Recently, Emily has been concerned about Ken.
Actually, it hasn’t just been recently; she has been worried about him ever since she developed a crush on him.
But these past few days, it’s been particularly intense.
The reason is…
“Your hair looks a bit messy today.”
“Hmm? Oh, is that so?”
“It’s totally different from usual. Let me fix it for you.”
“Umm, I don’t know about that…”
Seeing Mary petting Ken’s hair with her hands made Emily clench her fists.
‘She’s just petting him.’
It was more of a bunching up rather than tidying it, with neither a comb in sight.
What’s with that expression?
Moreover, Ken was blushing shyly, unlike his usual self.
Are you a high school girl crushing on your first love or what?
Though she wanted to run over and shout that,
‘It’s not like I have the right to do that…’
Emily was well aware of her own position. She knew exactly what she had done to Ken.
Even if she suddenly came to her senses and felt regret and guilt for that,
she still hadn’t apologized to him even once.
‘…But why has my heart changed all of a sudden?’
Until not long ago, she had foolishly denied her feelings and treated Ken poorly.
Yet on the day Ken returned to the academy after taking a break, she couldn’t stop thinking about him since morning.
The memories of tormenting Ken were tormenting her now.
As she continued to worry about the sudden change in her feelings,
an odd sensation struck her.
‘Why… is this happening?’
A strange dizziness, almost.
And a sound that seemed like an echo in her head.
Snip.
The sound of scissors overlapping somewhere sent shivers down her spine.
“Emily, are you alright?”
Feeling an eerie chill that made her shudder, a familiar voice approached her from the side.
Turning her head, she saw Mary looking at her.
“…What’s wrong?”
“I came to chat on the way back. Because we’re friends, after all.”
‘……Friends.’
Since they had talked together in the library, Mary and Emily had grown closer.
Still, Emily thought that was something only she felt, and not Mary.
Friends.
Hearing her say that made her happy.
After all, they used to glare at each other every time.
“So I just wanted to talk for a bit, but you look unwell.”
“No… I’m fine. Just suddenly felt dizzy.”
“Dizzy, huh?”
To reassure Mary, Emily answered carelessly, but Mary seemed concerned about the dizziness part.
“Do you happen to hear voices or see hallucinations with the dizziness? Like memories that shouldn’t exist?”
“Uh?”
Emily couldn’t help but be surprised by Mary’s explanation.
It matched her symptoms perfectly.
“How did you know?”
“…Actually, I’ve been experiencing something similar lately. When I go through similar situations suddenly, I get dizzy.”
“So, I… I’ve been like that often, too.”
Why are these symptoms occurring? Is it some sort of illness? Or perhaps a curse?
“But you don’t need to worry too much. It’s odd, but it doesn’t mean your body is unhealthy.”
“That’s true…”
Definitely, there was no change in her physical condition.
Only a sense of alienation from fragmented memories and the odd loneliness they evoked.
That feeling was extremely bothersome.
‘Don’t think too much about it.’
But as Mary said, it wasn’t something to worry about too much.
More than that, there was something she was more curious about.
“By the way, Mary… Aren’t you getting strangely closer to Ken these days?”
“…….”
At Emily’s question, Mary’s face flushed without a word. She shyly averted her gaze.
‘So there was something, after all.’
An anxiety began to bloom in Emily’s heart.
Its identity was the fear that perhaps Mary and Ken’s relationship had changed.
“Actually, I wanted to talk about that too.”
Mary cautiously started speaking, glancing around, then leaned in to whisper in Emily’s ear.
“What?! Y-You…!!”
“Shh, keep it down! Emily, your voice is too loud!”
With Emily’s sudden outburst, everyone in the room turned to look at her and Mary.
In the crowd, Ken, who stood nearby, looked over, seemingly puzzled.
“Y-You confessed…?!”
With Mary’s warning, Emily lowered her voice so that only the two of them could hear.
Mary nodded shyly, her cheeks turning red as a confirmation.
Once Emily processed that answer, she felt her blood rush to her head.
A sensation even more dizzying than earlier.
‘If she confessed… then…’
A cute and kind girl like Mary confessed first. If Emily were a boy, there would be no reason to reject that confession.
Thus, the outcome one could expect was….
“Oh, but even if I confessed, nothing has really changed yet.”
Mary’s correction of that expectation threw Emily off balance.
“…Huh?”
Caught off guard by the unexpected statement, Emily regained her composure.
“Why? You confessed, right? Ken must have heard it properly. So why…?”
Rather than the relief that their relationship hadn’t changed, questions arose.
After all, it made no sense for Ken to reject Mary’s confession.
“It’s a bit of greed on my part. I want him to fall head over heels for me and confess to me,” Mary explained with a gentle smile.
“Anyway, since nothing has changed yet, don’t give up, Emily. Keep your chin up.”
“W-What do you mean all of a sudden?”
Deep down, Emily had been relieved that Ken and Mary weren’t anything, but now she felt poked right in her core.
However, Mary, who noticed Emily’s response, smiled sweetly at her.
“I’m cheering you on.”
At her smile, Emily averted her gaze as if to sneak a peek.
“……Why? If Mary has confessed, then… I’m just a hindrance.”
“Not a hindrance, but a friend, Emily.”
Looking kindly into her eyes, Mary spoke sweetly to Emily, who stared at her in a daze.
Then Mary clenched her fist.
“I like Ken too, so I understand how you feel, Emily. That’s why I can support you.”
“Mary…”
That was touching.
If it were her, she would have regarded Mary as a rival or an enemy and tried to stand in her way.
Is Mary really that kind?
Or does she truly empathize with her feelings, as she says?
“Mary, I think I might fall for you. You’re too cool.”
“Well, there’s already someone who has fallen for me, so you’re quite the flirt.”
Feeling genuinely moved, Emily took Mary’s hand, and Mary laughed as if she found it amusing.
‘Ken Feinstein…!’
While Mary and Emily blossomed in their friendship, looking at each other affectionately,
Enzo Rotirix, who was sitting right behind them, clenched his fists and ground his teeth in anger.
He had been eavesdropping on Emily and Mary’s conversation.
And he was even amplifying his hearing with magic to do so.
‘Just a little while ago, they were like air to me…!’
He had feelings for Emily.
Her cheerful demeanor that got along with everyone.
The way she would help others in trouble without refusing.
And she was among the most beautiful in their year.
‘Now she suddenly changed, and that guy has become the center of the classroom…!’
Most of all, Enzo was a troublemaker.
Until Ken changed, he’d monopolized the attention of the girls in class with his well-groomed looks.
Whenever he smiled, some girls would be thrilled or fall for him.
After enjoying that kind of attention, Enzo was angry at the atmosphere that had changed since Ken appeared.
Most importantly, Emily.
Despite his best temptations, she never gave him the time of day.
After Ken’s return, however, she had begun to gaze at him constantly.
Sometimes, when their eyes met, she would blush and turn away.
When he wasn’t around, she would sigh as if she missed him.
Enzo was keeping a close eye on all of this from behind.
‘I won’t forgive you… Ken…’
To Enzo, Ken was just a nuisance.
A mere obstacle to his happy academy life.
He even considered using physical force to trample him once.
After all, Ken was a weakling who was only bullied.
But.
‘Do you know? I heard a rumor that Ken defeated Raphne in a duel?’
‘Raphne? Amazing…! That means Ken is the strongest in our year, then?’
‘They say that while Ken was taking a break from the academy, he and Raphne cleared a dungeon together.’
‘Huh? I heard he was working as a blacksmith to train his skills. The gear he made is really famous!’
Enzo, despite wanting attention, was timid and small-minded.
Even if it was just a rumor, if Ken defeated Raphne,
he couldn’t possibly defeat him.
Of course, there was a chance that the rumor was false, but there was no way he wanted to face embarrassment in front of many people.
That’s why he prepared another plan.
‘…I’ll make him experience something shameful. …That’ll be the end of his popularity.’
With that, Enzo rolled a certain stone in his hand.
A peculiar stone radiating a red aura.
It was an item he purchased from a famous dark shop that sold bizarre items in the back alleys of the city.
“Hehehe, hehehe…”
Enzo let out a sinister laugh as he envisioned a scenario where Ken would be utterly humiliated.
…
“What’s this, so bright.”
The day after I fell asleep in the dormitory, I shielded my eyes with my arm from the unusually bright light.
Whoosh!
Moreover, a cool breeze was blowing.
Splash, splash.
There was a mysterious sound I couldn’t place.
‘…Did I leave the window open?’
I assumed the light hitting my eyes was sunlight coming through the window.
And that the wind was also coming from the window.
As for that strange sound… I had no idea what it was, but it must be the window’s fault.
With that thought, still feeling tired, I turned away to avoid the sunlight.
Then.
Splash!
“Yikes…!! It’s c-cold!!”
I woke up alarmed by the cold sensation of water touching my arm.
As I stood up, sand poured off my body, and the feel of the ground under my feet was different from the dormitory.
But most of all, the scenery before my eyes…
“……What the hell is this?”
Far in the distance, the view showed water drawing a line, creating a boundary.
That was what they called the horizon.
The clear blue sky.
Soft sand.
Refreshing seawater.
I opened my eyes to find myself on an island.
