Riding the pleasant afterglow of victory, Simon returned to the stands. But...
"...Lethe?"
She was gone. He frantically scanned the crowd, but there was no sign of her.
"Excuse . Coming through."
He pushed his way through the throngs of people. They had agreed to et at a specific spot if anything happened: the seats right next to the arena’s mana screen. But when he got there...
Only a neatly folded note remained. Simon rushed over and unfolded it.
’Congratulations on the win.’
The ssage was concise.
’From now on, I’ll be moving alone. Don’t look for .’
"That idiot...!"
Simon muttered, sprinting out of the arena. The boisterous chatter of the crowd, the cheers of the victorious students, and the heated debates about the match all swirled around him in a chaotic din that made his head spin. He couldn’t make sense of any of it. It was dizzying. And in all that noise, Lethe’s voice was conspicuously absent.
"Hah, hah."
Bursting out of the arena, Simon frantically looked around. Where had she gone? Why had she left? His pace quickened. He ran blindly forward until he found himself in a crowded park.
"Ah!"
He spotted Kajan conducting an investigation nearby.
"Kajan!"
Kajan, who was holding a notebook, looked up. Simon ran to him, bending over with his hands on his knees to catch his breath. Kajan finished his conversation and walked over.
"What is it, Simon? Why are you alone?"
"Lethe is—!"
He stopped short, realizing his mistake, and quickly corrected himself.
"I an, the Saintess has disappeared! This note...!"
Kajan glanced at the note and sighed.
"Her own senior was already attacked, yet she’s still so willful."
"Do you have any idea where she is?"
"I know she hasn’t returned to Professor Grelion’s cave, at least," Kajan replied, handing the note back.
"Th-Then! Isn’t there soone monitoring her from a distance? Can’t you give a general location?"
"Simon."
Kajan shook his head and pointed to the note.
"It seems she doesn’t want you to co."
Simon’s heart sank.
"She specifically said not to look for her. Why are you trying to find her?"
"W-Well, that’s..."
"Other agents are monitoring her location from a distance. If a problem arises, we’ll be notified."
According to Kajan, Lethe had laid down an ultimatum before Simon had even arrived that morning. ’I will never trust a necromancer. If you monitor one more ti, I will abandon this cooperation and return to the Holy Federation with the Saintess of Harvest.’ Of course, the agents couldn’t simply stop their surveillance, but out of respect for her wishes, they had slightly reduced their numbers.
"I will also look for the Saintess myself. However," Kajan said, walking down the forest path, "if she wishes to patrol alone, I believe it is right to respect her wishes."
Lost in thought, Simon clenched his fists.
---
Simon didn’t give up. He searched for Lethe relentlessly, checking places she might go, places she might like, and focusing on crowded areas, but he couldn’t find her. He did, however, find a lead.
"A girl with ash-gray hair and a black robe? Ah, yeah, I saw her. She was heading toward that building in the back."
Following the tip, Simon went to the building the inforr had ntioned. It turned out to be the Jet-Black chanics dormitory.
’I’ll be in deep trouble if I get caught.’
During the Dark Festival, inter-departntal tensions were at an all-ti high. Entering another dorm was incredibly risky.
’I’ll just borrow this for a mont! I’ll put it back soon!’
He slipped on a minion’s vest that was hanging nearby and entered the dormitory, pretending to be part of the staff. As befitted the wealthy Jet-Black chanics Departnt, the facilities were opulent and sparkling. As he was looking around in awe, he saw the dorm mother checking the lobby’s bulletin board. Simon struck up a conversation with her. Unlike his own dorm mother, she was kind and pretended not to notice he was from another departnt.
"Ah, the girl with the ash-gray hair? I don’t know about today, but she ca by yesterday."
"Yesterday?"
"Yes. It’s funny," she said with a gentle smile. "Yesterday, she was looking for a boy with blue hair. But today, the boy with blue hair ca looking for her."
Following the dorm mother’s lead, Simon moved on to the next location, slowly piecing together Lethe’s trail. The path eventually led him back to the Summoning Departnt dormitory. The students hadn’t returned yet, so it was quiet. Simon went up to his room.
’Co to think of it, how did she know which room was mine?’
He slid open the window she had climbed through the night before. A thin layer of dust on the sill still held the faint impression of her footprints. He opened the window fully and looked out.
"Ah."
There were footprints on the windows of nearly every floor. It seed that after finding the Summoning Departnt building, she had gone from room to room until she found him. A bitter smile touched Simon’s lips.
’That idiot.’
The sun was beginning to set. Simon looked up.
’Starfall.’
During the day, she would patrol the island, but at night, she would climb a mountain to perform the ritual. If he could find a place suitable for it, he might be able to find her. His mind made up, Simon leaped out of the window.
---
The sun had completely set, and the night sky was awash with twinkling stars. And there...
On a high hill, a girl sat in the grass, hugging her knees, staring blankly at the glittering night view of Roc Island.
-Simon! Simon! Simon!
-You were amazing, as always!
-I was watching only you the whole match! Good work, President!
Here, Simon was a different person. He was a hero, surrounded by people who adored him, people he cared for in return.
’But I...’
I was an outsider. Unless she was reborn, she could never be a part of this culture, this world, these people. She didn’t belong here. She was only visiting because of the special circumstances of the fanatic’s infiltration.
"—It’s unlikely I’ll ever et this Gahyeon person, but I was just thinking that you’re in a rather similar situation."
It was true. This world was divided. Coexistence was impossible. The current truce was just an unstable peace, born from the fact that neither side was confident it could completely annihilate the other.
’But...’
That strange boy had poked his head into her world, and for a mont, she had let herself be mistaken. He had adapted so well. He’d earned the respect of the Inquisitors, even made friends on her side. He probably could have lived as a Priest without any trouble. It was a childish, selfish thought, but she had briefly imagined what it would be like if he lived on her side of the world.
But she couldn’t delude herself. Simon was happy here. His joy, his life, was here. He would raise his sword for these people, and he would lay down his life for this place. They were her enemies. And Simon... was her enemy, too.
’Haa.’
She felt like she was sinking into a mire of emotions. Lost and trembling, her hand grasped at the empty air.
’I’ll just endure until tomorrow, and then I’ll go back. I won’t see his face again.’
For her own sake. And for theirs. It was the right decision.
Lethe slowly closed her eyes.
A footstep rustled in the grass behind her. She looked back.
Her pupils dilated. The embers of emotion she had tried to extinguish flared back to life, and her heart began to pound.
A boy was walking toward her, leaves stuck in his hair, his clothes smudged with dirt. It was obvious how much trouble he’d gone through, yet he approached her as if it were nothing. He had every right to be angry that she’d left without a word, but he didn’t say anything. He didn’t shout or complain. He just calmly walked over and plopped down in the grass beside her. He rested his palms on the ground, tilted his head back, and looked up at the night sky.
Silence descended. This wasn’t the sa place she had perford Starfall before. She had genuinely hoped he wouldn’t find her. But he had. He must have searched every high place on this vast island. For a long mont, they both gazed at the night sky without a word.
"Why did you co?" she finally asked.
Simon turned to her, a weak smile on his face.
"Because I was worried."
The raw sincerity in his voice made her bite her lip. The cold wall around her heart began to lt like spring snow. She opened her mouth as if to say sothing, then lowered her head and spoke quietly.
"I told you... not to look for ."
"It’s dangerous for you to be alone."
Lethe avoided his gaze, her voice barely a whisper.
"I’m... sorry."
It was the first ti he had ever heard her apologize so sincerely, and he looked at her with so surprise. Then, a faint smile touched his lips.
"As long as you’re safe, that’s all that matters."
They fell silent again, but this ti it was a more comfortable quiet.
Just then, Lethe let out a small sigh, then narrowed her eyes and glared at him.
"Wh-Why?"
"Shut up and lie down."
She pushed his chest with a loud ’thwack!’ Simon gasped as he fell backward, and Lethe spoke in a sulky voice.
"How can you be so clumsy? You’re bleeding and scraped all over."
Simon looked down at himself, bewildered, and belatedly noticed the wounds—scratches from branches, a scraped knee, a bruise from rolling down a hillside. Lethe sat beside him and gently brushed the hair from his forehead. Then, she placed her hands together over his wounds.
"Co back to the Priest side for a mont."
Simon nodded and reined in his Jet-Black. She began to cast a white magic spell.
’Great Healing’
’Wooooong!’
A soft white light enveloped him, and his wounds began to close. She even took a first-aid kit from her subspace, disinfected his cuts, and wrapped them in bandages. The efficiency with which she treated him was a stark reminder that she was, indeed, a Priest.
"There." She huffed and gave his back a sharp slap.
Simon quickly sat up, and Lethe sat properly beside him.
"Th-Thank you."
"You’re welco."
"Simon."
"Yeah."
Lethe stared at him with her shining golden eyes.
"We’re enemies, right?"
Simon closed his eyes.
"Do you normally go around healing your enemies?"
"I’m being serious," she grumbled. "We’re fated to fight. While we’re still students, things like this might be forgiven. But when we graduate, when we beco adults... when I beco an official Saintess, and it’s revealed that you’re a Legion Commander..."
"We’ll have to kill each other. Or we’ll be caught up in events that force us to kill each other’s friends and loved ones." She looked at him intently. "That’s our fate. So we should now..."
"That’s not fate. That’s just what you think," he said with a calm smile. "I believe a day will co, even after we’re adults, when we can et like this, greet each other’s friends, talk, and heal each other when we’re hurt." He looked at her, his expression serious. "Instead of worrying about the future, let’s focus on the present. And let’s work harder to make sure that future never cos to pass."
"I think we’re doing a pretty good job of it. Just like we’re trying to stop a war right now."
After a mont of silence, a soft smile graced Lethe’s lips. She stood up, dusted off her robe, and looked Simon straight in the eye.
"I’m starting Starfall. I’m counting on you to watch my back."
Simon stood up as well.
"Leave it to ."
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