Prologue: The Final Boss’s Greatest Crisis
Early summer had arrived in the Kingdom of Aviria.
In this land of gentle, four-season rhythms, summer was the season of events. Along the coasts, people flocked to the beaches; noble houses escaped to their summer retreats; the theaters across the realm entered their busiest days of the year.
The highlight for students, needless to say, was the long-awaited vacation. In Aviria, where both nobles and commoners alike enjoyed widespread education, most schools observed a long break during the summer months. Grandor Magic Academy, whose sprawling castle-like campus stood in a corner of the royal capital, was no exception: its summer recess was set to begin in about a month’s time.
“That’s right! Summer vacation!” Milly Asteara—sole daughter of the grand duke—suddenly shouted inside the Grandor Academy student council room.
The pink-haired knight, Lucius Henrieck, flinched. “My word, what wasthat for? You that starved for attention?”
“No, I’m serious! Don’t you feel any sense of danger?! Summer vacation is only a month away!”
“Come again?” As Milly leaned forward with a look of near desperation, Lucius raised an eyebrow, every inch the picture of weary resignation.
But to Milly, this was nothing short of a life-or-death matter. She grabbed Lucius by both of his shoulders, shaking him back and forth as she launched into a fervent tirade. “Summer vacation, Lucius! Don’t you understand? Once it starts, I won’t be able to come to school for an entire month!”
“Ow! That hurts, Your Grace! My brain’s rattling around in here!”
“I simply can’t bear the thought of not attending school! What am I supposed to do? I still haven’t made any proper friends! If summer vacation starts like this, I’ll just waste away in lonely idleness! I refuse to let that happen!”
“I—don’t—know! But if you keep shaking me like this, I’mliterally going to lose my head!”
“Everyone’s talking about how they’re going shopping or to the theater with friends over the break! I’ll be the only one with no plans! I simplymust make friends, stat!”
“Urgh!”
Shaken so violently he was starting to blur into afterimages, Lucius felt the color
