Lumine (1)
Several days passed. The group including Ellie no longer tried to get involved with me. Even Ellie, who used to exchange occasional greetings, now just bowed her head weakly whenever she saw me ignoring her. As for Alpendir? Who knows. I'd heard he'd started showing up at the training grounds with Serphina lately for some reason, but I had no idea after that. Not that I cared. Anyway, with no one bothering me anymore, I lived according to my routine, just like before my regression.
When classes ended, I headed straight to the training grounds and swung my sword until sunset, then returned to the dormitory to refine my aura. Why did Her Imperial Majesty regress me to this exact point in time?
I pondered amid the repeating pattern of my days. If she wanted to keep me away from Ellie, she could have sent me back to some distant past before our paths ever crossed. As a prime candidate for Northern Grand Duke, it would have been far more efficient to build real combat experience in the North rather than stacking specs at the academy.
...She wouldn't have dropped me here without a reason.
Her Imperial Majesty was wise. Sometimes eerily so, as if she knew the future. If she'd intentionally sent me here, it meant I had a role to play at this academy.
...Truly, matching your gaze is a burdensome task.
I headed to the rooftop to organize my thoughts. Pushing open the door revealed a vast, cloudless sky filling my view. A cool breeze drifted in below it. I leaned against the railing. The neither cold nor warm metal pressed against my palms. I looked down.
The peaceful academy grounds stretched out below. Students gathered in groups, chatting; some had spread out snacks and burst into laughter. In one corner of the lawn, petals scattered on the wind amid light laughter. I stood there blankly watching everyone enjoy this brief respite in their own ways.
Then, suddenly, another scene overlapped it. Laughter turned to screams, scattering petals to ash and blood droplets. Streets engulfed in flames, collapsing buildings, corpses strewn haphazardly. Places teeming with people moments ago were now buried under unrecognizable rubble. And then—the thudding hooves of monsters trampling over it all...
"Could you perhaps step aside a bit?"
A voice called out. This wasn't my rooftop, so of course someone else might be here. But I turned anyway because the voice sounded familiar.
Black hair, compact hamster-like features—a petite girl. As I shifted aside, she hopped up onto the railing.
"Thanks. Great view from here."
"What exactly are you looking at?"
"Hmm... just the school scenery?"
I had no idea what she meant. Either way, it couldn't look that different from here or there.
"Light reflects off the glass, you know. Step out of the right angle, and you can't see inside the opposite building."
"And what do you do staring that intently?"
"...Eh. Just people-watching? It's fun."
I glanced at her profile. A blue bruise shadowed her eye, her lip swollen. Every time the breeze brushed her face, she winced.
...Someone beat her one-sidedly.
This academy showed no mercy to the weak. She was probably one of the victims. That struck me as odd. I knew her. And the her in my memories wasn't someone who got beaten around.
"Nice weather today, huh?"
Lumine. The future leader of the revolutionary army that threatened the empire—the trickiest opponent I'd ever faced. That's who the girl before me was.
In the empire's central square, the executions of revolutionaries—who had hidden in the empire's shadows for ages, plotting rebellion—were underway. I stood atop the scaffold, looking down.
The square was already packed, though the ceremony had just begun. The crowd buzzed with excitement, as if it were some entertaining spectacle.
"Congratulations."
A voice drew my gaze. Below the guillotine, a girl peeked her head through. Lumine, leader of the revolutionaries. The monster who'd shaken the entire empire on a mere whim to change it was, astonishingly, a girl my age or younger.
"You win."
I gave a bitter smile. Hate breeds familiarity, perhaps. We'd been desperate to kill each other, yet now, facing her death, I felt strangely unsettled. What was this feeling, exactly?
"One thing I'm curious about."
She lifted her head at my words.
"Checked your background. Rubenheim Academy graduate. A commoner attending there means you were elite."
"..."
"So why rebel against the empire?"
Her lips twitched. Long torture had marred her face, but that signature smile remained.
"I mulled it over forever, but couldn't understand. Academy grad—even as a commoner—you could've claimed a knight post in a noble house. Hell, maybe risen to nobility with merits."
And she had. Her strength ranked top in the empire; she'd rallied rebels and founded the revolutionary army with sheer charisma and execution.
"You could've lived cushy forever doing nothing. So why rebel?"
She pursed her lips thoughtfully, then grinned broadly.
"Didn't want to make more people like me."
Lumine answered without hesitation, as if reciting a long-prepared line. I said nothing, just looked down at the foolish woman with pity.
"...That could've been done within the empire."
She smiled faintly at my murmur.
"Maybe."
She tilted her head. Stray locks glittered in the sunlight.
"That... kinda regrets me now."
Her gaze drifted, as if to some bygone time or unseen future.
"Anyway, too late for regrets."
She spoke again.
"The spark of revolution is lit. Now it just needs to burn."
A brief pause.
"The flame I leave... won't die until it swallows the empire whole."
Silence fell. I stood quietly, weighing her words.
"Nice weather today, right?"
In the end, what she so desperately wanted never came. Her spark consumed the empire only after monsters trampled it first.
Recalling that time, I sank into thought. When did it start? When did she harbor revolution? The revolutionaries emerged about five years from now. They gained notoriety then, so the group formed earlier. Maybe already...
"...You mean Lumine?"
Serphina pondered, chin in hand.
"We've overlapped classes a few times, chatted. Polite, timid classmate. Studious, no rough edges that I recall."
"I see."
"Hm... one more thing."
She suddenly remembered.
"Seemed bullied by a specific group."
"Yeah, looked that way."
"Yes. Centered on the third son of Count Tolio's family. No need for you to care, Leon."
I stroked my chin, straining to recall Tolio. Nothing came oddly enough.
"...How strong is that Tolio guy?"
"Pardon...? Strong? Not particularly."
"Then why's she taking it?"
Lumine was strong. Taut, balanced muscles under her clothes, aura at an impressive level. Not someone who'd get beat around anywhere.
The answer slipped from her lips.
"...Probably because she's a commoner."
"What...?"
"Heard her hometown's in Tolio County."
She lifted her chin, a touch sentimental.
"...In the capital, maybe different. But locally, the lord is king and emperor. Upset him, and your home's fate is obvious."
"..."
"Even if she wanted to fight, with her family, friends, whole village in her hands—no choice."
Ah, now it made sense.
"But why ask about her... wait, no way..."
Her eyes widened.
"C-commoner... and that petite build, so polite..."
"Not like that."
"Really?"
"I said no."
Serphina looked even more baffled. Whatever. I rested my chin on my hand, lost in thought.
...Should I kill her?
She was one of the empire's threats, after all. No desire to leave future troubles. Problem was, this was academy grounds—beyond easy imperial reach—and I hadn't confirmed if she harbored revolutionary intent yet.
...Didn't want to make more people like me.
Her words flashed through my mind. I narrowed my eyes.