With a flick of her wand, the classmates surrounding Arte easily stopped moving.
　They were no longer trying to do violence to Arte.
　No, they couldn't.

　This was because in front of Sophia's enormous amount of magic power, any first year's magic resistance was like a piece of paper.
　Sophia didn't hurt them, but bound them with her spell and stopped their movements.

　Arte was left lying there, stunned.
　He glanced at the boys who had been riding him earlier and trying to slam their fists into him.

　His face was unnaturally drawn and his eyes were wide open.
　The only thing there was pure fear.

　Even when Arte had been hurting them, he hadn't shown that expression.
　They were probably in awe of Sophia's overwhelming power.

　Sofia walked towards us with small strides and reached out her hand to Arte.
　Her beautiful golden hair swayed softly and her large jade-colored eyes stared at Arte.

''Uh, are you okay?　What's your name?

...Arte. I'm Arte for one year.

Yeah. I'm Sofia, sophomore.

　Even if he didn't say his name, Arte knew the other's name.
　However, even though he had seen her from a distance, he hadn't been able to talk to her yet.

　Sophia, a genius girl who entered the magic school at the same age of nine as him and was better than him.
　The person she had always wanted to talk to was right in front of her.

　Sofia smiled softly.
　Her smile looked mature and truly beautiful.

　Sofia gently stroked Arte's head.

'That was scary, wasn't it?'

Yes, sir.

　Arte nodded honestly, and then was surprised by that.
　Alte, who usually hated to lose, would never show weakness to others.

　It was probably because the other party was Sophia.

　It was obvious that Sofia was more powerful than him, and that's why Arte thought that he could be honest in front of Sofia, and that he could be spoiled by her.

　Suddenly Sofia turned back around and spoke to the older boy beside her.

'Solon-kun, was that right?'

Of course. That's Sofia.

　When the boy said in a calm voice, Sophia's jade-green eyes sparkled.
　Who was this boy?　
　Unlike Sophia, by all appearances, he didn't seem to have much magical talent.

　And yet, Sophia looked very happy when she talked to this boy.
　Arte felt a squirming in his chest.
　Perhaps it was jealousy.

　From that day on, Arte began to interact with Sophia as a junior, and with Solon.


☆


　When Arte remembered that much, Flora whispered in a whisper as she examined the walls of the Necropolis.

'You know what?　It was senior Solon who told the saintly lady to save her sister back then.

　I'd been aware of it for a while.
　Thinking back on it now, Sophia at that time stuck close to Solon, and also had a rather sensitive personality.

　Maybe she didn't try to help Arte and the others by making a decision on her own.

''But that doesn't change the fact that the one who actually helped us was the saintly lady.

''But if it wasn't for Solon-senpai, your sister would have continued to treat you badly like that. Besides, she didn't tell me that big sister had hurt the other kids.

　If the facts were reported to the school as they were, it was clear that punishment would be meted out not only to the classmates who had attacked Flora and Arte, but also to Arte, who had fought back.

　Because of Arte, some of his classmates had been injured quite badly.

　It was also possible for Arte to be expelled from school for fighting and losing.
　It didn't happen because Solon listened to both sides and dealt with them privately on the spot.

　Solon said, "I do have some sympathy for you, though, because I did it for my sister's sake. But you shouldn't overdo it," he told Arte as if to admonish her.
　You don't have much power, you're so high and mighty, Arte thought inwardly, but he didn't say anything.

　His classmates had also accepted Solon's suggestion because they didn't want him to be expelled or suspended from school.

　Flora in front of me murmured.

''We'll probably have to get Solon senior to help us again.

What is that?　What is it, a prophecy?

Yeah. And I'm an astrologer at heart.

How could a top-notch sorcerer like you and me be rescued by someone so weak?

''Even when we were fighting with the winged tiger, big sister, senior Solon was helping us out...''

　Flora objected in a whisper, but when Arte glared sharply at her, Flora shushed her.

　In any case, Solon must be dead.
　Filia and the others, and Flora seemed to think that Solon was alive, but that was indeed unlikely.

　Solon, who had always stood in front of Arte, is finally gone.

　Why is there a sense of emptiness in my chest when I should be rejoicing?
　Arte shook off the unnecessary thoughts.

　Anyway, let's focus on the attack now.
　Let's get the honor, the power of the demon king, and get the saint back.

　The moment Arte took a step forward with that thought, the floor of the ruins shook loudly.
　A roar that seemed to break the ground could be heard.

''Wha, what?''

　Arte's voice was drowned out by the cries of the other adventurers.
　The walls of the ruins, the ceiling, and the floor cracked, and the demons flooded out of them.

''It's an enemy attack!''

　The sharp voice of Notaras can be heard from behind.
　Arte waved his staff and burned away the crowd of demons, but the demons appeared without stopping.

　With the collapse of the ruins, the attackers were in complete disarray and could no longer be led.
　In this situation, there is no choice but to defeat the enemy for now.

　Arte gritted his teeth and held his staff high once more.