My Roleplay System-Chapter 226: Irreplaceable

After recovering from his earlier stupor, Sheldon, the colorfully dressed announcer, finally remembered to do his job.

"The advance squad has broken through the treacherous forest, clearing the path for the main force to enter the castle. However! In a cruel twist of fate, it seems the Demon King’s forces have captured one of their allies and are holding them hostage! What then will this new batch of reinforcements do? Will they save their captured ally? Abandon her? Or will they storm the castle and wreak havoc on the demon king’s forces! Find out tomorrow as the exam continues, with the Second Year students entering the stage!"

The crowd grew wide-eyed in astonishment as the stadium erupted in discussion.

To think that the academy would set up such an interesting plot narrative for this year’s festival.

Needless to say, everyone was excited to see the plot unfold.

The only people who displayed an entirely different mood were the group of first years, who had already returned to the waiting room.

Everyone had a complex expression on their face; none of them expressed the joy of having passed the exam.

They were still reeling from the shock of seeing Iris’s captured figure. After all, none of them had even noticed when she had disappeared, nor did they get a chance to do anything about it.

As soon as they arrived at the castle’s wall, the exam ended, kicking them out of the field.

Their only sense of relief was the fact that the whole scenario seemed to be part of the exam, and that Iris should be safe—at least until the second exam.

Kate leaned against a wall, still recovering from her battle with the goatman.

Recalling all that had happened, she really couldn’t figure out what the academy was thinking.

First, the strangely high level of the beasts, then the goatman that advanced to Rank Three, and now Iris...

Just thinking about these things made her blood boil. Is the academy trying to kill us?

She lowered her head as a sigh escaped her lips.

"Nice work out there."

Suddenly, she heard a voice that caused her to look up. When she saw that familiar smug expression, a new wave of anger rushed through her.

"Lake..." Her voice shimmered with rage as she glared daggers at him.

"Hm?" Lake smiled innocently, watching her reaction with an amused expression. "Is something wrong?"

"Where the hell were you?" Kate asked coldly.

"I had something to do."

Lake shrugged his shoulders as he replied.

"So you just skipped the exam?"

"Well, technically I didn’t. My exam was just different from yours."

Kate frowned in confusion at his reply, but before she could ask more, Bradford and Allen came walking over.

Lake also turned to face them. "Good work out there. You guys really surprised me this time with your performance."

Bradford and Allen were somewhat taken aback by Lake’s sudden appearance. They hadn’t seen him for the entire exam and were also slightly curious as to where he had been.

He opened his mouth about to ask but almost immediately closed it again. On second thought, he wasn’t that close to Lake to begin with and it would feel improper to suddenly pry into his business.

Instead, he turned his attention back to Kate.

"Are you okay?" His expression was as stoic as ever, but one could hear the faint concern in his voice.

They had both faced off against the goatman in the last moments of the exam, and even he had been greatly injured when it suddenly advanced and released its Mana Field.

"I’m fine," Kate replied with another sigh. In truth, her body was aching all over, but she didn’t feel the need to say so.

"Mhm." Bradford only nodded before turning around and leaving. He had originally came to check up on her condition before leaving and after hearing her response, felt that he shouldn’t continue to intrude between her and Lake’s conversation. On his way out, though, he took one last glance at Lake, catching a brief glimpse of his trademark smirk plastered across his face before walking past him.

’Those two were certainly stronger than I expected.’

Lake absentmindedly analyzed their battles in his memory. From what they had showcased, both were Martial Warrior-level fighters, with Bradford most likely already having broken through, given his display of lightning-based powers.

’Truly deserving of the Lightning Emperor title.’

Seeing that both had left, he returned his attention to Kate—but immediately froze upon seeing the lonely silhouette of another student not too far away.

She had her head down and seemed lost in a daze, her long pointed ears slanted downward and her wings folded tightly, as if a heavy weight was pressing against them.

Lake stared for a few moments before sighing and walking up to her.

Kate, seeing the direction Lake was walking, also noticed Sylph’s odd mood and quietly swallowed the profanities she was about to shout at him.

Lake stood directly before Sylph, but with her head lowered, it was as if she hadn’t even registered his presence.

Another sigh escaped his lips before he slowly raised his hand. His palm stretched out and, after hesitating only briefly, came to rest atop her head.

"Good work out there."

"..."

Sylph’s body seemed to freeze before her gaze slowly swept upward, her moist eyes meeting his.

’There it is again.’

Lake felt his expression soften as a dull ache spread through his chest. It felt as if someone had taken a knife and carved out a piece of it, leaving a hollow inside.

The longer he stared at Sylph’s tearful face, the more the pain grew.

"...She’s gone." Sylph’s voice came out in a quiet whisper; if not for his sharp senses, he probably would have missed it. "I-I didn’t even notice until I saw her up there..."

She choked on her words as the tears welling in the corners of her eyes threatened to fall.

"No, she’s not," Lake firmly denied, using his fingers to wipe away her tears. "She’s just been temporarily captured."

"B-But—"

"Sylph." Lake spoke firmly as he pressed his palms against the sides of her face, gently forcing her to look at him. "She’s fine. It’s not your fault. It’s just the way the exam was designed," he calmly reassured her.

"R-Really? She’s okay?" Sylph asked, her face practically begging for confirmation.

"Yes. I’m certain. If you just wait until tomorrow, you’ll see her again. Do you think you can do that?"

Sylph hesitated for a moment before eventually nodding lightly. "M-Mhm."

She tried to breathe and compose herself, lowering her head again as she wiped away the remainder of her tears. She had been so lost in her depression that she hadn’t even realized it was Lake talking to her until just now.

Without hesitation, she burrowed into his embrace, wrapping her arms tightly around his waist.

"What are you doing?" Lake asked with a slightly amused expression.

"Holding on. I’m scared that if I let go, you’ll disappear on me again."

Lake’s expression froze for a moment before an awkward smile appeared on his face.

It was true he had been avoiding her for the past few weeks, and he did feel a little guilty.

Sighing, he eventually replied, "Don’t worry. I won’t be disappearing on you again."

"Really?" Sylph raised her face from his chest, looking up at him with puppy-dog eyes.

Lake couldn’t help but smile as he answered. "I promise."

His hands then wrapped around Sylph’s shoulders as he gently patted her head.

Throughout this, he had long noticed everyone staring at him—some even recording the entire scene—but this time, he didn’t bother to deal with them.

He was still contemplating the connection between Sylph and the elven woman he had seen in the rift, but after seeing Sylph’s expression today, he had finally made up his mind.

He didn’t know when or how, but it seemed Sylph had carved out a place for herself in his emotionless heart, bringing a vibrant color to his world that hadn’t been there before.

No matter what her relationship to the elven lady was, it no longer mattered to him. Sylph was simply irreplaceable.

"Oh?" Lake raised an eyebrow as he noticed Sylph’s breathing growing strangely soft.

Looking carefully, he found she had fallen asleep in his arms.

He laughed lightly as he lifted her into a princess carry, her head resting against his shoulder.

Lake could only imagine how exhausting the exam had been for her, both mentally and physically. It was only reasonable that she crashed after finally relaxing her tense nerves.

With a thought, both of them flickered before disappearing from the spot.

Kate watched them leave, her eye twitching momentarily before she also turned to go. She was already forced to swallow her anger and didn’t want to stay a moment longer in the strange atmosphere the "couple" had left behind.

She silently promised to thoroughly interrogate Lake the next time she gets her hands on him.

The other students’ reactions, however, were completely different. Rampant gossip echoed throughout the hall after Lake and Sylph left, with the shippers having a field day in their conversations.

The few students who were quick enough to start recording had already begun making posts on the academy forum. They simply couldn’t wait for the matter to blow up.

On the other side of the room, a group of inconspicuous elders sighed simultaneously, having watched the entire scene from start to finish.

"Sigh, what it is to be young," Elder Summer remarked with a long, withdrawn sigh.

"Tsk, if they were going to make up, why fight in the first place?" Elder Rain complained as he folded his arms, annoyed at having his time wasted.

"Let it be. As long as they’ve made up and Sylph is happy, we as Elders have no reason to interfere," Elder Seraphis said while stroking his long beard. He continued with a colder glint in his eyes, "But if this incident were to repeat, I can’t say the same."

Leaving those ominous words behind, he turned and walked away with the other elders.