ROSE

  I dreamed of that moment.

  The memory of explosions illuminating the night sky, and Yoshida’s expression as he watched the fireworks, remained etched in my mind as if refusing to fade. I did not understand why. I did not know why my thoughts kept returning to it.

  Then the dream changed.

  The light of the fireworks twisted into violent flashes. The sky turned crimson, and the festive sounds dissolved into the relentless thunder of war.

  I saw Yoshida.

  That fragile boy… drowning in blood as he lay in my arms.

  The field around us was covered in corpses. The air reeked of gunpowder and destruction. I wore my usual armor, stained and heavy, while he remained in his school uniform—utterly out of place in the middle of that hell.

  Then a white light flooded the battlefield.

  A familiar light.

  The same one that had changed my fate.

  And I awoke.

  My eyes snapped open as air rushed unevenly into my lungs. It took several seconds before my breathing steadied. Cold sweat clung to my skin, and for a moment, I did not know where I was.

  The darkness of the room slowly returned me to reality.

  The moon still hung in the sky. The house was silent.

  I rose from bed in search of water.

  I descended the stairs carefully, avoiding noise. The floor creaked softly beneath my feet, and I froze on instinct, holding my breath.

  Then I heard voices.

  “Did they go to Tanabata?” Kiyomi-san asked.

  “Yes. I’m glad they went out to distract themselves for a while,” Ryujin-san replied.

  Unease settled in my chest. Listening to a private conversation felt improper. I took half a step back, intending to return to my room.

  Then I heard something that stopped me.

  “I’m glad they’re getting along… truly. But I’m still worried about Yoshida.”

  The silence that followed was heavy—so dense that even the ticking of the clock seemed to disappear.

  “Ryujin… we’re running out of time,” she said at last. “We need to take him back to the hospital and stop him from attending classes. He doesn’t have much time left.”

  Something tightened painfully in my chest.

  I did not understand why.

  “Yes… I need to speak with Rose about that tomorrow as well,” Ryujin-san answered, his voice weary.

  No.

  That cannot be.

  The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

  Yoshida… is going to die?

  An uncomfortable pressure spread through my chest, as though breathing itself had become difficult.

  And it angered me.

  It angered me deeply.

  Since when did this matter to me?

  Since when had this begun to interfere with my mission?

  My objective was the Demon King.

  Nothing more.

  And yet…

  His smile beneath the fireworks surfaced in my mind without permission.

  Tch.

  This was weakness.

  I needed distance. I needed to leave before I became further involved.

  “I’m worried about something else as well,” Ryujin-san continued.

  “Your uncle?” Kiyomi-san asked.

  “Yes. Ryu Kato disappeared yesterday. The police say he was last seen in Aokigahara.”

  A glass fell to the floor.

  The sound rang out like a gunshot in the silence.

  Ryu… Kato.

  The name pierced my thoughts like a spear.

  For a moment, everything else faded. The world around me grew distant and distorted.

  Ryu Kato.

  No.

  That cannot be coincidence.

  There was someone by that name in my world as well.

  The pieces began falling into place too quickly.

  My pulse quickened.

  This was not chance.

  It could not be.

  I returned upstairs, my heart pounding against my ribs.

  I will leave.

  Tonight.

  I could not drag them into my war. I would not allow them to die because of me.

  The night air felt cold, the house still and silent.

  Then I felt it.

  A shadow passed briefly across the window.

  My body reacted before my mind. Muscles tightened. The instincts of a warrior awakened instantly.

  Something was wrong.

  A door opened softly somewhere down the hall.

  I knew immediately where the sound came from.

  I moved without noise and pushed the door open carefully.

  The presence vanished.

  As if it had never existed.

  Frowning, I scanned the room for any trace—any sign—but found nothing.

  Only then did I realize where I stood.

  Yoshida’s room.

  He lay motionless in bed, tubes and medical devices connected to his body, emitting soft, steady sounds.

  A chill ran down my spine.

  Spies of the Demon King…?

  “Rose…?” his weak voice called.

  I snapped back to myself. Yoshida was awake, staring at me in surprise.

  “What are you doing here?” he asked calmly.

  “I was merely… passing by,” I replied.

  “Huh? Sorry, I can’t hear you well.”

  Damn it.

  I did not want to alert Ryujin-san or draw unwanted attention, so I moved closer and sat beside his bed, leaning in so he could hear me.

  Only then did I realize how little space remained between us.

  “Sorry… I think I couldn’t sleep,” I admitted.

  Yoshida chuckled softly.

  “So even someone like you has nights like that, huh?”

  A brief silence followed.

  “You know… there’s something I’ve wanted to tell you for a while.”

  I leaned closer to hear him better, not noticing how short the distance between us had become.

  “Yes?”

  “I want to apologize for being cold to you at first. I thought you were arrogant… someone unpleasant.”

  “Why would you assume that?” I asked, irritated.

  He looked up at the ceiling.

  “Because you’re very beautiful.”

  My thoughts stopped completely.

  Time seemed to halt with them.

  I had not expected that answer.

  “You already know what I’m like,” he continued quietly. “You’ve seen how pathetic I’ve been… and how others treat me. When I first saw you, I thought you’d be like the girls who used to make fun of me.”

  He fell silent for a moment.

  “But I was wrong. You’re different.”

  He closed his eyes.

  “I’m sorry. I misjudged you.”

  I did not know how to respond.

  The air between us grew heavy, strange, as if something invisible had settled there. My heart beat far too fast, and I did not understand why.

  I tried to excuse myself, leaning slightly closer to speak in a lower voice.

  Then a white light suddenly flooded the room.

  “Huh?” a female voice said.

  “Ro…se?” another familiar voice followed.

  The door stood open.

  Ryujin-san and Kiyomi-san watched from the hallway, the light behind them blinding me for an instant.

  I felt Yoshida tense beside me.

  His face was completely flushed.

  “I’m glad you two are getting along,” Kiyomi-san laughed teasingly.

  “I wasn’t expecting this,” Ryujin-san added.

  I did not understand what they meant.

  I looked at Yoshida.

  His face was flushed. Completely flushed.

  Why is his face flushed?

  Then I realized.

  I was the only one who could move.

  I had been the one looming over him.

  My face burned.

  “That’s not what it looks like!”

  My voice came out louder than intended.

  Unable to endure it any longer, I bolted to my feet.

  And i fled.

  Like a coward.

  I ran back to my room, shut the door, and threw myself onto the bed. Pulling the blankets over my head, I struck the pillow in silence.

  What was that?

  Why did he get so close?

  No.

  Why did I get so close?

  I pressed my face into the pillow, trying to calm the heat still lingering in my cheeks.

  This was worse than any battlefield.

  And for the first time…

  I did not know how to face the enemy.