Chapter 51: Jealousy

RUMBLE!!!

A powerful beam of light struck near the academy.

“EEK!!!”

“W-what is it?!”

“Is it an attack…?”

Startled by the dazzling light and loud roar, people fussed.

However, the woman who emerged from the beam of light paid no mind to the surrounding gazes and leisurely stretched.

“Ugh…! Did I arrive too early?”

The beautiful woman with mystical sky-blue hair, Elisha…

Having grown at a terrifying speed during the break, she had run all the way to the academy using her pure physical abilities.

To ordinary people, her appearance simply looked like a beam of light.

Elisha savored the academy’s scent, which she hadn’t smelled in a long time, and walked towards the main gate.

As she had gained fame by handling various incidents, some students sent her gazes of admiration.

However, despite the surrounding gazes, she pretended not to see them and walked past.

Because what was important to Elisha now wasn’t her fans…

‘Haa… I’m so thirsty I could die… Have we been apart for too long?’

A smile formed on Elisha’s lips as she let out a sweet sigh.

Imagining his face after such a long time, she couldn’t help but feel a little excited.

After all, it’s natural to become blind when you love someone…

Of course, it is!

Thinking that to herself, Elisha’s steps became even lighter.

The blowing wind and the chirping of birds made her spirits soar.

Even though the world seemed beautiful, she felt no sense of incongruity whatsoever.

Although this world was a damned one where, no matter how much the Regressor struggled, it would ultimately crash into the worst possible ending…

Just thinking of him made Elisha so completely infatuated that she could mistake the world for being beautiful from the start.

Her hair, which danced and swayed with her mood from a certain point, was proof of this.

A peculiar phenomenon only seen in those brimming with talent, who could control their aura as well as Hestia or Arie…

It was a moment that confirmed Elisha’s talent, honed through regression, was just as monstrous as theirs.

Elisha didn’t go to meet him right away; she stopped by her dormitory first.

Though she longed to see him immediately, it was due to her girlish side, as she didn’t want to show him a disheveled appearance.

Elisha, who had tidied her hair and changed into casual clothes that were natural yet highlighted her charm…

She prepared to meet him in her most confident state.

– Smack!

“Perfect!”

She didn’t forget to lightly slap her cheeks with both hands to create a faint blush.

Elisha created a mirror with magic and checked her appearance.

“This should be good enough, right…?”

Despite her near-perfect beauty, she didn’t consider herself special.

It was true that Hestia and Arie, who possessed comparable beauty, were nearby, but the biggest reason was that her looks didn’t seem to work on the person she liked.

In her mind, outstanding beauty was nothing more or less than ‘what he liked.’

Nevertheless, Elisha adorned herself because she wished he would look upon her even a little more favorably.

After all, everyone wants to be remembered beautifully by the person they like…

Thus, Elisha left her dormitory in peak condition.

With a confident expression, she headed towards where his dormitory was located.

Since he stayed at the academy even during the break, it was obvious where he would be; she could find him with her eyes closed.

After a long wait, she would finally meet him again.

What should they do first when they meet?

Should they eat together first?

Elisha walked lightly and gracefully, recalling his cute, subtly flustered reactions whenever she playfully teased him…

However, what entered her sight as she neared his dormitory was……

“…Shall we go to a cafe first?”

“Yes, let’s continue our conversation there.”

It was his back, heading somewhere with some thieving cat.

****

At the same time.

There was another person watching that scene…

– CRUNCH!!!

A giant tree was shattered, its center deeply indented.

It was a tremendous sound, as if someone had cast a spell on the tree…

But when one actually looked there, what they saw was a beautiful, expressionless woman with blonde hair.

“Huuuogh……”

She took a low, deep breath, swept back her hair, and when she removed her hand from the tree, fragments on the verge of turning to powder rained down.

The identity of the woman who had shattered the tree with the pure grip strength of her hands was none other than the Hero, Hestia.

She was quietly suppressing her anger beside the tree, which looked precarious with its center destroyed.

‘…How annoying.’

Her most precious friend was with some strange woman whose name she didn’t even know.

Seeing the woman, neatly dressed and pretending not to know him, conversing with him, as if intending to somehow sweet-talk the innocent him, she couldn’t suppress her anger and ended up shattering an innocent tree.

Hestia irritably brushed off the powder remaining on her hands and continued to watch them.

The two headed towards a cafe, suggesting they talk elsewhere…

However, Hestia did not follow them; she merely stood still in that spot, continuing to watch.

…Her expression was blank, but her eyes held a terrifying, murderous glint.

Had anyone seen her eyes, they would have found themselves instinctively backing away.

Hestia was boiling with such intense anger inside, but she wasn’t particularly angry at him.

In fact, she was grateful for even the smallest things concerning him, to the point of feeling thankful that he was healthy.

However, Hestia was ultimately a person with emotions, so she couldn’t help but feel a little sulky.

‘As I am now… am I not enough?’

Hestia, thinking herself pathetic for being insufficient and unable to satisfy him…

The anger that had accumulated from her negative emotions was directed entirely at the vixen-like woman clinging to his side and pretending to be close.

How dare she…

Dare she take advantage of his kindness and try to swindle him?

She was suppressing her anger internally, forgetting that one should not hastily judge what kind of person someone is.

Hestia turned her eyes away from the sight she didn’t want to see and clenched her fists tightly.

Then she quietly muttered a vow, unheard by anyone.

“Please wait a little longer. I will… definitely…”

…try my best to become the woman you like.

Her back, as she turned away, looked more determined than ever.

****

Yulia’s sudden appearance was curious, and I was also curious about what she wanted to say, so we headed to a cafe to talk for a bit.

For a moment, a chilling sensation ran down my spine from an eerie aura, but feeling instinctively that I shouldn’t know what it was, I decided to just ignore it.

Yulia and I moved to a quiet, uncrowded cafe, but we encountered an unexpected ambush.

“……”

“……”

“Mmm~! Delicious~.”

The woman sitting next to me was slurping her drink with a loud slurp…

Perhaps she was displeased, as she was emitting an ominous blue aura, yet her expression remained chillingly bright.

Familiar sky-blue hair…

The uninvited guest between us was none other than Elisha.

Yulia, who was sitting opposite, looked back and forth between Elisha and me, her face full of question marks.

She seemed to be asking for an explanation of the situation, but I was just as clueless about what was happening.

Where did this woman suddenly pop out from…?

Yulia and I silently watched Elisha, while Elisha simply drank her beverage without a word.

Thus, a strange period of silence continued, short yet seemingly long.

“……”

“……”

“……”

‘…This is so awkward, seriously…’

I wanted to drop everything, Yulia or not, and escape this place immediately.

Should I abuse my authority and run away?

What are the terrorists doing, not showing up at a time like this?

I thought about various things internally, but all of them had flaws for escaping this situation, so I decided to give up.

To be frank, Elisha wasn’t particularly quick-witted, but since she was the Regressor, I had to act carefully in front of her.

Otherwise, even I didn’t know what might happen…

I tried to start the conversation as naturally as possible.

“Um… Elisha-ssi? What brings you here?”

“Before that, isn’t there something you should say to me?”

‘What? Don’t tell me she found out I fell asleep clinging to Hestia?’

“…Well…”

“Greetings, greetings. We haven’t seen each other in a while, aren’t you going to greet me?”

“Ah, it’s been a while, Elisha-ssi…”

“Yes, I missed you too.”

‘…But I didn’t say I missed you…?’

“Haha, I’m just grateful to hear you say that.”

“Hmm~.”

As I chuckled awkwardly, Elisha leaned her body towards me, flashing an alluring smile.

When I subtly turned my head to the opposite side in the rather burdensome situation, her smile deepened even further.

“Wow…”

“Who is that person?”

“You don’t know? It’s widely rumored that she possesses talent comparable to the Hero-nim…”

Whispers about Elisha’s beauty could be heard from the surroundings.

In their eyes, her smile might appear more beautiful than any jewel, but to me, it just looked like a malicious grin, as if she had found an interesting toy.

I broke out in a cold sweat and avoided Elisha’s gaze.

‘……It seems she didn’t come with good intentions.’