For the past three days, Emika had been overcome with a fever. Though she wanted to watch the exhibition match with her friends, the best she could do was on the television by herself.
Shoya, Kana, Tatsuya, Akane and Anastasia, along with some other classmates of hers, suggested they watch with her, but she declined with a smile, saying that she did not want to spoil their enjoyment.
Though Emika said that herself, she regretted her choice. She did not want to be alone but with her friends.
[The winner of the second match is Alicia! This makes it 2-0 to the Japanese branch!]
Loneliness was a feeling that she dreaded. A feeling she never wanted to feel again.
When she was younger, her mother died and her father raised her for the majority of her life until he died when Emika was accepted into Altheria.
For the extended holiday, she stayed with her relatives, who mainly disregarded her. Though people were around her, she felt alone. The place where she felt the safest was around her friends. That was where she had the most fun and could truly express herself.
There was a knock on Emika's door.
"Huh?"
For a second, Emika's eyes lit up, until she delved into her thoughts.
(It's probably just my roommate. She probably forgot something.)
Reluctantly, the girl got out of bed and slowly sauntered to the door. She opened it and, to her surprise, it was not her roommate.
"S-Shoya..."
"Hey,"
The boy said with a nervous smile.
Her face lit up and she slammed the door on his face, realising that she was showing a lot of skin.
·———·
"Sorry about closing the door on you."
She said with bright red cheeks.
"It's fine. I did come uninvited after all."
Emika turned to Shoya, looking at the eye patch he was wearing.
"I thought your eye already healed?"
"Well, it's sort of a long story, but I injured it again, to say the least."
She silently stared at him.
There was something strange about Shoya Sasaki today. The girl gave him a cursory glance. She could not quite put her finger on what was strange about him.
"Uhm, is there something wrong?"
He asked.
Emika flinched, flustered.
"Ah, no, I just feel like something's different about you today..."
Shoya wore a black turtle neck, a silver necklace, and a brown trenchcoat.
"Is it my clothes? You see me wearing tracksuits or uniforms, right?"
"That must be it!"
(I was thinking about how he somehow looked less handsome...)
She thought.
Emika sat down on the sofa and Shoya sat down on a chair beside the sofa, watching the television.
"Seems like they've entered a 20-minute break. It's 2-1 now."
Shoya said.
"Yeah. I was shocked by the first girl's performance. Who would've thought that she had a powerful familiar hidden? That reminds me, why did you come here, Shoya, shouldn't you be watching the match with Tatsuya and Kana?"
"I came to see you, of course. I thought you'd be lonely by yourself."
"B-but, you went with Tatsuya and Kana... Did you come back for me?"
"Uh... Yeah, kind of."
He turned away from Emika.
She smiled innocently before pulling Shoya toward her and putting him onto the sofa.
"If so, then let's watch it together."
Shoya sat on the opposite side of Emika, looking at the television.
"Who do you think will win?"
Emika asked Shoya.
He responded almost listlessly.
"Judging from their stats, the Americans will win."
"Stats? That's how you're deciding it?"
He nodded.
"I think we'll win."
He glanced at her.
"Why?"
"Well, I just believe it."
"You believe it? Believing is illogical. It may look like we'll win now but they'll dominate later on."
"But there's nothing wrong with believing, is there?"
Shoya's eyes widened, shocked by Emika's question.
"No... there isn't."
"Believing may be illogical but it's still acceptable, isn't it?"
[We have a special guest of honour in the crowd!]
"I wonder who it could be? Perhaps a famous Magi?"
"Most likely."
The camera switched to a familiar face. The person looked annoyed, attempting to look away from the camera.
[The one who fought an Emperor and survived—Shoya Sasaki!]
"What?"
Emika saw the face of the person sitting next to her. That boy was the real one. Besides him were his two friends, Kana and Tatsuya.
That meant that the one next to her was...
"Who are you?"
A smirk appeared on the face of 'Shoya.'
"I wanted to play for longer but I guess not..."
"Weissmann..."
His voice changed. It became deeper. Emika had heard the voice before.
The boy's body became bigger and his face changed. His black hair lost colour and his eyes turned yellow. He towered over Emika, who jumped over the sofa, running toward her door.
"That took a lot out of me. Oh, where are you going?"
He reached his hand out and squeezed the air, stopping Emika in place. She could not move. No matter how hard she struggled, she was stuck in place.
"You... how did you disguise yourself as Shoya?!"
Emika still had the ability to talk. Regulus seemed intrigued by that.
"I didn't disguise myself as him, I replicated his appearance, however, did you know, a copy can never be 100% like the real one. It can utilise 99% of the original. I couldn't copy Shoya's appearance perfectly but you still fell for it. It does take a lot of mana compared to disguising myself as people who are dead..."
"What do you want with me?"
"I need you to save the world."
He said, confusing Emika.
"That's a lie."
She said.
"I'm not going to bicker with you. Believe me or not. I need the Tarot you possess, but, seeing how you haven't awakened it, I'll need to forcefully awaken it for you. Now, come with me."
He slowly got closer before the room filled itself with light. It was Emika using her magic to blind him. Without looking, Regulus grabbed her by the throat and slammed her against the wall.
"I'm not in the mood for your petty tricks."
Regulus did not smile. Emika struggled but could not escape his grip.
"No one will be coming to save you. Not yet, anyway. Let's go now..."