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I had a dream.

In it, that person and the kids gathered at a mansion in Portugal for a meal.

They were sitting on a terrace under the scorching summer sun, chatting in an incomprehensible language and bursting into laughter.

Justitia looked at them from a distance, sipping lemonade with a smile. Her expression seemed so relieved, as if all her lingering anxiety and discontent had finally melted away.

Jack and Aileen, grumbling as they carried egg tarts and seafood dishes, made Lapis shrink back in fear at their grim faces.

Ageha mumbled something, almost as if asking what she was worried about, while Yeonhwa chuckled at her and murmured something amusing.

Butler Elder was muttering cheerfully as he grilled cod, encouraging everyone to eat more.

Just babble. Not understanding a single word around me made it quite unsettling. However, seeing their smiling faces made me think it might actually be okay.

Just watching this lovely atmosphere brought some comfort to my heart.

That person was sitting next to me, mumbling something while looking at the kids. As expected, not a single word registered with me.

Maybe dreams make it impossible to understand a thing.

My brain is really useless.

After conjuring up something that person might say, I exchanged imaginary replies, and they seemed quite satisfied, returning to their meal.

It was a peaceful sight. A joyful sight. And an impossible sight.

There’s no way we could genuinely mingle with them, happily like that.

The Liberators’ goal is to bring down Heros Company and help people find their true selves.

The Heroes’ goal is to protect that same Heros Company and the order of society.

The purposes of the two sides completely contradicted each other. It was more than just being at odds; it was a level of incompatibility.

It was impossible for us to share a meal that joyfully.

…Absolutely impossible.

That person’s convictions would never bend. And they had no intention of bending. Because I myself was following their ideals.

And we couldn’t change their thoughts either. Even if the purpose was right, they wouldn’t follow because the methods had gone terribly wrong.

So, if it came down to killing each other, well, that might be understandable. But we could never face each other smiling like this.

However, I didn’t want to hurt them.

I wanted to be with them. To graduate from the Academy the usual way and meet while criticizing the absurdities of society.

So, it was a dream.

It was a dream because it could never come true.

Yet, it was still a dream because I wished it could come true.

“What a terrible glutton for punishment, huh?”

In a dream where everyone was happy, I couldn’t be the only one smiling.

– – – –

“You all worked hard today… ugh. I can’t believe we’ve been doing this for two whole weeks.”

Ageha stumbled out, supported by a somewhat worn-out Blanca.

The training seemed tougher than yesterday, and she held her forehead, looking like she might totally run out of magical energy.

“If it’s Heros Company, they must have some drugs lying around that boost magical reserves… They should just sprinkle that around, ugh.”

Blanca could still support Ageha, but judging by how much she was sweating, they were both running low on energy.

She was exhausted too, but standing might have been more about stubbornness than actual capability.

“Oh, come on. Even for Heros Company, they can’t possibly have that, right?”

I understood her hatred towards Heros Company, but since it wouldn’t look good to others, I thought it best to step back here.

It felt like a conversation better suited for when it was just the two of us.

After all, she had suffered a lot at the hands of Heros Company, so she’d probably appreciate a bit of shared grumbling.

It wasn’t easy to create those moments with her alone, but I figured I could easily bring it up if the opportunity arose.

But enough of that. Just as I was about to change the subject to protect her image, Lapis unexpectedly chimed in.

“W-well, what if… it’s not impossible that they… sell liquid magic and stuff like Regeneration Recovery Medicine?”

As Lapis said, they indeed had those products available. It was something that would only come up in third-year, though.

“Even if that’s the case, there’s a reason it doesn’t get sold. Maybe the side effects are too severe, or there are some issues, or the cost isn’t worth it…”

Jinhyeon, wiping the sweat from his brow, butting in with various hypotheses as he got more interested. However, Yeonhwa forcibly cut off the conversation.

“Okay, okay. Let’s not go too far with conspiracy theories! Even if they exist, if we can’t even get our hands on them, it’s pointless, right? Let’s figure out what we’re doing today! But first, let’s wash up.”

“Yeah, we should. It’s sticky from the sweat…”

“Then let’s wash up and see.”

The girls huddled together, heading toward the girls’ locker room.

We got out quickly, but the girls would take a while, so we figured we’d talk about what to do in the meantime.

After a long debate between the two of us who only play around now and then, our conclusion was karaoke.

“Karaoke, huh… sounds good. But weren’t we already planning to go?”

“We hadn’t set a date for when, so how about we go today since we’re talking about it?”

The others were on board with the suggestion, but Blanca seemed particularly flustered about whether we’d really go today.

“Come on, let’s go~ Is it because you’re not prepared?”

“N-no, it’s not that… It’s just that today… um, I suddenly feel a bit tired…! Like, I suddenly want to go see the beach…?!”

She was clearly not prepared and was flustered about going out. It’s been a long time since I’d seen such a rare display of distress from Blanca.

I bit my lip to hold back a grin, suggesting that if we went to the beach, we could also hit up karaoke afterward.

“Ah, if it’s too tiring, just one song is enough. If that’s hard, just sitting there is fine.”

But let’s be real, she wouldn’t just sit there. The atmosphere would surely push her to sing at least one song.

With the tides favoring karaoke, Blanca’s tearful resistance was quickly steamrolled. She was dragged to the karaoke spot like a sheep to the slaughter.

“S-so this is karaoke… Why does it feel so dark in here?”

“Isn’t a little darkness more atmospheric than being too bright?”

Though Lapis probably didn’t expect me to answer, she did. She somewhat agreed but still complained about it being dark.

“Still, isn’t it better to be a bit brighter?”

“Don’t worry about that. It brightens up when it’s time to sing. At least, that’s what I found out. Not sure if the facilities here are the same, though!”

Ageha cheerfully remarked, saying we’d know as soon as we started, then input the numbers.

I had braced for a ridiculously loud song, but a surprisingly mellow and lyrical tune filled the room.

“Phew, I’m nervous since it’s my first time… but let’s give it a shot!”

Spring, come forth.

Is it a famous song? I’d never heard the title before, but the melody felt oddly familiar despite being unsure about the title. I quietly listened to Ageha’s singing.

Eventually, I managed to recall one part.

I’d definitely heard this before. It was a somewhat twisted parody version, though.

“Ahh… I was so nervous that I messed up a few notes…”

Even with a decent score, Ageha still lamented not being perfect.

“Even if it wasn’t perfect, it sounded nice. You sang well!”

“I’m glad to hear that from you, Minho. Now, for the next one… right, should we do it like yesterday and pick someone? Lapis, it’s your turn to sing!”

Pick someone? Yesterday? What in the world did they do?

Just as I was momentarily stunned by their private joke, Lapis reluctantly accepted the mic pass.

“M-me? Alright… so… ah, found it.”

As she grappled with her nerves, she finally displayed the song she would sing.

It was “Three Bears.”

I had no idea she would actually sing a children’s song; the others watched in a mix of surprise and restrained laughter during Lapis’s enthusiastic performance.

“You did great!”

As her performance wrapped up, everyone applauded as if it was a prearranged cue.

The moment the song ended, Lapis melted down like ice dropped into boiling water, her confidence seemingly spent.

The reason I say this is because her words got so jumbled she couldn’t even string together a coherent sentence.

“N-next, um, B-Blanca…”

Shaking and stumbling, Lapis somehow pointed to Blanca, collapsing in exhaustion afterward.

Blanca, named next, simply squeezed her eyes shut as if accepting her fate.

“If you don’t want to sing, it’s totally fine not to.”

Ageha kindly told her that it was okay if she didn’t want to participate.

“…I’m sorry, I really can’t sing.”

“Well, that’s a bummer. But we can’t force someone who doesn’t want to.”

Ageha sighed, accepting Blanca’s resolution, and asked her to pass it to the next person.

“…Sorry.”

“Didn’t you just apologize?”

“Just.”

There was something oddly sad about the way Blanca said that.

Was it just my imagination?

 

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