Chapter : 18
I’ll Save You in the Bad Ending Route
Three-Way Meeting
After sorting the gifts and watching Fina head off to class, the infirmary quieted down. Prea fed me slices of apple and asked,
“Did you find a partner? Are you getting along?”
I accepted the apple and replied,
“Oh, yes! I gave him a proper gift too!”
“Really? That’s a relief.”
“What plan did you come up with this time to approach him?”
Aaron, legs crossed beside us, cut in.
“What do you take me for?”
“A calculating girl who makes sudden trade offers.”
“…I’m not like that! Do you think he’s like you, Aaron? Damien and I are connected by the heart…!”
“Damien?”
Both of them stared at me. And just then, a voice came from behind.
“Yeah?”
Startled, I turned around.
Speak of the devil—there Damien stood, holding a basket of fruit and blinking blankly.
“Damien? When did you get here?”
“Uh, I came to see if you were sick… What’s going on?”
He looked nervous, his bangs pinned back so that one eye showed clearly. He glanced uneasily at Aaron and Prea, then dropped his head.
“Ah—let me introduce you!”
I grabbed Damien’s arm and pulled him toward them.
“Prea, Aaron. This is my Orion Exam partner—”
Crash!
The plate in Prea’s hand slipped and shattered.
“—partner…”
I stared, stunned. Prea’s eyes were glued to Damien, wide with disbelief.
She looked like she had seen a ghost.
“You… you…”
Her expression twisted sharply as she glared at him.
The air froze. The tension was suffocating. But Damien clearly had no idea who she was.
What? What is going on?
“Why is he here?! Don’t tell me—he’s your partner?”
Her outburst surprised me too.
Why is she reacting like this? Does she think Damien is a monster too? That’d be a problem…
“Prea, listen to me.”
Carefully, trying not to poke at her temper, I explained. But her face contorted further.
“Airan, think again. I know exactly what kind of person he is! You’re taking him to the Orion exam? I absolutely object!”
She was furious. Her intensity even overwhelmed me.
“I get that you’re worried, but…”
“He hurt a professor! What if something happens to you!”
“It’s fine now! That won’t happen again!”
“And how am I supposed to believe that?!”
She jabbed a finger at Damien and shouted, her voice echoing across the infirmary.
“The Orion Exam is dangerous! No. I refuse to watch you get hurt. Take literally anyone else!”
I glanced at Damien.
He looked pale and ready to bolt.
I smiled reassuringly.
“Damien can control his magic now.”
Prea blinked, confused.
“What do you mean? Control it?”
“Damien, didn’t the Tears of Laotis help calm your magic?”
Damien flinched but nodded firmly.
“…Y-yeah. That’s why I came… Airan, the potion you gave me—it had something that calmed dark magic. And… the moon waned this time without hurting. Thanks to you.”
He gave me the faintest smile—barely there, but unmistakable. I exhaled in relief.
“What do you mean, the Tears of Laotis?”
I quickly explained for Prea’s sake.
“I see… so that’s what was in it…”
She still looked skeptical, but her voice softened.
Thank goodness.
“But I still hate him. He has no manners.”
Prea pointed accusingly again.
What now?
I opened my mouth to explain, but she burst out,
“That jerk chopped off my hair during potions class and threw it into a cauldron because he said it looked like silver thread! Why are you partnering with someone like that?!”
…Excuse me?
Wait—WHAT?
He chopped her hair… and boiled it?!
My voice trembled.
“Damien… is that… true?”
His face went chalk-white. Clearly he hadn’t remembered at first—but now it was coming back.
Slowly, he dropped to his knees.
“I—I’m sorry. I’m so—”
“You didn’t even REMEMBER?! Why did you do that?!”
Prea blasted him.
“I—I was testing a new potion and needed silver thread… and Prea’s hair—uh—looked kinda like it so…”
I could vividly picture him spacing out in class, cutting the hair of the girl sitting in front of him without a shred of awareness.
Yeah, I can’t defend you for this one.
The nurse appeared silently behind Prea.
“Miss Prea, causing a disturbance here is unacceptable.”
Prea bowed once—then grabbed Damien by the collar.
“You. Come with me.”
“Huh—Wha—?!”
Like a rabbit dragged by a lion, Damien was hauled out.
“A-Airan!”
He called out like I was his last hope.
I looked away.
You brought this on yourself.
Defeated, he let his head droop. A moment later, Prea’s fierce yelling echoed down the hall.
I stared vaguely toward the voices.
“…So you’re partnered with a Belfet boy?”
Aaron finally spoke.
He always observed chaos from the sidelines, but this time… he looked pleased.
His hand covered his mouth, but his eyes crinkled. I could tell he was smiling.
He leaned forward, chin on hand.
“Did you use the potion you took from me to turn Damien Belfet into your partner?”
He sounded like a reporter unveiling a scoop.
I responded innocently,
“Yep.”
His lips curved like a bow.
“Interesting. And what’s your next plan?”
“Huh? What are you talking about?”
He grinned like a boss approving a proposal.
“You’re taking the Orion Exam, right? I’ll help.”
“…What?”
Unexpected support.
He let out a hearty laugh.
“I’ll train you both.”
Thankfully, Prea eventually returned Damien to the infirmary. She clearly hadn’t forgiven him, but she respected my choice.
“I trust Airan, not you,” she warned Damien.
He flinched.
“I’ll personally test if you’re competent enough later.”
Then she turned gentle for me.
“Take care. I have assignments, so I really have to go. Sorry I can’t stay.”
Her long fingers wrapped both my hands.
“I’m fine now, go ahead.”
“Once you recover, sweets together.”
I nodded, and she smiled before leaving.
Damien exhaled in relief. Aaron read quietly by my bed.
“Will you be able to move tomorrow?”
“Probably.”
“Good. Tomorrow at five. Bring Damien to the training grounds.”
Aaron closed the book and stood.
“M-me too?” Damien squeaked.
“Who else? You’re partners. Better you get assessed before it’s too late.”
Aaron narrowed his eyes, smiling. Damien shrank like he was facing another professor.
Aaron took his silence as agreement.
“See you tomorrow. Rest up.”
I nearly dropped my cup.
Aaron tells people to take care?
I wondered if the sun would rise in the west tomorrow.
* * *
Thanks to Damien’s devoted nursing, my cold disappeared completely. He now trusted me to the point of taking everything I said positively.
Getting sick was worth it if it helped raise his favorability.
The next day at 5pm, we headed to the training grounds. Damien repeatedly clenched and released his hands.
“What’s wrong?”
“…Just wondering if I can really control my dark magic.”
“After drinking the Laotis potion? Come on.”
At the mention of the potion, his worried expression shifted into focus.
He launched into nonstop explanation about Mantagos’s Fang, antitoxins, and a compound called Ferverrufo.
I understood maybe one sentence in ten, but nodded like a pro.
Summary: a component in the potion helps stabilize his dark magic.
“So what changed physically?”
“…Before, my chest always hurt. Now I can breathe easier. My head’s clear too.”
Damien pressed a hand to his chest, inhaling deeply. He certainly looked calmer than he had with Professor Rivender.
“Then let’s use this chance to practice controlling it properly.”
“Yeah… I think I can.”
He clenched both fists and psyched himself up. I tapped his shoulder for encouragement.
We reached the training grounds Aaron specified. Damien froze in front of the massive doors.
“Isn’t this the upperclassmen training hall? Are we even allowed inside?”
I scoffed.
“How special can it be?”
The enormous wooden doors slid open on their own.
And I immediately took back everything I said.
A cavernous arena the size of a basketball court stretched out—blue stones embedded in every surface, glowing inside a domed barrier.
Like stepping into a gemstone cavern.
A real training field—just like in the game.
“So you’ve finally arrived.”
Aaron strode toward us from the center of the arena.
