episode_0057

Only after hearing Chris’s sharp remark did I snap out of it. I had thought I was keeping my distance from everyone, but—

“You mean… I’m still worrying about you guys?”

“Yeah! If you’re going to be like this, it’d be way better if you just stayed home. Honestly, you should’ve just stayed home and—”

Before Chris’s eyes could cloud over, I quickly cut in.

“Got it, got it. I’ll just be careful, alright?”

If I left things like this, there was no telling what reckless thing Chris might do. I hadn’t been in this exact situation twice, but I knew well enough how people in Chris’s position tended to act.

“Chris. Just asking, but if I were to get hurt or end up in mortal danger while acting for your sake—”

“Don’t even say that!”

“It’s a hypothetical. I need to set my course of action from now on, so answer me honestly. I can tell if you’re lying or not.”

She’s my little sister, whom I’ve watched over for years. Reading her is child’s play. But Chris just stared at me with pity in her eyes.

“…You’re the one to talk.”

“What?”

“Never mind. I just have to tell the truth, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Really, really seriously? Let me warn you—just like you warned me, I’ll say this now. The only reason I’m behaving so calmly is because you asked me to. To not care about each other. You see me only as a member of the hero’s party, and I won’t pay you any attention.”

“You remember well. Though it’s already too late for that.”

“I’m not done. I agreed to keep that promise, but only if you stayed out of trouble. If you truly didn’t care about us at all and just lived your own life, then… well, the others might not, but at least I’d accept it.”

Chris clasped her hands in front of her chest.

“You started carrying that curse because of me.”

“Even if it wasn’t you, someone would’ve found out eventually. Stop acting like some tragic romance novel protagonist and just be honest.”

“Honestly? If our relationship is already broken, I’d rather just lock you up at home.”

“Uh…”

That’s… way too honest.

——

She’d said it.

That’s what she thought, but Christine couldn’t stop herself.

No matter what, the shrewd Eric would keep doubting her. It was only a matter of time before he realized she hadn’t completely severed her feelings for him.

And the biggest problem was that even during this conversation, Eric remained oblivious to the fact that he was unconsciously worrying about them. It wasn’t something that would change just because someone pointed it out—it was simply part of Eric’s inherent kindness.

So Christine had no choice but to shock him like this. Of course, she had no real intention of confining or restraining him.

“……”

…Well, maybe a little. Her brother was truly an idiot. If left unchecked, he’d just keep repeating the same mistakes. In that case, wasn’t it better for her to strike first?

“Chris?”

At the sound of Eric’s cautious voice, Christine finally snapped back to reality. The same Eric as always. But behind his expression was a hint of unease—no doubt because of the unfiltered thoughts she’d just blurted out.

“Ahem.”

Christine cleared her throat and returned to her usual self. What Eric wanted was Christine Grave, the clever and diligent girl who fulfilled her duties—not some foolish woman ruled by her emotions.

“Be careful. No matter what you think, there are people who only want Eric Grave for themselves. Some would rather torment you a little than see you die.”

People who believed will and spirit could always change, and that preserving life was the top priority. A few faces flashed through Christine’s mind.

Eliya, of course, and among the hundreds or thousands Eric had saved, it wasn’t surprising that a few oddballs existed. Even she, for instance, had immediately thought of confinement—something no normal person would consider.

“You do realize you’re part of that unspecified majority, right?”

At Eric’s sharp remark, Christine couldn’t respond and simply bowed her head.

“You—ugh, never mind. It’s pointless for me to say anything here. I’ll lay low as much as I can, like you said. Happy? And don’t talk about confining me or whatever.”

“Okay. Inside the academy, there’s the president and everyone else, but at least during commutes, I want to protect you.”

“Let’s go.”

Without another word, Eric strode briskly into the academy. Christine quietly followed behind.

——–

“See you at lunch, then, Oppa.”

I gave a light nod. Part of me wanted to avoid everyone, even at lunch, and finish everything alone until dismissal, but my conversation with Chris had given me a lot to think about.

That I’m still concerned about them… Maybe she was right. Looking back at my actions so far, no matter how I sliced it, they were all for their sake. I stayed cooped up at home to avoid burdening Chris, and even after she triggered my trial and suffered the penalty, I never resented her.

At school, I joined hands with Cecilia and threw myself into dangerous places to help them. Like the president said, I’d been running from something too.

It wasn’t wrong for me to be unable to help them.

“Sigh…”

I’d thought I’d grown quite distant from my past self in the previous world, but it seems human nature isn’t so easily changed.

Plus, Chris’s warning stuck with me. That more people would come after me now. It wasn’t something I’d ever considered before.

But she wasn’t wrong. To help Chris and the rest of the hero party defeat the Demon King and reclaim my life, I’d inevitably have to step forward, whether I liked it or not.

Since they had memories of their past lives, they’d make fewer foolish or reckless choices than before. But that didn’t mean such things would never happen.

The Demon King I faced at the end of my previous life was an overwhelming force that made victory seem impossible no matter what I did.

If defeating that Demon King meant I had to step up, then so be it.

“First, this guy… No, that’s for later…”

I quickly jotted down names of potential threats in my notebook. My pen filled the blank pages in no time, and soon, the notebook was a messy, barely legible scrawl.

“Hmm, this is serious.”

Just in case, I tore out the page, crumpled it, and glanced around. The classroom was still empty except for me.

“I don’t know.”

For now, Cecilia’s matter took priority. And for that, I needed to focus on class.

As I lounged in the quiet classroom, lost in thought, someone lightly tapped my shoulder from behind.

“Hey!”

“What?!”

An attack already?!

Before I could think, I spun around, grabbed the person by the collar, and cast a spell with my other hand.

It was a reflex honed from rolling around battlefields with Lucilla, fighting demons.

“Who are you?!”

“Uh… um…”

In my grip was Jim, frozen with his fingers splayed, looking awkward.

“Did… Did I overstep?”

“Jim?”

“Y-Yes. Jim Jesta… Class is about to start, and you were spacing out, so I thought I’d play a prank… I overstepped!”

“No, no! No need to apologize.”

I was the one who’d asked Jim to treat me casually, without regard for status. As he said, the classroom had filled with students without me noticing.

“Sorry about that.”

I bowed my head.

“I just got startled and reacted… You get it, right?”

“Y-Yes. I understand. Someone of the Grave family must always be prepared for assassinations or ambushes. Don’t worry about it.”

“Hey… Jim?”

“Yes?”

“Are you really okay? If needed, I can ask a healer to check you—”

It felt excessive, but if I didn’t do this, Jim would inevitably distance himself from me. Frankly, my friendship with Jim was practically bought with money. A friendship like that could shatter over the smallest thing.

This was absurd. He was my first ordinary friend—I couldn’t lose him over something so trivial.

“I—”

“Not ‘I.’”

“I-I’m fine, so don’t worry. I should get ready for class now.”

Despite his words, fear and distrust toward me were already rising in Jim’s eyes. Of course, since he’d taken my money, he wouldn’t cut ties so easily.

But I couldn’t expect the same friendly, playful attitude from him anymore.

Screech—

In the end, Jim sat far away from me.

…Yep, I screwed up.