2nd Semester (2)

First class of the second semester.

Selena was sitting in her seat, stiff as a board.

The teacher had come in at the beginning, greeted the class, and sat down at his empty desk, and that was it.

She could hardly remember anything.

'......What am I supposed to do......'

Her posture was stiff, but her eyes darted around the room.

To anyone watching, she looked like a schoolgirl who had wandered into an abandoned house in the middle of the night. The aftershocks of an earthquake were causing her pupils to dilate repeatedly.

Her unwavering gaze was reminiscent of Aten, but Aten had wanted to be that way, whereas Selena looked like she had been locked inside herself by someone else.

And then came break time.

"Hey, you're Selena, right? You have a pretty name,"

"Wha, what about my name?"

Selena whipped her head around like a turret with a radar dish. The girl jumped back in surprise.

"Oh, no, nothing. Just that it's pretty."

"Huh? Oh, uh, yeah. Thank you."

That was the end of that.

The girl tried to say a few more words to Selena, who had gone stiff again, but she gave up and left.

And Selena felt like she was going to die.

'Ugh. What is this? What am I supposed to do? The only thing I know about dealing with people is how to seduce men.'

She had even studied hard to learn how to do that, and she had tried it out on Frondier for the first time. And it had failed miserably.

As a result, Selena had been losing more and more confidence in herself lately.

"Hey, are you okay?"

"Ack!"

Once again, Selena jumped in surprise as if she were facing an enemy.

When she looked in the direction of the voice, she saw that it was another girl. The girl was resting her chin in her hand and looking at Selena with half-open eyes.

.Who?

Sunset colored hair, blue eyes resembling a lake. At first, her gaze was drawn to those eyes of unknown depth.

It wasnt simply pretty or beautiful. Just looking at this girl seemed to change the surrounding scenery.

Hello, my name is Elodie. Elodie de Rishae.

Elodie. Are you Elodie de Inies Rishae!?

When Selena asked with sudden recollection upon hearing the name, Elodie pouted and replied.

I said it leaving that out on purpose, you dont have to bother with the de Inies part.

O-oh, Ye-yes.

So, are you alright? Youve been making a strange face since a while ago.

O-oh no, Im completely fine. How could I not be? I could only be fine.

Is that what being fine is?

Elodie sighed to herself.

Usually, she wouldnt particularly care about transfer students, but Selena, who couldnt seem to fit in anywhere and simply seemed to wander around, was someone she couldnt just ignore.

Because it felt like she was looking at the past version of herself.

No, maybe Im not that different from how I am now.

In Class 2, there were many who were called monsters or geniuses, with Elodie at the head, so it didnt feel like much, but Elodie was originally the type to not have any friends.

She just maintained a moderately friendly distance with everyone. In Class 2, she could more or less talk to Aster without reservation.

There was Sybil in another class who she had recently gotten a bit closer to.

And Frondier.

.Jeez.

What is this change of pace.

Selena, do you want me to show you around the school?

Show me around?

Yeah. Do you know where the cafeteria is?

"Oh," Selena opened her mouth. It was quite an honest reaction.

* * *

When lunchtime arrived, Elodie explained the passing buildings and facilities as they headed to the cafeteria with Selena.

"Go straight down this road to find the auditorium. It's used for various events or indoor practical lessons. Right in front is the sports field, and that wide area you see beyond is 'the field'. It's diversely used for training and lessons, assuming monsters for temporary missions, exams, and so on."

"Area?"

Selena frowned and looked in the direction Elodie was pointing.

"I only see mountains, though?"

"Yes. 'Today', it's a mountain."

Today?

Selena guessed what that meant and looked at Elodie in surprise.

Elodie smiled as if she understood.

"Right. That mountain is the entire field. It changes every few days, sometimes becoming a plain or a city. It's said to be the result of the collaboration between the teachers of advanced magitechnology and magic, but I don't know the details."

Wow, Selena marveled again at the field. That all of those mountains were Constel's doing. That it could become land or a city if one just wished.

As they were explaining, they soon arrived at the cafeteria.

After getting their food and sitting down, Elodie seemed to have something to say, clearing her throat with her fist in front of her mouth.

"Ahem, well, you see, Selena."

"Yes?"

"That, the girl who came to school with Frondier today, that's you, right?"