You're So Cute

"Wow~ Well, there's nothing for it. Total defeat. Absolute defeat."

"....To think the likes of a 1-Star is attending Luin Academy."

I set down the sparring sword in my hand and raised my palm with a pleasant smile.

The student who'd been sparring with me muttered under his breath, as if my reaction didn't sit well with him.

At the same time, class came to an end.

For someone like me who'd only been putting in a moderate best effort, it was truly welcome news.

Wearing a bright smile, I returned the sparring sword and prepared to head home.

Ah, that aside, my whole body ached. Was it because I'd thrown myself into that good deed yesterday? Honestly, I'd never worked my body this hard in my entire life.

I didn't even know what state I was in right now.

Maybe it'd get better if I just rested a bit?

With those thoughts drifting through my mind, I was about to leave for home.

"Shion."

Shiina, with her flowing blue hair, called out to stop me just as I was about to head back.

Even with my body feeling heavy as lead, the moment I saw her face, the fatigue seemed to melt away like snow.

Along with that, countless jealous gazes poured down on me from every direction.

I could understand it. Shiina was popular, after all.

Her beautiful appearance, upright character, and yet that air of mystery that kept everyone at a distance only made her stand out all the more.

But for some reason, Shiina's expression right now was a little stiff.

Almost like a teenage girl who was nervous about something.

Seeing her face set like that brought back how she'd gone rigid and vanished without a word yesterday, and it weighed on me.

Was her calling me over now related to that?

"....Shiina?"

She hesitated for a moment at the sound of my voice, then carefully asked,

"Shion, are you tired?"

"No, no! School's just ended—if I were already exhausted, I'd be a scarecrow, not a person. What did you need?"

Oops. Had my fatigue shown that plainly on my face?

I didn't want to worry her for nothing, so I needed to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠be careful.

"Um.... do you have a little time?"

"Haha, for you, Shiina, I'd make time even if I didn't have any."

I forced a smile while hiding any trace of weariness. With the trait Deceiver, I wouldn't get found out.

"Ah.... if you don't have time, you really don't have to force yourself. I'm sorry. I brought it up for no reason."

Shiina's face stiffened slightly as she spoke.

The way she took every single one of my words so seriously was both amusing and adorable. This was exactly why I talked with her.

"Kgh, it's just a figure of speech. Let me give you a piece of advice as a friend, Shiina. If you take what people say at face value like that, you're going to get burned someday."

"....As long as you don't say things like that, Shion, I'll never get burned."

Only then realizing she'd been had, Shiina scrunched her face a little and muttered.

Even with her face wrinkled like that, she somehow stayed charming. It was honestly unfair.

"Haha, I'll try my best."

"....I really can't trust that. Haah, so the conclusion is that you do have time?"

"Of course. If it weren't for you, Shiina, I wouldn't even have a proper friend."

"Th-that's hard to decide whether to be happy or sad about. Anyway, if that's the case, how about we move somewhere else? I have something to discuss..."

Shiina glanced around, trailing off at the end.

Most of the students on their way home were watching our little exchange.

"Let's move somewhere a bit more private. This isn't a conversation for a public place."

The moment Shiina said that, the students reacted as if they'd just witnessed a celebrity's secret rendezvous.

".....Hah!!"

"Did you hear that? The Ice Princess Lady Astorius just asked Shion to come with her alone!"

"Damn it.... That Shion bastard, just because he was born into a good house... What's so great about a pretty-boy like him."

"If they're talking in secret.... could it be?"

I'd been about to answer her with my usual smooth banter when the flood of voices from every side made me miss the timing completely.

That said, my classmates seemed to be jumping to some rather wild conclusions. Not that I felt embarrassed about it.

I'd graduated high school four or five years ago already—if something like this made me flustered, I'd be failing at acting my age.

Of course, the fact that I was teasing people like this in the first place already meant I'd thrown acting my age out the window.

"....."

Unlike me, who didn't care in the slightest, Shiina seemed thoroughly embarrassed by their misunderstandings.

I could see her pure white cheeks turning redder by the second.

Wow, an openly flustered Shiina was rare. This was a precious sight.

"Hmm? Shiina, your face is suddenly turning red. Are you not feeling we—"

"J-just follow me!"

"Wha—!"

Now the color of a ripe tomato, Shiina roughly grabbed my arm and took off running.

Extreme pain shot through my arm as the people around us rapidly receded into the distance.

She really was ridiculously fast. No wonder she was a 4-Star swordswoman.

That aside, the world was spinning in front of my eyes.

I was already tired and drained, and being treated like a windmill flapping in midair was far too cruel.

Save me, Shiina....!

Shiina's charge only stopped once we reached a quiet corner of Luin Academy's public park.

"....This should be far enough."

"Urgh... Shiina. I'm sorry...!"

"Ah. I-I'm sorry. I got carried away without realizing...!"

It looked deliberate no matter how you sliced it, but her flustered, fidgeting appearance was entertaining enough that I decided to let it go.

That said, this was my first time actually coming to this park myself.

The flowers blooming in neat patterns here and there were beautiful.

With every class having just ended, the lack of people only enhanced the atmosphere.

"I'll accept your apology even if I have to get down on my knees for it. So, what secret conversation requires a secluded spot like this?"

".....It's nothing like that."

"Nothing like what? I have no idea what you're talking about."

Having finally realized she was being teased again, Shiina pouted her lips a little and grumbled. She'd grown, hadn't she?

But right after, her expression hardened once more, just like before.

I was dying of curiosity about what she wanted to say so badly that it put that look on her face.

"Um.... so, that is. Well....."

Shiina's face flushed deep red as her eyes darted all over the place.

"Th-that is... Shion, are you.... I mean....."

After hesitating for a long moment, she finally squeezed her eyes shut and practically shouted,

"A-are you and Lady Charlotte dating?!"

Her face was completely scarlet as she forced the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠words out.

Watching her for a moment, I roughly understood why she'd been walking around with that stiff expression since yesterday.

Seeing your one and only friend getting along well with someone else—especially a girl—could easily spark that kind of jealous reaction.

It was pure and youthful, perfectly suited to her age.

A jealous Shiina was something I'd never once seen in the game. This was rare. I needed to store it carefully in my head.

"I never imagined you were paying that kind of attention to me, Shiina. This is rather embarrassing."

"I-it's not like that! It's just.... augh...."

Shiina was falling apart.

That clumsy inability to properly put her feelings into words was unbearably cute.

".....Well, of course. You two seem so much closer than we are. And before I knew it, you started calling each other by name."

I grabbed the laughter trying to escape my mouth by the scruff of the neck and forced it back down, then managed to speak.

"Haha. It's a misunderstanding, Shiina. Someone as plain as me dating Lady Charlotte? Impossible. As you know, Lady Charlotte has a very easygoing personality, so we just got close quickly. My first friend will always be you, Shiina."

".....Is that so?"

"It is. Don't you trust me? We're friends, aren't we?"

"If you say so, Shion. All right. Then..... may I ask one more thing?"

"What is it?"

"I told you before that I can see the special powers people possess, didn't I?"

"You did."

"I clearly sensed two special powers from you, Shion. But precisely yesterday, I began to feel a power of a higher level from you than before."

Shiina continued.

"What's even more surprising is.... that power grew even stronger today. As if it had advanced a full step forward. If the previous one shone with a violet light... the new power you gained is shining gold."

Hmm.... from what she was describing, Shiina had probably seen my Wanderer class.

Wanderer was a legendary grade, superior to both Retaliation and Deceiver, so of course it would feel more advanced to her than what she'd sensed from me before.

And the fact that this power—in other words, Wanderer—had grown stronger was almost certainly because I'd awakened Enlightenment yesterday while throwing myself into saving Elice.

It had really come out of nowhere. Just trying to save one person and I'd gained enlightenment from it.

Apparently defying my own nature granted me realizations.... which was rather inconvenient.

I had to go against my nature, yet I didn't even know what that nature was.

If knowing ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠what kind of being you were yourself were easy, every last person would be a monk already.

As long as I didn't know my own nature, intentionally gaining enlightenment was impossible.

My own nature, huh. I had no idea how long it would take to find it, but it certainly wouldn't come easily.

"Haha, the word 'growth' really doesn't suit me at all."

I scratched my cheek while vaguely looking off toward a distant mountain.

I was torn over whether I should reveal this Wanderer class to Shiina, and if I did, how on earth I was supposed to explain it.

The concept of a "class" was strictly game system terminology.

To explain it to someone who existed inside the game, I'd have to come up with some fitting analogy....

"You don't want to tell me?"

"Th-that's not it..."

When I tried to dodge the subject, Shiina gently lowered her gaze and puffed out her cheeks the tiniest bit.

".....Even though we're friends."

....Devastating destructive power! The ever-mature and proper Shiina throwing a little tantrum?

Faced with an ambush I never saw coming, I had no choice but to raise the white flag.

"Originally I wasn't planning to tell anyone.... but since you're my first friend, Shiina, I'll tell you. In return, you can't tell a soul, all right?"

"Of course!"

Shiina's previously dejected eyes sparkled brightly. Was she excited by the feeling of sharing a secret with a friend?

"Two days ago, the spirit Merquin gave me a blessing, remember? Using that blessing as a catalyst, I awakened a new power. The power of a Wanderer. Thanks to it, I've become able to pull off all sorts of little tricks."

"Tricks, as in..."

"Hmm, Shiina. Could you hide your right hand behind your back? So I can't see it."

Shiina obediently hid her hand behind her back as requested.

"Now, open as many fingers as you like. I'll try to guess how many you've opened."

Looking puzzled about what I was even talking about, Shiina soon spread her fingers as asked.

Two.

"Two."

"....Did you just guess?"

"You're quite the skeptic, Shiina. If you can't even trust a friend like that... Well, if you really don't believe me, why not try again?"

"You won't get it this time."

Four.

"Four."

"...."

Without a word, Shiina moved her fingers again. This time it was one.

"One."

"....Have you awakened the ability to read minds or something?!"

Every time I called out a number, her eyes grew wider, until she finally showed a small look of shock.

Heh, this really was satisfying. My fatigue had completely vanished.

"It's not that. How should I put it.... more like the ability to cram every single phenomenon happening in my surroundings straight into my head?"

"Oh.... so not only can you read an opponent's movements, it would also be extremely useful for grasping the situation around you."

"Though the side effect is that my head starts throbbing pretty badly."

"Still... I'm jealous. Next semester, I absolutely will receive a blessing no matter what."

Shiina clenched her fist and made a firm resolution. Someone of her caliber would have no trouble receiving a blessing.

Maybe I should yield the next one to her.

"Ah, and that's not all."

"There's yet another ability?"

"There's one more I only just awakened yesterday. Want to know?"

It wasn't a lie.

Yesterday, when I'd gained a new Enlightenment—in other words, a realization—one more ability I could use as a Wanderer had appeared.

"I do."

Shiina's eyes went wide as she ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠looked at me with a face full of expectation.

When someone expected something of you, you had to answer it.

"Lean your ear a little closer."

Shiina carefully brought her ear toward me.

"It's...."

"It's?"

I answered in a whisper against her ear.

"A secret."

I couldn't see it, but I was pretty sure Shiina's expression had just withered on the spot.