Chapter 7: It’s a blackout, but it’s a saint

Haruna had buried her face in the bed.

Though she wouldn’t know it, it was similar to what is commonly called a “futon kick.”

‘Why, why, why did I say something like that there! You idiot, idiot, idiot!’

And her face, as she repeatedly thumped her head against the bed, was as red as a beet.

‘And why did they even bring me to the mansion….’

Since childhood, Haruna had only known her exclusive maid Lugna and her parents.

For her, it had been a long time—or, to be more direct, it was the first time in her life she had spoken with girls her age.

The Ray family had a narrow standing among nobles, and Haruna, though born with innate magical power, was naturally frail, so she only stayed within the mansion and its front garden.

But her father died in a battle with the demonkin, and to make matters worse, her mother contracted a severe illness.

It was a rare disease of unknown origin.

A disease where demonic energy accumulated in the body, slowly killing one. Black Magic Disease.

Normally, humans could naturally expel demonic energy even if it entered their bodies, but those afflicted with Black Magic Disease could not.

While some of it could be expelled with divine magic, it was only a temporary measure.

Even as young and naive as she was, Haruna knew that her mother wouldn’t live much longer.

Her mother was staying at a monastery for treatment, and while Haruna was making a flower crown, thinking of gifting one to her mother.

She discovered a girl who looked exactly like the Saintess.

Coincidentally, she was a girl who looked exactly like the girl from Haruna’s favorite fairy tale.

With platinum blonde hair and platinum eyes.

So, it was unavoidable for Haruna to instinctively cling to them and suddenly ask them to be her friend or to wear the flower crown.

Because she was incredibly delighted.

However, the shock of being rejected was just as great.

Nothing was going right, neither her parents’ situation, her family’s, nor her own.

Her bursting into tears was also due to a mix of complex emotions rising within her.

But now, it was an incredibly embarrassing memory.

She also needed to go apologize to her mother.

However, it seemed the children outside were talking to Lugna, so she felt she couldn’t leave her room.

‘Ugh…! When are they leaving?’

She remained with her head buried in the bed, then got up again and listened at the door.

It sounded like they were talking about something.

Why on earth did they bring her to this mansion just to talk?

When asked, ‘How about we have a meal together?’, they refused with a wave of their hand.

Eat with someone who just told her not to talk to them again?

She couldn’t do it even if she died.

Truthfully, she wanted to, but Haruna was afraid of being rejected yet again.

So, thinking she might as well read a book until they left, she took one from the bookshelf and began to read.

‘How nice. The protagonist in the novel.’

She read her favorite parts over and over again.

How many times had she wished to become the protagonist of a novel, yet the only power granted to Haruna was a faint magical ability to sprout tiny buds and summon a gentle breeze.

If Haruna herself were the Saintess, she could have saved her father, her mother, anyone.

But she wasn’t chosen, nor was she special.

She already knew that.

Just as she was about to angrily throw the book, a knock echoed from the door.

“Haruna?”

“……?!”

This voice was clearly that of a girl named Tereze.

A girl with golden hair and blue eyes, and a bright, energetic impression.

It was the first time she had heard a knock of this kind, aside from her maid and parents.

Her room, which no one had ever entered.

‘W-why?’

Haruna’s heart pounded so hard that “nervous” wouldn’t even begin to describe it.

Fumbling around, Haruna stumbled and fell.

“Kyaak!”

In response to that scream, the door creaked open.

Haruna could only stare at the opening door with a sense of despair.

“Uh… Haruna?”

Before entering the room, I had knocked and called her name, but then suddenly heard a scream followed by a loud thud, so I opened the door and stepped inside.

What I saw was Haruna, slumped on the floor, covering her face with her palms.

Let’s assume she slumped because she fell, but why is she covering her face?

Even Eliya, standing behind me, was looking at Haruna with a bewildered expression.

“Why are you covering your face…?”

Then Haruna, still covering her face, spoke in a trembling voice.

“You said you didn’t want to see me again…”

While it was slightly different from my memory, it was close enough, so I kept my mouth shut.

Was Eliya’s rejection so shocking that she couldn’t even show her face?

She was more sensitive than I thought.

But we were here now to become Haruna’s friends.

“Eliya.”

When I called Eliya, Eliya stood in front of Haruna.

Then, nervously fiddling with her hands, she hesitated before speaking.

“Um… I’ll call you Haruna.”

At those words, Haruna, who had been covering her face with her hands, slightly parted her fingers and looked at Eliya.

“Uh, what I said about not talking to you again. It wasn’t serious.”

Haruna removed her hands from her face and looked directly at Eliya.

Her expression was one of disbelief.

“Really…?”

In response to Haruna’s questioning, Eliya opened her mouth and spoke clearly.

“Please be our friend…. No, please become our friend.”

Eliya bowed her head deeply as she spoke.

“N-no way. You just came because Lugna asked you to, didn’t you…? Nobody likes a weird, tactless kid like me.”

Haruna, flustered, accidentally spoke informally.

As I recalled, Haruna was a character who alternated between informal and formal speech.

A character who would casually speak informally once she felt a bit close.

Could this be a sign that we were becoming closer?

“A-anyway, please leave. You don’t have to pity me.”

As expected, a few words wouldn’t immediately reconcile us and make us friends.

If everything in the world could be resolved like this, then everyone wouldn’t have to live through hardships.

But how old was I really? Though I was currently trapped in the body of a 12-year-old girl, I was an adult who had experienced all sorts of bitterness in society.

I had already prepared something that Haruna would be happy with.

I gave Eliya the item I had hidden behind my back.

And Eliya took the item and placed the flowers on Haruna’s head.

The flower crown Eliya and I made together.

My dexterity was worse than I thought, so Eliya made most of it, but it could still be said that we both made it.

“Oh…. This is…. ”

“”It’s a gift.””

Eliya and I spoke at the same time.

When reconciling, the way you speak is important, but above all, a heartfelt gift is the best.

Haruna fiddled with the flower crown on her head.

It was awkward and a bit crooked since it was our first time, but it clearly showed signs of earnest effort.

– Oh, oh no, it broke, Eliya! What do we do?

– Tere, just stick close to me. Hold it here. Mm-hmm. Huh? No, if you hold it like that….

– S-sorry….

I never imagined making a flower crown would be so difficult.

How many times did I break it?

Each time, Eliya’s gaze at me was sharp.

Eventually, she told me not to do anything, so by the end, I just stuck close to Eliya, playing the role of cheering her on.

“This, was it made in that garden?”

“Yes. Ms. Lugna said it was okay to do it there.”

Haruna heard my answer and looked at us again.

Our hands and faces were covered in dirt, a complete mess.

Haruna looked at us, then touched the flower crown, and smiled.

Eliya and I looked at each other’s faces.

This was a success.

Indeed, a single, heartfelt gift is the best.

Eliya also had a satisfied expression.

Watching Eliya, I recalled the conversation we had before she came here.

****

“So, would you be able to spend time with the young lady until then?”

“Then that child’s parents are both…. But.”

Eliya mumbled.

She probably never dreamed that the girl would be in such a situation.

“Eliya?”

Instead of answering, Eliya simply held my hand tightly.

I looked at Eliya and said.

“Eliya. I want to be friends with Haruna. And if possible.”

I want to help her parents with the Saintess’s power.

But unable to say that, I looked into Eliya’s eyes.

What if I was revealed to be the Saintess and Eliya and I grew distant?

What if that brought us closer to the original plot?

I was afraid of that.

Eliya looked into my eyes and remained silent for a long time.

She looked down at the ground for a moment, then back at me, then turned her head to look at Lugna.

“I understand. And. Please let me meet Haruna’s mother.”

What? My mouth dropped open at Eliya’s declaration.

Just a moment ago, Eliya had been hesitating.

I thought it would be difficult to persuade her because she valued being with me and was afraid of being known as the Saintess.

And I, afraid that events from the original story would repeat, couldn’t bring myself to say we should save Haruna’s mother.

But Eliya said it herself.

While I was glad about that aspect of Eliya, I also felt a sense of doubt.

A very simple question: Why?

Then, following the suggestion of making a flower crown before apologizing, Eliya and I went out to the garden in front of the mansion to make one together.

Hearing that Haruna liked sunflowers the most, we wove the flowers mainly using sunflowers.

While making the flower crown, I asked Eliya.

“…Are you okay? Uh, with everything.”

“Yes.”

Eliya was strangely obsessed with me, so I thought she wouldn’t be interested in other children.

“You know, I want to apologize.”

Eliya is the mastermind from the original story.

The mastermind who becomes an antagonist to the protagonist at the very end.

“When I heard she was going to die soon, I thought to myself, ‘It has nothing to do with me. Being with you is what’s important.’”

But is Eliya really Serah from the original story? I considered the possibility of them being twins, but that was an absurd hypothesis.

“But that’s not right, is it? When I have the power to save her.”

So, if we assume that Eliya is indeed Serah from the original story, I don’t understand why she was referred to by a different name.

“What’s the point of hiding that I’m the Saintess? And what kind of Saintess can’t even save one peer, one person?”

I also don’t know why she is so obsessed with me.

“I want to be with you, Tere, but I don’t want to abandon many things because of it. Because then I won’t be able to stand tall later.”

I don’t understand why someone so righteous and noble would destroy a kingdom and take countless lives.

“So I’m going to properly enter the academy as a Saintess. With you.”

Why.

Only that word lingered in my mouth.

****

After that, we spent time with Haruna, chatting away.

Haruna was shy at first, but midway through, she got excited and spoke the most among the three of us.

And Haruna was also the first one to fall asleep.

Haruna’s bed was so large that there was plenty of room for all three of us to lie down.

Eliya, being with Haruna, was a bit gentler than I had expected.

Of course, she occasionally showed behaviors similar to jealousy.

For example, if Haruna tried to sit next to me, Eliya would come and take the spot first.

If Haruna spoke to me, Eliya would speak before I could answer.

Like now, when lying down to sleep in bed, she would take the spot next to me first.

It seemed less like she wanted to do something with me, and more like she wanted to be with me when doing something.

In the midst of it, she didn’t seem to mind if someone else was there.

Because even when Haruna clung to me, she no longer looked particularly displeased or upset.

So, it was closer to obsession than jealousy.

And closer to love than obsession.

“Eliya.”

“Yes.”

Why do you like me so much?

Who are you, really?

Who am I, really?

I wanted to ask that, but my mouth hesitated, then closed.

Tomorrow, we had to go to the cathedral to see Haruna’s mother.

There was only one thing Eliya could do by visiting Haruna’s mother.

Don’t needlessly trouble your mind, just sleep.

“Good night.”

Instead of answering, Eliya held my hand tightly.

Everything would become clear once we went to the academy.

I thought so.

Because, in terms of the original novel, the prologue hadn’t even begun yet.