Prisoner Number 63
Prisoner Number 63
Morning roll call.
"Room 201."
"Here."
"Room 202."
"Yeees."
Just like usual.
Calling out only the room numbers.
Looking only at the list.
"Room 205."
"Here~"
Camilla.
Bright tone.
Just like usual.
"Room 206."
Room 206, one of the four caught after going to the Social Club last night, flinched slightly beside me.
She glanced at me.
"............Here."
Her voice was quiet.
The effect of the written apology.
"Room 207."
"Here......"
Even quieter.
"Room 302."
"............Here."
Aria.
She sent a note yesterday.
[Could we have a consultation when you have time?]
I sent a reply.
[After curfew check is fine. Knock on the door.]
Tonight it is.
I continued the roll call.
3 minutes.
Sharp roll call.
"That is all."
Morning.
Academy.
Today wasn't Combat Training, but a practical mana class.
Common to all departments.
Mandatory.
Not a lecture hall, but a training ground.
A magic circle was drawn on the floor of the wide hall.
Students were standing in line.
I was in the corner at the very back.
The professor stood in front.
Head Professor of the Department of Magic.
A middle-aged woman with silver hair.
Cold impression.
"Today, we will measure mana output."
A Crystal Ball was placed in the center of the training ground.
A large, transparent sphere.
The thing where you touch it and your mana output comes out as a number.
"Come out one by one and touch the Crystal Ball. Your figures will be recorded."
'Mana Output.'
In the game, it shows up as soon as you open the stat window.
In reality, you have to touch a Crystal Ball.
Students went out one by one.
A male student from the Department of Swordsmanship first.
He touched it.
Wing-
The Crystal Ball glowed.
[Mana Output: 347]
"Oh. Not bad."
Reactions came from around.
Next.
A female student from the Department of Magic.
[Mana Output: 412]
"Wow."
Next.
A male student from the Knights Department.
[Mana Output: 289]
"About average."
They went out one by one.
The numbers appeared.
The surroundings reacted.
I waited in the back.
'Finish quickly.'
'As soon as I'm done, I'm going to go to the classroom and sleep.'
The people decreased.
At that moment.
"Siegfried von Waldstein."
The professor called.
Murmur.
The air among the students changed.
Gaze shifted to one side.
Zeke walked out.
Black hair.
A sword over his school uniform.
Without expression.
He stood in front of the Crystal Ball.
He touched it.
Wing-
The Crystal Ball glowed.
Brightly.
Fucking brightly.
[Mana Output: 891]
"............."
The training ground went quiet.
"891?"
"That's insane."
"Is that a second-year?"
The murmuring spread.
Zeke took his hand off and returned to his spot.
Like it was nothing.
His expression didn't even change.
'.............'
'891.'
'How much will I get?'
'It takes me 20 minutes to sprout a single bud.'
'.............'
'It'll be low. Fucking low.'
'That's good.'
'If it's low, no one will look.'
At that moment.
The professor called the next name.
"Leon von Ashert."
The training ground murmured again.
'Who is that?'
Someone walked out from among the students.
Dark blue hair.
Hair groomed strand by strand.
His school uniform buttons were done up to the very top.
Not a wrinkle.
Purple eyes.
Cold.
Ice-like coldness.
Whispers were heard around.
"Ashert Ducal House."
"One of the Empire's three great magic families."
"A family that has produced court mages for generations."
"Isn't that person the top student of the Department of Magic?"
Leon stood in front of the Crystal Ball.
He touched it.
Wing-
The Crystal Ball glowed.
It was a different light than when Zeke did it.
The entire Crystal Ball was dyed dark blue.
[Mana Output: 923]
"............."
It went quiet.
923.
Higher than Zeke.
"They say it's 923."
"Above Siegfried?"
"Crazy."
"The Ashert family, as expected."
The murmuring spread.
Leon took his hand off.
His expression didn't change.
As if it were natural.
While returning to his spot.
He looked at the students passing by.
From top to bottom.
And opened his mouth.
"People with an output of 200 or less."
Quiet voice.
But it was heard throughout the entire training ground.
"It would be better to find another path early."
"Because there is nothing as good at ruining a person as vain expectations."
'.............'
The surroundings murmured.
"What's with that remark?"
"Just because he's good."
"But it's not wrong."
"Still, so openly?"
Leon didn't seem to care.
He returned to his spot, crossed his arms, and stood there.
'.............'
I watched from behind.
'Give up if you have no talent.'
'Sounds like he's talking to me.'
'Of course. I haven't even measured yet.'
'I have a really strong feeling it'll be under 200.'
The class continued.
Students went out one by one.
[356]
[298]
[445]
[187]
The man who got 187 hung his head.
Leon glanced at that man.
Rather than looking, his gaze just brushed past.
He had no interest.
Anything under 200 doesn't enter his field of vision.
The line shortened.
My turn got closer.
'Let's do it quickly and get out.'
"Ian Valentine."
I went out.
I walked from the very back to the front.
No gaze came my way.
No one looked.
Because I'm an invisible person.
I stood in front of the Crystal Ball.
'I just have to touch it, right?'
I touched it.
Wing-
The Crystal Ball glowed.
Faintly.
Really faintly.
[Mana Output: 63]
'.............'
63.
Zeke was 891.
Leon was 923.
I was 63.
It wasn't a level to be compared.
A level where even being included as a comparison target is rude.
'.............'
There was no reaction from the surroundings.
Really none.
No one looked.
No one checked the number 63.
Because Zeke's 891 and Leon's 923 had just exploded earlier.
No one was interested in the 63 of the invisible person who came out from the very back.
I took my hand off and returned to my spot.
The very back.
The corner.
'.............'
'Good.'
I was sincere.
No one looked.
No one will remember the number 63.
No one will remember that my name was called either.
'The bottom is safe.'
'The bottom does not betray me.'
I remembered the thought I had while looking at the floor in the past.
Back then it was the hallway floor.
Now it was the bottom of the rankings.
'So what if it's the bottom?'
'Not being looked at by anyone is the best thing.'
Hmm-hmm~
I'm humming involuntarily.
The class ended.
As I was leaving the training ground.
There was a bulletin board on the hallway wall.
The mana measurement rankings were posted.
Students were gathered and looking at it.
[Mana Output Ranking - 2nd Year]
[1st Place: Leon von Ashert — 923]
[2nd Place: Siegfried von Waldstein — 891]
[3rd Place: ........ — 756]
[4th Place: ........ — 698]
I went down.
The very bottom.
[97th Place: ........ — 71]
[98th Place: Ian Valentine — 63]
[99th Place: ........ — 58]
98th place.
98th out of 99 people.
'Not the last place.'
'There's one person below me.'
'I should be grateful to that person.'
Students were looking at the top of the bulletin board.
Looking back and forth between 1st and 2nd place.
"Leon is above Siegfried?"
"If you only look at mana output, yes."
"But real combat is different."
"Still, 923 is insane."
No one looked at the bottom.
98th place.
Ian Valentine.
63.
There was no one reading that line.
'Sweet.'
I passed in front of the bulletin board.
Like a ghost.
Leaving the school gate without entering anyone's field of vision.
Afternoon.
Dormitory.
Dormitory Warden's room.
I turned on the game console.
Click.
[STAGE 51 — ???]
'63, huh.'
'In the game, 63 mana is a level where you can't even catch a slime in the starting village.'
'It's the same in reality.'
I grabbed the controller.
Click-click-click—
But it worked here.
In the game.
Vine Bind.
Poison Herb Floor.
Natural Recovery.
My fingers with 5,000 hours of experience moved.
[STAGE 51 BOSS — HP: 82%]
I chipped it away.
[71%]
[63%]
'63.'
'Ah. Fuck. That's not the boss's HP, that's my mana.'
[55%]
'Let's just play the game.'
[44%]
[37%]
Click-click-click—
Night fell.
I took care of the pending repairs.
Room 208 faucet.
Room 304 window lock.
Room 107 lighting magic circle.
Three cases.
30 minutes.
I returned.
Curfew check.
10 o'clock.
I stood at the entrance.
The girls came in one by one.
"Room 301."
"Here."
"Room 308."
"Here."
Because it was night, my squinty eyes must have looked even narrower.
"Seeing the Dormitory Warden senior at night is scary as expected."
"He's like a cat."
'They said I'm like a cat.'
'Fuck. I bet some decent cats have higher mana than 63.'
Curfew over.
Click-
Front door locked.
I returned to the Dormitory Warden's room.
I checked the clock.
10:20.
'Now I should play the game.'
At that moment.
Something crossed my mind.
'Ah. Right.'
'Aria.'
[After curfew check is fine. Knock on the door.]
The note I wrote.
'Will she come?'
I looked at the game console.
Stage 51.
Boss HP 37%.
'Let's chip it down first. If she comes, I'll stop then.'
Click-click-click—
[31%]
[24%]
[19%]
10:40.
She didn't come.
'Is she not coming?'
[15%]
[11%]
10:55.
She didn't come.
'She's not coming.'
'Fine. Just play the game.'
[8%]
[5%]
My heart raced.
Boss HP single digits.
[4%]
[3%]
'Please.'
'Please, a new record this time.'
Click-click—
Thump-
Once.
Thump-
Twice.
A weak knock.
Cautious.
Knocking once and waiting.
The same knock as before.
'.............'
[3%]
I looked at the screen.
3%.
I looked at the controller.
I looked at the door.
'.............'
'Every time.'
'At 3%.'
'Ha...'
I put down the controller.
I opened the door.
Kkii-ik.
Light purple hair.
Light green eyes.
Aria.
She was holding a paper bag in her hand.
Cookies.
"............Um."
"............There's no need to come in. Let's do it here."
I leaned against the doorframe.
Not letting them inside is a rule.
Aria bowed her head.
She held out the paper bag.
"This...... first."
I received it.
Cookies.
This time, the shape was different again.
Not a leaf, not a star.
'............What is this shape?'
Let's look later.
"What's the consultation about?"
As calmly as possible.
Because I have to finish quickly to catch the boss.
Aria opened her mouth.
"Kaiden."
'As expected.'
"On the last day of the MT...... he said he had something to say when we got back."
"............Yes."
"But...... he didn't."
"He didn't?"
"Yes. Even after we got back...... he hasn't said anything."
'.............'
'He said 'I have something to say when we get back' last night, and didn't.'
'Why didn't he?'
"That...... seems scarier."
Aria bowed her head.
"If he had said it...... I could just answer."
"But since he doesn't...... I keep waiting."
"Because I don't know when he'll say it...... I get nervous every day."
Aria's voice grew quiet.
"In the club...... in class...... when Kaiden is next to me...... I wonder if it's today."
'.............'
I listened while leaning against the doorframe.
'Not doing it is scarier than doing it.'
'Right.'
'If I get a confession, I can just refuse and it's over.'
'If he drags it out without doing it, every day becomes D-day.'
'Does Kaiden know that and not do it?'
'Or is he really timing it?'
"So...... should I ask first?"
Aria looked up at me.
Light green eyes.
"Like you told me before...... if there's no heart, I should say there's no heart."
The words I said before came back.
"If there's no heart, it's right not to accept."
"But...... the other person hasn't said anything...... so if I say I don't have feelings first...... it's weird."
"Because it becomes refusing when he hasn't even confessed."
'.............'
'That's true.'
Kaiden not doing it — has the effect of tying Aria down.
Because if he confesses, he might get rejected.
If he doesn't, the possibility is maintained.
Because Aria can't draw the line first.
'Whether intentional or not.'
'As a result, Aria is trapped.'
"Senior...... what should I do?"
I looked at the hallway ceiling.
Though I could only see the ceiling.
'I have to finish quickly to catch the boss.'
'The boss that stopped at 3% must be recovering right now.'
'.............'
'But.'
'But when she asks 'what should I do'.'
'I can't just say something half-assed.'
She must have come because she's desperate.
"............Don't wait."
It came out of my mouth.
Aria blinked.
"Don't wait?"
"Whether Kaiden says it or not. That's Kaiden's problem."
"............."
"But Aria-ssi, you waiting while being nervous every day. That's Aria-ssi's problem."
"............."
"You don't have feelings, right?"
Aria stopped.
"You asked before too. If you liked him."
"............."
"You couldn't answer then. And I said if you can't answer, that's the answer."
"............Yes."
"If you still don't have feelings."
I lowered my gaze from the ceiling.
I looked at Aria.
No.
I pretended to look at the ceiling, then looked through my squinty eyes.
Because I'm a loser, I can't look directly.
"Don't wait. Just do as usual."
"As usual?"
"Yes. If Kaiden says it, then you can answer. If he doesn't, then he doesn't. Aria-ssi doesn't need to refuse first. And doesn't need to wait first."
"............."
"Just. Stop caring."
Aria looked at me.
Light green eyes.
"............Can I stop caring?"
"I can."
'Because I forget everything when I play games.'
"............."
Aria chuckled.
Quietly.
With her shoulders slightly shaking.
'Why are you laughing?'
"Senior...... you really say it easily."
"I just said something easy."
"It's an easy thing to say...... but no one told me."
"............."
"The words 'don't wait'."
Aria bowed her head.
"............Thank you."
"............."
"And...... in class today."
'Class?'
"You did...... the mana measurement."
'Ah.'
'You saw it?'
'The 63?'
"............Yes."
"............When Leon-nim...... said that."
Aria closed her mouth.
"People with no talent should give up early."
"............It was a bit scary."
"............."
"Senior...... were you okay?"
'Would a 63 be okay?'
But.
"I was okay."
"............Really?"
"Yes. Because no one looked."
"............."
Aria tried to say something but stopped.
She closed her mouth.
Opened it again.
Closed it.
'What is it?'
"............Um."
"Yes."
"I was...... in the lower ranks too."
"............."
"When I first enrolled. Mana measurement. I was about 15th from the bottom."
'Higher than me, but it was on the low side.'
"But...... now I'm in the upper ranks."
Aria's voice became a bit brighter.
Than usual.
"So...... Senior can go up too!"
'.............'
Aria looked up at me.
Her light green eyes were sparkling.
She was comforting me.
This woman, me.
The woman who used to hide under her blanket and couldn't even go to class.
The woman who barely answered 3 seconds late during roll call.
Was gathering courage to speak to comfort me.
"I also...... couldn't even sprout a bud at first. Healing magic didn't work properly either."
"But from some point...... it worked."
"So Senior too...... if you don't give up......"
Aria continued speaking, then.
Stopped.
Her expression stiffened.
'............?'
"............."
"............."
Aria's mouth was half-open and stopped.
An expression of realizing something.
'Why are you like that?'
"............Ah."
Aria said quietly.
"............I...... that...... now that I think about it...."
Her voice became rapidly quiet.
"............It was because I'm a Saintess."
'.............'
"Because my healing-type mana...... awakened and went up......"
"That...... only applies to me......"
Aria's ears started to turn red.
"It's a story that...... wouldn't fit other people...... right."
They turned redder.
"............I shouldn't have told you that story right now, Senior."
The redness went past her ears and down to her neck.
"I went up, but...... that's because I'm a Saintess...... and Senior......"
She stopped.
'She almost said 'Senior can't'.'
"Ah, no!! That's not it!!"
Aria waved both hands.
Fucking hard.
"I meant that Senior can do it too!! It's just that my case is a bit special!! So!!"
"............."
"I wanted to comfort you...... but instead of comfort...... rather......"
Aria's face exploded.
A red face under light purple hair.
"That's not it!! I didn't mean Senior can't do it!! I couldn't do it at first either!! But the reason I became able to is a bit special!! I shouldn't generalize that!! I just wanted to tell Senior!!"
"............."
"............."
Aria closed her mouth.
3 seconds.
"............I'm sorry."
She bowed her head deeply.
With her ears still red.
'.............'
I watched while leaning against the doorframe.
'This woman right now.'
'She tried to comfort me and then self-destructed.'
A loser gathered courage to speak.
Realizing while speaking that it was a story that only applied to her.
'.............'
"It's okay."
"............Yes?"
"Because I'm at the bottom anyway."
"Th, that's not it!! I didn't mean Senior is at the bottom!!"
"No, I'm really okay."
"You're not okay!!"
'I am okay.'
"............."
Aria mumbled.
With her face still red.
"............Senior, you're a bit weird."
'Weird?'
"I tried to comfort you...... but since you say you're okay instead...... I feel even more sorry."
"There's nothing to be sorry about."
"There is!! I was fucking rude just now!!"
'.............'
'Did this woman just say fucking?'
'A loser saying fucking?'
Where did she learn that.
"............."
Aria also seemed surprised by the words that came out of her own mouth.
Her eyes went round.
"............I just."
"............Yes."
"............I'm sorry."
She turned redder.
I didn't know it was possible, but she turned even redder.
'.............'
'Fine.'
"Go in. It's late."
"............Yes."
Aria turned around.
While running up the stairs.
She stopped.
"Senior."
"............Yes."
"Did you...... recognize the cookie shape?"
'The one I got earlier.'
'What shape was it?'
'Not a leaf, not a star.'
"............I haven't looked yet."
"............Heh."
A small laugh.
The woman who was exploding with redness until just now suddenly laughed.
"Make sure to look later."
She went up.
Her footsteps faded away.
I stood in front of the door.
Holding the paper bag.
'.............'
'What was that?'
'Did she come to comfort me and then self-destruct?'
I went into the Dormitory Warden's room.
I closed the door.
Thump.
I opened the paper bag.
I looked at the shape of the cookie.
It was the shape of a game controller.
But.
It was different from the cookies I received before.
Round cookies can be made with a mold.
Star shapes can be made if you have a mold.
Leaves too.
This one didn't have a mold.
It was molded by hand.
The D-pad part.
There were traces of carving grooves one by one with the tip of a knife.
The lines weren't consistent.
It looked like she had redrawn it about three times.
Four buttons.
Each one was molded round and attached.
The sizes were slightly different.
Because she made them one by one by hand.
'.............'
'How long did this take?'
Round cookies take 10 minutes to stamp.
Star shapes take 15 minutes.
This one.
Carving the D-pad with a knife.
Molding and attaching the buttons one by one.
Curving the sides with her fingers.
'An hour?'
'No, it must have taken longer.'
'Aria, alone in her room.'
'While thinking of that object I always hold in my hands.'
'She was molding the dough.'
'.............'
I took a bite.
It was the D-pad part.
The groove carved by the knife touched my tongue.
It's delicious.