———Karra———

  <2: 04 pm>

  “Well, they did say that as long as we covered up the mess, we could do whatever.” Edea said, talking to Able about something.

  “Can she even bullshit her way out of that one?” Able asked.

  “Gaslighting is a powerful thing, you know?” Edea remarked. I doubt I can fully decipher the meanings behind all of those words, so let’s shift my attention elsewhere. On my drink.

  *Sip*

  We really don’t have much to do, so I’m just drinking more juice in the meantime. So do the rest of us, really. It’s like being on a cruise ship, I guess. Procrastinating in a fancy vessel until we reach our destination. I think we have about… two hours left. Some csses would probably return before then, and not many would come ter than us.

  “Hey. We’re out of Hawaiian pizza.” Kenni raised her voice. Huh. I thought the less heavy stuff would’ve been out first, but I guess not.

  “Wait a moment… There.” The tray is refiled in a fsh, and Kenni walks over to grab another slice. “By the way. Why did our group get such a different treatment this time around? Even for most activities, ours is only slightly different to accommodate our higher strength and intellect.”

  Only she would be so bold to say that out loud. Ever the one to say audacious things.

  “You are all already acquainted with the dungeons and are plenty well-informed. A school trip like the ones others are getting would be a massive waste of time. At least with this, you’re getting quite a novel experience.” Edea answered. They’re not wrong about that. This is quite a nice trip. Good scenery, and a few things that normal people would probably never encounter in their lifetime. It got a bit… overboard, but overall, it was quite entertaining, if slightly disturbing.

  “You know. I never really think about it. How strong are we in comparison to others? I get that we are strong, but we’re not that strong, right?” Jeff said, feeling justifiably skeptical. He’s not wrong to say that, in fact…

  “In the grand scheme of things, no, you’re not that strong. Though you should remember that compared to everyone else who has the same starting point as you, you seem astronomically stronger. I would put all of you, barring the outliers, at four to five times stronger than an average fighter. Not civilians, but fighters.” Edea expined. That would exclude Kenni, Emmie, Wiina, and I. That’s still pretty damn strong. “Technically speaking, the majority of the world cannot defeat you guys, but let’s not discuss it further than that.”

  “Of course, just one of us could crush you into paste. Not that the higher ups would allow it, nor is there a good reason for it.” Able said as his eyes seemed to momentarily meet Wiina’s. Well. We already know from the earlier encounter that she is stronger than him.

  “Do you really need to try to scare them like that?” Edea said, teasing their friend.

  “I am simply stating the facts, and unlike you, I am not callously pointing out potential disasters.” He replied. “And-

  *Ring*

  “Now what? Oh. Excuse me.” He was about to say something before his phone started ringing, quickly excusing himself.

  “...So when it comes to power, you all do have a lot. Do remember that there are people like us who are hundreds or even thousands of times stronger. You’d be surprised how strong these notable individuals are.” Edea advised.

  “By the way, how expensive is this ship?” Gregori suddenly asked before silence could interrupt the flow of the conversation.

  “I don’t have a price on it. I doubt anyone can afford something like this at the moment. It’s a kind of technology no one but those who already know about magic is even aware of.” They said dismissively. Gregori looks slightly confused at the answer, but doesn’t press further.

  “By the way, four to five times stronger doesn’t give us much to work with. It’s a bit vague, isn’t it?” Malk remarked.

  “Giving numbers is vague now? These things aren’t exact science, you know.” Edea said, clearly not looking to provide a more definitive answer, but they’re not wrong in saying that he is maybe asking a bit too much. “Pop quiz. But why was mana not commonpce until the Eclipse happened? I think you all already know that it was a thing in the past.”

  …No one has an answer to that, obviously. It’s weird that it’s not known. Neither Orrel or Gregori seems to know.

  “I see.” Edea replied to the silence… Are they not gonna tell us!? Why even ask then!? “Just a heads up, it doesn’t exist in the forbidden section of the school’s library either. I know you two have been trying to take a crack at it.”

  Orrel and Gregori visibly reacted, startled at the sudden callout.

  “By the way, what are you going to do once we reach the ke? The area might not be very poputed, but it’s not like we could just descend down and cause a scene.” Able asked, changing the topic.

  Edea flinched at the question. I mean, from the sound of it, they just said that so we wouldn’t just be stuck in the same pce, better get a change of scenery first and foremost, just something running in the background while they think of where we should go.

  “Nevermind. At least our css is not obstructing the dungeon diving business, not that it is particurly profitable at the moment. Don’t know why some people bitch about it so much.” Able quickly dismissed the question since it’s clear they won’t give an answer. “I heard from the other teachers that they ran into protesters, even.”

  That seems like a bit of an overreaction. Can’t they think of it as a day off work or something? It’s not like that’s where most of your income came from.

  Speaking of which, I wonder how my online friends are doing. Aside from Edea here, I have no idea what they are doing right now. I didn’t look too much into their private life, of course, but I do know they tackle the dungeons a few times, some might be used by the school right now, even.

  ———Lerim———

  <2: 59 pm>

  *Beep*

  Hm? What’s this? Who dares interrupt my beauty sleep…

  ‘Just checking. Has anyone been barred from the dungeon today?’ Kara asked that, choosing to ping everyone. That’s what this is all about? Whatever. It’s not like I have anything else to do today.

  ‘Yeah. Which is why I’m deciding to have beauty sleep all day.’ I typed in the chatroom.

  ‘Typical.’ Is what Seemi typed down. ‘But yeah, same on my end. I don’t really care about the reason, I don’t need to urgently go in there anyway. Is anyone even that dependent on it?’

  ‘Hell if I know. I sure ain’t.’ Jackman replied. Yeah, why would anyone make a fuss over that. Sure, it’s actually quite a fast way to earn money, but you don’t earn a lot, nor is it a safe and stable income. It’s only there if you really need a bit of money for… I don’t know, ice cream or something. Maybe buttermilk. I should go get more buttermilk…

  Hah? Is there a commotion going on outside? I didn’t close my windows so the sound of stuff happening outside is really disturbing my nap time.

  What are they doing at this hour? Shouldn’t they go do their nine-to-five? Why are they wielding weapons? That’s… rather concering. It’s not really my problem though. Would they even cause any real trouble? Feels like if I were to intervene, I’d be the one getting in trouble instead.

  ‘Say. Why did you even ask that? You know why?’ Seemi asked.

  ‘Yeah. They’re reserving dungeons for educational stuff today. I heard that there are people disrupting it with protests and such.’ Kara answered a bit vaguely, but what she wanted to convey was obvious. She is probably worried that some of us might get caught up in a crowd of trouble… Oh crud. So that’s what that was.

  ‘Sounds kinda… absurd, ain’t it?’ Jackman replied, probably scratching his head right now.

  ‘Yeah. I don’t know how far that actually goes, but I’m sure the school has something in pce just in case. They probably know that certain neighborhoods have gotten a lot more violent.’ Kara said. In that case, maybe this group wouldn’t cause any actual damage? Then again, who knows what they’re really after. For all I know this could be a new gang or something. Last time things went… not the best. This might become a bit of a problem either way.

  …You know what. I should at least go check it out. From the sounds of it the school should have it under control, so I probably don’t need to intervene, but it couldn’t hurt to be careful. Besides, I could go get some groceries. Just some drinks would do, maybe some dried beans too, those are still pretty cheap.

  Alright then. If I’m gonna do that, I shouldn’t bring my weapon with me, it might arm others. I should also not wear anything that’s delicate, just in case I need to get into some action. Though hopefully I don’t have to.

  I don’t need to wear anything fancy for this. Let’s just go with something less fshy. Just a simple shirt and skirt will do… Maybe I’ll go with pants instead? It’s not like that is a worse look, just kinda different, and better for moving around in case I do get in trouble… Yeah, sure, let’s go with pants this time around.

  There… Just a simple white shirt and pants. Now let’s get going. Who knows what trouble they’re causing right now. Make sure nothing is left turned on, be it lights or whatever.

  Let’s just… maybe not trail behind them, I’m sure they might notice me. I should at least maintain a good distance between myself and this group, they’re going to the main road as expected.

  Hmm… They are blocking the road… Is that bus the one? It looks pretty big and a bit colorful.

  I could see a few more people taking notice of the commotion they are causing now. Blocking the road and with the weapons on them, it’s hard to not be armed.

  Two people left the bus, one wearing some sort of medical coat with… is that blue or green hair? The other wore a slightly different-looking coat, but didn't buttoned it up like the guy, showing off her bck buttoned shirt and pants.

  I can hear the aggression in the voice of these offenders. No idea how this will go, but I probably should be on standby, just in case.

  Not a very dy-like thing to do, but at this point my reputation has been tainted with the whole ‘muscle-headed dy’, so it couldn’t get any worse.

  Seriously. The way some people talk about me makes it seem like they can’t even see me as pretty. That’s absurd! There are all kinds of attractive people, and I am damn sure I fit into one of those. I’d rather be seen as a traditionally beautiful woman, with nice delicate clothes and nice smooth soft skin, but I’m not that picky. I know some people like strong-looking women, I could be that, if they wanted to, but no, they just have to make me sound unattractive ain’t ya? Calling someone muscle-headed is not very attractive don’t you know!? I swear I’ll… I wonder if there are some of those people in this group. Maybe this is a good excuse to punt their heads in. I tolerated them during that big incident, but now? I think it’s time for a little payback…

  Okay. Back into reality. What are they doing right now? The two seem to be ready to fight… Hmm… I won’t be surprised if they’re maybe twice or even thrice the strength of the average guy in this rge group, but the number advantage seems to be a bit too much. Maybe I do have to step in eventually.