“… It’s so clean.”
“Yeah, this is actually normal.”
“Hmm.”
That was our collective opinion after thoroughly inspecting the building.
There were no suspicious traces of magic, no signs of magical tools installed, and no evidence of prior intrusion.
In short, it was spotless.
‘Could the quest possibly be messed up?’
It was troubling how everything was too clean, to the point where I even entertained such thoughts.
Of course, this might have been how things were supposed to be.
“Nevertheless, I’ve put up a protective barrier just in case.”
“Okay.”
“Hm. Does this mean something will happen tomorrow?”
“Probably. The leader mentioned it, and the hostage we captured before confirmed it as well.”
“Then, is it not here but somewhere else?”
“Could be, but most of the Academy staff will be gathered here tomorrow…”
Indeed, it was frustrating not knowing exactly what our opponents planned to do.
There was no suspicious activity in the party venue scheduled for tomorrow.
If anything, the security was tighter than usual, making it harder to sneak in.
“Well, if there’s nothing unusual here, it’s a good thing. Most students will be here anyway.”
“Yeah… I guess.”
Despite a lingering unease, there wasn’t much we could do at the moment.
We couldn’t possibly cover the entire Academy with just the three of us.
“As long as there’s no bloodbath…”
I muttered and recalled the quest details.
To prevent the Academy Festival from being drenched in bl**d.
Now, the question was how to respond tomorrow.
“Shall we head back?”
“Yeah. Let’s go.”
“…Okay.”
I reached out to Erika and Yuria.
As soon as I touched both their hands, we instantly teleported back to Yuria’s dormitory.
I had planned to track down any clues if there was anything suspicious, but nothing happened.
We were expecting a long night, but it ended pretty quickly.
“Since we finished early, Yuria, can you tell me what we were talking about before? Why did you leave your family?”
Even though the topic changed earlier, that didn’t mean I forgot.
With time to spare, it was the perfect moment to ask.
When I inquired, Erika also curiously removed her hood and looked at Yuria.
Yuria smiled as usual and replied,
“It’s nothing big. I just felt it was time to leave when I grew up. Hehe.”
“…Hmm.”
Clearly, it was a vague answer meant to avoid the subject.
Yet, there was an underlying sincerity in her words that couldn’t be ignored.
“Wooow!”
Erika immediately bombarded her with jeers.
“…Alright. If not now, tell me when you feel like it. Let’s call it a day today. Erika, you’re heading back too, right?”
“Yeah. I can’t exactly stay here.”
“Right.”
Although the place looked spacious enough for two people…
Erika grabbed my hand and gave Yuria a nod before we teleported back to the dormitory.
Yuria’s smile as we left seemed oddly complex.
“Do you feel like something’s off?”
“It’s less about feeling off and more about… having a difficult story she doesn’t want to share.”
As soon as we got back to the dorm, Erika spoke up.
“Hmm. Something feels fishy. I’ll have to probe deeper later.”
“Sure, but let’s focus on tomorrow. You should get some sleep too.”
“Ugh. It’s kinda nice being alone. Your dorm is pretty big and fancy, huh?”
“It’s because I’m the top student. I’ll see you first?”
Erika nodded satisfactorily as I directly went to my room, skipping the office.
I need to do a final check before sleeping for tomorrow.
‘Nothing bad will happen, right?’
Thinking it was game over actually made me nervous.
Emily Franz.
Emily gently traced her name badge with her finger, then closed her eyes.
She should have been asleep by now, considering tomorrow’s events, but sleep wouldn’t come.
Even though she was under her cozy blanket, sleep eluded her.
Instead, Emily kept fidgeting with her name badge under the covers.
The reason her sleep was disrupted was clear.
The person she had met earlier in the lecture hall.
She had planned to meet that person ever since hearing they would give a lecture at the Academy a few days ago.
However, Emily didn’t want their meeting to end that easily.
Just talking with the thought of meeting her made her tremble.
But what Emily really wanted was to ask something much more important.
Because she had long desired to meet but never had the chance.
<It's been a while since someone has asked me that. At the time, I had no choice either.>
The voice she heard earlier resounded vividly in her mind.
She managed to ask her question.
But the answer received was not what Emily had expected.
A calm voice explaining there was no other option…
She had anticipated something more plausible.
“AAAAAAHHHHH!”
As Emily thought more, her thoughts deepened, becoming increasingly serious. She shook her head, rising abruptly from bed.
If she stayed lying down like this, she’d probably end up lost in thought all night.
Better to get up and do something.
Still in her pajamas, Emily sat at her desk and opened her last-filled experimental journal.
Looking at her neatly written entries filled her with a sense of contentment.
‘Haaa.’
Although unrelated to today’s work, these notes brought her back to what transpired earlier.
“Why was it impossible?”
Emily stopped trying to write, setting her pen down.
Given her current state, not only was sleep out of the question, but continuing with her experiments would also be unwise.
It’d be a shame to ruin the progress she’d made thus far.
<When things don't go well, forcing them will only make it worse. You need to calm down instead.>
“Of course.”
The tender voice that Emily heard today drifted in her mind, recalling her own enthusiastic response of “Got it!”
With a thud, she closed the journal.
In this condition, she couldn’t accomplish anything.
She calmed herself and thought again.
What exactly was the “impossible situation” that Yuria Prisis had faced earlier?
Was it a threat of someone killing her if she didn’t leave her family?
Or perhaps her mischievous young relatives annoyed her so much she left?
Or something else entirely?
“In the end, why…”
Today was one of those days where old memories couldn’t be ignored.
Whispering to herself, Emily allowed the memories flooding her mind to settle.
The warm smile praising her achievements.
The calm explanation solving the problems she faced.
The comforting presence offering candy when she cried after being scolded by her mother.
Even memories of her packing her bags and leaving without looking back.
Unable to hold back the rising tears, Emily felt moisture on her cheeks.
Her eyelids grew warm, and tears began to roll down.
Once the tears began to fall, her emotions and memories overwhelmed her uncontrollably.
What followed were memories she wished not to recall.
The times she was forcibly pushed into dungeons filled with undead.
Her mother, coldly staring down at her fallen form.
Her sisters’ mocking gazes.
Voices declaring her beloved experiments utterly useless.
“Whoooh…”
Emily tried calming herself down, taking a deep breath.
These are old, familiar stories.
If she continued like this, she wouldn’t have to face such situations again.
Determined to stay resolute, Emily closed her eyes.
Since entering the Academy, the difficult memories rarely surfaced, thanks to her new group of friends.
For a while, she thought she’d no longer be affected by them.
But she was wrong. Even the old, familiar situations still stung.
‘If only that person hadn’t left…’
She had made this assumption countless times but entertained it once more.
What would have happened if Yuria Prisis had stayed instead of calmly saying “I had no choice” earlier?
Yuria would likely have been by her side in the undead-filled dungeon.
Extended her hand to help when she fell.
Shielded her from her sisters’ mocking stares.
More importantly, Yuria would have cheered on her beloved experiments instead of dismissing them.
The tears flowed continuously, unaware to Emily.
She hastily wiped them away with the back of her hand, trying to stop her thoughts.
Indeed, seeing her in person today had quite an impact.
Especially with how perfectly fine Yuria looked compared to Emily.
“Every day, I cried like this.”
“In the end, was my aunt…”
Alone in her room, Emily spoke as if posing a question to someone.
Her voice, filled with moisture, trembled.
“…Was she okay?”
It was a question she wanted to ask her aunt, Yuria Prisis, since she was a child.
After leaving her, did she live a completely carefree life?
Even though Emily suffered immensely after her aunt’s departure, what about Yuria?
Emily posed this unanswerable question with great difficulty before rushing to the bathroom.
Her hurried movement caused the stack of papers on her desk to flutter.
A single sheet lying at the desk’s corner listlessly flew and fell to the ground.
The paper, which fell limply, bore a name Emily had handwritten.
“Emily Prisis.”
The name had a line drawn through it, followed by a corrected version:
“Emily Franz.”
