"Come in—Huh!?"
"How are you doing, Klaus?" asked Aoi with an expressionless face.
Arisu and Ryo waved at Klaus with a huge smile, and Klaus couldn't help but sigh. Perhaps the whole class knew about him being in a hospital by now. In a way, he felt happy when he saw Aoi came with someone else since this meant that her relationship with others had improved. On the other hand, he felt troubled by the possibility of them asking him about his injury.
How could he explain it without having both Ryo and Arisu laugh at him?
Surely, he could just change the conversation's topic when the time came.
"Uh, thanks for the gifts," said Klaus when he saw Aoi had brought a paper bag with her.
"That's homework for today," she clarified almost immediately.
"Eh!?"
"Sorry to disappoint you, but we came here right after lunch. We didn't stop by any store on the way here," said Ryo.
They talked for a while before Arisu took her leave. She had to play her part in helping the Theater Club preparing for the upcoming charity event. Meanwhile, Ryo stayed for a bit longer, and when Aoi realized he wasn't going to ask Klaus the question lingering in her mind, she took the initiative.
Aoi hadn't heard from Klaus if he would be discharged from the hospital anytime soon. Out of the three who had come to visit him, Aoi was the one holding back from getting this answer from him. She wanted to wait after Ryo had left as well, but it didn't seem like he was going to his basketball club today.
"The doctor said that I could go home on Friday. Meaning, I'll be here for four days, at least."
"That long, huh?" Ryo put a hand on his chin. "Oh, right. Come to think of it, why are you here in the first place?"
Klaus let out an awkward laugh when Ryo asked him this. He just had to ask that question to him. Anyway, he expected Aoi to ask him this question first, but it seemed like she was waiting for Ryo to leave before she wanted to do just that.
"Er, it's a long story," said Klaus haltingly.
"Well, make it short," insisted Ryo.
From the corner of his eye, Klaus could see Aoi was anticipating an answer as well. He could see it in her eyes, even though her face implied that she wasn't interested in the least.
"...I have a fever."
"Oh?"
"And, uh, I have a bad case of diarrhea too."
"That sounds awful!" cried Ryo. "What did you eat last night?"
"Anyway, don't you have a club to go to?" Klaus tried to change the topic, and somehow, he managed to do it within the blink of an eye.
Ryo's eyes were wide open when Klaus reminded him of his club. He had forgotten about the practice match with another school, and he was a starter for the school's team! No, there was still time. He could make it if he ran back to school now.
"I-I'll come back tomorrow!"
"Watch your steps," reminded Klaus before Ryo disappeared from his sight.
Aoi let out a sigh of relief now that she was alone with Klaus—a common situation she found herself in. Once the realization started to kick in, she felt happy on the inside, but the invisible mask she kept on was intact as usual.
"Ah, Aoi, you should check up on Grandma every day, you know. I just don't feel comfortable knowing that she'll be alone for a while."
Aoi nodded. "That goes without saying."
"And... thanks for everything. I mean, the homework. I appreciate it."
"That goes without saying," Aoi repeated as she sat on a chair next to Klaus's bed. "I brought a book for you to read while you're here."
"Really? You're a lifesaver!"
"By the way, it's the novel I borrowed from you some time ago. You don't mind, right?"
"Nope. Thanks again, Aoi." Klaus raised an eyebrow when a thought came to mind. "You're planning to stop by the occult club this week?"
"...I don't think so. Without you there, it'll be awkward for me."
Klaus expected as much from her. While he did want to encourage Aoi to attend club activities without him, it would be difficult for her to do it. He also predicted that if he asked her to do this, she wouldn't do it anyway.
"But if they need us for something, I'm certain they'll come to our class," Aoi assured him. "When that time comes, I'll tell them about your... fever."
"Um, I can explain."
Aoi shook her head. She knew Klaus had his reasons for lying to her and Ryo, and she didn't want to think much about it. He was safe, and that was all that mattered to her for now.
She rolled her sleeve to check on the time, but she made a mistake by doing so.
"Aoi... why is there a scar on your forearm?"
Aoi's eyes opened wide, and she quickly covered the scar with her sleeve. Nervous, her heart began to thump against her chest as she looked at Klaus, trying to restrain herself from showing any emotion.
"...That mark is from a few years ago. I got it when I tried to open a cardboard box with a razor."
"You were opening a gift from someone?"
"...Yeah."
"..."
Aoi quickly changed the topic a moment later, but Klaus couldn't help but ponder about the scar on that night. He had known her since they were elementary, so it was not that difficult for him to see through the lie she spat out.
He also knew she had been hiding something from him. Since she didn't want to disclose the secret, he figured that he should just forget about it. However, he couldn't say the same after what happened today. The look in her eyes when she told him the lie wasn't something he could just discard from his mind.
Back then, in a way, it seemed like Aoi was begging him for help desperately. She knew he wouldn't be there for her, and this fact wrenched her heart even more so than she could endure.
○ ○ ○
"...The Keeper?"
A ten-feet tall knight in plate armor and helmet stepped into the hidden room. It looked around and found a short girl in front of the Dimension's Crown. Seeing this, the knight approached the girl slowly as it raised its right arm.
Crack!
Yellow bolts of lightning appeared in the knight's right hand and gradually took a solid form. The knight's gloved hand gripped the pommel of the silver blade, and anyone who held their eyes upon it would surely agree that it was supposed to be a two-handed blade.
The weapon was quite large by itself, but the C-rank Draugr wielded it with such ease as if it was a feather. Why would anyone want to go against a monster like this?
"...You're the Keeper," called the Draugr.
To have been bestowed the blessing of fighting a Keeper enraptured the Draugr quite a bit. Yes, fighting such an opponent was a blessing, indeed.
The Keeper who resembled Freda in shape and form watched as the Draugr inched towards her. She didn't seem to be deterred by the weapon held in its hand nor by its appearance. To her, encountering a Draugr who sought the Crown she was protecting, was a common occurrence.
"...I've killed many," said the Draugr, its voice came out extremely hoarse as if its throat was bereft of water. "I'd claimed many Crowns for myself."
"...?"
The Keeper was surprised that the Draugr could speak as a human would.
"Only B-rank Draugrs and above could speak," she said to her foe.
"...Not quite. I'm still weak."
"Then, you must be one of the strongest C-rank Draugrs," concluded the Keeper.
She raised her right hand and pointed at the Draugr with her index finger. Before the opposing party could even react, a beam of light crashed squarely into the creature, and it was taken aback by it.