The Aftermath of Violence
"Ugh…"
A pained groan filled the space.
When he forced his eyes open, the lackey he always kept by his side was staring at him with worried eyes.
"Tenor, you awake?"
"Jake…? Why am I…"
He flinched. Something was restricting his neck.
A cast?
He couldn't lower his head. Glancing downward, he saw his legs were also encased in thick casts, completely immobilized.
"What the hell happened?"
Confusion washed over him. Coming to his senses only to find himself practically a cripple…
"Hang on a sec. I'll go get the doctor."
"Ah, yeah."
Jake fretted his way out of the hospital room. Tenor carefully pieced together what had happened in the meantime. The scene that surfaced was…
A ten-year-old kid kicking his knee—a horrific crack—and him crumpling forward. Then a blow to the back of his neck, and everything going black.
Recalling it brought back the sensation of his leg joint bending the wrong way, sending chills racing down his spine.
Crazy. How could a ten-year-old brat…
His body wasn't so weak that a kick from a ten-year-old would shatter his knee…
Or was it? Had he been weak?
He'd grown arrogant. Thinking no one at school could beat him anymore had made him complacent.
And the words the doctor who came in next said to him were quite the shock.
"If you'd arrived at the hospital even a little later, you might have lost the use of your leg permanently."
"What?"
If he'd been even a bit later, he'd have been on crutches for the rest of his life.
"Jake, you're my benefactor."
I nodded silently at Tenor's mutter.
His benefactor, huh…
Honestly, it didn't feel bad. Benefactor to Tenor, the number one at our school. With this, my standing at school!
As I was smiling inwardly, Tenor asked in his deep voice,
"Come to think of it, you didn't get hurt at all?"
I froze.
"What happened to that brat?"
He probably wasn't asking out of pure curiosity. Proof was in how his eyes were blazing with fire.
How should I answer…?
I told Tenor that I'd thoroughly taught that brat a lesson. As proof, I showed him I hadn't lost any money at all, and he seemed to buy it more or less.
Tenor had been taken down so fast he had no idea how crazy that girl was. Even while unleashing that level of violence, her eyes and breathing never once faltered as she threatened them—blood dripping from her umbrella!
In fact, the other two besides Tenor were still in comas…
Since then, Tenor had been training hard. When asked, he said he'd realized he was still weak.
Somehow, Tenor was asking me how I trained.
Hmm, training? I never did any of that. I just stuck close to Tenor, the number one, and put on airs enough to become number two. Aside from being born a bit sturdy, there was nothing to it.
Muscles? This is all fat. When I wear clothes, it weirdly looks like muscle, and drunk on that image, I always wear long sleeves even when it's hot. Thanks to that, I look pretty tough. Otherwise, there's no way I'd be number two without ever fighting once.
But the truth is, I'm fucking weak.
But I'd already told Tenor I beat up that brat… so he clearly thought I was stronger than him. What now…
…I don't know. Damn it.
"Well, even if I told you, you couldn't properly work out with that leg anyway. Just focus on recovering."
"Yeah, Jake. You're right."
Tenor chuckled.
This is driving me nuts. Should I search how to exercise starting today?
As I fretted over that, I spotted that nerd who'd tried to take money last time.
This is all that nerd bastard's fault! I told Tenor I had business with the guy and stood up.
As I approached, the nerd let out a "Hieek!" and hunched his shoulders.
Yeah, this is why I can't quit this. This superiority!
He hurriedly turned away and pretended to look at his phone to avoid my gaze. I snatched his phone with a sly grin.
Tak.
"Hey, relax. What, you think I'm gonna eat you or something?"
But the nerd wasn't the same as before. Sensing something off, I checked the phone.
On it was…
"……"
A photo of me on my knees, bawling in front of a ten-year-old brat.
When the hell was this taken?
My face burned hot as cold sweat broke out. I immediately deleted the photo and grabbed him by the collar.
Then, in a tiny voice, he said,
"I backed it up."
……
This slimy little… His initiative is killer.
I imagined what would happen if that photo reached Tenor's eyes. If he found out I'd lied… I'd be totally fucked. Tenor wasn't school number one for nothing.
He was super friendly to me now, but only because he thought I was his benefactor. He believed he'd been able to get his leg treated in time thanks to me teaching that kid a lesson.
But if it was just a scrap of mercy the kid tossed out like charity…
Gulp.
I returned the phone, kicked a desk for no reason, and went back to sit next to Tenor.
He asked me,
"What's up?"
"Nah, nothing."
Damn it, I can't shake people down for money anymore…
When Luke arrived home, Yerna was there. In casual clothes, looking a bit more disheveled than usual for Yerna, she seemed quite tired.
"I'm home, Yerna."
"Ah, Lu. Weren't you staying overnight at the dorm with a friend today? You said you'd use the music room too."
"Haha, that place has become unusable for a while."
Luke stuck the umbrella in the stand, leaned the cello against the wall, and stepped inside. Removing the blazer and hanging it on a hanger, Luke said,
"There's something I wanted to ask you as well."
"Something you want to ask me?"
Yerna tilted her head. What could Lu be curious about regarding her? Nothing particular came to mind.
After a short wait, Luke changed into comfortable clothes, sat beside Yerna, and asked,
"The children say there are no spirits."
Yerna felt her heart drop.
"…What? Who says there are no spirits?"
"All the children said so. It seemed like it was 'common knowledge' to them."
Luke continued seriously.
"But didn't you tell me? That spirits exist in the world, and they simply aren't visible to those who aren't their friends."
"Th-that was…? Y-yeah, I did!"
Yerna had just made it up on the spot and barely remembered, yet the kids remembered it so well.
"But common knowledge says otherwise. Did you lie to me?"
Luke's expression was utterly pure. Which only made the guilt stab deeper.
"Tell me the truth, Yerna."
At Luke's urging, Yerna averted her eyes and mumbled as if she were a criminal.
"Y-yeah… I lied."
Luke was considerably shocked by Yerna's words. He'd thought it was just an era where spirit affinity was rare, but an era where spirits didn't exist at all? Realizing this fact so late left Luke thoroughly flustered.
In that case, many things he'd taken for granted about spirits remained as questions. Why no one but himself could see spirits, why there was no way to prove they possessed intelligence, why spirits had lost their intellect and forms and fallen to mere fairy-tale stories… and so on.
These were questions he'd never once harbored before. All because he'd believed Yerna's lie.
A taboo a mage must never commit. Accepting another's claim without criticism. Because he'd thought Yerna had no reason to lie to him.
"…Why on earth?"
"That's…"
I don't know. Why did I do that back then!
But my heart was too soft to crush a child's innocence. I never imagined innocence would shatter like this from an unexpected place. If I'd known, I could never have said earlier that there are no spirits, that it's your illusion and imaginary friend!
Ugh, I really am no good at raising kids…
I want to cry.
"It was hard to see that look on your face…"
"Yerna."
At Luke's call, Yerna had no choice but to raise her head.
"What other lies have you told me?"
Luke's expression looked resolute.
"Other…?"
Yerna thought carefully. What other lies had she told?
As her thoughts dragged on, Luke asked,
"Is everything you said about Renier the truth?"
Luke's expression was firm, but his eyes held a sliver of hope. Yerna almost offhandedly said that was a lie too… but held back.
"That's true."
"I see… as I thought. I'd held a little hope."
Luke's face visibly drooped. Seeing that, Yerna hugged Luke's head and said,
"I'm sorry for lying, Lu. Back then, I didn't want to see you make that face. From now on, I'll never lie to you again."
"Yerna…"
There's no need to go this far all of a sudden.
Luke quickly slipped out of Yerna's embrace. To the slightly disappointed Yerna, Luke said,
"Still, I'm not angry with you, so rest easy."
"That's a relief then…"
Common knowledge is merely convention, not truth. Pai hadn't actually disappeared, after all. Rather, if one researched why spirits had vanished, in the future one might recreate a nature where spirits frolicked once more.
Luke opened his mouth to convey this news to Yerna.
"Oh, right. Yerna."
"Hm?"
"Spirits do actually exist. Look forward to later. In the future, you might be able to see spirits for real as well."
With that, Luke went into the room.
At the child's confident and cute declaration, Yerna simply smiled and nodded.
"…Pfft, yeah. I will. Looking forward to it."
Yerna relaxed and took a deep breath.
"Hm?"
But what was this smell? To Yerna, the scent of 'blood' was all too clear. With long combat experience, Yerna was more sensitive to that smell than anyone. She couldn't have mistaken or missed it.
And the source of the smell was, needless to say, Luke's school uniform.
Yerna immediately stood and searched Luke's blazer.
A bloodstained handkerchief…?
Why is this here?