Ding-Dong-Ding, Good Morning
Ding-dong-ding~ Good morning~ Ding-dong-ding~
As the morning sunlight filtered through the window, a hollow laugh escaped my lips along with the realization that the long night had finally passed. Since I hadn't slept, there was no reason to wake up, yet this damn alarm kept ringing in my head. Well, it wasn't like I had any way to turn it off, so I had no choice but to just try and enjoy it.
I got out of bed and did some light stretching. Although I hadn't slept a wink, I didn't feel particularly tired, so fortunately, it didn't seem like it would interfere with my daily routine. Come to think of it, pulling an all-nighter was something I used to do quite often in the past. I had frequently worked late-night part-time jobs just to cover my living expenses. My body was much stronger now than it was back then, so I figured going without sleep for a bit wouldn't hurt.
Lost in these thoughts, it was soon time to head to school, so I made my way to the academy. Arriving a bit early, I saw May already out and about, doing the morning cleaning earlier than anyone else, as usual.
"Morning, May."
"Oh, Scarlet. Good morning. You must be tired since it's so early. Want some of this?" When I greeted her, May returned the greeting and pulled a few chocolates out of her bag, offering them to me.
I hesitated for a moment before reaching out to accept the chocolates. Slipping them into my pocket, I unwrapped one and popped it into my mouth. The characteristic bittersweet taste of chocolate spread across my tongue. As the sugar rushed into my system, the fatigue from staying up all night seemed to lift slightly.
...May had said it before, hadn't she? That chocolate is the best when times are tough. Maybe I should start stocking up on chocolate at home, right alongside the bean sprouts.
As I stood there chewing on the chocolate and thinking, May spoke up.
"You heard about the special class today, right?"
"Ah, yeah. I heard Senior Leonor's dad is coming as the instructor."
"...I wonder if I'll do okay. I even received private tutoring, so I should at least keep up with the others, but I'm just not very confident..." May muttered in a slightly disheartened tone.
I couldn't help but feel a bit surprised. May always worked harder than anyone else, so I had assumed she was brimming with confidence. To think she harbored such worries... I guess everyone has a struggle or two of their own. With that thought, I spoke up to encourage her.
"You'll do great, May. I know you will."
May offered a bittersweet smile in response.
"...Yeah, thanks. I have to do my best. Especially to you, Scarlet..."
"To me?"
"...No, it's nothing. Let's both do our best."
"...To be honest, I was a bit worried until just a moment ago. When I heard you all had encountered a Witch, I was certain at least a few of you would want to quit trying to become Heroes out of fear."
The man with the striking combination of blonde hair and tanned skin, Leon Lionil, murmured to the crowd of us gathered in the gymnasium. After speaking, he scanned the students, a proud, warm smile spreading across his face.
"To think not a single one of you would choose to quit—it's a very pleasant surprise. Indeed, a Hero must never succumb to fear. I guarantee it: in spirit, you are all already respectable Heroes."
I could feel the atmosphere among the students heating up at his words. A Hero they deeply admired had just acknowledged them. It was only natural for them to be thrilled. But their excitement was short-lived. As the smiling Leon adopted a serious expression and began to speak, the students fell silent, hanging on his every word.
"However, no matter how strong your spirit is, a Hero must possess a certain level of strength. Especially in an era like this, where Witches are beginning to show themselves once more. Of course, I won't ask you to become strong enough to fight a Witch, or even an Upper-rank beast. What I am going to teach you today is—"
Mid-sentence, Leon suddenly drew the spear slung across his back and pointed it directly at us.
"How to survive."
In that instant, it felt as if the spear in his hand had pierced my throat. A killing intent so dense it made me hallucinate my own death flooded the gymnasium. The students turned pale, unable to even breathe properly. Leon watched them for a brief moment before withdrawing his bloodlust and continuing.
"Since you've faced a Witch, I'm sure you've all felt something similar. When confronted by a being far stronger than yourself, it's only human for your body to freeze up. You get crushed by their killing intent, their sheer presence. Naturally, in a real fight, that usually means death. Whether you run or fight, you must first train your body to move under that kind of pressure if you want to survive. So, let's start by getting used to it, one by one."
In the blink of an eye, Leon appeared right in front of where we sat. With his spear, he made a sweeping motion across the floor in front of our row. It was a line. He hadn't actually scratched the gym floor, but everyone could sense the imaginary line he had drawn. The air around it practically screamed that crossing it would bring nothing but pain.
"First, try crossing the line I just drew. Now, who wants to go first?" Leon returned to his original spot and asked casually, but no one stepped forward. Meanwhile, I felt a headache coming on. I could feel Leon casting subtle glances in my direction. It was glaringly obvious he wanted me to demonstrate. I really didn't want to do anything that would make me stand out, but... I had no choice. I stood up and faced him.
"Oh, you'll go first?" Leon spoke with mock surprise, but I could tell he felt a bit guilty for putting me on the spot. I gave him a subtle look telling him not to worry about it, then faced the imaginary line on the floor. I recalled what he had made me do back at his house. He had told me to cross a line he drew back then, too. Since I had already done it once, it didn't feel difficult at all. I took a few strides forward and crossed the line, prompting a look of utter disbelief from Leon. In a voice only I could hear, he whispered:
"...I felt this last time too, but you really are a peculiar young lady. Do you feel absolutely no resistance when crossing that line?"
I tilted my head at his question. Huh? Is there any reason I should feel resistance? After all, the feeling of crossing that line was no different from what I felt on a daily basis. It was a sensation I had grown so numbly accustomed to. I didn't really have any special feedback to offer. But perhaps finishing the task so effortlessly in front of the other students was a mistake. Leon's expression turned complicated, and he asked:
"...Since you already seem accustomed to it, we can add a bit of extra training. How about a quick spar with me in this state? Sound good?"
I had no real reason to refuse, so I nodded. Acknowledging my consent, Leon flipped his spear to point the blade backward for safety, then murmured in a low voice:
"I'll go at about the same speed as last time, so do your best."
With those words, Leon thrust his spear toward me. Watching the attack approach, my immediate thought was: Huh? Isn't this a bit slow? It certainly wasn't a slow attack by any means, yet it felt strangely, crystal-clearly visible. When I had trained with him before, I had to rely entirely on instinct, throwing my body out of the way to dodge. Now, I felt like I could just look and dodge—and indeed, I did.
As I dodged his thrust with a slight tilt of my head, Leon looked utterly dumbfounded. He asked in a hushed whisper:
"...I don't think it's been that long since we last trained. Did something happen in the meantime?"
...I don't know either. Was this the result of the special classes I'd been taking? But it felt like my physical specs had increased to a degree that was hard to explain by that alone. As I dodged a few more of his thrusts, a sudden realization began to dawn on me. Just then, Leon spoke, his face filled with astonishment.
"...You must have worked incredibly hard. At this rate, this won't be much of a training session. Alright, I'm going to get a bit serious, so come at me with everything you've got."
The moment he spoke, the shaft of his spear was already swinging toward my eyes. I hastily ducked to dodge the strike aimed at my head and threw a counter-punch, but he was already gone. He stood just out of my reach, swinging his spear with a look that said, How about this? I lowered my stance as much as possible to dodge, thinking to myself: Yeah, it's supposed to be this brutal.
I dodged and threw another counter, but the distance was still too great. This was a bare-handed fight against a spear, a weapon boasting the longest reach of all. Backing away to dodge would only put me at a disadvantage, so I lunged forward to close the gap. Yet, even as I rushed him, Leon maintained an exquisite distance, refusing to let me get close while unleashing a barrage of keeping-away attacks. If this were a game, his spacing would have earned him a shower of colorful curses. What made it even more infuriating was that he kept a speed that allowed me to barely dodge and counter, but never actually catch him. I wasn't even sure if firing flames from my prosthetic arm would hit him. No matter how many times I dodged and countered, I couldn't touch him, and my frustration began to boil over. There has to be a way to seize an opening and land a clean hit—
[Burn them.]
...Suddenly, a brilliant idea struck me. Come to think of it, this was just a spar. If I intentionally took a hit, a worried Leon would naturally rush over to check on me.
[Burn them.]
And if I attacked him then... I could definitely kill— Ah.
The moment my body froze at that thought, thud. Leon's attack struck me squarely in the stomach.
"—Kehooh, cough... Urgh..."
"Are you okay?! I mean, why did you do that all of a sudden? You were dodging so well, why would you just freeze up in the middle of a spar...?!"
Through my tear-blurred vision, I saw Leon's face, filled with deep concern. ...What on earth was I just thinking? It was unthinkable. It was something that should never, ever cross my mind. Gasping for air as a wave of nausea washed over me, I squeezed out an apology.
"Gasp, pant. I'm... I'm sorry... I'm so sorry..."
"...Wait, you're breaking out in a cold sweat..."
Along with my ragged breaths, the heat that had filled my head seemed to drain away. As the fever receded, a violent shudder ran through my body, as if I had been plunged into ice.
"...I'm sorry, I... need to go to the infirmary..."
"...Ah, yes. You said you were fine, so I took your word for it, but of course you weren't... I'm sorry, I must have pushed you too hard. Go on, get some rest quickly."
Without even waiting for Leon to finish speaking, I fled the gymnasium. I rushed into the school building, locked myself inside a toilet stall, and pressed my forehead against the wall, sobbing.
"...It's because... because I didn't sleep. I'm just sleep-deprived..."
But even as I said it, I knew. I knew that harboring such a thought, even for a split second, wasn't because of a lack of sleep. Shivering with terror, I sat in the stall for a long time before pulling the remaining chocolates from my pocket and shoving them all into my mouth. But even the sweetness, so intense it made my head throb, couldn't stop the trembling.
Unfortunately, the only limit I was capable of enduring was my own death.