Chapter 45
Chapter 45
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 45
Chapter Title: There Are No Lines I Won't Cross☆ (3)
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The shopping district at sunset.
Freyja walked ahead of me.
“…”
“…”
Her original school uniform had been ruined by the dusty winds of the wasteland, so we had just dropped it off at the old tailor’s shop. And so, we walked back toward the school in silence.
Freyja had showered and changed into a clean tracksuit.
*‘It doesn't look that strange…'*
Looking at her in the tracksuit, I recalled the little incident from a short while ago.
-Wh-What is… this tacky, bright red tracksuit…
-Better than the black spandex from , wouldn't you say~♪
-Th-That's…! It's not sp-spandex… It's a high-quality item made with m-magical engineering… It absorbs sweat well… But to suddenly bring out these f-flappy pants…
Being a school for the rich, it seemed their gym clothes were high-quality too. Since I had another school's gym clothes on hand, I made Freyja an offer.
-Ah~☆ So you want to wear these hot shorts the girls from gave me~☆ Yep♪ Freyja has pretty legs, so they'll look good on you~☆
-I-Isn't that just underwear…? G-Give me the tracksuit…
In the end, Freyja ended up wearing the red tracksuit from . And seeing her in it gave me a strange feeling.
*‘First Vel, now Maya… For some reason, it feels like everyone who visits our school ends up trying on a tracksuit. I wonder if Hilde will be next.’*
I couldn't imagine that proud, silver-haired girl wearing a red tracksuit. But then again, I felt that Hilde would look good in anything.
*‘Hilde would probably still look good even if she suddenly appeared on the street in a pair of baggy work pants…'*
Of course, the diligent and dignified Hilde would never do something so comically absurd. But somehow, because of that, I thought the fresh, cute shock of it would suit her.
“…”
Lost in such thoughts,
I maintained a subtle distance.
Pulling Red Hare along, I trailed after Freyja.
Since Freyja's stride was shorter, it seemed the distance between us would close quickly if we walked together. But my pace was slowed by leading Red Hare, so the gap remained stubbornly, subtly unchanged.
A subtle distance.
A subtle pace.
We walked on, sharing an awkward silence.
“…”
“…”
Crunch, crunch.
Clink, clank.
The quiet sound of footsteps.
Freyja's shoes crunched against the rough, gravel-strewn ground. The sound was like dwarves buried deep underground, grinding their teeth in their sleep.
As the sun set and darkness slowly fell,
she herself made no sound as she walked.
Yet the gravel beneath her feet cried out with every step.
Somehow, it reminded me of Freyja herself.
“…”
Watching her back, I thought.
*‘In the game, too, it was mostly the student council members from the glamorous, aristocratic magic academy… who got the spotlight. Freyja herself was just treated as the token high-performance character each school was allotted.’*
Eir from .
Alvitt from <central prism="" academy="">.
Brynhildr from <aesir girls'="" high="" school="">.
They all left a strong impression in the story, matching their powerful character specs. But strangely, for all her power, Freyja rarely appeared in the plot.
『Ah, you know nothing… you insects… D-Do you really think… that has any meaning…』
Freyja would just spit out some cynical remark and disappear. After that, she played no significant role in the story, boasting a presence as thin as air, on par with the "I dunno, I dunno~☆" Clara. She was just consumed as a laughingstock by the players.
I observed Freyja's back carefully.
*‘What kind of story does she have… What does she think about as she goes through life?’*
The way she tiptoed, landing on the balls of her feet with each step.
The way her shoulders were slightly slumped, perhaps from reading too many books.
Following from behind, I could see things like that. But what I really wanted to know, her inner thoughts, remained a mystery.
“…”
“…”
The silence persisted.
Walking so quietly, all sorts of thoughts drifted through my mind.
Feeling awkward for no reason, I rang Red Hare's bicycle bell.
Chiring~☆
Chiring~☆
In truth, we could have ridden Red Hare back just as quickly as we'd come. But Freyja had said she wanted to take our time, which is why we were walking.
Freyja offered no conversation.
Our meeting had become awkward in a different way from my first day with Eir.
Sensing that something had gone awry, I sighed inwardly.
*‘It's my fault, but… things keep going off track. I feel… I feel kind of bad.’*
Was it because of my first impression of her, when she'd abruptly threatened me with dozens of magical spears and arrogantly snapped at me? In my mind, despite her timid way of speaking, Freyja had the image of a strong, arrogant person who did things her own way.
*‘That was her image in the game, too, on the rare occasions she appeared…'*
But it seemed she was much more fragile than I'd thought.
I watched Freyja, trying to read her expression.
Her expression…
Freyja was lost in thought, her face a subtle mixture of timidity and arrogance. Soon, as if having made a decision, she stopped and slowly turned to face me.
“…”
“…?”
Freyja's face was a canvas of light and shadow.
The sunset cast a shadow across one side, making her expression seem all the more resolute.
*‘Does she… have something to say?’*
I looked at her face and waited for her to speak.
Freyja finally opened her mouth cautiously.
“Th-The pink hooligan… Is it true you… u-used the [Forbidden Power] since you were a first-year… A-And that's why you suddenly disappeared…”
“Ahaha…☆ The Forbidden Power, you say…”
“A-And… that you c-completely lost your power after… unleashing the [Forbidden Power] one last time recently… A-And your faded hair color… and the state of your body, which is so drained an e-empty can would be moister…”
My head started to ache as soon as I heard that.
*‘Oh boy, this again…'*
Even though I was the one who started the lie, the circumstances had aligned so perfectly that the legend of [The Faded Spiral] had become an undeniable truth.
It had gotten to the point where even if I told my peers and the underclassmen the truth, they would just pick and choose what they wanted to believe. And it wasn't just them who heard it that way.
*‘The beast Vel, Eir, and I had created was a powerful one…'*
It was so bad that rumors were spreading among the other students that Eir was the one who defeated the Priest from .
The students of had tried their best to spread the word of my deeds, but for those who hadn't witnessed the event, the only keyword that stuck was [The Faded Spiral].
*‘The part about me squeezing out my last bit of strength got separated from the part about defeating with Eir, and the story got twisted… I became some nameless grunt who did nothing but collapse on my own after using a forbidden power, while Eir became the star of the show.’*
Though, as it turned out, it wasn't my last bit of strength after all…
Anyway, to use an analogy, in the rumors, I was like some bumbling early-game mook from an old epic. Eir, on the other hand, had become a legendary hero who took credit for another warrior's victories.
Even the kids who knew the truth had misinterpreted it to mean I'd poured out all my power and was on the verge of death…
I figured it was just my karma.
*‘Well… this whole misunderstanding… is my fault for starting this weird persona without realizing the original story had been twisted. It's my responsibility to at least try to tell the people around me the truth again. Even if I get chewed out for it.’*
From now on, what's important isn't the original story, but sincerity.
Although I suspected knew the contents of the original story, at least Freyja was unlikely to collude with them. So, with a bitter smile, I decided to tell her the truth.
“Nope, nope~☆”
“Th-Then…?”
“Back in my stormy first year~☆ I just boosted the total ether in my cute little fists and used it~☆ Whoosh~☆ Pew-pew~ Something like that? Ahat♪”
“…”
“And~ um~ the reason I took a break was… because I misunderstood something…☆ I wanted to protect something very precious… Um~♪ Anyway, I took a break for a girlish reason, not because I lost my powers~☆ I still had all my ether until just recently♪”
“…”
Her violet eyes were as clear as gems.
I was taken aback by how seriously she was listening, her expression frighteningly intent.
That wasn't the face of the timid girl who had wept so sorrowfully… but one befitting the reputation of the greatest researcher produced by the prestigious magic academy, .
*‘What's with that dead-serious look? Is this really something to listen to so intently…?'*
Flustered by her gaze, I continued.
“And~☆ recently, I did act a liiittle unladylike and did something drastic, but~☆”
“D-Don't… m-mumble like a moron… E-Explain it properly…”
Freyja's sharp criticism made me flinch.
“Ah… Okay. R-Right☆ The truth is, that lizard… the 'Priest' guy, was sucking up girls' ether like a mosquito, slurp slurp♡~☆ So I dismantled it and forcibly injected it into myself~♪ And then, I made my grand debut as the Totally☆Ultimate☆Clara~☆ But as a side effect, my ether went poof~♪ And my hair went fizzle~☆ Something like that, I guess~☆”
“…”
“But… as you can see~☆”
I faintly drew some ether into my hand.
My recovery was still too slow to summon my [Unique Ether], but a wisp of Stage 2 [Vibration]-class ether, which I had rebuilt through my epiphany with weapon aptitude, bloomed in my palm.
It was pathetic from the perspective of a [Unique Ether] user.
But it was clear proof that I hadn't lost everything.
“See~☆ I'm getting stronger again, right from the start~☆”
“…”
Freyja watched this silently before finally nodding.
“I-I see… F-From the beginning again… B-But you're still alive…”
“Hm? Uh… I'm perfectly fine~☆”
“P-Pink hooligan… Y-You… Um… what on earth… were you trying to get stronger for, to the point of using s-such a power…”
“Umm…☆ As a first-year, I thought getting stronger was everything, but now, I want to fight to protect the things that are truly precious to me~☆ That's all I wish for now♪”
Freyja's eyes widened as she spoke.
“Is it… [Fate]…”
“Huh? That's right! I really did meet a fateful connection~ Ahaha~☆ You're such a romantic, Freyja~☆ You romantic stray cat~♪”
“B-Be quiet… Always going on about pee or whatever… from so long ago… You just kept saying s-stupid things… I thought you were an i-idiot…”
Freyja muttered something in a mumbling tone, then nodded and said.
“I-I understand now… The reason you're so… s-so idiotic…”
“Oh my…☆ That's so mean~☆”
＊
Freyja gazed steadily at Clara.
“…”
'The souls of this universe' and ether are completely bound by [Fate].
The limit of ether a person can use in their lifetime is determined by their [Fate]. Unless one possesses a grand [Fate], their soul will be exhausted first.
*‘The only method of using ether permitted by the World Tree is to wield a weapon and live out the life allotted to you by your [Fate]…'*
Even if one didn't know it as precise knowledge, like Freyja who roamed the Academy City in search of truth, it was a fact that everyone living there knew unconsciously.
No, it was a law engraved in the realm of instinct.
'Every soul belonging to this universe' is bound by that law.
But Clara was defying that law head-on.
*‘To abandon her weapon and use ether by expanding it at will…'*
What could be the price for unhesitatingly doing something that 'those who belong to this universe' feel a deep, spiritual revulsion toward?
*‘Unless she came from another universe unaffected by the World Tree, or has two souls… it's an act that will one day lead to her complete annihilation…'*
A ridiculous fantasy just to think about.
But the situation Clara was in, as Freyja now understood it, was just that grim.
Just what…
What kind of [Fate] did she bear?
*‘She really is… a foolish hooligan. To chase a [Fate] that requires her to commit acts that will annihilate her own soul…'*
From the moment Freyja realized this, she no longer hated Clara. For she, too, carried a [Fate] that was too heavy to bear.