Chapter 722
The next day, the school was turned upside down.
The duel between Aizel and Simon for the student council presidency was ruined by Ballack’s intrusion, and on top of that, Ballack, who had been the vice-top, defeated Aizel.
But then, rumors spread that Simon nearly defeated that very Ballack, plunging the students into utter confusion.
-Ballack beat Aizel, but Simon supposedly beat up Ballack?
-Wait, what’s the truth?
While the students were in turmoil, Keyzen headquarters and the faculty went into an emergency meeting.
There was a heated debate over how to punish Ballack for interfering in the student council election and attacking Aizel and other students, and also on how to decide the next Student Council President.
The students were eagerly waiting for the verdict.
-Ballack will be expelled for sure, right?
-Not so sure.
-I don’t think so.
Ballack couldn’t escape a heavy punishment, but whether Keyzen, a place of strict meritocracy, would expel the one who had become the strongest in the school, was something to watch. Especially the third-years were saying there was no way he would be expelled.
Rumors about Aizel were also spreading.
-It’s kind of shocking that Aizel got beaten so badly by Ballack.
-Actually, about Aizel...
Stories questioning the true state of Aizel, who had seemed precarious, spread like wildfire.
* * *
Everyone has memories they want to forget.
-Pu-hahat! I said act like a snail, why are you acting like a turtle? Can’t you put more effort into it?
-Let’s play rock-paper-scissors, the loser has to be Aizel’s girlfriend for the whole day!
Every day at that school was hell.
The scars from back then felt carved into his soul, impossible to escape no matter what he did.
Even now as a necromancer, if he happened to run into those delinquents on the street, he felt he’d instinctively wet himself.
It was a wound that could never heal, and maybe that was why he was so desperate when he first entered Keyzen.
-My name is Rinea. Which kingdom are you from?
A small kindness from a girl he met at the entrance ceremony.
-Let’s go eat! Ah, Aizel, you coming too?
-They say Rochest has everything!
Warm invitations.
Warm goodwill.
If only he had accepted that goodwill as it was on the first day, but he didn’t.
He made excuses.
-They only talked to me because I was pretending to be an elite.
He made limits.
-If my true identity is revealed, they’ll hate me and turn their backs on me.
So he worked desperately hard.
To not betray the tearful kindness of his friends.
Even if that warmth and goodwill touched only the ‘fake me’ he had created, not the real him, he was satisfied just to wear the mask and smile.
But.
Now, it was all exposed.
-Aizel Bringer! Were all those stories lies? Did you use me for your elite act, mocking me all along?!
Ballack had appeared knowing his true self.
It was the first time Aizel had seen Ballack that furious.
Watching Ballack pour out his rage like a volcano, Aizel felt the sandcastle he had built for two and a half years crumble in an instant.
He thought everyone else would become like Ballack too, raging once they realized they had been deceived.
His legs shook, his will broke.
He couldn’t even use half his strength, and was helplessly defeated.
His life was over.
He had been dethroned from the strongest in Keyzen, and now he was antagonistic with Sota Psyche, who knew his true identity. His secret would spread throughout the school in a single day.
-My name is Rinea. Which kingdom are you from?
If only he had accepted that kindness as mere kindness back then.
‘It’s too late to regret now.’
Still, while unconscious, he dreamed a happy dream.
-Aizel! Please wake up! Aizel!
His classmates desperately shouting while pushing his hospital bed, shedding tears for him.
Realistically, it couldn’t be true.
He was no longer the strongest in Keyzen. Unconscious, he wouldn’t even have been able to fake being an elite.
‘Ahaha.’
He recalled one last happy dream.
And then.
Aizel opened his eyes.
Chirp- chirp chirp-
The peaceful sound of mountain birds echoed. Bright sunlight streamed through the window, curtains fluttering in the breeze.
This was the Keyzen infirmary.
He checked to see if anyone was in the room, but of course there was no one.
Of course there wouldn’t be.
Beside a loser whose mask had been stripped away, no one would remain…
“......Ah.”
Then came the rustling sound of someone stirring awake. Aizel’s eyes widened.
A long-haired girl who had been dozing at the bedside on an uncomfortable folding chair rubbed her eyes and woke up.
“Rinea?”
The words slipped from him without thought, and she widened her eyes, looking at Aizel.
Then her eyes welled up with tears.
“Aizel! You’re awake! Thank goodness, really thank goodness!”
Warak!
She hugged Aizel tightly. He blankly breathed in her scent.
“......Rinea. How come you’re here.”
Muttering in a daze, Aizel belatedly became aware of his condition.
Cold sweat dripped down his neck, and anxiety and compulsion surged.
Still in Rinea’s embrace, he frantically groped around the bed with one arm.
“Looking for your glasses?”
Aizel froze, stopping his movement.
“They broke during the fight. You probably won’t find them.”
She released him and smiled. Aizel’s face turned red, lips trembling as he fumbled with black magic.
“No using black magic in the infirmary.”
Rinea brushed his bangs with a breeze and smiled.
“And this too.”
She stretched out her hand, patting down the blanket puffed up over Aizel.
“No need to use wind to make yourself look taller.”
“......Ah.”
Aizel lowered his head with a gloomy face.
“You saw it all.”
“Yeah.”
Aizel clutched his chest, trembling as if having a panic attack, then exhaled with a sigh.
“......Now the whole school must know.”
“Correct.”
As Aizel had predicted, what happened in the student council election had spread across the school.
And Sota Psyche had revealed Aizel’s true self to everyone.
Choosing to abandon Aizel and side with Ballack, Sota needed at least some justification for Ballack attacking Aizel.
The newspaper club even ran a scoop article. They even contacted Aizel’s former school for an interview.
‘Haha.’
He felt stripped naked. Everyone knew his truth now.
But then.
“How do you feel, Aizel?”
He had always thought the moment his identity was exposed, his whole world would collapse.
That he’d rather hang himself and die right away.
But instead.
“......Strangely relieved.”
He felt oddly at peace.
Instead of the extreme despair he had feared, he found himself surprisingly calm.
“Well, maybe it’s only because I’m stuck in the infirmary? Once I go outside and face people’s eyes……”
“Here!”
As if expecting that, Rinea showed him a big board made of sheets of white paper stuck together. Written all over it were messages from his classmates.
[Get well soon, Aizel!]
[Shake it off and get up, time for a rematch!]
[You’ll go to Rochest with me again, right?]
[Always thankful! Have a good vacation!]
“Just so you know, after your identity was revealed, the others wrote these messages voluntarily and gathered them.”
As if he couldn’t believe it, Aizel rolled his eyes around, reading the words his classmates had written. Some were short, others long.
Memories of the past two and a half years rose up one by one.
“And Aizel.”
She lowered the paper board and spoke.
“I knew about your true self from the very beginning.”
At those words, Aizel jumped in surprise.
“R, really?”
“Of course. Who wouldn’t notice such an obvious and shaky act?”
She covered her mouth, giving a small laugh.
“Actually, most of the students from Class 1-B knew. From the second year on, your acting improved, so they probably didn’t notice.”
“Th, then….”
“Why didn’t we say anything, is that what you’re asking?”
Rinea let out a deep sigh.
“On the days you made a slip of the tongue, you’d punish yourself in an empty restroom, bang your forehead against the wall until it bled, break windows. You suffered like you were dying.”
“......Ah.”
“Seeing you like that, what could we possibly say? So we, as classmates, agreed to just pretend not to know.”
She let out a small sigh and forced a smile.
“You’re not the only one wearing a mask, are you? I do too. Outside, I try to speak prettily, gently. In front of professors, I put on airs. Pretend to be innocent, pretend I can’t eat much… my makeup is a mess right now, isn’t it? Puffy eyes, pimples showing….”
“No, you’re still beautiful.”
At those words, Rinea gulped, her face turning red as if struck by an unexpected blow, then she shook her head furiously.
“Anyway! What I mean is, acting different in front of others isn’t necessarily a bad thing.”
“.......”
Aizel smiled.
“Thank you sincerely, Rinea.”
“Mm.”
Their awkward gazes met.
Aizel, his face slightly flushed, brushed back his bangs out of habit and lowered his voice.
“H, however, as your boyfriend, honestly, it’s a bit pathetic, isn’t it. I….”
“There’s no need for that.”
Rinea grabbed both of Aizel’s hands and pressed them firmly onto the blanket.
“Even this timid, shy, human side of you, your true self, is still worth watching.”
“R, Rinea?”
“Idiot. I’ll only say this once, so listen carefully. I—”
She leaned in with a gentle voice.
“Whether it’s you trying desperately to change yourself, you putting on airs and pretending to be strong, or you being shy and awkward like this.”
Time stopped.
The boy and girl’s lips met.
“All of that is you, Aizel, and I like it.”
* * *
Simon awoke three days after the student council election.
Later than Aizel. During the battle, with adrenaline rushing, he hadn’t realized, but immediately after it ended, he had collapsed.
It seemed he had been severely poisoned while fighting Ballack.
By the time he opened his eyes in the Keyzen infirmary, the closing ceremony had already finished, and vacation had begun. Keyzen had sent a notice to his parents to keep them from worrying, and decided he would remain in the infirmary until he recovered.
“The student council kids dropped by whenever they had time.”
Loraine said.
It was clear they all wanted to stay until Simon woke up, but after the closing ceremony, those who hadn’t filed a stay request had to leave immediately.
Simon was eating fruit she had cut for him.
“I guess I’ll have to write a letter as soon as I get home.”
“Mm.”
“Loraine, aren’t you going anywhere for vacation?”
“I have a home on Roke Island.”
Simon nodded, then looked to the side.
Serne Eindark, who seemed to have practically moved into the infirmary, rested her chin on her hand, smiling like a sly fox as she gazed at Simon.
“......But Serne. Why are you here?”
“Fufu, I have some business, so I decided to stay on Roke Island for a few days.”
At that, Loraine narrowed her brows.
“The staff in charge of that paperwork said they don’t remember processing it.”
“Anyway, there’s no issue on the documents, is there? Why are you picking a fight?”
The atmosphere between the two suddenly soured again. As always, it fell to Simon to mediate between them.
While the two engaged in their war of nerves, Simon looked out the window.
The Keyzen campus was empty. With vacation begun, the island seemed deserted.
‘Vacation, huh.’
Simon leaned back.
‘What should I do this vacation.’
“Oh, right.”
Loraine held out a letter.
“The headquarters said your parents were worried about your health, so they’ll be coming personally to take you home.”
“Ah, really?”
Simon scratched his head. Richard would probably come again, acting as his uncle.
“They must be busy with affairs in the fief, I feel bad.”
“They’re really coming? Then this isn’t the time.”
Serne slid down from her chair, foxlike eyes gleaming.
“I need to make myself as presentable as possible to meet Simon’s father.”
“......Serne.”
* * *
At the same time.
Langerstine.
Passersby whispered as they moved aside. A woman with silver hair tinged faintly with blue was walking down the street.
“Madam, may I have a moment of your time.”
“Without your husband, Langerstine’s streets are dangerous, let me—”
Middle-aged men began pestering her from all sides. Some men, failing to control their gaze, were smacked on the head by their girlfriends.
Dignity, refinement, beauty.
She possessed all of it as she moved through the people, stopping in front of someone.
“Excuse me.”
She smiled kindly.
“How do I get to Langerstine Harbor?”
No comments yet. Be the first to leave a review!