The hallway of the Dessert Research Clubroom.
I’m sure I came back after just a day, but why does it feel like it’s been so long?
My brain is now fully recognizing this place as home.
Anyway.
“Did I leave the lights on?”
The current time is 2 a.m. Yet, the hallway was brightly lit.
As I opened the door and entered.
“Oh!!! Brother’s here!”
Elena greeted me loudly.
At the same time, Danya and Lina, who were sitting on the bed and chair, turned to look at me.
“… Aren’t you all supposed to be under curfew? Why are you still here?”
“The curfew? The student council secretary handled that! By the way, where have you been, brother? You just made us food and suddenly disappeared! Sister Danya was really worried about you!”
“N-Nyah! Who was worried!”
Danya quickly turned her head away, with dark circles under her eyes.
Lina, who quietly approached, looked up at me and said.
“I was really worried, Ian.”
Then, Danya quickly rushed over to stand next to Lina.
“I-I was worried too, Nyah.”
… What’s going on with you two? Are you doing a skit?
Anyway.
“Thank you for worrying about me.”
I instinctively patted Danya and Lina on the head.
It feels like this has become a habit.
Neither of them seemed to mind.
“And me! I’m the one who dealt with the curfew issue, Brother!”
As she chewed quietly, the room became peaceful, filled only with the sound of gentle head pats.
Not a bad kind of peace.
Sometimes, these kinds of ordinary healing moments are important.
At that moment.
— Sniff Sniff!
Suddenly, Danya’s nose twitched.
As she sniffed near my chest, her eyes narrowed.
The genre shifted from a peaceful healing moment to a thriller.
“What were you doing, Nyah?”
“Hm?”
“Who were you with? What were you doing?”
Gone was the “Nyah”, replaced by Danya’s icy stare.
Feeling the chill, I quickly pulled out the souvenirs I had brought from the palace.
◆
At the Deus Church Lichten branch.
In the room called the residence of the saint candidate, but more like a prison.
The spacious, luxurious, and dimly lit room was filled only with the sound of someone biting their lip.
The girl with long, dark hair, so long it almost hurt her eyes, was Aria, the saint candidate.
Though it was the middle of the night when everyone else was asleep, she alone wandered in the dark, unable to sleep.
How many days had it been since she last slept?
Aria stared blankly at her hand.
In it was a figure shaped like a hero.
It was a piece from the board game [Chronicles of the Hero] that she used to love as a child.
Therefore, it had been more than two days since she had last slept.
After all, it was two days ago that she received this.
— Squeeze.
Aria clenched her already numb palm.
Her hand was now so pale it was turning blue.
Yet, she couldn’t release the figurine.
In this vast, luxurious space, it was the only thing that made her feel connected to Ian.
“Ugh!”
And at the same time…
It was also the item she had mercilessly thrown away onto the street.
With both hands gripping the figure tightly, Aria bent her back like a curled shrimp, unable to stop herself from doing so out of overwhelming regret for her actions.
“S… S… Sorry…”
After curling up around the figure, words finally began to spill out. Breathing became easier, her eyes blinked, and tears started to flow.
The memories that had felt broken suddenly began to flood back, all tied to this figure.
◆
“Alright. In this game, you get to be part of the hero’s party. You can choose your class from these four. Hero, Mage…”
A house set apart from the city. This wooden house, where only her family lived, was often left in Aria’s care when her parents went out.
“So, what do you want to be, Gloomy?”
Aria, who had never been the type to meet friends outside, had already read the books in the house so many times that she could practically recite them.
She was always bored. When she could no longer endure that boredom, she became lethargic.
As a child, there were days when she couldn’t even speak properly and would just stare blankly at the walls.
It was a boy who first started to brighten her dark life.
Today, the boy had brought a board game called [Chronicles of the Hero].
Aria was at a loss, unsure of which piece to choose, and her face showed it.
“I-I don’t know.”
“Just pick whatever feels right.”
“Even so… I-I’m bad at making choices.”
“Well, what do you like? Something strong, something pretty, something cool…”
Ian held up each figure, introducing them one by one.
He explained each one with such passion and care, as if it was essential that Aria make the perfect choice.
Then he looked at her.
His eyes seemed to say, “I’ve explained everything so well; now you can choose, right?”
Was it the pressure? Or had she perhaps been won over by the kindness in his gaze?
Aria’s heart started to race.
‘I-I need to say something!’
Squeezing her eyes shut, she blurted out whatever came to her mind.
“I… I’m dumb and can’t talk well, so I want the strongest one!”
With her eyes still tightly shut, Aria waited for Ian’s response.
A warrior? A priest?
She hoped Ian would pick something for her.
But no answer came.
Why?
Had she said something wrong?
Was he upset?
Did she seem too pathetic?
The silence was terrifying.
She was scared that Ian might be looking at her with disappointment.
After a long, timid deliberation, Aria cautiously opened her eyes.
As expected, Ian was looking at her.
…But it wasn’t a disappointed look. He was gazing at her with incredibly warm and kind eyes as he spoke.
“Gloomy, you’re not dumb.”
“B-But I stutter when I talk.”
“I heard something from the great sage who visits my house sometimes. He said that people who know too much sometimes have trouble speaking well because of it.”
“I-I’m not that smart, though.”
“But Gloomy, didn’t you say you’ve read all the books in your house multiple times? I can’t even finish a single book properly. You’re definitely smart.”
Ian’s words, spoken with such confidence, made Aria’s heart race even faster.
Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.
Why was she feeling like this?
At that time, Aria was too young to understand the meaning of her racing heart.
Instead, Ian handed her something.
“Then, Aria, you should take this one.”
Ian handed her a figure from the board game with a bright smile.
It was a hero figure holding a long sword, and it quickly became Aria’s favorite possession.
She held it close to her chest.
For some reason, the figure hero seemed incredibly cool to her. The little hero’s smile strangely resembled Ian’s.
Come to think of it, what had Ian chosen?
Aria raised her head and asked.
“W-What do you like?”
“I like the saintess.”
“Why?”
“Because she’s got a big chest!”
“… P-P*rvert.”
“Hehehe!”
Though Aria had retreated slightly at Ian’s silly comment, she couldn’t help but think.
‘Maybe with my chest size, it would be fine.’
That day, her face turned as red as a beet at the thought.
◆
The memories with Ian were the only reason Aria was able to come out of her shell, even just a little.
She had been admitted to a public school in Istan.
Even though it was a public school, it was rare for commoners to attend.
— I asked my family for help! You’re smart, Aria, so I know you’ll do well!
It was thanks to Ian’s help that this was even possible. Despite her negative thoughts, Aria resolved to give it her best.
‘I-I can do well too!’
She didn’t want to let Ian’s support go to waste.
With countless hours of practice and self-encouragement, she finally entered the school.
Surprisingly, Aria adapted to school more easily than she had anticipated.
Though she still stuttered when speaking, her efforts and her pure-hearted nature endeared her to others.
She didn’t have any close friends, but there were plenty of kids who at least greeted her.
For Aria, that alone was enough to make her happy.
She dreamed of something good.
‘Maybe I can make friends too.’
She thought.
But Aria’s dream went no further than that.
It all changed when the exams and performance evaluations began.
Ian was right.
Aria was a genius. She excelled in nearly every subject.
She was so talented that not only her peers but even students in higher grades couldn’t compete with her.
In everything, except for her ability to control mana, she was unmatched.
And that was the problem.
— “… What’s this? Were you just pretending to be dumb the whole time?”
— “She’s so creepy.”
— “Look at that gloomy fringe. She’s probably laughing at us behind it.”
Jealousy, envy, and unfounded criticism rained down on her.
Her stuttering and her shy demeanor were now seen as deceptive, part of some act to appear harmless.
“Uh, h-hello?”
Even when she tried to greet others.
“Ah, hello? Th-th-th-that’s r-right! Hahahaha!”
That was the response she got.
‘It’s just a misunderstanding.’
Aria gripped the figure hero tightly in her hand for courage.
And she tried again.
But the next day.
And the day after.
Everyone continued to mock her.
It was despairing.
She wanted to give up.
The world wasn’t like Ian.
Yes.
“… Ian.”
So, for Aria, there was only Ian.
The only person who had ever accepted her was Ian, that boy.
Her dependence on him grew.
The more others mocked her, the stronger her attachment became.
Every moment without Ian felt gloomy.
“Ian.”
Even during break time, when she pretended to sleep with her head buried on her desk.
“Ian, Ian.”
Even when she secretly ate her lunch alone. Aria would repeat Ian’s name over and over.
She had to imagine Ian, who was likely receiving tutoring from his family, just to endure it all.
If she could endure, they would meet.
One day.
Just one day a week.
