Chapter 26

### Chapter 26: The Fuse (3)

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#6

Knock, knock, knock...

"Excuse me, sir. I'm sorry, but it's closing time..."

Knock, knock, knock...

"Sir?"

...Thud.

The movement of the fingers tapping the table stopped.

The lips, which had not moved for about three hours, finally twitched slightly when the staff member tapped her shoulder.

"...Can I stay a little longer?"

Outside the window, it was pitch dark.

The sun had long set beyond the horizon, and the cafe's lights were partially turned off as closing time approached.

All the customers who had come to see the extremely pretty female student had left, and Miu, left alone in the cafe just before closing, quietly turned her head and made a request to the staff member.

"Um, well, that is..."

The staff member was a diligent young man.

However, the moment he saw Miu's face, he forgot what he was going to say and began to seriously ponder, stammering.

He thought about telling the manager that he would handle the closing alone and that the others should go home first.

Miu's expression was not very good.

The faint smile on her lips had disappeared at some point, probably just after 6 PM.

Egio never came.

...Until this late night, 11 PM.

On the table where Miu had been sitting, there were several trays with five Venti-sized cups and leftover pieces of cake, proving that she had not moved from her seat at all.

After pondering for a while at Miu's request, the staff member nodded solemnly.

"...Then, I'll keep the cafe open for another 30 minutes. When the time is up, I'm sorry, but you'll have to leave."

"Thank you."

Miu briefly expressed her gratitude and turned her head back to the window.

Faint sounds of the staff member arguing with the manager inside could be heard, but it was of no concern to Miu.

"..."

Miu relaxed her arms, which had been supporting her chin.

Thump.

She leaned her upper body on the table, just like when she had been reading a book in the library and a demon had suddenly appeared.

Egio was not the type to break a promise lightly.

He had promised to come here after he was done.

However, the fact that he had not shown up yet meant that he was still in that building. What could he be doing that would take so long...?

He had said he was going to meet a professor, who had shown personal interest in his superpowers and asked for his cooperation in research. It was the first time Miu had heard that Egio had superpowers, and apparently, they were quite remarkable.

Although it wasn't her business, Miu felt a sense of joy. That's just like Senior Egio.

...However,

That feeling soon turned to unease again.

There were only 30 minutes left.

After that, she would have to leave.

From a little after 10 AM to 11 PM, Miu had waited in the cafe for almost 13 hours without moving a step, but she did not feel tired at all.

If Egio came, this kind of waiting and anxiety would melt away like snow in the sun.

"..."

Suddenly,

Miu's gaze turned to the cafe's entrance.

...If she waited a little longer, would Egio appear, jingling the door?

Miu closed her eyes and imagined the scene.

Somehow, she felt like she would run to him and throw herself into his arms without even realizing it.

After a while, Miu let out a formless sigh. That was something Egio would dislike, so she would have to end it with such futile imagination.

Where would she wait for Egio after the cafe closed? She could probably wait on the street in front of the cafe, but she wasn't sure. If she wandered the streets too late at night, the security knights patrolling the area would stop her.

Of course, she had no intention of obediently returning to the dormitory. Miu would not leave the area around this cafe. Absolutely not.

Because she had promised Egio.

...She had promised.

While thinking this,

Miu suddenly felt her heart thud.

A faint sense of unease had been lingering in her heart. The faint spark suddenly flared up. She had continued to hold on, thinking she would wait a little longer, but now it seemed she couldn't do that.

...That day too.

She had waited for Egio endlessly.

Egio did not come until late at night.

And in the end,

Egio returned, covered in blood.

"..."

Miu thought.

Such a thing would not happen again.

This was the Royal Frontier Academy, surrounded by the empire's absolute barrier, which no one could breach.

The strength of the faculty and the level of the security knights patrolling the streets were not to be underestimated. The faculty at Frontier was full of people Miu could not dare to oppose.

With such strong security,

...It was probably just that the research was taking longer.

Egio himself had said he didn't know when it would end. It might take more than a day. She didn't know what he was doing.

Since she had firmly decided to wait until the end, it wouldn't be Egio's fault if he came to the cafe after a day or two.

Yes, that's it.

There was no need to be anxious.

"..."

Miu checked the time.

There were about 10 minutes left until the closing time the staff member had promised.

If Miu left now, she might miss Egio. Therefore, after the cafe closed, she would have to wait in the area. Egio might not come until tomorrow, and that was a source of anxiety.

But more than that,

...A greater sense of unease made Miu stand up.

Clank—

Placing her hand on the hilt of her sword,

Miu quickly left the cafe.

#7

Miu immediately decided on her destination.

Egio would be in that building.

It might be a hunch, but if not, it wouldn't be. She could go to the front desk and ask to call the professor for a moment.

Research labs were usually occupied late into the night, so there was no need to worry about his absence.

However,

"Hey? Why are you here?"

As Miu stepped out of the cafe and headed toward the dark buildings, she unexpectedly ran into someone.

It seemed they were carrying something.

Sasha Elne, holding a bundle of envelopes in her arms, looked up at Miu.

Miu was in a hurry. As usual, she ignored Sasha and tried to move toward the building.

Sasha followed Miu, chattering.

"What, what? Sasha is so happy to see you here! What were you doing in the 4th Academic District? By the way, Sasha was..."

What a troublesome brat.

Miu thought that as she walked.

"!"

Right at that moment.

Squeal———

A piercing, ear-splitting noise ripped through the air, enveloping Miu and Sasha.

"Ugh!"

"Ah!"

Miu instantly covered her ears. Sasha dropped the envelopes she was holding, and the candy wrappers fell to the ground. Sasha screamed and covered her ears, collapsing to the ground.

— Gah!

— What, what was that?!

— My ears, they're bleeding...

There were people walking on the street.

Those who were walking under the dimly lit streetlights, where Miu and Sasha were, were suddenly struck by the noise and collapsed, screaming.

A moment later.

Everyone at the scene turned their gaze to the source of the strange sound.

One of them muttered.

"...What is that?"

Miu was also seeing the same scene.

The building in the 4th Academic District, where Egio had gone to meet the professor.

The lights were on from the 1st to the 14th floor, but the top floor was dark.

Puff, puff, puff—

The lights in the building went out sequentially from the top.

From the highest floor, an unknown black smoke began to rise.

It was different from a fire.

It was pitch black and dark, making one's chest feel tight just by looking at it.

Sasha let out a muffled scream.

"Ah, what, what is that...?"

The black smoke that had been seeping down from the top floor began to cover the building, pulsating and writhing like a living creature.

Crack—

Miu bit her lip hard, drawing blood.

...Stupid girl.

Fucking idiot.

You should just kill yourself.

...You're making the same mistake again.

"Hey, hey! What is that?! What's happening?!"

"..."

Sasha stomped her feet.

Realizing that something ominous was happening, the people who had been screaming scattered in different directions. Some ran to nearby buildings to contact the faculty or the main office.

Miu clenched her fists tighter. Her nails dug into her flesh, drawing red blood. A stream of blood was already flowing from her bitten lip, but a far more terrible feeling was tearing at Miu's heart.

Pull yourself together.

I can't lose my senior here.

How could I lose the senior I just found?

I still haven't said everything I wanted to say...

I don't want to repeat the tear-stained past,

Not anymore.

"Hey! Where are you going?! It's obviously dangerous! Don't do this here, go to the faculty—"

Miu.

She turned to look at Sasha.

"Let go."

In Sasha's eyes, which were holding Miu's sleeve, Miu's icy gaze was completely unreadable.

"I'll tear you apart."

A sword was already in Miu's hand.

She had drawn it without anyone noticing.

"..."

Sasha instinctively let go.

If she didn't, she felt she would really die here.

She released her grip to survive.

Leaving Sasha, who was frozen in place and hiccupping, Miu kicked off the ground and dashed toward the ominous black smoke.