……Seven years had passed since Yufia and Shion first met.
After graduating from Terrence Magic Academy, the two left their hometown in the northern kingdom and enrolled at Crawford Magic Academy in the west.
Though their hometown had its own advanced magic institution, Shion had chosen Crawford一so Yufia followed without hesitation.
Even now, they still ate lunch together when their schedules aligned and trained in magic two or three times a week after class.
Yufia’s raw power was overwhelming, capable of crushing opponents with a single spell.
But hidden behind her monstrous talent was her lack of combat intuition一reading opponents, strategizing. So while she helped Shion with his battle simulations, she also learned from him, honing her practical skills.
……And now. That day, Yufia was heading to their usual training field after class for their scheduled session.
Since they used a secluded area rarely frequented by others, the path was usually silent一
but today, loud noises echoed from behind the building.
“…? What’s going on…?”
Sensing something amiss, Yufia followed the noise and peeked around the corner一
“…!!”
一only to find Shion, who was supposed to meet her, locked in a fierce battle against three A-rank students.
Yufia instinctively moved to step in, but upon closer look, it was clear that Shion was overwhelming the three A-rank students all on his own.
Yufia immediately recognized that Shion was using “Limit Accel”一his high-speed acceleration magic. As long as Shion was using that spell, a normal magician’s battle couldn’t even take place at that range.
If he closed the distance at high speed and forced them into melee range, then with his physical enhancement and combat skills, Shion held overwhelming advantage. Yufia judged that there was no need for her to interfere and decided to stay back and observe.
However, while Limit Accel was powerful, Yufia also knew it was a double-edged sword. It could only be used for a short time and would quickly drain his mana reserves.
Just in case, Yufia prepared a magic circle in advance so she could jump in to assist at any moment.
In the end, that decision turned out to be the right one.
After taking down two of them in close-quarters combat, Shion began approaching the remaining one一 When suddenly, flash!一a blinding light burst out toward Shion.
“一!!”
Hit directly by the flash at close range, Shion staggered, temporarily blinded. Seizing that moment, the three launched their magic attacks at him.
With spells coming at him from three directions and his vision impaired, Shion had no way to defend himself.
Acting on instinct, Yufia activated her prepared magic circle and unleashed her spell一From beneath Shion’s feet, three massive water dragons erupted, crashing into and completely dispersing the incoming magic attacks.
If she hadn’t intervened, Shion might have suffered injuries so severe that he could’ve died. Just thinking that filled Yufia with a rage so intense she could hardly believe it came from herself.
Even so, telling herself “I’m not the one involved here,” she forced herself to suppress her anger. Instead, she decided to leave the final decision to Shion.
As Yufia waited for Shion’s signal, he finished speaking to one of the three and raised his right hand.
Then, in a motion clear enough for Yufia to see from afar, he turned his thumb downward.
[Do it.]
That was Shion’s signal.
Seeing it, Yufia didn’t hesitate一She unleashed the massive water dragons directly at the three of them一
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“一Sorry to keep you waiting.”
“It’s okay.”
After the fight with the trio, Shion spoke briefly with Elliot before reuniting with Yufia.
“You looked like you were having fun, Shion… What were you two talking about?”
As they walked toward the training grounds, Yufia spoke up.
“Oh, that guy’s name is Elliot. His family’s famous for making weapons. Next time, he said he’ll show me around his house.”
“! That’s great. You really like that kind of thing, huh, Shion? Just like always.”
“Yeah, I’m really looking forward to it.”
“…Hehe.”
Seeing Shion’s innocent smile, Yufia felt a warm, fuzzy feeling in her chest.
As they walked side by side for a while longer, Shion was the next to speak up.
“……Still, that was seriously close back there. Never thought I’d run into a Flash Shooter in a place like that.”
“Couldn’t you dodge it? Like you usually do?”
“No way. I was out of mana一couldn’t even use Limit-Accel.”
“O-Oh… I see…”
That meant the situation had been truly dire一yet Shion answered as if it were nothing.
“I’d have been in real trouble if you hadn’t saved me, Yufia. Seriously, thanks.”
“Mmm, it’s only natural for me to help you. So you don’t have to thank me over and over, okay?”
“I’ve only said it once, though…?”
As they chatted and walked, Shion suddenly seemed to remember something.
“……Come to think of it, something like this happened before, didn’t it?”
“Huh? Before…?”
“Y’know, back in middle school. When those upperclassmen had me cornered and were about to beat me up一and you saved me.”
About three years ago. That incident had been the trigger for Shion’s current delusion一”I actually have SSS-rank strength, but I’m hiding it from everyone.”一and the start of his eccentric behavior. He recalled it now with a hint of nostalgia.
“……? Oh. Yeah, now that you mention it. ……Heh. That takes me back.”
“Back then, I totally thought I’d awakened some hidden power or something.”
That’s right一the mysterious force that had scattered the upperclassmen surrounding Shion had actually been Yufia’s magic.
After spotting Shion running frantically through the school halls after class, Yufia had sensed something was wrong and followed him, supporting him from the shadows.
Only after escorting a classmate to the infirmary did Shion learn the truth一and he had been quietly crushed.
……Now, lost in thought, Shion reminisced about those days.
“Awakening…… That thing you sometimes talk about.”
“The awakening of dormant power, the release of hidden strength…… Something like that.”
“Awakening. Hidden strength. Got it.”
Yufia gave a small, firm nod.
“……Ah, right. ……Shion, why were you… fighting those people earlier?”
“Hm? Oh. I don’t really know the details either, but…… Judging by the situation, it looked like Elliot was getting ganged up on by those three. They were about to destroy something important to him, too. So I got pissed and decided to knock some sense into ’em. Well, almost got beaten up myself, though, though.”
Hahaha, Shion laughed.
“……Of course. For someone else’s sake.”
“……? ‘Of course’?”
“Mmm. ……Um, were you and Elliot… friends?”
“Nah, just met him today.”
“……So you fought for someone you had no connection to at all.”
“……?”
Shion blinked, tilting his head in confusion.
“Well, yeah. If someone right in front of you needs help, you can’t just ignore ’em.”
“…That’s true. Hehe.”
“Huh? What’s so funny?”
“Nothing, ……just. That’s so like you.”
Yufia giggled, her smile full of warmth.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Ehehe.”
“……Weirdo.”
“Mmph…… You’re just as weird, Shion.”
“Huh? How?”
“……”
“What’s with that look? Why’re you staring at me like that?”
一Compared to before, Shion’s changed a little… no, a lot.
His obsession with “being cool” was the same as ever, but back in elementary school, it still had a childish, endearing charm to it.
The change really started around age fourteen… second year of middle school, maybe. Around then, Shion became… well, the eccentric he is now.
The traces of the boy his classmates once admired were gone一Shion had fully embraced his weirdness.
But…… even so, my admiration for him hasn’t changed one bit since back then.
……Because deep down, at his core, he’s still exactly the same.
Kind, compassionate, hardworking, fiercely just一if someone’s in trouble, he’ll reach out to help no matter the danger. That unshakable part of him hasn’t changed at all.
So even now, Shion is still the person I admire most in this world.
一That dream I kept secret from him back then…
To become a mage strong enough to always be able to save Shion.
Shion will become the strongest in the world. So I want to become strong enough一strong beyond reason一to stand beside him as his equal.
That was the dream I decided on back then.
Even now, it’s still my unchanging goal.
Because I want to be like Shion一someone kind, someone who can save others.
……And because, no matter what happens… I want to stay by his side forever.
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