The Rain Stops for a Moment

The rain fell in thin, scattered drops.

The dark sky seemed ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to be slowly devoured by gathering storm clouds, until at last it unleashed its downpour. Diluted specks dotted the dry ground, one by one. The wet patches gradually spread, soaking the earth until it glistened. For a spring shower, its ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠momentum was vicious. It looked like it would pour down in earnest.

Caught off guard by the sudden rainfall, people hurried to find shelter.

Yet even amid the falling raindrops, there was one girl wandering alone through the academy district.

"······."

Her uniform was a disheveled mess. Between strands of pink hair heavy with moisture, unfocused green eyes could be seen. The girl staggered as she walked.

Where was this place?

Where was she even heading?

Fragments of clumsy questions swirled through her mind, only to be washed away by the rain as if they had never existed.

The girl simply kept placing one foot in front of the other, determined not to collapse.

Step. Step.

Her precarious footsteps carried a hollow emptiness. She swayed several times from overwhelming exhaustion when a cold voice suddenly whispered in her ear.

A scene from just a few hours earlier flashed before her eyes.

In the center of the circular arena stood a girl with blue hair. Legia was on her knees, looking up at her. Contempt sparkled clearly in those blue eyes.

She hadn't been able to do anything.

She had lost helplessly.

Whether from the pressure or not, mistakes kept slipping out. Her summoned beasts refused to answer her call, and the basic spells she barely managed to produce were pitiful at best.

Legia hung her head low.

She must have been terrified.

Perhaps finding her wretched state ridiculous, the blue-haired girl left one final remark before turning away.

It was an ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠especially painful remark.

Sharp thorns pierced deep into the girl's chest. Her balance teetered precariously.

"······Ah."

Her vision burned hot. A lukewarm trail traced across her coldly chilled cheek.

"I'm such an idiot."

The girl muttered as she wiped away her tears. She hurriedly hid her weakness, worried someone might see. She bit her lip hard.

Maybe.

Maybe she had been too naive.

She had thought that once she entered the academy, only good things would happen. That she could finally put an end to her life as a wanderer with no place to call home... that she would make many friends her own age and enjoy herself.

But it seemed there was no place for her here either.

It was a familiar loneliness.

Even though she hadn't wanted to cry, she couldn't stop the sobs from leaking out.

The once thin rain grew heavier. Before she knew it, it had become a downpour.

"Hic... ugh... sniff..."

Even as the rain poured down violently, the girl kept walking. She kept wiping at the moisture she couldn't stop, spitting out bitter resentment between her lips.

Perhaps because her vision had grown blurry from crying, Legia misstepped and fell right where she stood.

With no chance to resist, her pink hair became a complete mess.

Splat!

"Ugh...!"

She looked like a drowned rat. Her shabby steps continued their aimless wandering.

Just as her legs began to grow numb and the corners of her eyes stung from tears and rain—

Suddenly, the rain stopped.

"······?"

No, it hadn't actually stopped. The sound of rain still filled her ears, and droplets still splashed wetly at her feet. Something was simply blocking the rain for her.

What could it be all of a sudden?

With that question in mind, she lifted her bowed head—and golden hair sparkling like sunlight filled her vision. A pair of distinctive narrow eyes curved into a smile.

The boy stood there holding an umbrella in each hand.

"······Young Master Snakers?"

Legia muttered in a daze. Even though her reaction was somewhat absent-minded, the boy didn't seem to mind.

"So this is where you were, Miss Legia."

"Why is Young Master here in a place like..."

"Hehe."

He simply answered.

"I came to find a friend."

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Water droplets fell gently from the edge of the tilted umbrella.

The boy's unexpected appearance, and his even more unexpected words—Legia had to remain frozen for a moment.

***

"I came to find a friend."

I spoke with a faint smile.

Emerald eyes stared blankly at me. After holding her gaze for a moment, a wave of belated relief washed over me.

Finally found her.

I had been worried because of the fierce downpour. I wondered if she might be crying somewhere strange... but fortunately, she was standing exactly where I remembered.

It seemed the story was still following the original plot for now.

"Miss Legia."

"······Yes."

"Shall we get out of the rain first?"

The girl answered weakly. Her ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠slender shoulders trembled as if she were cold. The tear stains washed by rainwater only added to her pitiful appearance. She looked deeply troubled.

Whoosh—!

First, I needed to escape this damned weather.

I held the umbrella over the girl and led her toward a nearby structure with a roof. There happened to be a carriage stop close by.

"This should be perfect for waiting out the rain."

We sat side by side on the bench.

We didn't say much.

She probably needed some time to calm her tears, so I simply remained silent.

Tap-tap-tap—!

The raindrops hitting the roof were quite loud. Thanks to that, the sound of her swallowing her sobs was buried. Well, not really buried... but I decided to pretend I couldn't hear it.

For the sake of our protagonist.

""······.""

The silence continued for a while.

The one who broke the stiff, frozen quiet was none other than Legia. She seemed to have calmed down somewhat.

"I'm sorry, Young Master."

However, that didn't mean her tears had stopped. She turned her head as if trying to hide them, but watery trails still remained on her cheeks.

I asked softly.

"What exactly are you sorry for?"

"You said we should go back together after the test... but I went off alone..."

"You did."

"And you came looking for me even in this terrible weather... for several hours..."

Her green pupils shook with sorrow. Dew gathered on her eyelids. The sparkling droplets couldn't bear their own weight and fell, one by one.

"I-I never meant to cause you any trouble...! It's just that, um, s-suddenly my stomach felt sick..."

"I see."

"I-It's true...! My head went completely blank and I couldn't think of anything. I-I'm sorry."

"Ahem."

I smiled bitterly. Even in a situation like this, the way she desperately tried to read the room was so very like Legia.

A mixture of pity and tenderness rose within me.

I quietly raised my hand and placed it on the head of the girl who was still rambling.

"Miss Legia."

"So I wasn't trying to ignore you..."

"Hm? Y-Yes?"

Legia was startled by the sudden touch. After smiling and pausing for a brief moment, I continued in a calm voice.

"You worked hard today."

"...Pardon?"

"I'm talking about the class placement test. You really worked hard."

The girl made a dumbfounded face at the unexpected words. She probably hadn't expected to hear anything like that.

Following the disheveled pink strands, I slowly stroked her hair. As if comforting a wounded child.

"I just wanted to tell you that."

In the original story, no one had comforted her.

A girl hated by the eldest daughter of a ducal house. And since she was a commoner on top of that, no one would have wanted to get close to her.

So Legia had cried alone. Until the terrible downpour finally stopped.

Outsider.

She had lived her entire life trembling in loneliness. She had finally ended her wandering and stepped into the world, but what awaited Legia was still the same solitude.

The girl couldn't endure it and sobbed for a long time.

I wanted to comfort her so many times.

Of course, it might just be cheap pity.

Soon enough, good friends would appear by her side, and she was destined to be loved by many.

At that time, perhaps this shabby encouragement wouldn't be necessary.

But.

"It's okay to waver a little. You've only just taken your first step, after all."

Not yet.

Because right now, no one would offer her warm comfort.

I wanted to stay by her side.

If it weren't for your stories... I would have lived as a loser from the very beginning.

This was a kind of repayment.

Since I had endured those days filled with despair thanks to your stories, now it was my turn to become the pillar for you.

I murmured quietly.

"Everything will turn out fine."

Legia stared at me without a word. The girl sat there in a daze. As I waited for her reaction, moisture began to gather in her eyes once again.

Plop. Plop. The tears fell.

"Oh dear."

"······Huh?"

She belatedly realized she was crying again. Legia hurriedly wiped her eyes and tried to force a smile that said she was fine.

"Ah... t-this is nothing, r-really. It seems some dust suddenly got in my eye..."

"Miss Legia."

"Yes?"

"Are you really okay?"

"······."

Her lips closed on their own. It seemed I had hit the mark.

The girl fumbled for a long time before lowering her head and muttering.

"I'm... fine."

"Really?"

"Really. Just a few months ago, when I was traveling alone, I wandered through deserts with no one around. Compared to that, this is nothing."

"Why do you think that?"

"Well... because deserts are lonely. There are no people."

The desert is lonely.

The endless sea of sand reminds one of a vast ocean. It was naturally an environment where humans couldn't survive, and even if they did, their numbers would be extremely few.

Compared to the academy bustling with students...

"But Miss Legia."

Is that really true?

"Being lonely among people is the same thing."

It doesn't matter how many people there are.

What matters is whether there is someone you can lean on.

Most people cannot readily nod their heads to that question. That's exactly why we suffer from endless loneliness even though we live in a forest of people.

"Sometimes, being beside people... can be lonelier than a desert."

"······."

Legia didn't deny it.

Was she agreeing? Or was she simply lost in thought?

The silence that followed was heartbreaking. I couldn't tell what meaning lay hidden behind it.

But her expression was sad.

I hated that.

It hurt to see the protagonist looking so dejected. I wanted her to always shine brightly.

After all, that was why I was still alive.

"So I wanted to ask you something."

"······Yes?"

"Like I told you last time... I truly hope you'll become my friend, Miss Legia."

"Me...?"

She tilted her head with a question mark, as if she couldn't understand. I gently wiped the tears that still lingered on her cheek.

"If you'll allow it."

I may not be able to do anything that great for you.

"Still, I want to ease at least a little of your loneliness."

Her slender shoulders trembled. Her voice, hoarse from crying, carried a desperate question.

"······Why exactly."

The girl asked.

"Why are you doing this much for someone like me, Young Master?"

From our very first meeting, he had been excessively kind. During the entrance exam, he had saved her from bullying. Afterward, he was the only one who congratulated her on her admission. At the academy, he stayed by her side so she wouldn't feel lonely. Today, he comforted her broken heart after the disastrous class placement test. And now...

"I don't understand why someone like you would take interest in someone as pathetic as me."

He was offering to be the friend she had longed for so desperately. It was a terribly sweet temptation. Like the flicking tongue of a sly snake. Though it carried an unsettling atmosphere, the girl couldn't bring herself to refuse.

"Why exactly..."

"Who knows."

I placed my index finger against my lips and smiled playfully.

"It's a secret."

By now, the sound of rain had faded.

The downpour had stopped, and sunlight broke through the clouds. The final question followed.

"What do you say, Miss Legia? Will you allow me to come closer?"

Legia bit her lip tightly. Following the warm sunlight, the dew clinging to her eyes sparkled with beautiful light.

The girl stopped crying.

Instead, she simply smiled brightly.

"Yes...!"

A cheerful answer. It seemed she had regained her energy. This expression really suited Legia best.

Feeling satisfied, I stood up from my seat.

"The rain has stopped just in time. Shall we head back?"

"Yes, Young Master!"

"Haha, you can just call me by my name now, you know? I said we're friends."

"Ah... um, that's still... a bit difficult..."

"What a shame."

Our conversation continued lightly as we walked along the rain-soaked path.

"You don't have to worry about today's test. You're scheduled to enter the top-ranked class, Miss Legia."

"What? B-But I completely messed up the test..."

"There's someone who recognized your potential. They'll probably take care of it."

"Something so wonderful... But how do you know all this, Young Master?"

"That's a secret too."

"······You're so mean."

In two days, the official academy schedule would begin in earnest.

The story of The World Seen by the Little Prince that I remembered would unfold.

My heart swelled with excitement. Legia, Charlotte, Emilia, and many others would meet in the same classroom. Since I was in first place, I would also be placed in the top-ranked class.

The homeroom professor for the top-ranked class... I think their name was Kadel?

I moved my feet while recalling the face I would soon see.

At least, that's what I thought...

Why the hell are you here?