Chapter 9
Translator: True Detective
009. Catalyst (2)
"...You were too harsh."
Yuna didn't think so.
"Her behavior was definitely bad too, but you, Yuna, went entirely..."
"Be quiet, Rachel."
The bad one isn't herself, but Aria.
Because she can't let go of the memories from the old days when she bullied her, and keeps showing up to interfere.
However...
"For someone who said such things, you were secretly worried too, weren't you? Didn't you secretly go visit her in the hospital? I heard everything from Arcana."
"No! I just went to check if she was dead or not."
"...Hmm, I see."
It wasn't particularly a hospital visit or anything.
Because she heard that the girl from the Witri family, who was a spitting image of Aria, had helped her, she just went out of curiosity.
There were absolutely no other feelings involved. Absolutely.
'Because I can never forgive that bitch.'
How could she dare say such a thing.
...And in front of people, at that.
'Hmm?'
Aria definitely said that in front of people.
She had kept her mouth tightly shut until people gathered.
Then she went out of her way to say such a thing and provoke her.
Did she have some kind of ulterior motive?
Why?
Yuna felt a little doubtful.
Because she had absolutely, truly, not even a little bit of feeling sorry for Aria.
She's going to die soon? I'd rather she just die.
Yuna had even spat out such words.
And she regretted it.
Just a little bit.
Very, very faintly, but still.
'...Saying that was a bit too harsh.'
Because she had that thought.
But that was all karmic retribution.
Because Aria had done the exact same thing a year ago.
The pain she suffered from that bitch is still vivid, but now that it's all over, she should just forget and move on?
'It's unfair.'
So she takes revenge.
She's merely doing the exact same thing. There's no reason to feel any pangs of conscience.
Wouldn't that much be okay?
Because Aria's true nature hasn't changed anyway.
It's just that her weak true colors were revealed once her family backing disappeared.
It was then.
A girl with long braided orange hair and a sharp impression ran into the room where the two were.
It was Arcana.
"Alright, then it's decided. Rachel and I have an intermediate magic assignment, you see? But you, Yuna, unfairly finished the assignment or whatever a long time ago. You'll have plenty of time."
"And?"
"Rumor has it that Aria Witri has returned. Or so they say."
"Wh-why are you telling me something like that!"
Tomorrow is the masquerade ball.
With the historic, annual event of Harcia Academy right before her eyes, she didn't want to hear such uncomfortable news.
However.
"...Hmm, I ate too much for lunch today. I don't have any classes now, so I'll go for a walk, no... go exercise for a bit."
"That girl, I hear she keeps snooping around the clock tower these days. Be careful. There are a lot of bad-natured friends around there."
"You really didn't need to tell me that!"
"Anyway, be careful. You have a peculiar constitution that frequently gets involved in things."
Leaving the two giggling girls behind, Yuna took her steps.
'Around the clock tower?'
As expected.
It was just as she expected.
Aria definitely had something to do with that person.
Otherwise, there would be no reason to loiter around such a deserted place.
Yuna began to walk.
At first, she walked slowly.
As if showing off her composure, as if she absolutely wasn't going to the clock tower to find Aria.
Very slowly.
And once she judged she was far enough from the dormitory.
She began to run.
Speeding up, faster, and even faster.
She hated to admit it, but Yuna's heart was impatient.
It wasn't for some flat reason like being worried about Aria.
'...I'll just apologize for telling her to die in the gutter. And I'll tell her to apologize for the words she said too. That's exactly right. Equivalent exchange. And then we won't get involved with each other anymore, no... but then I won't be able to find that person.'
It was because she thought of that person.
But for some reason, the only face that kept reflecting in her mind was Aria's.
'...Why?'
She totally didn't want to see such an annoying face.
When Aria's expression, which always smiled coldly, came to mind, Yuna shook her head.
"Hah..."
She didn't like it one bit.
However.
She had conviction that she would definitely appear around the clock tower.
She will definitely appear, definitely.
Yuna's conviction soon became reality.
Because her gaze crossed with Aria, who had been hiding in the alleyway with a body that couldn't even stand properly, staring back at her with startled rabbit eyes.
'...She's different from before.'
The cold gaze was nowhere to be found.
It feels unpleasant.
Yuna did not like Aria. Truly.
However.
A situation she disliked even more, much more, was unfolding right in front of her.
"H-hup... Keuh-heuk..."
Aria, who had been staring at her as if possessed, was grabbed by a thug and lifted up.
And she was slowly beginning to be strangled.
Yuna's body moved reflexively.
It was absolutely not for Aria's sake.
Yuna is not an angel, nor is she kind, like Aria habitually says.
But she had her own morals and sense of justice.
It means there was a line she strictly kept.
'It's all for my sake.'
Because she had to apologize cleanly to Aria to lessen the burden on her heart.
And because she had to receive a clean apology to ease her unsettled feelings.
Because that person and Aria were coming to mind at the same time.
"...What are you guys doing right now?"
Yuna clenched her fists as hard as she could without realizing it.
Seeing that sight, Aria trembled violently.
To Yuna, her value was less than a pebble rolling around on the street.
But anyone gets angry if a pebble acts annoyingly.
That's exactly the situation right now.
'Sh-she told me... never to appear before her eyes again.'
Then Yuna will be incredibly angry.
But Yuna's angry face is also good.
But Yuna hates things like that. Her true nature is a complete angel. Because she's a kind person.
S-so...
I don't want Yuna to experience things like this.
Because Yuna gets scared easily. But then again, when she has to do it, she does it and looks incredibly cool. She's not the game protagonist for nothing, hehehe.
At that moment.
The burly man stopped strangling Aria's neck.
And he stared intently at Yuna.
"Keu, heuh-heuk, keuh-heup..."
Released from the man, Aria staggered and collapsed onto the ground.
My neck hurts. I'm suffocating. I, I, I, I can't breathe.
It hurts incredibly. And it's scary. It feels like a panic attack or something is coming.
I inadvertently dry heave. Ughhh. I can't show something like this in front of Yuna.
At this rate, blood will come out too. But Yuna hates blood.
Because... she looked at my blood on her shoes so disgustedly...
So I absolutely must not show this kind of appearance to Yuna.
Aria thought so and looked at Yuna.
"...Yuna."
I had nothing to say. I broke my promise to Yuna not to see her again, I showed her disgusting sights, and I even got her caught up in danger.
I'm truly so sorry that my chest hurts, really, really hurts. It feels exactly like an elephant stepped on it and is stomping on it mercilessly...
"S-still, i-i-it's fi-fi-fine, keu, keuh-heuk..."
Even my throat hurt too much. To the point of going keuk-keuk-keuk.
So tears are coming out too. It's tears coming out because it hurts.
However.
Yuna clearly engraved that sight into her pupils.
'Her eyes are sparkling more than the stars.'
They just sparkle and shine. They are incredibly blue. Truly pretty.
Aria curled up the corners of her mouth without realizing it.
I want to see those pupils clearly, not foggy. I really do.
Then I feel like I'd have no more wishes. But Yuna probably won't show me her eyes that closely.
And it seems incredibly perverted. Obsessing over pupils is being a pervert, even Aria knew that much...
But for some reason.
There was absolutely no reason for her to do so, but Yuna blocked the path in front of her, whom she despised and hated so much.
And faced off against the two as if she were protecting her.
'...She doesn't have to do that.'
Perhaps because Yuna is an angel, she seemed to want to protect even me, the idiotic lump of meat she truly hates with max disgust.
But she doesn't need to do that. Because just having me by her side violently twists and distorts Yuna's heart.
So she could have just left me and gone.
Yuna did not do that.
Instead, she shouted with an angry expression.
"I'm asking what you're doing."
Yuna was strong.
Because she was the protagonist of a visual novel stained with irrationality and absurdity.
The one who shatters the fate of a certain heroine who dies countless times and regresses to the same time period, and creates a path for everyone to move forward into the future together—that is Yuna's role.
Her talent was superior to anyone else's.
The burly man smirked.
"Why? Do you have a fetish for getting beaten up like this too? This bitch's face is decent too, so since it's come to this, if I catch both of you and sell you off, the client will pay double..."
"...Let's go, Oppa."
"Why? Do you think this is my first time dealing with bitches running wild believing in some magic or petty swordsmanship..."
"Th-that girl is different. Let's go, Oppa, just let's go. Please."
Just once.
Yuna had set a line.
That was also the reason why, even though she was furious to the top of her head, she didn't harm Aria.
Therefore, Yuna no longer paid attention to the two running away.
The person Yuna's gaze was directed at right now was only one person.
Strangled, clothes disheveled, face covered in a nosebleed, with tear marks clearly remaining.
It was Aria.
Even so, Aria was smiling.
'...Why?'
Because it was an opportunity.
The absolute perfect and final opportunity to prevent the bad, terrible, and just, just... that kind of future that Yuna, who is the best in the world, would experience at the masquerade ball.
Therefore.
Aria sneered at Yuna and spoke coldly.