"Mm...hmm..." A small sound was heard inside the room. Aran slowly opened his eyes while squirming around the bed. Though he can't make unnecessary movements because of his condition, he tried to stretch his limbs that were untouched and it gradually woke him up even further. He inhaled and exhaled deeply as he scans the room.
"Uh..." From there, he found Nikki beside him, she was staring at him with a feeling of something different. There was a change to her presence and the way she looks at him reeks of something more than a normal affection.
"Nikki? Is that you?" Aran asked, even though he is awake, his vision is still quite not clear.
"Aran..." She responded. Her tone was somewhat soft and really soothing to hear. Aran noticed the change and after a few seconds, he decided to lift his body up to confront her.
"I see that you came to visit? Are you feeling okay now? You're not hurt anywhere, are you? I'm sorry that you have to see me under this pitiful state..." He said with a concerning sound, although it may seem like Nikki was not listening, she was trying to comprehend what he was saying. Without waiting for her response, Aran made his follow-through.
"Anyway, thank you for visiting me, I think I have taken your time for quite a while now... You should probably leave if you have any–"
Before he can even finish his sentence, Nikki firmed herself and embraced Aran. She pressed her body on him while hanging both of her arms on his back. He toppled his body and leaned over for a few centimeters.
"Oh... Nikki?"
"I haven't properly thanked you yet, Aran... Thank you, you saved me... You saved my life..." She thanked him with all of her emotions in the front. Aran gratefully accepted it. He smiled and grabbed her back as well. He then began to stroke her hair while his other hand is placed on top of her head.
"You don't have to do that, it is okay. I am sorry that I didn't manage to see your condition. I am sorry that I am late... I promise you, that I will never let anyone touch you again." He replied he was serious about it. There was no hint of reserve in his speech but his resolve and determination to protect her were top-notch.
Considering all of the events that happened, it was pretty clear that Nikki was the target in the first place due to her excessive magical capacity and power. She has an elemental magic aptitude and according to William, that amount of magical power is required for her plan to work. That being said, Nikki will have to sacrifice herself and her own soul and power just for the sake of that. Aran and the others wouldn't let that happen.
After the long hug, Nikki slowly panned her body away from Aran, she was on the verge of tears. She wiped it out using her left arm. Aran returned to his original position and smiled freely at her.
"Aran..."
"Mmm?"
"I promise that I will get stronger, I don't want to leave the burden to you. I will do my best to stand with you. I won't let everyone around me get in danger because of foolishness." Nikki declared with powerful might. It was clearly good that she managed to find her resolve to do things again. She is trying to become the woman who will return the favor for those who risked their lives for her.
"I see, and while you do that, I am going to stay by your side. I will guide you if it is possible. I want to see you off your own journey." He replied. They both smiled at each other.
Nikki felt something different while she was talking to Aran. Her uneasiness was not caused by the stress but rather, it looks like she developed something even more than her usual behavior. Something is throbbing in her chest but it is not the feeling of happiness or being afraid. It was her own personal feeling that she managed to acquire with her connection to Aran. It is not presumably a romantic feeling but there is a possibility that she gained that validation for herself.
With that, her cheeks blushed. Aran noticed this change as Nikki averted her glance.
"Nikki? Are you okay?" He asked.
"H-Huh? No no no... I am fine..."
"Oh, by the way, I am not the only one who came in here..."
"What?"
Nikki stood up from her seat and opened the door. All of his classmates came inside and he was greeted with a surprise.
"Everyone!" Aran shouted.
"Hiyaa! Aran! We're here!" Penny loudly greeted him.
"We're coming in!" Politely replied Eita.
"Aran!" Lisa jumped over her place and decided to give Aran a more closure embrace. Everyone got surprised by this. They didn't actually know the relationship between Lisa and Aran since she is on Section B.
"Lisa!" Aran was feeling the same and they can't help it.
Aran hugged her without hesitating, there was a clear difference between meeting his classmates and treating Lisa. Nikki, Mahrisse, and Eunice dropped their shoulder as they averted their glance. Their expression was sour and there was an indication of irritation. They are not confident with their feelings, that is why they are having these subsequent failures of an attempt to snatch Aran's heart. If they are still willing to stay composed, Lisa might end up with Aran.
"Yo, Aran!" Huck and the boys entered as well.
"Huck! Everyone! Thank you all for visiting! It makes me happy, I have been dealing with my own in this room for quite a while now and it is really boring." Aran followed as he joyfully set his nature on the ground. Everyone looked pleased with him being back in his usual state and even more happy than his previous aura.
"So when are you going to go back?" Aine asked.
"I don't know... But I am positive that I won't stay longer, my body feels fine now and I think I can move now." Aran did a couple of stretches as well as bending in order to prove it. It looks like he was not lying, his fast recovery is something else.
After a brief discussion of his health, everyone talked about their future as well as how are they going to move forward from now on. It was an interesting discussion and everyone is enjoying it as far as they know.
The conversation and storytelling took at least an hour and a half. The others said their goodbyes as they leave Aran's room. Apparently, they have other things to do and just came to visit. The only ones that were left are Aran's close friends.
"So how is it going on the academy?" The real conversation started.
"The replacement was pretty handy, they managed to fix some of the buildings in a small amount of time. Even more, knights are pressed to guard the whole academy. The news was circulating throughout the whole capital and it is bad." Eunice answered.
"I see, if that continues to circulate, there is no doubt that the central capital will lose its capabilities as the strongest city. People might need to reconsider their stay. We can't let them know more details as much as possible." Aran replied.
"We're already told that the commander didn't intend to put up such a shred of evidence for the media to arrive at a conclusive solution. I think it is better to assume that once they knew about the truth, this city might fall."
"Anyway Aran, you said earlier that something is troubling you right?" Huck asked.
"Oh yeah, though, I am not sure if I should be saying this..."
"Speak up, no matter how small or big it is, it might prove something useful." Mahrisse insisted.
"I am not sure that this one will have any good news though... I was having a dream– No... I think it is better if I see this as something that would be considered as a premonition or warning." Aran started it as vague as possible.
"Dream?" Lisa asked.
"Yeah, I had this weird dream that has a connection with the Witch. She and I talked together for a bit and we are having a creepy conversation. She said something to me like I am not a part of the human empire and that I was such a unique guy or whatever. She was saying absurd things that I didn't understand." He followed.
"Well, that was indeed creepy and cryptic, what else?" Eunice pressed.
"She also said that I am bound to go to the wrong path starting now. I don't know why she said that, but it is rather uneasy even if it is just a dream. I have been thinking about it and I can't formulate a good answer for all of the mysteries. There is a lot of things to tackle and I can't start it." He explained.
"I see, I think you should just let that go, dreaming of a witch is not important..." Mahrisse said.
"You're probably right... Maybe I was just imagining things..." Aran decided to withdraw the conversation back and started dragging his body near the table. He took the bread and ate it.
"One thing that I had to know, such Witch existed a long time ago?" Mahrisse asked.
"Yeah, I think I heard it from William," Nikki answered.
"So it is true that there are still witches living outside the world?"
"That's more or less the current speculation. But seeing that there was a witch who attacked us, it is possible that they are still alive and reproducing. They are a powerful kind and I hate that humanity had fallen under their scrutiny."
"Still, to think that someone would be invading the academy..."
"I actually wanted to investigate more in this matter, but we're limited as a student of the academy. There are no books that talk about the witch from the past. Something is certainly weird about this case." Aran replied.
"What do you mean? Do you know something, Aran?" Huck asked.
"William told me that the witches from the past are actually a part of the human order. They were classified as the sage and savior of the kingdom because they can repel any monsters that come close to the walls using their magic. That may seem logical, given the fact that the witch who attacked us has immense power. However, one day, a scheme was profounded and they were casually accused of residing with a monster as well. That lead to their race getting exiled outside the kingdom."
"So you're saying that someone plotted their vanish?"
"Yeah, and that was already proven after Thalia gave us a clear mindset of her goals. She wanted to destroy humanity by reviving the demon lord. It is now connecting to each other."
"That's..."
"It is hard to grasp the situation, but then I agree about one part..." Aran went back to his bed.
"I know what you are thinking, the board members have something to do with this?" Lisa was spot on.
"Yes, you're right. Someone from inside the kingdom staged the whole accusation in order to drive them."
"But that doesn't make any sense, why would they exile the witches, they have nothing to gain from that!" Huck huffed.
"That's exactly what I am confused about. Nothing was wrong and they all misjudged the ideology of the witches. Although they are different in their tradition and nature, they are still humans who tried to protect the kingdom and this is how they are going to repay them. Pretty cruel right?"
"Yeah, there was no merit or something about that. Unless someone is trying to be a traitor..."
"There was no 'trying'... Someone is already a traitor..." Aran said.
"What? Do you know who?"
"Of course not, I haven't met the whole council yet. But I have my intuition in this manner. I know for the fact that the Kingdom of Ruth is by far the most abundant of all the other countries. And being exploited throughout the whole world means that we are bound for traitorous and rebellious revival as we progress."
"In other words, someone from the other nation was sent to work for this kingdom and now he is the one pulling the strings all together to destroy us?"
"Yeah, someone is trying to embark on the destruction of the Kingdom of Ruth. And by that, they are doing what they can in order to bring us down."
"Then... Are those attacks also connected with this idea?"
"Probably, but we still don't have any evidence that they pulled it off. But it is easy to identify the traitor because we already know how they work behind the scene and how they gradually tamper with the Kingdom's rule just like what happened with William's competition disclosure."
Everyone was on the verge of knowing the truth, although it is still quite a prototype to device a certain condition and statement, they were not off the mark by their own means. Aran already deduced from the start how the council operated after hearing what Master Himawari and William said back in the academy.
It is not like they are trying to impose the destruction of the kingdom. They are declaring war against the Kingdom of Ruth while hiding in the shadows. That might probably explain why the Jurah Organization was also mad about losing their allies and other families. If the Kingdom of Ruth were the one to be blamed for all of these problems, it is true that someone behind the shadows is pulling the string and they are doing it for the sake of their own country.
"To be honest, I wanted to graduate from the academy as soon as possible. I lost all of my thoughts after hearing about the plotting device they installed." Aran continued.
"Oh, have you heard of the winter selection trials?"
"Trials?"
"I think it is possible for us to graduate faster from the academy if we win the winter selection trials that will be held in December."
"What do you mean? Is that another competition or something?" Confused, Aran took another bite of the bread.
"Yeah, but not really a competition but rather, a test of one's will. It is a final examination that every grade level and section can compete. They are selecting those candidates who excel in each category of skills and once they win the selection trials, they will be instantly graduated and will be placed on a division site. It is a formidable chance."
"Woah..." Aran stopped on his eating tracks and made a good expression. "I feel like I should join that..." He followed.
"Well of course, if you managed to win you will be leaving the academy now... Don't you find that kinda sad?" Asked by Eunice.
"I guess so since I am leaving them already..." Aran hung his head. "But I can't let my goals subside because of my feelings. I need to get to the bottom of this."