A Promise and a Broken Friend
It had already been about a month since the Academy closed its doors. A month could be considered long or short, but it was certainly enough time for human relationships to undergo a significant shift.
"Ehehe! Look, big sister. I drew you and me."
Enough time, indeed, for a child who had lost her parents and been left at an orphanage to form a deep, new attachment to someone else.
Before I knew it, the drawings of the two of us in Rion's sketchbook had multiplied, now occupying almost every page. That was how attached she had become to me, welcoming me more warmly than anyone else whenever I visited. And the feeling was mutual. Even as I wondered if I shouldn't let this happen, I couldn't bring myself to push away a child who needed me so dearly. I had grown increasingly fond of her. I had worried about this very outcome when we first met, but by the time I realized it, it was already too late. Just as the drawings of Rion and me grew one by one in her sketchbook, the memories we shared had piled up, becoming an indispensable part of who I was.
I gently stroked Rion's hair as she sat on my lap, proudly showing off her drawing, and asked, "Wow, you drew this so well. Where is this?"
"It's the zoo Rion went to with Mommy and Daddy a long time ago! And let me tell you what kind of animals are here—"
At my question, Rion's face lit up, and she began pointing at the animals in her sketchbook one by one, explaining them with earnest excitement. As I listened with a fond, paternal smile, Rion, who had been so passionately describing the animals, suddenly fell silent. Her expression clouded over, and she murmured wistfully, "Rion wants to see Mr. Bear again... but Mommy and Daddy aren't here anymore, so I can't go..."
She hesitated, looking up at me with big, tentative eyes. I could instantly tell what she wanted from that look. I hesitated for a brief moment, but looking into those pleading eyes, I knew I was utterly powerless to resist. I extended my pinky finger to Rion and said, "Later, when we both have some free time, let's go to the zoo together. I'll ask the director about it."
"...Really? You'll go to the zoo with Rion?"
"Really, truly. I promise, pinky swear. We'll go see Mr. Bear together next time."
Affection was a terrifying thing. I knew I couldn't stay by Rion's side forever, yet I couldn't stop myself from pouring my heart out to this child. But what else could I do? Seeing Rion sad made my own heart ache in tandem, and—
"Ehehe! I love you the most in the whole wide world, big sister!"
—and seeing her smile so radiantly, as if she had won the entire world while hooking her pinky around mine, brought me such immense joy.
Yet, as much as I had grown attached to Rion, the fact that she was becoming equally attached and reliant on me filled me with a quiet anxiety. After all, I wouldn't be able to visit this place as often as I had lately.
"Hey, Rion. I won't be able to visit as much from now on. But I'll do my best to make time and drop by whenever I can. Can you be a brave girl until then?"
When I voiced my worries, Rion fell quiet for a moment. Then, she carefully tore the drawing she had just finished out of her sketchbook and held it out to me. As I tilted my head in confusion, Rion gave me a remarkably mature smile and said, "Rion is okay. Because you promised to go to the zoo with me. And I know you always keep your promises, big sister. I'm giving you this as a present so you won't forget what you promised Rion."
"...Yeah. I'll never, ever forget."
I nodded, carefully accepting the drawing she offered as if it were made of spun glass, terrified of wrinkling it. Tomorrow, the Academy would resume its regular classes. It was time to return to being a student once more.
"It's been so long since we last walked to school together like this, Scarlet."
"Ahaha... It really has."
I offered a slightly dazed smile to a beaming Sylvia. Riding to school in a limousine was something I could never quite get used to, no matter how many times I did it. Perhaps it felt even more foreign because it had been nearly a month. Even the uniform, which I thought I had finally grown accustomed to, felt strangely tight today. Had I gained weight from eating too well lately...? Regardless, returning to school after such a long hiatus stirred a peculiar sensation in my chest. It felt akin to the first day of school after summer break. Of course, Aegis Academy didn't actually have vacations, so I figured this would probably be the last time I'd ever experience this specific feeling. Lost in these thoughts, I soon found myself standing before the Academy gates.
When I slid the classroom door open, familiar, welcoming faces immediately called out to me.
"Yo, Scarlet! How've you been?"
"Long time no see. I'm glad to see you looking healthy."
I waved back at the Spear Guy and Shield Guy—no, Daniel and Andre—and as I did, the other classmates began chiming in with their own greetings. As I returned their pleasantries one by one, May, whom I had seen most recently, approached me with a subtle smile.
"Hey, Scarlet. Everything's been quiet on your end, right?"
"Yeah, nothing much happened. More importantly, I'm sorry for leaving so abruptly when we visited Senior's place last time. Something urgent came up..."
"Oh, don't worry about it. Thanks to that, I actually got some private tutoring from Lord Leon. Oh, by the way, he asked me to tell you to contact him through Senior later. Said he has something to discuss regarding a promise."
Ah, right. I forgot that had happened. I nodded to May to let her know I understood, then took my seat. Looking around the classroom, the scenery was largely unchanged from a month ago—save for the empty desk directly in front of me, belonging to a classmate who would never return. I'm glad everyone seems to be doing okay despite the tragedy. Just as that thought crossed my mind, the classroom door slid open. In an instant, the lively chatter of the students died down, and a heavy silence descended upon the room.
"...It's been a while, everyone."
Jesse, who had just stepped through the door, offered a quiet greeting, but no one could find the words to reply. They were likely as shocked as I was by the drastic transformation she had undergone over the past month. Jesse had always been a gentle soul—prone to tears and easily frightened, but incredibly kind. With her thick, fluffy, sheep-like orange curls and her petite stature owing to her dwarf heritage, she had been adored by everyone as the class mascot.
But now, her eyes—which used to sparkle even when she wept—were dull and bloodshot, devoid of any life. Her vibrant orange curls were streaked with stark white patches as if bleached by sheer stress, sticking out in wild, unkempt directions. More than anything, her entire aura had shifted so drastically that she felt like an entirely different person. I knew the death of a family member was an unimaginably devastating blow, but... compared to how she looked now, her exhausted state when she stayed up for days to craft my prosthetic arm seemed like a picture of perfect health. The Jesse standing before us now looked utterly broken.
"...Why is everyone looking at me like that? As if you've seen a ghost."
As the class stood frozen in awkward silence, Jesse tilted her head and asked, trying to sound nonchalant. Yet, despite her attempt to act normal, the dark, hollow circles bruising the skin beneath her eyes and the faint, uncontrollable trembling of her hands and feet made one thing abundantly clear: she was far from fine.
"...Jesse, are you okay?"
"...Ah, Scarlet. I'm perfectly fine. I've just been cutting back on sleep to focus on my training."
Unable to watch any longer, I spoke up, and Jesse replied with a fragile smile. Of course, not a single soul in the room believed her. Her current state screamed of severe sleep deprivation. She hadn't just 'cut back' on sleep; she was clearly not sleeping at all.
"...You've been cutting back on sleep to train? Since when?"
"Ahaha, it hasn't been that long... Just... about fifteen days?"
"Fifteen days?! Are you insane? Why on earth are you pushing yourself that hard!"
Human beings were fragile creatures; even a single week of sleep deprivation was enough to push someone to a psychological breaking point. To go fifteen days without proper rest while subjecting oneself to rigorous training meant she had to be running on absolute fumes, both mentally and physically. I didn't know what was driving her to push herself to such a self-destructive extreme, but I knew that if she kept this up, she would ruin her body. When I raised my voice in concern, Jesse simply laughed.
"Ahaha... If I want to get stronger, I have to push myself. When I thought about it, I realized... I'm just far too weak."
"Too weak? Jesse, you're already plenty—"
"No. I am weak. I need to become much, much stronger. Strong enough to take my revenge on the Witch."
A chilling light flared in Jesse's eyes as the word 'revenge' left her lips. Looking into those eyes, a cold shiver ran down my spine. The gentle, warm gaze that used to remind me of a spring day was gone, replaced by a manic obsession and a terrifying, singular focus. Yet, because I couldn't entirely blame her for feeling that way, I found myself unable to say a word. Then, Jesse's gaze drifted to the empty desk in front of me, and she spoke again.
"Oh, by the way, did you see it? Yoon Siwoo becoming a Hero. I saw it on TV, and he looked so, so cool. People are saying that Yoon Siwoo is the one who will defeat the Witch for us."
Her eyes shone with the exact same fanatical light I had seen in the people praying to Yoon Siwoo in the cafeteria once before.
"I'm going to become a Hero like him one day, and I'll get my revenge on the Witch."
Jesse smiled as she spoke. And so, marked by the haunting transformation of a dear friend, our first day back at the Academy began.