Chapter 109: Two Weeks Break [IX]

Soon after giving the gems to the professor, Gray and Lyra decided to take a small walk on the beach.

Splash, plop~

The waves lapped gently against the shore, brushing over Gray’s boots before fading back into the glittering blue.

The sunset was almost over, staining the sea in shades of gold and orange. The wind was warm, carrying the faint scent of salt and flowers from the nearby dunes.

Lyra walked barefoot, her shoes dangling from her hand as she kicked at the sand every few steps.

“You know,” she started softly, “it feels like forever since we came to the academy…”

Gray kept his hands in his pockets.

“Yeah. Hard to believe it’s only been, what, a couple of months?”

“Mm.” She smiled faintly, looking out at the horizon.

“Remember the first day? You looked so serious. I thought you were going to punch me before even talking.”

“I probably was. After all, that exam was meant for us to kill each other,” Gray chuckled lowly.

“You’re terrible, you know that?” Lyra laughed, shaking her head.

“I know,” he nodded lightly.

For a while, the only sound was the waves and her quiet humming.

Then her tone changed, turning much softer, almost fragile.

“Hey… Gray.”

He looked sideways at her.

“What?”

She hesitated a moment, brushing a strand of hair from her face before speaking again.

“There’s something I never told anyone before. Not even the professors.”

Gray didn’t interrupt and continued looking at her.

“I am an orphan,” she said finally.

“No family, no name. I don’t even know where I was born. When I was little, the Church found me wandering around near the borders of Eliora. They picked me up, gave me food… a place to sleep.”

’…Eliora? The Land of the Gods?’ Gray was shocked inwardly.

[That explains why she’s the Vessel of Five Gods…]

Her eyes softened as she spoke, though a faint, faraway sadness lingered in them.

“The sisters there were kind. They taught me how to read, how to pray… how to survive. I grew up helping them with chores, watching the priests train, hearing stories about our God, Elohim.”

She smiled a little, though her voice trembled.

“It wasn’t a bad life. I used to think—maybe I was lucky. At least someone cared enough to take me in.”

Gray’s expression didn’t change much, but his gaze lowered and his steps slowed down. It was clear that he was pretending to be thoughtful.

“…You’ve been through a lot,” he said quietly.

Lyra nodded.

“Maybe. But I think that’s why I’m here. The Church… it gave me a reason to live. A home.”

She suddenly stopped walking, turning toward him with a determined look in her golden eyes.

“And that’s why…” She took a few quick steps forward, the sand scattering around her bare feet.

Swoooshhh!

The wind surged, causing her beautiful, long brown hair to sway slighly, making her adjust it with her left hand, as she finally spoke:

“I think I’m going to leave the academy and join the Church.”

“…H-huh…?”

The world seemed to stop for a second as Gray surprisingly stammered.

He froze mid-step.

The lazy calm that always hung around him cracked instantly. His expression stiffened, then twisted as if the words themselves physically hit him.

“What…?” he said slowly, his voice lower than usual.

Lyra nodded once.

“I’ve already decided. After this training event, I’ll talk to the headmistress. I’m not meant to be a court mage or adventurer like the others. I think… I think I belong there, serving God.”

Gray’s hand twitched at his side.

The breeze carried the faint sound of the ocean, but to him, it felt… muted.

“Leave… the academy?” he repeated, as if his mind refused to accept it.

“Yeah.” She smiled faintly, almost apologetically.

“You’ve got your path, Gray. And I have mine. The Church needs people who are highly talented in Holy Magic, and well, I… am quite talented… in it.”

He didn’t say anything.

Just stared at her, the fading sunlight catching in his black eyes.

“…You’re serious,” he murmured.

“I am,” Lyra’s smile wavered slighly.

For the first time since she’d known him, Gray looked… unsettled.

His usually calm gaze had sharpened, like he was looking at something slipping through his fingers, something he couldn’t control.

“Why now?” he finally asked.

“Why are you deciding this now?”

Lyra hesitated.

“Because being with you… Being with everyone here made me realize what I really want to do. I’m not meant to kill people, Gray… I was created to save them.”

Gray’s breath hitched almost imperceptibly.

He turned his gaze away, staring out at the sea where the waves crashed softly against the sand.

“…I see.”

The ocean breeze blew again, but the warmth it carried felt cold.

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They walked a little more before getting back to their room.

Gray entered the room without saying a word.

The air inside still smelled faintly of salt and sea breeze, the curtains fluttering softly by the open balcony door.

Lyra took one glance at him, still hugging her towel and visibly avoiding his gaze.

“I’m… gonna take a bath first,” she said quietly.

“You can use it after me.”

“Yeah,” Gray just nodded, not even bothering to look at her.

The sound of running water soon filled the silence.

The door clicked shut behind her, and the faint sound of the waves outside swallowed the room.

Gray’s steps were slow as he moved toward the balcony.

He leaned on the railing, pulling a cigarette from his pocket and lighting it with a flicker of mana from his fingertip.

The ember glowed bright red in the dusk.

He took a long drag, exhaling the smoke into the cooling night air.

“…Fuck.”

[It seems that your plan to conquer her failed.]

Jasmine’s voice echoed in his mind.

[Quite dramatic, I guess. She even told you her backstory just to give you enough of a reason not to stop her.]

She teased him.

Gray’s jaw clenched as he took another drag, letting the smoke linger between his teeth before releasing it slowly.

His eyes reflected the faint light from the ember, half-hidden beneath his messy hair.

’She doesn’t get it,’ he thought coldly.

[You mean you don’t get it.]

Jasmine chuckled faintly.

[You think you can twist every connection into something that serves your goals, but not everyone dances to your little strings, Gray.]

He didn’t reply immediately. His hand trembled slightly, the cigarette burning down to its midpoint.

’And yet,’ he thought, his lips curling into a faint grin.

’I don’t recall asking for your opinion.’

[You’re sulking.]

“No… I just hate losing something that should belong to me.”

He flicked the half-burnt cigarette off the balcony. It arced through the air and landed silently in the sand below, the glow fading out.

For a moment, he just stared at the horizon, the line where the dark ocean met the faint glow of the moon.

Behind him, the water in the bathroom stopped running.

Step…

Lyra came out of the steamy bathroom, her damp brown hair sticking slightly to her neck and shoulders.

The towel she wore clung tightly to her slender figure, steam still rising faintly from her skin.

“Gray?” she called softly, adjusting the towel with one hand while wringing her hair with the other.

“You can go take a bath now, I’m done.”

“….”

Silence…

Her brow furrowed a little.

Usually, he would at least grunt in response, throw a teasing remark, or mutter something sarcastic.

But this time… nothing.

The faint sea breeze coming through the open balcony doors was the only sound that answered her.

“…Gray?” she called again, her voice a bit more uncertain.

She took a few cautious steps toward the open balcony, her bare feet padding quietly against the floor.

The air outside was cooler, carrying the scent of salt and wet sand.

And there he was, sitting on the railing, dangerously close to the edge, one leg dangling freely while the other pressed firmly to the ground to steady himself.

The glow of his cigarette flickered weakly in the night wind.

Smoke curled around his face as he exhaled, the ember burning bright for a second before dimming again.

His eyes were half-lidded, staring out at the dark waves that crashed quietly against the shore below.

“Gray…” Lyra whispered, standing just behind him.

The moonlight made her look almost ghostly—pale skin, damp hair, towel still clutched tightly against her chest.

“Why are you sitting out there like that?”

He didn’t answer immediately, letting out another drag, the sound of his breath mixing with the ocean breeze.

“…Thinking,” he muttered at last.

Lyra frowned, taking another step closer.

“About what?”

Gray chuckled dryly, a smile tugging weakly at his lips.

“You. The Church. That little speech of yours.” He turned his head slightly, enough for her to see that faint grin of his, the one that didn’t quite reach his eyes.

“You sure know how to drop a bomb, huh?”

Lyra sighed.

“I didn’t mean to shock you. I just… wanted to be honest befor—”

“Before you leave?” he cut in quietly.

Her lips parted, but no sound came out.

“Yeah… before I leave,” she looked away, her fingers tightening around the towel.

Gray stared at her for a long moment.

Then he flicked the cigarette away, watching the red ember fall through the air before vanishing into the darkness below.

“Lyra…”

He called out to her, and Lyra stared directly into his bottomless black pits that seemed to consume her.

Somehow, his strange gaze made her blush.

And the next words… shocked her.

“I like you.”

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