Date 4

The dreamlike Saturday came to an end.

It was Sunday morning when Han Seoyeon opened her eyes.

“Huh…?”

She blinked her eyes drowsily.

The first thing that came out of her mouth was a somewhat dazed sound.

“This is…”

The reason was simple.

Because the place where she opened her eyes wasn’t the Academy dormitory.

A luxurious ceiling.

A spacious room with an antique feel could be seen.

She was in a large bed that could easily fit two people.

“It’s a hotel.”

Michaela, sitting demurely at the table, said.

Han Seoyeon blinked blankly for a moment.

“…Ho, tel?”

“That’s right.”

Her thoughts stopped for a moment.

Ho, hotel, what’s that suddenly─.

“It wouldn’t have been good if we had returned to the dormitory while you were drunk and got caught.”

A student drinking is clearly illegal.

Even if it was just one glass.

Moreover, the Academy is, for now, an institution with military purposes.

In the worst case, there could be punishment.

So they stayed at a hotel instead of going back.

The plausibility of how a minor could get a hotel room was sufficiently explained by the black card.

“Ah…”

Only then could Han Seoyeon recall last night’s events.

The fact that she had blacked out after drinking one glass of wine.

“Ah!”

Han Seoyeon looked at Michaela with slightly teary eyes.

“Se, senior. I didn’t do anything weird, did I…?”

“What do you mean by weird?”

“Like, trying to do something bad to you, or something like that…!”

The worst assumptions she could imagine.

Sexually harassing or trying to molest a woman while drunk.

There’s nothing more vulgar than that.

“Almost nothing.”

“Re, really?”

“That’s right. Except for burying your face in my back saying it was warm while I was carrying you.”

“─.”

Is the Han River warm yet?

Han Seoyeon was seized by the urge to look for a suitable burial plot.

“Ah, but…”

Being carried while completely drunk is no big deal.

Michaela doesn’t get upset over things like that.

“There was one thing that wasn’t quite pleasant, though.”

However, there was one thing.

One thing that bothered Michaela’s heart.

“Wh, what is it? I did wrong! I won’t do it again!”

“Is that true?”

“Yes! I promise!”

Han Seoyeon promised blindly, not knowing what it was, even though she couldn’t remember.

“In that case,”

These were rash words.

Michaela asked solemnly.

“I’d like you to tell me, without hiding, what you meant when you said all your siblings would die soon.”

What she had been hiding.

The words she had blurted out while drunk.

“…What.”

“And I’d also like you to tell me why that was a secret from me.”

All traces of bewilderment disappeared from Han Seoyeon’s expression.

Not just surprise, but shock.

Emotions of anxiety and fear appeared on her face.

“How did you…”

“You said it yourself. That’s all there is to it.”

“…I see.”

If it had been the usual Michaela, she wouldn’t have pried.

She wouldn’t have pressured the girl and demanded an answer.

It’s natural for secrets to be hidden.

Prying is not polite.

But now it was different.

Now, she had no choice but to be this forceful.

“Um, senior…”

“You are not alone.”

Because Han Seoyeon was trying to shoulder everything alone, like last time.

“Don’t try to bear everything by yourself.”

“…”

You can hide secrets.

However, there are also secrets that should definitely be told.

“I don’t know exactly what the situation is. But since you, of all people, didn’t tell me about it, it must surely be a dangerous matter. Perhaps even life-threatening.”

Michaela had known Han Seoyeon when she was being bullied.

She remembered that Han Seoyeon, who was being bullied, hadn’t told her anything.

The will of the sword had explained that it was because she didn’t want to show weakness to the person she had a crush on.

But Michaela thought differently.

Once, she had killed a porter.

For the sake of her precious companions, she had tried to finish things with as little harm to them as possible.

That was a miscalculation.

It was a presumptuous assumption.

The reason was not having a conversation.

The result led to catastrophe.

Everyone was sad, and she was sentenced to death.

The road to hell is always paved with good intentions.

Someone doing something for someone else doesn’t necessarily help that other person.

It’s something she had experienced once.

That’s why Michaela wanted to try.

A conversation.

To avoid misunderstandings between them.

“You probably wanted to handle things without it reaching my ears. You probably thought you shouldn’t involve me in your circumstances.”

“…”

Han Seoyeon remained silent.

Objections were worthless.

Because it was all true.

“Do you not trust me?”

“Th-That’s not it…!”

“Then, don’t hide it.”

Michaela didn’t want to repeat the same mistake twice.

“I am strong.”

Beheading the Demon King with the Sword of Winter.

Slaughtering countless monsters even in her second life.

“I won’t die or anything just from helping you.”

It’s a statement of objective facts.

Michaela doesn’t die easily.

“Trust me more. You can rely on me more. I simply cannot tolerate seeing good people like you suffer.”

She wants to be trusted.

That the senior she has a crush on is strong.

“I wish you wouldn’t hide things. I’m fine. Rather, I’m more troubled when I can’t do anything and have to leave you alone.”

She wants to be relied upon.

By the girl who has a crush on her.

“Just as you wish for my happiness, I too wish for your happiness.”

Reward for the good.

Retribution for the evil.

That was the value system of the existence called Michaela.

“You and I are friends, aren’t we?”

Friends.

A relationship of sharing joys and sorrows.

Beings allowed to share pain.

“…”

The silence still wasn’t broken.

Without warning, Michaela approached Han Seoyeon’s side.

“You seem to be misunderstanding something.”

Han Seoyeon’s vision was filled with the silver-haired girl.

The scent of a young woman numbed her sense of smell.

“Do I─”

“Senior…?”

“Do I look like a good person to you?”

Her face drew close.

Close enough to feel her breath.

“Senior, your face is so close…!”

“If you think so, that’s a misunderstanding.”

Close enough that their lips might touch at any moment.

“Listen well.”

Michaela declared.

“I am arrogant.”

That’s right.

Her nature is arrogant.

Even though she committed the crime of murder long ago, and made her companions’ faces contort with sadness, she doesn’t regret it, though she may have lingering attachments.

“I will protect what I consider precious. By any means necessary. Even if as a result of those actions, I incur the hatred of someone precious to me.”

Even if she acted for someone precious, if that precious person becomes sad as a result of those actions, she too would bear countless regrets and be sad.

“Don’t think you can run away or refuse.”

That was all.

She never hesitates when it comes to actions.

“You were the one who approached me first. You were the one who approached me first, when I had no interest in new students or friendships.”

Above all.

“The one who fell for me first was none other than you yourself.”

Love is the defeat of the one who falls first.

That’s what Han Seoyeon had said.

“Do you understand what I’m saying?”

“…But is it okay?”

“It is.”

“…Is it okay to borrow such a convenient, miraculously found power?”

Han Seoyeon is a munchkin protagonist.

She’s the one who gives salvation, not receives it.

Is it really okay?

From a character who wasn’t even in the original story, whom she’s only known for two months.

Without any price.

Without any foreshadowing or plausibility.

Is it okay to receive help?

“It’s not a coincidence.”

Michaela whispered.

Coincidence refers to cause and effect that aligns without one’s own actions.

“Didn’t you approach me? Didn’t you confess to me and create the opportunity for us to become friends? So.”

Han Seoyeon was different.

She acted on her own.

“This is simply an inevitable thing.”

Therefore, the relationship between Han Seoyeon and Michaela could only be inevitable.

“Do you understand what I’m saying?”

“…Yes.”

Tears fell.

They were tears full of joy.

“I’ll believe in you, senior. I’ll rely on you.”

“I feel the same. I will believe in you and rely on you.”

Han Seoyeon smiled brightly.

Only then could Michaela also smile with relief.

The sound of water streams echoes in the shower room.

Beyond the hazy steam, the girl in the mirror was expressionless.

[That behavior was unlike you.]

More precisely, she thought herself to be expressionless.

[At this rate, it’s hard to even call you a scabbard.]

Scabbard.

The reason for Michaela Wittelsbach’s existence.

A girl born with a sword is not human.

She was merely a scabbard in human form.

“No.”

Therefore, she cannot feel human emotions.

“I am always just a scabbard. Nothing has changed.”

[For someone saying that, you seemed quite excited.]

Excited, huh.

Certainly, it might have appeared that way to others.

It might have looked like friends or lovers having an argument.

“That’s wrong.”

Michaela denied it.

[Don’t you want to protect that child?]

That too is incorrect.

The phrase ‘want to’ protect.

“She is a good person.”

Must protect.

Absolutely.

“Protecting such good people is nothing more than common sense.”

As someone who has received help from good people before.

This was merely a proper duty.

It’s just a normal value system carried out mechanically.

Not free will.

“That’s all there is to it.”

The act of breathing in and out is common sense for living.

Michaela’s principle of action was the same.

Something naturally done while living.

There was no meaning beyond that.

[You’re not being honest.]

That was nonsense.

“It seems it’s not me who’s acting unlike themselves, but you. Saying such useless things.”

Michaela didn’t realize.

The fact that a conversation was being established on this topic, rather than consistent ignorance, and what that implied.

[…I see.]

The voice in the sword refrained from speaking further.

Michaela finished her shower and hurriedly changed clothes.

Han Seoyeon would be waiting, after all.