Chapter 85: Christmas Eve
After being ambushed when I was called out after school, I contacted every member of the club to check if they were safe.
Fortunately, it seemed I was the only target. Yuna, Hisui, Souta, and Suzuka were all unharmed. Since everyone except Suzuka was still at school, we decided to gather in the clubroom once before heading home separately.
As for Suzuka, she said she was at a friend’s place. When I told her to be careful on her way back, she mentioned she’d be staying over at that friend’s house tonight, so I felt relieved and ended the call.
Yuna and Hisui seemed pretty worried about me. The moment I stepped into the clubroom, they bombarded me with questions.
They also suggested I report it to the police, but I decided against it. For me, dealing with the police or teachers felt far more exhausting than something like this. After beating them up that badly, I doubted they’d try to get revenge anytime soon.
Besides, there was something that kept bothering me: that word “magic” which came out of Ootori’s mouth.
If Aymok really was someone from another world, I wanted to confirm what he was trying to do in this country as someone connected to that world.
I was also curious whether there was a way to travel between worlds. If it turned out to be easy, maybe Alicia could go home to visit her village.
And then, the next day—Christmas Eve arrived.
Today, there was only a closing ceremony in the morning. After that, we had the afternoon off, marking the start of winter break. In the evening, there was going to be a Christmas party hosted by the student council, and many students planned to attend.
As the final homeroom session before winter break ended and the class filled with that peculiar, giddy sense of freedom, Jun called out to me, a mischievous grin on her face.
“Aliiice~ Your ride’s here~”
When I looked over to the entrance of the classroom, I saw Souta standing awkwardly near the entrance to the lower-grade classrooms.
The only time Souta came to this classroom was probably during the school festival. This might be the first time he showed up here on a normal day.
Carrying more bags than usual, I hurried over to him.
“What’s wrong, Souta?”
We were supposed to meet up after going home first... Did something happen?
“Can we... talk for a bit?”
Seemed like it was something hard to discuss here.
“Okay.”
The moment I answered, shrill voices rose behind me. From earlier, Souta and I had been attracting glances from the whole class.
They probably thought he came to invite me on an Eve date or something...
Apparently, Souta realized that too, because he hastily added:
“N-no, that’s not—Hey, Yuna, come with us. We need to talk.”
“Got it, Souta-nii.”
With Yuna responding so casually to Souta’s call, the commotion in the classroom intensified. Among the murmurs, I heard a rather worrying term like “sister combo” being thrown around. From some of the guys, I could practically feel waves of dark, jealous energy emanating.
Neither Souta nor I could hide our unease at how badly people were misunderstanding.
“Sorry to keep you waiting.”
But Yuna, who arrived amidst all that chaos, looked perfectly composed and didn’t seem to care about the stares at all.
“Well then, let’s head to the clubroom.”
And then, stepping out from behind Souta, Hisui appeared.
With yet another girl gathering around Souta, part of the class grew even more restless. Hisui was actually Souta’s younger sister, but most of our classmates didn’t know that.
I could hear whispers like “harem,” and the density of the jealous aura surrounding the guys seemed to increase.
“Y-yeah...”
Souta practically fled into the hallway as if escaping the atmosphere of the classroom, and I hurried after him.
Meanwhile, Yuna and Hisui followed at a more composed pace, casually stepping out of the classroom.
Once we were all outside, we headed together toward the clubroom.
“...You two okay with all that?”
I couldn’t help feeling drained just imagining what kind of rumors were now flying around in the classroom. Unlike me, the two walking calmly beside me didn’t seem concerned in the slightest, so I asked.
“I don’t particularly mind if people start gossiping about me and you, Alice. Honestly, I wouldn’t be opposed to just making it true.”
Hisui remained as unwavering as ever. Though in her case, being Souta’s little sister meant there wasn’t much fuel for the rumor mill regarding him.
“Let them gossip all they want. They’ll get bored soon enough.”
Yuna spoke with her usual detached air.
True, whenever rumors had involved Yuna in the past, she’d always cut them down bluntly herself before they could spread too far.
I thought I was denying them just as clearly, yet... somehow, the rumors around me never seemed to die. I didn’t get it.
“...Still, doesn’t it bother you, being talked about like that?”
“There’s nothing to feel guilty about, so just hold your head high. If you react to every little thing, you’re only giving them the satisfaction.”
“...I see.”
Even so, I still wasn’t used to being surrounded by groups of girls chatting noisily about me. Especially when it came to anything romantic—why did people latch onto that stuff so eagerly?
“Honestly, Alice... instead of worrying about that nonsense, you should focus on what’s ahead.”
Lost in thought, I was promptly called out by Yuna.
She was absolutely right.
I’d already explained to Yuna and Hisui that Souta and I were about to go meet with Aymok to settle things. If they knew we were about to march straight into a delinquent gang’s gathering, they might actually faint.
As for Yuna and Hisui, they’d be heading to Hisui’s house together, and once the time came, Hisui’s uncle would be driving them to the Christmas party.
Now that I thought about it... was Suzuka in the clubroom? Though I’d confirmed she was safe by phone, I hadn’t seen her since yesterday. Souta was supposed to have warned her as well...
Lost in those thoughts, we arrived at the clubroom.
Inside, it was empty—Suzuka wasn’t here.
We each took our usual seats—spots that had, somehow, become fixed over time—and all eyes turned to Souta.
“So? What did you need to talk to us about?”
Seemingly unsure how to begin, Souta looked troubled for a moment. Then, after thinking it over, he finally spoke.
“...Suzuka’s apparently with Aymok right now.”
The first thing Souta said left me utterly stunned.
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