Felinella was just passing on a message to Alice.
　A message through the Chancellor. It was just that she happened to be there and burned an unnecessary meddling.

　It was a message from the Favell family, and they asked me to thank Sisti, the chancellor, after saying thank you.
　So I can't help but feel a little yucked up. It's really enviable, because Alice and Tesfia are so close to each other.

　It's probably a relationship like that of Felinella and Illumina. But in the case of the girls, since they are both aristocrats, there was no barrier between them.

　It's a good thing," said Felinella, looking somewhat pleased to see an open door.
　And the inhabitants of this place left her behind, grabbed their AWRs and ran off without a second thought.

'Then let me do what I can,'

　Standing up, Felinella's eyes lit up to look straight ahead.
　It was guilty of a little bit of calculation, but it was undeniably out of compassion that she came to Alice's room like this.
　Could it be called the commonality of those who were attracted to the same man?

　That was why Felinella included a bit of a lie. There was nothing she could do, but that wasn't entirely true.
　Since her father, Vizayst, was deeply involved in this case, she thought that she could help at least at the end of the line.
　As expected, I feel that for once it is not straightforward, but I don't need to imagine the folly of not being able to do anything about Ars's predicament, even for Felinella.
　At the same time, a disgusted feeling was bubbling up from deep within the chest.


　◇ ◇ ◇


　That evening. It feels like it's getting darker earlier than usual because I can finally keep my cool.
　Alice had visited the Fevers' house without any preparations.

　With only one AWR in a sheath.
　

　Tesfia and I are good friends and good competitors. Competing with each other will always be magical skills.
　That's probably why I can vividly remember the little time we had a friendly competition under Ars.

　There are a number of other things that connect the two of them, but the first thing that comes to mind always includes the word magic. Such an unconscious manifestation is AWR. Besides, Alice knew what to do.
　Even she didn't know if it was the right thing to do.

　But.

(Out of frustration, out of disgust ... not being helpful.)

　Selva respectfully sat down and offered to show her around the mansion, but Alice refused. Finding Tesfia's room in the mansion, which she had visited often in the past, was something she could do with her eyes.
　Besides, every time he walked down the corridor, it was a time of reckoning to look back and forward to the past.

(So, Fia. I'll just look forward.)

　That's what Alice decides to do, largely because of the events of a few days ago.
　Ars's laboratory, which was supposed to be empty. That was when she saw many military men in military uniforms coming out of the research building. It was forbidden to enter except for them carrying the luggage.

　However, Alice ran up to the top floor as if she couldn't see them, and saw the deserted interior.
　The memory of the room, with a rough idea of where it was located, was instantly erased.
　It was not a laboratory that Alice knew. It was a laboratory that had been confiscated. A pure white room, just wide, just wide. A collection of anxiety that cannot be described by words like emptiness or quietness.
　The scenery of everyday life should not be lacking in any way, but it is "indispensable"....

　It's the first time that Alice sits down and whispers the word "lost" in her chest.
　-- again (,) I've lost it.

　Still, she was able to notice. Yes, nothing has changed. It's me who has changed.

(I don't want to feel that way anymore.)

　The words were repeated as many times as if they were a reprimand to himself. He had to ask for help from Felinella to even notice this much. That's how painfully aware I was of my own youthfulness.
　But that doesn't mean I'm going back, it's just a matter of starting there. It is up to you to choose the path ahead or the path behind.

　Froese did not tell Alice much. Just, "Can you meet with me first? I told him calmly.
　He was lucky he wasn't injured, though, apparently.


　◇ ◇ ◇


　The little girl crawled under the covers and held her shivering body in her arms.
　A horrific scene that burned into her brain and never left. It was horrible. It was horrible. The memory of that horrible, hair-raising death still flashed through my mind.
　Even the unfamiliar smell of the place hit me.

　The fact that Ars, who had created such a scene, was expressionless and unconcerned scared me more than anything else. And although he struggled to understand the words Loki had told him, his body refused to do so.

　It takes a meal and spits it out immediately. The academy didn't teach me that there was a world like this. No one taught me.
　No, he knew as knowledge that there was a backroom job in the person of Ars............................but he was somewhat naive.

　Tesfia wraps the quilt around her body and meditates hard on her eyes as she squeezes out tears.

　She doesn't understand the expression Ars showed her when she left. What did he think he was doing to turn such a sad face, or did he not utter a voice?
　That's why Tesfia was afraid to recall what kind of face she had turned to Ars at that time.

　The truth was, she knew.
　It's a good idea to have a look in your eyes as if you were looking at a monster.

　The thought of such a thing flashed through my mind for a moment, and again Tesfia shed tears as if she refused to accept anything.


　That was when it happened. The mattress sank as if someone had sat down beside Tesfia, who was squatting on the bed. It was impossible to notice it without coming so close together at such close range.
　I thought it must be Selva again, but he had never sat on the bed before.

　She didn't want to see anyone, but she couldn't make out the other man's face.
　That's when I was about to utter the question, "Leave.

Fear.
--!

　There was no way she could have misheard it. Tesfia's eyes widen at the voice that shouldn't be there though, and she forces herself to wipe away the tears.
　Her hands on her back followed by her hands on her back stirred her heart helplessly.

'Hey, Fia. What's going on?　The Nobleman's Ruling (Tembram) has been won, hasn't it?

　A weak nod.
　Then there should be no reason for her to be locked up in her room like this. But Alice didn't rush to follow the order. Because there is no doubt that something was there.
　And it must be the kind of thing that eats away at Tesfia's mind. It's never a personnel matter, and I'm never irrelevant, such a premonition made Alice's voice tense yet clear.

　Her voice sounded as receptive as a lullaby.
　It echoed in the room where only silence filled the room.

　Immediately after, Tesfia jumped off the quilt and embraced Alice as if clinging to her, and she jumped in without even looking at her face.
　Receiving her firmly, Alice carefully stroked her shaggy hair.

　It was painful. Looking down at her, Alice hugs her back, that much is certain.


　The trembling that comes with enduring sobs is not the result of grief, but much like that driven by fear. Alice waited patiently for Tesfia to calm down.
　Not a single word was said, and she would wait as long as she wanted until she was ready.



　When Tesfia finally spoke out, she honestly had a hard time correcting her brain for the jumble of Tesfia's content, but she didn't interrupt and repeated her ministering.
　The regret of what Tesfia had felt to bring her to the present, the regret of having turned away from her then. Remorse for refusing to do so.
　It seemed to prove that he was not prepared for it... he had turned away from the reality of being a mage, and he was afraid of himself for wanting to deny it.

　At the end of the night, everything was let out.

　Of course, Alice was no stranger to this. If I had been there, I'm sure I would have stopped on the same path as Tesfia. I couldn't help but feel that way.
　That's why I understand. I understand now.

　POTUS Alice sat back down on the bed and moved directly in front of Tesfia.

'We don't know anything, do we?
..........
'How much Al has fought and how many people it's saved and made Alpha what it is today. I didn't know it then, but that's not the case anymore.
Alice?

　In contrast to Tesfia, who turned her clinging eyes on me, Alice resolutely looked straight into the depths of her eyes.

'Maybe, but if you're going to graduate from the academy normally and become a magician, you surely don't need to know. But, you see, that path is not the one that crosses paths with Al. That's why Al and Loki saw the world differently than we did from the beginning. It's funny, they were just floating around being taught magic without realizing that. We're probably just strangers, no matter how far we go. We can't go any further...
Alice, you don't mean...

　Tesfia's own hands are gripped tightly and she looks down at them. There's also a sense of trepidation in them, as if what she wants to convey is ahead of her feelings and her resolve hasn't yet caught up with her.
　Alice's voice and words, which are dazzling and emit a strong light, may not be what Tesfia was expecting.

'So I want to know everything about Al. And yet, still. I'm sure I'd be afraid I'd turn away.

　Alice also forces a smile as she forces herself to hold back her tears and sobs.

'But I don't want to leave you anymore,' she says. I know I can't do anything about it, but I'm selfish. I know that Fear likes Al. But I still love Al....

　'Nope,' said Alice, shaking her head as she searched her mind.

'Well I love you!　I want to be with you, I want to be there for you so badly.

　Tesfia's eyes widened in surprise, and she wanted to shake Alice's hand away, to refuse. But when she saw her power not to let it happen, she gave up.
　Both hands held tightly to keep her from escaping.

　I feel a compulsion to rush myself to answer.

''But... but...''
'But it's not, Fia. 'I can see why you feel afraid of Al like this. I know you're troubled because you love him. Because you love him, you're frustrated because you love him. I can't forgive myself. The truth is, if Fia was willing to give up, I'd be fine with that. But I still want to support Fia if she's still in love with you... it's a contradiction in terms.

　Alice's voice was trembling as she forced herself to laugh at Hehehe. She hadn't seen the same situation as Tesfia, but she could only understand what kind of horror and fearlessness it was for her to do what Ars did.
　But more than that, I feel sad for Ars now.

　It's a good idea to be able to have a good time with them.

'I'm sorry Alice, I'm sorry. I'm sorry I didn't notice. I'm sorry for being all by myself.

　Alice couldn't bear it anymore as she hugged Tesfia, who was crying loudly, too.

''No, I'm sorry too. I'm so weak and fragile and I wasn't there when it mattered.''
I was scared, I was a different person and I didn't know who I was and I refused to be a part of it and I refused to be a part of it.
Yeah, yeah ... yeah.


　Until late that day, late at night, a room in the Favell family mansion did not sleep, and the voices of the girls continued to leak out with the lights. The tears dried up and blew away one by one, leaving a mark on their cheeks.

　If there was a wall in this thing called life, this was the moment to get over it. No, more importantly, it was the night I decided to overcome it.


　The real silence came when the sun rose and the dawn light began to drive the darkness away.
　Two of us were the ones who witnessed that silence with joy. At this time of year, they opened the windows, not caring about the cold, and listened to the voices that leaked out.

'I see you are both asleep,'
You're right.
You were right to send for Miss Alice.
'Those girls have known each other for a long time. For once it would have been difficult for Fia to do it alone. If it's true, you don't need to know, but still, it's not something you should turn away from. That's the kind of world that the wizard she's aiming for will confront you with.
'That said, ma'am. You look like you've relaxed your shoulders a lot.

　Selva closed the window, his beard quivered and he uttered happily.

'What do you mean by that?'
No, you've been neglecting your work.
..........

　Looking down at her hand, Froese wrinkles her brow and turns her sullen eyes to the butler.
　Then she shifts her gaze to the side, letting out a sigh to catch her breath. The package that arrived from the army just a few days ago is placed there.
　The reason I called Alice was due in no small part to the fact that this arrived. No, this is something I've been thinking about since the time of the Nobleman's Ruling (tenblum).
　I never thought it would come to that, but this is also a good opportunity.

　As a challenge to my two daughters........ But that wasn't even a challenge. Froese's cheeks loosened up at the fact that it was unnecessary.