In fact, I couldn't sleep, perhaps because I had coffee. Maybe it was because it had been a while since I had coffee, but longing kept wandering in my mind, as if searching for something, making me feel around my memories. However, despite my efforts, nothing came to mind, and I began to wonder if I was forcibly trying to erase those memories with thoughts of absentmindedness.
Suddenly, my siblings back home came to mind. What are they doing now? Since they tend to sleep a lot, they must have already gone to bed or finished getting ready. With that thought in mind, I lay on the bed absentmindedly, unable to fall asleep, thinking I should go for a walk or something, so I cautiously left my room and walked through the dormitory corridor.
As I passed the familiar stairs and headed towards the entrance of the dormitory, a path illuminated by magical lights appeared. While walking, lost in thought, I heard the sound of wind in my ears. It wasn't natural wind; it sounded like wind conjured by magic. I turned my head to see if anyone was there, thinking I might have misheard, but no one was there. As I continued to walk absentmindedly, I heard footsteps.
There had been rumors about a ghost living in the academy. It was a creepy rumor about appearing in front of students with poor grades and taking their souls. Although my grades weren't bad, I found myself smiling at the thought, when suddenly I felt footsteps approaching me.
At that moment, I looked up and saw a woman walking towards me.
"Astan."
It was a voice I had never heard before, but her face was familiar. I looked around, thinking I had arrived near the women's dormitory without realizing it, but it was actually a fountain between the men's and women's dormitories. So, she must also be out for a walk, I thought to myself, smiling faintly as I replied.
"I didn't know you knew my name."
"Who wouldn't know the Rebel in the academy?"
"Is my title the Rebel? I've never rebelled."
At that moment, she took a step towards me, holding a staff in her right hand. It was the first time I had seen someone up close after only observing from afar.
Her long auburn hair flowed down to her waist, and her eyes were a light green. When I met her mysterious eyes, her title slipped from her lips.
"Does the Thunder Witch also struggle to sleep?"
"I've never been much of a sleeper. I enjoy wandering at night. And you? Wandering in the deep of night is bolder than one might think, you know."
"The academy is dangerous, so it's not surprising no matter what happens."
She grinned at my words, then pointed her staff at me, and I instinctively gripped mine in my right hand.
"It's late. Care to join me? The rebellious lady of the academy."
"I have no intention of fighting the Thunder Witch."
"Well, I heard that even if challenged to a duel, you reject them all. It's a shame. I was curious about facing a sorceress who wields ice magic."
"Are there many students besides me who use ice magic?"
"They aren't the ones who amuse me."
With that, she put away her staff, scanned me from head to toe, and stepped closer.
"You feel different from the rumors."
"How exactly do I appear in the rumors?"
"I heard there's a first-year named Astan with brown hair and green eyes who paints a lot."
"That's not me."
She sighed and looked at me, taking another step closer.
"You seem gentler than expected, not particularly strong. Could the rumors be wrong?"
"Your reputation matches the rumors, Thunder Witch."
"What's the rumor about me?"
"A first-year Thunder Witch with auburn long hair is said to be very curious."
"That one's true."
After saying that, she took a step back, opened her mouth, and looked at me.
"When the dueling class opens, I'll challenge you to a duel, rebellious one."
"I will refuse."
"I should add that it's less fun than expected to the rumors."
"Please refrain from doing so."
At my response, she looked at me and smiled faintly. Her laughter reached my ears, and I felt a headache coming on, thinking she must be just as abnormal as the rest.
"Then, see you later, rebellious lady."
"If I get the chance."
She turned and walked away, and I sighed as I watched her back, then slowly walked toward the fountain. Sitting blankly on the fountain's chair, I felt a sense of curiosity as I gazed at the fountain.
What would happen if I break that? Thinking that Erica senpai probably had already done it, I thought she was the kind of person who could do it and still have time left. It was ambiguous to go back to the dormitory, but it was also ambiguous to wander around more.
What should I do? Muttering to myself, I looked up at the sky, and the moon was shining on me.
I continued to stare at the moon blankly. The sound of the wind in my ears, the sound of the fountain, and the sound filling my ears made me slowly close my eyes. Just as I was about to enter a state of meditation, I heard a sound of something breaking in my ear.
And at that moment, a creepy feeling ran through my whole body, making my hair stand on end.
The feeling that something had happened, I couldn't exactly tell what, but the feeling that overwhelmed me was dangerous.
I quickly opened my eyes, stood up, and grasped the cane in my right hand.
Someone was here.
The first thought that came to mind was that it couldn't be Erica senpai. She was the type of person who would suddenly appear in front of me, so it wasn't Leonard senpai either. Surely they would have woken me up, saying I shouldn't sleep in a place like this.
So, aside from those two, I tried to recall anyone who might be wandering around at this time, but excluding Ceresria, excluding the witch of thunder I just met, as I quickly organized my thoughts in my mind, there was no one left.
Then who could it be? That thought slowly churned in my heart. Someone wandering around at this time, but the feeling wasn't that of someone taking a walk. Holding the cane in my right hand, I slowly moved my feet towards where the sound had come from.
What kind of sound is it? As I entered the dark alley with curiosity, someone was standing there. It wasn't the academy uniform. It was someone wearing a robe similar to the one I had seen behind the tavern at that time, not the academy uniform, and had pulled up the hood, so I spoke.
"Outsiders are prohibited from entering the academy."
And the person looked at me as if he had heard my voice. The moment I saw those eyes looking at me, words spilled from my lips.
"…It's that person from back then."
"…You're not afraid."
A tearing voice echoed in my ears. Naturally, my expression wrinkled at the sound that seemed to attack my ears. I had heard it before, but it didn't easily become familiar. I tried to remember, but his identity did not come to mind.
I knew he was said to have already committed suicide in prison, but I also knew he was alive, and I knew that he would kill someone this semester, and that his target was Sharen, but his identity did not come to mind.
In fact, I was afraid, but not so much. It felt strange. I felt a sense of arrogance, almost as if I could win.
"I've been through it once already, and this is the academy. If you do anything here, the 5th year will come running."
"Aren't you afraid? I might kill you."
"I am afraid, of course."
At my words, the man gripped his staff, and I aimed my staff at him. Should I attack first and subdue him? Can I win? Can I hold out until Erica and Leonard arrive? What if Erica and Leonard aren't at the academy right now? Between thoughts, I spoke.
"The Demon Lord is already dead, so why did you come to the academy?"
The sound of the man's laughter could be heard. It seemed to be a genuine laugh. Yes, the demon king was already dead. The situation in which the hero from the fairy tale killed him had happened hundreds of years ago. Among the rumors in Ignolia, there were claims of his resurrection, but the truth could not be known.
I was no different.
"So the demon king is dead… Humans still believe that the great heroes killed the demon king."
"But that's the truth."
"Then have you, as a human, seen the demon king's body?"
I couldn't answer that question. I hadn't seen it, and there was no record of where the demon king's body was. The records only stated that the hero had defeated the demon king.
"You haven't, of course. Of course not, because the demon king is still alive."
"… If that's true, it's quite terrifying."
And I whispered the incantation for a protective spell, creating a shield around myself. The man looked at me and laughed loudly. His laughter sounded like the cry of a monster tearing apart.
"Have you ever thought about it? I clearly took my own life in the prison, so how did I appear before your eyes? Have you ever thought about that?"
"It must be dark magic, something impossible for humans."
"Foolish."
Then the man pointed his staff at me, chanting a spell, and I cast the protective spell once again, creating a shield in the direction of the incoming attack. In an instant, the lightning fired from the man collided with my shield, causing a massive explosion.
"Ice, pierce through the enemy!"
Simultaneously with my spell, the ice arrow created swiftly flew and pierced the man's body. At that moment, a strange sensation surged through my body.
It can't be this easy. The man I faced at the tavern wasn't a sorcerer who would die so easily.
Quickly putting the staff back into his pocket, I approached the pierced man, only to find that he had already breathed his last.
This is not it. Something was wrong. When I reached out my left hand and touched the man's body, it seemed to be right, but his body turned into powder and disappeared before my eyes. At that moment, it felt like a memory of something came to mind.
Ignolia.
This man's true self is in Ignolia.
With that thought, I began to run towards the academy.