A lovely bell chime signaling the end of school hours.
Maybe it’s because tomorrow’s a weekend?
Laughter spread across the faces of all the students as the pleasant sound echoed throughout the school.
In stark contrast, Ariel, with her worn-out expression, stood beside me while Iris and I chatted happily as we stepped out of the classroom. As always, Lily was waiting at the entrance for me.
“Good job in class today, Sera. Drink this.”
“……Thanks, Lily.”
I took the water bottle she handed me, and a refreshing sip quenching my thirst felt great.
‘….This feels a bit awkward.’
I had so much to say, but to get to the point—
Lily had changed.
Whatever the reason might be, since the bathroom incident last time, Lily’s attitude towards me altered slightly.
She used to act like she would devour me… but recently, her fierce gaze softened towards me.
I suppose that’s a good thing.
The old Lily had been a tad overwhelming, after all.
Lily’s earlier request to show her when I went to the bathroom still left me blushing at night.
Just imagining it felt shameful.
But now, I couldn’t see Lily making such outrageous requests.
Though I was curious about why Lily had suddenly become gentle, I decided not to ask—fearing it might trigger another incident—so I kept my mouth shut.
As we walked together toward the dormitory, matching our steps, Lily turned to me and spoke.
“You know what tomorrow is, Sera?”
I nodded slightly in response.
“……Yeah.”
Today was Friday.
Tomorrow was the weekend I had promised to spend with Lily.
It was the day we would go visit Dania’s Sister.
….Honestly, I wasn’t feeling confident.
I didn’t have the courage to face her boldly and cheerfully.
A nagging thought haunted me: what if Dania’s Sister didn’t like me?
And I knew this feeling wouldn’t go away until I met Dania’s Sister in person tomorrow.
Ultimately, I had no way around going to see her.
While I was resolutely making up my mind, a chilling voice cut through next to me.
“Are you two meeting tomorrow?”
When I turned to see who it was, Ariel was staring at me with a dull look in her eyes, her light dimmer than before.
“Uh… yeah…”
I answered awkwardly.
With both Lily and Iris improving, Ariel had started acting strangely.
She had been vibrant and cheerful just a week ago, but now there was an unsettling gloom about her, and her eyes appeared vacant.
Could it be that Ariel had a story of her own?
Upon hearing my answer, Ariel’s face twisted momentarily before she stepped closer and firmly grasped my hand.
“Talk to me, Sera.”
“Um… talk?”
I was taken aback by Ariel’s sudden action.
“I have something to say.”
When I turned to look at Lily, she also wore a confused expression, and nodded at me absently.
CRACK-
Startled by the strange noise, I turned back to see Ariel’s face was now even more distorted.
Without a word, she grabbed my hand tightly and led me somewhere.
It wasn’t long before we stopped at a place I’d been to once before.
The alleyway at the academy where Iris had secretly harmed herself—almost deserted.
Ariel pushed me against the wall and, as if there was no escape, braced her arms on either side of me.
“Um… Ariel?”
When I looked at her with trembling eyes, she immediately pressed her lips to mine without hesitation.
“Huh?!”
Before I could even react, Ariel’s tongue slipped into my mouth.
And from that moment on, her tongue rampaged inside me like a wild beast.
“Mm! Hah!.. Ugh…!”
I tried to push her away, but her body didn’t budge at all.
Though I knew in the original work, Ariel was of a weaker stature, I couldn’t shake her off.
SLURP-! SLURP-!
“Ugh…! Hah!”
It was a rough kiss that could be called violent.
I felt my spirit fading as her overwhelming presence consumed me.
As time passed, it seemed even Ariel was tiring out; she finally released my lips, letting me breathe.
Then, as if a floodgate had opened, an awful lot of mixed saliva fell to the ground.
“Hah… ugh… Ariel, wh-what… is this?”
I asked her while gasping for air.
“…Why are you rejecting this?”
But the response I received was an infinitely low, cold voice.
“What…?”
“Why are you rejecting me?”
“Well, it’s because you suddenly kissed me…”
Seeing Ariel’s pallid face, shadowed under her eyes, gave me a strange sense of rejection.
“Isn’t it normal for girls to kiss each other?”
“…..Ah.”
Ariel’s words swiftly made my past actions flash through my mind.
All those countless misconceptions I had taken for granted because I was tricked by Lily—mainly expressions of affection possible between girls… I had passed those all on to Ariel.
‘Oh no… this is bad…’
What should I do?
After proudly explaining all of it, what would Ariel think of me if I suddenly said it wasn’t true?
No, if anything, it would be lucky if I wasn’t given a condescending look; the least I could hope for was not being cut off entirely.
I had gotten very close to her, and shared sticky kisses.
For Ariel, this situation wouldn’t be strange if she considered me a sexual offender.
It terrified me to reveal the truth to her.
But… I had to tell her, right?
If I pretended not to know and kept it hidden, nothing would happen, but I absolutely couldn’t do that.
Choosing to remain silent would be ignoring her and acting deceitfully.
At the very least, I should tell her now as a courtesy…
It was I who had instilled these wrong notions in her, so correcting them should also fall under my responsibility.
Even though Ariel might come to despise me, I didn’t want to lie to her.
I took a deep breath and opened my mouth, preparing myself to face her hatred.
“Ariel… actually, I misunderstood.”
“What did you misunderstand?”
With her voice muddled and heavy, I swallowed hard before continuing.
“I… I was wrong about this. It’s true that girls can kiss and have intimacy… You knew that all along… didn’t you?”
“…..What?”
“I… I misinterpreted it… So, I’m sorry… Can you forget about all that happened before?”
Ariel stared blankly at me for a moment, then brushed her hair aside, her face crumpling.
“….Hah.”
Her reaction made me shrink back further.
‘So I really will be hated…’
Still, it made sense; considering we kissed and touched… it would be weird not to dislike it.
I braced myself for any insults that might be hurled at me, tightly shutting my eyes.
“….Is it because of Lily?”
But the response I received was unexpected.
When I opened my eyes slowly, there was Ariel, looking at me emptily.
“You’ve lost interest in me, haven’t you? Because of Lily.”
“Uh…?”
“You’ve been hanging out with Lily lately… always the two of you, apart from me… Why aren’t you showing me any attention?”
“Uh… um?”
“Why? Why are you only showing interest in Lily? I’m the one who met you first and became close to you. I’m the one who laughs with you every day in class.”
“Uh… no—”
“Is it that? Because I lost to Lily in that battle? I’m weak, so you’ve lost affection for me?”
It felt like something that had been building up suddenly exploded. Sludge-like energy poured out from Ariel.
This wasn’t the kind of atmosphere that would emerge from her, who had always been lively.
In the novel, Ariel never once displayed such a dark side.
Of course, I had noticed she hadn’t looked well recently, but I had thought it was just a phase, and that her sunny disposition would return soon.
But what on earth is she saying…?
“Uh… Ariel, there’s been a misunderstanding…”
“Enough, Sera.”
Ariel let go of my hand and turned her back to walk away from me.
As she distanced herself, she turned once to tell me,
“Just watch. I’ll become stronger than Lily by any means necessary.”
“Ariel, wait—”
“When I do, we’ll go back to how we used to be.”
She interrupted me, continuing her declarations.
Her ominous expression seemed impervious to any persuasion.
“I’ll behave as your friend until then.”
With that, Ariel’s eyes sparkled with a hint of madness, as if she was intoxicated.
After finishing her words, Ariel strode out of the alley, leaving me sitting on the ground, staring blankly at the spot where she had been.
“Wha… what just happened…?”
[You’ve really messed up, my disciple.]
I thought I heard the voice of my teacher echo in my mind.
*
“All preparations have been completed, my lord.”
A knight clad in dark armor knelt and presented himself.
To his words, the red-haired woman seated in a languid manner in her throne leaned her chin on her hand.
“Are there truly no alternative plans?”
Even though the moment she had long desired was approaching, the woman spoke with an indifferent expression.
“Yes. I feel it wise to follow Melrum’s plan.”
“Hmm. It will become just a general massacre then. How dull.”
At the woman’s words, the knight bowed even lower and began to persuade her.
“I apologize, but we are still lacking in many preparations on our side. We must seize this opportunity to enhance our chances of victory.”
“Chances of victory?”
As the woman’s face twisted, the knight instinctively realized he had spoken too hastily.
“How dare you even consider the possibility of defeat when I take the lead? Quite impudent.”
As the atmosphere turned hostile, the knight hurriedly knelt and sought her forgiveness.
“I have committed a terrible crime. I have dared to underestimate the great Demon Lord. Please grant me your punishment.”
The woman silently gazed at the knight for a while before letting out a short sigh, almost as if she were annoyed.
“Fine. I’m just feeling uneasy because I think this will be a trivial fight.”
“Thank you for your leniency.”
The woman remained unresponsive to the knight’s words and began touching a map that lay beside her.
As her finger wandered across various points on the map, it finally came to a stop at one location.
“What a shame. I heard that this hero is quite powerful; I was expecting a good battle, but now I must eliminate him.”
“It is the will of the Demon God, so it cannot be helped.”
“What’s your hurry? I don’t quite understand it.”
Her finger continued to circle around one part of the map.
“The longer we prepare, the greater the war will become.”
On the map, the woman’s finger pointed to a place well-known to the citizens of the Empire.
The city known as the Heart of the Empire—Ruiter.
And within it exists…
The place where the hopes of the Empire gather,
Regis Academy.
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