I gazed into Elisa’s eyes.
Her eyes were asking me for an answer.
A wish to be granted.
But… it was a wish I couldn’t fulfill.
Not right now.
“I…”
I held Elisa’s hands.
The touch of her soft, white hands and the suddenly closer scent of roses filled my heart with hesitation.
But I couldn’t avoid answering forever.
“…I can’t accept your wish.”
“…Is it not possible?”
“Not right now.”
“…Right… now?”
Elisa tilted her head at my ambiguous answer. Seeing her up close made me realize that she was quite the charming beauty too, not just Karina.
The rose fragrance wafting from her body was constantly stimulating my sense of smell.
If I surrendered to that scent…
I’d surely feel happiness.
“But I understand that you can’t, Johan. Last year was the same… you’re quite busy. You’ve fought demons… saved me… and you have to protect Karina too…”
Elisa’s soft voice wrapped around my ears. As I listened to her words, I felt a tingling sensation on my palm.
It was really hard.
Really.
I wished I could play a game with Harpas one more time.
That had its enemies, but here there were none.
“I’m sorry.”
“No, it’s okay. But… it’s alright for me to like you, right…?”
“…I won’t stop you from that.”
“I’ll be satisfied with just that for now.”
Elisa’s face drew closer again. But this time, instead of her lips, her face buried into my chest. As I looked down stiffly at the embracing Elisa, she whispered in a small voice.
“I’m happy just that you didn’t refuse…”
For the first time in a long while, I felt the sensation of hunting prey as I placed my hand on her back.
—————
Everything was resolved in a whirlwind.
Since I prepared for things to blow up, it was arranged as ‘one student’s mischief.’
According to Principal Merlin, there was a strong protest from the Asher family, but however they negotiated, they quietly took the body away, thus wrapping up the matter.
They replaced the ‘outsider’ with a ‘demon.’
Since I couldn’t carelessly announce the existence of the outsider, it was an unavoidable choice. Besides, if they were demons, it was something you might expect, so the Asher family, including the principal and professors, had no choice but to accept the consistent claims made by others.
Many had seen that scene. I might not have been able to grasp the detailed situation due to the fog I enveloped, but it was indeed true that Bella had shown some rather strange behavior that day.
The fact that Bella had no one to defend her was significant.
On the other hand, Elisa’s identity being exposed passed through thanks to her friends, professors, and my defense. After all, the speaker of that claim appeared dubious from Bella’s perspective.
“…So, everything has settled down for now.”
“…Yes.”
The face of Principal Merlin, who spoke to me, looked troubled.
Couldn’t it have been prevented in advance?
If I had responded a bit more swiftly…
I felt like those were the thoughts swirling in his mind.
“You don’t need to feel too guilty. It was unavoidable. Isn’t fighting the unknown always like that?”
The process of exploring the unknown is not an easy task.
The unknown ultimately means knowing nothing, and knowing nothing means not being aware of what dangers one might be exposed to.
“…Still, as the principal, I can’t say I have no responsibility.”
“That’s true.”
We looked out the window in silence. The view beyond was peaceful.
It was hard to believe such an event had happened just two days ago.
“I want to protect this scenery.”
“I feel the same.”
“But we don’t know too much. What their purpose is, what connection they have with the demons, how far their reach extends… Bella… we’re searching for the source of the magic books but haven’t found it yet.”
“We’ll need to spend time doing extensive investigations. And… we must also prepare.”
“Prepare… how?”
“I have a few ideas. Some information was also obtained from my conversation with the transformed Bella.”
“I’m not sure if I should be glad or not.”
I shared all the information I had with Principal Merlin. That outsiders control the mind through mediums and that seeing them with the bare eye could potentially damage the mind.
That we need to create things to prevent this.
“…Understood. For now, I have a mountain of tasks to tackle, so I’ll help as time permits.”
“Thank you.”
“Not at all. As someone who must protect the students, it’s only fitting for me to do so.”
——————–
“Hello…”
“…What are you doing here?”
“I was, waiting for you, Johan.”
Elisa looked up at me with a shy smile. As I looked at her smiling face, I sighed and stood next to her. Elisa naturally wrapped her arm around mine.
“…Elisa.”
“Yes?”
“That, um, your chest is touching…”
It’s not like she has a small chest like Millia, but with a terrifying size that doesn’t fall behind Karina, my arm inevitably sank into soft flesh.
I felt my head heat up intensely from the ridiculously smooth sensation, yet I tried my best to act rationally.
“P-Please enjoy it as much as you want…”
Even hearing that, I instinctively pinched my thigh. If I lost my mind due to Elisa’s alluring behavior, all that awaited me was destruction.
Maybe I could somehow get through this peacefully, but it was certain that wouldn’t be the case.
First, Millia would probably cause a scene, Viola would chuckle and congratulate me, Renny wouldn’t think much of it… and Karina…
…Where’s Karina?
Suddenly, my steps halted at an unexpected bump.
“Johan? Are you not feeling well?”
“No.”
Saying that “Karina was bothering me and I wanted to uncross my arms” made me feel like a total trash bag. I mean, it sounded like I was openly playing both sides.
…In a world where polygamy is the norm, would anyone understand my thoughts?
Anyway, this was the first time returning home felt this thrilling. It felt like a father returning home after doing something wrong, checking if anyone noticed.
I had clearly done nothing wrong, but that was the feeling.
Fortunately, there was no one around until I reached Yeomyeong-gwan, but the moment I crossed the huge door, I asked Elisa.
“Can you uncross your arms?”
“I don’t want to…”
“What if people misunderstand?”
“It’s not a misunderstanding…”
Millia would be storming in soon, and if I didn’t uncross my arms fast—
“Yo~han!”
“…Millia. Did you pay attention in class?”
“Yeah! But why are you coming back with Elisa?”
Her gaze was sharp. It was a look that felt quite predatory, unlike Millia. Millia’s and Elisa’s gazes clashed in the air, creating a tense atmosphere.
Elisa completely clung to my arm as if to provoke the situation.
“We ran into each other on the way…”
“Elisa’s in the Magic Department! Johan went to the Main Building! Our paths back home are different!”
“It was a coincidence.”
While saying that, with her face snuggled tightly against my arm, wouldn’t that only deepen the misunderstanding?
“That doesn’t make sense, does it?”
Millia looked up at me with a face full of grievance. I found it hard to meet Millia’s gaze and turned my eyes elsewhere.
“When I got close, you didn’t react at all…”
“…What kind of reaction would you want?”
“You had a relaxed expression compared to normal!”
Did I? I immediately tightened my facial muscles. I had a strong feeling this was going to become a hassle.
And sure enough, Millia clung to my other arm.
“I’m going to do this too!”
“…Do as you wish.”
Ah, whatever.
Let it be.
I opened the door to Yeomyeong-gwan with the two female students occupying both my sides.
And then, I locked eyes with a familiar odd-eyed girl.
“Johan… what kind of situation is this?”
It seems like an explanation is needed…
Karina’s face lit up with a smile. A beautiful smile, but the only emotion that filled my head was one.
Fear.
I swallowed hard.
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