Come In
Weekend.
We had set our books aside and were deep in thought, because before any studying there was something far more urgent to settle: the Holy Fire Festival.
The one thing she and I had in common was that neither of us had ever competed in it. Our reasons differed, but the conclusion was the same—we had never really paid it much attention.
The biggest hurdle right now was teammates. With the registration deadline looming, the vast majority of students already had their teams locked in.
“Anyone you know?”
“….”
Eline shook her head at my question.
I started turning names over in my mind. Compared to her, at least, I had managed to keep a few friendships going. One by one I sketched them out.
Ross.
Easygoing enough, but he seemed more interested in watching the festival than joining it.
Edgar…
Aggressive and intense, yet his magic was unstable. On top of that he had a short fuse; there had been that incident in second year when he clashed with his teammates.
Cain?
Ever since we hit third year he had completely given up on studying. Lately he was nowhere to be found.
…And then.
“Ah.”
One name surfaced.
A friend who never entered the festival yet still possessed outstanding skill.
“You thought of someone?”
Eline leaned in close.
“…Yeah. I remembered.”
She was so near that I instinctively edged back. Eline’s brow furrowed and she closed the distance again.
“….”
“What?”
“Stay still.”
“I am staying still.”
“You pulled away.”
Having her face that close in broad daylight was too much. The sunlight on Eline’s features made her look almost painfully radiant.
I cleared my throat and changed the subject.
“Valrod… a friend of mine. Do you know him?”
Eline exhaled softly, as if searching her memory.
“I think I’ve heard the name.”
A natural reaction from someone who paid so little attention to the people around her.
“He’s a bit of an eccentric, but among the people I know he’s the best. And once he starts something, he sees it through to the end…”
“Okay.”
She nodded without a single objection before I had even finished explaining.
“I haven’t finished yet.”
“You think he’s fine, don’t you?”
“Well, yes, but your opinion matters too.”
“If you’re okay with him, then so am I.”
Eline spoke flatly, ending the discussion.
“All right.”
We would still have to meet him later and ask, but his name was already written in our notebook.
“And…”
I racked my brain, but no one else came to mind. A few faces flickered past, yet I had the feeling they already had teams…
And we weren’t exactly close anyway.
Without any real connection, approaching them felt awkward.
Eline frowned in concentration, then looked at me as if someone had just occurred to her.
“Lutes, I thought of one.”
“Who?”
“Rui.”
…Rui?
“Ah.”
Right—there was Rui. Thinking back, even at our first meeting she had asked me to create a chance for her to talk with Eline.
“Think she’s already found a team by now?”
“I don’t know. But I think Rui would be good.”
The moment Eline said that, I stood without argument.
“Then let’s go.”
If Eline liked the idea, that was enough.
“To Rui?”
“Yeah.”
“Do you know where she is?”
“No idea. We’ll have to look.”
And so we spent the entire weekend searching for Rui.
“Hwaaaah!!”
“….”
“….”
When we finally found her, she was sitting on a bench, crying her eyes out.
“Why… why is she crying?”
I was completely thrown. We had only met a handful of times, but she was the last person I would have expected to sob like that.
Eline watched the same scene, just as startled as I was.
“Has she ever done this before?”
“…First time.”
For a while we simply stood there, watching Rui wail as if the world were ending.
Isn’t she going to get dehydrated like that?
Just as the thought crossed my mind, her sobs quieted. She hung her head and began to catch her breath.
Now?
The instant I glanced over, Eline looked at me as if we had planned it.
Who would dare speak into an atmosphere that heavy?
“….”
“….”
Eline squeezed the hand she was holding.
“I… don’t really know how to talk to someone when they’re like that.”
Her confession was so honest and unapologetic that I ended up being the one who walked over first.
Rui’s bowed back looked so small.
Lutes’s sudden appearance had already been startling enough; now Eline was standing there too.
“Hi.”
The moment their eyes met, Rui sprang to her feet.
“Ah… hi, Eline!”
Eline slowly looked her up and down. Goosebumps prickled Rui’s skin, yet she forced a smile.
Stay calm. Stay calm.
Why were Eline and Lutes here right now?
From Rui’s perspective, nothing came to mind. They had said they needed to talk, so it could not be pure chance.
Whatever the reason, she refused to look pathetic in front of them—especially in front of Eline.
“Are you okay?”
Eline’s question made Rui’s heart race, but she nodded steadily.
“Yeah, I’m fine… hehe.”
Even as she claimed she was fine, her eyes were bloodshot and swollen.
How ridiculous must she look?
“I’m really fine, nothing’s wrong!”
In the end she bounced on her toes and flapped her arms in exaggerated cheerfulness—so hard it was almost painful to watch.
Lutes cleared his throat, looking embarrassed himself, and Rui stopped bouncing, scratching her cheek instead.
“…I’m really okay.”
Her voice shrank into a mumble. Eline and Lutes quietly exchanged a glance.
“If you say you’re okay, then… shall I tell you why we’re here?”
Lutes spoke.
“Yes…!”
Why had they come looking for her?
Maybe they need a sparring partner?
“Rui.”
She swallowed hard.
“What I said before—is that still on the table?”
At the word “before,” Rui sorted through her memories. Things she had said when she met Lutes… not training, not greetings…
Their first meeting…
“Ah.”
Her pupils widened.
“…The Holy Fire Festival?”
The Holy Fire Festival.
The competition she had given up on only minutes earlier.
“Yes. The Holy Fire Festival.”
“Ah… uh… why that?”
The unexpected jab at a raw wound made her stammer.
“Would you like to join us?”
“J-join you?”
“Yes.”
“Hohoho… maybe…?”
Rui carefully glanced sideways. Eline nodded.
“I’m going too, Rui.”
Rui’s heart began to pound harder and harder.
“Really…?”
At the start of the term she had clearly asked Eline to team up, but back then Eline had shown no interest.
“Yeah.”
“With… me?”
Eline walked toward her, one deliberate step at a time, until she stood right in front of Rui.
“Rui.”
“…Huh?”
“I need your help.”
She had just been told she was needed.
By Eline, of all people.
“You need my help…?”
Eline nodded again.
Eline needed her. That single sentence.
“Why…?”
Why reach out to her of all people? Someone like Eline could have a line of brilliant students waiting.
Rui had been the one to propose it first, yet she had never dreamed Eline would come to her like this.
“…I don’t really like fighting.”
Eline gave her a faint smile.
“You’re always smiling, Rui.”
She said she liked the smile.
The smile that had always been ignored—she said it was good.
…
Was this a dream?
A dream…?
The Eline standing before her began to waver and blur.
The situation she had always longed for had finally arrived, and she could not believe it.
“…Ah.”
Moisture welled in her eyes again. She knew she should hold it back, yet the tears fell of their own accord.
All the sorrow of the past days surged up together with an overwhelming rush of emotion she could not contain.
…
Eline’s brow creased slightly; she turned her head and looked at Lutes.
She mouthed the words.
…What do I do?
She had studied endlessly how to treat the person she loved, but dealing with an ordinary girl her own age was completely new. Rui’s reaction left her at a loss.
Crying after a recruitment offer had not been part of the plan.
Just keep comforting her for now.
When he mouthed the reply, Eline gave a small nod.
Has she already found a team?
Lutes, for his part, covered his mouth with his palm and looked deeply troubled.
While the two of them stood frozen in confusion, Rui wiped her tears.
“Eline, I’m really not good enough…”
Her voice trembled as she looked at Eline again. Eline slowly turned back to her.
“I couldn’t even take the exam properly, and I’m barely hanging on in Alpha Class… hic… and… I’m not even on your level…”
“Rui.”
“…Yeah?”
“Don’t sell yourself short.”
Eline’s firm tone made the sniffling stop.
“….”
“Don’t put yourself down and build walls. You’re talented, and you’re working hard.”
“Eline.”
“So don’t cry.”
Eline took one of Rui’s hands.
“Smile for me. The way you always do.”
The wetness in Rui’s eyes gradually cleared, and light returned to them.
“Okay.”
The hitching breaths stopped.
The rain clouds on Rui’s face parted, and a smile began to rise.
“I wanted to do this with you, Eline… I really… I’ll work so hard I won’t be a burden…”
Her voice still shook, but her expression was full of certainty.
We had somehow managed to soothe Rui and bring her on as our first teammate.
That, at least, was a relief.
As if she had never cried at all, Rui beamed at us, waved, and disappeared.
“She was bawling like that, yet she bounced back so fast. Impressive in a whole different way.”
How could anyone recover that quickly?
Before I knew it Eline was beside me again, taking my hand and looking up at me.
“Did I do well?”
“…Yeah, you did well.”
Why was she looking at me like she wanted praise?
“Why…?”
I asked just in case. Eline gave the hand she held a gentle tug.
“Is that all?”
…
Maybe she wanted me to acknowledge that she had worked up the courage.
Come to think of it, on the way here she had practiced endlessly for the meeting with Rui—how to start the conversation, how to steer it.
At first I had planned to do the persuading myself, but since Eline had spent more time with her, it made sense to leave it to her.
“Don’t be too blunt.”
“Am I blunt?”
…A little?
We had never imagined we would find Rui crying while we were making those plans. That was why I stepped in first, but in the end Eline had guided the conversation beautifully.
…How should I praise her?
Kissing her on the cheek…
I can’t do it.
It was still too much. The thought alone made my heart feel ready to explode, even if the idea itself felt wonderful.
Eline was still holding my hand tightly, eyes full of expectation.
After a long internal struggle I carefully offered,
“…Want a piggyback ride?”
In the end I ended up carrying Eline again.
Maybe she had changed her perfume; a deeper, richer floral scent washed over me. Her body was still light, and the soft… feeling of her pressed against my back…
Don’t think about it.
Anyway, it was comfortable.
“Lutes.”
We had not done any real combat training today, so Eline stayed awake and spoke to me. The problem was that her breath brushed right against my ear.
I’m going to die.
“What…?”
“When we get to the dorm, are you going to study?”
“Yeah.”
I needed decent grades, so studying was non-negotiable. Besides, it was still fairly early.
“You’re doing well, right?”
“Uh… probably.”
Who could confidently declare they were going to ace every exam? Not me, at least.
“‘Probably?’”
Right—Eline hated vague answers.
Apparently unsatisfied, she pressed herself even closer. Now her every breath tickled my ear.
I pictured a vast wheat field. Deer running freely, anything that could keep my thoughts pure, desperately searching for peace of mind.
“…Is it not going well?”
Her soft whisper reached all the way into my brain.
“It’s going great, seriously.”
My steps creaked a little, but I picked up the pace. The sooner I dropped her off at the dorm, the sooner I could escape.
We passed the western training grounds, and the central academic buildings came into view.
“Lutes.”
“Yeah, uh. Yeah?”
“When you study, do you run into a lot of things you don’t know?”
“There are some, but nothing that completely stops me.”
“I see.”
Maybe it was because I had reviewed the same concepts so many times, but even the hard problems were starting to make sense.
“Ask me about the ones you don’t know.”
Every time, Eline’s presence was a huge help. Whenever I asked, she always answered.
“Thanks. Then tomorrow I’ll…”
“Tomorrow you’re supposed to talk to your friend, aren’t you?”
She was right—tomorrow I had to speak with Valrod. It probably would not take the whole day, but the morning would be gone.
“Then I’ll save them up and ask when I have time.”
“When I have time” would probably mean Monday.
“Lutes.”
“…Yeah?”
“I’ll teach you now.”
“Now?”
“If you get stuck, you’ll just skip that part. We should be as efficient as possible.”
Her voice was firm, and she was right. Spending thirty minutes stuck on something was far worse than getting a clear three-minute explanation from her.
“…But my books are in the dorm…”
“I know.”
The tone that brooked no argument made me stop walking.
“What?”
From my back, Eline reached around with both hands, cupped my face, and turned it as if twisting a lightbulb.
In that direction, far from the academic buildings, mountains rose, and nestled among them stood a single glowing structure.
The Beta Class dormitory.
No way.
“Let’s go.”
“…Where?”
Of course I knew exactly where she meant, but the word slipped out on reflex.
Even so, Eline answered with perfect kindness.
“The dorm.”