"Turn Around and Face Me!" 02 (Pixiv Fanbox)

02. Our Other Classmate

“Lily-sama… Thank you for coming.”

“W-What’s the matter, Alea-chan, why did you call me all the way here?”

When classes ended that day, I asked Lily-sama to meet me at a certain place. The academy’s courtyard. The courtyard was home to a large sakura tree, and the base of that tree was a very special place to all the students here. So special that we all referred to it as the Tree of Legend.

That was where I had asked her to come. As she approached, she was as adorable as ever. Her eyes darted around the area, unable to settle in one place. I had called her out to meet me under this tree, and there was no way that Lily-sama wasn’t aware of the implications. There was a reason this tree was so revered.

There was a myth about the tree that had been passed down and popularized among the students. The myth said that if one were to confess at the base of the tree and that confession were to be accepted, the two would receive eternal happiness. Considering my numerous advances on Lily-sama in the past, and considering my choice of location, she should be aware of my intentions. I could tell that Lily-sama was nervous.

“… Lily-sama!”

“Y-Yes!?”

Looking directly into Lily-sama’s eyes, I took her hands in mine and called her name. Having closed the distance between us, I saw her surprise from close up as I continued.

“I’ve been in love with you for a long, long time. Please, would you go out with me with our eventual marriage in mind…!?”

“A-Alea-chan…!”

Her initial response was one of surprise, but the moment the meaning of my words sank in, her face flushed red. Her gaze shot downward in clear embarrassment. She was so adorable I could barely hold myself back from pulling her into an embrace. But I still had to wait for her answer, so I did all I could to hold firm.

The next couple of minutes felt like an eternity, but at last, Lily-sama opened her mouth to break the silence.

“I-If you would be okay with Lily, Lily too would like to remain by your side, Alea-chan.”

With that, Lily-sama gave a smile like that of a dandelion blooming discreetly on the side of the road. In response, I felt joy welling up from deep within me.

The woman I had always longed for, the object of my affections. She had responded to my feelings for her―that truth steadily filled my heart with warmth.

“Really…? Do you really mean it…?”

“Y-Yes…!”

“Aah… Wow. This really is a dream come true…!”

Unable to contain myself any longer, I pulled Lily-sama in and embraced her. But then―

“Lily-sama…?”

Her small frame, which I should be holding in my arms, was nowhere to be found. As though she were but a mirage, Lily-sama had vanished.

“Where…!? Where did you go…!?”

I desperately called out to Lily-sama. She had finally reciprocated, so how could something like this…!

“… Sigh, Alea, you’re hopeless.”

“… Mei?”

As I desperately looked around the area, Mei suddenly appeared before me.

“Mei? Do you know where LIly-sama might be? Lily-sama and I―”

“… Yeah, I know.”

“… Eh?”

Mei’s expression held zero warmth as she spoke to me quietly.

“… You know, Alea, you really should’ve noticed by now.”

“Mei, what are you trying to say…?”

“… Remember. When this is, and the relationship that the three of us have.”

Then, as though she pitied me, with a faint but captivating smile, she continued.

“… This is a dream.”

“…!?”

The moment I heard those words, the entire world around me seemed to warp and distort.

“… a-chan.”

“Mnm…”

I could hear someone calling out to me. A clear, beautiful voice, that was very pleasant to listen to.

“A-, Alea-chan, wake up.”

“… That’s no good, Lily-sama, if you really want to wake her up, you’ve got to do this.”

I heard another voice, this one lower than the first, but very familiar. The very next moment―

“Hyah!?”

I felt something cold on my back. The sudden sensation snapped me awake. When I opened my eyes and looked around, I was greeted by the setting sun’s rays filtering through the classroom. My classmates steadily filtered out of the class with their bags in tow. The Bauer All Girls’ Academy was a relatively new academy. Not even ten years had passed since Mother Claire and Mother Rei had founded it. Compared to other schools, it had all of the necessary facilities and they were all modern and well constructed.

Amidst all of that, Mei was glaring at me with exasperation while Lily-sama wore a scowl.

“My back feels so cold…!? Hey, Mei!”

“… Good morning, Alea.”

“Ah, hahaha… How extreme…”

When I loosened the back of my uniform, three pieces of ice about the size of small stones fell out. Mei must have made the ice with her magic.

“Just what do you think you’re doing!?”

“… That’s what Mei’s saying. How could you sleep through the entirety of homeroom?”

“W-Well, it’s true. Sleeping through class really isn’t something that deserves praise…”

“Urk…”

What Mei was saying was entirely correct, so I failed to come up with a response. That’s right. It had been homeroom, the final period of the day before the school day ends. I succumbed to boredom and fell asleep. I felt as though I had been graced by a rather convenient dream, but I could no longer remember what it had been about. However, the happiness that I felt in the dream remained in my chest.

That said, if I were to say that, I would likely only be met with further exasperation. Not just from Mei, but from Lily-sama as well. I made sure to collect myself before I spoke.

“Come on, homeroom is just so boring. And I mean, Mei, if something important did come up I could just ask you about it after.”

“… Don’t make additional trouble for Mei. But well, if you’re going to act spoiled, Mei wouldn’t mind it as much if you did it in a more intimate way.”

“T-That’s right, Alea-chan. First of all, this was our first homeroom after our entrance ceremony. Today’s homeroom was packed full of important information you’ll need to know.”

“Oh?”

At first, I really did intend to listen seriously. However, as I listened I felt my sleepiness grow until it overcame me.

“Well, enough of that. So? Have they announced roommates?”

“… You weren’t even listening for that part?”

“Ahm, ahaha…”

Mei gave me a cold glare, devoid of any emotion, while Lily-sama now looked at me with exasperation… I had to admit, I did feel embarrassed.

“The Academy”, as we students called it, had its idiosyncrasies for a school. One of those was that all students were required to stay at the academy’s dorms. Each room in the dorm was to be shared between four students to encourage communal living. It was then, of course, quite the big deal for us students to find out who we’d be sharing those rooms with.

“T-They did. It seems we all have been assigned to the same room.”

“!? Really!?”

“… Alea, you’re a little too excited.”

“Oh come on, it really is such good news! To think that I’ll be able to spend the next three years sharing a room with Lily-sama!”

“U-Uhm, L-Lily’s honored…”

“… Mei will be there too you know…”

As I looked toward Lily-sama who had maintained the same wry smile for a while now, and Mei, who appeared dissatisfied about something, I again felt an overwhelming joy surge from within me. Seeing Mei in her school uniform instead of her usual clothes was of course a fresh sight, but Lily-sama was absolutely dazzling. To think that she, of all people, was wearing such a cute uniform, the very same uniform I was wearing.

And then on top of that, we were even to share the same room. This settled it―

“Lily-sama, marry me.”

“W-What, what are you saying so suddenly!?”

“… It’s just her usual antics. Just ignore it.”

Lily-sama offered a sincere response, but it seemed Mei couldn’t care less.

“Mei, of course I’m happy that we’ll be together as well… However! To have the chance to not only be in the same class, but to share a room with Lily-sama… It must mean that Lily-sama and I were destined for one another!”

“L-Lily thinks that destiny is mistaken…”

“… Don’t treat Mei like she’s just an extra. If we’re to be together, it’ll be ‘til death do us part.”

While I was very proactive in my approaches toward Lily-sama, she herself remained distant. That said, that only applied to our situation now. From now on, we’d be living under the same roof, in the same room. In these next three years, I decided that I would make her turn and face me.

In the middle of our conversation, someone peeked into the classroom.

“Hm? You’re all still here? Come on, go along to your dorm so you can unpack.”

“R-Rei-san!”

Lily-sama’s troubled expression instantly lit up… Goodness gracious.

“Sorry Lily, I’m sure Alea’s been causing you trouble again, hasn’t she?”

“N-No, not at all! More importantly, might you have some time today?”

“Ah… Sorry, with it being the first day and having had the entrance ceremony and all, I’m busy. Once things calm down a bit, I’m sure we’ll have a chance to catch up.”

“I-Is that so…”

It was clear that Lily-sama felt dejected. But well, it only made sense that she would be.

“Lily-sama, come on, let’s go.”

“Eh? Ah, wait, Alea-chan!”

“… Goodbye, Rei-sensei.”

“Mhm, goodbye.”

Taking Lily-sama’s hand, I pulled her away. She was clearly reluctant, even as she was bewildered by my actions, I couldn’t say that I liked seeing her like this. As I heard Mei and Mother Rei exchange farewells appropriate to their current relationship as student and teacher, I rushed to the dorms. All the while carrying complex emotions that I couldn’t put to words.

　◆◇◆◇◆

“The name’s Simone Orso! Address me however you like!”

After dealing with a monster attack on our way, we had finally made it to our room. I never imagined such a thing would happen on academy grounds… Recent monster activity was certainly a concerning trend. As a result, my reunion with my old friend, Yuria, turned out to be a rather exciting one. Regardless, I was just glad she came out of it unharmed. I was worried about her, but she had gone to see the school counselor so I was sure she was in good hands. It didn’t seem like there was much else I could have done for her, so we decided to continue to the dorms as planned.

When we arrived at our room, we found someone already there. The girl appeared to be another student from our academy. She had a small frame and purple twintails with matching purple eyes. The academy’s dorm rooms were to house four. I had heard that Lily-sama, Mei, and I had been assigned to this room, so she must be the fourth.

Simone-san had her arms crossed and her chin raised high as she gave a succinct introduction. She kind of looked like a cat trying to intimidate its prey, she was kind of cute. Though it might have been rude of me to think that, I couldn’t help myself.

“A pleasure to meet you. My name is Alea Fran―”

“I already know!”

“O-Oh, okay.”

“I know the other two as well! Mei François and Lily Lillium, right!”

“… Hello.”

“Y-Yes. It’s nice to meet you.”

It seemed Lily-sama and I were sharing the same sense of bewilderment, but Mei simply maintained her usual disposition.

“I was the one to arrive here first, so I took the liberty and decided which bed and desk I’d be using! You don’t mind that, do you?”

“N-No… I don’t really. I’ve already decided that I’ll share beds with Lily-sama.”

“Sure, do as you like!”

“… In that case, Mei will be sharing beds with Simone-san.”

“I don’t mind!”

“U-Uhm. Does Lily get any say in this…?”

“”“No.”””

“W-Well, Lily doesn’t mind or anything…”

And so, just like that, we decided who would take which desk and which bed. The dorm rooms were rather large, technically larger than the ones at the Royal Institute, but the two bunk beds and four desks took a lot of that space. So, despite being larger, they actually afforded less room to each individual tenant. With limited storage space as well, our enrollment handbooks warned us to only bring our necessities.

“Simone-san”

“You can just call me Simone!”

“In that case, Simone. Your last name is Orso, but might you be Lene-san and Lambert-san’s…?”

“That’s right! Their daughter! Through adoption though!”

Lene-san and Lambert-san were both people who had helped my mothers in the past. Now, they both run a large trading company by the name of Frater. Frater was one of our academy’s largest sponsors, so Lene-san and Lambert-san supported our mothers in public and private affairs.

“Oh, I see, in that case it makes sense that you’d already know about us.”

“That’s right!”

“You’ve come a long way from Appalachia, welcome to Bauer.”

“Teleportation gates have been established between Appalachia and Bauer, it didn’t feel all that far!”

“Ah… The ones the Naa Empire announced they were trialing in various regions.”

I had yet to use one myself, but it was apparently a device that would allow for instant transportation across large distances. An artifact had been excavated from ruins in The Empire’s territory. Since then, Simone’s father, Lambert-san, had been deeply involved in the process to analyze, develop, and implement the artifact for public use.

“By the way… Can I ask you something?”

“What is it!”

I decided to try asking her something I had been curious about since we met.

“Isn’t talking like that tiring?”

“What, you got a problem!?”

“No, not at all, but wouldn’t it be better if you relaxed a bit?”

“I prefer it this way!”

“I-, er, is that so…”

I wasn’t quite sure what it was. It didn’t seem to be animosity, but I did feel some strong emotions directed toward me.

“Have I, perhaps, done something to you in the past?”

“Not at all!”

“In that case, I’d like it if things could be friendlier between us.”

“That’ll be difficult!”

“W-Will it be…?”

I wondered what caused Simone to be like this.

“S-Simone-san.”

“No need for formality!”

“Ah, uhm, right. Simone-chan, could it be that you’re super nervous right now?”

“!?”

In response to Lily-sama’s question, Simone went pale.

“W-Why…!”

“Ah, so I was right. N-No, I just felt that might be the case…”

“H-How humiliating!”

“… Why are you so nervous? Because we’re meeting for the first time?”

This time, in response to Mei’s question, Simone’s body began to tremble.

“I… I mean… you two are Claire-sama’s daughters, right?”

And that was her response.

“That’s right. We are Claire François and Rei Taylor’s daughters.”

“… Are you nervous because we’re the daughters of people from the Ten Saviors?”

“No!”

Our mothers were pretty famous, so we got that kind of reaction every now and then, but Simone said that it wasn’t that.

“I… just really admire Claire-sama!”

“Mother Claire?”

“Exactly!”

While Simone had been rather stiff before, she instantly lit up.

“While being of noble birth, she refused herself that comfort and complacency! She practically established the foundation for Bauer as it is now! It’s a famous tale!”

“T-That’s right. T-That’s a famous anecdote about Claire-sama.”

“Above that, she threw herself into the battle against demonkind and at the end even defeated the Demon Queen!”

“That’s a rather popular tale too.”

The stories Simone cited were all part of the legends related to Mother Claire. However,

“… But you know, wouldn’t all that apply to Mama Rei too?”

Mei had a good point. Mother Rei was also involved in many of Mother Claire’s achievements. But it was also true that Mother Rei was originally a commoner.

“Rei-sama is… a little…”

Simone had a complicated expression as she let her words trail off.

“If you’d rather not talk about it, you don’t have to, okay?”

“No, it’s fine! It’s something that you’d find out about eventually anyway!”

With that, Simone turned her back to us and held up the back of her blouse.

“Simone… those are…”

“Yup, you can see them right?”

Stemming from Simone’s back were small bat wings. To cut to the chase, she was―

“I’m half human and half demon.”

After fixing her blouse, she turned back to face us and spoke in melancholy.

“Having demon blood flowing through my veins has been… Difficult. Rei-sama is the one who created the demons, so I can’t truly respect her from the bottom of my heart.”

“R-Rei-san isn’t the one who―!”

“I know that!”

Simone interrupted Lily and continued.

“I know. The one who made the demons was the Demon Queen and not Rei-sama herself… I really do get it, at least from a logical standpoint, but―”

Simone was clearly troubled.

“The Demon Queen is gone. Even if I chose to hate her, if she’s not there, then that hate has nowhere to go. That’s why… It’s directed toward Rei-sama.”

“S-Simone-chan…”

Lily-sama looked absolutely heartbroken. It seemed she felt sympathy toward Simone. However, there was something that didn’t quite add up to me.

“But then, aren’t you just arbitrarily choosing to take it out on Mother Rei?”

“Alea-chan!”

Lily-sama quickly spoke up against me, but well, did I really say something wrong?

“… Alea, have some tact.”

“T-That’s right!”

“No, it’s fine… I know that what Alea is saying is right.”

Even though Mei and Lily-sama tried to cover for her, it seemed that Simone was already aware that she had a twisted way of looking at things.

“I do realize that I am using Rei-sama to vent my frustrations. But even if I understand it in my head, my heart just hasn’t caught up.”

“I guess that’s how it is.”

Simone was in clear pain. It was exactly in times like this that I felt how different I was.

The ability to empathize and understand weakness. That was something I clearly lacked. Both Lily-sama and Mei were able to do so naturally, but the concept was entirely foreign to me.

I was certain Simone had gone through a lot of hardship in her life. However, that hardship didn’t make it right for her to bear a grudge against mother Rei. And really, bearing that grudge didn’t solve anything either. Instead, her struggle should be directed toward the people who actually persecuted and oppressed her―even if I tried to empathize, my thoughts would ultimately reach that conclusion instead.

This was something that I considered a major flaw in myself. My mothers had often pointed it out as well.

―I was unable to relate to, or even understand, others’ weaknesses.

“Well, that’s enough about me. I’m sorry to have brought the mood down!”

“N-No, you haven’t…!”

“… Mei is glad you decided to tell us.”

“Thanks. You all really are good people!”

If I said anything else, I knew I’d only derail the conversation again, so I held my tongue.

With introductions over, it was about time for supper so we made our way to the cafeteria. As it was the first day, the cafeteria was rather crowded. As we waited in line for our meals, we continued talking to get to know one another better.

“Oh, come to think of it, I saw the monster attack earlier, that really was something.”

Simone brought that up. She was likely referring to the incident earlier with Yuria.

“How embarrassing.”

“… To Alea, something like that’s as easy as pie.”

“A-Alea-chan is very strong after all.”

While being praised by everyone around me felt somewhat embarrassing too, I also felt proud. However, it seemed Simone had been impressed by something else.

“Ah, that’s not what I meant. It’s true that Alea was really impressive in battle, is it normal here to flirt that much in public?”

“A-Ahhh, so that’s what you meant…”

Lily-sama suddenly slumped. What, Lily-sama, does the fact that I flirt with you really make you that unhappy?

As we continued to move forward in the line, I couldn’t help but feel miffed. It was then that Simone looked me straight in the eye and asked,

“Alea, do you like Lily?”