Classes were finally over. Julian managed to let out a stifled sigh of relief. With that release of air, it felt like he was letting all of the suppressed negative emotions out.
"Haah..."
Julian collected his papers as soon as the bell rang and slid them into his bag. He gave no goodbyes, as that was unnecessary, considering that he knew no one in his last class.
There were no pit stops. Not to the library, the cafeteria, or even the garden. Julian intended to do nothing on the campus. He quietly walked toward his dorm, reaching into his pockets and pulling out the key, which he used to twist the door open.
"Surprise!"
Ian and Cera yelled out. Julian was startled and winced.
The two held a plate with a decorated cake and two numbered candles placed on it.
Ian and Cera stood on both sides, collaborating to hold the cake. They grinned. After a few seconds, a small smile formed on his face.
I briefly mentioned my birthday to Ian, didn't I?
I'm surprised I even remembered it. I've been so caught up with life.
From becoming submitted to grueling work and horrific scenes as a slave, to breaking my back, and getting swallowed by a sea beast... then getting ripped into shreds.
I really... am still alive.
"Eh?"
"Julian... you're crying?"
"Huh?"
Julian touched his cheeks, feeling the unfamiliar moistness. He laughed.
"Ah, sorry. It's been quite a while. I didn't even realize that I was crying. Though I would've really preferred banana bread."
"No worries, Julian," Ian patted Julian's shoulder.
They placed the cake atop a round wooden table and sat down.
Laughing and banter ensued, along with conversations about different things, like the weather, classes, books, and things of that nature. Julian's mood was surprisingly elevated, and it had not been like this in a very long time.
I wonder how Umilythe is doing.
Knock Knock!
"Julian, d-did you invite someone else?" Cera asked, with a mouthful of cake.
"No... I don't think so."
Julian walked toward the door, slowly opening it.
Standing there was a moderately sized boy wearing circle-rimmed glasses. He had a bit of a nerdy, or rather, scholarly energy to him. Brown, well-trimmed hair.
"Black eyes, black hair, somewhat pale skin, long eyelashes... You're Julian, right?" the scholar spoke calmly.
Black eyes... so the contacts work.
"... Yeah?"
"My name is Tony. You're the one who attacked Ivy?"
It was only then that Julian realized there were a few others behind Tony.
Tony leaped forward.
"!"
[Cast: Earth Shard]
"The use of combatitve mana within the dormitories is prohibited."
[Cast: Gale Dash]
Ian moved quickly, kicking the rock away from Julian. It crashed into the wall.
Tony's jaw clenched.
Cera cowered behind a chair.
"Get out of the way, Ian. Why are you protecting this 'weakling'?"
Do they know each other?
Well, everyone knows each other. I'm the only outsider.
"Well, this weakling is my friend. And I have a problem with you trying to attack him."
...That's still an insult!
Tony sighed, running his fingers through his hair. "You guys get the girl and Julian. I'll deal with Ian here."
"I won't even need to use any of my cast-"
Tony threw his fist at Ian. Ian quickly countered, striking Tony's fist.
"You're faster than I thought, Ian. You might seriously become a problem. I won't use mana either, then-"
"Don't be distracted, idiot."
In an instant, Ian appeared in front of Tony. His arm was stretched out, winding up for a punch. Instinctively, Tony dodged.
"Got you."
A swift kick to the chin left Tony dazed. He lifted his guard up again, trying to anticipate the next attack.
"Behind you, idiot!"
Tony quickly turned around. Was there nothing there? Then, he felt Ian's arm tightly wrapped around his waist. Before he knew it, he was in the air.
Tony's head slammed into the ground, knocking him clean out.
"Nice one, Ian!" Julian exclaimed.
"That's not important! Focus on those guys!" Ian said, panting. Julian nodded. There were three enemies in front of him.
Three people... in this tight space. I'm not as maneuverable as Ian is. Can I do this?
Julian looked back at Cera. She was still cowering behind the chair.
She's stronger than me, yet...
The three of them ran at Julian. Julian sighed before hardening his resolve and grabbing a glass. He threw it to the ground.
In Julian's former life, back on earth, he had never been involved in sports or anything like that. Physical exertion was out of the question. But there was something he was especially fascinated by for a period of time, that being the volley kick.
He planted his left foot.
His body swung, quickly. He aimed his right leg at the nearest opponent.
Bsh!
A clean hit!
The boy fell to the ground. But so did Julian, as his balance was no longer.
"Quickly! Get him while he's down!" One of the remaining two yelled.
Luckily, Ian came in time, striking the two others down.
(Julian)
"It's alright, Cera. It's safe now, can't you see?" he reassured her, hugging her. It was a nice thing to do.
But I couldn't help but feel strange. No way, I'm probably just a little startled by this whole incident.
Cera hugged Ian back, her hands shaking a bit. The glass shattering must have really done quite a bit to her, among everything else.
I was about to reach over to her and pat her shoulder, but it felt... weird.
Agh... what's wrong with me today?
Ian and I picked the bodies up, carrying them to... place them somewhere else.
Ian spoke monotonously. It was probably because he was focusing more on reaching a spot to place the bodies.
"It's possible that they will forget about all of this if we sustained enough damage to them."
"That sounds pretty psychotic. The goal wasn't to inflict injury, but to defend ourselves."
"Well, two things can be true."
Not when the statements contradict!
"You're pretty smart, Ian."
"I know."
"I take that back, you cocky bastard. You need to be more humble."
"You're quite smart, too, Julian. I saw you fighting those two. It seemed like you were thinking really hard. That idea to shatter the glass cup was quick thinking."
"Really? Thanks!"
"If someone saw your handwriting, they would never know of your intelligence."
"Can you really blame me? I-"
I was about to tell Ian about being from another world. But I stopped myself. Information like that was best kept to myself.
"Huh? What'd you say?"
"I-I slowly progress, that's all."
I'm not lying.
"What do you think is going to happen in the future, Julian? Are our lives really worth it?"
"You sound like an old man, Ian."
Ian chuckled, but quickly regained a straight face expression. "I just speak properly. Is there something wrong with that?"
"No, not really. It's just... hmm. I can't put it into words. Aha! It doesn't even feel like I'm talking to my own age mate!" I quickly responded. That could be either taken as a compliment or an insult.
"Thanks. A lot of people say that I'm wise."
He took it as a compliment, of course. Did he? No. He must've taken it as an insult and responded to spite me. But... I didn't hear any sarcasm in his voice-
My train of thought was disrupted as Ian snapped. "We're here. What are you even thinking about?"
I placed the body down behind a bush. "Nothing. Don't worry too much about it."
"I never said I was worried about you."
"Jeez. What a tsundere."
"Tsundere? What is that?"
"... It's nothing."
We finally reached back. The door was still broken, but the house was... clean? Despite the fighting, it was clean. I looked around. Everything looked better than it had been even before the fight.
"Huh? N-No way!" I exclaimed, shocked. Happiness rushed to my face, and I couldn't hold in my smile.
"I was just bored here alone, so I decided to clean. Is th-there a problem with that? If there is, I'm seriously sorry-"
"You and Julian are alike. Always overthinking. Can't you tell how happy he is?" Ian said, pointing to my face. It made me conscious of how dumb I looked. I quickly turned away.
"Thanks, Cera. You're a lifesaver!" I turned back around, having a much more tame smile. Cera nodded, smiling back at me.
Ian and Cera left. I was there alone, in my clean dorm room.
I sighed, sitting cross-legged.
What the hell am I supposed to do now?
My thoughts slipped out for a second as I stared at my wall.
"I should probably get my door fixed..."