5. Preparing for a duel – 12

dream

I see a distant memory of a time that I can’t reach anymore and that has disappeared.

It was her memory, but at the same time it was not her memory.

The memories of the future she may reach in the future, and at the same time the memories of the past that have already disappeared.

After so long, so much time has passed, now no one remembers, a distant memory.

The future that has yet to come, and the past full of remorse, which can no longer be changed.

The man was really frightened. As far as she knew, the man was really afraid and intimidated by many things.

He was afraid of the people around him leaving him.

He was afraid of the people around him making sacrifices for him.

He feared that the people around him would disappear and leave him alone.

The man was truly weak. The given talent was insignificant, and the power he possessed was really insignificant compared to the people around him.

And people around him died for him. He sacrificed his life for him without hesitation.

A world where everything is predestined. A closed world where the end of the world cannot be reversed no matter what.

Because in this world full of only despair, the only person with the potential to save everything one day was him.

That’s why people died laughing for him. She used her own life as a shield to protect him.

so that he can go on with his life a little longer. To look into the future even a little bit more. to get more possibilities.

… However, he didn’t really want that.

I didn’t like it.

He hated having someone die for him.

He didn’t like anyone making sacrifices for him.

That’s why he always jumped into the forefront of the fight without using his own weakness as a shield.

To avoid making lame excuses for yourself. To avoid disgusting self-consolations.

In the distant future, to never be disappointed in yourself and regret it.

The man was weak. However, his mental strength was stronger than anyone else in the world.

It wasn’t that he was strong in spirit. There was only one thing that I couldn’t give up in the end even when I was rolling on the floor unseemly.

… And she, looking at the man, was just sad.

His pain felt like her own pain, and his sadness felt like her own.

If I could, I wanted to bear the burden he was carrying. I wanted to shoulder the pain he was feeling instead. I wanted to let you know that I am right here looking at you.

I wanted to hug you warmly and let you rest quietly in my arms.

Yes. While chasing after him, she fell in love with him before she knew it.

Even if this time has no meaning.

Even if one day I forget everything about being with you and our relationship will all go back to nothing-

At this moment, I only wanted to cherish and love you.

jin. do you remember me

A woman who once made love to you, has loved you beyond time and space, and will continue to love you.

****

“… A dream, huh?”

Altina, who opened her eyes and woke up, unknowingly muttered in a daze.

A strangely vivid dream. It’s not a dream, but a strange dream, like going through something that happened once. However, when you wake up, everything is quickly forgotten, a futile dream.

But why? It was all just a dream, a lie that didn’t actually happen.

Why is he feeling like he’s about to cry?

“ha.”

Altina let out a sigh and got up from the bed.

Today, for some reason, her body felt heavy, but there was no room for her to roll around on the bed.

Especially on a day like today.

Because today is the day of the duel evaluation between Altina and Erekaya.

“…..”

After forcibly awakening her still dazed consciousness, Altina stood in front of the mirror and tried to tidy up her clothes.

She is none other than Altina von Rudel Serias. There is absolutely no such thing as being disheveled in front of other people.

Altina stared blankly at herself reflected in the mirror.

The disheveled pajama, the pure white naked body seen through it. The body is like a white jade, as if a craftsman had carved it with all his might.

However, on the upper part of her flawless white skin, reddish bruises can be seen in several places.

It could be said that it was nothing but a wound and result of the ‘special training’ with Jin.

Last month, Altina worked really hard. He was endlessly absorbed in training to the point that he thought that this might be the first time he had driven himself so thoroughly.

Truly rigorous training that makes you think you would never have been able to do it alone.

But Altina was not alone. Because, by Altina’s side, there was someone who could be called a respectable teacher who was already walking the path ahead of her.

“… jin.”

Altina muttered his name involuntarily. And at the same time, a faint smile appears on her face.

A man worthy of being called a mentor whom Altina respects, and a benefactor who led her to the level of a Master.

Jin taught her best as a teacher, and as a disciple, Altina was able to faithfully accept his teachings and step forward to a higher level.

… But is that really all? To a woman named Altina von Rudel Serias, is he nothing more than a teacher?

But why was her heart so confused every time she repeated his name?

“… Ugh.”

To have a headache. Memories and knowledge that are not her own wreak havoc in her head.

Why? Why was she so familiar with a man she had only known for a month or so, and felt so close to her?

In the past, no man had come this close to Altina von Rudel Serias, so why is she repeating that man’s name so painfully?

Only then, isn’t it a picture of Altina herself admiring him?

“… no.”

It can’t be. She is not a woman who falls in love so easily, nor is she a woman who loves someone so easily.

Isn’t Altina von Rudel Serias a woman who is always rational and judges everything calmly?

I’m just respecting him as a teacher. nothing more, nothing less.

… Yes, it must be so. clearly.

Altina, who calmed herself by looking at the mirror once more, puts on her school uniform neatly and leaves her room. It was a kind of bonus to wear the sparring sword to be used in today’s duel on the waist.

After leaving her room, Altina moved on and stopped in front of the men’s dormitory.

It was because I had promised to go with Jin to the gymnasium where the duel evaluation was taking place today.

I don’t know why, but the thought of going to the gymnasium with him, having him by his side, and looking at him made me feel as if my strength would rise.

… However, Jin did not come out of the dormitory even though he passed the appointed time.

“Ha, really. Being late even on a day like today.”

Well, it was like that normally. What he was doing every night, he was always late for class because he always dozed off in the morning or couldn’t wake up properly.

Still, on a day like today, I thought he would be a little self-respecting, but in any case, he was a truly consistent man.

Eventually, Altina let out a sigh and decided to go up to Jin’s dormitory on her own.

Normally, it is impossible for a woman to enter a male dormitory, but exceptions exist everywhere in the world.

Altina, who held out her ID to the janitor who was guarding the dormitory and lightly silenced him, moved her steps and soon stood in front of the door with his nameplate on it.

And in front of the door, Altina hesitated for a moment.

“… Well.”

But is it okay for a woman to enter the men’s room? If someone witnesses a woman entering and exiting a man’s room, wouldn’t it be a strange misunderstanding?

“… No, no.”

Although not well known to the world, he and himself have a relationship of master and disciple. Isn’t it a law that all disciples have an obligation to take care of their master?

Yes, yes. She is simply entering and exiting the room for her master. Access to the room is for public purposes only, no private purposes exist-

Altina spat out an excuse to herself and opened the door slightly. Surprisingly, the door wasn’t locked, so it didn’t seem necessary to break the doorknob.

That’s how Altina entered the room of another man for the first time in her life… There was nothing out of the ordinary.

The room where Jin lives is terribly desolate.

Only textbooks and various necessities used in class were neatly placed on the desk, and it was difficult to find traces of ornaments or tools used to decorate the room.

If there’s anything unusual about it, should I say it’s a small necklace on top of the desk?

Well, judging from the fact that it is made of wood, it seems to be an ordinary necklace with nothing special about it-

Just as Altina was about to let out a sigh of disappointment, an item lying on the desk caught her eye.

“… Picture?”

it was a picture It is also a picture of a man and woman couple and a boy between them.

Nothing. It was nothing more than a family photo with a composition that can be found anywhere in the world.

The only peculiar thing is that all men, women, and boys have black hair.

It is very difficult to find people with black hair throughout the continent. Then that picture, maybe-

“Jinui, when he was young… .”

In an instant, saliva went down Altina’s throat. what he looked like when he was younger A Jin from the past that Altina doesn’t know about.

What was he like in the past that he did not know about? What would you have looked like? How could it have been in such a lovely shape?

The moment when Altina, who was half insane, was about to move to take a closer look at that picture-

“… Altina?”

At the voice that came from behind her, Altina was startled like a guilty person.

“Earthquake?”

“What are you doing here? Wasn’t this the boys’ dormitory? How did you, a woman, come in?”

When Jin said that in an absurd voice, Altina unknowingly waved her hand and spat out an excuse.

“Oh, no. I, I, I just didn’t come out after the appointed time… !”

But why the hell is he spewing out excuses like a sinner? She just came up here because she was worried about him who didn’t show up after the appointed time!

“Ah, come out quickly anyway! I’ll be waiting for you by the entrance!”

Leaving those words behind, Altina hurriedly ran out of Jin’s room.

And just before leaving his room, Altina closed her eyes tightly as she looked at the photo, as if she still had some regrets.

… A family photo, you would have noticed a little earlier that it was placed there.

The boy in the picture just before.

Thinking of him as a child, I think he was really cute for some reason.