017. Birthday (1)
017. Birthday (1)
"......Ha."
Yuna sighed and walked sluggishly.
She walked, and walked, and walked endlessly, wandering around the Academy.
And only when it was late did she return to the Dormitory.
Shoulders slumped, pupils unfocused.
Yuna looked a bit dazed.
"......So, you finally went and apologized, Yuna-ya?"
"Shut up, Rachel."
"Hing."
Having said that, Yuna lay down on her bed without even washing up.
Her heart felt like it was tangled and gnawing at itself.
But strangely, her shoulders felt a lot lighter.
At least compared to before.
"Then, are you going to go back to the Yuna I know starting tomorrow? There's nothing more to worry about, right?"
"......Yeah. Sorry for making you worry all this time."
"Then I'll head back now. I was asked by Arcana to stay by your side for a bit since she's sleeping out today. I, I mean, of course, I don't mind sleeping here, but......"
"It's okay. Thank you, Rachel."
"Uung."
Rachel smiled bashfully, her face flushing.
And as she headed toward the Dormitory entrance.
She glanced back at Yuna, who was covering her eyes with her arm.
'......She's not bad at heart, even if she's like this. She just doesn't know how to express herself and is a bit rough around the edges.'
She thought to herself.
Yuna would need some time alone.
To shake everything off and get back up again.
Just as she had always done.
Yuna had faced obstacles and crises time and time again, and every time, she had overcome them all.
To a Yuna like that, this much really wouldn't be anything.
Because by tomorrow, she would be able to see Yuna's smiling face again.
She would be able to meet the dazzling Yuna.
There was no need to worry about Yuna anymore.
That's what Rachel thought.
'......But.'
Aria Witri.
Is that kid really okay?
In the past, she had warned her many times and even gave her firm advice not to bully Yuna.
But now, the situation had completely reversed.
'To be honest.'
She was pitiful.
Rachel had a kind and good-hearted nature.
To the point where she couldn't just walk past abandoned animals on the street.
To Rachel, Aria looked far more miserable and pitiful than those abandoned animals.
Last time, she couldn't bring herself to reach out.
Well.......
'Because she said such things.'
However.
For some reason, it didn't feel like her true intentions at all.
......Then why does Aria keep lying?
For what?
"......I don't want to just leave her be."
Aria Witri.
Even though she had treated Yuna so badly.
Even though she had extended her claws of harassment even to her, Yuna's friend.
For some reason, she didn't feel like hating that kid.
......Why is that?
Is it just because it's all in the past?
She lost everything worth showing off.
Aria Witri was a girl who had lost her family, wealth, honor, and almost everything else she had, and was cast out.
"Honestly, it's too much. Things like that......."
Seeing her continue to attend the Academy, forcibly, stubbornly, even though she couldn't even walk properly.
'......She must have nowhere else to cling to.'
That kid is being subjected to constant, insidious bullying.
Should one say the grudges she built up are coming back to her?
No one cares about her situation.
Except for maybe the School Nurse, Lena-nim, perhaps there's only one person.
'......Maybe things will change when that person returns.'
But that person's return is still a long way off.
Since it's unknown when the frontier monster subjugation will end.
So.
Until that person returns, at least she herself.
Should she take care of Aria, just a little bit?
Without making it too obvious.
That kid...... seemed like a kid who was hiding a lot of things.
Surely, if they opened up and talked, wouldn't there come a day when they could understand each other?
That's what she thought.
So she intended to move slowly.
If she had known that the time left for Aria was so short, she would have been more proactive, though.
*
"......Ha."
Her shoulders feel light.
A feeling like she's shed a heavy burden she was carrying.
She should definitely feel relieved and refreshed.
"...What is this."
Yuna didn't know why her eyes were getting damp.
That bitch, Aria Witri, clearly said it was all her own fault.
It's not my fault.
The one who did wrong was Aria.
All of that was a coincidence.
It's not that there aren't any unpleasant parts, but it was all revealed to be that way.
So she can be at ease.
She definitely should be.
"It's, not your fault......."
This isn't Aria Witri's fault.
This is all her own fault.
From one to ten, it was all something she had done.
She had been fooled by the Princess who asked her to be a stand-in, and almost lost her life drinking the poison in the cup.
If Aria hadn't intervened, that is.
'How on earth did she know about that?'
There is no...... possibility that Aria prepared it all.
That bitch didn't have any power left anymore.
Everything was a thorough coincidence, and Aria didn't intend to save her either.
Yuna decided to think that way, even if she had to force it.
So.
'That bitch, she didn't do anything wrong...... but why.'
Why, why, why on earth did she say it was her own fault?
ㅡUntil the thought led to that.
Just to bully her more, and to watch her writhe in pain from the sidelines?
For something as pathetic as that.
She protected her even while becoming like that?
That Aria Witri?
'That's nonsense.'
Aria Witri is rumored to be the most vicious person in the Academy.
Aria Witri was the one who ran wild, relying only on her family's power, committing all sorts of schemes and plotting sinister conspiracies.
Fairness.
Sacrifice.
Consideration.
These are words that have absolutely nothing to do with Aria Witri.
"Whatever the intention was...... you, you, you."
'Once' saved her.
Of course.
Yuna didn't notice at all.
At least, not yet.
The fact that Aria had saved Yuna countless times until now.
It was by no means 'once'.
"If only back then...... if you had just denounced me for my faults like you always did."
If Aria Witri had just attacked her wounds and gnawed at them instead.
She wouldn't be feeling this strange, indescribable feeling, both relieved and frustrated.
"When you think about it, it's all your fault."
The fact that Yuna is shedding tears right now is all Aria Witri's fault.
Because that bitch made her heart feel unsettled.
Could even this be Aria Witri's intention?
It might be a scheme to bully her and create a crack in her heart.
"If so...... you, successfully, succeeded."
Yuna squeezed her eyes shut.
And as she poured out her agony in her heart, she fell into a deep sleep.
Craving earnest help.
That person who always appears whenever she is in a crisis.
Dreaming of receiving help from that person.
Yuna slowly fell asleep.
And in her dream, Aria appeared.
Aria was slowly, and very delicately, putting a red ribbon on a box.
She couldn't understand what kind of scene it was.
But Yuna, just a little bit.
Didn't notice the fact that she was smiling.
That is all.
*
"You, are you okay? Your head, you're bleeding."
Alisa just said that.
Hiing. Is it really bleeding a lot?
I held up a hand mirror with a nervous heart.
Clara gave this to me as a gift saying she didn't use it, hehehe.
It was great that all the mirrors in the Dormitory were broken just in time!
I, I mean, I'm not really the type to care about my appearance.
Compared to Yuna, I'm just, like, hopeless, and anyway, so.......
But whenever I meet Yuna, I end up caring about my appearance. Why is that?
Anyway, I wiped away the blood that was dripping down.
And I said while enduring the dizziness.
"I, on the way, I, tripped!"
Heheheh.
Actually, it's a lie.
I, I was coming along the trail today too, but suddenly a glass bottle flew from behind.
And I heard giggling sounds.
Hing. It hurt. I didn't even have time to dodge. I got hit directly and, ah, I fell forward.......
So I almost fainted, but I barely managed to hold onto my consciousness.
And I ran desperately to avoid whoever was chasing me from behind.
Uhehehe. I have to pick flowers for Yuna again today, so I don't have time to be fainting.
Today, calculating by the game calendar, it's March 13th, heheheh.
And Yuna's birthday is March 15th.
They say it's the date a very famous historical figure died, but hmm...... I don't really know.
If there's someone who knows, I wish someone would step up.
Anyway.
Exactly two days left.
Yuna must be very busy and occupied too.
Because dozens of friends will come to congratulate her!
But I can't go.
I'm not invited.
But it's right that I can't go.
Because I didn't want to make Yuna's heart feel troubled anymore.
Hing hing.
But it's okay to give a gift, right?
"Aria. Your hands are covered in wounds. Are you going to keep picking roses like that?"
Uhehehe. It's okay. Yuna likes roses.
She really, really likes spring roses.
So I reached out my hand and tried to pick a rose without caring about getting pricked by the thorns.
But my body wouldn't, like, listen to me.
"......Huh?"