小嫂子的味道

It was a stupid idea, a very, very stupid idea. I can pass it off by saying that I was not in the right state of mind due to the stress and tiredness taking over me, but that will be me just making excuses.

What's done is done, and no use crying over spilled milk. The most I can do is figure out how to clean that spilled milk, rather than worrying about what I should've done to keep it from happening.

The gears in my mind were beginning to move again, and I started cooking up multiple ways to counter my loss. If the medical staff had changed my clothes, then one of the staff members must have it, if they were so kind as to not submit it to the academy.

I was going through different possibilities and running simulations in my mind when I noticed Anya. She was still quiet. Then I stopped everything and took a deep breath. All those things can wait, first I have to clear up the other mess I made.

I disappeared into nothing and in a way where she was forced to think that I'm dead. I can only imagine how she spent this week. I'd commanded Ellyn to take care of her, but judging from her condition, I doubt that even she was able to do much.

"I'm sorry... I didn't know that I'd end up in all this….even after I promised you that I would be fine," I said lightly, glancing in her direction.

She raised her head, "It's not your fault," she said. "No one knew that Mr. Challes would do something like this."

"Even so, I said that I'm strong and no one can harm me. I was the overconfident one. That's why I ended up getting hurt."

​ "No, it's not you. I'm the one who got the letter…if I had just done what it said, then maybe…"

"You're wrong!" my voice was loud even when I didn't want it to be. "It has nothing to do with this! I was not kidnapped because you disobeyed the letter! These two things are unrelated!" I stopped and inhaled a deep one to calm myself.

I looked at Anya, she was taken aback by my sudden intensity. I thought it over for a while and then spoke again, carefully picking my words.

"You see, Challes told me about it," I began. "He kidnapped me because I defeated his son in the interclass tournament. He wanted his son to win and make a reputation, but I ruined everything. That's why he did it. He wanted revenge."

You might think I was revealing information that should be kept secret, but no, this was within the range of what I can tell. I was already done coming up with a cover story, and announcing that Challes kidnapped me because he wanted revenge was a part of it.

"I see…so that's how it is," she murmured, looking down.

"Anyway, now I'm back, fine and alive. So it doesn't matter anyway," I stated and passed her a reassuring smile.

"... Yeah, you're right. It's over, and you're back," she was facing me but from her tone, it felt like she was speaking to herself.

Then, before the silence could prevail over the room again, I heard a knock on the door. This gave Anya an excuse to stand up and leave. She was still not back to her usual form, and it will take time, I know that. Living while bearing the weight of someone's death…it's not easy at all.

I won't be surprised if it took her weeks to make a recovery. If you look at the overall situation, she was damaged more than me. What I gained are physical wounds that can get healed with the right treatment, but what she got are mental ones.

They go deep and engrave themselves into your soul. It's not easy to get rid of them, as it is with the physical ones.

"It must be Mr. Ryfin," she said, standing up and leaving the chair.

"We will talk later then I guess. I mean, there are still various things I want to tell you in person," she replied only with a forced smile as she turned toward the door.

However, she stopped just before her hand was about to twist the doorknob and unlock the door. "Zero…" she spoke.

"Yes?"

"You are here, right?"

"Yes, I am."

"You will not disappear on me again, will you? Like you did last time."

"No, I promise I won't. This time for real."

"I see."

The sound of the door unlocking and creaking was heard as she walked out of the room. Leaving the door open for anyone who wanted to enter. I stayed at my place, staring at the doorway as I watched her leave.

'She might be in a condition worse than I expected,' I thought to myself.

After a few minutes, someone else entered the room and closed the door behind me. It was Ryfin. Dressed in his usual suit he came close to me and stood beside the bed.

"Welcome back. I'm glad you made it out alive," he greeted.

"Thank you, Mr. Challes, I didn't know you were so worried about me," I replied, gently, with a smile.

"Well, well," he said as he sat on the chair. "Why wouldn't I be worried? You are my beloved student, after all."

"I'm pleased to hear that."

"How is your recovery coming? Are your injuries fine?"

"Yeah, I'm better than before. The academy's medical team knows their game."

"Why, of course, they know. They were trained for it."

"I know, and that's the good part. If the mages who chose to heal magic as their main subject but weren't able to find a good job can work in the medical team here at the academy."

"What about Challes? Is he dead?" he appealed, the tone of his voice twisted a bit.

"That's true. He is dead. I mean, that's how I was able to escape. After that explosion—"

"No, no, not this," he interjected. "That's the story you have for the academy. What I want to know is the reality, what happened."

"I'm sorry but I'll have to refuse. I have no idea what you might be talking about," I denied, the smile not disappearing from my face. It was as normal as anything could be.

"So we can't get straight into it, huh?" he sighed as if disappointed.

"I'm sorry again, but what I'm telling is the truth."

"Yeah, yeah, I know," he replied bluntly while he put a hand inside the pocket of the front pocket of his shirt.

"Say, boy, ain't missing something?" he asked, taking out a piece of metal from his pocket and showing it to me.

"Huh? I don't think—" I stopped halfway when I noticed what he had in his hands.

'Why do I always get the worst-case scenario?' He, of course, was holding my transaction card.

"That's my transaction card. What are you doing with it, Mr. Challes?" I appealed. I know there was no chance but I tried to push my luck anyway.

"Hmmm? That's my line. I should be asking what YOU were doing with this transaction card inside your underwear. The same ones wore when you came back from the outside. This one has the academy's student ID seal on it, they certainly don't make this outside."

I sighed, and sighed, and sighed again. There was no luck. What I had done under pressure will put me in this much trouble. If anything, I should be happy that Ryfin is the one who found it—considering that he already knows about my true nature.

"Aren't you going to submit it to the academy and rat me out?" I asked, the smile fading from my face. The act was busted now there was no need for a thing such as a silly smile.

"Oh no, why would I?"

"Then give it back."

"Sure, here catch it," he said and threw the card toward me, albeit that he never really threw it and just gestured like he was going to do so.

"That's such a cheap trick," I clarified.

"I know, but what's the harm in trying? I mean, even you tried to put up with that innocent little act," he replied, this time with a nasty bit of smile; the smile of an adult.

"Sigh, what do you want?" I was down in this mud pit already. It was better to stay calm than try desperately and only dig my grave deeper.

"Hmm, now that's a good question. What do I want?" he mumbled, leaning back in the chair and crossing his legs. "What I want is the truth. The truth about Challes," he declared as he played with my transaction card in his hand.