Ch.25Chapter 25: Would You Like to… Train Together?

The breakfast queue, which had seemed endless, finally came to a close.

Reflecting on the long period of patience, the time it took to fill our trays with food and find a suitable place to sit facing each other was so brief compared to the waiting time that it could be described as merely a fleeting moment.

“Let’s go over there.”

“Okay.”

Shizu moved toward the spot I pointed to, carefully holding her plate of food while walking at a considerably fast pace, and I followed behind her.

Though the amount of food on her plate was less compared to what Professor Grace had taken, it was still a substantial portion when compared to other students. Despite Shizu’s rather quick movements, the food on her plate didn’t wobble at all.

Judging by her movements, I could easily tell that although she lacked experience as shown in yesterday’s fight with Mine, Shizu had already entered the realm of superhuman mastery.

‘What about me?’

Yesterday, through some unknown trigger, I gained superhuman abilities that I hadn’t possessed in the previous timeline, and my physical capabilities had improved accordingly. Could I display the same graceful movements as Shizu?

As that thought crossed my mind, I wanted to test my current state, so I tried to move through the cafeteria at a much faster pace than usual, though still slower than Shizu.

*Wobble*

As soon as I took a step, the bread, meat, and other foods on my plate began to shift around, threatening to escape from the plate as I accelerated. I immediately abandoned the quick pace and switched back to my normal walking speed.

‘I still have a long way to go.’

While the benefit of entering the superhuman realm was an incomparably great advantage compared to the previous timeline, it seemed that one couldn’t just rely on these benefits. Only with bone-grinding effort could one achieve harmony between enhanced physical abilities and willpower.

“Sigh…”

As I let out a sigh, realizing how far I had to go, I turned my head toward the wall clock in the cafeteria to check the current time.

7:45 AM.

It had taken about 30 minutes since Shizu and I entered this cafeteria to finally be able to eat breakfast—quite a long wait indeed.

Considering that the lunch queue on weekdays usually took about 10 minutes, today’s queue was even longer than a typical weekday lunch rush. Normally, such a long wait would be exhausting, but…

Strangely, despite staying up all night, I hardly felt any fatigue this morning.

Part of it might be due to the superhuman regenerative abilities I had awakened, which prevented the fatigue from an all-nighter from taking over my body. But there was another reason why I wasn’t tired.

And that was…

“Cal, let’s eat quickly before it gets cold.”

Shizu, who had already taken her seat, lightly tapped the seat across from her with her right hand, urging me to sit down—that was the reason.

“Coming.”

I responded in a calm tone and slowly made my way to the seat across from her.

‘We used to eat like this so often before.’

Looking at Shizu, whose mere presence brought me peace of mind, I felt happy, but at the same time, memories from the previous timeline surfaced—memories of how I had destroyed scenes like this with my wrong choices.

Before Shizu turned 17 and moved ahead of me, we had been officially engaged and always trained together, eating meals from morning, or at least from lunchtime, spending our days together.

‘It was always like this until some fool, consumed by inferiority, decided to distance himself.’

I shuddered at the thought of my foolish choice in the previous timeline, when I had distanced myself from the person who cherished me the most, all because I was consumed by feelings of victimhood and inferiority.

‘I won’t make the same mistake again.’

With that determination, I reached my seat.

As I sat down, Shizu smiled at me, then closed her eyes and put her hands together.

“Thank you for the meal.”

She said in a cheerful voice before picking up her fork and starting to eat the food on her plate.

It was the beginning of breakfast.

“Thank you for the meal.”

Not to be outdone, I also put my hands together, picked up my fork, and began eating the food I had chosen.

Perhaps it was because I was facing in reality what I had only dreamed of after ending each miserable day.

Combined with the moderate hunger that had built up after the long wait, this breakfast, filled with already delicious foods, was truly special.

#

All things must come to an end.

The queue that had seemed endless had disappeared.

The substantial amount of food on both my and Shizu’s plates had been consumed.

The mealtime that marked the beginning of the day had thus concluded.

And where there is an end, there is also a new beginning.

“Cal, what are you going to do after finishing this?”

After putting the last small dessert waffle from her plate into her mouth with her fork, Shizu elegantly held a cup of strong brewed coffee and asked me if I had any plans for today.

Hearing her question, I briefly pondered what I would do, but it didn’t take long for an answer to form in my mind.

“I’m going to train.”

“…Train?”

“Yes.”

This was what I had thought about while staying up all night.

Although I had gained physical abilities incomparable to before by awakening my special talent, to fully utilize it, I needed to quickly understand my limits and prepare my mind and consciousness accordingly.

So I told Shizu without hesitation that I would train.

I’m not sure how my statement about training was received, but Shizu’s eyes sparkled with a brightness that refreshed one’s heart just by looking at it.

“Th-Then…”

But with a voice full of hesitation that didn’t match the sparkle in her eyes, she began.

*Sip*

Suddenly, as if her throat had gone dry, Shizu took a sip of her coffee, which was still hot though not as scalding as when it was first poured.

“Would you… would you like to train together with me?”

She proposed training together with a voice tinged with both hesitation and excitement.

In the previous timeline, I would have rejected such a request from Shizu and trained alone, but…

“Let’s do it together.”

Now, I had no reason at all to refuse, so I accepted her proposal without hesitation.

“…R-Really?”

As soon as she heard my answer, Shizu’s face lit up with joy that she could barely contain, and she asked again to confirm if my answer was genuine.

Hearing her question, I spoke carefully to reassure her.

“Shizu.”

I called her name with a gentle voice that, in the previous timeline, I would have only used in dreams I had while closing my eyes in regret.

“Today. May I spend the day with you?”

It was a phrase filled with the earnestness and affection I used to express when asking Shizu for a date in my impossible dreams.

…Wait? A date?

Ah…

Come to think of it, that might not be the appropriate way to ask someone to train together.

Belatedly realizing I had used inappropriate wording for the situation, I was about to open my mouth to correct myself, but…

“…!!”

Shizu, who had already taken my words seriously, was undergoing a dramatic change.

“Th-That…”

A strange sound like air escaping from a balloon came from her mouth.

Despite having a body that had entered the superhuman realm after awakening her special talent, which normally wouldn’t easily show changes in complexion, a reddish tinge was spreading across her face.

‘…Was my expression too much?’

Although we had reconciled and shared our true feelings late last night, I wondered if my current expression was too excessive, and regret began to fill my mind.

‘I could have just answered normally instead of putting so much emotion into it.’

It seemed like a long time had passed since I realized that after returning to the past, the self-restraint in my heart had failed when a dream I had always wished for became reality.

Still, no words fell from Shizu’s lips.

Fortunately, in her appearance as she struggled to cool down the heat that had risen in her body due to my sudden words, I couldn’t sense any shadowed emotions directed at me.

‘…My throat is dry.’

The thought that I had expressed too much emotion led to thirst.

Before waiting for words to fall from Shizu’s lips, I picked up the teacup in front of me and sipped the coffee inside to temporarily quench my thirst, just as Shizu had done.

Although coffee would only provide temporary relief as it flowed down my throat, unlike water, I needed even that much, so I took action.

*Sip*

As the moderately warm coffee was absorbed into my body as it traveled down my esophagus, I had to admit that my impulsive action had an unexpected effect.

‘It’s hazelnut flavor.’

It was a flavor I liked.

Not the cheap artificial kind, but the genuine nutty and smooth aroma of real hazelnut that spread from my tongue throughout my body, surprisingly calming the anxiety that had come with the thirst.

“Y-Yes!”

And as if she had been waiting for me to calm down, Shizu, who had finally regained her composure, nodded vigorously and showed her joy, allowing me to finally feel relieved.

“Phew…”

I let out a sigh filled with genuine relief.

The sweet aroma of the hazelnut coffee I had just drunk wafted from my mouth with the sigh, once again calming my heart.

Shizu, who had calmed her flushed face, was beaming with a bright smile, clearly delighted about something.

“I’m so happy…”

“About what?”

“That Cal asked to be with me after such a long time.”

“…I see.”

To be this happy just because I asked to train together, not even a date.

‘…My sins run deep. So deep.’

Right after returning to the past, I had lamented why I had come back to this particular time.

But now I thought I should be grateful that I had returned to a time where I could avoid making the wrong choices and buttoning things up incorrectly.

“Well then, since we’ve finished eating, let’s hurry and go train!”

Having quickly emptied her coffee cup beside her plate, Shizu abruptly stood up and headed toward the place to return the empty plate.

“I’ll come with you.”

To follow Shizu, who was moving with a reaction speed that was momentarily difficult for me to keep up with, I also quickly rose from the table and moved to return my empty plate.

Since there was no food left on the plate, my steps following Shizu were much faster than when carrying a plate full of food.

‘I’ll have to be careful not to get hit in the head by Shizu’s sword like yesterday.’

As I walked, I began to think about the precautions I should take during our training session and sparring with Shizu.

But at that time, I didn’t know.

I didn’t know that Shizu’s sword strikes, fueled by her excitement to train with me after so long, would be on a completely different level from what I had gauged in yesterday’s fierce battle with Mine.

And I didn’t know that I would somehow be able to withstand Shizu’s fierce attacks, which I would never have been able to endure in the previous timeline.