An Extra’s Rise in an Eroge - Chapter 271

Chapter 271: Aftermath [2]

The Academy infirmary was chaos.

Rows of beds were filled with students in various states of injury. Blood-stained bandages, torn uniforms, and the faint scent of healing potions mixed with disinfectant filled the air. The healers moved nonstop, shouting instructions, applying magic, replacing mana potions, and stabilizing those on the brink.

“Get me more light mana crystals!”

“This one’s pulse is dropping!”

“Don’t move him! The internal bleeding hasn’t stopped yet!”

The usually calm medical wing felt like a warzone.

Arthur found himself seated on a bed while a nurse checked his vitals. Beside him, a boy whimpered in pain as his arm was being reattached through healing magic. Another student across the aisle lay motionless, a white cloth covering his face.

Emily hovered nearby, refusing to leave.

From the far end of the room, a sharp, furious voice echoed over the noise.

“What in the goddess’s name were you people thinking!”

Everyone froze for a moment.

Head Healer Selene was standing there — a small, gray-haired woman with kind eyes that were currently blazing with anger. Her apron was splattered with potion residue, and her sleeves were rolled up to the elbows.

She wasn’t yelling at the students — her fury was directed toward the staff member standing awkwardly near the entrance: Principal Astaire himself.

“This was supposed to be a field test!” she shouted. “A controlled environment to teach, not a battlefield! Look around you! They’re children, not soldiers!”

The principal rubbed the bridge of his nose, saying nothing.

Selene gestured toward the room, her voice shaking with outrage. “They haven’t even reached adulthood, and you let them be slaughtered by a demon? A demon, for heaven’s sake! Do you have any idea what that means?”

“Selene,” Astaire began, his tone weary, “I understand your anger, but—”

“No, you don’t!” she snapped. “You sit in that office of yours, and we are the ones stitching their broken bodies together! Look at them!”

Her voice cracked as she pointed at a nearby bed where a young boy was unconscious, his chest rising shallowly under glowing magic. “He’s fifteen. He’ll never be able to use mana again. His core is shattered. His life as a mage is over!”

The room was silent except for the quiet sobs of an injured student nearby.

Astaire didn’t respond. He simply bowed his head.

Selene exhaled sharply, her voice softening as she turned away. “I’m a healer, Principal. My job is to mend what’s broken. But even I can’t fix everything. Don’t you dare let something like this happen again.”

She turned back to her team. “Keep working! No one dies on my watch!”

Her words reignited motion. The healers resumed their frantic work.

Arthur lay back against his pillow, watching quietly. The exhaustion finally hit him all at once. His vision dimmed, the sounds of the infirmary fading into a distant hum.

******

He didn’t know how long he slept.

When he opened his eyes again, sunlight streamed through the curtains. The chaos had quieted. Most of the severely injured were still resting, but others had been moved. The faint scent of potions lingered in the air.

Emily was asleep in a chair beside his bed, head resting on her arms. Arthur smiled faintly, then turned his gaze upward.

It’s finally over, he thought. For now.

*****

A few days passed.

The Academy returned to its daily rhythm, but the mood had changed. The laughter and noise that usually filled the halls were gone. The students walked quietly, voices hushed, faces pale.

Many of them were still recovering physically. Others weren’t recovering at all.

The field test had taken lives — dozens of them.

Parents had gathered at the Academy gates, demanding answers, their grief and anger filling the streets. The Academy administration had paid enormous compensation to calm the uproar, but it didn’t erase what had happened.

Some students had already withdrawn. Others were too traumatized to continue.

When Arthur finally returned to class, the difference was obvious.

Desks were empty. The chatter that used to echo before lectures began was gone. Out of a class of fifty, barely thirty remained.

He stepped inside quietly, his boots clicking against the polished floor. Heads turned as he entered. Some nodded in acknowledgment, others avoided eye contact.

Then a familiar voice called out softly.

“Hello,” Alicia said, sitting near the front. Her usual cheerful tone was gone. Her expression was solemn, her eyes tired but warm.

Arthur gave her a small nod. “Hey.”

She smiled faintly. “You’re late.”

“Well I was looking around”

Her lips twitched, but her smile didn’t last. “Everything feels… empty, doesn’t it?”

Arthur glanced around the classroom — at the missing desks, the empty chairs, the silence.

“Yeah,” he said quietly. “It does.”

Before the silence could stretch further, Akira approached from her seat, her icy-blue eyes meeting his. “You don’t need to feel so low,” she said softly. “It’s not like it was your fault.”

Arthur nodded faintly. “Yeah…”

But deep down, he wasn’t convinced.

Even though he hadn’t directly caused anything, he knew.

He had known the Black Hand was active. He’d known about the infiltration but chose not to tell anyone, thinking he could handle it alone.

Did I get too complacent? he wondered. Did I start believing I could change everything without consequences?

He clenched his fists beneath the desk, his thoughts heavy.

The demon’s appearance hadn’t been in his expectations. It came out of nowhere, derailing everything he thought he knew about this world.

Still, he couldn’t deny it — he’d changed too much. The story wasn’t following its original path anymore.

And every change came with a price.

He exhaled quietly, leaning back in his chair. Whatever. What’s done is done.

He turned his gaze toward the window. Outside, the Academy courtyard looked peaceful — sunlight spilling across the stone paths, students moving quietly between buildings. But he could sense it clearly. The gloom. The tension. The silence beneath every step.

His hand brushed his chest unconsciously.

‘Sol… where are you?’

His system spirit had been offline ever since he started the upgrade. Even though no time duration was explicitly mentioned but isn’t it supposed to completed in a day or two— yet it had been over a week.

He felt strangely empty without that faint voice echoing in his mind.

“Figures,” he muttered under his breath. “The moment I need her most, she’s gone.”

He didn’t have time to dwell on it. The door opened, and the sound of firm footsteps pulled everyone’s attention to the front.