In order to have the final meeting before the battle which will have us on the defensive side, Rias and I head to the strategy room located in the underground shelter of the evacuation area. As we progress through the corridor, we see a man and woman sitting on a long chair. They are most likely parents. ……I feel as if I have seen the woman before. As soon as the man sees Rias, he approaches her and asks. “……E-Excuse me. ……Princess Rias, what will happen to this place……”
He has an uneasy expression and voice. Rias says it as she smiles. “There’s nothing to worry about. This shelter is sturdily made, so it can even endure the attacks of the terrorists. Since the teleportation magic-circle would be completed by then, we can escape from here safely.”
The couple softens their expressions hearing that. The man then confesses. “……My son……smiled. Since he wasn’t blessed with demonic-power from birth, my son had been living while being neglected by others. Even so……he’s our child that we were finally able to give birth to in more than a hundred years. We had been raising and supporting him, wishing that he would grow stronger.”
—! ……So he’s in the same situation as Sairaorg-san. The man continues. “However, his peers can all control their demonic-powers as if it’s a natural thing…… My son stopped smiling ever since he realised he’s different from other children…… But, by coming here, our son……smiled. The last time he smiled was when he found out about the Oppai Dragon.”
The couple—confesses in sorrow. ……Parents that have a child that wasn’t blessed with demonic-powers. They must have lived in pain which I possibly can’t imagine. This school is turning into a hope for these parents. When I turn around after sensing the presence—I see a child and Rossweisse-san. The child—is Lirenkus. Lirenkus says it with a bright voice as he jumps into his parents’ arms. “Dad! Mum! Check this out!”
Lirenkus puts his hand forward and puts strength in them. Then, for an instant, a small fire actually lit. Lirenkus reports it to his parent proudly. “It’s fire magic! Look, the fire comes out!”
The man—his dad, becomes stunned for a moment, but then embraces his son with a smile. “……Y-Yeah, well done.”
Many tears flow out of his dad’s eyes. His mum is crying behind him. I’m sure this is something his parents wanted to see but couldn’t. Something normal parents and children experience. A single family that couldn’t. I’m sure they have finally reached this “normal” situation. I’m sure his parents couldn’t hold back their emotions after witnessing the growth of their child. I then say it to Lirenkus. “I’m certain that your name was Lirenkus. Last time, you came to my show.”
“Yup! Thank you very much for back then!”
His mum is shocked. “You remembered him.”
I remembered as soon as Lirenkus came here. Back then, he came with his mum. “See, I told you Oppai Dragon didn’t forget me!”
His mum says “You were right” with a smile to her son. Rias then asks Lirenkus. “Is this school fun?”
“Yup! Hey, do you think I can also become stronger?”
Lirenkus asks us. Rossweisse-san says it as she pats his head. “You will definitely become stronger than me. Being able to challenge obstacles without giving up at your age is amazing. That’s why you need to continue believing in yourself, okay?”
“Yes! Rossweisse-sensei!”
Lirenkus replies energetically. The parents hold hands with their child and return to the room they have to wait in. After we send them off, the three of us walk to the strategy room. Rossweisse-sans says it as she walks. “……It seems like he has been practising for the whole time. He said he wanted to continue practising so his parents won’t cry any more.”
……That boy is also thinking about his parents. Despite being a kid, he must have wanted to get stronger for his parents. Rossweisse-san puts on a smile. “……Whatever the magic is, it will definitely become useful for the caster and other people. Useless magic doesn’t exist in this world.”
That—was something that Gondur-san, Rossweisse-san’s grandmother, said to the kids at the magic lesson. After Rossweisse-san says and thinks about that, she chuckles. “These words I had been repeatedly told by my grandmother when I was a child. I may have understood it, but I may not have. ……But I feel that I can finally understand the true meaning of my grandmother’s words.”
Maybe Rossweisse-san hasn’t realised it, but she has a refreshing expression. Just as we see the strategy room, we find Sona-kaichou, Saji, and the children. The children ask with uneasy expressions. “Saji-sensei, will the scary Dragons come?”
“Is this school going to be gone?”
Saji smiles as he pats the children’s heads. “There’s nothing to worry about. We will defeat all of the bad Dragons! It will be bad if all of you get hurt, so we will need all of you to stay here. That’s why wait here like good kids. Right, Kaichou?”
Kaichou says it as she smiles. “Yes, he’s right. So all of you don’t need to worry about a thing, okay? Let me see. Please watch Oppai Dragon’s video here. By the time the video ends, the bad Dragons will be gone.”
Hearing that, the children show relief and walk to the evacuation area. Saji then says it as he clinches his fist. “……I won’t let them destroy it. There are many Devils that are seeking hope from this school. —This is also our dream.”
I walk towards him and put my hand on his shoulder. “Yeah, let’s protect it.”
Sona-kaichou and Rias also put on strong smiles and nod. “Saji, it’s okay. We have survived many battles. We have continued protecting them. This time will be the same as then. —Let’s protect this town, and this school.”
“Yes, we can’t allow them to destroy it.”
After we confirm our thoughts, we enter the strategy room. Roughly around thirty minutes before the designated time, which is three hours, which the enemies announced. We—the ORC members and Student Council members, returned to the school premises from the underground shelter. The enemies said three hours, but I doubt they would be faithful about it. We kept on being alert and had finished our preparation by the time two hours exceeded. And thirty minutes before the designated time—which is now, we moved up to the ground in order to prepare for battle. Our battle will be quite simple. Until the Magicians down in the basement complete creating a teleportation magic-circle, we need to protect this town—as well as this school. It will be a battle of defence. Since Ravel is a non-combatant member, we had her wait in the shelter. It happens when we are walking through the corridor in order to exit the room. Asia stops all of a sudden as if something caught her attention. When I look that way—it was the wall of this corridor. There are writings on the wall done by the children who experienced the experience day. There are messages written and pictures drawn. [I want to become the Rating Game Champion.] [I hope I can attend this school!] [I’m happy I could meet Oppai Dragon!] [I want to come here again!]