"The Lady's... Roommate."
"I'm... the lady's roommate."
Roommate.
The word carried the weight of sharing everyday life in the same room—to some extent, at least. That intimacy hit heavy.
Esilla flinched at Aria's words, her shoulders twitching.
"Roommate...?"
Esilla's voice sank even colder.
Aria nodded stiffly, crushed under the knight's pressure but forcing it out anyway.
"Y-yes. In the C Dorm... we share a room."
"...I see."
Esilla's reply was curt. But her gaze swept over Aria's wrecked uniform and the battered wand clutched in her hands. Then to the wolf corpses scattered on the floor.
Beasts blown apart beyond recognition. No one would buy that a single commoner first-year pulled this off alone.
"A question for that roommate of yours, then."
"Y-yes? Wh-what...?"
"Judging by these bodies... did the lady use black magic?"
Straight to the point. Right now, my cover was that the necklace Adrian slapped on me blocked black magic. Thanks to that, I could roam freely without full restraints.
If they found out it was useless—and I'd been blasting black magic all over the academy—I'd lose this freedom in a heartbeat. Gut feeling.
I'll be in deep shit if they catch on.
I couldn't speak, but I rolled my eyes desperately. Aria, glancing my way under Esilla's intimidation, met my gaze. I shook my head as subtly as paralysis allowed—barely a twitch, if that. Just pleading with my eyes.
Say no. Please.
Did she read my desperate stare? Aria startled, then blurted out in a panic.
"N-no, probably not...?"
"'Probably not'? What does that mean?"
"I-I didn't see it!" Aria gripped her wand with both hands, yelling desperately. "I was dismantling the magic circle—I don't know what happened behind me!"
A clumsy excuse. But that made it harder to poke holes in. She really hadn't turned around while breaking the circle.
Esilla's suspicious glare lingered, but without hard proof to contradict her, she let it slide—for now.
"Fine. Say you didn't see."
Esilla fired the next question.
"Then answer me this, roommate. Why were you two in the underground sewers?"
The root of it all.
Th-that's..."
Aria shot me an anxious look, debating how much truth to spill, what was safe. One wrong word, and it could mean expulsion or worse.
Just tell the truth. It's fine.
Maybe better to pin it on me. I rolled my eyes to meet hers again, blinking slowly once—permission.
She caught it, hesitantly opening her mouth.
"Th-the lady... brought me here..."
"The lady did?"
Esilla's brows furrowed at the answer. Her green eyes flicked back to me on the floor, filled with doubt and confusion.
"She brought you here?"
"Y-yes... She saw some documents or something, said there might be a magic circle, so we came to check if it was real..."
"How did the lady know about a magic circle here?"
"I-I'm not sure either..." Aria trailed off, fumbling.
Esilla's gaze sharpened. Suspicious as hell, obviously. Dropping into the sewers out of nowhere to preempt and stop the Black Moon cult? With just one commoner first-year in tow?
From Esilla's view, it made no sense. Hell, it almost seemed more logical if I'd been in on the cult's side and things went sideways into a fight.
So let me explain—undo this damn paralysis already.
I screamed internally, but my locked jaw didn't budge. Temporary full-body paralysis left me a corpse in all but name. Never knew being mute could choke you like this.
"Haa..."
Esilla let out a short, heavy sigh. She seemed done grilling Aria.
She flicked the blood from her sword into the air, then sheathed it with a sharp click.
-Clack.
At the sound, Aria's hunched, terrified shoulders eased a fraction.
"Understood for now. We'll hear the full story upstairs." Esilla pulled a spare mana-cuff from her uniform pocket with gloved hands. The man was out cold from the agony of his severed arm.
No hesitation—she bound his remaining arm and both legs tight. Then tore a strip from his robe, crammed it into his mouth as a gag, and tied it secure. To block spells or suicide when he woke.
Done, she drew a communication crystal from inside her uniform.
"Imperial Guard First Platoon. Converge immediately on the underground sewer behind my position. One suspected Black Moon cultist captured alive."
Static crackled with a response from the crystal.
Esilla glanced at the magic circle debris. "Bring an investigation team too—destroyed giant magic circle remains. Move fast."
She cut the comm, pocketed the crystal. Situation secured, she glanced at Aria.
"We'll verify your identity and testimony later. For now..."
Her boots thudded closer. She knelt by me on one knee.
Blood still seeped from my shoulder wound. Sticky black residue from life-force drain smeared my jaw and body grotesquely. Mixed with sewer filth and mud, I reeked.
But Esilla ignored the mess completely.
"First, get the lady to the infirmary."
She stated it flatly, reaching to scoop me up.
But before her hands touched, Aria cried out desperately.
"W-wait a second!"
Esilla's hands froze midair.
"What is it?"
"I-I'll help her up! I'm her roommate, after all..."
Aria reached for my sleeve.
-Smack.
But Esilla blocked her hand firmly.
"No need."
If I'd heard it myself, I'd have felt the sting—her voice was ice-cold, edged like a blade.
"Ah..."
An unexpected rejection bordering on hostility. Aria flinched, withdrawing her hand in confusion.
"Don't you know your own condition?" Esilla eyed her up and down.
"M-my condition...?"
"Legs shaking, lips split and bleeding."
Spot on. Not that I could talk, sprawled here—but Aria looked ready to collapse too. She'd wrung every drop of mana dismantling that massive circle solo.
"Who do you think you can support like that?"
"B-but still..."
"Don't be stubborn. You'll just get in the way."
Aria couldn't retort to the cold command. It rang true.
Tears welled in her reddened eyes—grievance or sorrow, who knew. She backed off a step, giving up.
No more protests. Esilla slid her arms under my back and knees without pause, lifting me effortlessly.
The classic princess carry I'd given Leoness escaping prison before. My view shot up. Paralyzed neck limp, my head lolled naturally onto her shoulder.
Her thin uniform couldn't hide the hot body warmth pressing against my skin.
"Let's go."
Esilla addressed Aria, still cradling me. "Guards will arrive soon. Follow behind."
"Y-yeah..."
Aria bit her lip hard, stumbling after us. I felt her eyes glued to me in Esilla's arms the whole way. Tiny sighs escaped her, barely audible.
Esilla ignored them, marching silently ahead.
Why's the vibe like this?
Choked in the tense air, that was all I could think.