They waited twenty-four hours. Instead of retreating, the Baledian fleet swelled at the eastern border — dozens more ships clustered in international waters. As Liebe exited HQ for the east, Licht called, "Hey, where the hell are you going?"
"To finish the job," Liebe said.
"Let me do it — I'm faster. It'll be harder to spot me," Licht pleaded.
"Spot you? Dude, you use light magic. At night you stick out like a sore thumb," Liebe shot back.
"Yeah, but you shouldn't have to do everything alone," Licht said, stepping forward. "Fine. I'm coming with you."
"Done with your BS yet? I'm heading out," Liebe said.
"Fine. I won't stop you, but I'm coming with you," Licht replied.
"Fine, then try and keep up," Liebe said.
As they reached the border and flew above the ships where they couldn't be spotted, Liebe said, "Time to finish this."
"You have a death wish or something? You can't possibly sink fifty-three ships in one attack," Licht said.
"Are you suggesting you can?" Liebe countered. "Or are you forgetting the fact that you may be faster, but I have far more destructive capabilities?"
"How about a combined spell? It's the most unstable mixture in the world," Licht offered.
"A combined strike of two of the most opposite spells? Damn, is that an idea. Okay — you want a violent reaction; let's show a violent reaction," Liebe said.
"Want to try something cool?" Licht asked.
"You bet," Liebe said.
As they charged their magical powers, their power could be felt from five hundred meters down in the Baledian fleet. Sailors on the ships saw a blink of light high above them. Liebe and Licht screamed in unison:
"Dark × Light — Holy Demonic Strike!"
A black-and-white flare tore through the sky. The fleet commander screamed, "Everyone fire all weapons! Empty your magic power if you must!"
Even after all their efforts, the strike happened in a flash. The fifty-three ships and everyone on them could do nothing against it. In an instant, it was as if the ships had never existed. The impact even left a crater in the ocean floor.
The following day, during battle tactics class, Professor Otiz addressed the students. "Everyone, please note: this topic is definitely going to be on your year finals. The recent attack on Black Rose was orchestrated by one of the three-star generals of Baledia, and their local collaborators were remnants of Black Wing. Their strategy was simple: paralyze Black Rose by taking down all its branches and branch heads so the flow of information would be blocked, putting us at a disadvantage. But the leader of Black Rose reacted quickly. He used an avalanche to extinguish the wildfires and struck the most damaged branches within hours. The main duel was fought between the acting captain and the vice-captain Gelda Briar. By combining their spatial and dark attributes, they turned their entire HQ into a blender — darkness killed every monster in sight, and spatial magic turned them to nothing. To end it, the acting captain used himself as bait to lure out the enemy leaders. The fact that the acting captain was able to counter every plan of the enemy with pinpoint precision..."
Someone asked, "What about the aftermath?"
"Excellent question," Otiz said. "From yesterday's press conference and the news: there were seven casualties. Seven is tragic, yes — but if this had happened in other territories, such as Nebuleye or the Rising Sun territories, the casualties would have crossed thousands, if not tens of thousands. The acting captain handled the press amazingly: not only did he acknowledge the faults, he stated they will focus on bringing casualties to zero."
"But sir, seven people died — isn't that a lot?" someone muttered.
"Yes," Otiz answered evenly, "but context matters. The response prevented a far greater disaster."
He flipped the broadcast. On the screen, Grandmaster Astreous stepped up to the podium, beaming. "Today is a glorious day," he intoned. "A day which defines history. Today we celebrate our victory over the alliance of Baledia and the terrorist organization. The credit for this major battle goes to Acting Captain Liebe al Faust — though he is not with us today."
Liebe, asleep in the back of the classroom, snored. Otiz grinned and had Lumos and Hedin nudge him awake. Liebe blinked and sat up. "Huh? What happened?"
"Professor Otiz is asking you, Liebe," Lumos said.
"Do I have to answer truthfully, or can I lie a bit?" Liebe asked, half-asleep.
"Truthful," Otiz said.
Liebe sighed theatrically. "Fine. The battle was a great failure. It ruined our water-gun fight, and then we had to fight people for some dumbass reason. The enemy strategist — bro — was a new breed of idiot. The dude sat down, calculated, and thought, 'Huh, he would win against Black Rose.' I don't even know what kind of math or meth you have to use to come to such a stupid conclusion. Of course people died because of me, and that's my fault."
Otiz raised a hand. "Perhaps be concise."
Liebe smirked. "OK, you said lie fully. Then: it was a battle where we fought, the streets were filled with blood, millions died, and there were trillions we saved. The battle taught me many things: friendship, love, valor, truth, and destiny."
Otiz said, "At this point you are just overacting."
"Of course I am. You asked me to lie fully," Liebe replied.
"Fine. Small lies," Otiz said.
Liebe continued, "The battle happened. People died, etc., etc. We killed Baledians and wiped out Black Wing — and that's that. Why did you not go to the award ceremony today?" Otiz asked.
Liebe said, "Simple. I told Grandmaster Astreous that I wanted to, but I would much rather just sleep in class and enjoy the great dreams I get during your lecture, since I don't understand most of it and I just wing it."
"For the love of God, let's just watch the ceremony and see the speech the vice-captain is giving in your stead," Otiz said.
Liebe said, "I don't understand what's so important about that. Also, I told them I'm going to take a nap, so don't disturb me. And if you decide to broadcast it throughout the nation, please keep the volume down."
Otiz said, "If Gelda states that, I'm going to kill her." Everyone laughed. On-screen, Grandmaster Astreous stood on stage and said, "Today is a glorious day — a day which defines history. Today we celebrate our victory over the alliance of Baledia and the terrorist organization. The credit of this major battle goes to the acting captain of Black Rose, Liebe al Faust, and unfortunately he isn't here with us today."
Liebe muttered, "What the frick? I'm not dead yet."
Astreous continued, "During the battle seven people lost their lives, and the fact people lost their lives hurt Liebe more than any other. He stated that attending the ceremony would be too much of a burden for him, and he felt it wasn't right."
Liebe screamed in class, "Does the grandmaster not know the meaning of the word 'I take a nap'? I am lazy!"
Astreous continued, "He is a young man with a kind heart who cares more about the interests of the people living under him than anything. Sometimes the complexity of his— even escapes my understanding."
Liebe said, "Of course it does, sir, because you are looking the wrong way." Seeing this, Otiz and everyone just laughed. Astreous said, "Even though Liebe isn't here to join the celebration, as the representative of Sverð Keisaraynju Faustar (Liebe Faust), we have here the forbidden Valkyrie, Gelda Briar." As Gelda stepped on stage, Astreous said to remember the achievements of Liebe Faust. "Liebe is being honoured with the title — the title Svart Conquista — and the crest that holds this engraved title is made of pure gold, and the title is made of platinum with crystal engraving and a bordered line. Now I would please request Mrs. Gelda Briar to receive the award."
As Gelda took the award, Astreous said, "Now Mrs. Briar, please deliver some words on behalf of the acting captain."
Gelda stated, "From war, hatred is born, and from kindness, prosperity is encouraged. It's my failure as Liebe Faust, as a member of House Faust—"
Liebe snapped, "Does this idiot not understand the meaning of 'relinquish my claim to the throne, Faust'?"
Gelda continued, "I will ensure the innocent won't have to suffer any longer. The beauty of daily life will continue regardless of the fight, battle, or war that engulfs us."
Liebe said, "Like I said, stop putting words in my mouth."
Gelda continued, "This incident scarred me, and I believe I'm more needed where the people are suffering and not in a place of ceremony. If I can't even do this much, I have already failed."
Liebe said, "Like hell I said that."
Otiz said, "Kind of said you are here and can't do anything."
Gelda finished with the statement, "The beauty of life is one that can't be expressed with words, but through admiration and understanding."
Liebe said, "Yeah, now I'm going to stop this farce. Why are they putting words in my mouth? You can change a maximum of three words, not create a new message. I'm going to punch—" As Liebe was near the door, Lumos, Hedin, and Professor Otiz had to physically stop him from leaving.
"Professor, please let me go," Liebe pleaded.
"Sorry, can't. It's far too hilarious to see you reacting," Otiz said.
Meanwhile, in Licht and Alysa's class, as Licht and Alysa tried their best to hide their laughter, Professor Obsidian asked, "I know you actively participated in the battle and should be considered heroes, but that doesn't give you the right to laugh at the Grandmaster. It's disrespectful."
Licht, while laughing, stated, "We aren't laughing at the Grandmaster — we're laughing at Gelda."
"Why? What happened?" Obsidian asked.
Licht grinned and showed him Liebe's true speech — the one where Liebe had stated he was too lazy to join and to keep the volume down. Obsidian almost fainted.
"Professor, don't die!" Alysa squealed.
"I can almost see his soul leaving his body," Licht said, delighted.
Back in Otiz's class, the students were still buzzing. "What did we learn today?" Otiz asked.
"No idea," someone said, still laughing.
"History," Otiz answered. "History isn't what it seems to be. The strong always decide its course, and the victors decide its course. Today we saw an ideal example of that incident."
Liebe said, "I just wanted to state I was lazy to join, but the grandmaster stated he is humble, great, etc. This is how we know history is easily manipulated by the strong."
Someone asked, "Sir, why is Liebe chained to the pillar?"
Otiz said, "Simple — so he doesn't interfere with the ceremony. At this point it would be far too hilarious to watch."
Liebe said, "Let me go, sir."
Otiz said, "Not now. After the ceremony."
Liebe said, "I need to use the toilet."
Otiz said, "You are not leaving those chains until the ceremony. If you have to go so badly, do it on the floor."
The girls protested, "Please, professor — no."
Otiz said, "If I can contribute to the security of the service award ceremony, then be it. I'm even willing to let the floor be sullied by urine and organic waste."
Liebe said, "I don't know if that's dedication or obsession."