After the War Ends (7)
The spot where Kyle had left. Cloi and Estella stared blankly at the place he'd been standing moments ago. They soon snapped out of it, recalling his parting words.
'I won't see you two until you stop fighting.'
'And just so you know, if you chase after me, it'll be forever.'
That promise of never seeing him again was enough to harden their expressions. His voice had been low and grave, making it all the more real.
Of course, Estella didn't take it too seriously. She figured it was just a threat to scare them straight. They'd fought too much, after all. She should've known when to stop. Her opponent had gotten under her skin, and she'd lost control in the heat of the moment. If that made her unfit as a saintess, so be it. Estella reflected on her actions.
But Cloi was different. No one grasped the gravity of the situation more than she did. She screamed at the culprit behind it all.
"You goddamn bitch! Do you even realize what you've done?!"
Cloi glared at the saintess with fury in her eyes. Estella felt a flicker of anger but responded calmly.
"Lower your voice, why don't you? You're talking like it's all my fault. Wasn't it mostly you? If you hadn't been here, the Saint wouldn't have gotten mad and left."
"You still don't even see your own mistake...!"
"What mistake? You started picking fights first. And if we'd calmed down a bit, we could've just gone back..."
"That's because you don't know senpai at all!"
How stubborn was senpai, really? Once he made up his mind, he rarely backed down. Now that he'd declared it like that, there was no way he'd take it back. His tone and vibe made it clear he was seriously pissed. Even Rana-unnie probably couldn't sway him. Cloi ground her teeth.
If things stayed like this, she'd never see senpai again. Cloi couldn't stomach that, not even in death. How could she give up on someone she liked this easily? If she'd been the type to quit over something like this, she would've bailed long ago.
Cloi turned her gaze sideways. There was Estella, the so-called saintess. The way she clung to senpai, seducing him with that vulgar body—nothing about her sat right. But right now, they needed to cooperate. It was the only way to fix senpai's mood. Pretty much the sole option, really.
Cloi swallowed her pride a little and said to Estella,
"Hey, listen up from now on. If you wanna keep seeing senpai, do exactly what I say."
But the response was ridiculous.
"No thanks. Why should I follow your lead? I'll go apologize to the Saint myself, so you do whatever you want."
With that, Estella channeled her holy power. She began casting a holy spell. Cloi was dumbfounded and yelled at the saintess for her foolish move.
"Hey! That's not gonna work!"
Cloi hurriedly stopped her. It was absurd—how could she act like that without even knowing what kind of person senpai was?
But Estella ignored her. Just as the holy magic enveloped her and she was about to teleport to Kyle's side—
Kyle's voice echoed through the air. At the same moment, Estella's holy magic fizzled out.
"Eh?"
Estella let out a dumbstruck sound, her face blank as she failed to comprehend what had just happened.
Cloi, having heard Kyle too, shouted,
"You idiot! Don't you have a brain?!"
The situation had turned disastrous. Now, without proof of action, they'd never see senpai again.
"This can't be real! Why would the Saint block me..."
"I told you—he's not the type you can reason with."
When it came to magic barriers, he was at least 9th Circle or higher. No way he'd overlook something like this.
"Now... what do we do?"
The warning had proven real. Estella couldn't act on her own anymore—not when losing Kyle forever was a real risk.
"Ugh, this sucks..."
Why was everything going wrong today? It was all that damn bitch's fault. But whining wouldn't help, so Cloi said to Estella,
"Hey, listen close. What we need to show senpai is us getting along without fighting."
"...I have zero interest in getting chummy with you."
"You think I do?"
What an absurd saintess. Cloi clicked her tongue. Estella continued,
"And acting won't fool the Saint anyway."
"You think that's what senpai wants?"
They both knew true friendship was impossible. Senpai was aware of that too. So they just needed to show one thing: getting along enough. Even if it was forced.
"You think that'll work?"
"Got a better idea?"
"...No. Guess not."
Of course, showing up all buddy-buddy right away wouldn't cut it. There was a prerequisite.
"Hey, let's go."
"Where?"
"Where else? Finish the purification."
They had to complete the purification together. It was proof they'd put in effort. Without it, senpai would just give them the cold shoulder.
Estella grimaced at Cloi's words. She hated teaming up with her. But with no choice, she sighed inwardly. A saintess going without her Saint? Unthinkable.
"Fine, even if I hate it."
"You think I'm thrilled?"
And so, Cloi and Estella headed to the next purification site.
I let out a small sigh.
"...If only they'd fight just a little less."
Honestly, I wasn't asking for much. Just fewer fights. I knew better than anyone they could never truly be friends. But with my warning, they'd realize I meant business and show some improvement.
Anyway, back at Tianis Academy, I took a stroll. In this short time, about 80% had been restored, regaining much of its former glory. Still, the busy atmosphere lingered with so much work left.
It was already lunchtime, but plenty of people were still at it. Two in particular stood out.
"Send those supplies to the Magic Department grounds. Oh, and that goes to the Student Council Hall..."
One was Ariel Tianis.
"Here."
The other was Ruina Lindel.
Princess Ariel was issuing orders, directing people, while Senior Ruina whipped up potions on demand with her alchemy. Both were doing what suited them best.
Then Ariel spotted me. She finished up and approached.
"How's your body holding up...?"
"Good enough to walk around."
"That's a relief."
Ariel let out a sigh of relief. She'd been shuttling between Tianis and the imperial palace, only hearing updates about my condition. This was our first meeting since the war.
"More importantly... thank you for your efforts. We kept the damage to this level because of you."
"No big deal."
"I'm not just saying that. Kyle, without you, it wouldn't have ended this quickly or with so little loss. Not as the imperial representative, but as one of its members, I thank you."
With that, Ariel bowed.
"......"
"......"
But then, silence fell. We'd improved a lot, but awkwardness still hung between us. Without others around, our chats never lasted long anyway.
As the quiet spread awkwardly, someone tugged my sleeve. I turned to see Ruina-senior with a dissatisfied look.
"What's up?"
"...Haven't seen you much lately."
"There was a war. But now it's over, so we'll hang out more."
"Yeah."
Satisfied with my answer, she nodded. Then she glanced at Ariel.
"Hi, Senior Ruina."
"Hey."
They exchanged simple greetings. Ariel, as the junior, spoke first. She still avoided pulling rank unless necessary.
"I'll head out then. You two can keep talking..."
"Don't go."
Ruina grabbed the departing princess by the sleeve and wouldn't let go.
"Something to say?"
"Nope."
"Then why..."
"Just 'cause."
"......"
Ariel seemed speechless. But what could she do? That was Ruina-senior's personality. Not an emergency anyway, so Ariel stayed.
Ruina then handed her various potions.
"Take this. Fatigue recovery."
"Oh, thanks."
"This too. Before bed. You'll wake up refreshed."
Ruina fussing over the princess—a scene straight out of the novel? Hardly. Ruina Lindel barely interacted with mains except Evan.
Guess she likes her.
Otherwise, she wouldn't dote like that. It was cute, so I let it be.
As we spent time like that, voices reached my ear.
"Senpai~."
"Saint, we're back."
Cloi and Estella approached with smiles, walking side by side, close together. Onlookers gawked at the two beauties, but to me, it looked painfully forced. Their fake smiles screamed awkwardness.
I asked,
"Job done?"
"Of course~ Right, Estella?"
"Yep. Cloi and I handled it perfectly."
Using each other's names. I nearly snickered inwardly. At the same moment, I overheard their airborne chat.
It was a message magic exchange. Still, a big improvement from before, so I let it slide. I told them,
"Better than earlier."
"Haha..."
"Hehe..."
Only then did they relax their faces and exhale. Worry laced their relief. Ruina and Ariel, watching, commented,
"Weird..."
"What the hell did you do to them...?"
To Ariel's question, I replied,
"Just told 'em to get along."
That wasn't so wrong, right?
"Right?"
"Yeah, senpai..."
"Yes, Saint..."
They clearly disagreed.