A Sleepless Night of Lingering Shadows
The night after a long, tedious lecture that had dragged on since dawn, I finally returned to the dormitory. The clock’s hands ticked forward, pointing to one in the morning. The sun had long since slipped beyond the horizon, leaving only a soft veil of moonlight and starlight to settle gently over the darkened room. A single sound filled the quiet space.
Scratch… scratch… It was the quill gripped in my hand, gliding across the paper. The pen, enchanted so the ink would never run dry, meticulously carved black letters onto the notebook page.
I kept moving the quill with steady effort until a faint sigh slipped from my lips.
“Haa…”
It was a weak breath heavy with exhaustion. My wrist ached from holding the pen for so long. I rubbed my drowsy eyes and set it down for a moment. The scratching noise stopped, and lonely silence flooded back into the room.
“…This is brutal.”
The muttered words cut through the quiet. I rummaged through the desk drawer, pulled out one of the extinction grass cigarettes I’d hidden there, and placed it between my lips.
Click. Hiss…
I lit the cigarette and drew in a deep breath. The fragrant scent of medicinal herbs curled around my nose. As I watched the smoke rise, a strange moment of clarity washed over me.
I never imagined I would end up studying. The fact that I was doing something I never bothered with in my previous life, now in this fantasy world, felt utterly tragic.
“Damn finals…”
I wiped the ink from my fingers and pressed hard against my dry eyes. Just as I slumped in my chair, utterly drained of motivation, a knock sounded from beyond the closed door.
Knock, knock…
Young Master, may I come in?
A cheerful voice reached me, followed by the door swinging open. Through the gap appeared a girl with brown hair tied in twin ponytails. The moment our eyes met, a gentle smile curved her lips.
“You must be tired. Have some fruit while you work.”
Rachel set the plate she carried in front of me. Inside were neatly arranged strawberries and lemon slices—fruits known to help with fatigue.
“Ray…”
I gazed at her with touched eyes. The plate practically radiated care. As always, no one thought of me more than Rachel.
“Hehe! Are you that happy about it?”
“Thank you… I’ll enjoy it.”
After offering her my sincere gratitude, I picked up a lemon slice and popped it into my mouth. The moment my teeth sank in, the plump flesh burst, flooding my tongue with sharp, sour juice.
“Ugh… That definitely wakes you up.”
“See? I always say nothing beats something sour when you’re sleepy, right?”
Rachel flashed a bright, citrus-sweet smile. I stared at it for a second, dazed, then quickly turned my head. My face felt strangely warm. Maybe I had the heating turned up too high.
“I really appreciate this, but… why are you still awake? It’s already one in the morning.”
“Hmm~ I am sleepy, but… it doesn’t feel right to go to bed while you’re still studying this late, Young Master…”
So that’s what she’d been worrying about.
“I’m fine. Go ahead and sleep first.”
“…Really?”
“Really. Besides, you have to wake up early. You’ll be exhausted, so get some rest.”
When I waved my hand to reassure her, Rachel fell into thought.
“Then when do you plan to sleep, Young Master?”
“Me? Well, sleep isn’t coming, so I figured I might as well study…”
“…Are you still having trouble sleeping at night these days?”
Her expression darkened. I smiled awkwardly and fiddled with my sleeve.
“Well… they say insomnia doesn’t disappear easily…”
“What about the sleeping pills I gave you last time…?”
“They don’t seem to do much.”
The real reason the pills had no effect was Iron Mind, but I kept that to myself. Rachel bit her lip, face clouded with worry. The fact that I couldn’t fall asleep seemed to trouble her deeply.
“That’s strange… You slept so soundly that day.”
“That day…?”
“You know—the day you were discharged from the hospital, Young Master.”
“Ah.”
She meant the day after the banquet hall attack. The night I had cried in her arms and finally drifted off.
“Why bring that up all of a sudden…”
The embarrassing memory flashed through my mind and I averted my gaze. Rachel didn’t seem to notice. She rested her chin on her hand, lost in thought.
After a brief silence, she let out a small sigh and spoke again.
“Young Master… would it help if I slept in your room with you?”
“……?”
What had she just said? Sleep together? In the same room as me? I furrowed my brow, wondering if I’d heard correctly. Rachel looked at me with serious eyes.
“I thought I could help you fall asleep the way I did that night.”
“……???”
“I’ll move the bed from my room over here and stay right beside you…”
Her bold suggestion left me dizzy. My mind went blank.
In the end, I only managed to send Rachel away after promising her over and over that I was truly fine and that I would take the sleeping pills properly.
“Haa…”
Completely drained, I rubbed my face with dry hands. Rachel really… in moments like this… how should I describe it? She was a bit much. She didn’t seem to realize what she was saying, which somehow made it even more dangerous.
“…I should just study.”
I shook off the distracting thoughts and straightened my posture. The moment I reached for the quill again, my arm—stretched out in a yawn—brushed against the tall tower of study sheets. It collapsed before I could stop it, scattering across the floor in a chaotic mess.
I stared at the disaster in stunned silence.
“Fuck… why does everything have to go wrong?”
I already hated studying with every fiber of my being, and now even the materials were rebelling. Technically it was my fault for not organizing them, but I still felt unfairly victimized. I swallowed the anger rising from my gut and let out a long string of sighs.
Rustle… rustle…
While cleaning up in utter misery, a single sheet of paper half-buried among the wreckage caught my eye. The moment I saw it, my hands froze.
“This is…”
The margins were densely packed with theoretical formulas on mana utilization. It was a worksheet from the ‘Practical Combat’ class my master had taught in my previous life. I bent my stiff body and picked it up.
The final exam didn’t include ‘Practical Combat.’ The test had been canceled due to the incident involving my master. I had deliberately stored those particular handouts in a separate drawer… but it seemed one had gotten mixed in with the others during sorting.
“……”
I stood motionless, fingers tracing the paper. The room, which had felt alive only moments ago, was now submerged in heavy silence. After standing frozen for a long while, I staggered backward and collapsed into the chair. A ripple spread through my once-calm mind.
I quietly laid the worksheet on the desk.
…I’ve been trying not to think about Master.
Lately the hallucinations and auditory disturbances had been growing more frequent. It wasn’t unusual. In my previous life there had been periods when the trauma flared up like this. Combined with the mental exhaustion from recent events, my mind seemed to be glitching. I was used to it, but sudden episodes would be inconvenient, so I had been avoiding anything that might act as a trigger. Thoughts of my master were one of those triggers.
If it jumps out at me like this, there’s no way to dodge it.
I muttered with a bitter smile. It had already been a month since Master’s memorial service. The desperate fight against the undead during the school trip felt like yesterday, yet a whole month had passed. A heavy sigh escaped my lips.
“…Time really does fly.”
Isn’t that a good thing?
“Is it…?”
I responded to the message floating before my eyes with little enthusiasm. The status window, seemingly unable to understand my reaction, asked another question.
Do you remember the contract you made with this system?
“Of course I remember. After I properly grind for three years in this world, you promised to grant my wish.”
To be precise, it was to witness the ‘true ending’ of this world.
In exchange, I promised to give you a happy life.
Therefore, if time feels like it’s passing quickly, shouldn’t that be a good thing? It means you are progressing smoothly toward your goal.
“Yeah… you’re right.”
I nodded in agreement with the status window’s logic. Yet inside, an uneasy feeling continued to swirl. The true ending. A happy life. Perhaps I had been forgetting one crucial fact: this world was only a temporary stop for me. Once every condition of the contract was fulfilled, it was a place I might eventually leave.
Am I… becoming unnecessarily attached to this place?
The thought made my already turbulent heart even more unsettled. I pushed the confusion from my face and quietly asked the status window.
“After the contract ends… what happens to me?”
I did not understand the question.
“Once everything is over, will I leave this world…?”
It is difficult to give a precise answer.
I promised you a happy life, but even this system cannot know what form that happiness will take.
You may remain in this world, or you may depart for another.
“So you don’t know either?”
Correct.
“This smells like a scam… You’re not trying to trick me, are you?”
If you cannot trust me, you may terminate the contract immediately.
I have never once forced you into this contract.
“As if I’d do that now.”
I let out a small laugh and leaned back in the chair. While I pressed my fingers to my forehead, trying to organize my chaotic thoughts, the status window floating in the air added a few more lines.
I am not joking.
If fulfilling the contract becomes too difficult, you may terminate it at any time.
Terminating the contract will return your soul to the four realms, but… there will be no pain.
I will help you close your eyes comfortably.
“Haha… So you’re telling me I can run away whenever I want?”
Yes.
“Yeah… Well, if things ever get truly unbearable, I’ll consider it.”
I nodded at the status window. The option to unilaterally end the contract and escape was a fair condition. Of course, it would be best if I was never driven to that point…
“…It’s complicated.”
It was a night filled with too many thoughts. The fate awaiting me after the world’s true ending. The escape route the status window had placed in my hands. In the end, I spent the entire night alone, eyes wide open, until dawn finally broke.