I Became the Savior of the Academy’s Villains

Chapter 192

Harvest Festival, quite similar to Thanksgiving on Earth, was originally a festival for commoners.

It was obvious, but since farming was the work of commoners, the Harvest Festival, where they celebrated the harvest and wished for abundant crops again next year, belonged to them.

Of course, the nobles, whose duty was to protect them from external attacks so they could farm safely, also had the right to enjoy the festival.

However, even the nobles admitted that, first and foremost, the protagonists of this day should be the commoners.

Thus, on the day of the Harvest Festival, even nobles donned traditional commoner clothes, sang their songs, and danced their dances.

"As expected of you, master! Even the traditional outfit suits you so well!"

Bella, looking at Luca dressed in a plain white cotton shirt and a simple brown vest instead of his uniform or tuxedo, showed a pleased expression.

Luca, with a somewhat dissatisfied look in his eyes, fiddled with his clothes.

"Do I really have to go this far?"

"Hehe, wouldn't it stand out even more if you were the only one wearing a school uniform or tuxedo when everyone else is dressed like this, master?"

"Tsk. I see your point."

Clicking his tongue, Luca greeted Bella and then headed to the spot where he was supposed to meet his friends.

The meeting place was the central field of the academy.

As mentioned before, the Harvest Festival is for the commoners. Its defining feature is its simplicity.

Of course, since it's still a festival, various performances are held, but unlike the Founding Festival, which featured flashy magic shows, the main events were performances with traditional instruments or regional traditional dances.

"I've never worn clothes like these before!"

"Me neither! They're actually quite comfortable!"

"Haha! Maybe I should use these as pajamas?"

First-year students experiencing the Harvest Festival for the first time were excited to wear clothes they weren't used to.

"Maybe I just got taller? The clothes I wore last year don't fit anymore."

"Did you gain weight?"

"No way! Ugh—do I have to buy new clothes again?"

The lowerclassmen, at that age where they were still growing, grumbled about having to buy new clothes because last year's didn't fit them.

"Ah, I have to wear this again."

"When else will we wear these? Only special times like this."

"That's true. It reminds me of my early school days when I had no worries."

The upperclassmen, now accustomed to it, reacted with indifference.

Everyone was anticipating the festival in their own way.

'This atmosphere isn't so bad.'

Luca enjoyed the mood as he looked at his friends waiting for him.

"Wow! Luca, you look great!"

"Hmm. I didn't think it would suit you, but it actually does."

"The young lady also looks wonderful!"

All three were dressed in traditional attire.

Ottbo wore partially orange-tinted clothes that matched his hair color, and both Milia and Isella wore similarly plain-toned outfits.

"But is it a compliment to say that commoners' clothes suit a noble? Isn't that basically an insult?"

Just then, Milia suddenly cocked her head and asked a strange question, leaving both Ottbo and Isella flustered.

"Th-that's..."

"Oh, I was only referring to your appearance, miss! There was no other intent..."

"I'm joking. Don't take it seriously."

Seeing their flustered reactions, Milia chuckled silently.

Luca commented with a deadpan face.

"You're as wicked as ever. I was going to say all three of you wear the clothes well, but now I don't feel like it."

"Didn't you just say it?"

"You look especially good. Maybe it's because you're from a commoner background?"

Milia smirked at Luca's words.

"I know, right. It's been ages since I've worn something like this."

"......"

Next to them, Ottbo looked quite excited. Watching him, Luca smacked his lips and turned to Isella.

"Which do you prefer: escorting or being escorted?"

"W-what are you saying?"

"Today, we're meeting as official partners—I'd rather you not act coy about it."

With that, Luca grabbed Isella firmly by the wrist and pulled her toward him.

"Well then, let's both have a wonderful time."

"H-hey! I can't just leave the young lady alone!"

"For today, lend your young lady to another knight."

"I can't even acknowledge that guy as a knight!"

"Enough."

Isella didn't resist his pull, as if she didn't mind.

Like that, Luca and Isella disappeared into the crowd.

Watching them, Milia pursed her lips.

"Trying to be all considerate in a weird way."

"Hehe."

Ottbo gave an awkward chuckle and drew closer to Milia.

Carefully, he touched the back of her hand with his own.

Twitch!

The moment their hands met, both flinched a little and pulled away. Ottbo turned his head, blushing, and Milia shot him a sly look.

Maybe from nervousness, a faint bead of sweat appeared.

The slight difference in their height—the need to look up ever so slightly.

His forearms, visible from rolled-up sleeves, were clearly bulkier than before.

'... He really has become a bit more manly.'

With that thought, Milia turned her head with a faintly grumpy expression, then held his hand.

"!"

"What're you doing? Over there, partners are escorting each other properly."

Milia's comment, fired off with her head turned away, was slightly clipped, but her neck flushed red.

Upon spotting this, Ottbo bit his lip and strengthened his grip on her hand as they moved forward.

"Shall we go enjoy the festival? M'lady!"

"Pfft! That doesn't suit you at all."

"Ehh."

And thus, the Harvest Festival began.

* * *

Unlike the Founding Festival, which even outsiders could attend, the Harvest Festival was for academy students only.

Therefore, it wasn't as crowded as the Founding Festival.

The main event took place in the academy's central athletic field, but since it was the same every year, it was mainly first-year students who gathered there.

Students from other years would find smaller side stages in nearby athletic fields to avoid the crowds and enjoy the festival in smaller groups.

If not, they'd use the opportunity of having no classes to go to empty classrooms for secret rendezvous.

"Do you think your dancing improved compared to the Founding Festival? I wonder if my feet will survive this time."

"I-I'll try my best."

"So—they won't."

Unlike the waltz from the Founding Festival during the Founding Festival, this was a cheery traditional dance performed a little apart from one another, so Luca thought there was no way Isella would step on his feet this time.

... Or so he thought.

SQUASH!

"!"

"S-sorry."

But surprisingly, Isella did step on Luca's foot. Luca's eyes twitched, and Isella was visibly flustered.

"There's at least ten centimeters between us. How did you manage to step on me? Did you do it on purpose?"

"N-no, that's not it..."

"I'm joking."

The dance continued, but after Isella stepped on Luca's feet five times, he suggested they take a break.

"If this keeps up, I won't be able to walk tomorrow."

"I-I'm sorry..."

Isella was uncharacteristically flustered.

Pursing his lips, Luca brought her to the outskirts of the field, where the grass grew.

"La, la-la-la, la-la, la-la-la."

From afar came a wordless, humming voice.

Without the grandeur of an orchestra but with a bright melody of traditional instruments, the song was actually quite pleasant.

Listening for a moment, Luca glanced at Isella, who seemed rather down, and clicked his tongue.

"Everyone has something they're not good at. For you, it just happens to be dancing. Don't be too upset."

"... Luca Traverse. May I ask you something?"

"As long as it isn't about how to dance."

At his words, Isella's gaze grew sharp.

"I'm kidding. Go ahead."

"... I've been wondering what you meant by what you said to me during the Founding Festival."

Founding Festival.

When the two had ended up dancing together, Isella had asked him—

― My young lady keeps telling me to enjoy this school life, but I don't know how.

For someone who lacked emotions, the command to 'enjoy oneself' was too difficult.

So, to someone like Luca, who seemed similar, she asked how it was done. And he, deadpan as always, replied—

― It'd be good to learn how to dance some more.

Isella hadn't understood what that meant.

Even now, she tried to figure it out from time to time, but had never found the answer.

Hence, she asked him.

"What's the connection between learning to dance and enjoying school life?"

Luca answered indifferently.

"It meant: Try not to step on my feet the next time we dance."

"...?!"

Isella looked dumbfounded. Watching her, Luca smirked.

"I'm joking. I just meant you should try a new hobby, but it seems even that was difficult for you to understand."

"A new hobby..."

Isella showed a subtle expression.

So Luca elaborated.

"To be precise, I meant something physical. Things like dancing aren't your area of expertise, right? While you can dance alone, many dances require you to adjust to your partner. Most important of all is to match the other person's rhythm and emotions."

"Rhythm and emotions...?"

"Yes. Even among new hobbies, you should try one where you can exchange feelings with others. That's what will help you enjoy school life more."

What Isella lacked was interaction with others.

To regain her lost emotions, Luca theorized, she needed stimulation from other people's feelings.

"But you don't need to force yourself. Just having fun together with us will already stimulate you."

"......"

Isella's face looked complicated, even at his words. Luca let out a quiet laugh.

"Well, just this much shows you've put in quite a bit of effort, don't you think?"

"...?"

"After all, the former stone-faced you actually asked me to be your dance partner. If that's not effort, what is?"

Hearing Luca's gentle words, Isella paused and then let out a small laugh.

"Honestly, I thought I was going to die from how hard that was."

[You have completed Isella's likability MAX mission.]

* * *

The Harvest Festival lasted for three days.

The first day was for lighter dances and music to set the mood, the second day for simple but delicious foods to appreciate the joys of the harvest.

On the second day, there was an eating contest to share the joy of fullness, and it went without saying that Luca easily took first place there.

On the third day, there was a light sports competition.

Since they were commoners' sports, it involved things like futsal or simple ball-throwing.

In the evening, they lit a straw campfire, danced, and brought the Harvest Festival to a close.

"Hehe, master. How was your first Harvest Festival?"

"Well, it was fun enough."

After the festival, Luca returned to the dormitory and answered Bella's beaming question with his usual calm, while checking Isella's likability MAX mission.

[Isella – Likability MAX Mission]

― Isella, influenced by you, has resolved to be more honest with her feelings.

― The colors filling her life will now grow deeper than before.

― You have completed the mission successfully.

Reward: Can now display 'Isella's location' on 'Map', additional use of the 'Treasure Hunt' system in the 'Map' application, plus an extra 1,000 tokens.

'So now they're just giving out tokens instead of new features. Not bad, I guess.'

After all, tokens could be put to use in many ways, so their value alone was satisfying.

Luca looked at his phone and grinned, but then felt something vibrating in his pocket.

"?"

It was the magic stone panel for communicating with Herote.

Luca touched it with a puzzled expression, and a hologram of Herote appeared immediately. She shouted urgently.

― Luca! It's an emergency! The Kisen family's clone and Hyperhemia's test subject have been attacked by someone!