Oh.

Elodie sounded perplexed, her voice a mix of confusion and surprise.

In front of her was Frondier. His clothes were soaked from the shoulders to below the chest, and his upper body gently rose from the chest to the shoulders and then sank back down.

His entire face was drenched with sweat, and his wet eyelashes slowly covered his eyes before he opened them again.

That languid expression was even more so, and his downcast eyes even more sunken.

Elodie blinked a few times. For a moment, she wondered if she had gone to the wrong room. Even though it was clear that Frondier was in front of her, she had that thought.

Elodie took a deep breath. She had to say something. She couldn't just stand there and stare at him. Something, anything

"Y-y-you smell!"

Elodie blurted out.

Undoubtedly, it was the best save of the year.

Huh, Frondier laughed in disbelief.

"What do you expect in a place like this. You should at least give me time to wash."

"......I guess."

"So, what's up?"

Frondier wiped his face with the towel he had brought. Thanks to that, he now looked a little more like his usual self.

Elodie felt a little better. Though she didn't know why.

"I heard you come to the training room a lot."

"Yeah. I'm practicing."

After saying that, Frondier moved to put the towel in his locker. As the distance between them increased, Elodie's neck relaxed a bit.

......So that's it. I was looking up at Frondier.

That's natural since he's taller.

So natural. But somehow.

"Did you come to check up on me? To see if I'm still training? Are you still worried?"

"Worried? About what?"

Elodie denied it for the time being. But she couldn't find a better way to say it.

The truth was, Elodie had been worried about Frondier for a long time.

Elodie and Frondier had known each other since they were children.

Elodie had been worried about Frondier, who was gradually becoming lazier, and had given him a lot of advice. But it had all been for naught.

But the current Frondier was different.

Why had Frondier, who hadn't changed even after Elodie had tried so hard to help him, changed so much?

What was the trigger?

She wanted to know, but she didn't ask, because it felt like jealousy.

Suddenly, Elodie remembered and asked.

"Speaking of which, have you joined a club?"

"No. Not interested. Don't have time for that."

"Then are you going home?"

"Yep."

Frondier replied and took a drink of water. From the towel to the water bottle, even up to the personal locker, it was obvious he frequented the training room.

Although it was a brief reply, Elodie felt somewhat relieved. It was as if she had gained a comrade.

This time, Frondier asked.

"You?"

"Me?"

Elodie was slightly taken aback when Frondier asked back but gave the usual response.

"Well, I don't particularly have any interest in anything."

At that, Frondier stopped drinking his water. He put down the bottle and said,

"Liar."

"What?"

"You want to join a club."

It was as if Frondier was stating something as evident as 'the Earth still spins.'

He said it so matter-of-factly.

Elodie blinked in disbelief, even more so than before.

"Hey, what do you know?"

"I know. Because you're like me."

Elodie frowned in annoyance.

What is this lunatic talking about?

However, what Frondier said next left Elodie frozen.

"You seem to be alone."

"!"

"It feels like you're isolated in a desolate place, thinking you can't escape from this isolation."

Frondier spoke calmly.

That calmness gradually made Elodie freeze over.

"Even if you talk and laugh with others, you think they don't truly understand you."

"You,"

Elodie tried to say something but eventually closed her mouth. The Frondier right now seemed truly unlike the Frondier of rumors.

Frondier said Elodie was like him. Meaning, the story Frondier was telling was not only about Elodie but also about himself.

"I thought you didn't care about that stuff."

Human Sloth Frondier.

The nickname everyone knew for Frondier was, of course, heard most by him.

Yet, Frondier's expression was nonchalant, as if he wasn't hurt by it. As if it wasn't his story.

...But.

Frondier said,

"You're the same."

Yes.

"You also act as if it's all fine."

Like Frondier, Elodie didn't show it on her face. She pretended to be okay.

But still, had Frondier noticed?

"Well, you're carrying a heavier burden, so it must be much harder."

Frondier shrugged his shoulders.

However, Elodie couldn't dare to think that she was suffering more than Frondier.

Especially not after having glimpsed into Frondier's inner world.

Elodie lifted her head.

Somewhere, she felt relieved.

Maybe she wanted to hear such simple words of comfort. If there was even one person who understood her, that would be enough.

Club activities became such a trivial matter, and Elodie could laugh.

"Thank you. I feel at ease."

I can't say I feel better because you comforted me, as I'm too embarrassed.

""

But then, Frondier looked at Elodie. His expression was as languid as ever, and somewhere, just as cold.

"Join the club."

"I'd like to, but there's no one to do it with."

"You can make friends. You're different from me."

At those words, Elodie's eyes twitched.

It was the last thing she wanted to hear. Especially from Frondier, especially after the conversation they just had.

Everyone treated her as if she were someone else. No one truly understood her.

Was Frondier the same, after all?

"You said we were alike."

Elodie spoke, her voice coming out weaker than she could believe.

"Why do you, even you, say that?"

Frondier closed his eyes for a moment. His shoulders slumped as if he was exhaling all the breath he held inside.

"Because I know your loneliness."

"You're the same."

"I can't help it. It's my fault, and I can't undo it."

""

"But you can change. In that sense, you and I are different."

Frondier was too calm for someone who was spitting out such words.

"At least do what you want to do, Elodie."

Those words sounded almost like a wish.

A wish conveyed to Elodie de Inies Rishae.