"…That’s a fresh take."
"Is it?"
"Of course. It’s already been half a year. Half a year."
Only now, hearing Amelia’s words, could I feel how fast time had passed.
Already half a year, huh.
I’d been so focused on the fact that it was break that I’d missed how much time had slipped by.
"I was sure I’d make a bunch of friends and live a normal life."
"Dreaming big there, Yu Siwoo."
"…Wait, is wanting to live normally dreaming big?"
"Given your situation, isn’t that accurate?"
…Yeah, she’s right. Nobody could’ve predicted my school life would get this twisted from the very start.
I never imagined I’d end up this close to a student whose identity I couldn’t begin to figure out, and another whose thoughts I couldn’t even guess at.
Did Amelia know that half the reason my life wasn’t normal was because of her? And the other half was because of Arte?
Probably not. She still looks clueless.
I sighed and spoke to her.
"In the end, we never found the secret room."
"You were the one who said it was a mistake to think we’d find it in half a year."
"So you gave up on the backup plan too?"
"Ugh…"
For six months, we’d torn the Academy apart.
Using club activities as an excuse, we’d turned every possible location upside down.
…But there was nothing. Even if we scrubbed our eyes and searched again, there was no sign of any secret room.
"Maybe the secret room doesn’t even exist? The president was all gung-ho at first, but even he’s lost interest now."
"…You can’t just blame the president, Yu Siwoo. You and I lost our motivation a long time ago too."
"Yeah, well. True."
Honestly, at first, we’d all been running around like crazy.
We thought that if we could just find the secret room while we were still students, we could get our hands on that dangerous artifact first.
That’s why I’d joined the exploration club—I’d even fed the president some half-truths to justify it.
The excited president, the desperate me and Amelia—we’d spent months searching high and low.
…Yeah, we’d searched. And now, not a single member of the club was still looking.
"Ugh, if there was even a little progress, we’d have something to go on. But standing still just kills motivation. I get that now."
"…This is the first time I’ve felt like that too."
Over those six months of searching for the secret room, Amelia and I had learned something.
Why people hated doing the same thing over and over.
Why people hated training.
"I never realized how hard it is when there’s no progress."
"Yeah. When the old man said a lot of people hate training, I didn’t really get it. Now I do."
Amelia and I had seen our classmates groan through lessons, hate every second of self-improvement.
And every time, we’d wondered: why? Because for us, the thrill of slowly mastering something impossible was intoxicating.
…And now, through our own emotions, we’d found the answer. And we understood.
It was understandable to hate it.
"That sudden realization—that we were just wasting time with nothing to show for it... Hiiik."
Amelia rubbed her arms as if chilled to the bone.
Right. So we gave up. We admitted we’d been arrogant.
...How could a mere student find the Academy’s founder’s hidden secret chamber in less than half a year, when no one had discovered it for hundreds of years despite his desperate efforts to conceal it?
Especially with no clues to go on.
So we abandoned the idea of finding it first and instead waited for Arte to locate the artifact.
Our plan was to ambush her and snatch it away the moment she got her hands on it.
She’d already surpassed the strength of a typical student, had leads on the secret chamber, and—though we didn’t know the exact number—even had comrades.
So we changed our approach: get stronger by any means necessary, then strike just before she secured the artifact.
Though that plan got scrapped yesterday, too.
"...Ah, there she is! Over here!"
Amelia waved her hand frantically and shouted.
Only then did Dorothy come running toward us, her brown hair fluttering, panting heavily.
"Hah, hah... Oh, hello."
"You didn’t need to rush."
"W-Well... You said we should celebrate the start of break together, so I didn’t want to be late."
Dorothy’s smiling face was dazzling.
How perfectly reasonable.
If it were Amelia, she’d probably say, “Oh, so it’s fine if I’m a little late next time?” and then start showing up later and later.
"...What’s with that creepy look?"
"Nothing. It’s nothing."
Had I unconsciously been staring at her with a weird expression?
I brushed off Amelia’s suspicious gaze, insisting it was nothing. If she kept pressing, things might get awkward.
"We should probably get seated. The ceremony’s about to start."
"Okay. ...Where’s Arte, though?"
"...Huh? I saw her over there a little while ago. Where’d she go...?"
Despite our efforts, we couldn’t find Arte anywhere.
She’d vanished without a trace...
Amelia unleashed a torrent of complaints about her.
"We were supposed to go out together after the ceremony... Where the hell did she disappear to?"
"No idea. She can call us later. Let’s just sit down for now."
"Huuu... I’ll endure it, I’ll endure it..."
...To be honest, both Amelia and I had let our guard down around Arte.
We were almost certain she was a member of Arachne.
We still believed that was the truth, but maybe because we hadn’t seen proof with our own eyes, our wariness had faded over time.
It was a little shameful for someone aiming to be a Hero to think this way, but... honestly, the dead were strangers to us.
We’d only heard about their deaths through the news. They had nothing to do with us.
And the victims weren’t exactly innocent citizens, either.
They’d been Villains who’d tormented those citizens relentlessly.
There’d even been news about a former investigator among the dead Villains—one who’d murdered a civilian, killed nearly 30 people, and then walked free.
Maybe he was innocent. Maybe the dead Villain had been framed.
…But is it just me being narrow-minded that the only thought I have, given the overwhelmingly explicit evidence, is that she’s definitely dead?
And is it because I’m a cruel person that the idea of Arte killing someone doesn’t fill me with revulsion?
I don’t know.
"Ah, ah. The closing ceremony will begin shortly, so please, students, take your seats…"
"Ugh. Where the hell did she disappear to?"
Even Amelia—where had her initial hostility gone? It almost seemed like she’d started to feel a genuine fondness for Arte.
She barely spoke to anyone besides me, Arte, and Dorothy, whom she’d only recently begun talking to.
Maybe she still thought Arte needed to be stopped, but perhaps she really did consider her a friend now.
She’d been treating Arte more and more casually lately, so it was probably true.
"Hey, they’re really starting. Sit down, sit down."
I wasn’t much different. I felt empty without Arte there.
She was dangerous. I had no idea what her background was. She might even be plotting something sinister while watching over me.
…But that didn’t change the fact that, for the past half year, we’d been close. I’d come to think of her as a precious friend.
Whether Amelia’s plan succeeded or failed, I silently hoped she’d have a good experience during the break.
"And finally, everything you’ve all learned over the past six months at the Academy…"
"Here we go again."
The principal’s endless speech had already dragged on for over ten minutes.
Just when I thought it was finally over, it wasn’t. And when I was absolutely sure it would end this time, it kept going.
I glanced at the clock, convinced an hour must have passed, only to be crushed by the reality that barely ten minutes had gone by. Then the voice drilled into my ears once more.
In that seemingly eternal, mind-numbing stretch of time, Dorothy finally snapped.
"Amelia… is out cold."
She was slumped over, completely zoned out—nothing like her usual self.
It was surreal to see someone so lively reduced to this.
Just as my body started to stiffen from sitting too long, a thought struck me.
…This place. This spot.
It felt familiar. Like I’d seen it somewhere before.
Where was it? The only memorable thing about this auditorium was the beast attack…
Thud.
"S-Siwoo?"
"You there! What’s going on?! Sit down this instant!"
Ignoring the teachers scolding me from afar, I stared at the spot where Arte had stood during the entrance ceremony.
She wasn’t there. But the déjà vu was overwhelming.
No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t shake the unease. It was like my head was about to split open.
Where had Arte gone?
I hastily threw open the window and checked outside the auditorium.
"…This is insane."
"Student! Sit down—what the…?"
A storm raged as hundreds of people marched toward the Academy.