The academy’s main gate wasn’t a place I frequented, to be honest.
In fact, aside from the time I figured out the layout of the school, I had never been there. It wasn’t for any special reason; it was just that my dwelling in the back alley was close to the back gate.
As usual, I was mindlessly heading toward the back gate out of habit when I suddenly stopped. I was supposed to meet Sera at the main gate today.
I turned back my wrong steps and headed toward the main gate.
As I approached the main gate, I spotted Sera waving from a distance and Ariel quietly bowing her head.
“Ah! This way!”
I moved closer to Sera. She was overflowing with her gown today again, but my eyes were drawn to Ariel.
The normally stoic Ariel was glancing at me today. His expression, scratching his cheek as if he didn’t know what to do, was quite a sight.
An awkward atmosphere hung in the air for a while. Sera kept quiet to give Ariel the chance to speak, and I wasn’t the chattiest person either.
After a while of thinking about what he needed to say, Ariel cautiously opened his mouth.
“Um, I’m sorry about what happened last time. I should have been more careful; I think I mismanaged my control. Are you okay?”
“…”
I nodded.
The reason I snapped at Ariel that day was because I had been sensitive after being hit by an unknown substance. I wasn’t really angry at him.
In fact, I had some blame for trying to force knowledge of his secret out of him. At this point, it felt like self-inflicted wounds.
I decided to think of that day’s incident as a mere happening. It might be hard to fully convey my thoughts through silent signals, so I decided to clearly respond.
“I’m not too worried. The wound has healed up.”
“Is that really okay? If the wound gets infected later or something, please let me know. I’ll compensate within what I can do.”
“…”
Ariel apologized to me again, but I felt uncomfortable about his excessive apology when I had a share of the responsibility.
It was more than a burden; it was almost sickening. After all, the incident had been caused by me being a monster.
“Then, could you do me a favor?”
So, I spoke up to lay his mind at ease while also securing my own safety.
“Sure. I’ll help as long as it’s within my means.”
Ariel’s expression brightened up significantly. It was clearly different from the heaviness before.
Ariel was definitely a good person. I couldn’t read his memories, but his character shone through in his small actions.
At least, he didn’t strike me as the type who would lie.
I continued speaking from that point.
“I’d like you to keep what happened that day a secret. Especially from the professors.”
Though Ariel seemed to think of that day’s incident as a mere overload response from starlight, the reality was different.
For a brief moment, I had confirmed with my eyes the radius from which the starlight exploded. It was wide enough to cover several students, including me.
However, only I was harmed. It could be understood that the starlight showed a hostile reaction only toward me while avoiding all other humans.
Ariel, who didn’t understand his power well yet, apparently didn’t grasp the entirety of the situation.
That’s why I hoped this incident would be wrapped up as a simple happening. It was a sensitive matter that could inadvertently reveal my identity.
And then…
“Eh?”
Sera, who had been listening from the side, was startled. Ariel’s reaction wasn’t any different.
With a bit of a blank expression, they were looking at me. Although I mentioned a request, it seemed a bit trivial.
But to me, it was quite an important matter. I tilted my head.
“Will you do it?”
“I can do it… but are you really okay with that?”
“Yes.”
For now, that was enough. I didn’t particularly want anything from him.
“I don’t know the reason, but I understand for now. I promise.”
Thus, I was able to reconcile with Ariel successfully.
Though it felt a bit ambiguous to call it reconciliation. Anyway, I thought it was good that it ended well.
*
After reconciling with Ariel, I was able to get closer to him.
In fact, the incident from that day helped narrow the distance between us.
While I used to watch from afar, now I could observe him right next to me. My daily life continued, spending time at the swordsmanship training ground following him around.
Going to the academy, attending lectures, and swings sword at the swordsmanship training ground. Sometimes we even had duels. Light enough that his starlight wouldn’t leak out.
Of course, I had no intention of forming a genuine bond with him.
Even while following by his side, I was merely looking for opportunities to kill him.
He wasn’t a friend. If anything, he was closer to a target that needed to be taken down soon.
However, no matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t come up with a way to kill him.
Ariel was the strongest student in the academy, so I couldn’t kill him without using magical energy. And I certainly couldn’t pull out magical energy in the middle of the academy.
I wanted to finish things quietly without any fallout, but again, I couldn’t think of any suitable methods.
I might be able to kill him right here and now if I disregarded everything and unleashed all my strength, but the fact that I didn’t do so meant that I still had some reservations.
After all, he was the protagonist of this story, and killing him would mean returning to where I originally belonged.
“…”
I wasn’t certain, but it had to be done.
I didn’t have much time left. The fact that a possibility existed was enough reason for me to think I had to kill him.
I felt sorry for Ariel, but on this side, I was also backed into a corner.
Killing him was, in the end, to spare as many innocent humans as possible.
I didn’t want to imagine how the complete loss of my sanity would lead to my destruction of the empire.
Just my existence was akin to the spark of a disaster. I, too, was aware that I had no idea what I would do in the future.
Soon, one of us—either Ariel or me—had to die. Otherwise, the empire would face ruin because of me.
I didn’t want to become a monster.
That was all it was.
It was a night with a full moon.
On the night I became honest with the feelings of being a half-monster, I decided to train swordsmanship with Ariel in the back mountains.
It was the place we first met.
Normally, after academy life, Ariel would practice sword techniques with the Sword Saint here, but it seemed now she had gone on a distant trip.
So it was up to me instead.
After having one sparring session with him, I set down the wooden sword and sat on a hill where I could see the moon well.
I dislike sunlight, but I like moonlight. There’s no reason; it’s just instinct as a race.
The full moon that rose in the darkening forest cast an ethereal atmosphere. I found myself absentmindedly staring at the sky.
It certainly wasn’t a bad mood.
Except for the part where my monster instincts had made me want to engage in random killing.
Ariel sat next to me.
To sit next to the Back Alley Monster on a full moon night is quite brave.
Just like in the back alley, I almost grabbed him and bit his neck but stopped. I am a patient monster, after all.
Sitting beside me, Ariel whispered softly as if he were grinning slightly.
“Looks like I lost again today. You’re really strong, Iria?”
“If you bring out your starlight, I would’ve lost. I’m not the strongest in the academy.”
Our petty conversation continued.
The more I watched, the more I realized Ariel was remarkably suited to being the protagonist. With his upright character, heroic bloodline, and the narrative background as the academy’s strongest, he was practically the perfect fit.
Such a coincidence felt too precise, and I was almost convinced he was the protagonist.
Then what is this world’s protagonist aiming for? The reason he dedicates himself to the sword and undergoes daily grueling training.
I asked him, casually as if it meant nothing.
“What’s your goal, Ariel? Something you want to achieve, or anything like that?”
Ariel’s expression became complicated.
The full moon that rose in the forest sometimes made humans’ emotions honest. This was one of those moments.
Taking a deep breath of the night air, Ariel slowly began to speak.
“Actually, I’m the child of the hero who defeated the Demon King in the past.”
I knew that from what Sera had told me, but I didn’t show it.
His words were far from over. He seemed to want to tell me more. The backstory must be something I wasn’t aware of.
So I sat there quietly and waited.
“The Demon King left behind seeds when he died, and some say that peace hasn’t come to the continent. In fact, there are those who argue that it’s only led to greater chaos.”
“…”
“So, I want to carry on my father’s legacy. I want to end the war that previous generations couldn’t finish, by my own hands.”
“How specifically?”
“By removing all the seeds of the Demon King.”
“…”
His goal was so very typical of a protagonist.
My doubts hardened into certainty. If coincidences keep occurring, they become inevitable.
He was the protagonist of this world. In contrast to me, who played the role of the villain.
Sitting side by side with Ariel on the hill, I turned my head just to look at him.
He still gazed at the moon.
Ariel, having set his sword down, was defenseless. Coincidentally, there wouldn’t be any witnesses here right now.
I could pull out magical energy now without any problem.
This was the ridge behind the academy where not many people come. The environment was more than optimal for killing a single person.
So…
‘Should I kill him?’
It was a night of the full moon.
