294 – Growing Supporting Characters -2-

Mikhail was looking at the blue sky.

A blue sky filled with white clouds.

The red sun rising.

It was a landscape perfect for laying down complicated thoughts.

Right now, Mikhail’s mind was tangled.

‘Why.’

It felt as if everything had gone awry. The sprint towards revenge, the desire to appear good in the eyes of the boy—everything had returned to an illusion.

He had hated so much.

The person he thought he could never understand…

“Ha…”

He hadn’t realized it would be the person he had wanted to meet so desperately.

He thought God was truly cruel.

No, he must be the fool.

He thought it was foolish of him to have missed countless opportunities and instead driven a nail into him.

His atonement hadn’t even begun.

Not even a simple apology spoken aloud.

He couldn’t even bow his head to convey his feelings.

He couldn’t muster the courage to approach him with the name ‘Mikhail.’ There had been actions he had taken all this time.

In the academy.

In the dungeon.

And every single moment.

He had approached him in the worst possible way, so he thought there was no hope left.

His chest felt so tight it was maddening.

Whenever he saw him, his heart would flutter.

He couldn’t shake off the melancholic feeling of being in a situation where he could no longer see his face.

Everything was a situation of his own making, and no one else was to blame.

“It’s the worst.”

When he asks himself, holding onto the question ‘Why did you do that?’, he finds himself countering with ‘Was that the best option?’ from a steep cliff he couldn’t escape.

“Really…”

When he closes his eyes, the harsh words he had said to him echo vividly.

– I don’t need someone like you.

-You’re trash! Trash that can’t be picked up again!

-Why don’t you consider the weak? You could easily do that!

“I’m at a loss for words…”

“Who is considering whom? There was someone who has been considerate until now.”

He doesn’t know the story about that, and he will probably try to hide it until the end.

Because he has always been that kind of person.

At the academy.

In the slums.

Knowing that he is someone who doesn’t want to share his sorrow with others, Mikhail couldn’t open his tightly clenched fist.

He already dislikes me.

He must be disappointed in me.

He must be in despair.

I can’t help but think how nice it would be if someone just told me. Then I could apologize for everything I did wrong. Of course, I know that the pain won’t disappear.

The thought of driving another nail into him, who already has thousands of them embedded in his heart, makes my nose tingle with tears.

‘Fool.’

It feels like my head is filled with fog.

As if trapped in a maze, every step I take feels like I’m falling back into it. Mikhail couldn’t find his way, unable to discern what is right and what is wrong.

“Ha…”

I wonder how long I sat on the bench, blankly staring at the sky.

-…Yo?!

‘Huh?’

I heard someone’s voice faintly in my ear.

Mikhail quietly turned his head to look in the direction of the sound. He was curious about the owner of the flustered voice.

‘Who is it?’

With that question in mind, he turned his head, and Mikhail’s eyes caught sight of Shuen, who was diligently handing out flyers.

When Shuen saw Mikhail, she brightened up and began to wave her hand.

“Hello!”

“Oh… it’s Shuen.”

“That’s right! How have you been?! Commoner?”

“Uh…?”

“Ah, I’m sorry! It’s a habit! Hehe! How have you been, Mihail-senpai?”

With a bright smile, Shuen approached Mihail, wearing a blue vest, and greeted him. She then held out a handful of flyers towards him.

[SU Convenience Store Super Sale!

♥Buy one hot bar, get one free? 1+1 event!]

“Please take it!”

Shuen’s face looked more serious than ever. It was as if the pain of the past had been erased from her mind.

“We’re having an event at the convenience store.”

“An event…?”

Shuen glanced around and then whispered softly into Mihail’s ear.

“The boss has gone crazy…”

“R-Really?”

“Yes…!”

Mihail was at a loss for how to respond to Shuen’s serious expression. He had tried to use her to get closer to Ricardo, leaving her with bitter wounds.

“Well…”

Mihail stepped back on the bench, retreating from Shuen’s face, which was too close for comfort.

“Uh, that’s a bit too close….”

Unfazed by Mihail’s flustered reaction, Shuen continued.

“…So, have you finally succumbed to my status?!”

“…Huh?”

“Don’t worry, I won’t oppress or torment you, the commoner Shuen. And don’t dwell on the past, just let it go!”

“…”

“I’m going to date a handsome guy, you know. And this is a secret.”

“…”

“If you buy a spinach lunchbox today, there’s a half-price discount… just so you know.”

“Is that so?”

“Isn’t that amazing?”

“Y-Yeah.”

“Please take a coupon.”

[♡Super Lucky Coupon Given Secretly by the Boss♡]

—

Shuen nodded as she stuffed a flyer into Mikhail’s arms, spouting the absurd notion that if there were a paradise in this world, it would be a convenience store.

“Well then, I’ll be off! If Hannah doesn’t manage to hand these out by today, they said there’s no chance of disposal!”

“Uh… um, Shuen!”

“Yes?!”

“That…”

Seeing Mikhail hesitate, Shuen tilted her head, then brightened up with a smile.

“Ah…! I forgot…!”

“Mm?”

“I didn’t give you the coupon.”

Mikhail’s eyes trembled as he looked at the coupon that Shuen had tightly pressed into his hand.

“I haven’t apologized yet…”

– Please take a flyer! For the wretched commoners!

With a heart full of gratitude, Mikhail bowed his head to Shuen’s retreating figure.

*

“Ugh…”

Yuria, sprawled on the ground, looked up at Malik, who was staring back with cold eyes. She couldn’t even throw a single punch, not knowing what had happened to her body.

“Monster…”

“If I’m a monster, then that guy is a god.”

“…”

Malik scoffed at Yuria, who lay defeated on the ground, with a sneer so vile it would make Ricardo fall over.

“What are you going to do if you can’t even break through an Expert’s defense? How will you dodge a Sword Master’s blade?”

“How am I supposed to dodge a Sword Master’s blade…?!”

“I can’t dodge a Sword Master’s blade either.”

With a calm demeanor, Malik’s straightforward response made Yuria let out a hollow laugh as she struggled to lift her weakened legs.

“The Forest Friend ticket…! You must keep your promise.”

“Of course.”

“Ughhh!”

– Thud!

“Slow. Even a bear cub from a friend’s house would hit faster than this.”

“Who raises a bear at home?!”

—

“…I sometimes think it’s amazing too.”

Malik watched as Yuria stumbled. Her determination had been remarkable, charging forward without faltering for two weeks.

Moreover, her fists were…

-Thud!

“Ugh!”

It didn’t discriminate between genders.

‘Is the top student truly a top student?’

Unbeknownst to her, she was healing her damaged muscles with healing magic and increasing their strength.

Malik thought it was incredible that the top student of the healing department was growing without rest. With this level of strength, even the swordsmanship department students would have been on the ground.

“Excellent. Third-year student Yuria.”

“Don’t praise me! I don’t even have the strength to respond…!”

“Hmm. Then I should talk to you more.”

Malik began to unravel the virtues a healer should possess, one by one, for the diligent student.

“As a senior who has been to the battlefield, let me tell you about the virtues of a healer.”

“…Ah, come on! Just hit me once!”

“One. You must survive until the end.”

-Puff…!

“Wherever you are.”

-Puff…!

“Even if an unbeatable enemy stands before you, a healer must survive. Only then will the vanguard risk their lives to protect you.”

“…Just hit me already!!”

Malik lightly grabbed Yuria’s fist and uttered a brief word, “Two.”

“Two. A healer must identify the source of the wounds and heal them. You need to quickly determine what caused the injury—poison, disease, curse, bleeding—and be able to heal it efficiently.”

“Please teach us that in class!”

“Learning through experience is the fastest and most lasting. Now… like this.”

Malik lightly hooked Yuria’s limp leg. Watching her fall helplessly to the ground, Malik smiled contentedly, while Yuria glared at him, gritting her teeth.

“Just making the outside look fine isn’t healing. Do you understand, Yuria?”

“Ughhh!”

“Your will is impressive.”

Yuria pressed her fist against the floor and lifted her trembling legs. Now, filled with the determination to strike back, even if it was out of sheer injustice.

“Just hit me once!”

Malik replied with a smile.

“No.”

Malik was a miser.

*

Time flows.

In Yuria’s dreams, a woman appears, sweeping away soldiers single-handedly.

A moment where she sees herself smiling, drenched in blood.

– Ha…

Though she couldn’t grasp the meaning of this dream, Yuria thought as she looked at her dream self.

That technique.

– Desolate Aria.

Thinking that she would make it her own.