“Saya!!!”

I rushed toward Saya the moment I stepped inside. Then, I pulled her blood-stained shoulder into a tight embrace with all my strength.

“Saya! Stop. It’s over now. Okay?”

“Ah… huh… ugh…”

“Saya, please. Look at me.”

“Ah… uh…”

Only then did Saya turn her head to look at me. As I cupped her cheeks and met her gaze, her warm body heat filled my hands.

“It’s okay now. So calm down.”

“Lope…”

“Yeah. It’s me.”

“I… I…”

“It’s okay. It’s okay now.”

I couldn’t bear to look at her face, ruined by tears, so I eventually buried her in my chest. Saya trembled constantly like a wounded puppy, burrowing deeper into me. 

And she cried. For her lost innocence. She cried for a long, long while.

…

I remained in that position and fell to my knees. Then, I surveyed the scene before me.

There lay the mutilated corpse of someone chopped to pieces, alongside Roselia, who was battered beyond recognition. Stripped of her former confident demeanor, she was reduced to a ragged mess, her shallow chest heaving as she barely managed to breathe.

Ms. Rebecca approached her to assess her condition. Judging by her dark expression, the prognosis didn’t seem positive. I lowered my head and spoke heavily.

“I thought Saya would be fine.”

“I secretly thought so too. But it seems something happened between the two of them.”

“…I must have misjudged.”

“No. A girl like Saya wouldn’t have done this impulsively. There must have been an indelible grudge between them. If so, this was bound to happen eventually. And if it had to blow up, it’s better it happened before boarding the Anbert family’s ship.”

“…”

“Don’t make that serious face; I’m not being hypocritical. It’s time to focus on the aftermath now.”

“I suppose so. I had already considered the possibility of Roselia ending up like this, so for now…”

“Lope. I’ll handle things here for now, so please look after Saya for a bit. The same goes for Haru.”

“…Yes.”

Only then did I look back. There stood the blind girl, pressed against the wall, not knowing what to do.

“Haru. Follow my voice and come here.”

“Senior? Is that you, Senior? Are you there?”

“Yeah. Reach out your hand this way. Good. I’ve got it.”

“Senior, I… couldn’t stop her. It all happened so suddenly…”

“It’s okay. Just sit down.”

“I’m sorry. I…”

“No.”

…

“I’m the one who’s sorry.”

That was all I could say. Haru leaned against my shoulder without a word, and Saya pulled me into an even tighter embrace. The body heat of both girls washed over me simultaneously.

I had certainly anticipated that my final moments at the Academy would be marred by violence, yet this was a scene beyond even my expectations. The girl who had filled my blood-stained body with the fragrance of flowers had ultimately drenched herself in that very blood in her final moments.

Perhaps wanting to deny reality, I buried my face in Saya’s hair without realizing it, hoping to catch the soft scent of forget-me-nots like before.

But the heavy stench of blood emanated from her. Even the scent of forget-me-nots could no longer mask it now.

After a considerable amount of time had passed, a group of men arrived at the Academy. By then, we had relocated to the main building and were nursing Roselia among the fallen students.

“…Good heavens.”

They wore troubled expressions upon witnessing the scene. However, they didn’t immediately interrogate us or shout. It was as if they had expected something like this to happen.

I cautiously approached them. I showed my empty palms and spoke.

“I am…”

“Are you Lope?”

“Yes. That’s right.”

“It seems Miss Lena is not here.”

“I don’t know her whereabouts. When things went wrong, she fled somewhere…”

“I see.”

The man approached Roselia before I could even finish my sentence. His devastated face bore an expression of resignation.

“What is the Lady’s condition?”

“Not good. She was already in this state when we arrived. I’m not sure if you’ve heard, but some of the Academy students held a grudge against Roselia and…”

“Stop. We will hear the rest of the story on the ship. The Head Butler will pass judgment.”

“…On the ship?”

“Isn’t your goal to board the ship?”

I fell silent at his blunt remark. With an impassive expression, he brushed past me and carefully scooped Roselia into his arms. 

“…Let us depart. Time is no longer on our side in this world.”

They headed toward the shore with a far more composed demeanor than I had expected. We cautiously followed behind them. 

As if by mutual agreement, everyone maintained strict silence. We were cautious because our survival was not yet guaranteed, and the men kept their mouths shut as they were trained to do. 

Above all, none of us had the energy to converse. Even so, Saya stayed glued to my side, refusing to let go. I wanted to read her expression, but the hood she had put back on and her gas mask made it impossible. I could only vaguely guess her state through her faint heartbeat.

The long silence finally ended when we reached the ship and faced the old man known as the Head Butler. He limped toward us and looked at Roselia.

“We… were too late.”

“Yes.”

“Are those behind you the Lady’s friends?”

“The young man right behind me is Lope.”

“Where is Engermier?”

“He wasn’t there.”

“…I see. Escort the Lady to the ship. I will handle the rest.”

I tensed at the Head Butler’s words and swallowed hard. But he approached me and spoke in an incredibly gentle voice.

“Ah. So you are the young man the Lady mentioned. I had wondered who you were for her to speak so highly of you. I finally get to see your face.”

“Yes. It is my first time meeting you. My name is Lope. And the others are…”

“Your friends, I presume. And by extension, the Lady’s friends. Relax. What harm could this old body do to you?”

“I wasn’t… worried about that.”

“Right. Of course. You are probably afraid I will interrogate you about the Lady’s affairs. Isn’t that right?”

“…”

The wisdom cultivated over the years pierced right through my thoughts. He suddenly cast his gaze toward the Academy and spoke with a distant look.

“I heard there was great chaos among the students after the irresponsible faculty abandoned the Academy. The Lady said factions formed and power struggles ensued. I suppose the Lady’s greed and ambition ruined things in the process.”

“…”

“I had a rough idea when communication was cut off. That something had gone wrong. The Lady is a brilliant person, but she has faced difficulties in the past due to overestimating her own abilities. It was a tragedy that there was no one to correct her mistakes this time.”

“We…”

“And Engermier. That fellow had decent skills, but he was overly loyal to the Lady. He caused major and minor issues during this voyage due to arguments with others. Then he finally acted on his own, landing on the island and heading to the Academy. Didn’t that temper of his bring about his own demise?”

His reasoning suddenly outpaced everything, racing toward a conclusion. When I showed a flustered expression, he awkwardly pushed up the corners of his mouth.

“How was this old man’s deduction? There are surely parts I got right and parts I got wrong. But one thing is certain: Lady Roselia has returned, and you brought her back. Isn’t that right?”

“Yes. That is correct.”

“To be honest, I want to thank you. The Lady will likely never return to her former self. Even if she miraculously survives, she suffered severe head trauma, so she won’t be able to maintain a sound mind.”

At first, I thought he was being sarcastic. But that wasn’t the case at all.

“…What a relief. That we didn’t have to send the Lady off with our own hands.”

“What… do you mean by that?”

“Well.”

The Head Butler’s gaze drifted to the sky. Since the Dragons’ rampage, people had developed a habit of looking up at the sky whenever something happened. As he watched the impending doom approach, a faint moisture seeped into the corners of his eyes.

“What does any of that matter now?”

“…”

“And why would I speak further with a mere student like yourself? It would be better to converse with Captain Rebecca over there.”

“…Is that so.”

“The same goes for the rest of you. I have nothing to ask of you. If you wish to go to the mainland, board the ship immediately. You all must want to go home. But keep one thing in mind. There are hardly any intact places left on the mainland now.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Right. You must be curious. But if you plan to stay on the island, you don’t need to know. We are essentially here to offer a final choice. To stay on the island and meet your end here. Or to go to the mainland and see if your families are still there.”

“…”

“Of course, the end will ultimately be the same. So choose carefully. I cannot give you much time. Once I finish speaking with Captain Rebecca, we will depart immediately.”

“I wish you a wise choice.”

With those final words, he turned toward Ms. Rebecca. She glanced at us, motioned toward the ship, and walked away. It seemed I wouldn’t hear the rest of the story for quite some time.

Soon, murmurs began to echo from all directions. The choices presented once again stimulated everyone’s anguish.

Of course, we didn’t need to agonize over this, so we moved immediately. Shaking off everyone’s stares, I led Haru and Saya aboard the ship. One of the men we had seen earlier guided us to a large room in the interior. Aside from a pile of bedding stacked in one corner, it was an empty room.

I slumped into the corner as if collapsing. Saya naturally sat down beside me, and Haru leaned against the adjacent wall. Smelling the distant scent of the sea, a long sigh escaped my lips unconsciously. All sorts of thoughts filled my mind.

Naturally, the time of rest didn’t last long. The Head Butler’s earlier words implied that the mainland was not in a normal state either. And I felt that it wasn’t merely a matter of civilian riots.

It was a grave matter. But I wanted to put a comma in my time, even if just for a brief moment. There probably wouldn’t be many times when the three of us could sit together like this so comfortably. Haru seemed to have similar thoughts, as she spoke in a quiet voice.

“Is there no one around right now?”

“No one.”

“Then I must return them to you now.”

“…Ah.”

A small gasp escaped my lips at her words. Haru took off her gloves and reached through the air, searching for my hand. When I took her hand, she grasped it firmly. On the back of her hand, three marks glowed a deep blue.

That was a shallow trick I had pulled that day to deceive Lena’s eyes. Lena probably thought I had given the marks to Erika, but in reality, I had transferred all the marks to Haru in an instant when she bumped into me earlier. Haru was extremely flustered, but fortunately, we managed to get past it somehow.

Of course, she probably didn’t truly believe I had given them to Erika. But the important thing was erasing the marks from my hand. Thanks to that, I could confuse the Academy guys, and Roselia was so flustered she couldn’t do anything. That was enough of an effect.

“But how do I transfer them? I have no idea. Should I just keep them?”

“…You could.”

“Don’t take me so seriously. I’m joking. Anyway, it’s really fascinating. With this, I instinctively feel like I know where to go and how to transfer them. Elven magic truly is mystical.”

“It was really fascinating when I first received them too. Though hiding them was very difficult.”

“Especially since I can’t even see, I don’t know if I hid them well. Anyway, Saya has a lot of explaining to do to me. So… ah. Let’s just talk about this later.”

“…”

Haru opened her mouth to say something but closed it again. Then, she held my hand tightly and transferred the marks. The hot energy I had felt before crept up the back of my hand once more.

Thus, the three marks shone on the back of my hand again, but I didn’t let go. Instead, I gripped Haru’s hand even tighter. Soon, her voice, filled with doubt, reached me. 

“What are you doing?”

“You keep one, Haru. I think that’s better.”

“What? That’s…”

“Wasn’t this what you wanted?”

“Uh… No. I just… um… how should I put this…”

For the first time, Haru blushed deeply and stammered profusely. Then, she scratched her head and spoke in a tiny voice.

“Um… thank you.”

“Hide it well. Just in case.”

“Yes. Um… yes. Well… I’m going to get some sleep. I’m really tired.”

The flustered Haru whipped her head around and curled up tightly. I heard her mutter something softly, but I decided to pretend I hadn’t heard. It seemed best to give each other some time right now.

But that didn’t apply to Saya. She was still clinging tightly to my arm, burying her entire body into me. It was as if she wished our bodies would fuse together just like this.

I couldn’t tell her to let go, nor did I want to. Her body heat, radiating through me, was too warm to shake off. 

Above all, the closer she pressed against me, the more the faint scent of forget-me-nots drifted from her. Although she was still stained with blood, I wanted to believe that given a little more time, her original fragrance would return.

All I could do was stroke her hair. As my hand brushed over her head, Saya suddenly looked up and hugged my shoulder tightly.

“…Saya.”

“…”

“It’s okay now.”

“…”

Meaningless comfort scattered into the air. I didn’t mind much since I hadn’t said it expecting a response. Nevertheless, a heavy feeling settled in the pit of my stomach.

“…”

Just then, Saya murmured something. As I listened closely, her voice began to reach me little by little.

“…weak.”

“What did you say, Saya?”

“…Humans are too weak.”

“…”

With those words, she lifted her head. Tears were still dripping from her pitiful eyes. Unable to hold back her tears, Saya hugged my body even tighter.

“So, I won’t let go anymore.”

“…”

I couldn’t say a word. I hugged Saya tightly as she buried herself in me and leaned my head against the wall. Drowsiness naturally washed over me, and the strength slowly drained from my body.

An irresistible fatigue crushed my entire body. But strangely, I felt I wouldn’t be able to sleep. It seemed the vicious insomnia hadn’t ended yet.

Nevertheless, I closed my eyes. Hoping to sleep for even just ten minutes tonight, I pulled the girl in my arms even closer.

…

By my calculations.

Approximately 100 days until destruction. That was the time remaining.

“…Understood, Captain. Then I will leave the remaining students in your care.”

“Yes. I will lead those who wish to stay and return quickly.”

“I will wait. And regarding our conversation…”

He hesitated for a moment before whispering.

“Let’s keep it between ourselves. As I said earlier, the truth no longer matters.”

“I am simply grateful.”

“No, I am the one who is grateful. Because… there is no longer a need to make the Lady comfortable.”

“Is it alright to disobey the Duke’s orders?”

“…As long as we keep it hidden, it will be fine.”

“Understood.”

I nodded quietly. At least for now, there was no reason to pry any further. So, after a short bow, I led the students who had decided to stay on the island and walked toward the forest.

I didn’t plan to go far. I just needed to show them the way to the Headmaster’s cabin. I handed over the rations provided by the Anbert family to them and turned my back.

Right. That should have been the end of it. It was regrettable that I couldn’t offer a word of comfort or advice to the students staying on the island, but that was a fundamental limitation of mine. I never knew how to express my feelings well anyway.

But that wasn’t the problem. Just as I was about to return to the ship, a female student burst out from the bushes. She was utterly exhausted and was looking for us more desperately than anyone.

And her hair was a deeper red than the sun.

“Haa… haa…”

“…”

“Haa… um… that’s…”

“…”

“You’re… Ms. Rebecca, right?”

She barely recalled my name, which she had heard at some point. Then, she approached me with a very awkward gait.

“Um… you’re heading to the ship now, right? That’s right?”

“Yes.”

“It’s not too late, is it?”

“No. We were dividing those who will board the ship and those who will stay on the island. Which will you choose?”

“Obviously…!”

Perhaps getting a little excited, her voice suddenly rose. But she soon seemed frightened and slowly quieted down.

“I’ll board the ship. Lope is… there too, right?”

“That’s right.”

“Then I’ll go. Let’s go together. Ms. Rebecca…”

“…”

I’m not good at lying. So I ended up telling the truth. After hesitating for a moment, I eventually nodded.

“Alright. Follow me.”

“Ah… yes!”

At my answer, she nodded happily. Thus, we began walking together. The not-so-short walk was soon enveloped in silence. She didn’t seem to be a very talkative person either.

…

Lena. Was that her name?

I recalled her name from the not-so-distant past. Of course, that didn’t yield much. The red-haired girl who always went to school alone. The model student whom professors praised to high heaven. The rumored girl whom shy boys harbored crushes on. 

And, the childhood friend who caused Lope’s frequent tardiness.

This was the extent of the information I had barely gathered. I knew very little about her. And it was probably the same for Lena. No student would remember the name of a security guard standing at the school gate in the first place.

I thought it was a true blessing.

That we barely knew each other.

“Um… Ms. Rebecca. Is it far?”

“Still far.”

“It feels like we’ve walked quite a bit…”

Lena suddenly showed signs of anxiety. It was understandable since she probably hadn’t walked to the shore often. To relieve her anxiety, I turned around.

“Ms. Rebecca?”

“…”

“Um… did you take a wrong turn?”

“I took a wrong turn.”

“What do you… are you confused?”

“I’m not confused.”

“…”

I’m not good at lying. So I told the truth again. Only then did Lena sense something amiss and stepped back.

But that wasn’t enough. She should have run away right then and there.

“Lo…!”

“…”

I covered Lena’s mouth and wrapped my arm around her neck before she could scream. Then, I constricted her carotid artery. The girl squirmed in my arms for a very brief moment before going limp.

I leaned her body against a tree and checked her breathing. She wasn’t dead. She had only fainted. Her unseeing eyes and parted lips perfectly conveyed the shock she had just experienced. 

Seeing her like that, I couldn’t help but speak. Knowing she couldn’t hear me, I whispered in a small voice.

“I’m sorry.”

“…”

“But you… are too dangerous.”

Only four people could go to the Land of Elves. Among them, those who bore the marks were Lope, Saya, and Haru. Three people. 

Only one spot remained.

In that situation, this girl’s existence was too dangerous for me.

The unspoken words couldn’t serve as an excuse. I finished my brief sentiment and turned my back. Then, I walked toward the ship again.

“…”

Just then, my hand trembled violently. It seemed a few screws had come loose from moving so aggressively after a long time. I raised my trembling hand and tightly squeezed the suspected area.

But even so, the trembling didn’t stop. Even my lips were quivering slightly now. An unfathomable emotion washed over my heart like a tidal wave.

Eventually, I clenched my fist and squeezed my eyes shut. I felt like even my breathing would fall apart. Amidst it all, only one thought crossed my mind.

After all, I must die.

More miserably and desolately than anyone else.

“…”

But I couldn’t die right now.

I walked toward the shore again. By the time I reached the ship, the trembling had stopped. The Head Butler coughed a few times and looked at me.

“It took you a bit longer than expected. I’m thinking of preparing to depart soon.”

“Yes. That’s fine.”

“Did you encounter any problems?”

“…No.”

Because it was a lie, my voice cracked slightly. But I gathered myself again and answered calmly.

“Let’s depart.”