***—
In my room, everyone is present sitting on the floor below. I don't know why they decided to come here unanimously, maybe because we'd it the first and second time and they didn't want to discuss the matter in the hall.
It doesn't matter, they can discuss here for as long as they like, I'm safe now. Before, I wouldn't let a shadow of them into my room but now, I'm not bothered by it. Good news brings a good mood, I guess.
Anyways, I'm really, really, really safe now unless I anger the pope or the king finds out but I wouldn't let that happen.
But now that I can safely avert my gaze of doubt from the priest, I can now turn it to anyone, and those 'anyone' are my classmates.
I lied earlier. I wasn't safe even after the pope told me that. If it were me, the king would never find this out and I'd bring this matter to my grave but...
"I'm glad it was just a misunderstanding..."
"Yeah, thought Imma die,"
"Right? The priest got us there, glad he wasn't our enemy."
"But if everyone is happy, Ell has to be celebrating inside. Right, Ell?" Sophia turned to me.
...they knew that fact as well. I have to do something about it or else they'd sell me.
I was staring by the window above my pillow and the others are slightly away from me. Raien was beside me but she put some distance when she should've been sticking close to me. It seems that she has something to say as well but couldn't.
I ignored Sophia and watch the moonless night, staring at pure darkness.
My classmates are now my enemy. They knew my secret.
I had only told them about it because I trusted them at the time. I thought for sure the priest has some malicious plans but since he was trusted now, my classmates don't have to cooperate with me as well.
The king is terrifying. His position alone poses great problems. If my classmates decided to tell him what I did for money, I'd be dead, surely.
For the record, I don't plan on controlling the king but if I find myself trapped due to him, I wouldn't think twice about using it.
I noticed Raien slowly inching her way closer to me. It's uncharacteristic of her since she'd just immediately bump her body to me or just sat wherever without hesitation.
"What, scared of me?" I turned and gave her a questioning look.
"N-no, I-I am not. I was just..."
"You don't have to hold back. If you have something to say, go ahead just like you always do."
"S-sorry, I wasn't trying to..." she flinched and dropped her head. She must've thought she pissed me off because of my serious expression. Sorry girl, I was just thinking about something.
"I'm not mad, please tell me. I just have something in my mind."
"Really..?"
"Of course, why would I be mad?" I should feel the opposite. I open my arms to show her my not-mad gesture.
She hugged me immediately after seeing my open and started sobbing. I didn't know what to do. I couldn't just peel her away and ask something idiotic. This must be an emotional moment for her so I let her finish wetting my clothes.
"Sniff* Hic..! I-I th... you... sniff..." She couldn't form any words as she let her tears soak my clothes. It is my third one for the day so I wasn't happy she got it wet but I can't say that. Besides, we and the pope are in a good relationship so surely they'd let us wash them. On that note, do they have a washing machine?
It doesn't matter. Raien is on me, sobbing while I took the glare from my classmates.
(I am wary of you all so stop glaring at me like that.)
I brushed her short white hair trying to calm her down.
In our school, hair color, piercing, and other aesthetical changes are allowed only after the school talks to the parents. Raien's hair is dyed and even after two years, no signs of it fading are visible. It's apparently permanent. Just much the same, her bob-cut hair is also permanent. She went to medical procedures just to make that happen. The first few weeks hurts but she bears it all for the sake of fashion. Girls go so far in the name of beauty.
There's also no way of growing them back so it's a huge decision she just made. She hasn't complained about it; either she likes it or she just regrets it and can't do anything about it.
(What should I do? She doesn't stop! It's like, 5 minutes and she's still sobbing. I'm soaking wet! Should I say, "There, there"?!)
With that internal panic, I decided to do something. "Is there a problem? You can speak them to me," I tried to sound as calm and comforting as I can be.
She then started going for another round and hugged me even tighter. Her tears soaked my clothes too much and I can feel the wetness of it to my skin. Clearly, my words didn't work.
"Ell..! I-I'm sorry..!" she managed to make a word in the form of an apology.
"Wha—? Why?" I don't remember her offending me. Did she do something behind my back?
"B-bec... because... hic..."
"Calm down for a sec. Here," I reached for my bag beneath my bed and took the bottle she gave me yesterday. It's still halfway full of water so it should be enough to calm her down.
She let go of me and drank it all, and she started to calm down a bit.
I look at her, eyes swollen from crying, and asked: "Why are you apologizing? You didn't do anything, did you?"
"I-it's because I wasn't able t-to help you earlier... I was scared that I might get you in trouble after all you said, so..." (So that was it,)
"As I said, I knew a way out of that situation. Although in the end, I wasn't able to say it, at least I learned that I wasn't in danger to begin with."
My argument was, it turns out, petty. I'll argue with the pope that we are his responsibility and because we are under his hypnosis, I cannot think straight for myself. If the priest rebuke that for some reason and hand me to the king, I'd tell them about the pope's power and coax them to attack the church instead. Yeah, sloppy, messy, and petty, glad I didn't have to use that.
"I-I'm sorry I didn't believe you..."
"Hey, all's well that ends well. Cheer up," I am in my best mood so it feels wrong for her to sulk like this. "I'm in my goodest mood, can't have you crying like that,"
"Goode—! Y-you're right, I was being a killjoy, wasn't I?" (Oh, c'mon!)
I sighed, resigned, "I'm really happy that you are there when I need you the most. Not just today, especially in the past. I've received enough from you that I don't know how can I return the favor. I know you've been looking out for me since we were kids. That's why I strive to do my best for myself so you don't have to worry about me anymore and that I can be someone you can rely on." I told her, handheld, we stare at each other.
She was speechless by my little speech. Everything I said is true. She's the person I respect the most, more than anyone in this or our previous world. She was with me in my difficult times, she'd hug me if I needed any warmth, she'd cry if I'm in danger, she was there when I'm feeling under.
When I got my first offense against Benedict, everyone despised me, they detest me and bullied me to apologize. Of course, the prideful me before can't understand why I should apologize and so, I received a second offense the day after I got my first.
But Raien didn't avoid me. Instead, she scolded me. She gave me this long sermon about hurting somebody is bad no matter the reason for doing so. I didn't understand why back then but I forced myself to or else her 3-hour long speech would've gone longer.
Of course, I was grateful for that but I never said my sorry. Mostly because of Miria, and in time, I forgot Raien's long lecture and she just sighed.
Everything I said is true. In fact, it wasn't enough to show my gratitude to her. I want to tell her, deep in my heart how I cherish her. Her presence makes me feel like I can do anything. I want to do everything for her.
She locked me in the eyes, teardrop fell through her cheek. Her face are slightly flustered but she didn't look away.
Her warm hands kept me from staring at her mindlessly.
She moved closer. I reached out for her cheeks, both of them, cusping it and indulging the softness. I rub my thumb to her tears and wipe them away. I don't want to see her cry because of me.
"Hold it!" suddenly, Sophia broke our silence and pushed us away from each other. "I thought you two just want a little celebration, I look away for a second and now you're flirting?!" (This girl... I hate her.)
"What's wrong with you? Do you like me or something? You weren't like this before. You hated me, didn't you? You always scold Allen when he's trying to help me so what the fuck happened to you?" I'm pissed. Pissed, pissed. At this moment, I hate her with everything I have, more than I hated Miria. I might just punch this girl.
"Wha—! N-no! Why would you assume that? I-I was just..." she paused.
"What? Did you think I'm kissing her, is that it?" I can't understand why would she interfere in our emotional moment. How dare she interrupt our time after saying my 'speech of respect'.
(Is having them speak their business in my room not enough? She wants to intrude more?)
"Y-you are not, Ell..?" Raien meekly asked. Her face suggests expectation.
"No, why would I? I was just wiping your tears..." I replied. "A-are you, perhaps, expecting me to..?"
She looks down, fidgeting. (So she is! Does this mean she accepts me? This little savage me?)
"Ahem, ahem!" Sophia coughed. "Y-you tw—"
"Shut up, Sophia! I allowed you to discuss whatever you need to in my room, further intrusion is out of the question so watch yourself, I might not hold myself back. You piss me off," not because I missed out on kissing Raien, but definitely, it was because of her disruption to our emotional moment. Not the potential kiss.
I glared at her prompting her to backpedal. The look from my classmates is like sharp glares that can pierce my skin. But since I have a tough hide, they're basically blunt glances.
As much as I want to continue our little dally moment but I don't think she's up for it.
Although I missed my chance for a kiss, I think I have gotten closer to her, even if it was just in the heat of the moment.
"Ell," Allen called me out as Raien and I sat in silence. "We would like to hear your thoughts as well, we'd like for you to be with us in our final talk."
"Hmm... Sure," why not.
I look at Raien and she nodded.
I scooch closer to them, still on my bed.
"I wanna thank you, Ell. It's not just me, I'm sure everyone feels gratitude for what you did for us all. You opened our eyes in regard to this issue. If not for you, Sophia would hide everything from herself. I'm sure you did a lot for us. In the dining room, you were taking their attention for yourselves so we wouldn't worry about them looking at us suspiciously. You even risked yourself and converse with them even after knowing they can read minds, you did a lot for us. I am ashamed of myself for not helping you in your crisis, but I guess I wouldn't be of any help. Even so, I want to show you my gratitude for doing something for us despite our differences. Thank you," he bowed after delivering the most genuine and misunderstood speech ever.
(Them? Feeling gratified? Look at their eyes full of disdain again and tell me they're grateful.) They were all looking at Allen with a "The heck is this guy talking about" look in their eyes but no one dared to correct him. He was so serious that his imposing aura shut everyone's mouth.
And what the heck did I do? Take their attention? I'll never. I was just under magic so I was acting like that.
"Don't misunderstand, I did everything for myself. If any of you gained benefit from my actions, I will never change my decisions. I can only help myself, I'm sure no one will help me so I have to solve everything myself, that's why you shouldn't concern yourself over trivial stuff such as that." even so, I couldn't bring myself to return his thanks. "But I appreciate your gratitude, if I helped you in some way, I am glad to do it involuntarily." that's about what can I say to accept his words without sounding smug or too full of myself.
He nodded.
"M-me too, Ell, thank you. And sorry, with all the talk I did, I was not able to help you." Raien said. Here she goes again.
"it's the thought that counts," I pat her back and turn to the others.
I listened to them as they summarize what happened this evening. Gil and I got into a fight prompting the pope to step up, revealing his secrets in the process. The pope admitted his spying capabilities to us because we, as classmates, are fighting when we shouldn't be. It struck me as sincere and kind for looking out for us but I realized he's the one who stole our lives back in our world so it's his responsibility. I'm happy that he takes care of his responsibilities, unlike the people I've known.
The tension is now long gone, casual chatter amongst classmates echoes inside the room. I was never part of this conversation so I just listen and carefully watch.
Gil's still glaring daggers at me beside Allen but he wouldn't do anything after all that's happened. If he does, I'm sure he'll be reprimanded heavily for it. Besides, I just returned the fist in that tent incident, so he shouldn't think about it too much.
Right now, everyone is chatting together with glee visible on their faces. They were excitedly talking about the future, how they'd use their skills, and whether they can learn magic immediately.
Their topics were diverse from magic, monsters, landmarks, and people of this new world. It seems that they had forgotten the family they left behind, or at least didn't think about them at the moment.
Raien laid herself on my bed with her head on my lap. She was yawning while the conversation is going on and I knew she was tired so I let her be.
I slept for quite some time, Raien probably had a few minutes of wink, and both of us are tired. Meanwhile, my classmates are still full of energy going on about their discussion about skills and how'd they use 'em.
Soon, Raien's breathing became stable indicating that she was fast asleep. My classmates are still going at it. (How long are they gonna be here?)
After hours of talking, they finally concluded their conversation. The sun is almost up, the sunrise is looming on the horizon and they just now wrapped everything up. They're full of energy from that good news.
"Raien we're going... Raien?" Sophia called out.
She was busy talking to the others that she didn't realize Raien fell asleep.
"She's asleep, yes." In her stead, I replied to her.
"O-oh, a-are you going to bring her to our room..?" she meekly asked. I yelled at her earlier and said straight to her face that I'm mad at her, of course, she'd be hesitant. (If only you were not so brazen...)
"No, she's heavy, I can't lift her," I replied. "Hey, Raien, Raien, wake up." I pushed her lightly until she opened her eyes. "Go back to your room,"
"Mngghhh... Morning already..?" I didn't reply to her half-asleep question.
Sophia carefully supported her and went back to their room.
The others are gone as well leaving me and Cienn.
Thankfully, there's no trash left lying around and the two of us can now sleep somewhat peacefully. Although mind you, I still haven't forgotten about that knife.
"A-are you sleeping now, Ell?" Cienn was fixing the curtain between our room when he asked.
"Maybe, how about you?" my guard still up, I asked him.
"I'm tired so I'm gonna hit the hay... D-don't worry, I'm not a loud sleeper so you can rest peacefully... I hope..."
Well, with that knife still in your possession, I definitely can't sleep.
"I don't think I can sleep tonight. Maybe in the morning," when everyone is wide awake, yeah.
"I see..." he paused, and then continued. "Y-you're so strong, Ell. Y-you knocked Gil with one punch, h-how did you do that?"
He sounded so casual and uplifting but I didn't drop my guard.
"Just hit the right spot with enough strength, even you can do it,"
"I don't think I can do that... Even if you say I can, I don't have any confidence in doing that..." he sounded sad as if it had been a problem of his for all his life.
"Wanna smack someone? Hope it's not me, Imma fight back just so you know,"
"N-n-n-no, of course not..! I-it's just... my father wants me to be a proper boxer, h-he's a soldier see..." he sounded disappointed.
I don't know if he just wants to have someone to talk to but I feel like he opened up to me something he hadn't told anyone. Of course, as a person with lots of life experience, I don't have a word to comfort him. That being said, I don't plan to leave him waiting for my reply.
"So he wants you to follow a violent path?"
"I-I guess so... When he learned about the bully in our school, he told me to challenge and teach him a lesson. He said I can take a pipsqueak like him... I-I-I-It's not you, I swear..!" As if realizing what he just said, Cienn quickly cleared up what would've been a misunderstanding.
"Hmm... I don't think there's any other bully beside me in our school. He must be talking about me," who else. There's no point in denying it, I know.
"Mm... i-it's you, but I'm not planning on teaching you a lesson, I swear!"
"Well, I didn't learn how to fight because I want to. I just learned it as I grew up," (Man... talking about this makes me feel nostalgic about those days... Those delinquents...) Memories of the came flooding in my mind. The time when had gone astray from the righteous path. Those days never die.
"You should go to sleep, I'll go out for a walk," I said and walked to the door.
"W-where are you going?" he asked after seeing me open the door.
"Here and there, maybe outside? I can't calm my nerves after this rollercoaster of events, and I am definitely wary of them. I'll scout outside so you should rest."
"Oh... Mm... take care, then." I closed the door without replying.
***
I nonchalantly strode the hallway as soon as I left our room. To be honest, I am a tad bit concerned about how things have turned out, I just couldn't shake the feeling that we weren't told everything.
Even if the priest was honest when he spoke to us, there's no telling where he'd hide some details that are relevant to us.
For now, I want to look around and see if I can learn something valuable.
(Mm. Playing the intelligent protagonist is something else. I feel like I know everything. It's great.)
I nodded to myself and descended the stairs when...
"Ell," Allen called me.
I turned around and saw he was not alone. Senraki and Sohta accompanied him and leered at me.
(Why are they looking at me like that? I thought they were okay with me now. Sigh...)
I raised a brow and it prompted him to tell me what he wanted.
"Where are you going?"
"Wherever the wind takes me,"
"Mind if we join you?" he asked, looking at the other two. Both nodded as if they'd already received my permission.
"Yes, I do," the two probably weren't expecting me to respond like that and glared at me menacingly. "You three should rest, I'm sure you're all tired after this whole charade. Don't worry, I'll patrol the hall so you can sleep sweet and sound."
I rejected them, not in an "Ell" kind of way, but in a good way. No aggressive remarks or double-meaning words, just a concerned classmate kind of way.
"Don't be like that," Ignoring my refusal, Allen walked passed me and descended the stairs. "You should accept my offer. What are we if not friends?" he said.
Knowing him, I'm sure he won't listen even if I reason with him. I couldn't slur him either since he's my friend. He's just like Raien.
The two walked past me without removing me from their gazes. With the way I knocked Gil unconscious, their wariness is understandable.
I followed them and walked downstairs, trodding the halls in the middle of the night.
The night in this world is similar to Earth. The silence is the same, the stars are the same, and the cold air is present. One thing that was different was the darkness.
Outside the window, visibility is nonexistent. Yes, the stars are still in the night sky, they are not enough to light the ground. The moon is also gone, maybe it's a new moon?
The structure of this building is incredibly tight. Rooms line up everywhere we go, the only spacious place I've been to was the hall we passed after the Colosseum. The building is huge, we've been walking this empty hallway for minutes but we still haven't explored the whole thing. They're used every bit of space they have for rooms so it's kind of suffocating just by walking.
Even though we've explored a lot of the building, we haven't run across a lot of maids. There's just one or two walking through the premise. They greeted us with delight and a bow but they didn't raise unnecessary conversations. I blame it on our status as a hero.
"Ell," while we walked, Allen broke the silence by calling me out. He also slowed down his speed to match mine side-by-side. Senraki and Sohta were in front but I'm sure they'd be listening to us.
"You took Gil down with a punch, you're something else, y'know? I was shocked!" so this is it.
"I was too. I thought he could take that. He's weaker than I gave him credit for."
"Haa... Most people can't, y'know? You gotta control your fist or you'll make a lot of enemies."
"Why would I? If held back with my punch earlier, I'm sure Gil's gonna rampage on me. Can you hold him back if he didn't pass out? No. I was thinking of jumping on him if he stayed conscious." I was being careful not to make loud noises since we didn't know where people might be listening.
Although the priest knew what we were up to regardless, I didn't know that at the time so my actions are justified.
"You don't understand. Gil's got that [Warmonger] skill. If he decided to take revenge on you, I'm sure he'll succeed whenever."
[Warmonger], if the user attacks first, their strength and speed greatly increase. I heard it from Sophia earlier but the explanation is too simple I thought it wasn't worth the thought.
But after hearing it from Gil himself, he shot me a dangerous glare and I understand the threat he meant. That's why before our squabble escalated earlier, I decided to make to first move before that skill activates.
That's one troublesome offensive skill. I don't even know how to counter it besides smacking him first.
"Yeah... Unlike me, his skills are dedicated to offense, I don't think I can stand a chance if he avenges Benedict."
"That's why you have to be careful. My skills are pure offensive as well but they're focused on magic and I've got no clue on how to use 'em."
As I recall, Allen's skill is based on the time of the day. His [Day's Blessing] gives him power during only the day. That alone is busted but he also has the [Night's Grace] that also gives me unlimited power during the night. His two special skills compensate for each other's weakness making him ultra-powerful. If he learns magic, I bet he'll be the strongest among all of us.
"Meanwhile I, the supposed bully, is stuck with support skills. Haa..."
"A-ain't that ridiculous? I was sure you'd possess all the violent skills there is." Senraki commented.
"Right? The only fitting skill for him is that [Overlord]. That suits a tyrant like you," Allen mocked.