The girl with her hood pulled up stepped onto the platform.
The moment Yuna saw her, she too felt a strange sense of déjà vu.
It was a face she felt like she had seen somewhere before.
But more than that, the girl gave off an emotionless, distant impression—
Not in the sense that she was secretive or lacked presence,
But more like someone quietly observing a painting on the wall,
Like someone looking at a scene beyond a window.
And the moment that veiled figure finally revealed her face—
Bang!
Johan couldn’t hold it in and slammed his desk as he stood up.
Damn it…
Seeing Johan react like that, Yuna instantly understood what was going on.
That faint feeling of recognition she’d felt when the girl removed her hood—
Johan’s reaction confirmed it.
“…Ha.”
Then, as if he couldn’t stand it any longer, Johan left the classroom.
No one tried to stop him.
Johan had always been somewhat detached from the rest of the class,
And now that he was showing such an uncharacteristically emotional reaction,
No one dared speak up.
“Hmm, I’ll go after him.”
In the awkward silence that followed, Yuna raised her hand and stood up.
***
When I came to my senses, I realized I had run out of the classroom and ended up in the schoolyard.
Like an animal guided by instinct, I had made my way to the bench I often visited,
Hunched over and sighing.
What am I even doing?
What am I trying to accomplish by running away like this?
Nothing has even been confirmed yet, and I’ve already lost my nerve.
“Isn’t this a bit much for the first day of the new semester?”
“…Yuna.”
“Mhmm, I’m here.”
Yuna casually walked over and sat down next to me like it was the most natural thing in the world.
Watching her smile softly like that… it somehow helped me calm down a little.
“If Alice had grown up, she might’ve looked exactly like that girl. Don’t you think?”
“Wow, going straight for the most sensitive topic, huh?”
“No point tiptoeing around something that obvious, is there?”
“True.”
Beating around the bush when we both already knew what we were going to talk about would only make things more exhausting.
“Yuna, what do you think?”
“She’s probably not the same Alice you knew.”
“Your reasoning?”
“Hmm… common sense? I mean, it’s not like someone who died could come back to life.”
“That’s solid reasoning.”
Yeah, it’s just not realistic for someone who’s already dead to return.
She must just be someone else who looked like her and happened to have the same name.
Or maybe a distant relative of the Alice I remember.
“So just because she gave you that cold glare doesn’t mean she blames you or anything.”
“You figured that much out already?”
“Well, who knows you better than I do?”
The reason I couldn’t help but run away was because the transfer student who removed her hood had stared straight at me.
And the look in her eyes was so opposite of the Alice I remembered. It was suffocating.
Alice had burned away like starlight right before my eyes.
And back then, I hadn’t done a single thing to stop it.
What if she did blame me for that?
When I was younger, I couldn’t shake that thought for the longest time.
Time passed, and I got a little better. But in the end, I’d never really resolved anything.
“Then why did she look at me like that?”
The way the transfer student looked at me….there had been clear hostility in her gaze.
I’ve never done anything to a stranger that would earn that kind of hatred.
That’s what’s so unsettling about all this.
“Who knows? Maybe terrorists who dug into your past sent her to mess with your head?”
“There’s no way they’d go through all that trouble just to get at me.”
“Hmm? Depends on their objective, doesn’t it?”
“But still…”
This transfer student had definitely been personally approved by Olga Hermod.
The odds of someone like that being connected to terrorists were slim.
And even if there was some connection, it would be with the Imperial Family, not any terrorist group.
“Well, considering how sudden it all was, I get how you feel, Johan.”
“Yeah… thanks. Having you here helps me think straight.”
“Of course. Who else but me?”
“……”
…Better not respond to that. She’d just get smug again.
Still, it was true. Thanks to Yuna, my mind was clearer.
That girl who looked just like Alice… who was she really?
One thought led to another and they kept spiraling endlessly.
But I didn’t get the chance to sort it out any further.
“So, you started by running off like that. Got something to feel guilty about, maybe?”
It was the transfer student. The one who introduced herself as Alice.
Just like Yuna, she had followed me after I ran out.
“Wow, whatever her goal is, she sure doesn’t waste time. Who chases someone down in that situation?”
Seeing Alice appear, Yuna stepped forward with a bright smile.
Daggers and throwing knives danced at her fingertips.
She was ready to fight if necessary.
Knowing Yuna’s usual combat style, this was just a warning.
In fact, the fact that she was making her intent so obvious meant she was keeping a cool, calculated read on the situation.
“Blatant threats, huh? I must say, I feel wronged. Why am I being treated this way?”
“Oh, come on. If you didn’t want that kind of reaction, you should’ve acted less shady from the start. You looked suspicious to anyone with eyes.”
Can’t argue with that.
The transfer student had been suspicious as hell from the moment she showed up.
“In any case, I don’t intend to pick a fight with you. At least, not yet.”
“So you will later, huh?”
“What a thorny tone you’ve got there, Safe Clown. Just what kind of relationship do you have with him that you’re so protective?”
“An affair.”
“……”
Stop it, Yuna.
That crazy transfer student is looking at me with a face I can’t stand. Like I’m something disgusting.
It’s really hard for me to hold it in.
“Well, your messy private life is none of my business anyway.”
“Then what exactly is your goal? And who are you really? How do you even know Yuna is Safe Clown?”
Yuna let it slide naturally, but the transfer student didn’t call her by name. She called her “Safe Clown”.
There were very few people who knew Yuna’s identity. Unless she revealed it herself, only those who’ve spent a long time with her would know.
From that perspective, the fact that this transfer student knew who Yuna was could only be considered highly unusual.
“Do you still not recognize who I am?”
“……”
Every word she says, every choice of phrasing, gets on my nerves.
My body started to tremble slightly.
I had no idea the wounds from my past which I thought were long healed were still festering like this.
I just want to shut my eyes tight. I wish that when I opened them again, the transfer student would be gone.
That cowardly thought won’t leave my head.
“Then how about this?”
With those words, the transfer student pulled something out from her coat.
It was a tarot card.
The moment I saw it, fragments of the past came rushing back into my mind.
“You…”
The one who appeared like a ghost to warn me and Lobelia.
The one who vanished like shattered glass.
The one connected to the imperial family.
“The Oracle?”
“Yes. I thought you’d notice sooner, but it took you quite a while.”
“No… but you…”
My mind was a complete mess.
So then, what was she? Was she connected to Alice? Or did she just happen to have the same name and appearance?
“Ugh…”
A headache surged through me. I couldn’t tell where it had started.
“Do you know why I appeared here today?”
“Hold on a second.”
“How ridiculous…”
Clang!
Just as the Oracle was about to sneer, Yuna threw the dagger she had been holding straight at her.
The dagger didn’t reach the Oracle. It bounced lightly off something in midair, as if it had hit an invisible barrier. But as a threat, it had the desired effect.
“He said wait.”
“……”
With a shrug, Oracle quietly began waiting in our direction.
I was grateful Yuna was here.
She kept buying me time and opportunities.
Thanks to her, I was able to stay here instead of running away.
“The name Alice….is that your real name?”
“It’s not a pseudonym. But why are you suddenly curious about that?”
“…Are you purposely appearing like that?”
“You really are speaking nonsense. This is who I am.”
“Then you’re…”
“Enough. I didn’t come here for such trivial talk. How much more do I have to accommodate you?”
“……”
I lowered my head for a moment.
Yeah, this was enough for now.
At the very least, I could be sure she wasn’t the Alice I knew.
Everything about her was different from the Alice I remembered, except for the face and the name.
“Then what business do you have with me?”
“What? What did you just say? You’re asking why I came? Why do you think I came?! I’m here because you ignored my warning and kept acting like that!”
Despite her composed appearance, the Oracle responded with fiery emotion.
“You…you changed the future again, didn’t you?”
“I don’t recall doing that.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. Everything went off track because of you. Why in the world did you provoke the ‘Knight’?”
“Knight?”
It probably wasn’t meant literally. If that was the case, then there was only one person I knew who fit the title “Knight”.
“You’re talking about Dietrich?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
The Oracle had come because of something I’d said offhand in the past.
As a result, the relationship between Kult and Helena had collapsed far earlier than it was supposed to.
I’d reflected on that incident and tried to fix things, too.
Along the way, I ran into Dietrich and helped resolve a situation.
“That was just a coincidence.”
“Oh, sure it was.”
The Oracle was unusually hostile toward me.
The more she kept making that face, the more irritated I felt for no real reason.
“Do you even understand what kind of situation is unfolding right now?”
“I’m preparing in my own way.”
“Ha! Preparing? Did you just say you’re preparing? Then you must already know the Prophet has started to move, right?”
“…What?”
The Oracle ran a hand through her hair, then bit her lip lightly before speaking.
“The Prophet is already in motion. In ways far darker and more hidden than the future we saw.”
***
Kult Hereticus still hadn’t made a decision.
As the Prophet, he would need a sacred relic to fulfill his goal.
However, as a human, Helena was still a precious family member to him.
Caught between the two, Kult Hereticus had to abandon his humanity.
Even if he could understand the process in his head, accepting it in his heart was another matter entirely, and so he was tormented by it day after day.
That inner turmoil held him back, keeping him from paying attention to the problems arising both inside and outside the cult.
That was how the original scenario was meant to unfold—
A weakness born from Kult Hereticus’s lingering humanity.
But the situation had changed.
Kult Hereticus had strayed from the original scenario and had been exposed far sooner than expected.
In that state, doing nothing was no different from letting his limbs be cut off.
The threat had already become far more real and immediate.
So he couldn’t afford to remain passive.
The Oracle isn’t the only enemy.
Even his wasted time like this might be part of the enemy’s plan.
In the past, he’d believed that simply identifying the Oracle would be enough to win.
But now, he recognized that there was something or someone equal to the Oracle at play.
Johan Damus is also an enemy.
How would someone who sees the future act?
What kind of countermeasures would someone who knows him take?
He had to anticipate. And surpass all of it.
“From now on, gather the leaders of the cult as secretly as possible.”
Kult still hadn’t come to a conclusion about what to do with Helena.
But he clearly understood that now was the time to act.
“We will prepare for the Holy War.”
And so, he made his decisive move.
The Prophet had chosen to cast himself onto the path of hardship.
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