Misha Greenwood (3)
“Wh-what do I dooooo?!”
Misha stared at her own hands as if they were mortal enemies, her voice cracking on the edge of tears. There was only one thing I could say to her.
“Are you an idiot?”
“Saying that now doesn’t help anything! I-isn’t there some way to put this back the way it was?!”
“Not that I know of. Either you die, or…”
“Kyaaaaah! Wh-what kind of thing is that to say?! Are you planning to kill me?!”
“Who said that? I’m just telling you how it works! The rule is a rune only returns to its original place when its owner dies! Anyway, you’re screwed now. You took the First Hero’s rune… so what are you gonna do? All that stuff you love—causality, the fate of the world—what’s your plan for that? I don’t know. I don’t know, so you figure it out.”
“D-don’t be like that… help me. You’re my boyfriend~”
“Boyfriend, my ass.”
“You told me to act like your girlfriend!”
“I said pretend when I’m in a tight spot! Who the hell handed you a business card that says ‘use me whenever you’re screwed’?!”
“This rune is supposed to go to the true hero!!!”
“Yelling at me won’t change a damn thing! I don’t know. Now that it’s come to this, I’m just sticking to the original plan—quietly get expelled from the Academy and leave this place for good.”
“So as long as you save your own skin, everything’s fine?! You selfish human! Humans are really… humans are really…!”
“La la la, can’t hear you~”
Misha kept pouring out bitter complaints as she trailed after me. Her footsteps followed all the way to the cabin where I lived.
“Let’s think of a way together!”
“Think by yourself. This has nothing to do with me.”
“Wait! You’re an Academy student, right? We can research how to return the rune to its original place at the Academy! The Academy is the cradle of knowledge! Let’s go to the Academy together!”
“Go alone.”
“Are you kidding me? If an elf wanders around a place like that alone, she’ll get captured on the spot!”
Quick Trivia
Long ago, elves and humans waged war, and humanity won. As a result, every surviving elf was branded with the Slave Brand and condemned to a life of ownership. Aside from the rare cases where elves form hidden communities among themselves, an elf’s public status is strictly that of a slave. A slave wandering alone without a master? Immediate capture. That is the law of this world.
“That’s right! The Academy even has the famous Archsage Minerva! If it’s the Archsage who supposedly knows everything, she must know about runes too! Go ask her—hurry, hurry, hurry!”
“No. I’ve got no business at the Academy. If I go, I’ll just get dragged into something.”
“Aaaaaaagh! Let’s gooooo!!”
“Shut up!!”
“If you take me to the Academy, you can do whatever you want with my body!”
“Wh-what the hell did you just say?”
Anyone overhearing that would get the wrong idea.
“H-here… I have a leaf from the World Tree. This is a leaf I plucked from the World Tree when I was born. It’s the same as my body. I’ll give you the right to do whatever you want with this leaf, so grant my wish.”
“………”
“You’ll do it, right?”
“No??”
“………….”
In the end our argument dragged on all night. Misha kept whining and fussing until I finally raised the white flag. Just one day. I agreed to visit the Academy for Misha’s sake. Well… it wasn’t like anything terrible would come of it.
“Fine, fine. We’ll go to the Academy tomorrow.”
“Thank you. I’ll give you the leaf.”
“Don’t need it.”
“Eh? D-did you figure out I just yanked some random leaf off a tree earlier?”
“It was a fake leaf on top of that? I thought elves didn’t lie!”
“We can lie for the sake of the World Tree.”
“You’re hilarious! Just go to sleep! We’re going to the Academy tomorrow!”
“Yes… but that part about doing whatever you want with my body was a lie. If you really lay a hand on me… you won’t even have bones left to pick up.”
“Some dog’s barking over there… ugh.”
“You’re Jack the womanizer, after all. I can’t trust you. I’ll stay awake all night and keep watch.”
“Do whatever you want. I’m getting my beauty sleep.”
Whether Misha slept that night or not, I sank into a deep slumber. I dreamed. It was a strange dream. Beyond a black silhouette, a voice called out to me.
“I’m sorry… for placing such a heavy burden on you… I’m sorry…”
“There was no one else… only you…”
“You can save this world.”
But as always, dreams fade the moment you wake. By morning I had completely forgotten the night before. The only thing that remained was Misha tilting her head as she looked at my face.
“Are you crying right now?”
“What…? Crying…?”
I touched the corner of my eye. It really was damp. Huh…? Why am I… crying…?
“Ah! M-maybe you’re crying because you have to go to school? Are you… a loner?”
“N-no I’m not!”
Wait… was I? Jack didn’t have any friends, so… yeah, maybe I was a loner.
“Ahem. Well, even if you’re a truant youth, I can’t let you skip today. We have to go to the Academy!”
“I get it, I get it. Haah… let’s go.”
I set off toward the Academy I had so desperately wanted to avoid, Misha in tow. My current affiliation was the Academy. Leaving a designated area without permission meant arrest. In other words, until I received official leave, I couldn’t even leave the Academy grounds. Freedom of residence simply didn’t exist in this world’s common sense.
“This is such a pain.”
“What did you say?”
“Just talking to myself.”
An Academy student heading to the Academy wasn’t strange at all. Because Jack’s memories had fused with mine, the path felt completely familiar. The Academy’s tall Magic Tower came into view. Archsage Minerva lived at the very top of that tower. I lifted my head and spoke.
“Hey, Misha. Just ask Minerva what we need and wrap this up qui—huh?”
“Jack Slave.”
“Urghk.”
Someone yanked me by the collar. The arm strength was so overwhelming I couldn’t even resist. I glanced sideways at the face. Ah… this guy was the Academy’s swordsmanship instructor, Grid something-or-other.
“You haven’t shown your face at the Academy for days. What brings you here? Finally decided you can’t skip my class?”
“Ah, no… I’m not taking classes anymore.”
“Enough with the jokes. Today is sparring day. Why aren’t you running over to Sylvia, Christine, or Scarlet like usual?”
“Ah, well… I got a girlfriend.”
“A girlfriend? There’s no way you have a girlfriend. Stop joking around.”
Instead of answering, I pointed at the elf trembling beside me. Grid’s gaze shifted to Misha.
“What…? Don’t tell me that elf is your girlfriend? Ahem. You’ve got some… unique tastes. Well… I’m not one for prejudice. Anyway, you’d better sit in on today’s class. I’ve heard the rumors. You left Teo’s party, didn’t you? Even if you felt your skills were lacking, walking away from a party that good wasn’t the right call. If you thought you weren’t contributing, you should’ve trained harder. Today you’ll hone your swordsmanship.”
“Ah, no, I really don’t…”
“Follow me!”
“Eek! L-let go, Instructor! Come on!”
I was hauled off like luggage all the way to the training grounds where class was being held. Misha trotted after us, shooting me looks that clearly said she thought I was pathetic, which felt deeply unfair. The moment I arrived with the instructor, the waiting students started murmuring.
“What, is that Jack?”
“You heard the rumor? He got a girlfriend…”
“Yeah. And he quit Teo’s party.”
“Why would he leave a party that good?”
“He’s always been a weird guy.”
Haah. Confirmed once again that Jack’s reputation was garbage even here.
“Alright, now that Jack’s here, we’ll begin the sparring. Pair up and spar.”
“Instructor.”
“Hm? What is it…? Sylvia. Speak.”
“Who is that elf behind him? Why is there an elf at the Academy?”
“Ah, that…? Jack says she’s the girlfriend he’s dating.”
Silence blanketed the training grounds.
Sylvia’s expression, in particular, turned vicious. No—more precisely, it twisted into something as nasty as a witch’s. Then she suddenly burst out laughing.
“Puhahaha! I wondered who this ‘girlfriend’ was, and it’s just an elf? Ah… this is ridiculous. Anyway, the fact that she’s here means she intends to join the class, right? Fine. Instructor. I request a swordsmanship spar with that elf.”
“What? Sparring with an elf? Look, you know elves are an archery race. Why would you sword-fight an elf?”
“As a knight, I am formally requesting a duel.”
“Hmm… we should at least ask the elf’s opinion…”
“An elf’s opinion doesn’t matter. What matters is my will. So please arrange the match, Instructor.”
Sylvia steamrolled the conversation, then casually drifted closer to me and whispered in a voice only I could hear.
“Watch carefully, Jack. I’ll show you exactly who’s the more capable woman. Bringing some random elf and calling her your girlfriend… that was hilarious. But the jokes end here. From now on, I’ll show you what a real amazing woman looks like.”
Then she drew her sword and shouted at Misha.
“Alright!!! Come on and fight, elf!!!”
I shot a look at the flustered Misha. Just fight her. After all… the outcome was already obvious.