Chapter 11

Chapter One: Pawn

1

T HE SUN PEEKED OUT FROM BELOW THE ­horizon. Rays of soft light spread gradually up and out across the night sky, heralding the dawn of a new day. Luke couldn’t help but sigh at the sad scene before him: Mia, lying unconscious on the floor. She had suddenly decided to pay him a visit at the crack of dawn, and when Alice appeared in the doorway, completely nude, Mia fainted in surprise. It hadn’t exactly been the most relaxing morning so far.

“She wants to be your pawn? Doesn’t she know you have me? I would carry out with perfect precision any order you gave me, no matter how vile or despicable…and do it much better than a girl like Mia ever could.”

Alice spoke a little louder than she usually did, and her voice was tinged ever so slightly with genuine emotion. Most people wouldn’t have been able to detect it at all, but Luke knew her well enough to perceive the subtle shift. Additionally, her facial expression appeared very complex indeed.

But Luke did not understand why.

“How did you come to such a misunderstanding? You’re my fiancée, not my pawn.”

Alice gave a small gasp, then fell silent.

To Luke, it was a complete nonissue. Alice and Mia occupied different positions in relation to him, and that was an objective truth. However, there was something that Luke had yet to realize: Privately, his perception of Alice had changed, and he accepted her as a part of his daily life. At first, he had resented the very idea of being with her, but over time, he had come to acknowledge her as his fiancée. It was a clear transformation that had taken place.

Fiancée, fiancée, fiancée…

But to Luke, it was all so normal that he barely noticed the change at all. He certainly didn’t outwardly display it—he was just as reserved as Alice, or perhaps even more. He was similarly cold and aloof, and that made the merest glimpse of his feelings toward her all the more stimulating and enticing. She turned the word “fiancée” over and over in her head, repeating it to herself as it melted into her, until she was completely intoxicated by it.

Her excitement gradually turned into lust. She felt her body getting hot, her breathing ragged. She would usually have made some attempt to hide her filthy desires, but didn’t have the will to do so this time around.

“You really do know how to drive a woman mad.”

Alice was completely naked, but that didn’t appear to bother her at all. In fact, she thought it was pretty convenient that she happened to be nude already, as she slipped her hand behind Luke’s neck.

“Hey! Mia’s still here,” he pointed out.

“Heh heh…we’ll be in trouble if she wakes up, then.”

Alice stretched up and pressed her mouth to Luke’s. It wasn’t a warm, soft sort of kiss, but the sort in which two people completely surrendered to their desires. With Mia unconscious on the bed, they found themselves ­collapsing onto the floor beside it.

***

“Hey. Get up already.”

“…Urgh.”

With that business concluded, Alice and I arose to prepare for the day ahead. However, Mia still wasn’t waking up.

At this point, I can’t tell if this girl’s too sensitive or not enough… Either way, I guess she was really stressed out.

“Finally awake then, sleepyhead?”

“Uh…A-Alice…? Wha—”

Mia jerked awake at the sight of Alice, and she jolted upright in bed to sit with her back to the wall.

“Wh-wh-wh-what are you doing here?!” Mia spluttered.

“I should be asking you the same thing. You know that Luke and I are engaged to be married, and you still come knocking on his door? You sneaky little home-wrecker.”

“Th-that’s not why I’m here!”

“No? Then perhaps you can explain why you had that look on your face when you arrived.”

“I-I didn’t have any look on my face! Stop being weird!”

I watched silently for a moment as Alice teased the poor girl.

Well, I suppose I am the one that started all of this, so I should put an end to it. I’ve already explained the situation to Alice, but I guess the two of them really just don’t get along, huh?

“Mia, what classes are there today?” I asked.

“Um…we’ve only got lessons in the afternoon, third and fourth period…that’s it.”

“In that case, go ahead and reserve one of the magic training areas. Either One or Two. Doesn’t matter which.”

“O-okay.”

“I’ll be in the library. Come get me once you’ve got a training area booked.”

“Okay… I understand.”

Hm, she’s already obediently accepting everything I say without a second thought. Everything is working out even better than I expected. Actually…on second thought, maybe it’s going a little too well. What’s this faint sense of doom I feel in the back of my mind?

“Arranging your clandestine meetings right in front of me? How wicked of you,” said Alice.

“…I’ve already explained what this is.”

“Yes, and I understood what you said, but whether I accept it or not remains to be seen,” she retorted, her breathing growing steadily more ragged. “I’m sure I ­w-won’t be able to concentrate on a-anything else, so I’ll end up coming to find you…watching from some secret h-hiding place…keeping an eye on everything that the two of you get up to.”

She began panting openly with excitement as she continued. “I’m sure it will be, ah, so terribly hard to watch, b-but for some reason, I find my body growing hot at the th—”

“Wh-wh-what are you saying?” I interrupted. “We won’t be doing anything like that!”

“Oh? And what is it you’re imagining that has made you blush such a bright shade of red? I didn’t specify any particular activity, did I? I merely mentioned that I would be watching everything the two of you get up to.”

“ Urk , that’s not…”

If you really want to observe, you could just sit and watch like a normal person, you know. Why do you need to hide? I honestly don’t understand that at all—nor do I really care to.

“I’m going to the cafeteria. Both of you, get out of my room.”

“Yes, quite right. I don’t want to spend another moment speaking with this shameless harlot.”

“I told you that’s not why I came!”

All three of us exited the room. I locked the door and headed for the cafeteria, where I found a familiar scene.

A red-haired boy with mean eyes was already seated at a table, eating breakfast.

Ah, it’s Lloyd. He always gets here earlier than everyone else.

He looked in our direction, and our eyes met.

He must’ve seen Mia too, naturally.

Lloyd didn’t say anything as we walked in. He quickly averted his eyes and turned back to his breakfast.

He’s sitting a bit further away from the table than yesterday. Is he still doing as Alice told him? Heh heh…interesting.

“…Hm?”

Mia suddenly walked toward Lloyd’s table.

“I lost. No excuses,” she admitted plainly. “But I’m definitely going to get my revenge.”

“…Yeah? Well, come at me anytime, then,” Lloyd said. “Ready when you are. Better hurry, though, ’cause I’ll just keep on going, always one step ahead. Ain’t gonna run or hide, but I’m sure not waiting around for you to catch up neither.”

Lloyd looked in our direction—not at me but at Alice. He got up from his table and slowly approached her.

“I want a rank duel.”

“Is that so? Very well,” Alice answered immediately.

“I mean…it ain’t like I think I can beat you,” he added, “but we all just got here. I wanna get a clear idea of how much further I’ve got to go. Sorry, but that’s why.”

“I assure you, I really don’t care about your reasons, so you can stop flapping your mouth. I’m not actually listening, you know?”

“…”

With nothing to say in response to that, Lloyd went back to his seat.

“Mwa ha ha…”

I couldn’t hold back my laughter.

Lloyd is just too interesting. I like him.

“Why not challenge me instead, Lloyd? You don’t have to bother with this mere girl.”

Upon hearing the phrase “mere girl,” Alice’s breathing became heavier for some reason.

How irritating…but I will allow it. I’m in a good mood today.

“You? Nah, not yet. Ain’t no point in challenging you now.”

“Ah ha ha ha… I see. When you are ready, then. Though in your case, we need not fight a formal rank duel. Something more casual is fine.”

“Huh…you serious?”

“Yes, I am.”

I’ll give him some of my precious time. I suppose that shows how much I like the guy.

“Right.” Lloyd hesitated. “Then…maybe. Sure.”

“Don’t be shy, please. I will allow it—for you.”

Lloyd’s eyes opened wide for just a brief moment, then his expression returned to normal.

Mwa ha, mean-looking as ever.

That was the extent of our conversation, and the two of us returned to our food. A few moments later, Leonard entered the cafeteria.

“Hey, good m—” he began, and then spotted Alice.

She locked eyes with him, her gaze cold and disdainful.

“R-right…I guess I’ll go eat in the corner…ha ha ha…”

That was all it took to send Leonard drifting away to sit with Lloyd instead. That, too, was something I was getting used to seeing.

Then, a new voice chimed in as I ate my breakfast.

“Uh…um, do you mind if I sit here?”

“…”

I turned to see Abel standing beside me, accompanied by the loud irritating girl that was always with him.

Lily, was it? The moment I turn Abel down, that girl’s going to start wailing about it on his behalf, making a tiresome scene in this cafeteria. In that case…

“…Do as you please.”

“Ah! Thanks!”

Abel sat opposite me, smiling like he was truly happy to be there.

Gross. Why do I feel like this guy’s taken a weird liking to me? I’ve really got no idea why that might be.

“Um…sorry about yesterday. I misunderstood…” he started.

“I don’t care.”

“…What?! Listen, you—” Lily protested.

“C-calm down, Lily. I’m sorry, Luke.”

“Why are you apologizing to him, Abel?!”

“You ought to keep that thing on a leash. Could you quiet her down for a moment?”

“What did you just say?!”

“…Shut up.”

When did this start…? When did everything around me get so damn loud?

“I knew it.” Abel was talking to me, but he was looking at Mia. “She’s smiling again.”

“You’re massively misunderstanding something important about this situation.”

“Y-you think?”

“Yeah, I do.”

“But she’s smiling, isn’t she?” he countered, his eyes still filled with an odd satisfaction. “You can’t deny that.”

“…”

Sounds like he seriously thinks I went to see Mia last night just to cheer her up.

“Sometimes…I see you training with the sword, y’know?”

“What of it?”

“The way you swing is so beautiful, it’s hard to even put into words. I don’t know much about magic yet, but I know a bit about swordsmanship, and…I-I felt this way during our duel, too.”

I said nothing.

“See, my master told me that when it comes to the sword, what’s important is heart. A bad person can’t be a good swordsman…so that’s how I know you’re not really a bad person, Luke.”

I raised my brows slightly at that, but remained silent.

I see… I thought to myself, watching the carefree smile spread across Abel’s face. This master of his has fed him that stupid nonsense. He thinks I’m pure of heart just because I can handle a sword? The world’s not that damn simple.

Later that afternoon, I arrived at Magic Training Area One to teach Mia some spells.

“When I came to reserve this place, I talked with Instructor Freya,” Mia rambled at me in greeting. “She said I looked quite energetic for someone who had been so thoroughly disgraced by one of my peers in such a public fashion…and that it was a relief to see I was okay…”

“I don’t care. Quickly now. Let’s get started.”

“Ah, th-thank you for teaching me!”

“I’ll be taking some mana first.”

Mia gasped as part of her mana flowed into me, thanks to my Dark magic’s draining abilities.

Oh yeah, this is good stuff.

“Watch. Armor of Healing Thunder.”

In the next instant, bolts of purple electricity streaked across my body.

I just thought this spell up on the spot; I’ve never actually done it before. I knew I’d be able to pull it off though—and look at that, I was right. It does need a bit of fine-tuning, though.

“…Huh?”

A thunderous boom resounded as I kicked off from the ground.

This spell contains a mix of the elements of Electricity and Healing. The Electricity aspect gives the user lightning-fast speed, but the human body can’t withstand that immense physical stress. That’s where Healing comes in—to instantly heal whatever parts of me get broken in the process.

It really is fast…so fast that my reflexes are kicking in just a little too late. Maybe I should pair it with a spell that boosts my senses. It’s going to take a while to get used to this, and it consumes a massive amount of mana too. Can’t use it for too long at a time…but it more than makes up for that with its sheer, incredible power.

After some more testing, I disabled the spell.

“You like it?” I asked.

“Th-that was incredible…”

“It’s a compound spell, using both Electricity and Healing. You’ll be learning that yourself and making it your own,” I told her. “Also, you’re far too slow to acti-vate your spells, so you really ought to work on that as well. Anyway, I’m leaving.”

“Huh?”

Back to the dorms…or maybe the library, actually? There’s more I want to research.

“W-wait!”

“What?” I paused and glanced back.

“Are you really leaving already? I don’t know if I can do this on my own,” Mia fretted. “If you wouldn’t mind…I-I’d like you to stay here with me…m-maybe…”

I stared at her.

What’s she saying?

“What more do you want from me? I just showed you the spell.”

“I saw it. It’s just…”

I could see that Mia was about to dig her heels in and complain even more.

“Mia. I’m disappointed in you.”

I looked her dead in the eyes and was kind enough to be straight with her.

“It’s so much easier to walk a path that’s been set out for you, but there’s value in forging your own through the desolate wasteland. If you can’t even see that, if you require me to hold your hand the entire way…I have to wonder, was I wrong about you?”

“A-ah…”

I have no interest in hand-feeding her these things. She’s being too soft. Much of magic acquisition is instinctual—a conversation with yourself that takes place over many hours. If she’s truly this incapable of thinking for herself, then I have no need for her . No matter how much talent she might have, it’s all worthless if she’s overly reliant on others. She’s no different from the rabble. If I spoil her now, she’ll continue to rely on me for every little thing that comes up. That’s why I need to light a fire under her, I reckon. I’ve already told her everything she needs to know.

I made to walk toward the exit once more.

“I-I’m sorry…”

A hand grabbed at my sleeve—it was, of course, Mia.

“What the heck do you w—”

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry ,” she repeated desperately. “Sorry, sorry, sorry…don’t abandon me, please don’t abandon me…”

“…Huh?”

Mia’s eyes were so full of tears that they looked black and hollow, as if not a single beam of light could reach past the watery surface.

I just tried to encourage her a little… How did this happen? What did I do? I didn’t think she was the type to respond like this. Could it be…this is all happening because I put in a bit of effort?

***

“I’m disappointed in you.”

The moment he said those words, I felt as if the ground had suddenly dropped out from beneath my feet. I was in freefall, endlessly plunging down into a bottomless abyss.

Would I never again be allowed to see the dazzling light that had illuminated my heart, no matter how hard I reached for it? When that thought occurred to me, everything before me went dark.

No.

No, no, no!

No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no…