A torrent of unbelievable stories had poured out all at once, leaving my head spinning. No matter how much they say this is an era where common sense no longer holds meaning, the current situation had far transcended every concept I had ever known.

Yet at the same time, it was a situation I could fully understand if I tried. And that was precisely why I found it all the more confounding.

“Of course, having this mark doesn’t mean the elves will come fetch you directly. You have to reach the rendezvous point and show it to them before you can enter the Land of Elves. It might turn out to be quite a long journey. Getting off the island and making it all the way to the harbor, I mean.”

“Yeah…”

“But as long as you make it that far, you’ll be able to avoid the dragons. I guarantee you that much.”

“…I see.”

It still hadn’t fully sunk in, and I could manage nothing but a flat, perfunctory reply. Saya watched me for a moment before speaking in a slightly subdued voice.

“I’m sorry, Lope. That this is all I could do for you.”

“Hm?”

“You’re a little disappointed, aren’t you? I made it sound so grand, and now it turns out you still have to risk your life getting to the harbor.”

“That’s not it. I just… it’s hard to believe, that’s all. I’m not doubting you, but it was all so sudden.”

“I understand. But it’s all true. I wouldn’t lie to you of all people.”

“I know.”

And I also knew that you, Saya, of all people, were not the type to lie.

Even so, it remained no easier to accept. On top of that, a few other minor issues were tangled up in the mix as well.

“And honestly, I’m not sure I should be given this kind of sweeping authority. The people who will survive alongside me. Is it really all right for me to just pick whoever I want?”

“These spots were made for my mother and me to begin with. It’s fine.”

“But these are the last survivors of humanity we’re talking about.”

“The key figures of humanity you’re thinking of have probably already evacuated. And to the elves, all humans are the same anyway. So, Lope. Just pick the people who are truly precious to you. That’s enough.”

“People precious to me…”

If it had been anyone other than me, they might have been able to name enough such people to fill both hands. Unfortunately, I was far removed from that kind of normalcy.

Saya tilted her head slightly as she watched me deliberate. She seemed to have a vague sense of what was running through my mind.

“Actually, part of the reason I brought these was because I wanted you to evacuate with your family. If you have a younger sibling, that can’t be helped, but at least you could go with your parents.”

“You might feel burdened hearing me say this, but… I don’t have a family, Saya.”

“…I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

“It’s all right. It was a long time ago.”

“Then how about thinking of your friends at the academy? Even if they’re not close friends, just people you got along with day to day.”

“…”

Friends.

Unlike before, quite a few people came to mind this time. Not a single one of them could be called close, yet paradoxically, that made them all equal. People I had respected. A junior who often caught my eye. Even the bitter rivals I had spent my days sharpening my blade against.

Of course, the first person who came to mind was her. It couldn’t have been any other way. Throughout my entire life, which hadn’t been all that long, there had been only one person I could call a friend.

At least, up until now.

As I lingered in thought, Saya slowly rose to her feet. She cradled the bread I had given her as if it were something precious and bowed her head.

“Then I’ll be going, Lope. I hope you survive with the people precious to you.”

“Hm? Going? Weren’t we supposed to go to the rendezvous point together?”

“I’ve already received far too much from you. I’d feel too guilty to be a burden any further. I’ll find my way there on my own. You go with the people precious to you.”

“Can you make it alone?”

“I don’t know. But if I go with you, I’m certain I’ll only be a hindrance. That much I want to avoid.”

“…”

It was an affection difficult to withstand. This was the first time I had ever been shown such gratitude by someone, and I was at a complete loss for how to carry myself. Rational thought felt impossible in the presence of someone like her.

“But do you have a way off the island right now? The professors took every usable boat with them that day.”

“That’s… yeah. True.”

“Then that’s basically the same as saying you’ll leave without any plan, isn’t it?”

“I’ll find a way somehow, so don’t worry. Like I said, I don’t want to be a burden to you.”

“Right…”

I nodded slowly. If she was going to say that much, I had no grounds to hold her back. Simply letting her go seemed like the reasonable thing to do.

Burden, she said. It shouldn’t be easy for an elf to be a burden to anyone. Not with those large ears that could hear even the sound of an ant crawling, and eyes that could see as clearly as midday no matter how dark the night. Her long solitary life seemed to have worn Saya’s self-esteem down to nothing.

Here I was, someone with poor night vision and limited hearing who got spooked just finding traces of an intruder, and she was worried about being a burden.

…

Hmm…

“Hey, Saya.”

“Yeah?”

Lost in thought, I stopped Saya just as she was about to leave. I looked around the cramped room carefully and spoke.

“How about you stay here until you find a way off the island? The academy is only going to get more dangerous. Even the beachfront might not be safe anymore. And it’s not like you have a clear destination right now anyway.”

“That’s true, but…”

“If that’s the case, you can stay for a while. And while you’re at it, you could keep an eye on my things in here. I’ve actually had that thought whenever I left this place empty—that it would be nice to have someone stay here in my stead.”

“Th-that’s…”

Caught off guard by the unexpected offer, Saya seemed unsure of what to do with herself. Then she asked in a voice devoid of confidence.

“But are you really trusting me that much? What if I take all your stuff and run?”

“What would someone who gets full after a single bite of bread and still smells of flowers after two months outside want with my things? Most of it is just daily necessities. Even if you tried to use them for trade, the academy bastards wouldn’t accept them willingly. It’d be a relief if they didn’t just take everything from you by force.”

“But would I really be of help?”

“Of course. You’d absolutely be a help. I guarantee it.”

“Still…”

Despite my repeated insistence, Saya continued to hesitate until the very end. Contrary to her appearance, she was surprisingly stubborn.

So I decided to resort to a slightly underhanded but childish method.

“That bread won’t last long if you eat it outside. It’ll go stale or harden up quickly.”

“…”

“Don’t you want to try other things too?”

At that moment, clear saliva trickled down from the corner of Saya’s mouth once again. This time she seemed aware of it herself and hastily wiped her lips with her sleeve. But she couldn’t hide the cheeks flushed red with shame.

“…All right.”

In the end, primal curiosity had broken the elf’s stubbornness. It seemed the bread from earlier had genuinely won her over.

“Good, let’s do that, then. The room is a bit small, but it shouldn’t be too cramped for two. Do you have any luggage or anything you brought with you?”

“No. This is everything I have.”

“Then rest here for a bit. I’ll go grab some decent blankets from the dormitory nearby.”

I stood up from my seat at once. But this time it was Saya who caught my ankle.

“Wait, Lope. You don’t have to go that far. I don’t need a blanket. I’ll just sleep on the bare floor.”

“You were planning to sleep on the bare floor? There’s no heating in here, so the floor gets freezing cold. It might even be worse than outside. So you sleep on the bed. I’ll lay out a blanket and sleep on the floor.”

“What are you talking about? You just said the floor is cold. I’m the one imposing on you—does it make any sense for you to sleep on the floor?”

“I can endure it, so…”

I trailed off, about to string together some excuse-laden persuasion. No matter what reason I gave, Saya would likely refuse, saying she felt too burdened. Yet the thought of making an elf sleep on the floor didn’t sit well with me either. Whatever I did, the conversation was bound to run parallel.

My head was already exhausted enough from enduring that endless debate. Not wanting to agonize over it any longer, I offered a simple solution.

“Then let’s just both sleep on the bed. It’s not a double, but there should be enough space.”

“Are you sure that’s all right?”

“As long as you’re fine with it, I don’t mind. Shall we do that?”

“Yeah. I’d rather do that.”

Surprisingly, Saya nodded readily. I might have been taken aback by this unexpected response, but fatigue was crashing over me just as suddenly, and I felt no desire to argue.

“Right… then. It’s late, so let’s continue the rest of our conversation tomorrow. I’ll lie down first, so come in whenever you get sleepy.”

“All right, Lope.”

“Okay…”

As the tension drained away, drowsiness rushed in instantly. I usually tossed and turned at night, plagued by stray thoughts, but tonight was different. I even began to wonder if the scent of an elf had a calming effect on the mind.

Either way, I was too sleepy to care. Unlike usual, I lay down on the bed clutching my sword to my chest. I glanced back briefly and saw Saya examining the room with eyes full of curiosity. It seemed this whole situation still felt awkward to her.

Of course, I felt just as awkward. The unfamiliar sensation on the back of my hand still writhed with a feeling I couldn’t get used to. When I raised my hand, the three marks danced like blue flames. Merging, scattering, writhing, and spreading—their movements seemed to insist on their own existence.

For a self-authenticating salvation ticket, it was quite a flamboyant display. Yet strangely, apart from a sense of novelty, I felt no real emotion. Perhaps because it was too sudden. My heart apparently hadn’t caught up yet.

Even so, I hadn’t failed to recognize the value of these marks. Saya had spoken of them as though they were nothing, but this wasn’t something that mere modesty could diminish.

This might be something that could upend the entire landscape of the academy.

How would the students, who had descended into depravity on the premise of the apocalypse, react if they learned there was actually a way to survive? And how would they respond if they found out I possessed that method? Half of them would try to kiss my feet, and the other half would try to sever my wrist.

They might even try to deny the existence of these marks altogether. It was doubtful whether the beasts who had written “demise” into their justification for depravity could now acknowledge the possibility of survival. Once you’ve acquired a taste for human flesh, being slaughtered isn’t a truth that applies only to beasts. There were surely those who simply wanted the world to keep burning.

Who would fall on which side, I wondered. Roman. Heiter. Erika. And the women I had yet to meet.

…

Too many concerns. In truth, even the question of whether we could get off this island at all remained uncertain.

“…Sorry. Excuse me.”

Just then, the opposite side of the mattress dipped lightly, and the presence of another person settled in gently. Though we weren’t pressing back to back, a faint warmth slowly reached me.

The sensation of my first cohabitation was more underwhelming than I had expected. Strictly speaking, I was lying in the same bed as a woman, and yet what I held in my arms was a cold blade. Compared to what the guys at the academy were probably up to, this was an absurdly alien scene.

I glanced back and saw that Saya seemed just as unfazed. Whether that would change with time, I didn’t know, but our beginning was a drab shade of gray. I had prepared some words in case sharing the bed became awkward, but it seemed there would be no need to say them.

Still, the more I chewed on it, the stranger I felt. I had always thought that if there was a woman I’d share a bed with, it would definitely be Lena. First or last, I had believed she would be the last woman in my life.

Though I’m not sure you could even call this sharing a bed.

“…Lope.”

“Hm?”

Just then, Saya called my name in a voice thick with drowsiness. When I asked back without any expectation, Saya pushed the blanket toward me and spoke.

“Thank you. For everything.”

“I told you, it’s fine.”

I replied as such and pulled the blanket toward me on reflex. The first act of kindness I had ever received from another person was a corner of a blanket shared with a woman I barely knew.

…A woman I barely knew.

That phrasing makes it sound like there’s a true lady of the house somewhere else.

My wandering heart had ultimately fixed on one person. The fact that I could now save that person for certain had lodged itself deep in my chest. But I still had no read on how that person would react. And I didn’t even know how I would feel afterward.

One thing was certain: I would have to go back to the academy tomorrow.

Still, it was a relief to have at least one thing I could be sure of. I pulled the sword in my arms even tighter and closed my eyes. Hoping that somehow, all these countless worries would be resolved.