Breaking Up Means Starting Anew
Several days passed, and then the day of the entrance ceremony finally arrived.
I was carefully inspecting the Sielm Academy uniform that had been delivered to the treatment center.
The winter uniform had a deep black base, accented by elegant golden patterns that made the jacket look especially refined.
Both the winter and summer versions were made of soft, clearly high-quality fabric at a glance.
And the Sielm emblem set over the left chest gleamed with dazzling brilliance.
Even the uniform alone radiated the majesty of a prestigious academy.
"Heh..."
Thinking about it again, it really felt like I was enrolling in an absurd place.
Yesterday’s events flashed through my mind.
After the physical and mental examination was over, Sielm’s vice principal, Mahiel, had suddenly come looking for me.
Then she found out that I was suffering from Mana Erosion, a terminal condition with no known cure.
And yet, in order to research the disease that still hadn’t killed me, they were going to bring me in as a special-admissions student at the illustrious Sielm Academy.
Even now, when I thought about it, I still felt like it made no sense at all, but...
Name: Lim Paran
Title: Sielm Academy Special Admissions Student
Special Notes: Mana Erosion Condition
...the words registered on my mana bracelet made it painfully clear that this was no dream.
Who could possibly doubt a bracelet that displayed only the truth?
"Hahaha..."
With a hollow laugh, I finished checking the rest of the things that had come from Sielm.
There was the student ID that proved I was one of Sielm’s cadets, and the student record that would document all my conduct and everything I had done so far.
The more I looked at those things, the more the fact that I had become a Sielm cadet sank into my head.
And then there was...
The word special printed on the student ID.
Special. Those two syllables were the most eye-catching thing of all.
The wording posted online was just as provocative.
Uh...
It seemed like the impact of this “special admission” business was even greater than I’d imagined.
And my blue hair, too...
No?
Was it really that strange for a “special admission” student to appear after it had never happened once in three hundred years?
But somehow it was perfectly reasonable for a hair color that had disappeared a hundred years ago to show up now?
Anyway.
The moment I stepped into Sielm, it seemed obvious that I’d draw an outrageous amount of attention.
And then there was the fact I needed to think about too.
I was the kind of person who had a seizure if anyone came within a certain distance of me or tried to speak to me.
With all this bad luck on top of the attention from being “special” and the attention from my blue hair, it already felt like a dam had burst and I was drowning in it.
So I had even considered taking the warp train...
But I could already picture myself passing out in an instant if I ended up in a packed space full of people.
Because of that weakness of mine, I was pretty sure I’d have another seizure even at the upcoming entrance ceremony, and without even seeing a single person yet, I was already trembling like a wet dog.
Anyone seeing me would probably come over to comfort me.
But I’d likely reject even that comfort because of the seizure...
The thought only made me more miserable.
Fortunately, once I got somewhat used to someone’s face or if they were kind to me, the seizures did weaken a little.
But the fact remained that I still had them, so I had to be careful.
Still, I supposed it was a relief that my seizures had become a little milder.
I shook off my stray thoughts and finished packing.
I didn’t want to be late for the entrance ceremony.
I stuffed the books, clothes, and daily necessities from my hospital room into my bag.
After everything was sorted, I put on the uniform from Sielm.
The moment I tried it on, I thought it was a bit too large for me.
Then my mana began to seep into the golden patterns on the uniform, and it changed shape to fit me perfectly.
Since Sielm’s clothes weren’t just school uniforms but actual combat attire for the academy, they were far easier to move in than ordinary workout clothes.
The fact that the outfit could freely adjust its size to the wearer’s mana didn’t seem like a lie at all.
"Oh..."
For someone like me, who had never worn anything like this before, it felt downright enchanting.
Still dressed in it, I stared blankly at my reflection in the mirror, mouth slightly open.
The jacket fit my body perfectly, the beautiful golden patterns shimmered, and the Sielm insignia sat proudly over my left chest.
Right now, I looked exactly like a Sielm student.
"Um, Lim Paran?"
"Hyah!... Y-yes..."
I was still scared of people, so I was always startled by sudden voices.
"Today is finally the day, isn’t it?"
She was probably talking about the Sielm entrance ceremony.
"Yes, I have to go today."
"Yes, since it’s your last day, the director said she wanted to see your face one last time..."
The nurse couldn’t quite finish the sentence, her voice fading off.
She must have known I wasn’t good with people...
"Ah, yes. Since it’s the last day, I should at least thank her! I’ll go."
I had spent two weeks being looked after by someone whose name I still didn’t know, and whether those two weeks had felt long or short, I absolutely had to give my thanks before leaving.
"Oh my, really!? How lovely~ I’ll go get the director~"
The nurse walked away with a bright smile, as though she had just completed some troublesome assignment.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
"Good day. I am honored to greet you like this for the first time, Cadet Lim Paran."
The director who came a few minutes later was an elderly man with a head full of white hair.
He wore a pale blue doctor’s coat and stylish-looking glasses, and his gentle smile made him seem instantly likable.
"No, I’m the one who should be thanking you."
I’d heard his voice over the speakerphone plenty of times, but now that I was actually face to face with him, my trembling only got worse.
"As I thought... you’re still having seizures, then."
The director’s face fell with a sad expression as he looked at me, trembling in fear, with pity in his eyes.
"I-I... I’m f-fine... p-probably..."
The fear that had been steadily building inside me had almost taken over completely.
But I couldn’t possibly refuse to greet someone who had been, for all intents and purposes, my lifesaver, just because of this mysterious illness.
"The first time I saw you, I was quite shocked by your blue hair. A person with hair that had vanished a hundred years ago was collapsed in a place like that, after all."
"Ah..."
"Sielm has spent two hundred years producing only the most respected hunters, without a single stain on its name. I’m sure your growth here will become the key to curing your Mana Erosion."
He said that, then continued in the same soft voice, smiling warmly.
"So I hope you’ll overcome both your Mana Erosion and your seizures there, and become an honorable hunter."
With what little regret he had left, he clicked his tongue at the fact that they couldn’t shake hands.
"Thank you for looking after me all this time."
My body was still trembling, but I forced myself to bow deeply and offer my thanks with a firm heart.
"Yes. I hope that when we meet again, it will be with a happy face free of trembling... Cadet Lim Paran."
After thanking the director, I left the mana treatment center with a little ache in my chest.
This place, where I had arrived with no memories at all and where they had treated me without even knowing who I was.
This place that had declared my illness incurable and then selected me as a special-admissions student at Sielm.
This place that was likely to remain the most memorable place in my life.
I decided to tuck it away in one of the many shades of my rainbow, leaving behind only a tiny photograph.
Because parting always brings new connections in its wake.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
"Hiiiiiyaaah!"
And now.
I was on the way to Sielm.
The fastest way there would have been to take the warp train, but...
Like I said before, if I went that way, I’d probably end up unconscious and be sent right back to the treatment center. It was as obvious as the sun in the sky.
So I chose to walk the hour-long distance instead.
The treatment center was farther from Sielm than I’d expected, so walking there was truly not recommended, but...
Because of this ridiculous body of mine, I had no choice but to go on foot.
I had also considered taking a floating taxi.
But when I imagined myself retching at the sight of the driver...
Walking felt like the more polite option.
It wasn’t as hard to walk as I’d expected.
Since I had stored most of my luggage in the Sielm Ring, the weight itself wasn’t much of a problem.
The hardest part was...
"Huh? Are you okay?"
"P-please d-don’t come c-closer..."
The people I kept seeing from time to time.
Every time someone got near me, my body reacted.
Keeping some distance was bearable.
But when someone came too close, or when people who were worried about me approached me after I started having a seizure, it only made things worse.
The ringing in my ears grew terrible, my throat clamped shut, and my heart began to pound like crazy.
I’d been through seizures many times before, but having one while surrounded by so many people was a different kind of terror from what I felt at the treatment center.
The pain surged so sharply that I clutched my chest and sank to the ground.
"P-please... s-stay awa-ay from me..."
With tears in my eyes, I somehow forced my blocked throat open and begged them.
Everyone stared at me as if they couldn’t understand, and those expressions only made things harder.
The more I saw their reactions, the more people rushed toward me because of my blue hair, the worse the seizure became.
They were all trying to worry about me...
They were all coming over because they wanted to help me...
I hated myself for rejecting them so coldly while having a seizure, and I was horribly sorry to everyone standing around me.
Then, as we kept failing to understand one another and I kept having seizure after seizure...
"I’m very sorry, everyone, but could you please step away from this person for a moment?"
A clear, pure voice rang out.