That’s My Childhood Friend, Right?
“What makes you think you can do better than the saint, Oppa?”
...Did I really hear that correctly right now?
After thinking it over for a long time, I finally arrived at my conclusion.
“Haha, Cloe. What kind of prank is this all of a sudden?”
It had to be a joke. There was no reason for her to suddenly say something like that, and the timing was completely off.
She was still my little monkey-headed childhood friend trying to tease someone. How petty.
“It’s not a prank, Oppa.”
What?
“Even though the hero still has some weak points compared to a full-blown hero, the way you showed me last time was truly heroic and so cool.”
“...Eh, really?”
“Yes, really. That’s exactly the kind of hero I’ve always dreamed of.”
Suddenly getting praised like that made me feel a little embarrassed. I scratched the back of my head, but Cloe just stared at me with her bold, confident eyes and voice.
“If the hero allows it, I’ll help you with everything on my end! And I won’t say anything harsh like the saint does!”
...She says she won’t say anything terrible?
It sounded a bit tempting...?
“Wait just a second, hero. What are you overthinking? Why are you suddenly looking tempted!?”
The saint asked me in a flustered voice.
Of course she would. Asking the obvious question when you’re the one who keeps picking the worst lines. I needed some healing too.
She must have read my gaze, because the saint countered with another reason.
“Cloe is still a student at the magic academy. She hasn’t even graduated yet, and you want to take her with you?”
Hmm... I guess that made sense. But I shouted that Cloe was fine.
“Saint, it doesn’t matter! She can just drop out!”
“Cr-Cloe... thinking about your own future, you should at least consider that much...”
“It’s fine! I can eat and live well without graduating from some school! And...”
Cloe looked straight at me. Her amethyst eyes, the same color as her purple hair, reflected my face.
“...If I can stay by the hero’s side, I’d feel satisfied enough, wouldn’t I?”
...What the hell is going on? My head was spinning.
Honestly, I wondered if this was really the serious situation it looked like. Were the saint and Cloe ganging up on me for a prank?
But the genuine seriousness in Cloe’s eyes told me it wasn’t. It sounded like she really meant what she said.
I still didn’t understand why, but how could someone suddenly want to be by my side after all I’d done?
“Ah, of course, if the hero wishes, I can even take night shifts seriously...”
“I’ve never wanted anything like that!”
Would you turn me into a criminal!?
Cloe’s shameless remark left my head spinning. Had she always been like this? The Cloe I’d known until now wasn’t.
I glanced at the saint. She looked incredibly flustered, which was out of character. She was just stammering without saying anything coherent.
...I was about to ask for advice, but with her like this, she had no room to help. I’d have to decide for myself.
I pushed all the noise out of my head and thought seriously. And then I...
“...Cloe.”
“Yes!”
“I’m sorry, but it’ll be tough.”
“...What?”
That was my conclusion after considering everything.
“It’s not that I dislike you or anything. I just don’t want to misunderstand. There’s a reason I can’t take you as a companion.”
“...What is it? Is it because my chest is too small...”
“It’s NOT like that!!!”
...She was acting weird even when you just looked at her.
“Listen. First of all, I’m still a weak hero. Honestly, I don’t think I have the strength to protect companions yet.”
My strength was only at the level of dealing with lower-class monsters without blessings. If I brought a companion into the fight with this much power, what was I supposed to do when she was in danger? I at least needed to reach the level of other heroes.
Of course the saint was here, but... as a hero, I couldn’t just keep calling her every time a companion was in trouble.
Right now, I needed more time to grow my strength. Companions were still something for the future.
“So the first reason is that you can’t protect me if I’m in danger, Cloe.”
“But you protected me from the ogre.”
“...That was only possible because of blessings. And there’s another reason.”
“What is it?”
“You need to go back to school, Cloe. Don’t talk about dropping out. I don’t want to ruin someone’s life for my sake.”
I couldn’t take responsibility for Cloe’s entire life. My adventures would eventually end, and after that, she needed to live in the world. She obviously had to graduate from school.
And it was the Royal Magic Academy, a place that was already extremely difficult to enter.
So that wouldn’t work. I’m sorry, but you should return to the kingdom and finish school, Cloe.
Cloe let out a sigh full of regret at my answer. The saint sighed with what seemed like relief.
...Why was she like that?
Anyway, Cloe was a smart person, so I figured she’d understand after I said all that.
“...Then when I graduate?”
“...What?”
“If I graduate from school, can I come by the hero’s side?”
...I was completely stunned. Did she really want me that much?
“...Then do as you please at that time.”
“Okay. Then I’ll come back to the hero after I graduate.”
“...Heh.”
Cloe gave a small smile.
“Don’t fall for any other girls until then.”
“...That wasn’t a joke?”
Heh, Cloe. I didn’t want to become a criminal.
While listening to my conversation with Cloe, the saint glared at me and shot out one line.
“...Lolicon.”
Why the hell are you so weird.
#
After leaving the restaurant, I was looking for a place to stay when I asked Cloe a question.
“By the way, Cloe, what’s the magic academy like?”
“Um, it’s a place where the animals called students compete fiercely.”
...Animals?
“The students at the academy will do anything for their grades. Their behavior is just like animals fighting to claim prey.”
“...I see.”
It was easy to understand if you thought about the overheated K-exam with its cutthroat competition. After all, having made it into a school with such high competition rates, naturally they’d also care about grades.
“Did Cloe study well?”
“You said you entered on the commoner special track, right? So I did study. I was around 2nd or 3rd in my class.”
...Impressive.
“You’re very good at studying.”
“It wasn’t all good, though.”
“What do you mean?”
Cloe said with a light laugh.
“...The nobles who hated me for getting good grades as a commoner were many. And some of them even personally bullied me...”
...Huh?
While Cloe was talking, she stopped walking and pressed her hand to her forehead.
“Are you okay?”
“...Right. The nobles who bullied me...”
“Cloe?”
Suddenly Cloe’s body began to tremble like aspen leaves. Seeing her shake all over, the saint and I quickly supported her.
“Cloe, are you all right? Saint, can you heal this?”
“...Hero, don’t panic like an idiot~♡ This isn’t because you’re hurt or anything’s wrong.”
“What? Then why...”
The answer to my question came from Cloe. She trembled as she spoke.
“...I remembered. How I became a monster...”
“...What?”
I looked at the saint, and she looked at me.
Remembering how she became a monster meant the circumstances of swallowing the Mutation Stone were now clear.
The saint told me.
“Let’s quickly grab a room at an inn and go inside. It’s better to hear the story slowly.”
“Ah, yes.”
I helped the trembling Cloe to the closest inn possible. We quickly booked a room and sat her on the bed.
The saint stroked Cloe’s back, which was still shaking, and said.
“Cloe, breathe in deeply and then out.”
After taking several deep breaths and letting them out, the trembling in Cloe’s body gradually stopped. Seeing her calmer, the saint asked.
“Cloe, will you tell me? How did you end up swallowing the Mutation Stone?”
“...Yes. I remember everything now.”
Cloe’s voice was still a little shaky, but she slowly began to speak.
“There was a group of nobles who always bullied me because I was a commoner. Especially one who hated me the most, a student named Anais Cesar.”
...Anais?
I’d heard the name before. Where...? I racked my memory.
...Wasn’t that the name Oz mentioned?
“Me and her didn’t get along at all. Anais was one of the main culprits who bullied me. Then, on the day the mid-term exams ended, her group called me to a dark place. Honestly, I was about to refuse because I didn’t want to be bullied again, but I thought it was better to take the first hit than to face even worse bullying afterward.”
“...And then they made you swallow the Mutation Stone?”
“...They forced my mouth open and shoved a small, red stone down my throat. My body began to turn into a monster, and I ran away from the academy to survive. If I’d stayed quietly, I would have been hunted down for sure. After that, I completely turned into a monster and lost my memories.”
The saint listened to the entire story and looked at me. She was probably thinking about the Anais Oz had mentioned.
But she was an imperial commoner, and Anais Cesar was a noble from the Minerva Kingdom, right? It couldn’t be the same name.
Still, I asked Cloe just to be sure.
“...Cloe, the person named Anais Cesar...”
“Yes?”
“Was she originally not from the Minerva Kingdom?”
“Um... I don’t know, but I know she wasn’t originally a noble. Four years ago, the Cesar family adopted her. That’s why I fought with Anais Cesar a lot more than the other nobles did, because in the end she was a commoner like me and bullied me too. It was infuriating...”
The girl named Anais who entered the magic academy four years ago after being adopted.
Hmm, this... sounded exactly right?
When I looked at the saint with those eyes, she let out a deep sigh.
“...It seems we should probably visit the academy after all, saint.”
“That’s right. Let’s go and investigate how we got the Mutation Stone.”
“...What?”
Cloe’s eyes showed her confusion at our reaction. Looking at me with eyes full of questions, I scratched my head and honestly said.
“...That’s exactly my childhood friend.”
...More precisely, the childhood friend inside my body.