237 – Crossing (4)
#5
It seems like yesterday when I was tearing through the wall of a person who was swarming under the bright sunlight.
The heat of life that I felt every time I inhaled and exhaled is nowhere, and only the cold air gently caresses my lungs.
“Ezio!”
“Shh.”
The voice is loud. I wonder if I jumped out of my sleep, Rubia in pajamas jumped at me with her sleeves and hair fluttering.
“Mo, the body. Where, I’m not hurt… ?”
I put my finger on her lips and gestured for her to be quiet, and Rubia nodded her head and asked in a smaller voice.
She said, “I hear you are recovering separately. Even her friends wouldn’t let her go in….”
Um, is that so?
“It’s okay. There’s nothing wrong with it.”
I was embarrassed, but Rubia looked at me suspiciously.
“… Aren’t you lying?”
“Really? Totally cool Don’t worry, it’s the same as usual.”
“… Do you look like you don’t care?”
Rubia pushed her upper lip up with her lower lip. She made a sullen face and she came closer to me. Although I hit her sneaky back step.
With a bang, a small fist touched my chest.
“I want to hit you harder, but I’ll be patient.”
“… ….”
“Do you know how surprised I was then? Anyone could see that he was going to die. I really… I know you’re going to die.”
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s all about words. No sincerity.”
If you can’t do it with words, you have to show it with your actions. What should i do Should I ask for a favor… ?
The bird that was thinking inwardly, “Ha-am-” Said someone approaching with a long yawn.
“Just beat it up, Rubia. A guy like that listens to what he says.”
Likewise, it was Yuri in her pajamas.
“If you’re going to not listen to me even if you lose anyway, wouldn’t it be better to lose it coolly? Even though my body is fine, just hit me once. Just one, no more, no less.”
Untied hair fluttered from the waist. I suddenly felt the urge to twist my hair and tie it tightly. It’s just sticking gum on top of that. How will Yuri cry when she is forced to cut her hair? I’d never heard of it, so I wanted to hear it even more.
“… What, what What you looking at. Are you thinking weird now?”
But, perhaps, my insidious intentions were clearly revealed on my face, and the footsteps of Yuri, who was approaching this way, stopped in a startle.
“No? It’s not?”
“Right! I see everything! This pervert! Don’t look at me with those eyes!”
… Was it the kind of look I needed to hear even the sound of perverts?
“And, what did I say wrong?! You say you want to lose because you’re wrong, what’s the problem!”
“The problem is that I thought of solving it with actions, not with words. You’ll have me re-educate you. Come on. I will teach you what manners are.”
“Hee, hee… ? Hey, you’re a pervert as well! Rubia! Get away from him! Quickly-“
“You’re putting on a show that isn’t even funny.”
The hated Yuri and her I jumped forward as if threatening Yuri.
“Noisy, you guys.”
The person who appeared while clearing her ears was Mew.
“What a mess in the middle of the night, this. Wake up a sleeping person….”
“Still, when Mr. Ezio said he was back, he jumped up and came out.”
“… ….”
Meanwhile, Mew, her sweatshirt zipped up to the top of her neck, glared at Stella, whether she was wearing her clothes or just fell asleep.
Immediately.
“Your face looks fine. Ezio.”
Coming closer to me, I glanced at Rubia, who had been silent.
“Yes, it’s okay- billion!”
Fuck!
With my hands in her pockets, I landed a low kick on my shin.
“Because of you. I.”
“Wait a minute- oh!”
“How much, hard work, huh? Did you- you know?”
After kicking the left side, the right side.
Paak!
“No, sorry-“
“Sorry, I have to. Of course! Colleagues, consciousness too! No! Alone! If you eat it all! Line ending! I know! You are real!”
“Wait, bone, bone hit- ghah!”
“Yes? Did you hit the bone? You hit me right! Uh!”
He took turns slapping my shin. She held out her hand and declared surrender, but Mu did not stop. In addition, no one stopped this one-sided assault. Rubia also covered her mouth with her hand and watched me as I was being beaten by Mew.
… Put your hands up Aren’t you laughing? Although Rubia wouldn’t be able to do that.
“Whoa, whoop!”
“Eukek-“
Fuck!
In the end, even fists in the pit of the stomach.
“Keuk, kuhk…. Hey, this is so… Severe….”
Saliva flowed from her mouth. If Mew had hit me seriously, my bones would have been shattered. Of course, even if it was a weak blow, it was very painful.
Glancing at her stomach, Johnny shrugged her shoulders.
“It was bad. How about this did you hurt sorry. I’m sorry, don’t blame me now. Just say sorry and it’s over. Right?”
“… ….”
It was only then that I realized what Mew wanted to convey to me.
“Please, I beg you, if you’re sorry, don’t do anything to be sorry. You know what we’re thinking, so why do we keep doing the opposite? You want to fuck us? That’s not it. You have your own thoughts, so you abandoned us and acted alone.”
“… ….”
“But I don’t like that. What is this friend If you’re really friends, you should have at least said something. Whatever.”
“… She told me about the plan….”
“I didn’t agree? In the first place, what happened then was not the plan you said.”
“… ….”
“I’m going to do this, so you guys should help me too. Or don’t meddle. How good is this I know very well that you won’t ask for help because of your personality, but I want you to think about me, who is just waiting without any information.”
It’s quiet. The already quiet surroundings became more still.
I nodded heavily, breathing heavily as I was hit by the pit of the stomach.
“… Okay.”
“End?”
“… I’ll tell you next time.”
“Even if I die, I will go alone.”
Tsk tsk, Myu clicked his tongue.
“If something like this happens next time, I’m afraid I’ll just hang myself and die. Then you give up-“
“Hey.”
I am very strict and serious.
“Don’t say that even as a joke.”
That’s how he threatened me.
“… I already did it. What is it?”
Mew hesitated, but shrugged his shoulders again, taking his time.
… Look at this guy Are you doing this on purpose? My nerves are gently scratched and I try to wriggle. Anyway, what did I do that for? Even if he did something to be criticized, he would end up crying from the inside.
“… Child, indeed. Why are you doing that Everyone came back safely, and that’s it. Don’t frown, everyone. Yeah?”
As a strange confrontation formed, Stella, who acted as an intermediary, clapped her hands in pairs.
… Yes, what
This is not the time.
Anyway, the reason we’re here now is because Stella called everyone together.
Looking around the dark and lonely surroundings, Yuri, who was still wary of me, tilted her head.
“Right, so why did we call? Even waking up a sleeping person….”
“Oh, that’s-“
At this, Stella paused for a moment.
There was no need to rush to announce my return. It was something I could tell you tomorrow morning, not now. But it’s so late at night, I’m going to have a good time… What the hell are you planning?
“Isn’t today the last day of the festival?”
Stella said.
“… Is the festival already over?”
Yuri had a deeper question.
As she said, the stage was lifted on the 2nd day, and events and festivals scheduled for the 2nd and 3rd days were canceled one after another. Things like the last fireworks display, the sacramental ceremony led by the high priest, and the ball in the grand banquet hall.
The frontier must have suffered a lot as well. I spent a lot of money and prepared everything to welcome guests, but I couldn’t accept them.
“Right. It’s already over.”
Stella said that and moved her leg. She suddenly walked through her garden, and naturally we had no choice but to follow her.
“That’s why I regret it even more. I really enjoyed the time I spent with you guys.”
That’s… I agree. On the first night, the splendid view of the fireworks I saw then was deeply stored in my mind. In order to see them and the scenery once again, I decided to sacrifice my body to kill the devil.
“I mean…. Before today passes, we wanted to enjoy the end of the festival by ourselves.”
Stella turned to us. She suddenly lifted her finger and carved a spark into the tip.
Tadak, tadadak─
It was a small and noisy firework. It was like a spark of magical power, and it bounced like a miniaturized firecracker and gave off a faint light.
… No, actually that was a spark. An act that merely finely controlled the amount of mana leaking out and burned it. It may require considerable mana manipulation skills, but… In any case, in the eyes of others, it was just a spark, nothing more and nothing less.
Stella ran her finger around her circle. The flame also followed him in a circle, spinning half a beat late. It left an afterimage like a faint brushstroke.
“Today is a day worthy of blessing. Ezio returned unscathed, and all of you are here. Then, isn’t this the moment we should commemorate in our hearts?”
Stella drew with flames in the air, moving her arms as if dancing. Depending on the angle of the fire, her face brightened, she repeated to darken. The shade faded and it was dyed yellow again.
“Yes, no.”
Seeing her excited like a child, Myu sighed with her arms crossed.
“What are you going to do? It was late, and if there was a fuss outside….”
“Even if there is a commotion, we can play in a place where there is no problem.”
Refuting that, Stella stared insinuatingly beyond the overgrown vegetation.
Perhaps he realized something, Mew hated it.
“… Please, let’s go up? There? In addition?”
“Sure. Since the weather is cold, we will also build a bonfire this time. It feels like camping, isn’t it? Besides, there is no lecture tomorrow.”
“No, I want to go back.”
The circle of flame that had been rotating for a long time stayed at one point. Mew, who narrowed her brows, met Stella’s staring gaze and tapped her on the shoulder.
“I am tired. I have no intention of playing along with your pranks. If you want to do that, do it yourself.”
“… Even though there are mountains of things I haven’t heard from Mr. Ezio yet?”
“You can ask me tomorrow. Because i’m tired I’m not going to tell you now or not. Right, Ezio?”
“… Uh, uh.”
For some reason, he had a sharp look on his face, so he reluctantly nodded.
“Me, me. Great.”
It was Rubia’s small voice.
“I had a lot of questions about Ezio… yeah, that sounds like fun I was a little sad too Is it really the end like this?”
“Right?”
“Yes. Shall I bring you something to eat?”
“Good idea. Do you have anything to cook?”
“That, well… ? Um, nothing like that….”
“Hmm, then, shall we use the kitchen facilities inside the dormitory? Maybe there are ingredients-“
“Wait, wait. Guys, the story is so fast. Are you really going up there? Now?”
Yuri raised her hand to pause their conversation for a moment. As her eyes focused on her, Yuri cleared her throat slightly and spoke.
“I like playing with you guys… Actually, I don’t really want to do anything dangerous. I mean, I got a call from my dad today. I barely calmed him down, saying nothing was wrong, but I think he’s going to keep in touch with the professors for a while and keep an eye on him. But if you scratch and get a boil… Um, I’d better hold back. Sorry.”
Even in Yuri’s eyes as she said that, there was a glimpse of tiredness. Say, time is time. Everyone deserves to be tired. Rather, Stella, who suggested that we light a bonfire and play at a time like now, would be more strange.
“… Okay?”
“Yes…. Sorry. Or let’s hang out in the lobby. If it was there, no one would say anything. It will be fine.”
“No. Ezio can’t come in. Right now, even with consent, entry is impossible.”
“… Except for him, we can play together.”
“Shouldn’t the leading role be absent?”
“… What is the leading role? Anyways, I’m leaving. If you really want to play outside, I can’t help it.”
In this way, an implicit majority vote was in progress with Rubia and Stella, two in favor, and Yuri and Mew, two against.
Perhaps if I refuse here, the meeting will be ruined as it is, and if I join, Stella, Rubia, and me. The three of them were going to throw a small party like this.
“Mr. Ezio… What are you going to do?”
Tadak, tadak.
The flame that Stella had lit at her fingertips was still burning. However, the tantrum was more paler than before. Like a flame that will soon go out.
Looking at the fireworks, I thought.
Why is Stella suddenly like this?
I used to be a guy who likes to play pranks, but now… She had a strong feeling of being forced.
The purpose of the proposal itself is understandable. It must be that they want to put an end to the festival that ended poorly due to the demon’s rampage.
It was truly romantic to sit around a blazing bonfire and chat while reminiscing about the memories of a fun festival. When I pictured it in my head, it was a very good picture.
I don’t care either. Good night. Good….
I, who stared at the flames of fireworks, couldn’t shake off my doubts.
“Stella.”
“Yes.”
“Are you hiding anything from us?”
If you ask me that.
“…… Yeah?”
In an instant, Stella blinked her eyes.
… I thought of Stella lying on a chair at the station. You were lying there waiting for me. Maybe it really was, but well. Could there have been other intentions besides that? I went out for a walk out of my mind. In the meantime, you waited for me.
“Just because it looked like that.”
If I hadn’t come back today, would Stella have turned her feet back to her dorm? Would she go back, call her friends, and suggest a last night’s play as she does now?
And… Why did I just think I was the last one?
“For example….”
That’s probably it.
“Like leaving here tomorrow.”
It must be because the appearances of me and Stella, who wanted to engrave memories while watching the fireworks with them, were very similar.
“… ….”
At my humble question.
“…… What are you talking about, Mr. Ezio?”
Stella just extinguished the flame.