*
Time stretched into the evening, a layer of cooking oil stretched across the sky as the sun's radiance begins to dim. Speaking of which, it was the same at any place. No matter where on earth you are, if it's evening, it's evening. Isn't that wonderful? Of course all of that trouble some information and the need for synchrony has been solved by Greenwich Meridian Time, all that's left to do is to admire nature taking its course.
They had left the ever anticipated booth for quite some time as Arin had already acquired her spoils of victory. They walked at a leisurely pace, meeting up with Feilin and Faramicia's groups. Coalescing into a larger group of 8, nearly half the class! They thought to enjoy themselves while in the venue, but now that they weren't engaging with books, there were also suitable activities outside for larger groups.
"There's this bowling and board game rental place that we rented. If you guys would like, you're free to join!" (Feilin)
As expected of an ojou sama, her charisma was impeccable. Ignoring the flub from earlier in the day, it's as if her dignity revived like a phoenix, quickly taking charge as soon as they left the exhibition hall.
" Ouh! Let's go!" (Pheena)
Drawing support from her closest friend, their liveliness made it easy for the rest to casually tag along. As a larger group it was a little easier on the rental fees, and harder to lose each other through the crowd too. Lastia and the other two liked to hang around the back in such cases, if they were to discuss something important it was easier to avoid eavesdropping that way.
They entered a street leading towards a cross junction. Crossing the traffic light would lead them to their destination faster as there was a bus stop there. To find a recreational rental place that wasn't already booked, they had to stray a little further away from the exhibition hall. After all, it was the centre of activity, there were more visitors in particular due to that certain author Arin wanted to see.
Walking along the footpath leading to the traffic lights, Lastia hanged back a little and spoke from behind.
"You seemed a little out of it just now... If you're tired, we can go back and rest. I don't mind telling them for you." (Yggdrasil)
There was a certain gentleness to her tone. Was it really meant for her? Arin? She couldn't determine it. Something so simple... A generosity and warmth with no complexity to it, straightforward and fuzzy. Did Yggdrasil really mean it? The both of them understood that Arin was most likely the person who casted the curse... That's what they understood, and it isn't something that she would deny. But was that really true? She might understand the curse, and be able to manipulate it to suit her own needs...
In the most recent case, right after the encounter with the Super satellite calamity... She used the curse to access Lastia's memories, to stimulate Yggdrasil's consciousness and accelerate the development of her ego. Yggdrasil might be used as a potential catalyst for the revival of Lastia... In the future if there was some way to revive the dead discovered, that's what that preparation was for. However this use case... It assumed Lastia was already dead and needed to be revived.
It didn't make any logical sense to cast a curse on someone for the eventual preparation of their demise and revival. If that was the case, wouldn't it be far easier to simply keep them alive? Who could guarantee if Lastia fought another heavenly king, that it would be another mutual defeat? But it's too late. Arin can't deny it, regardless of the truth that she refused to reveal. It was important, it was something she had to do. It's why she lived on.
She hadn't realised it, but for a short moment her eyes glazed over and her breathing became laboured. Her hands instinctively reach towards her own chest and neck. The surrounding sounds, the sea of conversations and physical fixtures blended into a homogeneous ringing in her ears, no single voice was distinguishable.
It all came down to a single question, was this kindness really meant for her? She could feign civility and pepper Yggdrasil with more than preferential treatment as much as she wanted to, but how was it that when it came to receiving, her heart began to tear itself apart?
"Arin... Arin!" (Sariel)
A scream with a tinge of affection, it sounded really far away, but it nonetheless reached her ears. Miraculously, someone breached her thoughts. Rather it wasn't impossible to catch her attention amidst the turmoil in her heart, it was just hard to find someone willing to go through the effort of doing it... In their home life, only Sariel had a family that was completely present, with her parents working in facilities housed in the residential zone. Both Arin and Lastia's parents were working outside, in some distant commercial zone. Neither of them know which zone their parents were in...
The most closest person in their life would undoubtedly be the two in front of them right now. The trio who huddled close in this crowd. Arin finally cranked her neck upwards after Sariel caught her drifting conscious, she noticed the rest of the group was no longer around. The people that surrounded them were now only complete strangers. One or two might have turned their heads, but in this bustling city not even they could overhear their conversations without concentrating. A few of them might even have scowled at the inconvenience the girls caused, by standing in the middle of the footpath instead of walking. Though, none had the energy or motivation to stay and meddle.
"I... I'm sorry..." (Arin)
It felt like her voice was dying, it was hard to explain to a third party. The vigour in her words were drained with every syllable, until only a husk of a conversation is left. The sky had gotten dark and the between the tall buildings were only blankets of grey clouds. Was it going to rain soon? It might be better to head back now, if Arin wasn't feeling well. At least, these were Yggdrasil's thoughts.
"It's okay. It's okay now, the rest of our classmates are gone. If it's something hard to talk about, only the 3 of us remain. We're here to listen." (Sariel)
"N... No... Not for this dumb trip, I mean... For everything... For keeping it all to myself..." (Arin)
She didn't want to lose it all. Was the stress finally getting to her? Was that what that earlier hallucination was about? The voices outside slowed to a crawl, leaving an absolute space of eery silence between the three. As if her breath was caught in her own throat, every beat of her heart was louder than the last.