“Oh… I see… So, what do you two usually do?”
On the surface, it was just an ordinary question.
But something in the girl’s tone carried an unsettling undercurrent.
“What do we do? Well, she teaches me magic sometimes, or we talk about books we’ve read. Stuff like that.”
Shion answered casually, his tone unchanged.
……But immediately after, the atmosphere around the girls shifted sharply.
“Oh… I see… Um, IchIchinose-kun, I really hate to say this, but…”
“Huh? You’re really gonna tell him…?”
“But if we don’t, IchIchinose-kun will be the one getting hurt!”
“Y-Yeah… You’re right…!”
(………)
Yufia couldn’t see Shion’s expression from the hallway.
“Sorry, IchIchinose-kun… This might be hard for you to hear, but…”
(………!!)
The moment she heard that girl’s voice, a chill ran down Yufia’s spine. She knew this feeling all too well.
Back in second year, when baseless rumors had spread about her, and everyone looked at her with cold eyes.
In third year, when she’d been falsely accused of making a girl cry with cruel words, and her classmates had turned on her.
This was the same. The same thing was about to happen again.
And in the next moment一her fears were proven right.
“一That girl… she talks about you behind your back. Really nasty stuff.”
“…Huh?”
(………!?)
“What… do you mean?”
Shion’s voice was clearly shaken as he asked.
“She pretends to be nice to you, but when you’re not around, she says all kinds of awful things…”
“Like, ‘It’s hilarious how he never improves,’ or ‘He’s so pitiful, working so hard and not even realizing everyone’s laughing at him.’ She’s said so many horrible things一it’s shocking, really.”
(一I would NEVER say that!!)
But even if she wanted to scream it, Yufia couldn’t move.
She had never been good at speaking up. No matter how hard she’d tried to clear up misunderstandings in the past, no one had ever believed her.
No one had ever understood the truth.
一Shion was kind. So, so kind.
一Maybe… maybe he would believe her…
一But… what if he didn’t?
What if even Shion一the first friend she’d made in so long一ended up turning away from her?
The thought of seeing that same coldness in his eyes, of being hated by him, terrified her more than anything.
Just imagining it made her want to run away rather than step into that classroom.
“…No way. Yufia would never…”
“I know it’s a shock… I’m sorry. Maybe it would’ve been better if you never found out, but we couldn’t just let you keep being tricked…”
“How awful… Yufia-san…”
“Yufia… I trusted you… Damn it…!”
“IchIchinose-kun… You poor thing…”
“You should really stay away from someone like her…”
“Damn it…! This is too much…!”
(………!!)
Shion let out a pained cry. He slammed his fist against the desk一BANG!一a dull thud reverberating through the room.
Hearing his voice like that made Yufia feel like her heart was being torn apart.
Tears spilled from her eyes, hot and unstoppable.
(This is… all because of me…)
The thought of Shion hating her was unbearable. But even worse was knowing that he was being hurt because of her. It hurt far more than any insult thrown her way.
(Because I… Because I became friends with Shion… Because I got close to him…!)
Someone as kind as him was being hurt一because of her. If she’d never gotten close to him, this never would’ve happened.
She wanted him to know the truth一right now. But if she stepped in, would it only make things worse?
Frozen in place, she could only clutch her hands tightly to her chest as tears dripped onto the floor.
……Then一
“一Yeah right.”
“………Huh?”
“You happy now?”
As if the tension from before had never existed, Shion’s voice was light, almost amused.
“W-What? What do you… mean…?”
“Hm? You made up that whole story just to see me upset, didn’t you?”
“Wha一made up?! IchIchinose-kun, what are you talking about…?”
“Hah. So that’s not it? Then I guess what you really don’t like is Yufia herself.”
(………!!)
(………!)
“…Tch. So that’s it.”
“Wha一what’s ‘it’?! IchIchinose-kun, what are you even saying?!”
“Y-Yeah, we don’t get what you’re trying to imply at all…!”
The girls sounded flustered, their panic barely concealed.
After a brief pause, Shion smirked and spoke again.
“…You’re pissing me off, so I’ll spell it out for you.”
This time, his gaze was sharp, his voice deadly serious.
“Yufia would never say those things. Don’t tell such a ridiculous lie.”
“………!!”
(………!!)
The two girls stiffened in shock. Outside the classroom, Yufia’s eyes widened.
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT LOCALIZERMEERKAT.PAGES.DEV
“I-It’s not lie! Right?! It’s true!”
“Y-Yeah! I heard it too! Yufia-san was totally making fun of you!”
“Oh? Then when? Where?”
“U-Uh… Y-Yesterday! After practical class, in the locker room!”
“The locker room yesterday, huh… Hey, I’ve never once seen Yufia talking to you two. You secretly friends or something?”
“As if we’d be friends with someone like her!”
“Yeah! Even in her last class, she was saying awful things and everyone hated her! She barely talks to anyone in this class either!”
“So you’re saying Yufia suddenly started talking to you two out of nowhere yesterday?”
“Y-Yeah?! She just came up and一 Wait, what does that matter?!”
“What does it matter? Hah. That’s the problem.”
Shion let out a dry laugh.
“If you’re gonna lie, at least make it believable. She randomly walks up to people she never talks to and starts badmouthing me for no reason? That’s way too fishy.”
“Th-That’s…!”
“Should I ask the other girls tomorrow? See if anyone saw Yufia talking to you two in the locker room. Check if you were even there at the same time long enough to chat. Or if anyone in the locker room can back up your story without contradictions?”
“……!!”
“W-What’s your problem?! You’ve been so mean this whole time! You’re just taking Yufia’s side without even hearing us out! How can you be so sure she didn’t say it?!”
The girls flinched as if struck by a pointed remark, hastily diverting the conversation.
“That’s right! Yufia only just started talking to IchIchinose-kun recently!! There’s no way you could know whether Yufia-san is actually a good person or not!”
“……”
Shion lowered his gaze slightly, as if considering their words.
“Whether she’s truly a good person or not… huh…… Yeah……”
一[Shion, you could absolutely become the strongest magician… Absolutely…]
一[I’ll… I’ll cheer for you! I’ll keep supporting you… so you can make your dream come true!!]
After a brief pause, Shion finally spoke.
“……Even if I say it, you probably won’t understand. ……But I believe in Yufia. I know she’s kinder than anyone else. That’s all that matters to me.”
His voice was quiet, but his gaze was firm as he said it.
“……Th-that’s just because IchIchinose-kun is falling for her act!!”
“Exactly! In the end, it’s just your own opinion一you don’t know what’s really in her heart!”
“You’re right. But if Yufia really is deceiving me with an act… then she’s an unbelievably good liar. 一At the very least, better than you two.”
“一Ugh!!”
“F-fine then!!”
Their loud voices echoed down the hallway.
“We only said all that for your sake, IchIchinose-kun!! Don’t come crying to us when you get hurt later!!”
“When that happens, feel free to laugh at me.”
“……Tch! L-let’s go!!”
“Y-yeah…! Let’s just leave! ……And just so you know, IchIchinose-kun, we weren’t lying!!”
With that, the two girls stormed out of the classroom with heavy footsteps.
Several minutes later…
“……Still, Yufia’s taking an awfully long time.”
After the girls had left, Shion muttered absently, as if nothing had happened.
“Did a teacher catch her in the faculty office…? (Well, maybe it’s for the best she wasn’t here for that…)”
Saying this, he stepped out into the hallway to check.
……The moment he looked around, he spotted her immediately.
“……”
Hugging her knees tightly, forehead pressed against them, Yufia was sitting slumped against the wall.
“……Hic… uu……”
“……What’s wrong, Yufia? ……Why are you curled up like this…?”
“Sniff… sob……”
Shion’s expression twisted slightly at the sight of Yufia’s trembling shoulders and stifled cries.
“Just asking, but…… did you, uh… hear any of that?”
“……! Sniff… uu……”
(So she did hear…)
Though Yufia kept crying silently, Shion seemed to understand.
“……Y’know, this hallway floor looks pretty comfy. Mind if I join you?”
Leaning against the wall, he sat down beside her.
……For a while, neither spoke. Eventually, Shion broke the silence quietly.
“The other day……”
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