Chapter 23
The match between Flora Crimsonhowl and Ellen Clements ended in a draw.
The two cadets ended up lying side-by-side in Hospital beds due to the aftermath of the match. Since they couldn’t leave their spots until the treatment was finished, today’s classes were a lost cause.
Whirrr - ! Whirrr - !
Inside the Minerva Academy Infirmary, only the sound of Genesis biomedical devices running could be heard.
Flora and Ellen maintained their silence without conversation, only staring at the ceiling.
“…”
If the Instructor hadn’t intervened at the end to halve the power, it wouldn’t have ended at this level.
They might have left massive scars on each other.
They had refused to step back out of sheer stubbornness to win.
[It was so foolish.]
[I’ve still got a long way to go. I’m not a kid. How pathetic.]
The two of them internally rebuked their own attitudes coldly.
Being swept up in Assessment and failing to control the intensity of their magic meant they were immature.
Ellen, who had been staring blankly at the ceiling while receiving treatment, scratched her head vigorously and spoke up.
“Hah… I just showed an embarrassing side to our Classmates.”
Flora reacted to the broken silence, her ears perking up.
While still lying down, Flora rolled her eyes to look at Ellen. Feeling the gaze, Ellen looked over as well.
Flora asked.
“You know Steiger, right?”
“Steiger? Aren’t they a gun-toting Family like Esra? I know them, sure. Why do you ask?”
“What’s your relationship?”
“What’re you talking about? You mean what relationship Clements has with Steiger?”
“Right.”
“Girl! Speak properly! It’s hard to understand when you don’t include the subject!”
“…”
When Flora heard the scolding, her ears drooped.
Watching her, Ellen let out a sigh and gave an answer.
“As far as I know, no one from Steiger has ever entered Clements. Maybe they’ve contacted us, but that’s it.”
“Then what about those clothes…?”
At Flora’s question, the situation went awry once again.
Because Ellen didn’t know that Max was a Person from Steiger, from the start, it was impossible for her to even guess that Flora and Max had any connection.
“What clothes?”
At Ellen’s response, Flora’s lips jutted out in a pout.
Was she feigning ignorance to tell her not to pry, did she really think Flora didn’t know, or was it perhaps hard to mention if it was a matter concerning the Family?
“It’s nothing… Forget the question I just asked…”
“Hey! Don’t you know conversations have an order? Don’t just skip ahead in your head; take it step by step.”
Hearing the advice, Flora racked her brain.
Of course, it wasn’t in the direction Ellen wanted.
[It’s hard to see Mother’s Remarriage to a man from Steiger as a marriage of love. It’s more accurate to assume there was some sort of deal… Could it be proof that Steiger is actively making contact with a Magic Noble Family? Are they eyeing Esra’s position? Thinking about that…]
Having reached a conclusion mixed with speculation, Flora lifted her head and checked the Infirmary.
There were guards outside the door, but inside, there was no one except the two of them.
“You’re being distracting, so just stay still.”
Ellen sent her a look that seemed to ask what she was doing.
After gaining the certainty that there were no listening ears, Flora asked in a whisper.
“Are you… getting…?”
“Getting what?”
“Ma, married…”
“Why is this crazy Girl acting like this today?!”
What part did she leap over, and what did she omit?
Ellen couldn’t understand how she had arrived at such a conclusion in that brief moment.
“You aren’t? It was a pretty reasonable deduction.”
“Wow, you’re really driving me nuts. Why would I get married?”
“…Are you not telling me because you have to keep it a secret?”
This was the first time Ellen had conversed with Flora for this long.
It was very different from the picture she had imagined.
In Ellen’s eyes, Flora had a screw loose beyond imagination. The context of her conversations flew off into space.
[She’s turning my insides upside down.]
Ellen shut down all the machines attached to her and checked her phone.
Then she pulled out her shoes from under the Hospital bed.
“Where are you going? The treatment isn’t over yet.”
“What do you mean it isn’t over? You’re all healed up too, so why are you still lying there?”
A normal Cadet would have to lie there all day.
However, the two of them were 5th-Tier mages who had grown up receiving incredibly precious ampoules in Haze.
Their recovery speed was on a different level.
“But… there’s still time left. Machine Time.”
“Then keep lying there. I feel like I’m getting stupider just being with you.”
“Are you saying I’m stupid?”
“You caught onto that really quickly. Yeah. You’re an idiot.”
“Why? My Theoretical Grades are higher than yours…”
The corners of Ellen’s eyes and mouth twitched as she put on her shoes.
What pissed her off even more was that Flora, unlike herself, had said it without any intention to provoke.
“This Girl knows how to scratch a nerve. Do you think Theoretical Grades are the measure of what separates a stupid brat from a useful kid?”
“Are they not? The duty of a Minerva Academy Student is studying and advancing their abilities.”
“Bringing up sound logic like that is playing dirty. Drop it. I don’t wanna hear it.”
“If not sound logic, what should I say?”
Having put on her shoes and grabbed her bag, Ellen looked in the mirror and neatly fixed her hair.
“Girl. The world is full of things that can’t be solved with theory. You shouldn’t blindly trust it.”
“For example?”
“Why are you even asking for an example? You must’ve had things in your life that didn’t go as you thought they would.”
“…”
Flora made a subtle expression, as if she had done so but also hadn’t.
Ellen didn’t bother prying and shut down Flora’s machines as well.
“Ah!”
“What do you mean 'ah', you dummy? Put your shoes on. We’re leaving early.”
“Me too?”
“If you don’t want to, then forget it.”
“What are we going to do outside?”
“A Change of Pace.”
To Flora, Ellen’s invitation was unexpected.
Plus, she was thinking of visiting Max’s office in District 27.
[Oppa said I could come by anytime.]
Following Flora, Ellen also had her own thoughts.
[If I blow all my cash, I should be able to pull every type of Collaboration Product. Hmm, it’d be a shame to skip the next collab too.]
She figured she would head to the office a little early and extend her Working Hours.
“I don’t know where you’re planning to go for a Change of Pace, but… let’s go.”
Flora finished getting ready.
Ellen hadn’t expected Flora to follow along without a fuss, so she felt a small sense of amusement.
“Brace yourself. We’re going to pull the Rhythm Busters Collaboration Products.”
“What’s Rhythm Busters?”
“Hah? You don’t know Rhythm Busters? Are you for real? You’re a total pseudo-intellectual who doesn’t know anything outside of what the Academy teaches.”
“…”
Ellen showed a genuinely surprised face, which was rare.
Flora left the Infirmary with a sullen expression.
Rattle!
The message left for the guards in front of the door was simple.
It was just a single remark that their treatment was finished but they were leaving early due to lingering fatigue, and that was it.
Flora followed Ellen out of District 17, where the Academy was located, and headed to District 19.
It was her first time at this Shopping Mall.
However, Ellen walked around like it was her own home. She entered a store in the corner of the 9th floor and showed off the Character Merchandise.
“Look. Cute, right?”
“Ah, these are the rabbits on your bag, Ellen? Is this Rhythm Busters?”
“Dummy. Do you not even know what a collab is? My babies are wearing Rhythm Busters clothes.”
“Then isn’t that Rhythm Busters?”
“Man, how does every single word you say scrape right at my nerves.”
Telling her to just watch, Ellen pulled out a wad of cash.
She went around buying things.
Not only did she clear out entire gacha machines, but she also struck up conversations with strangers to trade items. She looked very accustomed to it.
Flora quietly watched Ellen.
[Her passion is incredible.]
Ellen’s concentration was as sharp as when she used magic. Her genuinely immersed gaze showed fierce momentum.
The other customers in the store were the same.
The age range was also broad.
“Phew! Bought it all. Let’s go.”
After waiting a little while, Ellen returned holding a thick paper bag.
Her expression radiated a sense of refreshment.
“This is a Change of Pace?”
“Why? Did you think we’d go to a plain and do some Magic Spam?”
“To be honest…”
When Flora gave a small nod to confirm, Ellen chuckled.
“Well, firing off magic to your heart’s content isn’t bad either. But what’s even better than that is getting your hands on what you want.”
“I see.”
“You must have something you want too. Let’s go buy it.”
“…I don’t really have anything.”
“Hah! You are a boring Girl. Don’t worry about saving face here. Do you really not have anything?”
Flora groaned in thought before nodding.
Ellen scrunched up one eye as if she didn’t like that.
“Then let’s split up here. Go home. Or go back to the Academy and take classes.”
“…”
Humming about the items she had purchased, Ellen headed toward the station.
Flora followed her toward the station.
Upon boarding the train, Ellen showed her confusion.
It was the opposite direction of what she expected.
“The Academy is in District 17. And even if you’re going home, the Crimson Howl Family is in District 2, so why are you going this way?”
“I’d like to ask you the same thing. This isn’t the direction of District 3 where the Clements Family is, either.”
A “could it be” thought popped into both of their heads.
It was immediately followed by “probably not”.
The train ran along the rails.
Silence continued.
[This stop is District 27.]
They stood up at the same time.
Flora and Ellen’s eyes met.
“Huh?”
“Hm?”
They got off the train first.
Staring blankly at each other, they asked.
“…What’s this?”
“What about you?”
A staring contest broke out at the station.