Chapter 172

Rė​àd ​ò​n &K;аｔR̂eａdｉng&C;aｆｅ

A week had passed since that incident.

Time flowed without stopping.

Even if someone stood still, time wouldn’t wait for them.

It passed by indifferently, with no regard for anyone.

‘Has it already been a week…?’

Arin felt that fact keenly.

While she was still sitting here, the world around her was changing rapidly.

Lucia was still missing. Eugene hadn’t been attending school, and teacher Angelica hadn’t come to the academy since yesterday. 

Rumor has it that something urgent had come up, but the details were unclear. Arin vaguely wondered if it was related to Lucia.

After the academy’s regular classes ended, Arin visited the hospital again today. Leo and Anastasia had wanted to come with her, but Arin politely declined. She wanted to be alone. Leaving their concerns behind, Arin headed to the hospital by herself.

“…”

Arin looked down at the girl lying on the bed.

Between the soft, silky blue hair, she could see the girl’s closed eyes.

Arin carefully reached out and brushed the hair aside.

The face of the girl, who seemed to be sleeping peacefully, was revealed.

Even after several days, Alice had not regained consciousness.

Her physical injuries were healing at an astonishing rate.

But there was no sign of her mental state improving.

“When will you wake up, Alice?”

Arin asked with a bitter smile.

The person who could answer was lost in a dreamless sleep.

Every time Arin saw Alice sleeping.

Every time her gaze fell on Eugene’s empty seat.

Every time she saw Si-ul, the substitute teacher filling in for teacher Angelica.

She couldn’t help but wonder where things had gone wrong.

Could I really not have prevented this?

Was there no way?

Was there no better solution?

What if I had stopped Lucia back then?

No, what if I had prevented her from meeting Carlos and his sister in the first place?

If I had. If only I had…

She knew it was a meaningless assumption.

She was aware that it was just hindsight after everything had already happened.

Yet, why couldn’t she stop herself from thinking about it?

Arin rubbed her face with her hands as if washing it. A faint sigh escaped her lips.

Lately, she hadn’t been able to hold her sword properly. Even when she tried to clear her mind through training as usual, her thoughts only consumed her more. The tip of her sword swayed uncontrollably, making it impossible to focus.

No matter how hard she tried, her mind wouldn’t calm down. She couldn’t even concentrate, so Arin simply put her sword down. 

It had been almost five years since she last let go of her sword. Since the Great Calamity, she had swung her sword almost obsessively. A bitter smile spread across her lips.

“Alice, you know…”

She spoke as if venting. The only person who could listen was Alice, but Alice was deep in sleep. Still, Arin continued without caring.

“I don’t know anymore. What have I been working so hard for all this time?”

Five years.

It felt long, but looking back, those five years weren’t that long.

During those five years, Arin had worked desperately.

No, “desperately” wasn’t enough.

It was obsessive. She craved power as if she were being chased.

Because I survived.

While everyone else was dying, I survived.

While I found a safe place using my danger sense.

While I turned away from the people reaching out for help.

I ran, and ran, and ran.

Even when I fell, even when my knees were scraped, I got back up crying.

Because I survived so cowardly, all by myself.

I had to prove that my survival was worth something.

That’s what I thought.

“I worked hard. So hard. Until my hands bled. Until I pushed myself so hard that I vomited everything inside me.”

So I thought I had changed. That I was different from before. That I had grown stronger. After the field training and the cherry blossom festival, that belief became even stronger. 

I finally broke free from the shackles of the past. That little kid who could only run away crying that day was gone. Gone forever. Arin believed that. She had believed it.

“I thought I had changed, but it was all a delusion.”

The belief shattered in an instant.

Arin smiled self-deprecatingly.

It was clearly a smile, but her eyes trembled as if she were about to cry.

Yet no tears formed.

Because she had already cried too much.

There were no more tears left to shed.

“I turned a blind eye to Lucia’s crisis. Isn’t that ridiculous?”

Even though I knew the woman in the red fox mask was looking for Lucia, I didn’t stop her.

My danger sense warned me. It said I’d be safe if I let her go.

“What… have I been running for all this time?”

The bitter smile turned into a laugh, the laugh into a sneer, and the sneer into self-loathing.

Arin took a deep breath. Her heavy chest felt suffocating. No matter how much she exhaled, it didn’t feel any lighter.

“I don’t know anything anymore.”

The sunset light seeped through the window. The sun was setting. Arin stood up from the chair for the first time in two hours since arriving at the hospital. 

She walked to the window and closed the curtains. The red light that had hurt her eyes grew dim. Arin checked the clock. Curfew was approaching.

Even in a situation like this, I’m still following the rules.

Arin laughed as if it were absurd.

Maybe I should boldly skip school like Eugene.

She had thought about it many times but never acted on it.

“I’ll come again tomorrow.”

I hope tomorrow I’ll see Alice’s two different-colored eyes again.

Arin straightened the chair she had been sitting on and took one last look at Alice.

There was no change in Alice, who lay asleep like a doll.

With a bitter expression, Arin shook her head and grabbed the doorknob.

And just as she was about to open the door.

“?!”

Arin felt a chill run down her spine.

Her danger sense sent a faint warning.

She let go of the doorknob and turned her head.

She looked in the direction her supernatural ability was pointing.

“Alice…?”

A wave of scorching heat rushed over her.

Arin reflexively covered her face. 

She grimaced at the searing pain.

“A supernatural ability… going out of control?”

It was a phenomenon sometimes seen in supernaturals whose emotions had become extreme.

A dangerous situation where their supernatural ability, influenced by emotions, runs wild and becomes uncontrollable.

But Alice was in a coma, wasn’t she?

Arin clenched her teeth and stomped the ground. She didn’t know what was happening, but she felt she couldn’t just leave Alice like this. 

Ignoring the danger sense’s warning that it was dangerous to approach, Arin grabbed Alice’s shoulders. But once she did, she didn’t know what to do. If Alice were conscious, she could have shocked her to stop the rampage, but Alice was in a coma.

How do you calm a supernatural who’s going out of control while unconscious?

Arin, slightly panicked, scrambled through her thoughts. She desperately tried to recall if she had ever come across similar information at the academy. But no clear clues came to mind. 

Cursing internally, Arin organized her thoughts. If I can’t do it, I’ll call someone who can.

This is, after all, the academy’s affiliated hospital.

The medical staff here must know how to handle a rampaging supernatural.

Having quickly reached that conclusion, Arin was about to take action when—

Something grabbed her hand before she could.

“Ah?!”

She couldn’t react in time, even with her danger sense warning her.

Arin screamed as a crushing pressure gripped her wrist.

A sickening crack echoed loudly.

“Alice…?!”

Arin’s eyes widened. She realized who had grabbed her hand. It was Alice. Her eyes were still closed, but she had tightly twisted Arin’s wrist.

“W-wait…!”

“…”

Arin tried to pull her hand free, but it didn’t budge.

She was stunned, her pupils trembling.

Since when was Alice’s grip this strong?

No, more importantly, what’s going on all of a sudden…?

“Ugh…!”

Fortunately, the crushing pressure on her wrist quickly subsided.

The heat that had filled the room also disappeared.

As soon as her wrist was released, Arin instinctively stepped back.

She lowered her head to examine her wrist.

It was bruised from the grip.

Arin grimaced at the throbbing pain.

Holding back tears, she raised her head and was met with an astonishing sight.

“Alice…?”

“…”

The sleeping princess, who had been lying as if dead for a week.

Alice was sitting up.

The blanket that had covered her chest slid down.

Her blue hair swayed softly.

Her eyes slowly opened.

Arin swallowed hard.

A pair of red lights shimmered in her eyes.

Like a blood-red full moon.

Alice’s gaze turned to Arin. Her expression was emotionless, blank. Even though she was awake, she looked more like a doll than when she was asleep.

“Arin.”

But that impression didn’t last long.

Alice’s stiff expression softened.

She smiled warmly, just like she always did.

“I’m sorry. I acted on reflex… Did I hurt you?”

“Huh? Oh, no. It’s not even a real injury.”

Arin awkwardly laughed as she pulled down her uniform sleeve to hide the bruise.

Then, belatedly, she realized something. Alice’s speech was fluent.

‘She’s… not stuttering…?’

She used to stutter so much that communication was difficult.

But this wasn’t entirely new.

There were times when Alice’s speech would suddenly change.

Occasionally, she would act as if she was a completely different person.

But something felt different.

This time was different from before.

Arin’s instincts were telling her that.

“My body feels a bit stiff. How long have I been asleep for?”

“Uh, a week.”

“I see.”

Alice nodded.

She opened her palm, then clenched and unclenched her fist repeatedly.

Arin, watching her, spoke in a slightly trembling voice.

“Hey, Alice.”

“Yes?”

“…Are you okay?”

It was a joyous thing that Alice had regained consciousness.

Arin had sincerely prayed every day for Alice to wake up.

But now that Alice was awake, worry overshadowed her joy.

Because the Alice she had reunited with felt different somehow.

“I’m fine. Better than ever.”

Alice clenched her fist tightly.

Then, with a bright smile, she said,

“Where is that masked woman?”

Author Note

A/N (Author’s note):
“I’ve heard it all.

Be thankful it ended with only a bruise.”

Translator Note

T/N (Translator’s note):
Alice snapped. 

No more good girl acts now.