Ch.24Chapter 24: Small and Warm Everyday Life (3)

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After waiting in a long line, I finally reached the restaurant.

Murmuring voices filled the air.

The boisterous sounds of students chatting with friends across the table while eating resonated throughout the dining hall.

I picked up two plates, keeping one for myself and handing the other to Shizu before looking around.

The massive dining hall, capable of accommodating all students at Cradle simultaneously, wasn’t completely full but was surprisingly crowded for a weekday morning.

“Are there… this many people?”

I wasn’t the only one who found the unusually crowded dining hall strange. Shizu, who had been following closely behind me while trying to cool her flushed face, also expressed her awkward surprise at the bustling scene.

“Isn’t today a temporary holiday with no academic schedule?”

“Yes. There’s no academic schedule because a meeting with the Director and all relevant personnel is scheduled to discuss matters related to Mein’s surprise invasion.”

“…That’s strange.”

“What is?”

“There’s no reason for the dining hall to be this crowded on a day off.”

“R-Really?”

“I would’ve thought everyone would be heading to Merisa by now.”

It was definitely strange.

Recalling memories from the previous timeline, the dining hall wasn’t usually this crowded in the morning, especially just after 7 AM.

Particularly on days like today when no classes were scheduled.

Normally, on days off, students would leave the somewhat rigid atmosphere of Cradle early in the morning and head to Merisa, one of the Empire’s premier resort areas nearby, to enjoy themselves until curfew.

That’s why when Shizu told me yesterday about the temporary holiday, I had assumed many students would be celebrating. But instead, not only were people not going out to play, the dining hall was packed.

Moreover, the expressions on the students’ faces weren’t typical for this time of day.

‘Their eyes are so bright.’

Eating breakfast right after waking up is an important activity to fully awaken your body and prepare for the day ahead.

Naturally, people coming to the dining hall for breakfast would typically have a drowsy look, having just woken up.

Surprisingly, most students in the dining hall now had eyes not filled with drowsiness but overflowing with energy.

‘What could have happened?’

As I was about to deeply ponder why students were so energetic on this early morning of a temporary holiday…

“They’re all fired up.”

A familiar playful voice near my ear broke my contemplation, and I turned my head toward its source.

“Hello. Today’s breakfast menu is really good.”

There stood Professor Grace, holding a plate much larger than those Shizu and I were carrying, piled high with all sorts of delicacies.

“Good morning, Professor.”

Shizu, who spotted Professor Grace before I did, greeted her cheerfully.

“Oh, Miss Lily. Good morning. You must be tired, but you’re up early.”

Professor Grace returned Shizu’s greeting with a bright voice.

It was impressive how she had approached us without making a sound, but what was even more remarkable was how the food piled on her large plate didn’t wobble at all. I felt a strange admiration, but only briefly.

“What do you mean by ‘fired up’?”

Before greeting Professor Grace, I asked about the meaning behind her words.

“The students who watched yesterday’s martial arts tournament have fire in their hearts.”

“I don’t quite understand.”

The martial arts tournament was just a regular periodic event, so the idea that watching it suddenly ignited students’ enthusiasm seemed odd to me. Seeing my continued confusion, Professor Grace explained:

“Think about it. Someone participated in the tournament and demonstrated skills worthy of being called an active hero, while others were just spectators. Recalling their position, they’ve become eager to reach that level themselves.”

“That wouldn’t make them fired up so easily…”

“There’s more. Miss Lillian Shizu defeated a Mein with the Bloody Pentagram alone in frozen time. That’s an achievement even most active heroes wouldn’t dare attempt alone. Even if they didn’t see it directly, knowing someone their age accomplished such a feat must make them restless.”

…I suppose that makes sense.

Though I still found it somewhat unsatisfying, I understood now.

Considering how stimulating it must have been for Cradle students to learn that a Mein bearing the Bloody Pentagram—a mark of the Demon God’s favor—was defeated by a fellow student rather than an active hero, the scene before me didn’t seem so strange anymore.

‘Even though it was me, not Shizu, who did it, I guess what matters is that it was defeated.’

Harboring a secret I couldn’t reveal to the students present, I carefully observed my surroundings.

Perhaps due to the passage of time, the already enthusiastic expressions of the students were intensifying.

‘Everyone’s overflowing with motivation.’

Seeing the students’ enthusiasm, despite not having witnessed the event directly due to the frozen time and only hearing about it through Director Belpheus’s announcement, I fell into various thoughts.

Awakening one’s ability before turning 18 and becoming a hero to protect humanity is the goal every student at Cradle dreams of.

Despite the unfortunate cases where some must abandon the path of heroism after turning 18 without achieving this goal, until that moment comes, all students strive toward their dream with varying degrees of effort.

‘Though there was one idiot who nearly gave up halfway.’

Looking at the students eating breakfast with bright eyes, I couldn’t help but feel a pang of conscience.

Although I had avoided the crisis of having to leave Cradle immediately after returning thanks to awakening my special talent, I didn’t feel that this awakening was entirely due to my own efforts, which made me feel guilty.

Looking around the dining hall once more, my conscience pricked even more.

‘They’re all in similar situations to my past self.’

Most students waiting in line or sitting down for breakfast were like my past self—those who hadn’t awakened their special talents.

Yet despite not having obtained the mark of a hero, their expressions overflowed with vitality and enthusiasm.

“Being dazed is a waste. Someone gained such brilliant talent by training even during sleeping hours.”

“I feel the same. Thinking about that before falling asleep, my eyes popped wide open this morning despite it being a holiday.”

“In that spirit, let’s spar together after breakfast.”

“I was just about to suggest that. Alright, I won’t lose today.”

“Who are you kidding? Let me show you my skills, fueled by the motivation from yesterday’s battle and the Director’s announcement.”

Just like the conversation between two students reaching my ears.

‘Their initial passion is being rekindled.’

I couldn’t help but reflect on what a certain fool did in the previous timeline.

Before turning 17, I never shied away from training despite the pain caused by my “Broken Vessel” whenever I gathered fighting spirit. But at some point, seeing Shizu beside me with three special talents that could make her an unparalleled hero, I became consumed by inferiority and gave up.

‘Perhaps I was given this special talent right after returning to prevent me from falling into such inferiority again.’

My thoughts were becoming increasingly complex, but realizing that getting too lost in them would be disrespectful to Professor Grace standing before me, I quickly organized my thoughts.

“Looking around, everyone certainly seems fired up.”

I shared my observation with Professor Grace after quickly gathering my thoughts.

In response, Professor Grace gave me a subtle wink with her characteristically playful expression, visible only to me and Shizu standing behind me.

“It’s thanks to you, after all.”

I heard her telepathic message in my mind.

Though startled for a moment, I didn’t show it outwardly and simply nodded in response to Professor Grace’s telepathic message.

Seemingly satisfied with my nod, Professor Grace found a suitable spot to sit and was about to start eating the food on her plate with a happy expression, but first turned to us and said:

“Well, enjoy your breakfast too. Today’s menu is quite good.”

With that, Shizu and I bowed our heads to Professor Grace before waiting in the long line for breakfast.

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As the line in front of Shizu and me gradually shortened and we moved forward, I noticed we were getting farther from Professor Grace seated at the table.

“Phew.”

After sighing lightly at the unexpectedly crowded scene despite arriving early, I confirmed my suspicion.

‘She knows everything, as expected.’

My guess was correct.

I had suspected Professor Grace would be one of the few people unaffected by the completely frozen time at Cradle yesterday, and that seemed to be the case.

Even though she already knew everything, she only hinted at it through telepathy since it couldn’t be openly revealed.

‘This is why she’s the Thousand-Year Hero…’

Feeling the greatness of Professor Grace, who maintained her identity as a hero through a thousand years despite not being human, I could only wait with Shizu for the still long line to shorten.

Normally, with many people eating a simple breakfast, the food line wouldn’t take long to move, but…

With most students intending to fill their stomachs heartily to use the temporary holiday for developing their heroic qualities as soon as possible:

“No! Where’s the steak? I need meat in the morning for strength!”

“Give me scrambled eggs!”

“How am I supposed to wield a weapon after just soup and bread?!”

The voices of students trying to get as much food as possible echoed from the serving area.

…Are there beggars in their stomachs?

“Haah…”

I sighed.

I needed to eat breakfast calmly and then prepare for a better future by organizing the events to come after my return, but…

‘At this rate, it’ll take about two hours to finish eating.’

I worried about wasting precious time in the dining hall.

Of course, this concern wasn’t about the time spent eating breakfast or anxiety about planning for the future.

Breakfast was something I had to eat anyway, and experiencing the bustling atmosphere that I hadn’t felt for a while in the previous timeline wasn’t so bad.

My only worry was:

‘Shizu. I wonder if she’s tired.’

I was concerned about her having to stand in the dining hall for a long time, forgoing her beloved morning sleep and pushing her still drowsy body without showing it.

“Hehe.”

But as if reading my concern:

“Cal’s back. I like how reliable it looks…”

The moment I heard Shizu’s voice, filled with shyness:

Thump, thump

“…”

I could only feel relieved that Shizu was behind me.

The warmth I felt from her shyness not only made my heart race but also heated my face to a moderate degree.

Without a doubt.

The warmth I felt around me wasn’t from the heat generated by many people gathering in one place.

It was the warmth that Shizu, right behind me, had given me with just a few warm words.

Though I returned without knowing why, as time passed, I felt increasingly obligated to use this returned time to create a better future.