Dawn Breaks for the Loner
The loner finally saw the sun rise. I arrived at the classroom earlier than usual and dropped heavily into my seat, my body heavy with exhaustion. “Ugh…” In the end, I hadn’t slept at all. Everything felt tired, sluggish, and drained. The aftereffects of overusing my powers… and the regressor who had ambushed me last night were entirely to blame.
Honestly… did she not know that breaking into someone else’s dorm room was a crime? And the things she did after slipping inside were downright ridiculous. Fiddling with my hand in secret, staring at my face for a long time, and eventually pressing her palm against my cheek… “Haah… haah…” “Thank goodness… hoo… I’m not too late, am I…?” “Haaauu…” …She even let out breaths that sounded far too dangerous. When I cracked my eyes open just a sliver, the unhinged look in her gaze gave me chills. It was a relief that I kept pretending to be asleep. If she had realized I was awake… I didn’t even want to imagine what a regressor with zero boundaries might have done.
Her behavior had been disturbingly dark—something I’d rarely seen even in previous rounds—so I couldn’t begin to predict how far she might go. At least she left right before sunrise. If anyone had spotted her leaving my room, both the regressor and I would have been punished for improper relations. Fortunately, it seemed she didn’t want disciplinary action either. Since I had no intention of telling anyone what happened during the night, I would simply bury the whole thing as if it had never occurred. That said, the fact that she sat there watching me until the sun came up was still pretty terrifying…
Yeah, when you regress enough times, your mind sometimes slips. That’s all it is. I could understand it to some extent.
By the time all the students except the Saintess and Yulia had arrived, the homeroom professor finally entered the classroom. He immediately delivered shocking news.
“There was an intruder inside the Academy early this morning. The barrier is currently under repair by the headmaster, so for the time being, please stay away from the damaged sections… Additional notices will be provided regarding any other matters. For now, focus on your studies. That is all.”
Within those few short sentences lay news that was hard to believe. As expected, the moment the professor left, the classroom erupted into chaos.
“The barrier was damaged?”
“An intruder… how many incidents has this been this year alone?”
“I’m not sure we can trust the Academy anymore…”
“Sigh… I should have just stayed home quietly… What was I thinking, trying to enjoy my youth at my level…”
Sighs echoed from every corner of the room. Although strange events had been happening frequently at the Academy lately, it had originally been one of the most secure places in existence. Only the imperial palace or locations guarded by multiple Transcendents could compare. Since the Academy was protected by the headmaster—a Transcendent itself—it didn’t fall behind in that regard. That was why even high-ranking nobles could entrust their children here without worry.
But with the recent incidents… most of which the regressor had already resolved in previous rounds, the mere fact that they had occurred was causing the Academy to lose trust. And with the holy relic theft I had carried out this time, that trust would truly hit rock bottom. The headmaster was going to have a rough time.
Well, even if the Academy took a hit, it wouldn’t collapse over something like this. Instead, they would pour every resource into strengthening security. Options included reinforcing the barrier or inviting other Transcendents to the Academy. The choice the headmaster had made was the latter.
If certain people learned that I had revealed myself in the identity of that petty thief, a few of them would throw fits. Among them were renowned Transcendents known as the Great Pioneers. Because of this incident, one of them would come directly to the Academy looking for me. Although the headmaster had not made an official announcement yet, in the second round—when I first began operating by stealing holy relics—the Great Pioneer had visited the Academy without fail every single time. So this time would be no different. He would soon arrive in person to investigate any traces I might have left.
At that point, the headmaster would “request” that he stay at the Academy for a while to help protect the students. I didn’t know what kind of deal passed between them, but in any case, he would accept the headmaster’s request. Perhaps he hoped the headmaster would assist in finding my traces. Of course, even if I heard that the Great Pioneer was searching for clues about me, I didn’t feel much about it. If he could find me by trying hard, I would have been exposed and chased long ago.
Unless someone could properly recognize and cognize me, connecting anything related to me was nearly impossible. That remained true even if the Great Pioneers used the near-miraculous powers they had obtained from the Tomb. My only impression on the matter was, Looks like the Academy is going to get a bit noisy for a while.
The previous night, Yulia had finished an excessive schedule alongside Arie and fallen into a deeper sleep than usual. She never dreamed that this would lead to a fatal mistake that allowed an intruder inside. She had been complacent. Because of a lapse in vigilance unbecoming of the Saintess’s escort, she had failed to stop the intruder.
To think something like this would happen on the very first day… Yulia blamed herself, believing she was unqualified as an escort. If this matter reached the Church, she might no longer be allowed to serve as the Saintess’s escort alongside Arie. Even so, Arie’s safety remained more important to her than anything else.
That was why, the moment she heard the news, Yulia began trying to persuade the Saintess instead of searching for the culprit or making excuses.
“You must have felt it as well with this incident, Saintess. It is dangerous outside the Church. Would it not be better to return now?”
“…Yulia. You already know what my answer will be, don’t you?”
“……Saintess. Please reconsider. Your safety is closely tied to that of your escorts, including myself. If any further threat comes to you… we, who already cannot lift our heads in shame, may have to offer our very lives.”
At her words, Arie wore a slightly pitying expression. Believing there was hope for persuasion, Yulia continued.
“The Academy is dangerous right now. Too many unexpected incidents have occurred this year. It is becoming difficult to trust the headmaster and the barrier any longer. If only we were at the Church where His Holiness the Pope resides…”
“Hehe, well now.” Arie let out a light laugh, cutting Yulia off. “Even if I had remained at the Church instead of coming to the Academy, would that person have been unable to infiltrate the Church? A Transcendent who can pierce the Academy’s barrier in an instant and neutralize the headmaster just as quickly?”
“T-That is…”
“Hehe, Yulia. This incident was simply an unfortunate event that happened while I was at the Academy. Nothing would have changed even if I had been at the Church.”
The certainty in Arie’s voice as she made that declaration left Yulia without the confidence to argue further. She pressed her lips tightly shut. Arie gently stroked the dejected Yulia’s head.
“You will understand the meaning behind my words soon enough. So there is no need to blame yourself right now.”
“……Understood…… More importantly, please remove your hand.”
Despite Arie’s warm words, Yulia’s mood did not improve. She could not shake the thought that everything was due to her own weakness. Watching Arie walk ahead, Yulia clenched her fist tightly.
If only I had been a little stronger… If she had been stronger, less complacent, and someone others could rely on… could she have stopped the intruder from approaching Arie? Yulia felt deeply ashamed of her own frailty.
I had placed several layers of recognition and cognition upon myself. That was why my presence always remained faint and people could not perceive me properly. In everyone’s awareness, I was the sort of person that only came to mind when someone asked about me—Oh, right, that guy was there too. Unless someone mentioned me first, I usually never crossed their thoughts at all.
Of course, there were exceptions. Very occasionally, special beings appeared who could clearly recognize and cognize me. I had not yet discovered the exact reason or conditions for that special quality, but a few possibilities came to mind if I thought about it. The regressor Elisha, who saw me through past connections and obsession. The Saintess Arie, who sought long-term pieces to realize her dreams and desires. The Hero Hestia, who wished to build ordinary friendship and ordinary justice alongside me.
If my guess was correct, they were trying to achieve what they wanted through me. Of course, that alone did not necessarily explain the special quality that allowed them to pierce my ability, so I would probably need to investigate further to be sure. There were a few other special beings who could perceive me, but since I rarely interacted with them, I did not need to worry about them for now.
Anyway, let’s talk about the Hero. Right after the Academy entrance ceremony, on her very first day of school, she displayed utterly shattered social skills. The Hero was… not exactly lacking in awareness, but she simply did not know how to converse with people. On top of the title of Hero that already made her hard to approach, she had zero social ability… It was practically the perfect condition for never making friends.
Originally, the regressor would have approached the Hero on her own and built a relationship by now. That way, the Hero’s desire of “wanting to build ordinary friendships” could have been fulfilled through the regressor. Then the Hero would no longer need to achieve her wish through me, and the special quality that allowed her to see through my ability would disappear as well… or so the “me from the second round” had thought.
But that wasn’t what happened. The Hero continued to properly recognize and cognize me until the end. Thanks to her, even I began to grow confused about the conditions for the special quality that pierced my ability. In any case, aside from that special quality, dealing with the Hero was equally unpleasant, so I had planned to leave handling her to the regressor in this round as well.
Even if the Hero approached me first, the regressor would always step in and take her away after I dealt with her appropriately. However, for some reason, unlike in previous rounds, the regressor in this round had not approached the Hero. The Hero, whose social skills were at zero, remained a loner and continued her Academy life alone.
Despite her usual outwardly blunt appearance, she actually got lonely quite easily. That was why she kept her distance from those who felt uncomfortable around her, yet tried her best to build relationships with ordinary people. Quite desperately, in fact.
“Greetings.”
“……Yes, hello.”
Exactly. Because the regressor had abandoned the Hero, the arrow had circled around and flown straight at me… and that was how this mess had started.
“If you have the time, would you happen to be available during lunch…?”
……It looked like I would have to become our dear Hero’s friend.
