Chapter 10

### Chapter 10: On the Day of Enrollment - Behind the Banquet Hall (2)

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#3

When miracles happen one after another.

Is it just a series of miracles?

Or is it merely the capricious play of a foolish god?

Or must it be accepted as an inescapable fate?

...Fuck, I don't care.

I'm done.

#4

After the enrollment ceremony,

the Epic Class freshmen, the student council seniors,

and the VIPs all headed to the banquet hall.

“...”

“...”

“...”

But we stayed behind.

Here.

After Elena called us out for the last time... Ah, my head hurts. I don't want to think about anything right now.

Miu suddenly stood up from her chair and turned to look at me, and Rubia seemed to be on the verge of screaming.

Everyone must have felt something was off.

From Elena's words, they would know that we all came from the same academy, but they must have realized that the atmosphere between us was far from normal.

So, they left for the banquet hall first.

Wow, it's quite a surprise.

Three Epic Class students from one academy?

Wow...

The dean must be doing a tap dance right now.

He's probably firing off fireworks for the influx of new students and spinning like a windmill with a grin from ear to ear.

The blonde kid, Yurie von Artina, seemed to be interested in these two.

Despite the question marks floating over her head, she glared at me and conveyed with her eyes not to treat them carelessly.

Thus.

In the shadow of the banquet hall.

On a bench on a secluded path, with my chin resting on my folded hands, I looked down at the ground. On either side of me were the silent Rubia and Miu.

So.

...My childhood friend who dumped me and my ex-girlfriend.

“...”

“...”

“...”

The uncomfortable silence continues.

I feel dizzy.

I might throw up.

I don't know what to say.

Actually, I don't want to talk.

I feel suffocated. So suffocated I feel like I'm going to die.

This suffocation... it's not from anger. It's different. It's the overwhelming pressure to escape this situation.

I didn't particularly want to explain anything to them.

Rubia was a magic prodigy, so I had quietly expected her to come to the Frontier.

But I didn't expect her to confidently enter the Epic Class. After all, this place was for those with 'special' talents.

Miu... she mentioned early graduation.

After we broke up, how much effort did she put in?

Now... she seems like a completely different person.

Just like me.

Will we be able to attend the banquet on time?

Miu is number one. The significance of being number one is quite large.

It means she has the most special talent here.

There must have been many high-ranking officials who had their eyes on her, but it's a shame.

As soon as this girl noticed my presence, she quietly appealed to me. She wanted to talk to me. The same went for Rubia.

A minute that felt like ten years passed.

Rubia was the first to speak.

“...Hey, you're Miu, right?”

“...”

“Um... this friend, um... Edgeo and I need to talk alone, so... can you step aside for a moment...?”

“...”

“...Ah, you can't... okay... I understand...”

Miu just glanced at Rubia with a cold look.

That was enough of an answer.

Rubia nervously moved her lips, as if handling a fragile piece of pottery that might break at any moment, and cautiously asked me.

“...Really, Edgeo, okay?”

Her voice trembled faintly at the end.

After a long pause, she finally spoke.

“...Yeah.”

She flinched slightly at my answer and shuddered.

“...It's just... I... um. I didn't recognize you. You've changed so much. The Edgeo I knew... is nowhere to be found. You've changed so much... um...”

She started to speak but seemed to struggle to find the right words, trailing off repeatedly.

She seems very flustered, rambling without finding her footing. The shock of our reunion at the Frontier must have been immense.

Putting that aside, Rubia's words about not recognizing me because I've changed so much.

I might have wanted to return the sentiment.

What could have happened in that short time?

She seems a bit thinner.

But her beauty hasn't changed. She's just a bit more gaunt, but she still glows faintly.

Rubia clenched her small fists tightly and trembled slightly as she struggled to continue.

“...Edgeo, you've grown so much. You're really tall... and you seem to have lost some weight. ...Or not? Maybe you've gained weight because you've grown taller...? Um, your hands... they've gotten so big. And, um... are the scars, are they all healed?”

Scars?

What is she asking about?

A chilling voice, even to me, came out of my mouth.

“...What scars?”

“...Ah, no, it's nothing.”

Rubia shuddered faintly.

Damn.

I don't want to do this.

My words come out sharper than I intend.

No, calm down, Edgeo Krane. Rubia is not my enemy. I was the one who first made Rubia suffer. Rubia hasn't done anything wrong to me... nothing at all.

I thought my personality had improved a lot.

I could now joke with strangers and was quite different from the old Edgeo Krane, as seen when I chatted with that blonde kid earlier...

But it seems nothing has changed.

Being with these girls brings back the old me.

Rubia was my most precious friend, wasn't she?

Rubia knows nothing.

So, why is she so kind, approaching me in such a humble manner, even though I've distanced myself so much...

I can't understand it at all.

Swish.

I lightly brushed my bangs with my hand. A few strands of ash-gray hair stuck to my fingers.

Lifting my head, I saw Rubia's emerald eyes trembling uncontrollably.

“E-Edgeo...”

What is that look in her eyes?

Guilt, doubt?

Or... the look I used to give her all the time?

Rubia, who was holding back tears, asked.

“...Can I... touch you for a moment, Edgeo?”

“...”

As if she couldn't believe the changes she saw with her own eyes.

As if she wanted to confirm with her own hands that the Edgeo Krane who has completely changed is really here.

Rubia asked with such earnestness.

I remembered the time when, as a child, she silently took my hand and led me into the forest.

My heart ached slightly.

...Why.

Why did we end up like this?

Instead of answering, I raised my arm.

Rubia, who was trembling, touched my arm and then looked down at my uniform.

The uniform that proves I'm in the Epic Class.

Rubia muttered in a daze.

“What happened...?”

“...Nothing much.”

Of course, she's curious.

I, who had such meager talent that the world seemed to reject me, had very limited ways to survive. I was so incompetent that it made people feel sorry for me.

And now, I, that pitiful child, stand here, in the same position as them, in this place where only the most talented students gather, with a completely new appearance.

It's understandable that she's surprised.

I feel unnatural too.

“...”

Rubia seems to want to ask more, but she keeps hesitating.

In the end, she swallows her words.

At some point,

Rubia looks at me straight in the eye, as if she's made a decision.

“...Ah.”

Then, a ripple larger than the green pools in her eyes began to form.

“...”

Why.

Why has the way I look at her changed so much.

Why does she look so heartbroken?

“...You've really changed. Your beautiful hair color... but it's still you, Edgeo. Yes...”

I was taken aback for a moment.

What is this.

Tears started to fall from Rubia's eyes.

Her posture gradually crumbled.

“I'm sorry, Edgeo... I'm sorry...”

“...What for?”

She was always quick to cry.

But I didn't expect this.

Why are you like this? Let's not be like this.

Holding onto my raised arm, she slowly bowed her head and sobbed, tears streaming down her face.

...The atmosphere is getting really gloomy. This is going to be a problem.

“...I'm sorry for everything. I did something terrible to Edgeo... I'm so, so sorry...”

Rubia is crying.

She's crying with a face as sad as the time I first expressed my feelings to her.

But strangely, my heart aches.

It hurts...

That was it.

...Does Rubia have anything to be sorry for to me?

No, nothing.

Rubia knows nothing.

So, Rubia is foolish.

The pure-hearted Rubia always cried easily, just like now.

“I'm sorry, Edgeo... I'm sorry... back then, I...”

I had vague thoughts.

Back then?

What moment is she referring to?

...I don't want to recall anything specific.

I carefully pondered in my mind.

Why is Rubia crying like this?

What did she do wrong?

I repeat, Rubia hasn't done anything wrong.

Nothing at all.

So, in the memories buried within me, Rubia must remain a pure, innocent child who knows nothing. She must.

It has to be that way.

The searing flames. The grotesquely twisted arms and legs. The empty, depleted mana. The gushing blood. The weak body that miraculously moved despite being on the brink of death.

The vivid memory of the day when my first miracle occurred, as my body was torn apart and I refused to give up, screaming and lunging forward.

— ...Ah... Shuriel, S-Sir...?

At the end, I got what I wanted.

But that was the end of it... a nightmare of a day.

...I was there, but it wasn't me.

But Rubia couldn't have known that.

So, Rubia is right to have nothing to be sorry for.

Rubia has no reason to apologize to me. If anything, my biggest mistake was pushing Rubia away and not being a friend to her all this time.

“Hic, hiiii... hic... hiiii...”

Rubia is sobbing. She's trying to suppress her bird-like cries, sitting on the ground and holding onto my arm, tears streaming down her face.

...This is awkward.

We still need to go to the banquet hall, right?

“...Stop. Just stop.”

“I'm sorry, hic, I'm sorry... Edgeo...”

“...”

I'm annoyed.

It's not that Rubia's crying annoys me. It's the situation itself that annoys me. These so-called 'miracles' happening one after another should have a limit. Why do they keep happening to me?

“Just stop crying.”

“...I'm sorry, I really wanted to apologize to Edgeo, but... after you dropped out of school, hic... no matter what I did, I couldn't find you...”

“...”

...So, she was looking for me.

No matter what she did, she wouldn't have been able to find me. So, this is what happened. It was a natural progression. Her current gaunt appearance might be due to this.

...To be honest, I thought she would lose interest after a short while. Rubia and I had already drifted apart.

But it seems that's not the case.

Much more than I expected.

A faint sense of guilt crept into my heart.

Rubia made a bird-like sound.

“You should have at least said something...”

“...I'm sorry.”

I muttered quietly.

Well, if I'm still alive, I planned to reveal my existence eventually.

Now that I've enrolled in the Frontier, it was inevitable that Rubia would hear about me.

But I didn't want to meet her like this.

Especially not in the same class.

...First, I need to stop Rubia's tears.

I said sternly.

“Stop crying. If you keep crying, I won't be friends with you anymore.”

“...Hic.”

Then,

Rubia lifted her head, which she had lowered.

Her beautiful face was a mess, with tears dripping from her delicate chin.

“...You still... consider me a friend... Edgeo... thank you... and I'm sorry... hic.”

She seemed to try to listen to my request to stop crying, wiping her face with her sleeve and sobbing softly.

...She's going to cry anyway, it seems.

At least Rubia has calmed down a bit.

Questions are bubbling up, but

I can hear the details later. I don't think Rubia and I haven't seen each other since I dropped out. It seems different. The worst-case scenario I don't want to imagine is approaching.

...Did that guy finally tell her?

My head aches. Damn.

This is so frustrating.

It seems Rubia's turn is over, and a sound comes from the side.

“...”

“...”

Has she already cried all her tears?

For some reason, no tears are visible, but she seems to be screaming in pain inside...

Her voice, always melodious, is now hoarse and cracked.

Miu speaks to me.

“...S-Sir. Is that correct?”

We already confirmed that, didn't we?

But that's not what she's asking.

It seems like a long time since she last used that word. She didn't expect to use it here again.

Her pronunciation was awkward.

“...Yeah, it's me.”

“...Ah.”

At that moment, a change occurred.

When I first saw Miu at the entrance to the Frontier.

The cold, distant atmosphere from before has melted away like snow.

The emotionless, unwavering purple eyes and the tightly closed lips that seemed to reject any intrusion.

They are now trembling, breaking, and shattering, eventually shimmering like an illusion and returning to their original transparent color. She is, once again, the cute and lovely junior, Miu, from my memories.

“Senior... I, I, it's me...”

Black hair. Purple eyes. A sword sheath at her waist. She seems a bit taller, and her appearance has changed a bit.

But she's still Miu.

...But why.

The first thing that comes to mind, unfortunately,

is not joy.

I still think Miu hasn't done anything wrong.

I still don't want to blame anyone.

I lost everything that day, but all the karma originated from me. If I had been a better person, nothing would have happened.

If I had firmly rejected Miu on that back staircase from the beginning, none of this would have happened.

That day... Miu, who was left alone, would not have cursed me with irreversible insults.

So, it's my fault. All of it.

Therefore.

I've already retraced too many steps.

Now, I can't go back.

“...Let's correct one thing. I'm not your senior, Miu.”

“...Ah.”

Miu takes a step back.

“We're classmates. From now on, we'll be equal friends. So, don't call me senior. Ever.”

We need to.

Establish a proper relationship.

As a first step, I want to erase all the connections we've built so far.

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