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Chapter 19 - The Pilot (2)

Drip, drip.

Raindrops fall lightly.

The dark sky gradually gets swallowed by gathering clouds until, finally, the rain begins to pour in earnest.

Droplets start marking the dry ground, forming small wet spots that slowly spread, soaking the earth.

For a spring rain, it was fierce.

It seemed like it was going to be a heavy downpour.

Caught off guard by the sudden rain, people rushed for shelter.

Yet, even as the rain fell harder, there was a lone girl wandering the academy grounds.

"...."

Her uniform was a mess, soaked through.

Through her damp, pink hair, unfocused green eyes could be seen.

She staggered as she walked, swaying unsteadily.

Where was she?

Where was she headed?

The fragmented questions that swirled in her head were quickly washed away by the rain.

She was moving purely to keep herself from collapsing.

Plod, plod.

Her unsteady steps echoed emptily.

She staggered a few times under the weight of exhaustion, and then a cold voice whispered in her ear.

—How pathetic.

The scene from just a few hours ago flashed before her eyes.

In the center of the arena stood a girl with blue hair. Regia was on her knees, looking up at her.

The blue eyes staring down at her gleamed with contempt.

—It’s laughable that someone with such pitiful skills was considered… ‘promising.’

She couldn’t do anything.

She was helplessly defeated.

Perhaps overwhelmed by the pressure, she kept making mistakes.

Her summoned creature refused to answer her call, and the basic spells she managed to cast were feeble.

—You need to know your place.

—This is a place for those who are qualified… It’s not somewhere a mere commoner should dare to reach for.

Regia hung her head low.

She must have been scared.

The blue-haired girl, seemingly exasperated by her wretched appearance, left one final remark before turning away.

—Leave, outsider.

Those words stung especially hard.

The sharp thorns of those words pierced straight through her chest.

She felt her balance waver precariously.

"...Ah."

Her vision blurred with heat.

A lukewarm tear traced a line down her cold cheek.

"How stupid."

The girl muttered to herself as she wiped away her tears.

Worried that someone might see her weakness, she hastily hid it.

She bit her lip gently.

‘Maybe…’

Maybe I was too naive.

She had thought that once she entered the academy, things would only get better.

She had believed that leaving behind the life of a wandering vagrant and making friends her age would be enjoyable.

But it seemed there was no place for her here either.

It was a loneliness she was all too familiar with.

She didn’t want to cry, but the sobs she couldn’t hold back continued to escape her lips.

The light drizzle became heavier.

It turned into a full-fledged downpour.

Whoosh—!

Even as the rain poured down harshly, the girl kept walking.

She kept wiping her face to rid herself of the water that wouldn’t stop streaming down, while bitter grief spilled out between her lips.

“Sniffle, hic..”.

She was a pitiful sight, drenched like a wet rat.

Her wandering steps continued.

Eventually, her legs began to ache, and her eyes stung from the mix of tears and rain.

Then suddenly, the rain stopped.

"...?"

No, it hadn’t actually stopped.

She could still hear the sound of raindrops in her ears, and the ground beneath her feet was still wet with splashes.

Something was merely shielding her from the rain.

What was this?

As that thought crossed her mind, she lifted her head slightly and saw a head of golden hair shining in her field of vision.

The boy’s characteristic squinted eyes were smiling.

He was standing there, holding an umbrella in each hand.

"...Lord Snakes?"

Regia mumbled blankly.

Despite her dazed response, the boy didn’t seem to mind.

"So this is where you were, Miss Regia."

"What brings you here, Lord Snakes…?"

"Haha."

He simply answered.

"I came to find a friend."

Drip, drip, drip.

Raindrops gently fell from the edge of the umbrella he had tilted toward her.

Surprised by both his appearance and his unexpected words, Regia stood frozen for a moment.

***

"I came to find a friend."

I spoke with a faint smile.

Her green eyes stared blankly at me.

As we maintained eye contact for a moment, a wave of relief washed over me like a tide.

‘I finally found her.’

I had been worried because of the heavy rain.

I was concerned she might be crying in some desolate place… but thankfully, she was standing right where I remembered.

It seemed the story was still following the original path.

"Miss Regia."

"...Yes."

"Shall we get out of the rain for now?"

She answered weakly.

Her delicate shoulders trembled as if she were cold.

The streaks of tears hidden among the raindrops made her seem even more pitiful.

Her thoughts must have been a mess.

Whoosh—!

First, we needed to get out of this dreadful weather.

I handed her the umbrella and led her to a nearby covered area.

There was a carriage stop nearby.

"This place should do for now."

We sat down side by side on the bench.

Neither of us said much.

I figured she needed some time to calm down, so I just kept quiet.

Patter, patter, patter!

The rain drummed loudly on the roof.

It was loud enough to drown out the sound of her swallowing her tears.

Well, not entirely, but I pretended not to hear it.

For the sake of our protagonist.

"..."

Silence stretched on.

The stillness was finally broken by Regia’s voice, signaling that she had calmed down somewhat.

"I’m sorry..."

But that didn’t mean her tears had stopped.

She turned her head away to hide them, but the traces of tears still lingered on her cheeks.

I asked quietly,

"What are you apologizing for?"

"You asked me to wait so we could leave together after the exam… but I left on my own."

"Yes, that’s true."

"And then you came looking for me, in this awful weather, searching for hours…"

Her green eyes shimmered sadly.

Tears glistened on her eyelids, trembling before falling down.

"I-I didn’t mean to cause you any trouble…! It’s just that suddenly, I felt sick…"

"I see."

"I really mean it…! My mind went blank, and I couldn’t think of anything else… I’m so sorry."

"Hmm."

I let out a soft laugh.

Even in this situation, she was desperately trying to gauge my reaction—how typical of Regia.

I felt both sympathy and fondness bloom in my heart.

I raised my hand slowly.

Then I placed it gently on top of the rambling girl’s head.

"Miss Regia."

"I really didn’t mean to ignore you, I just—huh? Yes?"

Regia stammered, startled by the sudden touch.

I paused for a moment, smiling softly, before speaking calmly.

"You did well."

"Pardon…?"

"You did really well today, in the class placement exam."

Caught off guard by my words, she stared at me, bewildered.

She likely hadn’t expected to hear something like that.

Following her disheveled pink hair, I slowly stroked her head.

As if soothing a wounded child.

"I just wanted to tell you that."

In the original story, no one ever comforted her.

After being scorned by the daughter of a Duke, and as a mere commoner, no one dared approach her.

So Regia cried alone.

Even as the relentless downpour continued.

—Outsider.

She had lived her whole life in loneliness.

She had finally ended her wandering and stepped into the world, but what awaited her was the same isolation.

Unable to bear it, she wept quietly.

I always wanted to comfort her.

Of course, this might seem like nothing more than a pitiful gesture.

Soon enough, she would gain wonderful friends and be loved by many.

At that point, words like mine might no longer be needed.

But for now…

"It’s okay to feel shaken. You’re only just starting to take your first steps."

For now, that wasn’t the case.

Right now, no one was there to offer her warm consolation.

I wanted to be there for her.

‘If it hadn’t been for your story… I would’ve lived my life as a loser.’

This was my way of repaying the favor.

You helped me endure a time filled with despair with your story, so now it’s my turn to be a support for you.

I whispered softly.

"Everything will be okay."

Regia looked at me silently.

The girl sat there, dazed.

I waited for her response, and soon, tears welled up in her eyes again.

Drip, drip, tears fell.

"Oh dear."

"...Huh?"

She only realized she was crying after it was pointed out.

Regia hastily wiped her eyes, trying to put on a brave face.

"Ah… It’s really nothing… I think some dust… dust got in my eyes…"

"Miss Regia."

"Yes?"

"Are you really okay?"

"...."

Her lips pressed shut on their own.

It seemed I had hit a nerve.

She stammered for a moment, then lowered her head and murmured,

"I’m… okay."

"Really?"

"Really. Just a few months ago, I was traveling alone, wandering through barren deserts where there wasn’t a soul in sight. Compared to that, this is nothing."

"And why do you think that?"

"Because… deserts are lonely. There’s no one there.”

Deserts are lonely.

Endless stretches of sand evoke the image of an empty ocean.

It’s a place where humans can’t survive, and even if they did, there would be very few of them.

Compared to the bustling academy filled with students…

"But Miss Regia."

Is that really so?

"Even surrounded by people, loneliness can feel the same."

It doesn’t matter how many people are around.

What matters is whether you have someone to lean on.

Most people can’t easily nod in agreement to that question.

Even as we live among crowds, we suffer from endless loneliness because of this.

"Sometimes, being surrendered by people… can feel lonelier than being in the desert."

"...."

Regia didn’t disagree.

Was she agreeing?

Or was she simply lost in thought?

The silence that followed was filled with a hint of sadness, though I couldn’t quite grasp what lay behind it.

It was just a sorrowful expression.

I didn’t like it.

Seeing the protagonist looking so dejected pained me.

I wanted her to always shine brightly.

After all, that’s what I was living to see.

"So I want to ask you."

"...Yes?"

"As I mentioned before… I sincerely hope you’ll become my friend, Miss Regia."

"Me…?"

She blinked, puzzled.

Tears still stained her cheeks, so I carefully wiped them away.

"If you would permit me."

I may not be able to do much for you.

"But I would like to help ease some of that loneliness."

Her slender shoulders quivered.

Her voice, hoarse from crying, trembled with deep doubt.

"...Why."

The girl asked,

"Why are you doing all this for someone like me?"

From their very first meeting, he had been overly kind.

He had saved her from being bullied during the entrance exam, and later, he was the only one who celebrated her admission.

At the academy, he kept her company so she wouldn’t be lonely.

Today, he had comforted her troubled heart after the class placement exam.

And now…

"Why would someone like you take an interest in someone as worthless as me?"

He was offering to be the friend she had longed for.

It was a temptation so sweet it was almost sinister.

Even though there was an unsettling aura beneath it, she couldn’t bring herself to refuse.

"Why…"

"Who knows."

I playfully pressed a finger to my lips and smiled mischievously.

"It’s a secret."

The rain had stopped without us noticing.

As the rain ceased, sunlight peeked through the clouds.

One last question hung in the air.

"Miss Regia, would you allow me to stay by your side?"

Regia bit her lip.

As the sunlight broke through, the tears clinging to her lashes sparkled beautifully.

The girl stopped crying.

Instead, she gave me a radiant smile.

"Yes…!"

Her cheerful answer came with a bright smile.

It seemed like she was finally regaining her spirit. As expected, a smile suited Regia best.

Feeling satisfied, I stood up.

"The rain’s finally stopped. Shall we head back?"

"Yes, Lord Snakes!"

"Haha, you can just call me by my name now, can’t you? We’re friends, after all."

"Ah… Th-That’s still a bit hard for me…"

"What a shame."

Our lighthearted conversation continued.

We walked along the rain-soaked path.

"Don’t worry about what happened in the exam today. You’ll be placed in the top-tier class."

"Huh? B-But I did so terribly on the exam…"

"Someone recognized your potential. I believe they’ll handle it for you."

"That’s such a relief… But how do you know all this?"

"That’s a secret too."

"...You’re so unfair."

In two days, the academy’s full schedule would begin.

The story I remembered from [The World Seen by the Little Prince] would finally unfold.

My heart was full of excitement.

Regia, Charlotte, Emilia—various characters would soon meet in the same classroom.

And since I was the top student, I’d also be placed in the top-tier class.

‘The homeroom teacher for the top-tier class… If I recall, it was someone named Cadel, right?’

As I recalled the face I’d be seeing soon, I continued walking.

I was certain it’d be them, but…

"Nice to meet you all. I’ll be your homeroom teacher for the top-tier class this year. I’m the head professor, Selena Drunkard."

What the hell are you doing here?