Chapter 63

Chapter 63. Interlude – The Moon Trapped in the Mirror

[Warrior Department Midterm Exam Results Announcement.]

[1st Place: Yuren Helios]

[2nd Place: Morris Jin]

[3rd Place: Camila Bediche]

A hologram floated above the Hero Watch screen.

I let out a sigh of relief as I stared at the name “Yuren Helios” boldly written next to 1st place.

“I… got 1st place.”

Did I really break the One-Horned Beast’s bell?

What if I was mistaken?

What if I passed out and missed the entire exam, ending up with zero points?

As soon as I woke up after the exam, such negative thoughts flooded my mind. But after checking the report card through the Hero Watch, I finally felt at ease.

“What about Dale…?”

I scrolled down the report card, looking for Dale’s name.

His name wasn’t in the top 10, nor the top 20.

“Don’t tell me…?”

With an anxious gesture, I continued scrolling until I saw “253rd Place: Dale Han” at the very bottom.

“…Dale.”

A chilling sensation ran down my spine.

I nervously bit my lip as I stared at Dale’s name at the bottom of the report card.

‘It’s my fault.’

It was clear that my inability to control my magic power at the end caused Dale to get caught up in my attack.

“What should I do…?”

While it wasn’t against the rules for candidates to interfere with each other during the exam, my attack went far beyond mere interference.

“…I should apologize to Dale later.”

I worried that this incident might strain my relationship with Dale.

“Haah.”

I let out a deep sigh and paced around the overly spacious dorm room.

“I’ll contact Dale tomorrow.”

But there was someone I needed to contact before Dale.

“……”

The room was filled with silence.

I swallowed dryly and turned on the Hero Watch.

As I pressed the contact button on the hologram screen, a list of names appeared.

The very first name.

I slowly reached out to the name saved as “Mother.”

“……”

My hand paused before the name.

After a moment of silent hesitation, I closed my eyes and pressed the button.

*Ring ring ring.*

A clear chime echoed through the room.

My heart pounded with unbearable tension.

[What is it?]

My mother’s face appeared on the hologram screen.

Rozanna Helios.

The current head of the Helios Family and a former hero known as “Rozanna of the Flash.”

I cautiously opened my mouth as I looked at her face on the screen.

“Um… there was a midterm exam recently.”

[Oh?]

“Yes. So… um, the results came out today, so I thought I’d let you know.”

My mouth felt parched.

The sound of my heartbeat echoed in my head.

“It was close, but… I got 1st place again.”

[Close? What do you mean?]

“Ah… well, there was a really strong competitor this time!”

[A competitor? Are you talking about that Republic mongrel, Morris Jin? Or perhaps Camila Bediche?]

“N-no! It’s someone else!”

I frantically shook my head and continued.

“There’s a friend of mine named Dale, and he’s really amazing! He even beat a teaching assistant in a duel and took down dozens of monsters by himself during the recent monster incident!”

[Hmm. I’ve never heard of him.]

“He’s been hiding his strength until recently. He’s become so famous at school that everyone’s talking about him!”

[And?]

“So… um…”

My voice trembled.

It felt like my throat was being choked, making it hard to breathe.

“But… I still won.”

It was close.

It was precarious.

But in the end, I broke the One-Horned Beast’s bell before Dale.

As befitting the name “Yuren Helios.”

I took 1st place.

‘So…’

I don’t ask for much.

I don’t want anything grand.

Just once, even just once, I want you to…

[Ha.]

A cold, mocking laugh.

[Are you bragging about that now?]

“……”

[You barely managed to get 1st place in a mere candidate evaluation, and against some unheard-of candidate at that. What exactly did you win?]

My mother clicked her tongue and continued.

[If it were Yuren, it wouldn’t have been so close.]

“……”

Again.

That name again.

Yuren, Yuren, Yuren.

How much more must I struggle to live up to that name, shining as brightly as the sun?

[Sigh. How pathetic.]

The deep sigh weighed heavily on my heart.

[So. Did your “Holy Mark” get exposed during the exam?]

“Ah… no. I hid it well, as usual.”

[Good. Be careful not to let anyone see it. If it gets out that the heir to the Helios Family bears the Holy Mark of the Moon God, it would be a disgrace to the family.]

“……”

It hurts.

Every word my mother says cuts deeper than any blade, tearing through my chest.

[Is that all you wanted to say?]

“Ah… yes.”

[Don’t contact me for such trivial matters in the future.]

*Click.*

The call ended.

A silence deeper than death filled the room.

Why?

The dorm room I’ve lived in for the past three years felt unfamiliar.

It was too big, too suffocatingly lonely.

“……”

The ticking of the wall clock echoed like thunder as I walked to the bathroom.

The large mirror above the sink.

I carefully removed the pendant around my neck.

*Hummm.*

A blue aura enveloped my body, and my golden hair, shining like the sun, turned silver.

My limbs became slender, and my chest rose into a beautiful shape.

On my chest, the Holy Mark of the Moon God was engraved like a brand.

“…Yurina.”

I reached out and touched the reflection of my face in the mirror.

I uttered the name no one calls me anymore.

“You got 1st place in the midterm exam, huh?”

The reflection in the mirror smiled brightly and nodded.

“They say the exams get much harder from the 3rd year. How was it?”

The reflection answered.

Yeah, yeah. It was definitely different from the 1st and 2nd years. They released monsters into the area, and we had to hunt them ourselves, just like real combat!

“Were you scared?”

So~ scared! Especially when the One-Horned Beast suddenly charged at me with fire in its eyes. My heart almost dropped!

“Really? You managed to fight without running away.”

Well… I really wanted to win.

“Against Dale?”

…Yeah.

“How was it, fighting Dale?”

He was really amazing. I don’t know how he fights so well with less than half my magic power.

“It must have been tough.”

Yeah, it was tough.

Really… really tough.

“But you still won, right?”

Haha. I guess you could say I won by overpowering him with my magic…

“Don’t say that, Yurina. Your magic is still your strength, right? No matter the method, this is a victory you earned through your own efforts.”

…Is that so?

“Of course. Ah, but failing to control your strength and hurting Dale was your mistake.”

I-I’ll definitely apologize to him tomorrow!

“Good. Dale will understand, so don’t worry too much.”

…Thanks.

“Yurina.”

I spoke to the reflection in the mirror.

The words I’ve wanted to hear since that day five years ago, when I came home after placing second in the swordsmanship tournament.

The words I’ve longed for more than anything.

“You did well.”

It must have been tough.

You’ve worked hard.

I’m proud of you.

Even though Yuren is gone now, I’m glad you’re here.

So now…

It’s okay not to be afraid.

It’s okay not to be scared.

You…

It’s okay not to shine like the sun.

“……”

A heavy silence fell.

The reflection in the mirror shed tears.

With a distorted expression, I clutched my head and silently wept.

* * *

“Sorry, Dale!”

The day after the exam results were announced.

As soon as I arrived at Yuren’s private training grounds after class, Yuren bowed his head and approached me.

“Huh? What are you sorry for?”

“Well… the exam results came out yesterday.”

“Ah, yeah. They did.”

Even thinking about it now made my head throb.

‘I thought I could finally escape this cursed last place.’

Whether it was fate’s cruel joke or not, after fighting the Alligator Monster, I collapsed from exhaustion and ended up in last place among the 253 Warrior Department candidates.

‘If I had known, I would’ve hunted other monsters for insurance before looking for the One-Horned Beast.’

But who could have predicted this outcome?

As I sighed deeply and pressed my throbbing forehead, Yuren spoke with a dejected expression, like a scolded puppy.

“…Was it because of me?”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“At the end, I got you caught up in my attack, so you couldn’t hunt other monsters.”

“…Ah.”

So that’s what he was getting at.

‘He thought I got last place because of him.’

Well.

From Yuren’s perspective, he wouldn’t know about the high-ranking monster that appeared after he passed out, so it made sense for him to think that.

“You don’t need to apologize. I didn’t fail to hunt other monsters because of your attack.”

“…You’re lying.”

Yuren frowned, unable to believe me.

‘I can’t tell him the whole truth.’

The fact that an external monster had invaded the exam site was a secret only Professor Elisha and I knew.

‘Guess I have no choice.’

Tsk, I clicked my tongue and added.

“Even if I did fail to hunt other monsters because of your attack, it’s not something you need to apologize for.”

After all, I had also tried to interfere with Yuren to secure the One-Horned Beast’s bell.

“But… I lost control of my magic power.”

“Whether you lost control or not, it was a fair fight.”

There was no reason to blame Yuren.

“Actually, I was a bit surprised.”

“…Surprised?”

“That technique you used at the end, was that the first time?”

“Ah…”

A soft gasp escaped Yuren’s lips.

As Dale had said.

The “White Light – Wave” technique he used at the end was something he had created by applying insights gained from Dale.

“Y-yeah. That’s right.”

“Wow! That looked like a really difficult technique. You must have practiced a lot to use it in actual combat.”

Even for a genius like Yuren, creating a variation of the White Light technique would have required immense effort.

“You did well.”

I lightly patted Yuren’s shoulder as I spoke.

“…Huh?”

Yuren’s eyes widened.

“Did you just… say what I think you said?”

“Huh? No, I mean, you worked hard. It must have been really tough practicing that, right?”

“Ah… yeah. That’s right.”

“Well, I didn’t see it myself, but even Reynald probably couldn’t wield the Sun Sword that well at your age.”

I chuckled and tried to remove my hand from Yuren’s shoulder.

But then.

Yuren grabbed my hand and placed it back on his shoulder, speaking up.

“…Dale.”

“Yeah?”

“Can you… say it again?”

“Say what again?”

“You know… the, the ‘you did well’ part.”

Yuren’s face turned red as he averted his gaze.

“Well… it’s not that hard.”

I couldn’t understand why someone who was constantly showered with praise and admiration would want to hear such simple words from me.

But I patted Yuren’s shoulder and said it again.

“You did well.”

“……”

A brief silence.

Yuren’s expression melted like butter.

“O-one more time! Just one more time!”

“…You did well.”

“Ehehe.”

Have I ever seen Yuren make such a dazed expression in my life?

Even when I searched through my past life memories, nothing came to mind.

But.

For some reason.

“E, hehe. He said… I did well.”

Yuren’s smile, as he clasped his hands in front of his chest, shone brighter than any sun.