Did You Repeat the Year?
"Kyaa! You startled me!"
As I suddenly sat up, the red-haired... no, the red hair girl jumped back in surprise.
"Wh-what! Suddenly...!"
"Ah, sorry."
Even if the apology didn't sound sincere, there was nothing I could do about it.
After all, the one who spoke in informal speech first was the other person.
By the way, who is this?
From the reaction, it seemed like they knew me.
"So, who is it?"
"You really...!"
The guy was fidgeting his lips as if about to say something harsh, then let out a deep sigh and asked back.
"Are you going to keep pretending not to remember? Or do you really not remember?"
"Rea—"
The moment I was about to say that, my eyes widened as if I had been hit on the back of the head.
The memories that had faded from being human-modified in the special task force came back dimly.
"...Kiara?"
"Yeah! You remember!"
The red-haired... no, Kiara brightened up, then suddenly startled and hurriedly controlled her expression.
Sorry, but it was too late. I had already seen the joy in her reaction.
However, it was strange.
There was no reason to feel happy reunion between us.
Kiara Scarlet.
She was the same age as me, and we entered the academy in the same year.
And...
Our relationship could never be said to be good.
The guy who interfered in every little thing and made me annoyed even though I didn't do anything special.
Well, in the academy where meritocracy was rampant, bothering the weak was common, so I just let it go.
That's why I easily forgot. After all, compared to other kids, she was at a cute level.
Anyway, why was this guy suddenly acting friendly?
Also, why were we taking the same elective class.
'That was a subject that first-years take.'
There was only one answer.
"...Did you repeat the year?"
It was twice?
Hah!
From the startled reaction, I could tell my guess was correct.
"Y-yeah! I repeated! I repeated, what! You helped me with that?!"
There was no help.
It was just that the guy who said if you don't have talent, you have to work hard anyway ended up repeating twice, not once. It was unbelievable.
I should have been kinder to him.
The words almost reached the tip of my tongue but I barely swallowed them. I didn't need to make an enemy.
Anyway, I had to live quietly...
'This is the red-haired girl Alwilda was looking for?'
In other words, the midterm score was given to that guy.
If only I could make it fail.
"Anyway!"
Hmph!
Kiara cleared her throat as if hiding her embarrassment and crossed her arms.
"I thought you had given up, but you came back brazenly! Where the hell did you go for two years?"
...I can't tell you because it's state secret.
So, I casually made up something.
"I was sick."
"......What?"
"I rested because my health was bad."
"R-really? You were sick?"
The guy opened his eyes wide and asked back. As if surprised, his arms that were crossed awkwardly loosened.
...Strange.
'Was her personality like this from the beginning?'
Ah, maybe she matured during the two years I was away.
Yeah.
At 18, puberty had already passed. Girls mature faster than boys.
'She cut her hair too....'
The reason I couldn't recognize her at once was because she had cut her long hair into a bob, changing the image in my memory.
When it fluttered in the wind, it was like a burning flame, so it caught the eye.
"Where did it hurt so much...?"
"Just, well. It was aching all over."
"If even taking a leave of absence was needed, it must have been really bad. What did the doctor say?"
...Hmm.
The kid has a persistent side. Now that excuses are gone.
'Thinking about it, she seemed to have this personality from the start....'
I remember she couldn't stand curiosity and interfered in everything.
And she easily got excited and had a short temper over small things.
Her personality was as fiery as her red hair that reminded me of flames.
'...But these kinds of people get spoiled easily if you pamper them a little.'
So, how could I not try to sweet-talk and coax her?
The worry was short.
'Good, decided.'
Wait for it, Alwilda.
I'll make you regret assigning such a ridiculous task.
In that sense, first, let's improve the relationship a bit.
"Well? The doctor said he didn't know the cause either. Well, since it's better now, it's good."
"What? What kind of convenient words are those?"
"Because now I'm better and I enrolled, right?"
Since I'm at it, let's pour on the compliments.
"Anyway, thanks for worrying."
"W-what? Worrying?!"
"Hm? Wasn't it because I was worried?"
Her personality is really weird.
Just by complimenting, her face turns red in an instant.
But if I praise her fiery personality, she would probably like it.
"You have a warmer heart than you look? Sorry for misunderstanding until now."
"W-what...!"
By the way, her hair is red and her face is red, she looks like a ball of fire.
Anyone would think she's a fire spirit.
At that moment.
"Hah... ha!"
Kiara burst into laughter.
But the sound wasn't refreshing. It seemed she was quite flustered, her breath was rough.
"Wh-what? Worrying? Who?"
She forced a smile by pulling up one corner of her mouth and tried to act tough.
This is not good.
"Worrying? What nonsense...!"
Can't do that.
Complimenting her personality would backfire, so let's praise her appearance or something standard. Then her mood would improve.
"More than that, if you were in so much pain that you took a leave of absence─"
"You cut your hair too? The bob suits you well."
I blurted it out and furrowed my brows.
Because Kiara, who had been laughing non-stop, froze like a stone with that expression.
'What?'
It was as if someone had stopped time with magic. Until the guy started clicking his mouth like a broken robot.
"...Ah? Yeah, thank... you?"
What? Japanese?
Why?
Like someone who had never heard compliments before.
"Hey. Are you okay?"
At the moment I was waving my hand in front of her.
"Hiiiiiik!"
Kiara opened her eyes wide and took a deep breath.
I thought she was holding her breath the whole time.
No, what if I forget to breathe?
"I-I'm going to die...!"
Unfair.
I hadn't expected her to be so shocked.
"You... you crazy bastard!"
Even insults.
There, she turned her body abruptly and walked briskly away, disappearing quickly. As if trying to escape from me.
'...Tsk.'
I clicked my tongue helplessly while watching the bright red hair, which I couldn't tell if it was her face or the back of her head, getting smaller.
'Was it no good after all?'
Yeah, after all, our relationship wasn't good to begin with.
If anything, it was worse.
'Hm?'
I was about to swallow the bitterness when I realized my mistake and hit my forehead.
Aah, what an idiot.
I thought simply that if I just complimented, she would like it, but the mistake was mentioning her hairstyle.
I heard that cutting hair meant a big change in mindset!
'Somehow, I should have noticed when I felt she was a bit different from before....'
Haah.
A sigh came out involuntarily.
...It would have been better to just recognize another person.
* * *
"You crazy bastard! Really crazy bastard...!"
Kiara, who had been pouring out curses nonstop, stopped her steps abruptly and looked back.
Naturally, Jade's figure was not visible.
By now, she had gone beyond the grass field to the academy main building.
'......Ah.'
Only then did Kiara realize her mistake and show a desolate expression.
The problem was that she got excited so easily every time. For her, emotional control was too difficult.
'I didn't come here to do that....'
The fact that I ruined the reunion moment again made me hate myself even more.
If I say that again, it means I ruined it once before.
I don't remember exactly how old Kiara and Jade were when they first met, but it was very long ago.
Kiara, who was only 18, had lived, but it meant they met when they were still very young.
The girl who didn't know the ways of the world yet, upon accidentally meeting a same-age boy at a social gathering, fell in love at first sight.
The deep blue hair and the melancholic water-like eyes that contrasted with her red color had won her heart.
- Wow, your hair is like a burning flame, I can never forget it after seeing it once.
Perhaps because she had grown up hearing the scolding 'your hair is too long, not lady-like' since childhood, she was moved by the boy's casual remark.
However, since the social gathering was a place that required etiquette and manners, although they couldn't get closer than exchanging greetings....
'Jade Netherpike....'
At least, the boy's name could be engraved deep in her heart.
...That's why.
When she heard the news that the Netherpike family's prestige had plummeted after the current duke took over the position, Kiara was quite surprised.
Not only that, to prove that the family had fallen, the members of the Netherpike family were not invited to the social gathering again.
Thus, she couldn't meet the boy again.
...Until she learned that he had also entered the academy.
In fact, that was the first reunion.
However.
- You, do you know me?
While trying to calm her trembling heart and pretending to know, shockingly, the boy didn't remember her at all. He treated the girl like a complete stranger.
'What? I said I would never forget...'
As a Kiara with a fiery nature, her pride was naturally hurt.
Nevertheless, Kiara, who was as tenacious as her fiery nature, didn't give up easily. She did everything to attract Jade's attention.
With the certainty that she would remember the words she had spat out.
Even if she didn't remember, she consoled herself by saying it's okay.
From now on, she would make sure to imprint her existence.
But since she was ahead in her feelings, the method was a bit aggressive.
Like a flame burning its own body to prove its existence....
If the flames are too fierce, they burn the surroundings too.
- Really tenacious, you.
The actions he took to attract attention were rather poison.
Clumsy goodwill was distorted into interference, and efforts to stand out often failed.
In the end, their relationship could only deteriorate to the worst.
Nevertheless, there was a day when she believed the relationship would improve someday.
- Jade, is that you? I heard you took a leave of absence?
When she heard that he had suddenly left the academy, Kiara felt as if the world had collapsed.
Since she believed there would always be opportunities during her time at the academy because they had a dramatic reunion, it was a naive thought.
It was a naive thought.
The moment she realized that she might never meet Jade again, the shock she received was significant.
Of course, Kiara, although her personality was fiery, wasn't so clingy as to be swayed by love.
In the academy where meritocracy reigned, if you were careless even a little, you would be eliminated.
On top of that, after tasting the humiliating defeat that changed her life completely, she decided not to dwell on the past anymore.
Swoosh.
She cut her hair that she had been growing all along and vowed to start anew.
By training only sharpening the blade of revenge, two years passed in the blink of an eye.
By the time memories of him gradually faded....
Right today.
Like that day he suddenly left, suddenly Jade returned.
'Ah....'
The moment she saw his familiar face, Kiara almost burst into tears.
At first, she doubted her eyes, but no matter how she looked, the boy with azure eyes was definitely Jade Netherpike.
Although the fact that he was sitting next to the top student of the year, whom she didn't know, was a bit bothersome....
Since she wanted to talk separately, when lunch time came, she searched the entire academy and finally found him lying on the grass field.
- Who are you?
And like a deja vu, the situation that arose made Kiara feel as if a dagger was stuck in her heart.
At first, she thought it was a joke, but when she realized it was said sincerely, the shock was even greater.
'Happily, this time I remembered....'
I don't know how she forgets so easily every time, but it was okay.
Since she had committed many sins, starting over from the beginning wasn't so bad.
But strangely.
She suddenly acted so sweetly, as if she had forgotten all the past mistakes....
On the one hand, it was happy, but on the other hand, she couldn't control her emotions even more.
'Shame. I promised to do well this time....'
The reason the chaotic feeling was relieved was, ironically, because of one line from Jade that made her run away.
"You suit the bob cut well...?"
Kiara touched the tip of her hair and muttered softly.
Her lips unconsciously curved up.