episode_0130

000

“Haa… Haa…! Sorry! Cleon!”

“No, I’m also a little… Keuk… Anyway, let’s run!”

The two of them run through the academy streets, pushing through the crowds.

Their appearance, with their hair disheveled to an almost unimaginable extent for the usual Aruru or Cleon, and with buttons on their clothes misbuttoned here and there.

It was a state that could not be called exemplary, even as a euphemism.

The navy blue paint has thickly spread across the night sky. The sun has already completely disappeared beyond the west, and the number of stars embroidering the sky is as full as the number of people spending the last night of the festival.

In addition, the academy grounds were illuminated more strongly than usual with magic and other lights, so that people would not end the festival of memories in the dark.

In the plaza where Monad’s coffin is located, and in wide areas such as the Tower of Aion, parades were already underway, and guests with their families gathered there to have a good time.

However, if you were to ask where the hottest place at this time, on this day, is, it would still be the huge building where various academy events are held.

The Grand Ballroom was like the main venue of the academy’s last day and last night.

The academy’s lovers believe in the legendary rumors and rush into the Grand Ballroom, holding hands and dancing to the music, hoping for eternal happiness.

Even if something happens in the future, even if it’s just a superstitious story, right now, at this moment, they will decorate a page of their youth with memories, as if they have become the protagonists of the world.

To ensure that these boys and girls, who believe in such things without a doubt, can enjoy the festival with peace of mind, those in charge of guarding the Grand Ballroom stood at the entrance, protecting it.

The time was past 9 o’clock, a little before 9:20. When they heard the music and laughter coming from inside, the guards wore proud faces.

At that moment, a pair of men and women running from afar on the road leading to the ballroom caught their eyes.

As they approached the entrance, rushing in a slightly disheveled state, the guards smiled wryly and said to them.

“Why don’t you take a deep breath first?”

“So, sorry…. Can we go inside?”

The blonde girl – Aruru Tromeara sweeps back her disheveled hair with her hand and speaks.

Cleon, who was standing next to her, also straightened his clothes and looked at the guards.

“Going inside is no problem, but. Do you guys have your admission reservation tickets?”

“…Pardon?”

Aruru hears the guard’s words and makes a face as if she’s never heard that such a thing was needed.

Cleon, too, had only learned about this event itself today, so there was no way he would know about the existence of such a thing.

“…I’m sorry, but if you don’t have a reservation ticket, those whose admission time has passed cannot enter. That’s the rule….”

The guards look at the two with regretful faces.

“… …”

“… …”

Aruru’s eyebrows bend into a (八) shape, clearly expressing her disappointment.

Considering how much she had been looking forward to this event, Cleon was troubled about what words of comfort to offer from the side.

“Aruru…”

“S, sorry. Cleon. I never imagined that this event would require a reservation ticket….”

Aruru droops her shoulders and apologizes to Cleon, but Cleon shakes his head.

“It can’t be helped. Let’s go somewhere else.”

Cleon pats Aruru on the shoulder and then takes her hand and slowly walks back the way they came.

Normally, the two of them would never be late for an appointment, but after overlapping their bodies several times, they forgot the time and concentrated on the act.

It was only after hearing the sound of the 9 o’clock bell that they hurriedly left the lodging and ran at top speed.

“Haa~ To make such a mistake at the very last minute….”

Aruru seems unable to easily shake off her disappointment, and, unlike her usual self, leans her head on Cleon’s arm with a rather gloomy look.

“Did you want to participate in the ball that much?”

“Of course…. Even though it’s just a rumor or a legend, there’s romance, isn’t there?”

Cleon listens to Aruru’s story and nods lightly, thinking that it is indeed a romantic story.

“…Then, what should we do now?”

“Wait. Let’s try to recall what other events there are….”

Aruru says this and closes her eyes, trying to remember carefully.

At that moment-

“Oh my. Instructor Cleon. And Lady Aruru?”

A woman’s voice calling out to the two.

Aruru opens her eyes and looks straight ahead, seeing Riomes in a beautiful dress.

Seeing that she is also wearing a dress for the ball, it was easy to know where she was heading.

“You two, why are you here? I thought you would have gone to the ball.”

“That’s….”

As Cleon explains the whole story, Riomes blinks her eyes two or three times, then nods as if she understands.

Then, she smiles wryly and says.

“How youthful….”

“What about Riomes? Are you heading to the banquet hall now? I thought you would be with Lady Lyud.”

“Yes. I have an admission ticket… Lady Lyud said she would spend time with her daughter today. I plan to join the two of you later.”

“I, I see….”

So that’s Lady Lyud’s daughter. Cleon couldn’t imagine what kind of person she was.

“You two. What are your plans from now on?”

“Well…. I was planning to look for a place where we could spend time somewhere else….”

Cleon glances at Aruru, and Aruru also nods.

Riomes listens to Cleon’s story, then glances around and lowers her voice.

“… In that case. I should tell you two another legend that I know.”

“… Another legend?”

Aruru’s eyes widen at Riomes’s cautious story.

“Yes~ It’s just a legend, after all….”

Saying that, she turns her head and looks at the `Tower of Aion`, a building that stands out no matter where you are in the academy.

“It is said that the blessing of the stars descends upon lovers who enter the rooftop of the Tower of Aion….”

“There’s such a legend too….”

Cleon thought that there were legends with looser conditions than he had expected.

Aruru also makes sounds of admiration like `Hoo… Hmmm… Uh…?` next to Cleon, then tilts her head.

“Wait a minute. The rooftop of the Tower of Aion is usually accessible to anyone who is at the top of their class, right? Of course, general students can also enter if they have permission. Is there really such a legend?”

“No. I just made that up.”

Riomes answers neatly without making excuses for Aruru’s remark. Aruru and Cleon are speechless at her confidence, but Riomes continued to speak.

“Certainly. I admit that in this world where magic and gods exist, the weight of a legend is extraordinary. But the relationship between a man and a woman is the fruit of their hearts. If they cherish each other, and sometimes even fight, but always hope that their hearts will connect. Then the ending of that couple will reach a happy ending.”

Riomes spoke her mind as it was, advising the two.

Aruru and Cleon listened to Riomes’s story, then paused for a moment and looked at each other.

“However…. The place is almost deserted at this time. Even if it’s locked, no one will suspect anything. In addition, the night sky viewed through the windows of the rooftop is quite special. Even if it’s not a legend, I think it’s a perfect place to spend some quiet time alone, don’t you think?”

Riomes finished speaking up to that point, then slightly lifted her skirt to the two of them, greeted them, and walked past.

The two people left behind in that spot turned their gaze to Riomes’s back for a moment.

Quietly, they began to move their feet.

001

The Tower of Aion was indeed a place with great symbolism, but since all attention was focused on Vitos’s warehouse, it was not.

There was no secret room on the top floor that you might expect in such a place. It was just an empty space where people didn’t come often and that was occasionally cleaned.

Instead, if you looked out the window, you could see the entire academy, and if you looked up, you could see the stars from the closest place in the academy.

It was just a place for the scenery.

“You haven’t been here before, have you, Cleon?”

Aruru spoke to Cleon, who had followed behind her, carefully closing the door.

She walked closer to the window where the moonlight was pouring in, wearing a slightly cheerful smile.

If you were to say that it was a place where only the two of them could be, then the lodging they had been in until recently was the same.

However, unlike that place, which was full of a suggestive atmosphere, it was truly a place where a man and a woman seemed to be having a secret rendezvous, so it seemed that the disappointment and sadness of not being able to attend the ball had flown away to some extent.

“Yeah. It’s a place I wouldn’t normally come to. Have you ever been here?”

“Yes. Sometimes, when there is a shortage of places to store items that students need to use temporarily, we move them here. At times like that, if I’m in the tower, I help with the moving.”

However, fortunately, there were no such supplies or luggage inside now.

Cleon goes near the window where Aruru is standing and looks up at the sky.

Certainly, thanks to being the closest place to the sky in the academy, the scenery was on a different level compared to other places.

And it was a safe place where you couldn’t see the cliffs of the valley that blocked the group of stars embroidering the sky, or the dragons flying through the sky.

Cleon feels a slight dizziness at the reality of unknowingly recalling a scene from his childhood.

But the presence of Aruru, who is standing next to him, supports Cleon’s limbs.

“…It’s nice. Not bad.”

When Cleon unknowingly put those words into his mouth with a smile on his face, Aruru blinks her eyes.

“I think this is the first time Cleon has said something like that first.”

“…Is that so?”

Cleon turns his head at Aruru’s words, wondering if that’s the case.

“Yes. Liking something. Of course, there have been times when you have expressed emotions to me or other people…. But I think it’s the first time Cleon has talked about liking something in front of me….”

“…Maybe. I’m aware that I’m not good at expressing such things.”

[But that’s Cleon’s charm.]

Cleon puts his hand on the handle of his sword at Galatea’s voice coming from around his waist.

“Cleon likes stars.”

“…Since I was a child. They are in a place so high that I can’t reach them, but they are always there, shining. When I was a child, they seemed to protect the night sky that I was afraid of.”

Everything around him seemed like a barrier to his childhood self.

All he could rely on was a small carving knife, his only partner, the magic sword, and the roof of the spire where he could look up at the sky.

In a town where adults, wyverns, and even children of his age all had dark faces.

It was the only place where Cleon could see the light.

But even then, he could never even dream of sticking his head out from under the roof or reaching out his arms.

If he showed a gap, the wyverns would rush in and try to tear him apart.

Could his childhood self have imagined that he would be able to look up at the sky in such a safe place?

He feels unreal. He wonders if this dreamlike moment will break.

As if to confirm it, Cleon reaches his hand out the window. Even though it’s such a high place, the stars are still in a place that he can’t reach.

The back of a woman standing in the middle of a white flash is flashed back on that curtain of the sky.

When he closes and opens his eyes, that image disappears, but he can tell that his hand is clenched into a fist.

Aruru looks at Cleon, and takes his hand, which remains next to her.

“…No matter how high the star Cleon is chasing is. We will always be by your side.”

Aruru speaks quietly. She had also been able to glimpse his past, even if only a little, as she became connected to Cleon.

“…Even if Cleon flies so high, I will hold this hand tightly so that you don’t fly to a place where you can’t return.”

Cleon grasps the hand that Aruru is holding, putting strength into his own hand without realizing it.

What he feels from the strongly connected hand is not just a physical connection.

A bond connected by a fate close to inevitability was holding Cleon back.

“…I think I’ve gotten to know some really good people….”

There were bonds that started as relationships close to being enemies.

There were also ill-fated relationships that had continued out of necessity.

`It is the fate of the magic swordsman to subdue and dominate everything`

He recalls what Galatea whispered to him when she first awakened.

But, if that were the case. If that really happened.

Wouldn’t that be what the humans who see him as a monster like the Magic Sword Emperor just because he is a magic swordsman of the Black Magic Clan want?

Besides, if he were to be completely dyed black.

Surely, he would not be able to maintain himself in front of the brilliant golden light that he would meet again, and would burn away and disappear.

That is why Cleon did not forget compassion. He did not abandon mercy. He did not bury his relationships.

Even if he was laughed at for a childish reason like `being a good boy`.

`Cleon is kind.`

He recalls the words he once heard from Sophia. From Lesia.

Galatea said that he was too soft.

Cleon ridiculed himself, saying that was really the case.

“Cleon.”

Aruru, holding Cleon’s hand, moves slightly away from the window. She seemed to be waiting for something.

[Cleon.]

Galatea’s voice flowed into his head as Cleon looked at Aruru for a moment.

[…Ah. I know.]

This time, he didn’t need to receive advice like he did during the day.

Cleon stands in front of Aruru and bends his waist slightly, placing his hand that had been pointing towards the sky over his chest.

“Lady Aruru Tromeara. Would you do me the honor of dancing with me? It’s a small room with no legends or rumors.”

“There’s no music or crowds, but. There’s enough light from the moonlight.”

Aruru answers, politely lifting the hem of her skirt and bowing.

Soon, Cleon moves with slightly awkward steps.

Aruru was leading.

The two people’s beats were offbeat.

Sometimes their feet got tangled and their posture was disrupted.

But that was okay.

What each of them wanted was not perfection, nor a guarantee that they would be happy forever.

Because that was too fantastic a story.

Cleon’s story was not a moralistic fairy tale.

Aruru’s story was not a play with predetermined roles.

The two people’s story was the most unpredictable story in the world called `reality`.

A story where they could laugh even while dancing awkwardly under the moonlight.

A story where they struggled towards the uncertain next page while thinking about the undetermined future.

That was the story they were living.

It was a pretty good night.