"So, let's have a serious talk..." William withdrew his place from near the window, he sat on the chair once again while looking at Nikki's condition.
After hearing all of the new information that she has been given, her skin turned pale for a mere minute. Gradually comprehending every little detail, she is aware of the following dangers that might unfold if no actions were to be taken as a countermeasure. William knocked some sense to her by forcing her to realize the problem.
"You are now aware of your condition... I can't say anything about the academy having a lurking curse or it will be a disaster. What is your decision?" He asked her still with a straight face.
"I need to ask you something before I answer that..." She replied.
"Hmm?"
"How can I survive this... Is there any way to lift the curse?"
William backed off for a little bit and gave a sigh of contemplation. Not knowing any possible solution aside from the very obvious start, he dropped the important answer.
"Yeah, we need to find the cursed book and destroy it. That's the only way for you to get out of that misery." Nikki nodded.
"I see, well, I made up my mind. I will still participate in the Triathlon. I don't want to worry all of my classmates just because of this. I still want to fight. Knowing that there is an answer for that, that is fine." Her calm and composed attitude was on point during the time that she made her decision. Still believing that in any way, a certain help will arrive. However, William was not inferring to it at all. For him, it is critical and irrational to continue while your condition is getting all of that negative pressure, but she is persistent and determined. There was no flow of other paths from her eyes.
"Even though you don't know the possibility that it will be destroyed, you still want to go? Look–" He was trying to change her mindset but he was completely stopped in his track.
"It is not that I know that chances are... But, there are still other people right there outside my room who would be willing to help me. It is not that I know what will happen, I have faith in them. I believe in my friends and companions. I know that they will do something about this..." She answered with a deep smile on her face. It hurts to put up a strong facade, but she is willing to sacrifice her willingness to rest.
"You're going to tell them?" He asked.
"No. I am pretty sure that once they knew about it, they will stop me from participating. I just want to wait for a while before I tell them. I want to enjoy the fun things in this upcoming event. I don't want to be the reason why it will be postponed."
William sighed once more. The alluring feelings of confusion and self-doubt filled the room. The nasty selfishness of the world is the problem that will arise. It is not the outcome that they were expecting. Majored in all aspects of magic, he knows the inevitable truth if Nikki continues to lie. Not only that she will risk herself, but she will also bring trouble and potential death for all of those people that are going to attend the Triathlon. Something needs to be done quickly in order to avoid that outcome.
What should I do... If we wait and have her participate, the unknown might unfold and there will be a major catastrophe. On the contrary, stopping the Triathlon event to deal with this will also change the view of the enemy. I don't know for sure but if the Triathlon were to be postponed, there is no telling that the enemy will stop as well. There is no concrete path for this problem. Everything is supposed to happen with a fifty-fifty chance. This is more troubling than I have expected.
"All right, I will respect your choice. But what if this path will lead to a more devastating result?" William stood up from the chair.
"It is not my fault that I have been invoked by the curse because I have a lot of mana. I am aware of what might happen but still... I just don't want to ruin the hard work and time that everyone had put in for themselves just for my sake. I have witnessed their pain, blood, and sweat and it is really special for me. They are looking forward to it and I am looking forward to it as well. But still, I believe in them... And I also believe in you..." Nikki pointed her finger towards William. He widened his eyes for a change, realizing something.
Negating the responsibility that he was entrusted to.
I see... I was being blinded by everything else and I didn't see the bigger picture. So this is what you really want then, Aran? Not only that you wanted to see them succeed with their goal but you also want them to be safe, is that right? You're so clever as always... You're giving this old man pain in the ass.
William smiled, he inhaled and exhaled, catching up the light for all of the resolution enclosed within his grasp.
"I understand. I will do my best to protect all of you..." He responded with an enlightened expression on his face. Nikki smiled and did the same.
"I will leave my case to you..." She responded.
After a short time break, William exited the infirmary. The three close friends of Nikki approached him.
"So, how is she?" Eunice asked.
"Well, she is feeling well. She said she is still willing to join the Triathlon. Everything is going to be fine. I promise it..." His response seems like he was able to resolve the problem but in reality, he still doesn't know what to do.
"Oh great!" Huck clenched his fist and waved around while Lisa gave a joyful smile.
"Can we see her now?"
"Yeah, sure..." William left the hall and they all entered Nikki's room.
Now then, in order to prevent the things that I am thinking from happening, I need some insight on whoever delivered a curse in this place. Judging from the dark energy particle, it is located somewhere around this place. But there was no concrete pinpoint. It is hard to dissect the energy particles with a subtle quality. Nevertheless, that Witch must have been capable of using teleportation magic. But how come the academy masters were not able to notice it? Where does this book come from anyway?
Lost in his thoughts, William decided to head outside to get himself fresh air. He looked at the sky while trying to visualize everything.
There are two major problems. One is the curse that is torturing and leeching mana from Miss Shimizu. The idea was coming from the pre-requisites of modern magic literature. A curse that is capable of sucking out the soul of one individual person as well as their mana. It a classified as a gluttony spell type of curse magic. One hundred years ago, this spell was unbreakable due to its high demand for magic power. But they were able to rescind it by destroying the source or the caster itself. It may be coming from an object like a magic book or coming from a person like a mage or a Witch. The only question now is how did it get here?
Continuing his deep analysis, he walked through various fields while watching the candidates train. He places his hands on his pockets and contributed again to his facts.
The second problem is the summoning that will happen anytime soon. Whenever a curse appears, be it a different type of magic or so, the only reason for the gluttony of this spell is that the caster itself is going to be summoning something or perhaps resurrecting. A curse that gathers life essentials is proven to be used for various practices and the most common one is the resurrection of a being. Mana, blood, and soul. The curse that was inhabiting her body is trying to attain that. That curse has a body, it is not just a spell. It has taken multiple kinds of shapes and it is now being developed. What's more is that, if the summoning happens, we still don't know what kind of monsters it will submerge. I have a bad feeling that it will be something that is hard to kill or hard to slay.
As time goes by, his mind has taken him into different fields of view while opening up different paths for insights. Several options were considered but nothing leads to an evident answer. Comforting the fact that he only has small speck of time left, actions need to be formed before the tragedy happens. They need to plan now in order to stop the Witch.
Without noticing the time, the evening came by in a flash. William suddenly woke up with leaves on his face.
"Agh!" He whimpered from the bench.
I accidentally took a nap, outside... How lame... I should be working on something here. Damn it, at this point, everything might just get in the way and I won't be able to fulfill Aran's desire. He gritted his teeth and stood up. He walked past the empty field earlier and decided to head back inside the building.
Upon entering, he saw the group stalling around.
"What are you guys doing in here? Aren't you supposed to say on your rooms now?" William asked.
Huck, Nikki, Lisa, and Eunice turned their attention to him.
"We're waiting for Aran's arrival..." Lisa answered.
"Oh yeah, you guys mentioned that he was supposed to be in here in the evening." He raised his view on the ceiling.
"We haven't seen you for a while since earlier, where have you been anyway?" Eunice asked.
"Oh well, just thinking about some stuff. Particularly on how are you guys going to win the event tomorrow." He answered straightly as he looked at Nikki.
I can't tell them that I am thinking of some solution to the problem. It will only inflict on their performance. He shrugged.
Later that brief moment, the big front door opened. Everyone shook their head and pushed William out of the way.
"Hey!" He almost fell.
"Aran is here!" Huck called out to him.
Without a doubt, Aran and Mahrisse came back from their dinner. Both of them entered the hall with a smile on their faces, waiting to meet the group.
"Everyone! We're back!" Aran called out to them as he waved back.
"ARAN!" Then all of the sudden, the first one to rush an attack on him was Lisa, she embraced Aran so tightly and pushed him to the floor.
"WAH!" He squeaked.
Eunice, Nikki, and Mahrisse's jaws dropped as they saw the straight attack.
"I MISS YOU!" Lisa made a shrieking wept sound as she squeezed Aran on the ground.
"Calm down Lisa, it is just a one-day trip... Haha," Aran seems to be happy that everyone is okay and that they managed to get and settle everything for themselves.
He rose his body upward and carried Lisa's arm to give her some space.
This woman... s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-she just did it in one go! Eunice's face was scorned towards her as if Lisa was in the line of sight of someone.
"Oh umm, guys..." All of them were happy to see him, but it is just a shame that they weren't able to greet Aran in the same way as to how Lisa greeted him.
"Hmm? What is it, Mahrisse?" Nikki left the others and approached Mahrisse.
"We bought a lot of souvenirs from my country and we picked the best that will suit everyone so here you go! We also bought a lot of sweets!" She gave the bag happily to Nikki. Everyone was stuck in one group and Lisa left Aran on the floor. They were all excited to see the things that the two have bought including the sweets and the other fruits.
"Oh! This one is awesome!" Huck grabbed a necklace and raised it. All of them were happy to see the things.
Aran swept the dust on his clothes. Noticing his figure, William confronted him and offered a hand. Aran smiled and grabbed it to help him stand up.
"How's the trip?" He asked Aran.
"The Duke has his hands on me... I pretty much gave him a good impression." He replied but his tone is somewhat reluctant.
"Hmm? What's wrong? You don't look so proud about it?"
"Well uh... He gave me a lot of things and I just don't know what to do with them. Like, there are so many things to process."
"Hahahahahahaha!" William chuckled at his answers.
"What?!" He huffed.
"Nothing! Hahahaha, it is just that... This is the first time that I have seen you display such a happy yet embarrassed face. So Frederick spoiled you that much eh?"
"Y-Yeah... To be honest, I wasn't expecting it to be like that. I came there with that thought that I will just eat delicious food but then he gave me huge stuff." Aran answered.
"Did he also ask you to marry his daughter?"
"WHA?! I mean, uhh... Yes! Yes, he did!" Aran blushed as he stepped back, feeling flustered all of a sudden.
"And...?"
"...I didn't take it."
"What?"
"What?"
"Eh?"
"Eh?"
The two exchanged idle words from their mouths, not knowing what the hell are they even talking about.
"Dude! You have like that much opportunity! Why the hell did you turn it down?!" William scatted his voice around him, yelling like a father.
"Why the hell am I taking it?! I was just being polite and respectful because I don't want to have those kinds of relationships yet!" Aran countered with a scream as well.
"And accepting their offer also means being polite and respectful as well you know?!"
"No! I don't know that! And I also don't plan on laying a hand to her as well!"
Across the hall were the group making a weary reaction from the two arguing about some useless stuff.
"Umm... What are they talking about?" Eunice pointed at them.
"No idea..." Nikki and Lisa both answered.
"Wait! Now that you are here, Mahrisse... You've got some talking to do..." Suddenly, Eunice's composed attitude became scary as she leaned closed to Mahrisse.
"E-Eh??!!, umm... E-Eunice?" Mahrisse became afraid of her sudden personality change, Lisa also dropped in.
"She's right! What did you two do while you guys are along, huh?!" Her grumpy voice scared Mahrisse even further.
"W-W-We didn't do anything like that, I promised! W-We just talked about the prizes that he got from my father and umm... umm..."
"And?" Both of them squeezed her.
"W-We..." Mahrisse's face was constantly fluttering from remembering all of the details. Her cheeks blushed at one point and she averted her gaze.
"We had a date..." She told them with slight confidence but it is not entirely true though.
Both girls were lost in their minds, getting dizzy from her answer.
"Huh? What's wrong with you two?" Aran confronted the two but as soon as he reached them, he received one slap from his face and one punch on his belly.
"Agh!!!" He jerked in surprise.
"C-Come on... What was that all about?" He stood up while enduring the pain.
"Nothing!" Both girls scowled at him.
"Aran you dummy!" Lisa huffed.
"Eh?"