Entrusting Each Other's Backs
"Uh... why are you coming out from there?"
"So you're speaking of military support."
"Yes. At this rate, Luin Academy will suffer irreversible damage. The seeds of the Praon Kingdom will be trampled without mercy. With the enemy's forces already superior to the academy's, even if I told them the truth it would mean little—and I doubt they'd believe me in the first place."
"True enough. A single student claiming that a force capable of wiping out an entire major city is on the way... not many would lend a serious ear."
"In the end, the only one who would listen is you, Father. If you refuse to act, Luin Academy will..."
"Shion."
Andres called my name.
"I understand your urgency, but look at reality a little more clearly. You can imagine the cost of mobilizing the troops that are meant to protect our territory, gathering them in one place, and transporting every last one of them all the way to Luin Academy—just on the strength of your word."
"........"
"We would pour out a fortune to complete every step of that process, only for the enemy to notice our movements and simply postpone the attack. Then the Frelia family would have been digging holes in empty air."
"In other words, according to what you're saying, we either need a way to move the troops without the enemy detecting it, or a method that lets the forces arrive the instant the attack begins."
"Exactly. But that is far easier said than done. Realistically, the only option is long-range teleportation—yet among the already difficult spatial magics, long-range teleportation sits at the absolute peak, and no one in the Frelia family can use it."
Andres was telling me, in practical terms, that military support was impossible.
At that moment, however, I flashed a broad grin and spoke.
"What if I could solve that problem?"
"...I understand how badly you want to stop the attack, but do not make promises you cannot keep."
"I know when to joke and when not to."
I raised my index finger.
"Luckily, I made a good connection at the academy—someone who freely uses portal magic that links space to space. If I borrow my friend's power, we can transport the troops to the academy the very moment the attack begins."
Andres furrowed his brow slightly and asked again.
"You're telling me someone capable of such extraordinary magic is enrolled at Luin Academy as a student?"
He spoke as if he could hardly believe it. That only proved how absurdly powerful Charlotte's magic truly was.
"Haha. I've always had good luck with people. Fortune let me form a deep bond with her."
"A deep bond, you say... Is this person a female student, by any chance?"
"Huh? Yes, she is..."
Andres brought a hand to his chin and muttered.
"...Not only did you become friends with the Hero's little sister, but now you've formed a deep bond with a girl who freely wields spatial magic. Our son is going to have quite a rough time ahead."
"Ahem. I'm not sure I follow."
I shrugged, casually looking off into empty space.
"Very well. I know you're not the sort to joke about something this serious. I'll station soldiers in readiness for the attack, should it truly come. And of course, I'll go with them."
"What? You're going too, Father? You're the pillar of the family. If anything were to happen to you, the family could reel from the blow—and I would never be able to hold my head up again."
"I'm well aware."
Andres nodded calmly.
"But that doesn't mean I can simply watch my soldiers die. Every enemy skull I crush with my own fists is one more of my men who lives. I have no intention of cowardly hiding behind the title of family head."
"But..."
"And Shion—you've forgotten one perfectly obvious fact."
He gave a short laugh and tapped my shoulder.
"Isn't it only natural that parents protect their children with their own bodies? Don't worry. I may not look it now, but I was once called a war hero."
Then he gestured for me to follow and walked past me.
"It's been a while—let's share a meal. You must be worn out after riding a carriage all night."
I watched Andres's back as it gradually receded.
It was a strange feeling, somehow.
Andres was not my real father; he was only Shion's father.
Yet for some reason, the father I had already lost on Earth seemed to overlap with him.
"What are you standing there for? Aren't you coming?"
Andres, hands clasped behind his back, spoke to me as I stood dazed.
"...I'm coming now."
I forced down the lump rising in my chest and followed, etching that impossibly broad back into my eyes.
After breakfast with Andres, we spent a long while discussing the impending attack in detail. I briefed him more thoroughly on the enemy's strength, and we talked at length about how many troops to commit against them.
When three o'clock rolled around, I boarded the carriage Andres had prepared and returned to Luin Academy. The journey took four hours, so it was now seven in the evening.
I ate a light dinner, stopped by my dormitory for a bath, and then headed for Charlotte's room. I needed to tell her that Andres had promised support—and that her ability would be essential for that support to work.
— Knock knock knock.
"Charlotte-noonim. It's me."
I knocked and called her name.
As usual I expected a great crash and a long wait, yet contrary to my prediction the door opened at once.
There was just one thing I could not understand.
"Miss Shiina?"
Why was she here?
Had I come to the wrong dorm? Why was Shiina opening the door instead of Charlotte?
"......"
And why did she look as if she might burst into tears at any second?
"Miss Shiina, is something the mat—"
Just as I was about to ask if she was all right—
— Slap!!!
My cheek was struck.
"......Shion-kun is a liar."
I came to my senses in the sudden chaos and stared blankly at Shiina. Her arms trembled as she spoke.
"...You told me that if I ever had worries I should tell you, that we would worry about them together. So why... why did you stay silent to the end and suffer alone? Do I look like a child to you?"
Clear tears spilled in a single line down her flushed face.
"Or is it... that Shion-kun doesn't even think of me as a friend?"
Far behind her I could see Charlotte gazing off at a distant mountain and scratching her cheek.
Even after I had begged her, it seemed Charlotte had gone and told Shiina about the attack.
"Of course not. No matter what anyone says, Miss Shiina is my first friend. I simply didn't want you to get hurt..."
"Don't you understand that I feel the same? I don't want to see Shion-kun get hurt either. Yet you try to solve every problem alone... How much more do you intend to tear my heart before you're satisfied?"
Ah.
Hearing her words, I finally understood what I had done wrong.
Under the pretext of protecting the people precious to me, I had failed to consider their feelings at all.
I had kept calling Shiina my first friend, yet I had never grasped what was in her heart. At this rate I had no right to call her a friend.
How foolish I had been.
"...I was shortsighted."
I bowed my head toward Shiina and apologized.
"Just as I worry about you, of course you would worry about me. I acted far too selfishly. I'm sorry."
"...Do you finally understand?"
Shiina's eyes glittered, reflecting her tears.
"I'll say it again: I am Shion-kun's first friend. That is something I will never yield to anyone. So whenever you need help, please tell me."
The tears that had gathered on her lashes finally rolled free. She buried her face against my chest and pulled me into an embrace.
"I am not someone Shion-kun must protect."
"......."
"And Shion-kun is not someone I must protect either."
She lifted her head from my arms and met my gaze.
"Instead... what if we entrust our backs to each other and fight together?"
Warmed by the kindness of a girl who thought of me so deeply, I answered with a gentle smile.
"Just imagining it is wonderful."
"...I knew you'd say that."
Shiina, who had been on the verge of tears, murmured with a shy little smile.
And then—
".......You two, that's enough."
A lovely black-haired girl approached from behind Shiina, wearing a faint scowl.
Wait—that was Alice. You were here too?
I was beginning to seriously doubt whether Charlotte truly understood the meaning of the word "promise."