Scar
We arrived at Priscilla's house in no time. Fortunately, she was awake. Since she rarely slept deeply anyway, it wasn't surprising to find her up.
After letting us inside, Priscilla immediately laid a clean cloth over the bed, placed Eisel on it, and began examining her condition.
"An abdominal wound... The cut is shallow, but..." Priscilla muttered, pulling up Eisel's clothes to inspect the injury.
The wound on Eisel's stomach was rather peculiar. It looked like a graze from something sharp, but the surrounding flesh was turning a dark, purplish-red.
Sierra's solemn voice echoed in my head as she watched from my side.
Divine Clear
Soon after, Priscilla placed her hand over the wound and began her treatment.
Sssssss.
The dark red poison, which had been spreading from the wound throughout Eisel's entire body, slowly began to recede. However, the progress was sluggish. The poison had already permeated deep into her system.
"Hmm... This treatment might take a while. Would you two mind waiting outside for a bit?"
"..."
"..."
At Priscilla's request, Yuri and I quietly closed the bedroom door and stepped out into the living room.
"..."
Having left the bedroom, Yuri's face was filled with a considerable amount of shock.
"What exactly happened?"
At my quiet question, Yuri cast her gaze to the floor, seemingly retracing her memories, before finally speaking.
"I couldn't sleep, so I went out for a walk in the early hours. That's when I found Eisel collapsed behind the dormitory..."
"...And so you rushed to find Infirmary Officer Priscilla. You must have noticed the wound on her abdomen then."
"Yes..."
Yuri nodded in agreement, then slumped onto the sofa, staring blankly at the ceiling.
"I don't know what happened, but it didn't look like a wound she got inside the Academy. Zeto, do you have any idea?"
"...I cannot say I do."
I gave Yuri a vague answer, but it wasn't as if I had absolutely no leads. It was clear that Eisel had gone outside the Academy and fought an unknown enemy. An unidentified dark red poison. No matter how much I racked my brain, none of the enemies Eisel was supposed to fight at this point used such a poison.
'Just who on earth did Eisel fight?'
It was a night where the questions only grew deeper.
Lately, there had been many reasons why I needed to close the distance with Zeto.
The Potion of Attraction was a completely useless drink, but even so, I hated the thought of another woman consuming it. I also didn't want to see Priscilla carrying a heavily drunk Zeto on her back to her house in this timeline—the event that had revealed Zeto's low tolerance for alcohol. I wanted to prevent all of it.
It wasn't just the demons I wanted to stop.
I already knew beforehand that Zeto would defeat the Lycanthrope in the Labyrinth and subsequently be summoned by Reina. By arriving at the tavern Reina and Priscilla frequented ahead of Zeto, I was able to naturally join the instructors' table. However, due to my nervousness while waiting for Zeto, I ended up drinking too much. That was my mistake.
I got drunk, and my plans fell completely apart.
Looking back... maybe it was a good thing the plan failed. If the exact same events repeated, Zeto would have grown suspicious of me, no matter how oblivious he seemed.
Even though we had grown closer, to Zeto, I wasn't an old acquaintance. I was a regressor. All the memories of my time with Zeto in the previous timeline had vanished, leaving nothing behind. Yet, looking at Zeto's unchanging smile made me mistakenly believe those memories still existed.
It wouldn't have been strange if Zeto found me overbearing. I should have built our relationship step-by-step from the beginning, but the urgency lingering in my heart made me rush.
After my memory cut out at the tavern, waking up in the bed next to Zeto had thrown my mind into chaos. I managed to hide it, but countless thoughts had crossed my mind.
That day, as soon as I opened my eyes, I saw Zeto's pale, fair skin. He must have unbuttoned his shirt in his sleep. The sight was quite stimulating, but...
...Zeto's 'flawless, clean' skin bothered me.
In the previous timeline, I had once caught a glimpse of Zeto's abdomen by chance. He was drenched in sweat, likely after training. When he casually used his shirt to wipe his sweat, his midriff was fully exposed. At that moment, I noticed a 'scar' on his abdomen.
Curious, I had asked him about it.
'Ah, this scar? You're asking who did this?'
At the time, Zeto seemed slightly reluctant to speak.
'...I once had to deal with a vampire in the past. I ended up with this wound back then.'
When I asked if it was dangerous, he said it wasn't. Since Zeto possessed the 'necklace,' dealing with a mere vampire wouldn't have been too difficult.
'Revenge? Haha... Are you going to kill a vampire who is already dead? As for his traits... let's just say he was a fellow with a very peculiar tail. ...Well, there's nothing to be done about the scar. Is it that unsightly?'
Although I was resentful that a mere vampire had left a scar on his body, I couldn't regress just because of a scar. Besides, I didn't even know when he had received it.
But this time, when I happened to see Zeto's abdomen, his skin was perfectly clean and flawless. Which meant... there was no scar yet.
This implied that at some point after this day, Zeto would encounter that 'vampire'. Since the current Zeto had already obtained the 'necklace' from the Labyrinth, he wouldn't have much trouble dealing with an undead vampire. But the thought of his abdomen being scarred again displeased me.
A vampire with a peculiar tail.
I immediately set out of the Academy to hunt him down. He was hidden deep, so it took some time, but I eventually found him. According to my information, he resided in a bizarre building called the 'laboratory'.
Crackle!
Sparks flew from my hands.
Thud!
A chimera, unable to withstand the powerful electric current delivered directly to its head, collapsed. I stepped over its corpse and opened the door behind it.
The door opened to reveal a room filled with flasks and various research tools. In the center of the room, a man's back was visible. Near his tailbone, a 'peculiarly shaped tail' was swaying. Circumstantially, he was the one who created the chimeras here. Was that tail also harvested from some monster?
Hearing my footsteps echoing in the room, the man turned around.
"Not one of my subordinates, but a woman... What are you? Is it already dinner time?" the man said, brushing his dark red hair back. He looked disheveled, as if he was in the middle of his research.
"Barsium..." I muttered his name.
Pale skin. Dark red hair. Sharp fangs characteristic of a vampire visible as he spoke. And that bizarre tail swaying behind him. It was undoubtedly the High Vampire, Barsium.
At my call, Barsium waved his hand near his nose, taking a deep breath before speaking.
"Ah... A virgin? I do not particularly care for 'food' that knows my name... Perhaps I must lecture my subordinates."
"You'll have to see if you have any subordinates left to lecture."
I readied myself for battle, spitting those words back at him.
This bastard dies here.
Fortunately, the treatment didn't take too long. In less than an hour, Eisel seemed to regain consciousness, and Priscilla's voice conversing with her could be heard from inside the room.
Through my heightened senses, I was able to eavesdrop on their conversation, but it was mostly Priscilla explaining the situation. True to her nature, Priscilla didn't pry or interrogate. She told Eisel she wouldn't ask what happened but warned her not to overexert herself.
With that, Priscilla's footsteps approached the door. She opened it and walked out to us.
"It was a poison I've never seen before, so it took some time. Thank goodness it wasn't a lethal one. It seems it was only meant to cause loss of consciousness... The poison has been completely purged, and though a scar will remain, the treatment is complete," Priscilla said, rubbing her neck tiredly.
"Thank you for treating her so readily despite the late hour, Doctor Priscilla. Is Eisel awake?" Yuri asked, swallowing her worry.
"Yes, she just woke up, so you can go in. Though, shouldn't you at least get a thank you?"
At Priscilla's words, Yuri's face finally brightened. She had been deeply worried while waiting.
I wasn't overly worried because Priscilla was the one treating her. Eisel, being a regressor, likely knew Priscilla's skills well and sought her out intentionally.
'The problem was that she collapsed before even getting close to her destination...'
When Yuri and I entered the room, Eisel was lying there with an indifferent expression.
"Eisel! I couldn't sleep a wink because of you!" Yuri suddenly snapped at her.
"I don't care what you're up to... just don't get hurt. Being sick is miserable."
At Yuri's words, Eisel smiled bitterly and spoke.
"...I heard from Doctor Priscilla. Thank you. I'll repay you someday."
"I didn't do it expecting a reward! Just don't get hurt!" Yuri glared, and Eisel laughed softly.
"......Thank you too, Zeto."
After a brief pause, Eisel stopped laughing and looked at me.
"I didn't really do much of anything. I am just glad the treatment was successful," I replied, shrugging my shoulders.
It was natural to get hurt if you kept fighting. The real question was who she had fought. The fact that a scar remained meant the attack interfered with Divine Power.
'There are plenty of enemies capable of such attacks.'
The demons, Eisel's primary enemies, possessed such traits. There were a few demons that used poison, but she wouldn't be fighting them just yet. Besides, the type of poison was different. The mystery was proving difficult to solve, leading into a labyrinth of questions.
"Who did this to you?" Yuri asked, sitting on the chair next to the bed.
Eisel hesitated, then spoke.
"Just... some bandits."
"Bandits...? There's no way bandits could injure you."
"I must have made a mistake."
"So, did you take care of them?"
"I killed them."
"Killed...?"
"I killed them. For sure. So they can't hurt anyone else."
"Well... that's good then..."
Yuri was taken aback by Eisel's firm tone, and their conversation came to an end. Yuri's eyes were wide with shock. She probably realized it wasn't just "bandits," but Eisel's absolute certainty about killing them was chillingly sincere.
'She killed them, so I suppose that's a relief...'
Eisel had been exceptionally strong since the placement exam, so it was unlikely she would lose. Still, judging by her injuries, it must have been a close fight. She was pushing herself too hard.
'Even if I pry further, she won't tell the truth...'
And besides, I had already decided to keep my distance from Eisel. There was no need to linger for a warm, friendly chat. It was best to withdraw.
"Oh, are you leaving already?" Yuri asked in surprise as I took a step back.
"Since Miss Eisel has safely regained consciousness, I shall return to the dormitory to get some sleep. ...Miss Yuri, could you look after Miss Eisel a bit longer?"
"Zeto, don't just leave us two alone like this!"
Ignoring Yuri's complaints, I thanked Priscilla once more and left the house. Ultimately, I just wanted an ending where everyone could be happy.
I glanced at Sierra, who was raising an eyebrow, and walked back to the dormitory. The night air felt unusually chilly.
"...Eisel. Did something happen between you and Zeto?" Yuri asked, her eyes wide.
But my gaze was fixed only on the empty space where Zeto had just stood.
From the beginning, I hadn't done this to gain Zeto's recognition or praise. That would be impossible anyway. I hadn't killed Barsium for Zeto's sake. It was entirely for my own sake. I felt it was better for a scar to be carved onto my own body than onto Zeto's.
I had killed Barsium and achieved a satisfactory result, but my heart felt empty. All I had left was a scar in the exact same spot where Zeto's scar had been in the previous timeline.
I couldn't even hold onto Zeto when he said he was leaving to rest, or complain about why he was leaving so soon. I had gotten hurt on my own accord, and fortunately, I was healed. True to his nature, Zeto didn't pry into what happened.
That was it. To him, it was just an event of that scale.
Through this incident, I felt the physical distance between us. My one-sided approach was entirely meaningless. I hadn't considered how he would perceive it at all. Zeto had entered the room and left without a single smile.
I could faintly sense it. He was keeping his distance from me.
'I need to... wake up.'
He wasn't the Zeto of the previous timeline. The current Zeto was a different Zeto. I had to accept it. That realization... was a little heartbreaking.
"...Nothing happened," I replied to Yuri in a hollow voice.
Nothing had happened. There was nothing between Zeto and me.
Sitting by the campfire, sharing trivial conversations.
Chatting about where we wanted to travel after graduation, talking about how I wanted to see the ocean.
And him promising me that he would definitely take me to the ocean.
Him standing in front of my collapsed form, blocking the enemy to protect me.
All of it was just 'things that never happened,' existing only in a corner of my memory.
So, nothing had happened.