Chapter 58
Lin, escort the young lady to the nearby Mage Corps garrison. If you give them my name, they'll arrange a room for her.
At Louis's instruction, Lin, who had restrained Casey, nodded.
"Understood... And you, Louis-dono?"
"I will do something about this barrier that no longer even resembles its original form."
With that, Louis jerked his chin toward the collapsed fountain.
Monica's "borrowed" barrier had been rewritten to counter 〈Spiral Flame〉, so it had lost its function of defending the entire academy. They certainly could not leave it like this.
As Monica huddled apologetically, Casey looked at her and opened her mouth.
"Monica."
Monica's shoulders flinched.
Monica understood that this would be her final farewell to Casey.
Casey would never again set foot in high society or return to the academy.
But Monica did not know what to say to Casey. Unable to say either "I'm sorry" or "goodbye," she looked at Casey with a lost expression.
Casey smiled with her eyebrows lowered, as she always did. It was the sort of smile that seemed to say, "I suppose it can't be helped."
"I'm not going to say either 'I'm sorry' or 'thank you.' I'm someone who plotted to assassinate the Second Prince, and I'm your enemy, Monica."
"..."
"I'm not your friend or anything... so don't make that face."
Only then did Monica realize that she was gritting her teeth.
The back of her nose prickled. Her eyes felt hot.
The moment a sob escaped her, a tear dropped from the corner of her eye.
"You mustn't cry for an enemy."
"B-but... I..."
"You really are a softhearted Sage-sama. At this rate, someone will slit your throat while you sleep."
The exasperated tone was the same one Casey always used as the caring, attentive person she was.
"Hate me properly. If you can't do that, then forget about me."
"...I don't want to."
Monica shook her head vigorously.
"...I have a good memory... I will never forget you."
"You troublesome Sage-sama..."
Casey laughed with an awkward little "ha-ha," looking troubled as ever.
As Monica sniffled and sobbed, Casey looked at Lin and said, "Take me away already."
Lin nodded slightly, and the next moment, their bodies were enveloped in a barrier of wind. They would probably fly to the destination by means of flight magic.
Their bodies floated gently upward.
Monica looked up at Casey as tears streamed down her face.
Casey did not look at Monica. With her back still turned, she said only one thing:
"Goodbye, Monica."
She called her Monica instead of Sage-sama, just as she always did.
Then Casey's figure grew smaller in the distance.
Even after Casey disappeared from sight, Monica continued looking up at the sky while Louis cleared away the rubble from the fountain and muttered as if to himself.
"You should learn how to vent your emotions in moderation."
"...I'm bad at that."
"Take it out on some random weakling."
Louis was probably the only person who could put that advice into practice without hesitation.
As Monica sniffled, Louis stood up, firmly pressed a clean handkerchief against her face, and then went back to the fountain.
"I am busy repairing the barrier that some crackpot witch went and completely mangled. If you don't want to be forced to help, get yourself out of here. I'll deal with that young lady somehow."
"...A handkerchief."
"It's a precious gift from my wife. Wash it, iron it, and return it later."
"Yeees."
Monica sniffled and smiled at Louis's characteristically Louis-like behavior.
＊ ＊ ＊
After waiting for the swelling around her eyes to improve somewhat, Monica headed for the student council room. Her eyes were still slightly red, but since she usually kept them lowered, no one would notice unless they looked closely.
Her magic power was completely depleted, and her body was still unsteady, but Monica dragged her heavy body along and opened the student council room door.
Everyone but Monica was already in the student council room. Apparently, all the unloading work was finished.
As Monica wondered how to address them, Felix looked at her worriedly.
"Cyril told me some lumber fell over. Were you and your friend hurt?"
"Y-yes, we're fine..."
"Good. Then there are no regular duties today, so everyone can call it a day. I have an errand to run myself."
Monica breathed a sigh of relief.
She had run completely out of magic power and had barely been able to stand.
(Ugh... My head feels all floaty...)
As she struggled to keep her fading consciousness tethered, Neil looked at Monica worriedly.
"Um, are you all right, Miss Norton?"
"...Yeees."
"Y-your answer already tells me you're not all right!?"
All the other student council officers began getting ready to leave. Felix had said he had an errand to run and promptly left the room, while Bridget quickly returned to the dormitory.
Cyril checked the locks, while Elliott kept sneaking glances at Monica. But he soon looked away abruptly and left the room.
(...It's been a long time since I ran out of magic power, so this feeling is...)
Anyway, I have to leave the room so I don't get in the way of them locking up... Monica thought hazily as she moved her heavy legs.
Then she bumped into something with a soft thump. It was softer than a wall.
"...Hey."
She thought she heard a low voice above her head.
But the pleasant sensation made Monica sigh softly. When she leaned against this wall, she felt as though her magic power was recovering just a little.
"M-Miss Norton! Miss Norton!"
Neil anxiously shook Monica by the shoulders.
When Monica looked up with a start, her eyes met Cyril's. What Monica had been leaning against was the back of Cyril Ashley.
"S-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-sorry! S-sorry, I-I was just... spacing... out..."
Only then did Monica remember.
Cyril Ashley had a constitution that made it easy for him to store up magic power. That was why he released excess magic power outside his body with a brooch-shaped magic tool.
In other words, the magic power concentration around Cyril was just slightly higher than elsewhere.
Monica's magic-power-starved body must have approached Cyril on its own, drawn by the higher concentration of magic power.
I'm going to be scolded. He's definitely going to yell at me.
Monica squeezed her eyes shut, bracing herself for his shouting, but Cyril did not shout, no matter how long she waited.
When she timidly looked up, Cyril had a furrowed brow, his mouth twisted into a frown, and an oddly complicated expression on his face.
"...Cyril-sama?"
"Nnnngh... ... ..."
Cyril seemed to be struggling to say something, but eventually, wearing a pained expression, he bowed deeply.
Both Monica and Neil, who was standing nearby, were startled by the sudden movement.
"...Cyril-sama?"
"...V-Vice President?"
When Monica and Neil cautiously addressed him, Cyril said bitterly:
"I'm sorry."
Cyril had apologized—to Monica.
Monica was confused.
She wondered if perhaps the apology was meant for Neil rather than her, but Cyril's body was unmistakably turned toward Monica. He was apologizing to Monica.
"Um, Cyril-sama, please raise your head. W-why are you apologizing to me?"
"...During the unloading, I was so focused on checking the quantity that I failed to check whether the rope was properly secured. That accident was the result of my failure to check."
"Th-that..."
Cyril had done nothing wrong. Casey was the one who had made a cut in the rope.
However, because Monica had shielded Casey, the accident had ended up being blamed on Cyril's carelessness.
(Did I make Cyril-sama out to be the bad guy?)
At that realization, all the color drained from Monica's face.
Her mind was a tangled mess of emotions, and she could no longer think clearly.
"...Cyril-sama... didn't... do anything wrong..."
The moment she said it aloud, the tears she had managed to hold back began pouring out again. It was as though her tear ducts had burst; the tears would not stop. And now she had sobs and a runny nose, too.
"...Wah, hic, sob... h-huh, uwee... ueeeh..."
Cyril and Neil panicked when Monica suddenly began crying.
"H-hey, Norton, Treasurer!"
"M-Miss Norton, um, er, p-please c-calm down!"
Even as Cyril and Neil called out to her, Monica's tears did not stop.
Cyril clutched his head and shouted.
"W-why are you crying when I'm the one apologizing!?"
"...S-sorry... hic, ueeeh... ngh... I'm s-sorry... I'm sorry..."
Monica sank limply to the floor where she stood and sniffled miserably.
These were not tears of sadness. They were tears born of guilt.
(I'm sorry for deceiving you... I'm sorry for telling you so many lies.)
And so she crouched there and cried, and cried, and cried... before she knew it, Monica's consciousness sank into darkness.
＊ ＊ ＊
"...D-did she fall asleep?"
"I-it looks like she cried herself to sleep..."
Monica lay there with tears streaking her awful-looking face, making tiny whistling snores.
Cyril and Neil exchanged looks, utterly at a loss.
"...So why was I called here?"
Claudia Ashley, summoned to the student council room, darkened her already gloomy expression further and gave her brother a baleful look.
Cyril looked at Monica, who was sleeping on the sofa, and said awkwardly:
"When Norton, the treasurer, wakes up, please take her back to the dormitory. We can't exactly enter the girls' dormitory."
"...I'm not a gofer, you know?"
Cyril gave a muffled "ugh" at his sharp-tongued sister's words, and Neil looked up at Claudia with a troubled expression.
"Um, is that not okay... Miss Claudia?"
"Don't worry. Monica and I are best friends, after all. Of course I'll escort my best friend to the dormitory."
Cyril's cheek twitched at the spectacular reversal, but when he saw Monica sleeping softly on the sofa, he swallowed his angry outburst and draped his own jacket over her.