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A glint of menace flashed from Cestlavie’s eyes for a moment, before—

“What’s that?!”

Prompted by someone’s urgent shout, Luke and Cestlavie snapped their attention towards the direction of the voice—the church’s main gate.

Everyone gathered in the courtyard, caught by the intense atmosphere, turned to look as well.

Soon, a massive ogre emerged from the dark forest and stepped into the brightly lit church grounds. It wore tattered clothing that looked like it had been soaked in water for a long time and a strange mask. The creature proudly displayed its enormous stature and the giant scythe it wielded as it leisurely walked forward.

The scene was so surreal that everyone present watched in stunned silence as the ogre approached the church’s barrier. Sparks flew vividly where its foot touched the ground, and the ogre, looking annoyed, retracted its step.

Though it felt like an eternity, only a few seconds had passed.

The barrier’s sparks snapping in the darkness broke the paralysis that had gripped everyone.

“Uwaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!” Barry, the student council president, screamed again, triggering another wave of panic.

“It’s Gus! The immortal ogre from Lake Quartz!”
“Nooooooo! I don’t want to die!”
“Help! Help! Mommy!”

The panic this time was even more overwhelming, spreading rapidly.

“Calm down! Everyone, calm down, you fools!”
“Prioritize evacuating the women! Those who can fight, grab weapons!”

Even Lieselotte’s reprimands and Viola’s encouragement barely reached the frenzied crowd.

“Damn it! The faint traces of mana are useless in this chaos!”
“Move! Please move aside!”

Pressed by the flood of students and personnel desperately seeking refuge inside the church, Luke and Cestlavie found it impossible to stay put or grab weapons to fight. They clicked their tongues in frustration, struggling to manage the frantic flow of people.

♦♢♦

At the same time, in the commercial district of the capital city of Cilento Central Nation in the Livitium Imperial Kingdom, a girl with short violet hair was letting out a strange cry in front of a small general store situated on a street lined with relatively cramped shops.

“What do you mean a company trip, in this timing?!”

Illuminated by a magical flame in her palm, the front of the store had an unexpected notice written with flowing brush strokes.

“What’s with this spy-esque contact method?!”

The girl, frustrated by the excessively convoluted and impractical instructions, impulsively threw the ball of flame in her hand. The notice caught fire, seemingly on the verge of causing a blaze. However, the fire burned only the notice, not even leaving a scorch mark on the building, showing an incredible level of control.

The girl took several deep breaths, her anger not yet fully subsided, but soon regained her composure and held her head in her hands.

“Uggghhhh… I’ve got the news from my familiar, but it will take a whole day for the academy’s rescue team to arrive on the scene. I wanted to go with them just in case, but…”

If only she knew this would happen, she really should’ve gone through with preparing an additional guard.

“I can’t go there directly myself, after all…” she sighed again. This was Mei Iroha, the principal of the Livitium Imperial Academy, whose overwhelming magical power was said to rival the entire military might of the Graviol Empire. Due to the fear of her abilities, various nations had requested that she could not enter other countries without an invitation from the receiving country or approval from the Empire, making her situation quite complicated.

“If anything happens to Jill, you’re the one I’m blaming~~!”

A mournful, eerie moan filled with vengeful resentment echoed in front of the vacant general store.

♦♢♦

At the same time.

Due to the time zone difference, it was still midday at a seaside resort in the Kingdom of Tristis, a small tropical country on the westernmost peninsula of the continent. A mysterious peddler grilling seafood yakisoba on a teppan at a food stall suddenly felt a chill run down his spine, prompting him to open his narrow eyes.

“…I’ve got a bad feeling about this,” he muttered, glancing back over his shoulder toward the distant Livitium Imperial Kingdom.

Just then, an employee, a white cat beastman named Chaton, who wore only a swimsuit and an apron, walked over with an order slip, looking as unmotivated as usual.

“Boss, we’ve got an additional order. Two Poseidon bowls and two stir-fried Titan meat.”
“Alright, got it. Once this is ready, you can take your lunch break, Chaton.”
“Understood.”

Chaton nodded but then tilted her head in a lackadaisical manner.

“By the way, this is supposed to be a company trip, right? So why are we working at a beach shack?”
“Well, that’s because we don’t have travel expenses. We have to earn our keep for tonight’s lodging and food.”
“Uh-huh…”

Chaton nodded again, seemingly understanding but also not.

“Well, since we’re at the beach, we might as well enjoy ourselves a little,” he said, laughing cheerfully.

Little did he know, upon their return to the capital, he would face the irrational wrath of Headmistress Mei.