I Swear on My Mana
I swear on my mana.
“But why isn’t the professor coming in?”
I say out loud what I’d been thinking to change the subject. It’s already 11:30, and lunch is right around the corner. I thought they’d at least tell us to head back to our own classes after the opening ceremony, but what the hell is this mess?
“Huh? Rain, you didn’t know?”
“What?”
“This morning is just a casual icebreaker session in the classroom. The professor isn’t coming in.”
“…Ah.”
The truth hit me late, and I couldn’t help but glare. If I’d known that, I wouldn’t have come here at all. Right now, Sien is probably agonizing over whether to completely rewrite her bright future for that person, and thanks to this, I’ve been sitting here like an idiot with nothing better to do.
“…Why am I the only one who didn’t know?”
The reason was obvious—I don’t have any friends—but the fact that literally no one had told me made me mutter in quiet loneliness before I could stop myself.
“Let’s share IDs.”
This damn mouth of mine. Seriously.
“…Me? With Roselia?”
“Yeah!”
Our little cat lady smiles brightly. Does she even realize that everyone in the room just turned their heads the moment she said “ID exchange”? …If she did, she probably wouldn’t have said it so loudly. For real.
“Hehe…! No matter how I think about it, this feels like far too great an honor?”
“Rain.”
“Y-yes?”
“Are you going to keep dodging like that?”
Roselia narrows her eyes and looks at me with clear disappointment. As expected of a young lady famous even in high society—she’d already noticed how reluctant I was.
‘But even I have to admit I was making it way too obvious.’
I’d underestimated a fifteen-year-old and let my true feelings show completely.
“…Was it that noticeable?”
“That’s so mean! Is exchanging IDs with me really that awful?”
“If you say it like that, it hurts me to hear it and it probably hurts you to say it too.”
“I’m already hurt!”
“Hey, hey, don’t take it that way. I’m genuinely grateful, so of course I want to accept.”
“Then hand over your terminal.”
“Huh…?”
“Give it.”
“…Okay.”
Her unexpectedly forceful attitude caught me off guard, and before I knew it, I was pulling out my terminal. She quickly tapped in her ID, and just like that, I had a new mutual follow on my account.
“Looks like I’m Rain’s first friend, huh?”
Roselia beams as she hands the terminal back to me. Then she scoots her chair closer to the desk, rests her chin on her hand, and looks straight at me. The gesture is far too seductive for a fifteen-year-old, and I find myself staring back into her eyes without meaning to.
“…Why are you looking at me like that?”
“It’s my heart?”
“Then I guess I can look out the window however I want too, right?”
“That’s not allowed. Then there’d be no point in me resting my chin on my hand like this.”
“You’re right. Actually, I’m looking out the window for your health. It’d be a shame if such a pretty face got a stiff neck.”
“Aww~. What kind of excuse is that?”
Roselia smiles with her eyes in a gentle curve. I’d only said it as a joke, and it wasn’t even funny, so why is she laughing?
“Rain, do you think I’m pretty?”
“…Is this one of those things? I heard girls sometimes already know they’re pretty but still ask other people anyway.”
“Hmm? Why?”
“They just want to hear someone else say it. They already know they’re pretty, but hearing it from someone else confirms it again. This situation feels exactly like that, doesn’t it?”
“So, am I pretty or not?”
“You’re the prettiest person in this room. Here, mirror.”
I hold up my terminal with the screen turned off and show it to her. My desperate flattery must have worked, because she giggles and starts turning her head this way and that, admiring her reflection in the dark screen and tucking her hair behind her ears. The way she gazes intently at her own image is quite captivating, but to me she just looks like a kid trying to act grown-up, so a small smile crept onto my lips without me realizing.
‘Ugh, I’m drained.’
That aside, I have zero ability to take care of this energetic little cat, so my head was filled with the single urgent thought of getting out of here as fast as possible.
…Can’t we just stay casual acquaintances who only know each other’s faces?
“Oh dear, talking with you made time fly by. It’s already lunchtime? I was having so much fun chatting with Roselia that I completely lost track of time.”
I shamelessly fake an exaggerated tone and glance at my right wrist. Of course, I’m not wearing a watch.
“Whoa, you’re right. No wonder my stomach’s been growling.”
“I heard the food here is really good. I’m looking forward to it.”
I start slowly lifting my butt from the chair, giving every signal that I’m about to leave. It’s 11:48. Official lunch starts at noon, but I don’t have enough conversational skill to keep talking with her for another twelve minutes, nor do I have the energy to handle her boundless cheerfulness.
‘And more than anything, I’m starting to worry about Sien.’
Now that the opening ceremony is officially over, there’s no telling what kind of harassment she might be facing. Since I’d taken it upon myself to look after her mental state, the situation honestly has me on edge. With the firm resolve to get her ID no matter what today, I stand up from my seat.
“Well, I’ll head out first!”
“W-wait…!!”
As expected, Roselia looks like she’s about to say the forbidden line—Want to eat lunch together? But who does she think she’s dealing with? I’m the master of being hated, the king of striking first, the genius of cutting people off, the exclusive bearer of bad news, the pinnacle of shamelessness.
…When I list them all like that, they all sound pretty pathetic, but the conclusion is the same.
“Sorry! I promised a friend I’d eat with them today!”
I had seized my freedom with my own two hands.
+++
The distance between departments is quite far, and it’s extremely rare for students from one faculty to wander into another. Especially for freshmen who just enrolled.
“Being good-looking sure gets you attention from all kinds of people.”
But people can think whatever they want. Since I was going to get attention anyway, deciding it was because I’m handsome strangely improves my mood. My chest puffs out a little more and I walk with confidence.
Ah, whatever. Thinking this way is better for my mental health, so I’ll just go with it.
“But where would I even find her?”
It’s already past noon and well into lunch hour. The ideal route would be to turn here and head straight to the cafeteria, but…
“I used to stay hidden until everyone else had left too.”
Misery understands misery. Based on experience, she’s probably only now slowly emerging from the classroom. In a more extreme case, she might not even be planning to eat at all, choosing to starve rather than go to the cafeteria.
“…I really hope my prediction is wrong.”
Anxiety begins to bloom in my chest. At the same time, the thought that this kind of situation doesn’t suit Sien at all fills me with bitterness as I step into the Knight Department building.
The building’s layout wasn’t much different from the Magic Department’s. First-years using the lowest floor was the same too.
“Sien?”
I open the classroom door and check if anyone’s inside. Finding it empty, I close it and open the door to the next room, repeating the process three times until only one classroom remains.
‘…I really hope she just went to eat.’
Wishing for a peaceful day, I open the final door.
“———Just drop out already, will you?”
The exact situation I had expected—but desperately didn’t want to see—unfolds before my eyes.
“…Who the hell are you?”
The students, sensing an intruder, all turn to stare at me at once. There are five of them. All first-years like her. Through the gap between them, I see the woman I’d been looking for, slumped on the floor.
Her pure white knight cadet uniform is covered in unidentifiable stains, and her carefully arranged hair is soaked and clinging to her head.
“…Ah.”
The moment her violet eyes meet mine, they begin to tremble violently. The mouth that had stayed tightly shut through all the pain opens at the sight of me, letting out a broken sigh.
“———Hah.”
Seeing the same scene not once but twice makes rage surge through me. In my heart, I want to make an example of the bastards tormenting her, kill them all, and hang their heads in the classroom as a warning. But—
“Sien, let’s go eat.”
For my sake, and for hers, I can’t afford to act like a maniac.
“We promised to eat together today, remember? Or was I the only one looking forward to it?”
I force a cheerful tone, plaster a smile on my face, and walk forward.
“…You think you can just smile and tell us to move?”
“What’s a magic department bastard doing here?”
A big, annoying brute blocks the stairs completely and snorts.
“I came to eat with my friend.”
“Don’t tell me your friend is that bitch?”
“Hey———.”
The moment he looks down on her, I reflexively release killing intent.
Killing intent is actually incredibly threatening. It’s defined as an aura that seems to say you’ll kill the other person, but… the energy we call “mana” is what it’s made of, and both knights and mages can wield it. Killing intent is mana used with the explicit purpose of killing.
And I am a villain who has destroyed and broken more things than anyone.
“Don’t you dare call Sien that in front of me.”
Even though this body is only at 2nd Circle and pathetically weak, a fifteen-year-old who doesn’t even know how to use killing intent has no chance against me just because he’s big.
“I’m not exactly known for having a good personality… you know?”
I carefully control the killing intent and press down on the big guy. Whether it’s misfortune or a stroke of luck, the energy in this body is still too weak to actually kill him with aura alone. Still, the clear murderous pressure around his throat and airways is enough. Unable to endure it, he staggers and collapses.
I stare at him coldly and continue down the stairs.
“There’s nothing more annoying than fifteen-year-olds. They keep charging in without learning their lesson.”
“You— what the hell did you just do?!”
“He suddenly collapsed. Maybe he’s sleep-deprived? I didn’t do anything.”
“That’s complete bullshit…!”
“Come on, if we waste time like this, we’ll miss lunch. I want to enjoy this moment in peace, so how about you just let us go?”
I reach the bottom of the stairs. On the opposite side from me and Sien, the remaining four stand frozen in tension, trying to block my path…
“You guys are hilarious.”
A dry laugh escapes me. They must have felt the killing intent I used on the big guy, because all four of them—two boys and two girls—are trembling and slowly backing away. It’s pathetic, ridiculous, and it pisses me off.
How do such cowardly bastards have the nerve to throw punches?
“Do you even know what you’re doing right now?!”
“I’m just politely coming to pick up my friend for lunch. It’s annoying, so stop asking questions.”
“Hey. Snap out of it. If you do anything to us, you won’t be able to handle the conse———”
“This is actually funny.”
Whoosh—
I push past them and walk straight to Sien’s side.
“That was supposed to be a threat? Why would I bother dealing with trash like you?”
Space-time series 4th Circle spell [Domain Expansion: Time Deceleration]
I cast the magic on them at once.
“Touching trash only dirties your hands, after all?”
I chuckle and crouch down to meet Sien at eye level.
“……That must have hurt.”
Her cheek is red and swollen, her lip split and bleeding. Tear tracks that hadn’t yet dried still stained her face. We’d only been apart for a few hours, and this is what happened.
‘Haa.’
My fists clench. How long had they been hitting her? The moment lunch started? Or right after the opening ceremony when she entered the classroom?
My anger swells without limit. The moment I frowned—
“…Ah, sorry.”
I quickly swallow my rage the instant our eyes meet.
‘I can’t let her see me like this.’
I should have always smiled for her. As expected, the sight of me must have scared her too, because the moment our eyes meet, Sien lowers her head.
“Are you telling me not to be sorry?”
“…….”
But when she shakes her head or nods in response, I feel certain she still trusts me. That action makes me incredibly happy. That small nod feels like she’s accepting my heart.
“I’ve made one decision.”
I smile brightly as if to say everything’s fine.
“I said I’d make you happy, but you and I are so far apart right now. That’s why these worthless punks keep bothering you. This situation really pisses me off.”
I keep smiling as I speak, but on one side of my chest, pain begins to spread from the mana rapidly draining away. Maintaining the spell on four people at once only lasts about a minute. Even that is straining this body, but easing her fear comes first, so I continue without so much as a frown.
“I won’t be irresponsible. I’ll protect you. I’ll block everything that tries to hurt you, and someday I’ll help you gain the strength to overcome it all yourself.”
“———.”
“I swear on my mana.”