After talking with Mercurius, Kail figured out the secret Sera was hiding and immediately returned to the Academy Territory.
Ardor, who had been monitoring Sera, looked at Kail with shocked eyes as if asking what happened. Kail smirked and revealed why he came.
“I found it. The secret that kid is hiding.”
“Really!? What was it?”
“We need to investigate further.”
Ignoring Arthur’s puzzled head tilt, Kail approached Sera. She was leisurely enjoying tea time in her mansion when she frowned upon seeing Kail barge in.
Every time Kail visited, he dumped annoying tasks on her. True to form, Sera spoke up with a slightly annoyed tone.
“What now?”
“I have something to ask you. Ah- Miss Maid, get me a cup of tea too.”
“Don’t bother. He’ll leave soon anyway.”
“What? You’re just gonna say it here?”
“What exactly…”
“I met with Mercurius.”
At the mention of that name, Sera’s eyes widened. Still visibly shocked, she gestured for the maid to bring her a cup of tea.
While the maid stepped out, Sera quickly gulped down the tea in front of her. Trying to soothe her parched throat from tension, she cautiously opened her mouth.
“How did you find out?”
“We’ve known each other long enough.”
“What are you talking about? You’ve been alive much longer than you’ve known me…”
“That’s true- but I have a good memory. I remember even ancient things?”
“You can’t even remember yesterday’s lunch-”
Sera snickered, looking around quietly before activating her Magic Tool. Waves emitted from the tool enveloped Kail and Sera, creating a hazy barrier.
The Secret Maintenance magic ensured no sound or sight escaped outside. Kail stared at the barrier, which seemed more useful for maintaining confidentiality rather than its intended purpose, then spoke.
“Does this really make any significant difference?”
“Not really. But it’s better than having one more person know.”
“Alright. So—what exactly happened?”
“Before that… I want to know how much you actually know. It affects what I can tell you.”
Sera eyed Kail suspiciously. In truth, Kail knew nothing. However, Kail was a Master skilled at reading people’s emotions intuitively.
With the information he had and a bit of imagination, he could craft a story more real than reality itself.
“—You made a contract with Mercurius, came here from Earth… and there’s a price for that, right?”
“You pretty much know everything… That damn demon told me to keep my mouth shut but spilled everything himself… Yeah, whatever- knowing that much won’t cause me any trouble if I talk about it.”
Hearing Kail’s explanation, Sera opened up candidly. It was a summary of everything she had experienced.
Kail dying on Earth, the events afterward, meeting Mercurius and making a contract.
The contract stated she would reincarnate as the protagonist of this world and meet him again.
Listening to all of this, Kail grasped the ending to some extent and quietly spoke.
“…Which means.”
“Just like every game has an ending—this game has one too. For me, graduating from the Academy is that ending.”
Games have endings. Most of the time, the protagonist meets some kind of ending to conclude the game.
The same was true for <Diaros Academy>. There were various branches, but ultimately, the protagonist graduates from the Academy.
If she truly played the role of the protagonist in this world… she would meet her eternal rest in this world a year from now.
That was the nature of her contract.
“The moment I graduate from the Academy. I will leave this world, and Mercurius will take my soul—such is the contract. A common tale. Deals with demons always end this way.”
“…Do you have no complaints about dying like that?”
“Huh? If I had complaints? You’ve met him, so you should know. He’s not someone you can back out of a deal with.”
“—I’m asking if you’re satisfied.”
“Aha, well, I got to meet you again, Kail! And in this world, I attended school with handsome guys and beautiful girls I could never dream of meeting in reality. I even got to use magic! Yeah, it was a fun life!”
“Sera. One last question. Are you satisfied?”
Hearing Kail’s words, Sera tightly closed her mouth for a moment, then began to well up with tears. Drip drip—tears streamed down as she slammed the table and spoke.
“How could I be satisfied! What is this! I thought the Academy would be full of happiness, but every day someone dies in this crazy place! And these people act like it’s nothing! My childhood friend, without knowing my feelings, married some fiancée or whatever! And I haven’t even met a decent guy! No one likes me! Why!? Isn’t this a game!? Am I not the protagonist!? If I am, shouldn’t lines of handsome guys be falling for me!?”
She unleashed her pent-up frustration.
The cruelty of the digital world, composed of 0s and 1s, that hadn’t touched her through the monitor now pricked her skin as she explored this world herself.
In games, protagonists casually enjoyed encounters and romances, but strangely, nothing happened to Sera, despite being the protagonist.
Feeling the agony of having a part of her heart carved out daily, with nowhere to find solace, she was merely inching toward death.
Three years, or just under a thousand days—it was painful counting those days. Each passing day felt overwhelmingly terrifying.
She feared death. She didn’t want to die. She wanted to live. She wanted to meet men, experience love, feel the pain and joy of childbirth, and enjoy the happiness of being surrounded by children again in her twilight years.
“I don’t want to die, I don’t want to die…”
“—That’s enough.”
Placing his hand on Sera’s head, Kail casually stroked her hair.
His childhood friend said she didn’t want to die. She had come to this world, putting her soul on the line, just to meet him.
Sending her back empty-handed wouldn’t be proper as a friend. He should give her a gift.
“Besides—there’s less than a year until graduation, right? Do we have time to drag this out?”
“…No.”
“Right. If you have time to cry, let’s go out and have fun. Every minute and second is precious.”
Watching Sera nod, Kail vowed to show her all the breathtaking sights of this world.
Time passed.
Unfortunately, life isn’t always smooth sailing. Diaros Academy was completely shut down.
* * *
“—Kyahaha! Kail! Over here, over here!”
Beyond the North, in the Land of the Barbarians. Skiing down the mountain where the Ice Dragon was sealed, Kail swiftly followed Sera as she zoomed past him.
Reaching her side by cutting through the snowfield, Kail planted his pole and shot past her, deliberately sending a flurry of snow her way.
Focused on skiing, Sera got hit by the snow flurry and fell backward, sliding down with a zzzziiippp!
“Haa, haa—Kail, you crazy bastard! I thought I was gonna die!”
“If you’re alive, that’s all that matters.”
“Seriously, you’re insane! …Hahaha!”
But even such incidents made her burst into laughter now. Having accepted that she had less than a year left to live, Sera became someone who laughed wholeheartedly at anything.
Thinking this might be her last chance, she gave her best to everything and found joy in accepting anything.
This was possible because Kail planned various trips to ensure she never felt bored. All Sera had to do was enjoy without a care.
“Heehee… Skiing is fun too. Next time, sledding sounds good.”
“On this slope? You’ll die.”
“It’s fine! I’ll transform into a magical girl and ride it!”
“You’re skiing like that just because no one’s watching…”
As Kail chuckled at Sera’s outrageous comment, she burst into hearty laughter, ha ha ha, finding everything endlessly amusing.
Her smile was as pure as a child’s. Seeing it, Kail resolved to protect that smile forever. It wasn’t romantic affection but a mindset born of pure friendship.
“—Kail, thank you.”
“For what?”
“For everything. Meeting you was definitely the right choice!”
“What’s with you suddenly saying this…”
“It feels like you’re seeing me off.”
Saying this, Sera pointed to the sky. Against the backdrop of the pure white snowy mountain, a pitch-black Target Hole had torn through the pristine white sky.
Its meaning was clear without needing to say it.
