A little while later, Cherry came out of the bathroom. Her hair was still wet and dripping. She looked at me, noticing I was standing outside the door holding a hair dryer. She narrowed her eyes suspiciously.
"Did you peek?" she asked.
Huh? I had just come over after hearing the shower stop, wanting to give her the hair dryer early so the floor wouldn't get soaked.
"No," I explained. "I just came here after I heard the shower stop. Here, take this hair dryer. I don't want the floor to get too wet."
She stared at the dryer for a moment, then took it and started drying her long black hair.
"Hmm, so we're going to get my things from my rented room, right?" she asked over the noise of the dryer.
I nodded. After she finished drying her hair, she handed the dryer back to me. Then she just stared at me.
Huh? Now what?
She made an annoyed face. "What are we supposed to eat?" she asked.
Ohhh, that's the problem. I had thought it was something more serious. I had some leftover sandwiches from yesterday that I could reheat, but I didn't know if Cherry would want to eat old food. After thinking for a moment, I decided we could buy fresh sandwiches on our way.
"Let's buy something on our way," I suggested.
She looked at me and nodded. We put on our shoes and left the house. As usual, I made sure to lock the door behind us.
The sky was as beautiful as ever, and the roads were busy with people. On the way, we passed the bakery I always visit. We went inside and saw only a few customers, which was normal for this time of day. Rose noticed me as I approached the counter.
She looked at the girl beside me, a confused expression on her face. "Uh, is she your girlfriend, Sparx?" she asked.
Hold on, girlfriend?! This was getting out of hand. She was misunderstanding the situation! Why did everyone think we were a couple? First the teacher at the academy, and now Rose!
Before I could say anything, Cherry spoke up from behind me. "He is just my friend. He is helping me right now to move to his house. We'll be staying together for a while." She said it so casually! Why did she share information that wasn't even asked for? She looked somewhat annoyed.
"Huh?" I didn't understand what was happening, but Rose seemed to get a little angry. "Oh, I see. It must be nice to stay with someone like Sparx," Rose said, her tone annoyed. "Though it must be very uncomfortable to stay with someone with breasts that big."
"Oh, really?" Cherry shot back. "Or are you just jealous that mine are bigger than yours?"
They started to quarrel over something so useless. I decided to interrupt because we didn't have much time. "Um, I don't have much time, so can I please get my sandwiches?" It was getting late, and we still had to go get her things from her rented room.
Rose looked at me and pouted. Did I do something wrong? I wasn't sure. She took a package of sandwiches and handed it to me, still pouting. She kind of looked cute.
"Thank you!" I said as we left the bakery. Rose still waved goodbye to us, and as usual, her breasts moved with the wave. As I was looking, Cherry pushed me from behind to keep me moving. Uh, she really is angry for some reason.
We reached the bus stop and boarded the bus. Cherry wasn't talking to me for a while. Did I do something? Or is she quiet because of her memories connected to the rented room? I decided not to pry into her past.
We arrived at an old apartment building. We got off the bus, and she walked ahead. I followed her. I saw people around the apartment staring at her for some reason. We climbed the stairs until we reached room number 379. She took out her keys and unlocked the door.
The door opened to reveal a very neat and fashionable room. She went inside and looked around quietly, as if seeing it for the last time. Then she waved her hand, and a black crack appeared in the air in front of her. She looked at me.
"Uh, so, this is called spatial magic, the advanced version," she explained. "Help me put all the stuff inside it."
This magic looked very cool and handy, I had to admit. We started moving all her furniture and items into the spatial crack. It sucked everything inside like it was nothing.
While we were working, I saw some old pictures hanging on the walls. They showed a cute young girl holding medals and trophies.
"Those were from the days when I was very childish," Cherry said softly, noticing my gaze. "I tried my best to impress the people around me. I didn't know that doing so would have the opposite effect. They grew very jealous of my success, and all they could do was insult me."
She looked at the pictures on the walls. There were also pictures of an elderly couple. She saw me staring at them.
"Those were my parents, before they died," she said, her voice heavy. "I couldn't take any pictures with them, so those are the only photos I could find from their old things."
It was so sad to think about her losing her only loved ones the moment she was born and then going through so many hardships just to survive. Humans can be such cruel beings. They will look at you with sympathy if you are weak, but the moment you become more successful than them, they feel jealousy, anger, and fear. Cherry had to go through all those negative emotions as a child. It was a tragic past. I hoped she could at least find some happy moments while she was staying with me.
After a few hours, we were finished. She seemed happy that she could now move on to her next home. She waved her hand again, and the spatial crack disappeared. She looked at me with a happy face.
"Let's go back now!" she said.
As she locked the door behind us, we headed down to return the keys to the apartment owner. To our surprise, he was waiting for us right at the exit. He was a fat man with a nearly bald head, wrinkles on his face, and he was wearing normal clothes that were too small for his size.
"What do we have here, hehe," the fat man said, scratching his belly. He was obviously staring at Cherry's breasts. "Miss Cherry, where are you going?"
"I'm leaving the apartment now," she said in a serious tone. "I've already paid all the bills, so I don't think there should be any problem." She placed the keys on the counter by the entrance.
"Oh yeah, you did," he said with an ugly smile, still scratching his belly. "But here's a problem. What about the interest charges? Room services? Maintenance? Also, I might have forgotten to tell you, but there's an extra charge for leaving the apartment."
"What?" Cherry's voice rose in anger. "You never said anything about interest charges when I first came here! Don't room service and maintenance come in the bill? And what nonsense is this 'extra charge'? You never said anything like that before!"
He was trying to cheat her. It was understandable she was angry. These kinds of ugly, pathetic people are what I call greedy monkeys. They don't care about anyone else's situation; they only want to get what they want.
I hate this type of person the most. They use other people for their own gain and steal their happiness. I wanted to punch this ugly man right in his face, but I had to control myself for now.
"Hey, it's not my responsibility to tell you everything," he said with a creepy smile. "You should have asked those things yourself, hehe. Or, you know, there are... other ways to pay." He started to stare at her body, licking his lips like a creep.
"What if I don't?" she challenged. "You're adding these charges right when I'm leaving. You're the owner; it's your job to tell every detail to the people who live here." She looked at me, held my hand, and tried to leave.
The fat guy spoke again. "Hey, lady, do you want me to call the cops on you? I have all the evidence of you staying here without paying the extra charges, hehe. So you have two choices: either pay up, or stay with me for a month, hehe." He wore his usual ugly smile. He was really getting on my nerves.
I looked at Cherry to see if she could end this peacefully. She looked troubled. Does she not have the money?
I poked Cherry to ask her quietly if she had the money. She shook her head, indicating she didn't. Tch. Oh well, it probably won't cost a fortune. I had some money saved up.
I stepped in front of Cherry, shielding her from the fat man's creepy stare.
"Oh, is the boyfriend going to protect her now?" he said in a sarcastic tone.
"I can pay instead of her," I said. "How much is it?"
Cherry was surprised and tried to pull me back, poking me in the back. Ouch, that hurts! I tried to act cool, even though her poking was kind of cute.
"Heh, okay. Give me your card, I guess," he said in an irritating voice. I handed him my card. Just as he was about to swipe it in the machine on the counter, a violent earthquake shook the ground.
People outside started screaming. We all ran out of the apartment building to see what was happening. A few kilometers away stood a colossal dark entity. It was almost as big as our academy, maybe even three times bigger. Its mouth was open, and it was charging a powerful attack. It looked like the attack could erase the entire city in front of it—and unfortunately, we were directly in its path.
Cherry didn't hesitate. She immediately started firing a barrage of powerful sniper magic at the monster. The people around us began to feel hope now that a Magus was here to protect them. But could one Magus really defeat such a monstrosity?
Her magic missiles tore massive holes in the creature's body, but its body was so enormous that the damage seemed insignificant. It kept charging its attack.
The same people who had once stared at her with lust, anger, and jealousy were now praying for her to save their lives. Such hypocrites. But still, I hoped for a good outcome.
Her magical barrage was tearing off huge chunks from its legs. It was amazing to watch a Magus fight.
"Hey, Sparx," Cherry said, her voice strained. "Sorry for such a turn of events."
Huh? Why is she apologizing?! This wasn't her fault. I had no idea how this monster had just appeared.
She kept firing magic missiles at its legs, hoping to make it fall. "Hey, Sparx, I wanted to tell you something, but I guess fate is against it. Please, run away as far as you can from this area. I won't be strong enough to stop that thing. Its attack is still charging, and it's almost at full power." She was panting, clearly exhausted from using so much magic. But how could I just run away and leave her behind?
"A-are you crazy? I can't leave you behind!" I guess I had been very lonely, too. I had become friends with her without even realizing it. Now that I knew these feelings I had never felt before, I could never abandon her to die.
She was in clear pain, but she kept firing. The people around us were cheering for her, hoping she would succeed. But her magic barrage was getting weaker and weaker.
Seeing this, the people started to lose hope. They began to run away, cursing her for being useless. I hope they die, I thought bitterly. I want to save people who are good at heart, not these corrupted puppets who only think negatively about others.
As Cherry was about to faint from exhaustion, the colossal giant's attack reached its maximum power. It fired its monstrous beam, a wave of destruction that began to engulf every citizen, building, and life form in its path.
All the people who will die are corrupted people. I tried to lie to myself to feel better, but I knew the truth. There were innocent, pure-hearted people among them, too. I am weak, pathetic, and a useless person.
For how long will I need protection from others? Have I not learned my lesson yet? I cannot save everyone, but my naive heart still believes it can. Tch. What a pathetic existence.
As Cherry fell to the ground, her energy completely spent, she grabbed my leg, trying her best to cast one last spell on me. "I'll at least... try... to save you," she whispered.
PATHETIC! WHY AM I SO WEAK!
I remembered the strange incident that happened at the academy the day before. I walked in front of Cherry, not giving her time to cast that stupid, self-sacrificing magic. I don't need protection from anyone. How can I ever protect someone when I'm the most vulnerable one?
I put all my hope in myself, praying for the same miracle to happen again. I just wanted to save as many people as I could, and most of all, my dear friend, Cherry.
The attack reached us, its bright, destructive light swallowing me whole. I guess this is the end, huh? All that resolve, just for a pathetic failure. I couldn't even save the person right in front of me—someone who had become dear to me. I hoped in her next life, she would live a happy one. As for me? I didn't know.
---
[News Channel]
"This is breaking news! A Void creature has suddenly appeared in a nearby city and is charging a devastating attack toward all the citizens in front of it! We need to send backup quickly!"
---
On a rooftop behind the colossal giant, a man in a cloak stood watching. His hand was submerged in a dark crack floating in the air before him.
"Hehe," he chuckled, his laughter growing into a manic cackle. "If I can't have that lump of mana, I'll just destroy it! Hehehehahahahahaha!"
The man in the cloak laughed like a complete maniac.