"W-What?!"
"R-Rin-senpai?!"
Mozunotori Nono's eyes went wide, as if the sun had risen in the west.
She clenched her baton so hard her fingers turned pale.
To her, Rin wasn't just a senior—
She was an ideal, a pillar.
How could Rin, who always wore that mask—strict, upright, dependable—suddenly abandon the academy?
"I've thought it through, Nono," Rin said without turning around, voice strangely steady.
Her back was straight—like she was forcing every vertebra in her spine to stand tall in this moment.
"I've decided… to change."
She stepped to Haimer's side, standing beside Tsukuyo.
Now three of the Five Swords had chosen.
The balance collapsed.
All pressure poured onto the remaining two:
Mary.
And Warabi, who still had her face buried in bear fur.
The gym's air thickened.
Every gaze—Haimer's quiet abyss-like calm, the chosen three's scrutiny—became needles.
Mary dug her nails into the dictionary cover.
Go.
Or stay.
Reason said stay. Here was comfort. Status. Safety.
Who wanted to fight grotesque monsters and gamble their life?
But—
One thought drowned her reasoning completely.
Rin went.
That stiff, old-fashioned, mask-wearing "coward," whom Mary always mocked—
Had chosen the thorned path without flinching.
And she, Mary, was going to cower here?
No.
If she retreated now, she'd be losing to Rin.
That feeling was ten thousand times worse than death.
"Ahhh—fine!"
Mary snarled and grabbed her own hair, shredding the perfect curls into a chaotic bird's nest.
Then—
Bam!
She slammed the heavy dictionary to the floor.
"I'll go!"
"Who's afraid?!"
"I'm sick of this place anyway!"
"If even that coward Rin dares to go, then what do I have to be afraid of?!"
She stormed to Haimer's other side and even bumped Rin's shoulder deliberately, snorting.
Now four were in place.
All eyes fell on Warabi.
Warabi sat on the floor like an ostrich, hiding behind the bear.
"Mmm… mmm…"
"Go? Really go?"
"It's scary… I'll die, right? I'll definitely die…"
But she peeked out, big timid eyes scanning the four already standing with Haimer.
Zanzan looking down like a tyrant.
Mary with her chin raised.
Even Satori smiling sweetly, head tilted as if saying, Aww, so Warabi gets left behind~
If everyone else went and she stayed alone—
That was worse than death too.
"Gah—fine!"
Warabi shot up, stomping her foot.
"I'm going! I'm going, okay?!"
Then she glared at the bear.
"And you're coming too!"
"If we die, we die together!"
"Grrr—?!" The bear wailed in disbelief.
Its little black bean eyes screamed: Are you insane? Let the bear live!
It had only come to watch!
Why was it being dragged into hell?!
It clawed at the floor, leaving deep scratches, yelping miserably.
But Warabi grabbed the thick chain around its neck and hauled it forward anyway.
In the end—
The Five Swords, plus the Empress, were all assembled.
…
Watching their "march to the gallows" expressions, Haimer sighed and shook his head.
"All right."
"Enough with the faces."
"I said it's a world with no retreat."
"I didn't say I'm throwing you in front of monsters right now."
"Stop acting like you're walking to an execution."
"And I'm not some unreasonable evil god."
"If you've put your lives in my hands…"
"Then I'll give you time."
"Go settle your attachments in this world."
"Say goodbye to friends. Pack. Eat what you want one last time."
"Whatever you can't put down—go deal with it."
"Then come with me, unburdened."
"No second chances."
That instantly deflated the drama.
Warabi collapsed back onto the floor, wiping sweat.
"I thought we were dying immediately…"
Mary hurriedly picked up her dictionary again.
Even Rin's fierce resolve softened into something more complicated.
Because no one left a world without any strings attached.
-------
My : pat*eon*com/RuneA
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