chapter 20
20 – Festival and Colosseum (1)
The festival is one step closer.
There was still a day left before the main festival started, but tonight was the eve, so the academy was already in a festive mood.
The juniors who were supposed to be together all had their own schedules and went elsewhere.
Delia went to help the alchemy freshmen sell some food on the eve of the festival, and Morphine went home today, saying she wanted to take her mother to the main festival.
In addition, Schnika was also absent due to the preliminaries for the Academy Colosseum.
Thanks to that, I was enjoying the eve of the festival alone with Ruen.
“hungry.”
“Have you just eaten?”
“… It was tasteless.”
… People who don’t know each other might misunderstand that it’s the first time they’ve met.
However, after watching Ruen for over a year, I could see that she was enjoying the eve in her own way.
Even if you just listen to it right now.
To say two sentences of completely different nature… .
It was a miraculous conversation, seeing as she rarely said anything other than ‘lazy Sacher’.
As I was walking down the street, I could feel my attention shifting little by little.
At first, I thought it was because of me, but when I felt it closely, it was the eyes pouring down on Ruen.
Sometimes, like a joke, I compare my body with Schnika, but…
Ruen also had a good proportion and was pretty enough to not be pushed anywhere.
The red eyes that looked around were crafted more beautifully than rubies, and the wavy brown hair gave off an antique feel to herself.
The slender limbs and fingers, as if forgetting the rules, made her look as if she were stepping on high heels even when she wasn’t wearing shoes.
elegant.
If she had to describe her appearance in one word, everyone would have said that.
So, those who saw her for the first time often mistook her for being a descendant of a high-ranking aristocratic family.
At first, I was also surprised that I became friends with such pretty kids, but after a year, even this seemed to get used to it.
After [Safe Cage], I got used to being famous, so I didn’t even care about people’s eyes anymore.
“Would you like a hot dog?”
“… huh.”
It was the eve of the festival, so if you turn your eyes, you can see something to eat.
Of course, as with any festival or event, the absurdly high price was intended to discourage tourists.
Still, since I hadn’t been wasting my business in the meantime, I had no hesitation in wasting money.
“A bunch of money pouring in! Unstoppable money! You’ll get rich from this taste… !!”
“… It’s stupid.”
There was still quite a bit of time left before Schnika’s Coliseum qualifiers.
She told me not to just come and play because it was burdensome, but to be honest, how much fun would it be if we, a loner in the corner of a room, were to play?
Ruen and I were the ones who couldn’t even plan a proper trip without the Schnika.
So, we decided to eat moderately, look around, and go cheer for Schnika.
As I walked and ate hot dogs, I arrived at a fountain where people were gathering and watching.
With dense academy buildings everywhere, the fountain built densely with marble was the academy’s specialty.
Normally, it is simply calm like a pond filled with stagnant water, but it was thanks to the stream of water that shows splendid movements without fail when there is a special event.
At first glance, I heard that the most famous sculptor in the empire made it.
It was a dignified appearance that seemed to show off his lofty figure, whether his reputation was in vain.
“Louen, Louen. It was the first time we saw each other. I remember?”
“… … .”
Ruen didn’t say anything, but instead answered with a silent nod.
This fountain was the first place Ruen and I met when we were freshmen.
Of course, it was never a pleasant memory.
I fell asleep after sitting by the fountain for a while, but when I woke up, I was inside the cool fountain.
I remember seeing Ruen in a daze like a drowning mouse.
In Louen’s words…
It is said that I leaned my head on the shoulder of Ruen, who was sitting by the fountain and quietly reading a book.
When a stranger suddenly did something like that, he thought it was a pervert and threw it into a fountain… .
I was dumbfounded, but I couldn’t protest loudly.
Anyway, it’s true that I provided the cause… .
If I had to guess, I must have been in a deep sleep and acted like that without my knowledge.
I’m the type of person who has to wake up really hard to wake up once I fall asleep.
But even so, where is the case of throwing people into the fountain?
I can laugh at it now, but at the time it was really absurd.
‘excuse me… Sorry.’
Ruen, who found out about the situation at the time, was at a loss.
In a way, it’s because I hit a person who was just tired and dozed off with a thunderbolt, no, a thunderbolt.
That expression full of bewilderment was an expression that could never be seen in Ruen now.
If I had a [Recording Orb] at that time, I would have definitely recorded that scene.
“under… At that time, I should have left the expression on Ruen’s face. With an expression of embarrassment and not knowing what to do… evil!!”
While talking excitedly, locked in memories, he was slapped on the side by Ruen.
He’s in the Faculty of Magic, so why is his fist so strong?
Ruen, who used violence so naturally, walked to find a spot where there were no people among the seats at the fountain.
It has definitely changed… .
When we first met, he was a good kid who said he was sorry with a face that didn’t know what to do.
I followed her with frequent steps, stroking her side.
…
…
“Mom doesn’t care.”
Sitting at the fountain, quietly watching the stream of water, Ruen opened her mouth.
I was taken aback by the sudden outburst of words.
It was strange that Luen spoke first, but it was because the content was so out of the blue.
“mom?”
“… You asked before.”
did you ask before?
It came to mind after thinking for a while.
The last time I asked Ruen something was while having lunch on the roof.
‘How would I feel if my parents suddenly got sick?’
I asked that question when I was immersed in my thoughts trying to cure my mother of morphine.
I wasn’t really asking for an answer.
I just felt frustrated and asked as if I was asking myself, and I was fully satisfied with Schnika’s answer.
And Ruen, who replied that he had never thought about it…
It seemed that he was finally expressing his thoughts.
“When Dad gets sick… I don’t think you’ll like it. But mom doesn’t care.”
“… why?”
“Mom is… Because you’ve already hurt Dad.”
Luen was a child of a divorced family.
Ruen, who was raised by her mother after her parents split up when she was young, has lived without receiving much affection from her parents.
When you sleep, when you eat, when you study.
She was alone in all the moments when her parents needed to reach her.
The only thing she was provided by her parents was a house to provide food, clothing, and shelter.
And the unpleasant noises you hear every night.
Ruen’s mother brought a new man into the house every day and seemed to be enjoying a dissolute life.
Ruen, who was alone in the room, didn’t pay much attention.
“… I got it then That Dad left because of Mom.”
A wife who cheats like breathing.
Husband can’t accept it.
It was natural for Ruen’s house to become a divorced family.
Then, Luen was selected as a warrior, and he was studying abroad in the Apelliche Empire where his father was living.
It was the reason she didn’t bother going to the academy in the kingdom of Denver where her parents were.
Ruen’s family history for the first time.
Her expression as she spoke while looking at the fountain was calmer than I expected, overshadowing my very cautious attitude.
Is it because I’m usually so expressionless?
Even in moments like this, she didn’t show her emotions, so I felt sorry for her.
And I don’t know what kind of change of heart it was, but I was grateful that he confided this to me.
“Louen. Have you ever seen fireworks?”
He snapped his fingers in front of Ruen’s eyes as he stared at the fountain.
She made a slightly surprised face, then shook her head.
Fireworks were an event that exploded when there was a very big event in the empire or a celebration worthy of everyone’s celebration.
It was an event in which special mana stones were loaded into a huge magic cannon and fired into the sky, but the cost was exorbitantly high compared to the one-time shooting.
Because of that, I used to do it once every few years at the Academy Festival.
It wasn’t at last year’s festival, and there was news that it wasn’t going this year either, so both Ruen and I hadn’t seen it.
“Ah, it feels good. I secretly made it for myself to see, but I’ll let Ruen see it too.”
“… what?”
I took out a magic tool that I had stored in my magic bag.
A magic tool that looks like a long stick or pipe.
It was my new creative magic tool [Simple Magical Firecracker] that has not yet been revealed to the world.
It was a magic tool that was discarded because the material cost was too high and there was little effectiveness, but it was still useful wherever it was made.
“Cover your ears, Luen!”
“… … !!”
I took a deep breath and injected magic into [Simple Magic Firecracker].
The flames spewing out of the magic tools started shooting towards the sky in succession.
wheee-
Perong! Perong! Pew-!
Fireworks shot up instantly embroidered the sky.
It was felt that the people around were startled by the sudden explosion.
But soon, they also gathered in twos and threes to watch the fireworks.
“Wow, look at the fireworks!”
“By the way, the flame is a bit small.”
“Well, how are you? it doesn’t matter what you do and… pretty.”
It was literally a simple firecracker, so it was much smaller than normal fireworks, but it was still tidy to watch.
I took a step back and looked at the sky, then looked at Ruen.
She was staring at the sky in a daze, as if seeing fireworks for the first time was magical.
Red eyes, which I always thought were empty, were filled with fireworks embroidered in the night sky.
This was a severance.
I was relieved for a moment that my attempt to do something was not in vain.
Wouldn’t that reaction, at least for this moment, come as an impressive moment for her?
‘I wish I could laugh a little… .’
It would be unreasonable to expect that much from a woman who has so many emotions.
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Just like the people Luen has in this fountain.
Like ordinary people enjoying festivals everywhere.
If I could enjoy watching the fireworks in the sky, I was satisfied with that.
Everyone lives with their own story in their heart that is difficult to tell others.
Some people have it deeply embedded in a corner of their hearts, and for others, it has remained as a trauma that is expressed implicitly.
From that cored past.
Not being obsessed, taking a step forward.
It was never easy.
today.
Ruen, who took off a layer of regret with difficulty,
I hope you feel these little fireworks as a gift.
New memories in front of this fountain a year later,
May she be the foundation for change in the future.
Looking at Ruen, whose eyes only reached the sky, I sincerely hoped for him.