Chapter 55
“…Huh?”
At her sudden remark, the flustered Rex blinked.
‘…What are we?’
Certainly, as she said, it was a somewhat inappropriate thing to bring up in this situation, but….
‘Now that she mentions it. What are we?’
After hearing her words, I found myself wondering the same thing.
What exactly was the relationship between Rex and me?
‘Friends who have known each other for a long time…?’
No, that wouldn’t do. Once you knew how we had parted, wouldn’t it be difficult even to make such a statement as a joke?
‘Or perhaps… coworkers…?’
That felt far too distant. Even if I didn’t think of us that way, there was a high chance Rex didn’t, either.
…And I’m saying that objectively, not because I’m oblivious to the situation.
‘Even saying we’re just somewhat close…’
That was merely a vague excuse. If someone asked how close we were, it would be difficult to give a concrete answer.
While I was pondering alone, Rex opened his mouth.
“…You do realize that’s an inappropriate question for the situation, right?”
‘Whoa.’
At the cold voice spilling from Rex’s mouth, my heart seemed to sink along with it.
‘So he can talk like that, too.’
Well, he was a proper magic knight, after all. Magic knights were still members of the military, so he must have at least the basic ability to command his subordinates.
‘But… why does this feel so unfamiliar?’
“I-I’m sorry.”
Estelle immediately lowered her head. It was the exact opposite of how she had acted when we first met in a village near the Black Earthworm Forest.
Rex silently looked down at her, then let out a sigh.
“…Forget it. This isn’t the military.”
Then he clicked his tongue softly and gave her a short answer.
“We’ve known each other for a long time.”
“…Since before you officially became a magic knight?”
Estelle asked again with her head still bowed.
‘She’s pretty stubborn, too.’
In a situation like this, wouldn’t most people shrink back in fear? Or had she misunderstood something after hearing Rex mutter that this wasn’t the military?
‘Why is she so curious about what Rex and I are…?’
I muttered inwardly, then suddenly froze stiff.
The worst possibility flashed through my mind.
‘Could she have misunderstood the relationship between Rex and me?’
It was a perfectly plausible theory.
Estelle was obviously in love with Rex.
And the reason she was so persistently questioning the relationship between Rex and me was probably that she considered my presence beside him an obstacle.
‘She called Rex “Senior.”’
And they had both said they came from the Western Front… There was no doubt about it. The two of them must have been quite close, and regardless of what Rex thought, it was certain that she felt something more than mere affection for him.
‘What kind of situation is this?’
Feeling my face grow hot, I shook my head vigorously to cool it down.
‘What an absurd misunderstanding….’
“It seems you’re misunderstanding something.”
At that moment, Rex opened his mouth again.
“I don’t know how you came to such an absurd misconception, but she and I are not in a romantic relationship.”
Rex said it with almost brutal finality, and Estelle’s expression instantly eased upon hearing it.
She quickly composed herself, but even with her head bowed, I could see the corners of her mouth lifting slightly.
‘…But still.’
I crossed my arms and glanced at Rex.
‘Was it really necessary to be that blunt…?’
I mean, of course I didn’t want to be the subject of such a foolish misunderstanding, and Rex probably didn’t either.
But still, he could have put it more gently.
He could have said that we weren’t that kind of relationship, or told her she was mistaken and not to entertain such thoughts… He could have brushed it off tactfully.
Why did he have to flatly say we weren’t in a romantic relationship? How should I put it?
‘It makes it look like Rex rejected me.’
Only after my thoughts reached that point did I flinch and shudder.
‘…What am I thinking right now?’
At this rate, it was almost as if I had…
‘No, that’s impossible.’
I desperately shook my head and denied it.
‘What an absurd thought. What right do I have…?’
After hurting Rex like that, how could I now take offense at a single thing he said?
‘That’s just… shameless.’
I smiled bitterly and opened my mouth.
“Rex is right.”
“Haru?”
“We’re just... people who’ve known each other for quite a while. I’m sorry for making you misunderstand.”
“N-no, you don’t need to apologize.”
Estelle answered hesitantly in confusion. I turned to Rex and said,
“I was with the South Gate Guard, right?”
“…Yeah.”
Rex answered with a dazed expression, then continued.
“But, Haru….”
“Sorry, I’m in a hurry right now.”
I quickly turned my head away as I spoke.
For now, I wanted to get away from Rex.
=
“…Sigh.”
As expected, we couldn’t find even the slightest trace of the men who had attacked Estelle and me.
I felt sorry for the guards running tirelessly beneath the wall.
It had been an attack inside the academy, which boasted the second-strongest security in the royal capital, itself the most heavily guarded place in all of Atlas.
It was noteworthy that the targets had been instructors, who were relatively less protected than the students. Even so, by ordinary standards, the academy still had top-tier security.
When I realized that blood magic—and specifically Blood Cannon, the first technique Master had taught me—had flown straight at me with the intent to take my life in a place like this, my anger surged, but….
As time passed, however, my anger subsided until even having gotten so angry began to feel foolish.
Master was never coming back anyway. And it wasn’t as though I was the only person in the world capable of using blood magic.
Was it because I had finally reminded myself of that fact, or because….
“Haaaaaaah….”
Perched on the edge of the wall surrounding the entire academy grounds, I let out a sigh deep enough to make the earth cave in.
“…What’s wrong with me, seriously?”
Looking up at the night sky with a restless feeling, I fiddled with the glass bottle in my hand and muttered.
Drinking alcohol anywhere on academy grounds was completely forbidden by the school rules, regardless of whether one was a student or an instructor… but technically speaking, I had both feet outside the academy walls.
So… I should be able to drink, right?
“I can tell exactly what you’re thinking. That sort of loophole was closed ages ago.”
“Hiyah?!”
At the voice from behind me, I jumped so hard that I nearly dropped the glass bottle.
“Who is it?!”
I turned around, unusually angry, and found….
“Miss Kate?”
“I’ve been looking everywhere for you. You weren’t in the office or anywhere else.”
Kate stood with her arms crossed and spoke calmly.
“The academy is strangely unsettled, and there are even rumors that an assassin crossed the academy walls. In the middle of all that, Instructor Haru wasn’t in the office, and everyone I asked could only tell me they didn’t know where you were.”
Kate came over and perched herself on the wall beside me.
I stared at her silently, then shook the glass… no, liquor bottle and asked in a low voice,
“Were you worried about me?”
“What?!”
Kate’s face flushed as she shouted sharply. After hesitating for a moment, she turned her gaze aside and mumbled,
“…If the instructor disappears, it only makes my work harder.”
“Even so, it’s an official disciplinary action. I shouldn’t be trying to take advantage of it.”
I said this as I pushed the stopper out of the liquor bottle with my finger.
A crisp pop rang out. Hearing it, Kate shouted,
“No, I told you that you can’t drink!”
“Please keep it a secret.”
Something I had hesitated to do alone suddenly seemed easier simply because someone was beside me.
I wasn’t sure whether to call that courage or an impulse, though.
“…Don’t overdo it.”
Kate spoke quietly to the back of my head as I drank straight from the bottle.
“Phew.”
Taking the bottle from my mouth, I asked in a low voice,
“…Aren’t you going to ask me anything?”
“Your teacher did the same, didn’t he?”
Kate gave me a brief answer.
‘I won’t force you to tell me whether you had some kind of grudge against them.’
I had only just begun thinking that, come to think of it, my teacher had done the same when the sharp stream fired from Kate’s fingertips sliced cleanly through the bottom of the bottle in my hand.
“Ah!”
The purplish liquid inside the bottle spilled uselessly over the wall.
“Just one sip. I can’t let you off for anything more than that.”
“I paid good money for this!”
“You make plenty of money anyway.”
“…Sure, but that’s not the point!”
As she said, academy instructors earned quite a tidy sum. Enough to work as an instructor until gray hairs appeared, then spend the rest of their lives doing nothing.
But it wasn’t as though I thought the liquor was a waste. Feeling the heat rush into my head, I glared sullenly at Kate.
“Come on, get up. The office is already closed.”
Kate said this as she pulled me backward by the back of my collar. Instead of warm skin, I felt the strange touch of cold metal fingers.
I let myself go limp in her grasp and flopped backward onto the inside of the wall.
At some point, my vision had grown slightly blurry. It also felt as though the world were spinning around me.
“…You’re completely out.”
Kate muttered as she approached me. Something flesh-colored waved rapidly back and forth before my eyes.
A moment later, I felt my lightened body float into the air.
“Why am I doing something that isn’t even my lot in life?”
Grumbling, Kate hoisted me onto her back and carried me down from the wall.
On her pleasantly swaying back, I closed my eyes and surrendered myself to the sleepiness washing over me.
=
“…Hic, you… bastard….”
“Just my luck.”
With occasional sobs coming from behind her, Kate walked along the nighttime road, sighing heavily.
The instructors’ residence was just beyond this hill.
The problem was that she had to climb a staircase to get up the hill.
“Damn it.”
Cursing, Kate placed one foot on the stairs.
“…Instructor Haru?”
That was when.
An unfamiliar voice came from above her head as she was about to climb the stairs.