Chapter 51

### Chapter 51: A Chance Encounter (3)

* * *

#5

“...I’m sorry. Did I interrupt you?”

“No, not at all. It was good timing.”

After Leilin left, looking dejected,

Miu and I stood there for a moment.

‘...Really, you’ll definitely talk to me next time, right?’

‘Yes, if not now, then anytime later.’

‘Yeah… I believe you… See you next time, Edgio.’

Leilin, who had faced a menacing presence, seemed to flinch for a moment but ultimately stood her ground, fighting bravely to tell Miu not to interrupt our important conversation. However, when I told her to go and that I would listen later, she finally slumped her shoulders and returned to her group.

She clearly showed her disappointment at not being supported, but unfortunately, I couldn’t pay attention to her. It was true that I didn’t want to hold onto someone who didn’t want to stay.

When she pushed that incredibly frightening familiarity at me like a weapon, people like me could only feel exhausted rather than happy...

“...”

“...”

Miu and I hadn’t spoken since we last met at the medical center.

The last words we exchanged were the kind that would make the atmosphere awkward if mentioned suddenly.

Because of this, our conversation came to an abrupt halt, and we ended up looking at the fountain in the middle of the park instead of each other.

Suddenly, Miu’s eyes, which had become moist with moisture, turned to me, as if gazing at something far away. She smiled gently.

“...I’m going to leave. Enjoy your meal.”

—Whoosh.

“Wait a moment.”

“...What?”

I stopped Miu, who was about to turn and leave.

I grabbed her sleeve, and she turned around, startled.

Miu’s face, illuminated by the sunset, was truly beautiful.

...Back then, Miu was the one who called me to a stop. I had a prior engagement. We did manage to set up a meeting, but it seemed we never actually met at the cafe.

Miu said she was at the scene of the incident.

It happened around 11 PM, so it had been almost half a day since we made our plans.

‘Can I wait here?’

At the station of the 4th District Sera Class.

I remember Miu sitting on a bench, looking up at me and smiling brightly.

She was genuinely happy to have the chance to talk to me. She must have been waiting with a hopeful heart.

Even though she must have realized I wasn’t coming, she stayed in the 4th District until 11 PM.

It was a wait that lasted over 13 hours.

I spoke carefully.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t make it to the cafe on Saturday.”

“...”

She stared at me blankly.

She froze, as if hearing something completely unexpected. After standing there for a while with a blank look, she finally smiled faintly, closed her eyes, and slowly shook her head.

“It’s not your fault. Edgio, you don’t need to apologize. If I had known you were in danger, I wouldn’t have just stood there...”

“...”

Objectively, there was no reason for Miu to apologize. And from a completely objective standpoint, I didn’t need to apologize to Miu either. There were valid reasons for both of us.

However, the flow of emotions doesn’t always follow common sense and reason.

If people always maintained cold, rational thinking and pursued only the highest efficiency, they would be closer to a magical engineering machine than a human being.

We weren’t living a mechanical life. At this moment, we were apologizing for something that, rationally, we didn’t need to feel sorry about.

For some reason, if you made a mistake, even unintentionally hurting someone you didn’t want to hurt, you would end up feeling guilty and responsible, just like now.

I broke the silence.

“So, Miu.”

Miu’s eyes widened slightly.

I said,

“Can we talk about what we couldn’t back then, today?”

“...”

Again, she was blank.

This time, it was shorter.

She smiled faintly again.

“...I’m sorry. Let’s do it later. I have something else to do today.”

“...I see.”

“...Yeah.”

I didn’t expect her to refuse. But if she had personal matters, it couldn’t be helped. I nodded calmly.

“See you later. Let me know if you have time.”

“...Yeah, I will. Enjoy your meal.”

Miu didn’t seem to eat.

She had something to do.

...Thud, thud.

After a brief exchange, we turned our backs on each other.

I headed towards the cafeteria, and Miu towards the dormitory.

We walked in different directions, but...

...Given that she still couldn’t lie well, we were probably thinking the same thing.

#6

It was pitch dark all around.

All the lights in the 3rd Building 1st Year Training Ground were off. The vast space was completely dark, with all light blocked out by blackout curtains.

Whoosh—

From a corner of the training ground, where shadowy creatures might naturally form, a short piercing sound was heard, and a faint blue afterimage scattered a soft light.

The area around it lit up momentarily.

The flow of magical power, which had been radiating along the sharp blade, suddenly stopped.

The training ground was plunged back into pitch darkness.

After a short interval, a slightly louder sound cut through the air.

Whoosh— Thud!

The blade struck something.

The floor of the training ground.

The blue afterimage soon dissipated like mist.

A considerable amount of sweat was flowing inside Miu’s training suit.

When she lowered the zipper around her neck for a moment, a warm heat rose.

“...Haa.”

Despite trying to clear her mind of distractions,

She ultimately failed.

She swept her bangs back with her eyes closed. She also fixed her damp sideburns behind her ears.

After straightening her breathing, which had become slightly disordered, she tried to start training again, but...

‘Can we talk about what we couldn’t back then, today?’

“...”

The calm she had regained quickly returned to its original state.

She finally put down her sword.

With a clank, Miu’s sword fell to the ground.

She sat down on the floor of the training ground, as if satisfied, and unzipped her top all the way.

Her white tank top, soaked with sweat, faintly glowed in the darkness. Although Miu, who was prone to heat, might have found it uncomfortable, she was already used to it.

In the silence, Miu thought quietly.

In fact, there was no other business.

She had lied.

Edgio probably knew this too. From his nod of understanding, she could tell that her clumsy lie had been exposed.

But Edgio didn’t say anything more. They parted naturally in the middle of the park.

Miu didn’t want to talk to Edgio. If she didn’t, she wouldn’t have approached him at the Sera Class station on Saturday.

For Miu, it was a golden opportunity she had been looking forward to, but she ended up running away here by refusing with a lie.

She wanted to talk to him.

But she couldn’t.

...She just couldn’t muster the courage.

The resolve she had harbored since November 19th of last year crumbled like a sandcastle in the face of an overwhelming fear.

She found it astonishing. Was her resolve only that weak? She was a pitiful and weak person.

...But, what could she do about being afraid?

Edgio had lost his memory. He had definitely forgotten all the memories that had hurt him, including November 19th.

He had even asked her seriously if they had broken up, so he must have forgotten the contents of the letters he had sent her.

Yes.

No matter what had happened since he enrolled, the current Edgio Krane was still in the time when he and Miu were lovers.

...She didn’t think it was a good thing.

Not at all.

It was more like a curse.

A terrible curse where the method to resolve it had been permanently erased.

When Edgio, who had regained consciousness in the hospital, stroked the back of her hand with a familiar tone, she couldn’t hold back her tears. It was a natural reaction.

She saw the face of the beloved senior she thought she would never see again in the changed face of her senior.

It made her feel guilty.

Her heart ached as if it were being torn apart.

It was a painful fact that he could only smile brightly at her now because he had forgotten all those painful memories.

She was happy that her senior smiled at her and stroked her hand. The thrill she thought she would never feel again pounded her heart.

If she hadn’t seen any hope, it would have been a lie.

If she hadn’t been happy at all, it would have been a lie.

Overwhelmed by the feeling that her senior remembered her as Miu from those days, she cried and laughed uncontrollably.

However...

...It was a fantasy that had to be shattered.

The more she fell into the hallucination created by the sweet dream, the more the sense of loss and emptiness when she woke up would multiply.

So, Miu didn’t act rashly.

Even if she wanted to pretend nothing had happened and jump into Edgio’s arms, it was something that absolutely couldn’t be done.

Edgio would eventually realize the truth. When that time came, it would be even more irreparable...

That’s why.

The future where Edgio realized the truth.

...It was too frightening.

If she talked to Edgio, she would have to tell him everything.

Everything Miu knew about the ins and outs of all the events... She would have to tell him every detail, word for word.

Would it be okay? Would it be okay to tell him everything like this? If she did, would Edgio forgive her?

She didn’t even hope for forgiveness before. Her desire to apologize was much stronger.

Because she had left an indelible scar on her beloved senior. What right did she have to ask for forgiveness? That was how she felt.

The current Edgio... she didn’t know.

She couldn’t predict his reaction.

That was also a source of fear.

However, even if the current Edgio forgave her, it would only be a false forgiveness.

It would be meaningless to sincerely apologize to him now.

She had to seek forgiveness, but the person to seek it from had vanished into thin air.

In the end, all that was left was an illusion.

It was a wretched state. Miu twisted her lips.

She thought she had no right to love Edgio. This thought had remained unchanged since that day.

But when she saw another woman by Edgio’s side, her hands still trembled slightly, and her chest felt constricted. She hated and despised herself for being unable to do anything.

If Edgio hadn’t seemed so troubled, she wouldn’t have found a chance to intervene.

In other words, there was no room for her to interfere in a relationship that Edgio had truly desired. Now, she was just a classmate...

The sharp feeling of a dry heart being pierced made Miu bite her lip. A small drop of blood formed on her lower lip.

...She thought she had forgotten all the sadness and happiness. But when she saw Edgio, a smile still came from a corner of her heart. Miu had finally been able to regain her true self after reuniting with Edgio.

The way Edgio looked at her, with a warm gaze mixed with sympathy and kindness, rather than hostility or indifference, was incredibly addictive.

The intense, no, the love she now craved even more after experiencing a loss, gave Miu a sense of greed.

It was shameless and selfish, and because of it, she ended up hurting her senior. But honestly... she wanted to get along well with him again.

It was inevitable.

In a situation that seemed filled with despair and sorrow, even a twisted hope had arisen, and she couldn’t help but pay attention to it.

Even if it was a dream and a futile illusion that would eventually disappear like a mirage, before that happened, she wanted to—

Miu lowered her head and mocked herself.

...She was hopelessly stubborn and consistently a foolish woman. She doubted there was anyone as selfish as herself in the world.

Really, after doing such a thing?

Do you think it will work? Really?

If you really think so, why don’t you just go and die? Cut your throat with a knife right here. Disgusting woman. Trash.

Think about the broken look in Edgio’s eyes when he saw you. Think about the relationship that had become difficult to maintain even as a simple friend.

Whose fault is it? It’s all your karma, Miu...

She bit her lip even harder. The bitter taste of blood moistened her tongue.

If she deceived Edgio and he somehow regained his memory, she would be back to where she started.

The warmth in his eyes would disappear, leaving only the cold, dryness of winter frost.

And a strange heat would settle deep within. It would probably be the emotion of anger.

The idea of deceiving Edgio... it wasn’t something that could be taken seriously, and it was an inviolable boundary.

Words can sometimes be heavier, colder, and more solid than any sharp weapon, lodging in a person’s memory and heart forever, never to be removed.

She had twisted and thrust this terrifying weapon into her beloved senior multiple times.

It was something that, as a human being, she should never have done.

Then, what about Miu herself?

Was she not a human but a monster?

“...”

Miu, who had been smirking at the absurd thought, suddenly rummaged through her pocket. She took something out and held it in her hand. She then opened her palm and looked down at it in the darkness.

Two silver rings, finely crafted from a mixture of silver and tin, shimmered faintly in a small circular shape.

Time had passed, and a slight patina had formed. It was a minor flaw that was barely noticeable even up close, but Miu was always aware of it.

...It was a truly ugly thing. Why did she still have this? It couldn’t be considered a good omen as a talisman. Then why did she carry these rings with her whenever she went out?

To remember and not forget.

To remember the story behind these rings. To remember what she had done to the person who was supposed to be the owner of these rings. To remember and remember, Miu always carried the rings somewhere on her body.

Her dry heart, like cracked earth from crying too much, could no longer shed tears. Only a shallow, trembling breath remained.

Miu tightly clenched the silver rings, symbols of the deep bond she had with Edgio.

Although the relationship was already broken, she thought she should throw them away every time she saw them, but they always ended up back in her possession.

Whenever she saw them, the same thing always came to mind.

The countless harsh words she had poured out to her senior that day echoed vividly in her ears. Even if she covered her ears, they pierced her mind like the whispers of a ghost. Miu’s breath grew increasingly rough.

When she finally lifted her trembling head, she saw her bloodied senior struggling to smile and moving his lips.

—Sorry.

The vision of that day was etched in her mind like a nightmare.

“A, ah...”

“...No.”

“All, all... It’s my fault.”

“I... I was wrong. Senior...”

In the dark, empty training ground.

Miu, huddled alone, muttered her apologies softly. The words repeated for a long time, floating aimlessly in the empty air...