episode_0001

Ding-dong-

Ding-dong-

“… Hmm.”

What woke me from my deep sleep was the loud, repetitive ringing of the doorbell.

“What is this… ”

I woke up rubbing my eyes and looked around.

A familiar bedroom scene. Without a doubt, this is our home.

But when did you fall asleep? And why are you still in bed wearing your school uniform?

“… Ahh.”

As my head opened slightly, memories from just before came back to me.

A memory that I want to erase, but is already engraved in my mind.

“That’s right… Tirisia…I ran away right away… ”

After witnessing my lover’s affair right before my eyes, I ran straight from the academy to my home and passed out on my bed.

How long have you been sleeping?

Judging by his rather heavy body, he must have been unconscious for quite some time.

“Haa―”

I sighed deeply and wiped my oily face.

It wasn’t a dream.

I was betrayed by Tirisia.

“… ”

But I felt strange.

Was it because I woke up from a deep sleep, or did I hit my head somewhere while running?

Strangely, my head felt refreshed.

Sadness, anger, hatred, resentment, betrayal, confusion, frustration.

Common sense would suggest that these emotions of wealth should be swirling around in a complex way.

But I had no heartache or confused thoughts.

It was just something… simple.

It even felt like my current self wasn’t me.

Do people become liberated when they are shocked too much?

Overflow? I’m not sure, but anyway,

What annoys me more than anything else these days is the constant ringing of the front doorbell.

Ding-dong-

Ding-dong-

He’s too persistent to be a mailman or an insurance salesman.

Maybe an acquaintance.

I feel like moving my legs is a hassle, but it looks like they won’t be leaving easily, so I have to go out and respond.

“Ugh… Ugh… ”

As I left the bedroom and looked in the full-length mirror, I saw that I looked absolutely horrible.

Her hair was tangled and sticking up, her face was swollen and shiny with sebum, and there were drool marks at the corners of her mouth.

The school uniform that I had climbed onto the bed wearing with the jacket still on was covered in dirt and dust here and there, as if it had fallen over somewhere.

“… ”

He was definitely not in his right mind.

It’s not something I’d want to show to others, but I have no choice but to go out.

I drank some water from the tap to try to do something about my tongue sticking to the roof of my mouth, and as I staggered to the front door, my voice became hoarse.

“Yes, who are you―”

“!”

The person standing at the front door heard my voice and stopped pressing the doorbell.

After a moment of silence, a familiar voice was heard.

“Erto, it’s me.”

Ah… It’s Tirisia.

Well, I guess so.

I let out a self-deprecating laugh and walked to the front door, unlocked it, and opened it.

Squeak-

Bright sunlight poured into the dark hallway as if a curtain had been drawn.

I squinted my eyes so hard that they were painful, then slowly adjusted to the light and opened them. There, standing there, was a female student with a familiar face.

“Erto… ”

Silver hair that sparkles and seems to glow on its own, reflecting sunlight.

Emery-colored eyes that look like they were set into a raw emerald stone.

A fresh beauty with a straight and upright posture, slightly taller than me.

This is Tirisia Brouard, the youngest daughter of the prestigious Brouard family.

To me, Tirisia is just my childhood friend and girlfriend.

No… Should I call her my ex-girlfriend now?

“Uh.”

Since she called my name first, I gave a short answer.

At the moment, there was nothing that came to mind or anything I wanted to say.

More than that, I was curious about what on earth Tyrissia would say.

“Oh my gosh.”

As expected, she covered her mouth with one hand and showed no sign of surprise when she saw my appearance.

“… ”

When I stared at her with eyes that seemed to ask if she was dissatisfied, she immediately put her hand down and coughed softly.

Well, you know best who caused this to happen.

“I was worried… because you didn’t show up to school for three days… ”

“Three days?”

You were passed out for that long?

If I hadn’t woken up to the sound of the bell, I could have easily died from dehydration. It’s creepy.

“Erto, are you okay? Where does it hurt?”

“Um… ”

“Why is your face so swollen again?”

Tirisia’s pure white hand, which had suddenly come up, caressed my cheek.

“Wow,Wow,”

I pulled back for a moment and broke free of her contact.

“Ah,”

It was an unconscious action, and Tirisia also took her hand back with a look of regret.

Well, it’s a long-standing habit, so I guess that’s possible.

“Mi, sorry.”

“Uh… As for the pain… I don’t think there’s anything there for now.”

I shrugged my shoulders and turned my body back.

Maybe I just woke up and couldn’t feel anything wrong, but I didn’t feel any particular discomfort when moving around.

Except that I’m really hungry.

Urrr—

Tyrisia opened her mouth in a gasp as the sound of a building collapsing was heard from my stomach.

“Are you hungry? Should I buy you something to eat?”

To be honest, I wanted to tell him to do so because it was hard to move, but in the current situation, it didn’t matter whether I was hungry or starving to death, so I shook my head slightly.

“No, isn’t there something else you want to talk about first?”

Although I spoke with deliberately relaxed voice, Tirisia shrugged her shoulders as if she had been given a warning.

“That, that’s right… That’s right… ”

Su-ha-

She took a deep breath, placed one hand on her chest, and bent down toward me so that the tips of her silver hair touched the ground.

“I’m sorry!”

“… ”

“I betrayed Erto’s heart.”

“… Ah, yeah.”

My gaze moved from the crown of Tyrissia to the clouds in the sky. It was a clear day.

That’s right, it wasn’t a dream after all.

That’s right~

“Is that what I saw really you?”

No need for a long explanation. Just confirming it was enough.

…nod.

Tirisia, facing the ground, slightly moved her head.

“Raise your head and look at me.”

I don’t want to talk to Jeong Su-ri. You have to look someone in the eye and talk to them.

He looked straight into Tirisia’s emerald eyes and asked her, who had stood up as instructed.

“I’m asking just in case, but are you acting under duress because you were threatened or something?”

Her sparkling silver hair swayed from side to side.

“I see… Then what’s the reason? The reason you chose that guy over me.”

“That’s… ”

“Satisfaction? Something like that?”

“… … ”

Silence was soon affirmation.

“… So, the conclusion is that you’re going to leave me and go to that guy? ”

Silence again.

Finally, one important question was raised.

“Is that the happiness you chose, Tirisia?”

Silence again.

“Really, really, is there happiness you want there?”

Her jade eyes sank downwards, and she answered in a trembling voice.

“I, I… I think it’s become like that now… ”

“… Got it.”

“I’m sorry… ”

Since the scene was shown openly from the beginning, there is no way to deny it.

In short, I was saying that I was defeated as a male.

The country said that even if all the people combined were to have nothing, they could not overcome the happiness that man gave to Tirisia.

In some ways, it is the most fundamental law of nature.

If it was Tirisia’s choice, then there’s nothing I can do to stop it.

I stood there with my brain still for a moment, then nodded weakly and turned my back on Tirisia.

“Okay, I get it, I get it… I’m going to rest. You too.”

Squeak-

The moment I closed the front door and was about to go back into the darkness,

“Erto!”

Thud!

A pure white hand came through the crack in the door and opened the door wide again.

“Wait!”

“… Do you have anything else to say?”

When asked with a look of fatigue, Tirisia trembled with her lips as if she had difficulty opening her mouth, and spoke with difficulty with a face like the above.

“You can blame me! If you want to curse and hit me, you can do that!”

“Ah?”

“I… I committed an irreparable sin. I must have given Erto an indelible wound.”

“Uh… ”

She seemed to be trying hard to suppress something that was welling up.

“I don’t know how to apologize to you. I can’t think of a way… !”

Soon, a faint tremble began to form in that voice.

“Even if you curse me and want to cut ties with me forever… I’ll accept it all! If that’s the price I have to pay, I’ll disappear from before your eyes… !”

“Tirisia… ”

“So, tell me! What do you want me to do!”

“… … ”

The air in front of the entrance became extremely heavy.

When I noticed, Tirisia was holding my hand with both hands together.

Like a prisoner begging for the punishment he deserves.

I looked at the connected hands and became lost in thought.

It’s a wish,

I apologize,

Generally speaking, that was the natural course of events.

Isn’t there a woman right in front of you who broke up her relationship and hugged another man?

It was normal for them to swear, curse their future, and make a scene, as she said.

Wouldn’t the only ending be to turn everything upside down and throw into the gutter the life he’s lived so far, the time he’s built with Tirisia as a childhood friend, and his relationship as a lover?

I know it in my head. I know it in my heart.

but-

‘no.’

It was a little different.

A feeling of discomfort as I woke up from a long three-day sleep.

A refreshingly simple idea.

A longing that seeps from deep within the soul.

It made me say this to Tirissia, to the woman who betrayed my love.

“Tirisia.”

“Yeah… ”

Hug-

With her two hands clasped together, a smile spread across her face.

“I’ll cheer you on!”

“Huh?”

“I hope you have a beautiful love!”

I guess I had gone crazy.