and some basic vigilance."You little bastard. You think I'm your subordinate? The Faction War is already over. Stop acting like my boss.""But you're still wearing the bracelet.""Ah."Only then did Tepes finally check the bracelet like a long shackle around her wrist."Take this off already.""No."We had to keep using her while we were on the jungle island, so I'd leave it on.Ignoring Tepes squawking from across the table, I fell into quiet thought.'……We need to figure out the situation more clearly.'The thick fog over the sea. I had a suspicion, but I just hoped my guess was wrong.***The next day.Even after the sun rose, the jungle island had a creepy morning, thanks to the thick fog shrouding the waters around it.The students had gathered on the sandy beach, murmuring among themselves.They were fiercely debating why the airship's teleportation system wasn't working even though the exam was over, and why there had been no contact from Union.In the midst of that—Clap clap—.Elena stepped up onto a podium, clapped her hands to gather the students' attention, and spoke."Everyone, listen up. Don't worry too much. We'll be in contact with the airship before long. And just in case, Loen here is also working on an escape plan."When she said I was working on an escape plan, the students looked at me with rather unimpressed faces.Of course, the students who had been under my command for quite a while had expectant looks in their eyes, but the ones we had absorbed recently and the ones who'd belonged to Elena's faction showed no particular sense of expectation.It seemed they still didn't trust someone called Loen enough to believe in him.Among the murmuring students, one of them asked Elena a question."Why is the airship's teleportation system dead? And why is there no contact?""We're still trying to figure out the situation too. Please be patient and wait."Even though she was essentially in the same position as the other students, Elena kindly answered.Then another student raised a hand and asked,"How much food do we have?""We can last about a week. Depending on how well everyone does, we might secure more. Even if we're rescued soon, we don't know what will happen, so let's try to gather as much food as we can."Elena divided the students gathered on the beach into groups and spoke."Since we're on the subject, we'll divide into groups and search the island while gathering food. It's dangerous, so don't go too deep inside, and avoid going out to the beach.""Why not the beach?"In response to a student's question, Elena kindly answered."As you can see, there's a thick sea fog. In conditions like this, sea monsters could appear. Make sure you follow the safety rules.""Yes!"Even though they were isolated on the island, the students were not trembling with fear or anxiety.Elena was standing firm as their spiritual support, and they were probably still thinking of this as an extension of the exam.They would treat a single day as nothing more than a small incident.And this wasn't some completely remote uninhabited island; it was close to Full Moon Island's main landmass.Of course, if several days passed and there was still no response from Union, then they'd gradually be gripped by anxiety.We needed to finish Transmuting the Cube before they fell into a panic and became uncontrollable.***Night fell, and the world grew dim.Staying behind on the beach, I relied on the torchlight as I refined the Cube with Transmutation magic.Unlike simpler shapes like a long shaft or a half-sphere, crafting a ship took a lot of painstaking work.Just making the outer shape wasn't enough. It had to have a form that could receive proper buoyancy and wouldn't capsize even if it were hit by waves or currents.To that end, I had even gotten advice from a student who was well-versed in shipbuilding.It was also tied to the Cube's level. Unlike a Level 7 Cube, which could be Transmuted in an instant, Transmuting a Level 10 Cube consumed several times the effort and mana.And I had to make two ships like that. Enough said."Hoo."I wiped the sweat from my forehead and took a short break.The mana-replenishing stones I'd brought were already all used up. From here on, I would have to rely on naturally regenerated mana to continue the Transmutation.While I was dripping sweat and focusing on my work—I felt presences behind me.Two people approached, lighting the darkness with torches."Please take a break while you work."Ciel and Elena had brought some simple snacks.Chilled drinks cooled with freezing magic and fruit they'd picked from inside the island. The melon-like fruit looked quite appetizing."Thanks."I accepted the drink Ciel handed me and expressed my gratitude."Is the Transmutation going well?""It's more than halfway done. I've got most of the shape.""Ooh."Elena looked up at the large ship sitting on the beach, her eyes sparkling."But there’s still fine-tuning left. I have to make sure there are no leaks and that the interior's set up so it won't flip over if it's pushed by waves.""Hmm, then when do you think it'll be finished?""It should be done by the day after tomorrow. Now that my mana's run dry, it'll take quite a bit of time."Taking a sip of the drink, I spoke to Elena."By the way, are you done sulking?""I told you I was never sulking in the first place.""……Let's say that."I shrugged and bit into the fruit Elena had brought.It was cool and very sweet.Elena sat down next to me and spoke."Still, who throws something like that at a person? It was only okay because it was me; for anyone else it would’ve been a lethal dose, you know?"Grumbling about the sleeping powder, Elena pouted. I shrugged and answered her complaint."I threw it precisely because it was you. Anything weaker wouldn't have worked on you at all."She'd been drenched in a drug that could put an elephant to sleep and woken up in a few minutes. Was that even human?"That was a compliment, right?""Depends on how you take it."We were chatting lightly like that, staring out at the hazy night sea, when—- Affinity is increasing.A notification window suddenly popped up in front of my eyes.Setting down the fork in my hand, I looked toward the dark fog."What's wrong all of a sudden? Ah……"Elena's eyes changed too, as if she had also sensed the demonic energy beyond the fog.Ciel set down the tray she was holding and silently took up a battle stance.As the three of us stared quietly into the thick sea mist—Squelch—.Something set foot on the beach with a wet, sticky sound.A head shaped like a fish.The huge eyes on its head bulged and rolled as they moved about, and the gills along its curved spine and the webbing between its hands and feet stood out especially.At a glance, it looked like a big, disgusting fish, but one clear difference was that…… the thing was walking on two legs.Squelch—.Oozing viscous slime from its body, the creature slowly approached us.It exuded a sense of unpleasantness and wrongness that was somewhat different from ordinary monsters or magical beasts.[krrrr……]Elena frowned as she looked at the aberrant being emerging through the fog."What on earth is that……"Even Elena—princess of the Holy Kingdom, who had repelled countless magical beasts over many years, and head of the Monster Purification Studies Club—stared wide-eyed like she'd never seen such a monster before.Watching it, I spoke calmly."They're dwellers of the deep. Not regular magical beasts or monsters…… but servants of demons."One of the Twelve Apostles of the Demon God. Fishmen, the slave race of Kral.'So that's how it is.'Watching the creature slowly approach us through the fog, I became certain of the cause of the abnormal situation on the jungle island.Shrring—.I drew the Azoth Sword and rose from my seat."Let's take it down first. Elena, Ciel."

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