Chapter 76 Volume II – Chapter 42: Two Hours of Peace

The sun was just rising when its rays entered my room through my window, hitting my face.

My eyes slowly widened at the discomfort I felt and slid to the clock hanging on the wall.

Fourteen hours…

I got out of bed with a stretch, threw myself straight into the bathroom, and after a nice long shower, I put on my uniform.

The Academy’s break was over today, classes were starting again. All the students were very ‘excited’ and I could hear the noise from outside even from here.

With a deep sigh, I took my tablet with me and walked out of my room.

Anyway, today, with the realization of the missing person in the academy, everything is going to fall apart again when it was just settling down…

I should at least start the day early with a morning walk, right?

Since I had plenty of time, I took my time and took slow steps toward my classroom, enjoying the sun and the peace.

There were only a few people in the early morning class, but I ignored them and their glances at me. I put myself where I always sit.

All I had to do was act the way I always do and wait. I didn’t have to do anything extra, so that’s what I did.

So after a while Adrian and Julian entered the classroom chatting together and I couldn’t help but be surprised.

Did these two get close while I was away?

How nice…

“Aiden, good morning!”

Julian glanced around the classroom and was surprised to see me. It was clear he hadn’t expected me so early, but he didn’t question me too much.

Then, unexpectedly, his face turned serious. He walked up to me and Adrian followed suit.

“Who did you add to the study group?”

“Ah… Celine and Lucia? They said they wanted to join and I accepted.”

Julian looked at me skeptically and Adrian raised his eyebrows at the same time.

“Why would I lie? If you don’t believe me, ask them yourself.”

“N- no, thanks…”

“If you’re embarrassed to go up to them, why don’t you ask them directly the next time we meet?”

“Why would I be embarrassed…”

Julian stepped back slightly. And the moment I saw that, I smiled slightly.

Do you think I’m going to run away or something?

“You’re blushing, huh…”

“You!”

Julian rose quickly, but this time I ignored him and turned to the side.

“What do you think, Adrian?”

Adrian turned to me in surprise when I suddenly threw the ball at him.

“Me?”

“Yeah, you.”

Adrian couldn’t say anything. After a short while he felt like opening his mouth, but unfortunately, the academy came to his rescue.

~ding!

“Take your seats!”

Our math professor entered the classroom just as the bell rang. Adrian took the opportunity to hurry to his seat, but Julian looked at me with a look that told me he was angry.

Heh, you still have a long way to go.

“Hurry up!”

The professor shouted one last time, then turned to the class holographic board to take attendance and paused for a moment.

The watches on our wrists could synchronize with these boards. As long as we were in the classroom, they sent information to the board, so the professor could take attendance without any effort.

Now, there was one absentee in the class.

Well… there were actually three absentees, but two of them were among the nineteen students who died in the preliminary. So the class size had already dropped from twenty-five to twenty-three, but there were now twenty-two on the blackboard.

At first, the professor raised his eyebrows at this, but then he entered the attendance into the system and went on with his lecture.

I narrowed my eyes, knowing who that person was.

There was a very good chance that the person who had disappeared was one of the students Justin had taken with him.

Someone who died because of me and no one will ever know what happened to him. Not his family, not his loved ones, if he had any.

And here I am, trying to feel uneasy like nothing happened. I know I should feel remorse, but I can’t even if I want to. Like a robot trying to pretend to have feelings.

Whatever… it’s better if I don’t let it all out. I shouldn’t behave differently than normal. Otherwise, I’ll be one of the first people to become a suspect.

*******

We went from class to class. Minutes turned into hours and it was time for the lunch break.

I was having one of my usual ‘normal’ days in this world, the only difference from before was the way people looked at me.

However, when we reached lunch break, I did something that broke my daily routine.

Instead of having lunch with Adrian and Julian, I told them I had a little errand to run. Although they raised an eyebrow at me at first, they didn’t say anything and I quickly made my way to class 1-F.

Last time I forgot to get Sue’s number, so even if I had invited her to the group, I couldn’t add her.

This is my goal now, to actually add her to the group and help her expand her social circle…

When I arrived in front of the 1-F classroom with these thoughts in mind, I took a quick glance inside. Even though all eyes turned to me curiously the moment I entered the classroom, I ignored them and quickly looked for Sue.

She was not in the classroom.

I looked around the cafeteria and she isn’t here now either… So where did she go?

I frowned and decided to go outside to think, but then someone called out to me.

“Were you looking for someone?”

The student who spoke was a girl from this class. She was a little shy, but instead of whispering about me from a distance like the others, she came straight to me.

“Yes, I’m looking for Olivia Sue Gemma.”

The girl stiffened as soon as she heard the name I said.

“Uh… She, well…”

When her demeanor suddenly turned one hundred and eighty degrees, I squinted and looked into her eyes.

“What about her?”

She’s probably scared of Justin. I understand perfectly well why she would react like that, but…

I still got angry.

“She’s probably in the woods on the other side of the academy… That’s where she eats her meals.”

“The woods where? There are so many woods in the academy.”

“The one on the s- southeast side…”

She didn’t want to talk anymore. It was as if she was going to die if she continued, so I just clicked my tongue.

“Okay, thanks for the info.”

Without saying anything else, I quickly left the classroom and started walking back to where she said she was going, all the while sighing deeply.

Sue isn’t just struggling with her own problems. Justin must have really made life hell for her, no matter how crazy he became. So much so that even her own class is afraid to mention her name and Sue is eating her meals away from people.

Isn’t this too much? I know this world isn’t normal as it is, but…

Isn’t this really too much?

I felt myself getting angry again and I clenched my fist. I even felt like congratulating Sue for killing Justin.

When Absolute Mind suddenly kicked in, my mind cleared, and I felt myself relaxing. I let go of my clenched fist and took a deep breath.

I finally came to the woods the girl had told me about, but… Where could Sue be?

This wasn’t the woods where Justin had died, it was much smaller, but that didn’t mean it was easy to find someone here.

So much so that I looked around for the next five minutes and she was nowhere to be found. So I paused.

Okay… let’s think about it.

If I wanted to be alone because I was surrounded by people who wanted to bully me, where would I go?

I opened my watch, looked at the view from above of where I was, and then… something caught my attention. When everything was green because of the trees, there was a gray-colored place… a large rock.

A slight smile appeared on my face, I lowered my watch and made my way toward the rock. After a while, I passed a place of broken branches and reached the rock.

Slowly, silently, I made my way to the back of the rock and there I saw a girl leaning against it.

“Hey-”

I called out to her with a smile on my face, but then I realized something else and paused.

Sue’s eyes were closed. She had fallen asleep and… was quite peaceful.

“Haa…”

I don’t feel like waking her up. I don’t want to disturb her when she’s so peaceful after what she’s been through, and when she’s sleeping so well.

I sighed lightly and moved closer to her, and then I noticed something else.

Something was smelling… a very good food.

I looked in the direction of the smell, and I noticed the blanket on Sue’s other side and the food on it.

A beautifully cooked vegetable dish in a small bowl, a slightly steaming soup and bread in a bowl next to it, and a drink like homemade juice…

I’d be lying if I said my mouth wasn’t watering. Was this the last time I had a meal like this when I visited Clara?

I remembered the first time I went to see Clara. I remembered her cooking, then her smiling face.

I clenched my fist, calmed myself even before the Absolute Mind, and took a deep breath in and out, looking up at the sky.

As quietly as I could, I began to tidy up the food and the blanket, put everything away, and prepared to leave when I was finished.

I turned one last time to the sleeping figure of Sue. I wanted to look at her before I left, but then I paused as I realized something.

I looked at the way Sue was leaning against the rock, the way her limbs were stretched out, and I realized that she was not in a very comfortable position.

The rock was hard, her muscles would be numb when she woke up because of the position she had fallen asleep in, and her head looked like it could fall off at any moment.

~ding!

The bell rang signaling the end of lunch break for first years.

I have to go back. I have to get to class but…

I looked back at Sue, who was still sleeping.

What should I do? Should I go?

Although… who cares about the lessons? Don’t I already know everything they teach, except the little details?

Yes, I do. So… what’s the big deal if I skip classes for a day?

I took a deep breath, approached Sue, and sat down next to her. Without waking her, I gently laid her body slightly on her side, positioning her head on my knee and letting her relax.

Her expression became more peaceful the moment I did this, her body relaxed as if in relief.

I couldn’t help smiling as I watched her.

Sue really does look like Clara. I didn’t pay too much attention before and thought they were simply similar, but now, up close with her closed eyes, she really looks like her.

My hands spontaneously reached for her black hair, I lifted a lock of it without disturbing it and then a strange sensation swept through my whole body.

Without realizing it, I started stroking her hair and tried to understand what this strange feeling was.

It was a nostalgic feeling. It was as if I had done it many times, even though I had never stroked anyone’s hair before.

I couldn’t help but wonder if there was a memory I didn’t know about, and as I continued to stroke Sue’s hair, a small sadness slowly made itself known alongside the feeling that had taken over me.

Then I paused.

I… what am I doing?

I removed my hands from Sue’s hair, narrowed my eyes slightly, and frowned as this strange feeling slowly dissipated.

I let out a deep sigh, and then, deciding not to think about anything else, I just waited.

Seconds passed. Then minutes of doing nothing, while at the same time feeling like I was getting away from all my problems.

I received several texts from Adrian and Julian about ‘where I was, what I was doing’. I heard the bell ringing for breaks and classes for prep students one after the other, but I ignored them and continued to stand still.

Finally, about two hours after the lunch break was over, Sue finally stirred slightly.

First, her body tensed slightly, then her eyelids opened and her dark blue eyes turned meaninglessly to me.

I smiled.

“Good morning. Although, I guess it’s good afternoon?”

Sue stared at me for a moment, then closed her eyes as if nothing had happened.

She continued to keep her eyes closed and lean against me for a few seconds, and then suddenly sat up and looked at me again.

“You are not a dream.”

She was so funny with her messy hair and serious expression on her face that I just stood there for a moment and then I couldn’t help but start laughing.

I didn’t hold back, I just burst out laughing and Sue watched me with a surprised expression.

“Yes, yes… I don’t know if it’s sad or something that serious, but unfortunately, I’m real.”

Sue continued to stare into my eyes for a few seconds.

She squinted, then her squinted eyes widened. She mumbled something in shock that I couldn’t understand.

“Excuse me?”

“N- nothing… What are you doing here?”

She tucked her hair behind her ear and averted her eyes. This was the third time I had ever seen her do this.

I wonder if it’s a habit.

“I invited you to the study group, but I forgot to add your number, so I was looking for you, but I couldn’t find you anywhere. Then I heard from a girl that you eat here, so I came here.”

“And then you sat next to me?”

“You weren’t sleeping very comfortably. Your head felt like it was going to fall off and your whole body would be numb when you woke up, so I just straightened you up.”

Sue quickly lifted her wrist and looked at the clock. Then her eyes widened again.

“It’s been two hours since lunch break! Have you been here the whole time?”

Her cheeks flushed and she looked at me and her watch in shock.

“I mean, I know most of what they tell me, so it’s not a big deal. I came third in the academy in the last written exams, just so you know.”

She opened her mouth, tried to say something, but then swallowed her words.

I slowly stood up, keeping a smile on my face, and stretched like her.

Maybe the regular classes are not important, but the time for practicals is approaching. I don’t want to get scolded by Professor Calvin.

Speaking of Professor Calvin… It’s going to be pretty awkward meeting him again after what I’ve been through, but technically he doesn’t remember anything so it shouldn’t be a problem.

“Anyway, give me your number and I’ll add you to the group. It’s not going to be pretty for me if I’m late for practice.”

Sue turned around quickly without saying anything. She stood there for a few seconds and then approached the food I had gathered.

“You even put this together…”

“It wouldn’t be nice if they stayed in the open air.”

There was silence, then Sue quickly called out a string of numbers.

“Excuse me? Say that again, I missed it.”

I had entered the first three digits, but the rest was so abrupt I couldn’t make it out.

Sue said her number a little more slowly this time. So first I registered her and then I invited her to the group.

“Okay, I’ve invited you.”

I was about to say goodbye when I paused and remembered something I had forgotten, something important.

I took out a dimensional button from my pocket, specially painted in red, handed it to her and lowered my smile, and spoke seriously.

“If they do something like an interrogation, drink this beforehand, then even if you don’t tell the truth, things like lie detection spells won’t affect you.”

Sue glanced absently at the dimensional button in my hand, but then said nothing and slipped it into her own pocket. I lowered my serious expression and smiled again.

“Well, I’ll see you later, now that we’ve taken care of everything!”

This time I didn’t wait for her to say anything and quickly made my way to the training rooms.

As I was leaving, I heard Sue mumbling something again, but I didn’t slow down and kept going.

I was happy, most of my momentary uneasiness had vanished.

The two hours I had spent here had not been in vain.

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