My Name is 'Misa' -1-

◎You have qualified to access the hidden side story.◎ 〈666th Side Story〉 In Its True Form…. -Would you like to view it?

I thought that if I just found the key, all the misfortune would end. The ensuing nightmares too. Even living for justice. I thought that if I just had the key, that story would come to an end.

"Haa..."

Mihail swallowed a deep breath to calm his troubled heart. The time had come to hear the answer to the efforts he'd poured into that one hope.

His mind wouldn't settle easily. This was the reward for all his efforts so far. With the hope he'd have staked his life to know right before his eyes, Mihail nodded, exhaling a trembling breath.

"I'll view it."

Mihail envisioned a happy future. And that hope crumbled.

Returning to the mansion, I swallowed a deep breath in the dark room.

"...My mouth's itching."

There was a limit to keeping the secret I'd been putting off and delaying. Blocked by the hill called restrictions, I couldn't play this secret game forever. Staring at the status window before me, I gave a bitter smile.

"I'm not the type who listens well to begin with."

Even as a kid, when the Young Lady drew on the bed sheets, I'd spread rumors all over the mansion. Now, this restriction itching at the possessor's lips stirred pointless defiance.

"This is suddenly pissing me off."

I'd never really listened to the status window even when it hadn't done much for me, yet here I was being cautious for all sorts of reasons—it felt like I'd lost my original spirit, which annoyed me a bit.

"...Should I just blurt it out?"

The impulsive thought crossed my mind, but I shook my head with a hollow laugh.

No, I held back because I hate the hassle.... It should be fine to tell her later.

If Mihail's awakening got delayed, I'd be the one facing the most hassle, so I shook my head and sighed.

"Mm..."

Fine, let's see what this restriction is. How amazing must it be for them to hide it so tightly? Staring at the status window, I felt a surge of curiosity.

The reward from the quest I'd completed while serving as a short-term instructor in Hamel last time. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Looking at the reward I'd been putting off, I nodded slightly and said,

"I'll view it."

Lacing my words with a warning that I'd blow it off if it was nothing serious, I familiarly accepted the darkening of my vision.

* Vision blacks out.

Maybe because I'd been through it once before, I wasn't too surprised. First times are always the hardest, after all.

I wonder what it'll show this time.

Honestly, I wasn't expecting much. It felt weird to anticipate something like this, and I could roughly guess what would happen anyway. Shock. Regret. Apology. That's all, I figured. The process would just be long enough to cause issues with the awakening.

I felt my darkened vision slowly brighten and lifted my head. Soon, I let out a hollow laugh at the sight of myself standing in a familiar space.

Ha.

A familiar building. Frozen people. And in the center of their gazes, me and the Young Lady.

Fuck...

The moment I opened my eyes, a curse slipped out. There were no good memories in that place.

A god's shitty hobby naturally drew out the profanity.

The courtroom. The place where we'd met our end at the academy—I was standing there.

I could see the Young Lady glaring at the crowd with an expression ready to explode, and my own face, fists clenched, holding back anger.

Shartia, facing the committee chair. Witnesses: Mihail, Yuria, the crown prince, Ruin.

Gathered together after so long, they stared coldly at our past selves. And I stared coldly at their frozen past selves.

...I don't even know how to take this.

I'd thought I was over it, but seeing myself there from a third-person view brought a hollow laugh.

Really... it's fucking awful.

Standing still there for a while, I squeezed my eyes shut and recalled the past events.

Recalling the denunciations, scoldings, and curses from that day, a melancholic mood settled in. Regret crept in that I should've cursed them out more back then.

We hadn't even started yet, and my mood was already sour. I exhaled calmly and lifted my head.

Getting angry wouldn't change anything, but I still had a long way to go before becoming a true adult.

Time flowed on. The seemingly stagnant time painfully dragged its feet, clumsily leaping forward to convey the truth called 'restriction.'

The moment boredom set in during the wait—

A cold voice cautiously announced the start of the tale.

"A. Ah..."

Shartia's voice rang out. The student council president's strong, icy tone echoed through the hall, signaling the start of the recollection to my ears in the center.

"We will now commence the 307th Academy Countermeasures Committee meeting."

At Shartia's voice heralding judgment on the wicked villainess, the audience began to murmur.

"Young Lady..."

"I told you, Ricardo."

"..."

"If they do well, they climb endlessly? They could make it worse, even kill, but holding back got us this mess."

"Young Lady."

"I'll kill them."

The whispering voices of our past selves quietly echoed. Our voices from that day—the most unjust, yet starring us—rang out without drawing anyone's attention.

Shartia silently carried out her duty.

"The incident under review today is the violence, verbal abuse, intimidation, bullying by first-year Olivia on May 15th, and the decision on disciplinary action for her use of black magic."

I hadn't realized back then.

- Murmurs.

- Again?

- The rumors are already everywhere.

I hadn't known their gazes toward us were that blatant. From a third-person view, seeing everyone made it feel like a knife piercing my skin—there were no allies for us in this courtroom.

I knew that already, though. I let out a hollow laugh, watching the vein-popping Young Lady and my past self worrying over her, a awkward smile on my face.

Haa...

Students claiming victimhood stepped up as witnesses one by one.

"Yes, Olivia ordered all of it..."

"I did order it, but you all did it too!"

"Kyaaak!"

"Ricardo, make that bitch kneel right now."

The courtroom's atmosphere darkened at the Young Lady's unfiltered reaction, and public opinion naturally flowed against us.

I wasn't wronged. We'd done it, after all. Even now, I didn't want to argue it was a false accusation. I just regretted not cursing out those witnesses back then.

I had no intention of playing hero, so I shook off the dark emotions and silently watched the past unfold.

The next witness was Yuria.

"First-year Yuria. Can you speak about the situation where Olivia intimidated and bullied you?"

- Nods.

Then Mihail.

"First-year Mihail. Can you testify about Olivia's misdeeds?"

"Yes, and I'll testify about that man, Ricardo, as well."

As the traces of misdeeds piled up one by one, the Young Lady and my past self naturally fell silent, at a loss for words.

The Young Lady, blinded by the spell of love, shed tears at the betrayal of those she trusted. My past self, who'd shown mercy as ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a 'best chance,' gave a bitter smile, waiting for the trial to end.

And then.

"We will now announce the decision. The academy student council executives hereby order 'expulsion' for Olivia, the primary instigator, one month of reflection and a one-year ban from ranking matches for Ricardo, who participated and acquiesced."

The moment the verdict fell, all the denunciations and scoldings from that day poured down on me.

"What did I even do wrong!"

The Young Lady's outrage.

"Get out!"

The students' resentment.

And the condemnations from those we'd trusted rained down.

That day's me laughed and flipped them off, but one man followed ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠me to the end, spewing curses.

"You won't apologize to the end?"

To Mihail, who appeared just as he had back then, I stood with a stinging smile.

And as always, I answered with a smile.

The viewpoint shifted. To that day, the second time I'd saved Mihail from 'Fung.'

"Don't act all high and mighty."

And that day, I gave a different answer from the past.

"Mihail."

"..."

"I'm disappointed."

"What's there to be ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠disappointed about? I never wanted help from the likes of you—"

"Lee Min-hyuk."

"Huh?"

"Don't you remember?"

Mihail's face began to crack.

* That time.

Mihail began to breathe in another future shown by the blue window.

"I..."

The boy's face, shrouded in black, started to reveal itself.

Mihail slowly raised his head, fists clenched.

Beneath the academy fountain.

Hearing the man who called him 'that one' speak.

Mihail clenched his fists.

"Actually, I..."

And then.

Wha...?