Chapter 63: Close call

The slope was like a giant staircase made of boulders, uneven and treacherous. One misstep, and I’d tumble down, just like Linne.

How had I managed to stop myself from falling? I found my answer as I looked down.

“Linne…?”

Linne was easy to spot, her golden hair gleaming in the sunlight.

She was rolling down the slope at an alarming speed.

Perhaps she’d had a sudden urge to use the restroom. Or maybe she was just impatient with my slow pace. I tried to be optimistic as I watched, frozen.

She finally stopped at a relatively flat area. She was lucky; it was the only level spot on the entire slope.

“Linne! Are you okay?”

I called out, my hand braced against a rock. Seeing her sprawled motionless on the ground made my heart sink.

“Linne!!”

I shouted, fear giving way to a surge of adrenaline. I scrambled down the slope, my legs trembling. My desperate cries seemed to have worked.

“Ugh…”

A faint moan carried on the wind. I saw Linne struggling to sit up, her arms shaking.

Relief washed over me; I collapsed, my legs giving way.

She was alive.

“Thank goodness.”

I was startled by my own words.
Had I just…worried about Linne? The same Linne I considered a common pervert?

My feelings were a confusing mess. I couldn’t understand myself. But my heart pounded with relief, seeing Linne move.

“Haaaa…!”

Linne’s scream echoed through the clearing, a primal roar of frustration. She pushed herself up, her hands gripping the ground. I hadn’t expected her to be able to move, let alone stand.

Rumble—

The ground trembled at her cry, dust and small stones raining down on us.

She pulled out her massive sword and plunged it into a crevice between the boulders, using it as support as the ground shook. She stumbled, but the sword held her steady.

She stood there, firm and unwavering, like a tree that had weathered countless storms. My heart pounded, watching her.

“Ellie!!”

Her desperate cry made my heart skip a beat. Me? She’d called out for me after such a fall? The realization sent a jolt of… something through me. I gripped the rock I was holding onto, my knuckles turning white.

I’d been avoiding it, but
I knew, deep down, I’d have to face these feelings eventually. This nameless fluttering in my chest had grown stronger with each passing day, each attempt to ignore it.

I was tired of pretending. It was time to confront my true feelings.

“Ellie, you idiot! I told you to be careful!”

Linne’s scolding voice reached me, and I finally acknowledged the burning sensation in my chest, the feeling spreading through my body, consuming me. I gave it a name.

“I’m not an idiot! You’re the idiot, Linne!”

It was…anger.

****

We continued bickering.

“Just try coming down here! You’re dead!”

“If I go up there, you’ll be begging for mercy!”

Our meaningless exchange continued. It definitely wasn’t because I was the first to…lose my composure and fall.

I glared at Linne, fuming, when something flew towards her from behind.

“Linne, behind…!”

Her sword flashed, deflecting the projectile – a large boulder – which shattered into pieces.

Boom!—

A sudden explosion above us. I looked up, covered in dust, and saw Sister conjuring a fireball.

“Ellie! Are you okay? Are you hurt?”

“Yes, probably.”

Sister rushed to my side, checking me over. She was thorough, almost too thorough, her hands reaching for… I stopped her.

“I’m fine there.”

“Don’t lie. You think I wouldn’t notice?”

“I’m not lying! Eek!”

Sister pulled down my sock, revealing a bruised shin.

“See? It’s already turning purple.”

“It’s nothing. I’m fine.”

Sister’s face fell when I refused her help. It was a minor injury, barely worth mentioning, but her reaction bothered me.

“Sister.”

I hugged her, partly to comfort her, partly to distract her. Her embrace was soft and comforting, her scent intoxicating. I resisted the urge to… taste her skin.

“Ellie, you shouldn’t…lick there…”

…I might have…taken a small taste.

Boom!—

More explosions above us. I leaned against Sister, watching the spectacle.

Clang! Thwack!—

Linne was hitting the ground with her sword. Was she trying to break it? Sister and I watched.

We shouldn’t have let her…

Rumble, rumble—

The tremors returned, stronger than before, definitely caused by Linne’s strange behavior. The earth shook, the vibrations intensifying, the boulder beneath us humming ominously. A large… head emerged from behind Linne, rising from the ground.

“Linne, you idiot! Sister, get behind me!”

“Behind you? I might…disappear.”

It was definitely a head – a large, round, stone head and neck, with two eyes and a gaping maw.

Groaaaaaan—

A deep, rumbling sound emanated from the open mouth. Sister and I covered our ears, cowering.

How big was this thing? The sheer scale of it was…mind-boggling.

I could see something large and pillar-like on either side of the head, like…arms.

Or rather, front legs.

The head and legs supported a massive…body, a shape I vaguely recognized, a specific reptile…

‘Is that a…turtle?’

It did look like a turtle. A giant stone turtle. And we were sitting on its…shell. It was strangely…cute and reassuring, despite the fact we were on a cliff.

“Haa! Die!!”

There were always a few crazy people in the world. The problem was, one of them was standing right next to me.

Linne, having reached the turtle’s head, swung her sword. I watched, my eyes wide.

Her sword struck the stone head.

A moment of stunned silence, my fists clenched nervously. Linne remained motionless.

Rustle—

The wind rustled through the trees.

The stone head cracked, then
shattered with a loud crack. Her attack, though not devastating, had angered the turtle. The giant creature began to move, its massive legs pushing it forward slowly but steadily.

“Aaaaaaah!”

“It’s coming this way! Everyone, run!”

Spells rained down on the turtle, ice shards piercing its stone hide. But the attacks seemed to have little effect, just chipping away small pieces of stone.

The attacks lessened, the screams fading, the other students presumably having escaped. Linne was clinging to the turtle’s neck, like a…rock climber.

The turtle continued its slow but steady advance towards the academy. No one tried to stop it.

And I was climbing up its shell.