Chapter 36 - Alive.

Why did an Ogre appear?

I couldn't even remember writing the first mission, but I knew the strongest demon I had put in the story, which interacted with the main characters, was an Orc on the fourth mission. And that was one of my favorite arcs which is why I remember it so well.

Was it really the butterfly effect? I knew that the smallest of changes like a rock being flipped over could change the whole world, but I really did nothing that would change the story.

I probably wouldn't figure out the reason why anytime soon, so I figured it wasn't something worth thinking about. The next question I had was-

Why did my 'Peace of Mind' skill not work?

Maybe it did work but the fear just overpowered it?

Peace of Mind (A Grade)

Calmness isn't an easy feat; however, you are able to stay calm in even the most dangerous of situations. Your soul is as calm as your heart, it isn't easy to disrupt it.

This didn't make sense... I'm able to stay calm? I wasn't calm at all... I even remember my throat clearly hurting from screaming... It does say it isn't 'easy' to disrupt it, but it also says that I'm able to stay calm in even the most dangerous of situations...

Haah, I don't know...

I looked at the ring Rio gave me and then looked at Rio.

Hmm... Lucky...

If I had to guess the mission was probably cut short, I doubt I was asleep for the remaining days. Seeing Rio here made me sure of that, if it was just me and Gene here then there was a chance the mission was still going.

I sat back up again.

I feel pretty good right now though, I don't think the Ogre actually hit me, so I was just exhausted unlike Gene who was looking awful over there.

I looked at the sleeping Rio, his face looked a little red and puffy.

I gave him a little pat on the head before quietly getting up.

I wanted to get some water; my throat felt dry, and I was thirsty.

After I got up, I stretched my arms wide. My bones cracked as I stretched.

Water... I could of drank from the sink, but the cafeteria was close enough. I looked at Rio again, He was twitching slightly in his sleep.

Should I wake him up? I thought to myself for a second. Hmm...

I crouched down next to him and sang quietly.

"Alright, alright

This is just the pinnacle, you'll be alright"

His body relaxed, and I got back up.

As I was walking out of the room, I looked at the bandaged Gene. Damn... He only got tossed by the Ogre and he's that damaged? If I was hit by that club at all I'd probably be a pool of blood by now.

I left the room and headed through the empty halls, after a few minutes I arrived at the cafeteria. It was already dark out, so it was pretty empty.

I wasn't too hungry, so I just grabbed two drinks, I downed one of the waters and started to head back to the infirmary.

"Mr. Vondheart?"

My eyes met with Mr. Mispholfo's

"Hey."

"Good to see you up, come with me."

"Okay."

He took me to an office in the teacher's lounge, there was a big table with multiple teachers sitting around it. It looked like they were having a meeting.

Um? Should I be here? They all had a serious look on their faces.

"You're here, Mr. Mispholfo, now we can start, and I see you brought..." One of them said before a middle-aged looking guy started to speak.

"Leo Vondheart, it's good to see you again."

Huh? Oh, this old dude is... Eugune Edison, the vice-principle of Heavensward.

He continued to speak as Mr. Mispholfo sat at a seat.

"Before we start the meeting, I'd like to extend my thanks to you, Leo Vondheart. I was told you drew the Ogre's attention away from everyone else."

The sudden gratitude felt kind've awkward and I didn't really know what to say so I just scratched the back of my head and nodded my head.

"Now, let's start the meeting."

Um? Can I leave?

I was just kind've standing around awkwardly.

"Ah, you can take a seat, Leo." Eugune said.

Huh? What? I don't want to be here...

He smiled.

I took a seat and stayed quiet.

"As we know, an Ogre appeared during Class C's first mission. Obviously, this is something that never should have happened."

"Ms. Linsulk and Mr. Mispholfo, you two had made sure there was no dangerous creatures in there?"

"That's correct." Mr. Mispholfo responded

"Yes." Ms. Linsulk agreed

"Then we need to find out how the Ogre had appeared there." Eugune clasped his hands together and put his elbows on the desk.

"Leo, do you have any information? As someone who had seen the Ogre?"

Huh? How would I have information on the Ogre? Is that the reason I'm here? I have no idea why an Ogre was there; I couldn't figure that out myself.

"I don't."

"You didn't notice any possible signs?" Another teacher asked

Possible signs? I looked up before answering.

"Maybe."

"Maybe? Can you elaborate?" Eugene asked.

"On the first day, I had found a cave a bit away from the campsite."

"A cave?"

"Yes, I never entered it but some of my classmates did, you'd have to ask them for the details. But I did feel some chills down my spine after finding it. Like I was being watched. Taku also felt it I believe."

"Do you know which students entered the cave? And could you explain more of how it felt like you were being watching?"

"I don't, you'll have to ask Kazu, he knows. And Taku could explain the feeling better."

"Hmm... Alright, thank you."

"Could I go back to the infirmary?" I decided to ask, this felt like more of a problem for them to deal with.

"Huh? Are you still injured?"

"No."

"...Alright, you can go."

I got up from my seat and began to walk out. I could hear a teacher speak to me before I left though.

"Thank you again, if you didn't risk your life to draw the monster's attention, the worst-case scenario could have happened."

I looked back at the teacher who spoke

"I was just saving my brother."

"But in doing so, you also saved the others."

"I guess."

I left the room; I could hear them continue the meeting as the door closed.