Determination
Perched on a bench, Yi Siyun stared blankly up at the clear blue sky and muttered under her breath.
"How on earth… did things end up like this?"
She had told Elysia to hurry up, then scolded her for being late herself — and for that, she had drawn every kind of stare from the seniors in that classroom.
Awe. Respect. Envy. Fear. Terror. Admiration. Pity.
"What does someone even have to do on a regular basis for one little scolding to earn looks like that…?"
Come to think of it, things had felt off from the moment she stepped into the classroom. Elysia-sunbae hadn't even arrived yet, and already the whole room was wound tight, as if they were watching for something. The second Elysia walked in with that sheepish smile, everyone froze solid.
Was she really as dangerous as Carmen claimed? And if that were true… why was she only ever kind to her?
Yi Siyun fretted over it for a moment, then shook her head hard. She already knew that no amount of thinking would produce a proper answer right now.
"More than that, though… that was unexpected."
Who would have guessed Cecilia was Elysia-sunbae's homeroom teacher? Running into her as she came in for morning assembly, Yi Siyun had finally managed to get her phone number. Now she could reach out whenever she wanted. She even knew which class Cecilia taught, so dropping by was an option too.
The corner of her mouth lifted slightly as she turned the phone over in her hands. Maybe it was because Cecilia had typed the number in herself just moments ago, but she could almost swear a trace of her warmth still lingered on the screen. She hugged the phone gently against her chest and closed her eyes.
"I can finally repay the debt."
But how, exactly, was she supposed to repay it?
Until now she had only ever thought vaguely that it would be nice to meet again, that it would be nice if a chance to repay the kindness ever came. She had never considered the specifics. Of course she hadn't — she had only wished for it. She never truly believed a reunion was possible. When you didn't even know whether the other person was alive or dead, and all you knew was that she was a blind girl, combing the entire country for her was next to impossible.
But now that they had found each other again, the debt had to be repaid. The problem was how.
A life debt was not something you settled lightly. It wasn't the kind of thing you could brush off with a "three free wishes!" like some reward you handed out to little kids. Even gold and jewels wouldn't be enough — and right now, she had no ability to repay anything of that scale.
As a stopgap, maybe she should at least buy her something nice? For that, though, she needed money first…
Fortunately, this country had an Association that helped Awakeners earn a living. Aside from the one time she had gone to register her awakening, she had never set foot in the place. Still, every Awakener had the right to walk through those doors. There were exceptions — people who couldn't enter, or shouldn't — but they were rare among the rare.
The only reason she had stuck to convenience-store shifts instead of taking Association requests until now was pure fear. The jobs you could pick up there carried a strong image of being hard, dangerous work that ordinary people simply couldn't do. Lately, though, she had looked into it and found that wasn't entirely true. She had only known about things like villain subjugation, but most of the requests turned out to be miscellaneous odds and ends — finding a lost cat, moving heavy furniture, that sort of thing.
Well, of course. The world was full of tasks ordinary people struggled with. A tracking-type skill could locate a missing cat in no time, and even a basic strength enhancement made hauling heavy loads trivial. The public image of Awakeners had calcified around heroes fighting villains or villains causing disasters, but in reality countless Awakeners were woven into ordinary society.
The reason the Association took on even these humble jobs was simple: there were plenty of things Awakeners were barred from doing. Depending on the nature of their ability, some people failed job interviews outright. Having a power didn't automatically mean you could put it to good use, so it was only natural. Offering these odd jobs through the Association was a kind of safety net for people like that. More than a few Awakeners had permanent physical changes from their abilities and faced discrimination because of them. Being an Awakener was no free ticket to success.
"Anyway… if it's errands and stuff, I should be able to handle those."
Yi Siyun gave a small nod, opened her eyes, and struck an exaggerated fighting pose with one arm outstretched.
Right then, the phone in her outstretched hand chimed — a text from Carmen.
"Crap! I completely forgot about class!"
The string of surprises since morning had driven it clean out of her head. She shot to her feet in a panic — then slowly sank back down onto the bench.
"Well… missing one class isn't the end of the…"
Yi Siyun was an honor student. She had never skipped a single class in her life. Even when she was sick, she would stubbornly tough it out until she collapsed. So why, in this moment, did she feel such an overwhelming sense of liberation?
"Is this how you turn into a delinquent…?!"
For a second she pictured herself with yellow-dyed hair, a lollipop in her mouth, swinging her legs idly.
"……"
Then it hit her: her whole way of thinking was getting weird.
…This was all Elysia-sunbae's fault!
To anyone else it might sound like a sudden, baseless blame-shift, but it was the truth. The girl kept showing up in front of her and spouting bizarre things with a completely incomprehensible mindset, and it felt like her brain was being slowly eroded. Come to think of it — what even was Elysia-sunbae's ability? What if it really was some kind of mind-erosion power?
That would explain why she was getting dumber by the day. And also—
"Th-the weird feelings I keep having for Carmen!"
Every strange thing that had happened to her lately had started after she met Elysia-sunbae. Once she put it that way, it was almost impossible to believe Elysia hadn't done something to her.
"Haa……"
But what could she do about it? She had already come too far to turn back. Even if these maddening feelings turned out to be false, even if she someday snapped back to her senses — of this much she was certain. She would have liked Carmen before, and that version of herself would still like Carmen now. That was how much she liked her.
Even if Elysia-sunbae had used some ability to force her into liking Carmen, all it would have done was give her the chance to recognize a feeling that was already there.
"Huh? If I think about it that way…"
Didn't that basically make Elysia-sunbae into Cupid?
"…Does it even matter?"
Elysia-sunbae always approached her with genuine goodwill. Nothing about that kindness felt fake. The mind-erosion theory was just her own wild speculation anyway. If anything, Elysia was constantly trying to help her. Looking back, she had been strangely kind from their very first meeting… but that was probably just who Elysia really was. The other rumors had to be wrong.
Even the reason she had called her over today was something meant to help her. They had agreed to do the fireworks in two weeks, and the way she had stressed the word "festival" suggested the whole thing was going to be bigger than expected.
"You really don't have to go that far for me…"
Yi Siyun wriggled her toes and grumbled under her breath — then made up her mind. Since she had already decided to work hard and buy Cecilia a gift, she would get one for Elysia-sunbae too. Elysia herself might not even realize it, but the kindnesses she had received from her were hardly one or two. The chance to recognize her feelings for Carmen. The advice about those feelings. This fireworks festival. And even though Elysia almost certainly hadn't planned it, running into Cecilia on the way to their meeting today.
When you had been given this much, even a small gift would put her heart at ease.
"Alright then~."
Yi Siyun hopped up from the bench, her next move already decided.
"Straight to the Association to pick up some requests…!"
The plan to skip only this one class vanished without a trace. She was going to the Association right now. Without even realizing she had forgotten something, Yi Siyun bounced along, running full tilt in the direction of the Association building.
She had no idea that Carmen's insides were burning over the fact that the girl who had never once skipped class was now skipping class. And since Yi Siyun had never once failed to reply, either, Carmen's mind was already filling with the growing fear that something might have happened to her.