The Chaotic Eva Rescue Operation (4)

"What are you doing, holed up in a corner like this?"

"M-Mister...?"

"Mister this, mister that. Here we go again—we're the same age, I keep telling you."

A grumbling voice, as if the whole world were a chore. The usual face brimming with playful humor. It was exactly the man she knew—though somehow, dark circles seemed to linger under his eyes, a faint air of exhaustion clinging to him.

"H-How... how did you get in here?"

"You look like you never expected this. Guess it seems pretty miraculous that I made it all the way here, huh?"

"W-Well, no one can..."

No one could enter. She didn't want to see anyone. She wanted to be alone—and her wish, her will, had been granted form by a Divine Artifact. Even the most powerful figures in Purity Academy could never have forced their way through. It would simply be impossible for anyone who wasn't a Divine Artifact user themselves.

"Coming in for a bit."

Solis flung the door wide open, kicked off his shoes, and stepped into her room.

Thud.

The moment his foot touched the floor, a brilliance so intense it made her eyes squint flooded Eva's room. All he had done was take a single step. Just that—and yet Eva could see it. The level of the realm he had reached, and the radiant golden bracelet glowing in time with the rippling waves of his mana.

"So you... have a Divine Artifact."

"Oh, this? I've had it since before I enrolled at the Academy. Guess you can see it now, finally."

"Then Solis, you've also..."

Have you ever killed a person? With your own two hands—someone precious to you? The question rose all the way to her throat, but she couldn't bring herself to voice it.

"What about me?"

"N-Nothing. Never mind."

How could she even think of asking something like that? She thought it was unbelievably rude. I'm struggling this much myself, she thought, and here I am about to poke at someone else's wound. How shameful, she scolded herself. How selfish.

"If it's nothing, then fine."

Once inside the room, he kicked aside the trash strewn in his path. A crushed can clattered across the floor.

"What a pigsty. It's a struggle just to find a place to step—how do you even live in a place like this?"

"Th-That's...!"

At those words, Eva looked around the room. Only then did she take in the dizzying state of it. It was a sight she could never, ever show another person. Face burning crimson with shame, she hid it behind both hands.

"Let's clean up this filthy room first. I'll help."

And so the great cleaning began. Solis picked up the scattered plastic bags and started stuffing garbage into them. Plastic wrappers, bottles, milk cartons—he sorted them by type with practiced ease and stacked them neatly in the corner. It didn't take long, either. The pigsty of a room became a place fit for human habitation in barely a few minutes. There were still heaps of trash piled in the corners, but that part would be over the moment it was carried out.

He's faster than our housemaid!

For all his talk of helping, he'd finished the entire job himself. While she was still debating whether to lend even a small hand, everything was already done.

"Cleaning's finished. Next up—wanna play a game?"

Solis picked up the fallen console and handed it to Eva. She couldn't bring herself to take it right away. Games or otherwise, she wasn't in the mood for any of it. Even the way ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠she'd buried herself in the screen before he arrived was only because there was nothing but games to stave off the boredom. It was closer to desperately clinging to something than actually enjoying it.

"...Okay."

So why did I take the console he offered? Eva herself didn't know the reason. But he was showing her this much attention, and she decided that playing along was simply good manners. She sat down on the sofa and pressed the start button.

"Plumber Mario, huh. So they have games like this here too."

"You know this game?"

"Of course. The character I knew had a magnificent mustache. This one doesn't, which is a bit of a letdown."

"Huh?"

"Just rambling. Feel free to ignore me."

With that, Solis plugged in a second controller and joined the game. The two players began exploring the map, each guiding their own character.

From what he said, he seemed to have experience with this. He'll probably be good, right?

"Hey, stomp that turtle and bring it over so we can get to the next part."

"Working on it."

"Ah, missed it. Sorry."

"It's fine. We can just try again."

"Ah, and now I walked straight off a cliff and died."

Eva completely revised the assumption she'd been carrying. He was horrendously bad. He could hold his own at every other game—why not this one?

"I seriously suck at this. How do I die falling off that?"

"You have to run along the wall there. Like thiiis."

Seeing was worth a thousand words—Eva guided her character across the path, demonstrating the move for him. Solis glanced back and forth between himself and her controller, then mimicked it with surprising ease.

"Oh, made it over."

"You learn quickly, sir."

"All thanks to the wonderful teacher sitting next to me. That's our Eva Amethyst for you—even at games, she's the strongest there is!"

"..."

Solis raised his thumb, wearing a greasy smile like a man who'd slathered on far too much butter. With the deliberate overacting mixed in, hearing it didn't flatter her so much as make her cringe.

It was a side of Solis she'd never seen before. That unreserved, generous praise felt awkward to her—and yet, somehow, nostalgic.

"...Excuse me."

"What is it?"

"Is there nothing you want to ask me?"

"Not really."

Tak-tak!

As if whether she asked or not made no difference to him, he hammered away at his controller, focused entirely on the game. Was he pretending to be indifferent on purpose, or did she genuinely not register on his radar at all?

"Weren't you curious about something? Isn't that why you came here?"

"Curious, huh... Actually, now that you mention it. You've stopped stuttering, haven't you? Was that whole act you put on all this time just a bit?"

"...No, it wasn't. I just decided it didn't matter anymore."

She had been afraid of people. The bandits who kidnapped her as a child—she hated them, the way they approached with false warmth, then seized a girl who couldn't even use magic, demanded ransom, and pressed knives against her. Her father had tried to save her from them and suffered wounds so grave that he passed away. From that day on, she had built walls between herself and the world. A life that could be targeted at any moment—that was what it meant to be the eldest daughter of House Amethyst, blood of a Great Archmage.

At the time, she hadn't felt anything was off. The memories that surfaced so vividly were obscuring the truth. But not anymore.

The kidnapping had been real. And her father being wounded beyond what treatment could mend was true as well. But one thing had been distorted. She herself had not been helpless back then. The blood-soaked hands that emerged from her hazy memories proved it.

"I was afraid of everyone except myself. That's why my voice shook every time I spoke to someone."

"You used to tremble around Chloe too—so that was because she scared you?"

"Yes. But not anymore. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Because now I know who the worst person in this world is."

The guilt flowing down over her shoulders, the spine-chilling loathing she felt for herself. If there was anyone in this world who deserved to die, she thought it would be her.

"You're awfully hard on yourself."

"Did you figure out who I meant, right away?"

"One look at your face and the answer's obvious."

With that, Solis set down his controller. Instead, he turned his head and met her eyes—wearing a more serious expression than at any point during the game.

"I heard it from Chloe. That you've been struggling ever ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠since the fight with the terrorists."

"So... that's why you came looking for me?"

"That little trip gave me quite a bit of grief, actually. I pushed the Artifact's power to its absolute limit, and my body's barely holding together."

Just as he said—looking closer, she could see patches of skin flushed red as if burned, wisps of steam rising from them. Strangely enough, the wounds themselves healed at a visibly rapid pace. But that didn't erase the pain of flesh pressed against fire.

"Why would you push yourself that hard just to come see me? Why...?"

She hadn't wanted to hurt anyone, so she had chosen to lock herself inside this narrow space. And yet, despite that resolve, her decision had ended up wounding someone dear to her. Her hasty judgment—this much should be enough—was what had ruined everything. Emotions churned violently inside her, on the verge of bursting out at any moment.

Amid that trembling turmoil—

"You're saying some strange things."

Solis snorted. He spoke loudly, as if making sure she heard every word.

"I told you, didn't I? Chloe said you were struggling. So obviously I came to see you."

"Just for that...?"

"That's what friends are for. Showing your face when times are hard—what's so special about that?"

He continued, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"There's no need to make it so complicated. You help someone when they're hurting. Simple as that, right?"

"But I don't have the right to..."

"I don't know how you actually feel. If I claimed I did, that would be the real deception."

The man said it plainly. That he couldn't understand her. As though putting such a claim into words would be an insult in itself.

"But a friend is holed up in a corner of her room, crying, and I'm not about to just look the other way. And it's not just me—everyone feels the same."

"Everyone...? You mean Chloe too? The others came ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠here as well...?"

"They came in to save you. Though I seem to be the only one who made it all the way here in one piece."

"Everyone..."

She had caused them trouble without meaning to. She had never dreamed anyone thought of her this much, and she secretly swallowed her tears.

Do I really deserve to hear words of comfort like this?

No one answered the question in her heart. But there was one thing she knew for certain.

"Anyway, I'm taking this out for recycling. Coming with?"

"Yes..."

Nothing was solved just by staying here. Solis shouldered the garbage bags piled in the corner and stood at the door. And Eva—by her own will—held onto his retreating figure with her eyes.