Ch.129Pastoral Song (2)

Walking out of the hall.

The sky was dark.

Night had begun to fall in the background.

Two people crossing through the dim scenery.

As there happened to be a garden near the building, we moved in that direction to avoid the attention of other students.

The garden, without a single flower blooming in winter, was quite desolate.

Instead, the lightly accumulated snow added a poetic charm.

Though devoid of vitality, it was a season whose very death was beautiful.

We simply walk.

“……”

A gentle silence.

The woman in my arms doesn’t say a word.

I could only sense her presence through our touching skin, shared body heat, and the lingering scent of her perfume.

Our exhaled breaths bloom into white flowers before dissipating.

Suddenly, something touches my chin.

That faint warmth felt exceptionally hot.

I gently ask a question.

“Are you cold?”

“……I’m fine. I was just surprised, that’s all.”

A calm response.

I feel an unnecessary awkwardness.

Perhaps it was because of her somewhat revealing attire, with soft touches making contact here and there.

Normally I wouldn’t pay attention to such things.

But with the unfamiliar perfume and the woman’s scent chaotically mixing together, their seductiveness created something that made my consciousness hazy.

With dizziness spreading from the tip of my nose, I maintain an uncharacteristic silence.

Of course.

The drunk was no different.

Perhaps she felt equally awkward.

Though I had been seeing her for over half a year, this was the first time I’d witnessed such clear emotional agitation from her.

Her red eyes couldn’t bring themselves to look at me.

Her posture remained stiff, her lips showed no sign of parting, and earlier she had even stumbled over her words, which was rare for her.

Bewilderment.

Perhaps it was because the warmth of another person felt unfamiliar to her.

We simply walked through the winter garden.

“There’s a seat over there.”

Soon after.

We find a suitable bench to sit on.

I carefully set the woman down.

Since it was late and the weather was chilly, I placed the outer coat I had been wearing over her shoulders.

Afterward, I kneel on one knee to examine her injured ankle.

Selena says:

“I’m fine.”

“Saying that while limping won’t help. I’ll take a look, so please relax.”

The woman couldn’t bring herself to push me away at my firm tone.

I remove the shoe from her foot.

Her foot gradually becomes bare. Beyond it, I can see her snow-white skin and ankle.

Perhaps because it was twisted, there was a slight swelling.

The snake extends its hand.

“Ugh…”

The drunk simultaneously shrinks her shoulders.

My touch lands delicately.

I massage her foot with dignity.

The smooth sensation of her toes is particularly tangible in my hand.

The lukewarm heat from her sole, the coldness of my hands chilled by winter, the temperature gradually mixing and becoming sticky, and the sense of transgression from the thought of defiling it.

The shadow I subtly cast gradually covers her slender ankle.

The snake caresses with care.

“Uh, ugh… haa…”

Though I could hear faint breaths, I pretended not to notice.

Meanwhile, the darkness that had seeped in reduces the swelling.

When even the pain that had remained in her ankle completely disappears, eyes that are slightly unfocused look down at me.

I smile at that blurry gaze.

It was an innocently fabricated smile.

“It shouldn’t hurt anymore now.”

“……”

“Master?”

“Ah… thank you.”

The drunk belatedly comes to her senses.

A short deep breath follows.

She mutters as if checking my reaction.

Only bitterness is reflected in her blood-colored pupils.

“I’m sorry… I seem to have become a burden.”

“Not at all.”

“But I couldn’t join the party you were looking forward to.”

“Hmm.”

Was that what she was worried about?

Perhaps since the request for partnership came from the student’s side, she might have wanted to meet those expectations.

A woman who, despite always appearing rigid, harbored her own warmth.

I shake my head and say:

“I’m actually happy.”

“What…?”

“Because I was able to be of some help to you.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Usually, I’m in a position where I only receive help, but now, even if it’s something small, I was able to return that help, and that fact is very meaningful and joyful to me.”

“……”

“I’m fine. Please don’t worry about it.”

“……I see.”

The woman answers after a slight delay.

The atmosphere settles.

Is she troubled by complicated thoughts as usual?

After being silent for a while, she inadvertently mutters to herself.

It was a lament.

“Judas… you’re truly a good person.”

Or perhaps regret.

I return the drunk’s words right back to her.

“Well, that’s because I’m the student of a good person.”

“Thank you for the flattery.”

“I mean it sincerely. Where else would there be someone who looks after a student like me who acts as they please?”

“I didn’t particularly think about helping you.”

“That’s proof as well. Outwardly indifferent, but inwardly harboring a warm heart.”

“You’re praising me too much.”

“I’m just reporting what I’ve observed.”

I came to know by watching.

Your kindness.

The lessons where you try your best while pretending to be indifferent, the meticulous way you organize each textbook, and finally, your attitude that’s never harsh towards the children.

From an objective standpoint, Selena was quite an excellent educator.

Except for her chronic alcoholism.

‘You are.’

A good person.

I wanted to convey such encouragement, but Selena merely gave a hollow laugh and shook her head.

In her cold pupils, only one adult existed.

It was an incredibly lonely atmosphere.

“I… wasn’t like that. From beginning to end, it was just the result of following my own desires.”

“Everyone lives for their desires.”

Everyone must be like that.

People cannot live without clinging to desires, and that’s why the adjective “lowly” is attached before their name.

I was no different.

After all, I had countless desires in my previous life.

The desire for someone to live.

The desire for an illness to miraculously heal.

And if even that couldn’t be fulfilled… the desire to die in their place.

Though they all ended up as regrets.

At that time, such feelings kept me going day by day.

So I think.

Desire isn’t bad.

If lonely adults don’t even covet desires, they might lose all meaning in life.

This was our last sense of self to exist as ourselves.

Even if somewhat twisted.

“So… no one will blame you.”

I wear a bright smile.

As if you haven’t done anything wrong yet.

“Please don’t blame yourself.”

“……”

The woman stares down at me blankly.

Before long, the dark clouds disappear, and for a moment, a smile breaks out on her face.

It was an expression as if the worries weighing on her shoulders had been washed away.

She says:

“I just can’t win against you with words.”

“Hehe.”

“Regardless of being called a good person… Judas, you should be careful not to get stabbed out there.”

“I think I’ve heard something similar a few times.”

“Take it to heart.”

“I certainly will.”

A somewhat softer tone.

A lightened atmosphere.

Had the pain that remained like an afterimage in her ankle also disappeared with that brief conversation?

The drunk moves her leg that had been stretched out.

Rustle-

Her bare foot touches the ground.

The garden’s grass blades softly embrace her delicate sole.

The uncomfortable shoes had been set aside.

Selena staggers for a moment to find her balance, then turns to me and extends her hand.

Her purple hair, intertwined with the moon and darkness, was especially beautiful.

Her lips say:

“Although we’ve left the party… if this place is okay, shall we continue the rest of our dance?”

“You’re not going back?”

“I think I might twist my ankle again if I put on those shoes.”

“Then… it will be a party just for the two of us.”

“Meaning is what you make of it.”

A thicket where the gazes of others don’t reach.

A garden where stars and the moon sparkle.

The scene of crossing the grass barefoot.

At the center, only a woman and a boy stand, and soon they hold each other’s hands.

The lukewarm mixing of body heat erases winter.

“How about it?”

“I’d be delighted to accept.”

The two move slowly.

The distant hall.

With the faint melody coming from there as a backdrop.

A clumsy serenade, one step at a time.

And one step at a time.

We take our steps.

“It’s strange. I never thought there’d be a day in my life when I’d dance with a man.”

“You mean you’ve never done it before?”

“To be precise, I had no will to. I never had any interest in anyone from the start.”

“Then… are you saying you have no experience in such matters?”

A superstition suddenly crosses my mind.

Something about how if a pure man and woman pair up at a party, their love will come true.

Because that part came to mind, I ended up asking.

The woman answers with a subtle voice:

“Well, what do you think?”

It was an expression I’d never seen before.

A smile that seemed to hold a very faint hint of mischief, making it feel all the more dizzying.

The drunk places her hand on my waist.

She whispers in my ear:

“If it’s true… would you take responsibility as the superstition suggests?”

“Gladly.”

“Not even a moment of hesitation.”

“If that’s what you desire.”

“You’re saying dangerous things.”

Of course.

She doesn’t accept.

“I’ll pass.”

“That’s a shame.”

“It’s just… I’ve already committed too many things to shift the responsibility to someone else.”

“Still, your words made me happy.”

I too am waiting.

Until you escape from those dark circumstances.

Until you fully forgive yourself.

“Being someone’s first means it will remain special in their memories.”

So.

The fact that I would be remembered as special to you made me as happy as the starlight in this garden.

The drunk laughs hollowly after hearing this.

As if she can’t help but find it amusing.

“If other students knew… they might really come to hate me.”

“Hehe.”

Interlocked hands.

Amidst the flowing wind and stars, the final nocturne was resonating.

Perhaps it was a melody that weaves destinies.

“”……”

Settling silence.

We were fully focused.

Whatever the meaning might be.

The shape of flesh squishing together with each close moment, the chest that seemed to capture that hot body temperature, the subtle perfume scent that captivated the nose, and even the reflection of oneself beyond that seductive redness.

The contours accentuated by the dress draw the eye.

It was a scene that anyone would covet and admire, yet it was her appearance permitted solely to me.

A strange atmosphere flows through our interlocked hands.

However.

Neither of us opened our mouths.

Against the backdrop of the night sky and stars, only the wind brushed past.

Even that prolonged silence was enchanting.

And so.

We spent the night.

***

Meanwhile.

In the underground shrouded in darkness.

Those wearing dark red robes had gathered there.

Blood was splattered all over the surrounding floor.

“”The time has finally come.””

The assailants pray in unison.

Each with a distorted vocal cord.

Beyond the holy-sounding chorus of demons, an ominous energy writhes, announcing its awakening.

Demonic Energy scattering like broken glass.

It was the symbol of dark magicians.

“”By washing all lowly beings with young blood, and nobly burning complete hatred.”

Significant sentences.

What culminates at the end of that meditation was none other than a festival of blood and slaughter.

On the altar, documents about a certain academy were piled up.

It was none other than Gallimar Academy.

“”The Lord commands to awaken the dormant calamity.”

The increasingly horrific melody fills the deep underground.

What filled their eyes was.

Only madness, thirst, and slaughter.

The combined words cry out:

“”Deliver the message to the traitor.”

And so the world.

Into an uncontrollable danger.