023. Sincerity (1)
023. Sincerity (1)
"Ugh, geez......."
Alisa was annoyed.
That's why she was sitting in an old log cabin on a secluded path where no one ever came.
She was staring intently at the spring scenery outside the window, a view she had seen hundreds, thousands of times.
"Just when are you coming, you idiot."
This place was Alisa's territory.
To put it more deeply, one could call it a secret spot.
Always, this place alone, until the very end.
It was mostly discovered very late.
That's why, whenever she wanted to survive for a long, long time, she would stay here.
'It's impossible to leave the Academy.'
The current Capital was, how should she put it.
A living hell.
It was a vortex of immense chaos.
That's why Alisa liked this place.
A very good place.
To say it's good literally means she had a favorable impression of it.
And, it's a place that wouldn't be embarrassing to introduce to someone she currently has a crush on.
And, that person is.......
"W-what am I thinking."
......That's an incredibly indecent imagination.
For the past few days, Alisa had been carefully watching Aria's hands as she plucked flowers indiscriminately.
Despite being covered in wounds, they were very beautiful and delicate hands.
For some reason.
They were hands she wanted to hold onto tightly.
But.
'H-holding hands, and doing things like that...... that's what lovers do.'
The hands of that child she hadn't even known for long.......
She felt so embarrassed that she, an adult, had tried to touch them.
If Aria had been right in front of her, she would have been so red in the face she wouldn't have been able to lift her head.
That's why.
The messy silver hair that sparkled in the sunlight.
Alisa ruffled her own hair wildly.
To forget all the agony and annoyance.
Aria Witri.
Because that child kept bothering her.
Today is the same.
'She definitely said she would come.'
She had granted that child her lips, which she had never once allowed in the hundreds of years she had lived to save her.
It was her first time.
'I-if so...... I wish she would... take responsibility.'
Because of that child, she kept having lingering attachments.
Even though she knew it would end as a brief amusement.
Even though she knew that when she died and returned, everything would return to nothingness.
Even though she knew that the bond built with that child also had no meaning.
"Haa......."
Alisa let out a sigh and started to move.
Wearing a white dress and a straw hat.
First, she headed to Aria's [Dormitory].
It was much further away than the place where the [Dormitories] were clustered, in the southwest of the Academy.
Then, an old building appeared, consisting of tiny, cramped single rooms.
That was Aria's [Dormitory].
Alisa stood in front of the room at the end of the hallway that looked the most dilapidated and knocked on the door carefully.
-Knock knock.
As expected, there was no response.
However.
Just in case, she turned the doorknob, and the door was left open.
"......I think this much is fine."
Alisa entered the inside of Aria's [Dormitory] room.
And for a moment, she was speechless and froze in place.
[ Die ]
Someone had written that in red letters at the entrance.
The floor was full of footprints, trash, and leftover food.
Even though it was an already cramped room, there was no room to step.
The stench wafting in was a bonus.
"Why, why do such a thing......?"
Aria Witri.
She knew well that she had done many things to earn the resentment of those around her.
It was always like that in the worlds Alisa had passed through.
Aria was thoroughly selfish.
It meant she only knew herself and didn't know others.
Her unique cold-blooded way of thinking.
Her alluring appearance that bewitched people.
And, her outstanding intelligence allowed Aria to shake the first-year students of the Academy.
Because she was a young lady of the Witri Family.
"......But."
She wasn't anymore, though.
Aria was the pinnacle of the Academy's status system.
She was a predatory existence located at the very top.
Always, always.
Alisa slowly looked around Aria's room.
There was no bed.
Only a blood-stained rag was neatly placed, and on top of it was a thin, worn-out blanket.
"Ugh......."
Someone had brought insect carcasses and put them in between.
It was disgusting.
Were the things Aria did in this world worth being bullied to this extent?
In the many worlds Alisa had passed through...... honestly, Aria deserved to be bullied.
She had earned everyone's resentment and had fallen from too high a place.
It meant there was no limit.
'But, what about now?'
Honestly speaking, she didn't think Aria had done anything that wrong.
Compared to the things she did in previous worlds, it was child's play.
Because she had only done acts that were that in themselves.
And even that, when seen from afar, was mainly only towards Yuna.
That's why Alisa opened her heart to Aria.
Because in this world's Aria, she couldn't find any viciousness at all.
It was as if the person had changed.
"But, why, why is she...... being bullied like this......?"
She truly couldn't understand.
Her nose stung and tears started to come out.
Why was such a kind child being bullied like this?
'I have to...... do something.'
Alisa thought so.
Because she couldn't leave Aria in this environment any longer.
Broken mirrors came into view.
These, too, were full of traces of someone breaking them on purpose.
Seeing that, Alisa couldn't hold it in and burst into tears.
That was when it happened.
"......Aria. Are you here?"
Someone had come to visit Aria's [Dormitory].
Alisa narrowed her eyes and checked outside.
A girl with short pink hair.
She had bright yellow eyes, always hung out with Yuna, and was a child who always showed a bright side.
It was Rachel Alpid.
"Hey. If you're there, can you answer me? Honestly, I came because I was a bit worried...... Ah, did you eat lunch by any chance? If it's okay, would you like to eat some bread I made together?"
Alisa knew Rachel.
Although Rachel didn't know Alisa.
'......That child is also too kind.'
Rachel.
She had thrown her body to protect and save Alisa several times.
After learning everything about Alisa, she had tried her best to twist fate under the pretext of 'I can't just sit still.'
And everything failed.
It was because her power couldn't reach.
Because of that, Alisa had to lose her precious friends in front of her eyes several times.
Only to save herself.
To make her escape from this unreasonable place, from the Academy.
Her friends kept sacrificing themselves.
She kept losing friends.
Losing, losing, losing continuously, and losing again.
Now, she no longer made friends.
Because her existence always remained a wound to her friends.
'However, that child.......'
Rather, because of that child's existence, she felt like her own heart would be wounded.
After all, there was no reason for that child to suffer such things.......
Kkii-ik-
Alisa slowly opened the door and poked her head out.
"Oh! You're not Aria? Who are you? Are you Aria's friend?"
"......Yeah. Roughly like that."
"You're also super cute! I don't know why, but it seems like only pretty and cute kids are gathering around Aria. Like Yuna and Clara."
Ugh.......
Rachel was too bright.
She was completely different from herself, who had repeated failing, being murdered, and failing again.
A human on the completely bright side.
'I want to say...... nice to meet you.'
She couldn't do that.
She was very happy that she could talk to Rachel again.
But she couldn't show it.
Because Rachel would have seen her for the first time today.
'......Maybe this is also thanks to Aria.'
At first, it was just a pastime.
She decided to hang out with Aria to kill time.
Before she knew it, the wheels of fate were twisting little by little, little by little.
'But I don't have expectations.'
Because she is always betrayed.
Because she will never be able to escape this cycle.
Even so.
Even though she knew that this was an act with no meaning.
"I, I'm looking for Aria. I'm not sure where she went......"
"Huh? That child? That sounds like a big problem......."
Rachel was also in deep thought.
The Academy is large.
Because it's too large, it's easy to get lost if you're not familiar with the geography.
On top of that.
'Recently, the security of the Capital has also worsened, so many strange people are coming in.'
Aria's appearance, if nothing else, is comparable to Yuna's.
So it was clear that she would be very noticeable.
Maybe she herself was leaning her heart and trying to help because Aria was so cute, but.
First, she had to find Aria.
'Hmm? Wait a minute.'
She did have a place that came to mind.
"I do have a place in mind. Would you like to go with me?"
Rachel smiled brightly and reached out her hand to Alisa.
......For some reason, the girl who was shedding tears in Aria's room.
When Rachel glanced at Aria's room behind her shoulder, she felt like she knew why she was shedding tears.
'It's serious. I came too late.'
So, she won't be late anymore.
This child is a kind-hearted child who is worried about Aria.
She liked her in many ways.
And because she felt very familiar somewhere.
Rachel could reach out her hand without hesitation.
And.
Alisa gripped that hand tightly.
Because Aria was a precious bond that had been reconnected.
"......Where are we going, Rachel?"
"There's one more person who likes Aria a lot and wants to help her. So, shall we go to that friend's [Dormitory]?"
Clara Witri.
The two headed to Clara like an arrow.
And.
Beyond the door that opened with a bang!
They confirmed Aria's traces.