“Nice acting, huh?”
As I finished my practice and stretched my sore body to enjoy the refreshing outside breeze, a girl with black bobbed hair, Hayun, quietly approached.
I introduced her to the costume team today, so they would make or sell the necessary items, and from the look of things, the results seemed fine.
“I think Professor Veritio is definitely a genius.”
Not only did he write the script, but he also orchestrated the entire atmosphere of the play and expertly guided the actors in their acting.
Thanks to that, it seemed like my skills were improving rapidly, but I knew that was limited to the role of ‘Gerry.’
“From what I heard from the directing team, a lot of people from the theater group came to watch. They’re checking if there are any promising actors among the students Professor Veritio trained.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, that person is famous for having a keen eye.”
It was indeed the case that the roles felt like they matched the characters well. That’s why everyone could act so naturally.
“But it felt a bit awkward acting with Senior Seria, didn’t it?”
“……”
You really hit a sore spot there.
Seria Deloa.
She was a senior in Class C, competing with Rin for the heart of Ares in this play.
From what I heard, if you asked for the prettiest student in the fourth year, Seria would be the one picked, but for me, it was more about…
‘Why did my character have to be named Eris?’
Eris wasn’t exactly a rare name, so I understood, but it still felt a bit strange.
Every time I delivered a line about having Eris, it felt oddly like my own feelings were creeping in, and guilt poked at me.
Even though I was doing this just this once, I felt that acting wasn’t really for me.
“Well, anyway, I hope it ends soon.”
I had been stuck practicing late for the play recently, and I was a little frustrated; I wanted the festival to be over quickly.
At least we would only perform once on the fourth day, the festival’s last day, so there wouldn’t be too much rush on the day itself, which was a small comfort.
“Good luck. I heard the royal family is coming to see it this time.”
That felt more like an empty consolation, but it didn’t really help.
*
“Huff! Huff!”
Even in the time when everyone was asleep, a blonde male student was swinging his sword vigorously.
Ares Helias.
Students weren’t allowed outside of the dorm during sleeping hours, and ever since the recent Hare incident, security measures had been tight, so he was sweating it out on the rooftop.
Though he was swinging his sword, he wasn’t exactly focused.
It was more like a kind of frustration to shake off his distracting thoughts rather than training to improve his skills.
“Why?”
But the fierceness of his old friend’s fierce gaze bound him tighter.
“Why!”
With too much strength, he lost grip of the sword he was wielding.
Fortunately, the sword hit the railing and didn’t fall outside; Ares bit his lip as he looked at it.
Why had he lost?
Back in town, that hadn’t been the case.
He had sparred with Daniel countless times, and he always won.
But things were different here.
Once in the practical exam, and then again in this play.
He even heard that he single-handedly defeated Zavalanco, the notorious leader of thugs and a former pirate lord, whom he had thought he could never beat.
How on earth?
How did he suddenly become so strong?
Rin had always said while watching Daniel and Ares spar.
“Daniel could become much stronger if he just had a bit more confidence. He’s always slow to move because he’s timid.”
Daniel knew it too, but he couldn’t overcome his timid personality.
Because it wasn’t something innate but rather something acquired.
His two friends on either side.
Ares Helias, who had a sunny smile and handsome looks, naturally received the love of many surrounding women and was masterful in swordsmanship.
Rin, with her innocent and stunning beauty, was the first love of every boy in town, combining kindness and care with magical talent.
Whenever Ares hung out with those two, the ordinary Daniel inevitably felt insecure.
Ares knew too, but he thought his friend would eventually figure it out and overcome it someday.
But he never expected that just overcoming that one thing would change him this much.
“Damn it, damn it!”
The helpless feeling of defeat drenched his body, making it unbearable.
The friend who had always followed him below suddenly stood above him.
This stirred Ares’ emotions more than he had thought.
Someone who was kind to everyone, deeply caring.
A popular guy that most female students would have at least once pictured dating.
But if you were to ask if Ares was fundamentally that kind of person, the answer was no.
Acting that way made his academy life easier and gave him a peculiar sense of satisfaction.
In truth, he was still rejecting the girls who followed him around, all while secretly liking Rin.
Having amazing women trailing behind him was a unique feeling of superiority for Ares.
“Huff!”
Yet, ever since Daniel came to the academy, something changed.
Starting with Tana Krista, a branch member of the prestigious Mayas, and with May Plov, who had the dean as her cousin.
Even Hayun, who he found attractive enough to keep up with his looks, had started to lose interest in him recently.
“No way, this can’t be happening.”
He had always been superior to Daniel.
And he was about to move beyond friendship with his first love, Rin.
With that thought, Ares clenched his fist.
At that moment, a yellow mark started to appear on his hand, and it began to glow brightly.
“Huh?”
It felt like the warm rays of the sun were shining down on him.
Ares knew what the mark on his hand was.
The Sun God, Helios.
He had chosen him.
*
“Huff, Huff.”
While Ares was being chosen by the Sun God on the rooftop, his fish in the tank, Adriana, in the girls’ dorm on the fourth floor, was busy getting ready.
“Here too, like this.”
Her window was already boarded up completely, and on top of the boards were layers of various spells stacked up.
“Done, done.”
Adriana, who had always played the role of the big sister in Ares’ tank, was in a very different mood now.
Her eyes were filled with a kind of madness.
Hands moving quickly as if any moment was too precious.
Her legs trembled shiver, shiver.
She kept muttering something like a recorded tape, with the most repeated phrases being:
“I will live. Yes, I won’t die. I can survive.”
She wouldn’t die.
She would survive.
Continuously whispering to herself, she looked like she was casting a spell.
This wasn’t the first time Adriana exhibited this behavior.
It happened in 1st year, again in 2nd year.
Whenever the academy’s festival period came, she repeated this behavior without fail and survived.
If you asked why, it was because of her secret.
The witch of the Black Forest.
An unknown forbidden clan living underground in the Forest of the Demon Realm.
They were massacred for the reason that the gods despised them and had to hide in the forest like bugs, barely clinging to life underground.
The reason the gods hated them was simple; they were the only clan among humans that could see destiny.
And due to this clan’s trait, Adriana had enrolled in the academy.
“There is only one man in Aios Academy who can save me.”
What she saw in her vision was during the festival period.
Countless insects swarmed, and at the center, was a magical beast with immense power trying to kill her.
And in front of her, a blonde man was raising his sword against that magical beast.
When she was in 1st and 2nd years, she searched for that blonde man everywhere.
She couldn’t tell if he was a professor, a student, or some visitor, as she couldn’t recognize his outfit.
But when she became a 3rd year, and Ares Helias transferred, Adriana became convinced.
This was the man.
This man would be the only existence in this world to save her from the impending death.
That’s why Adriana was willing to throw everything to pursue Ares.
“I will survive.”
Witches of the Black Forest had a common, intense obsession with their own lives, and Adriana was the same.
She was determined to survive at all costs.
If they asked for riches, she would give them.
If they asked for items, she would fetch them.
If they asked for her body, she would strip off her clothes.
If they wanted her heart, she would willingly whisper sweet loves.
“I will survive! I will! To the end! I will live!”
It had been four years since she faced her fate.
The girl was already greatly broken from the fear of an impending death that could come at any moment.
*
The tree known as the ceiling of the continent, Yggdrasil.
Beneath the brilliance of this great tree rested many elves who had settled down to live.
This was the only city and home of the elves.
It was nearly impossible for outsiders to enter, and if caught trespassing, they would be immediately killed, making it a kind of sanctuary.
Because of the elves having little desire for fame or material wealth like humans, it felt more like a village than a city.
At a hidden entrance, the Elf Queen asked the woman carrying the title of ‘Guardian,’ bestowed only upon the greatest warriors who protect Yggdrasil and the elves.
“There’s no need to overdo it.”
“Yes, I know.”
The typical elf.
The elven woman with blonde hair, pointed ears, and blue eyes nodded vigorously.
The beautiful smile on her lips calmed those who looked upon her.
“Eris, where are you going?”
A little girl from next door, with a wilted expression, clung to Eris, who awkwardly smiled and ruffled her hair.
“I’m going to a city called Elgrid. I’ll be back soon, okay?”
The girl tilted her head in confusion.
It seemed she didn’t know the name Elgrid, since she had likely never been outside Yggdrasil.
“Why are you going?”
Maybe she wanted to hold her back somehow?
The child asked again, and Eris answered with a bright smile once more.
“I’m going to meet someone.”
