On a bright morning like usual, I headed to school with a few lingering bruises still on my body.
Yesterday, when I was at Sylvia's house, the nurses there really took good care of me. They didn't even let me go home until I was fully recovered. I feel like I owe them a big thank-you.
Maybe I'll bring them something nice if I visit again.
Not that I'm planning to visit Sylvia's house often... but hey, dropping by once in a while isn't a bad idea either.
On the way, I decided to check out the city center — the place that had been a mess after our fight with Cleopatra. But it looked completely normal now. Just like before. Even the Colosseum looked untouched, no signs of damage anywhere — like it was all just some illusion. I'm glad the townspeople and city officials didn't have to deal with a disaster.
After circling around the city center and checking out the Colosseum, I started running full speed.
I ran past a park full of kids playing, over a bridge, and by a couple of convenience stores where some teens around my age were walking out.
My breathing was ragged and I felt a little short of breath from the run. I'd say I ran more than 700 meters straight to school.
Well—totally my fault for taking the long route.
When I finally reached the school grounds, I slowed my pace and let the cool breeze hit my face as it rustled the trees above me. Leaves were falling, and blooming flowers swayed in the wind.
Is it colder today?
As I was about to walk further, I saw Sylvia standing right in front of the school gate, holding her bag. She looked like she was waiting for someone.
Sylvia? What's she doing here? Class is about to start. Could she be... waiting for me? No—no way.
I shook my head to get rid of that ridiculous thought and kept walking toward the school gate.
I passed by her casually, pretending not to notice her standing there beside me. But then, suddenly, I felt someone push me from behind. When I turned to look—it was Sylvia.
"S-Sylvia? What's up?"
"You're late!"
"...huh? Sorry."
"Where have you been?! I've been waiting here forever!"
She was waiting for me?
"Ahh… I took the long way around. Just wanted to check out the city center and the Colosseum after everything that happened with Cleopatra, that's all."
We walked to our classrooms, and without realizing it, we started chatting a lot.
"How's everything going?" Sylvia asked while opening her locker and grabbing her shoes.
"Like with Elizabeth before, everything just reset to normal. No signs of damage at all."
I grabbed my shoes from my locker and walked ahead a bit.
"Seems like everyone's forgotten what happened too."
"What about the film crew? Weren't they under Cleopatra's control?"
"They've already gone back to filming like usual."
Sylvia ran to catch up and matched my pace.
"How do you know that?"
"I asked one of my maids to keep an eye on them."
I told you, rich people are scary.
"And… what about her?"
"Sometimes I use my dad's contacts to keep tabs on her. She's still unconscious."
"What about Ms. Raya? Isn't she at the same hospital as Marya Cash?"
Sylvia shook her head.
"No updates about her. Looks like she was moved to another hospital. I'll find out more later."
Just how many connections does her dad have?
"Ahh! This is my class. See you later."
Sylvia turned toward me and gave a slight bow.
"What is it?" I asked, feeling a little nervous.
"N-nothing… I'll wait for you at the usual place during lunch, okay?"
"O-okay…"
She jogged off and turned a corner, disappearing.
Doesn't she usually eat with her friends? Oh well.
As I was about to open my classroom door, someone suddenly wrapped an arm around me from behind.
"Hey bro! What's going on with you and her?! Are you guys, like, a thing now?!"
Ah! It's Ghoell. He must've seen me walking with Sylvia earlier in the hallway.
Wait! Isn't that basically stalking?
"Chill, Ghoell. Let's give him some space," Keant said.
"I get how you feel, Andri! If you need help, just say the word," he added while patting my shoulder like he totally understood what was happening.
What are you even talking about?
"Listen! I'm not in that kind of relationship with her. Besides, someone like me isn't on her level."
"There it is!!! The classic line from every romantic comedy novel!"
What!? What's he saying now?
"You know, where the plain guy somehow catches the heart of a beautiful and famous girl. And somehow she falls for him too. Yup! That's exactly what's happening here!"
Keant nodded in agreement.
"I see! I get it now! Andri!" He patted my shoulder again. "This is your popularity arc!"
Seriously, stop it!
I brushed Keant's hand off and went into the classroom, heading straight to my seat — followed by these two loudmouths.
"Come on, Andri!!! Don't leave me behind!"
"Ghoell, Andri needs peace right now!"
He patted my shoulder again.
"Andri! Don't let her down, alright!!"
"Enough, you two!!! I've had it!!!"
– –
In a dark, endless world...
A group of unusual individuals was having a serious meeting about what had recently happened to Cleopatra.
The place was grim and stormy. The wind howled without pause, and strange, monstrous creatures occasionally flew through the raging storm coils.
"Ugh! Why do we have to meet in a place like this again!? Hey Democritus, couldn't you at least make your atomic world look like paradise?"
The one complaining was a petite woman with a small fan in hand, dressed in an elegant French gown. She was none other than Marie Antoinette.
"A paradise made of atoms? Don't be ridiculous. There's no such thing as paradise. When we die, we simply return to nature."
"Exactly! I totally agree with you, Democritus. And then we split into four elements, right? Or am I wrong?"
The voice came from a man with a skull for a head, an eye patch, and wings on his back—Empedocles.
"Oh my god... Can we stop arguing and just start already? I don't have all day."
"Oi, oi... What's with your outfit today, Miss Painting? Weren't you wearing a tight dress yesterday?"
A beautiful woman with jet-black hair sat elegantly, her face obscured in shadow. She was known as Mona Lisa—often referred to as "the painting lady" by her peers because of her unreadable expression.
"Shut it. I don't need fashion commentary from you."
"Hah!? Women these days are so full of themselves! Right, Simuna?"
A muscular man with a beret and two cigarettes in his mouth was talking to himself. This was Leonidas.
"...No idea."
"You're always so cold, geez..."
Simuna, or better known as Simo Häyhä, also known as The White Death.
"Ugh!! Why is it so hard to talk to people here..."
Leonidas curled up slightly in frustration.
"I can talk!" said Empedocles, pointing at himself proudly.
"Yeah right, who wants to chat with a walking skeleton like you?"
"What did you say!?"
"Oh lord... I need Nostradamus right now. He would totally understand how I feel…"
Leonidas curled up again.
"Relax, Nostradamus said he's been super busy lately, so he's just checking in from afar," someone explained.
"Tch! Useless," Marie muttered.
"Alright, let's get down to business—our plan to overthrow the kings of the world."
The six of them sat around a table, and suddenly, food and drinks appeared out of nowhere.
"Whoa! Where did this come from?" asked Leonidas, eyes wide.
"No big deal," Democritus replied with a faint smirk.
Without hesitation, Leonidas began stuffing his face with everything in sight.
"Greedy monkey," Marie sneered.
Empedocles stretched out his hand and conjured a magical illusion with swift winds.
"whawt ish dwhis?" Leonidas mumbled through a mouthful of food.
"This... is Monarcus, the realm of kings."
The illusion formed into a majestic kingdom. Then, with a snap of his fingers, the image shifted into a series of faces.
"awnd, who is thwis peweopwle?" Leonidas tried to ask, mouth still full.
"Swallow before you speak!" Marie snapped at him.
"Hawh?"
"Can you two take this seriously!?" Empedocles shouted.
"Honestly! All you two do is goof around. Be more like Simuna and Lisa."
"It's fine…" Mona Lisa replied calmly. "Just go on…"
"Right. So, the Alliance of Kings consists of five members. They call themselves the Royal Alliance, led by Arthur Pendragon."
"So those are all the members?" Mona Lisa asked, pointing to the illusion.
"Correct. The five members are Arthur Pendragon, Qin Shi Huang, Alexander the Great, Gilgamesh, and Queen Catherine."
"What's their reason for forming an alliance?" Marie asked.
"No one really knows, but one thing's certain—they're the most dangerous of all Servant alliances. Arthur seems to be gathering the world's greatest rulers to create a new world order."
"In that case, let's just beat them all up!" Leonidas shouted, finally done eating.
"Easier said than done. These are legendary rulers. We can't underestimate them."
"But there's another alliance that caught my attention…"
With another snap, Empedocles revealed the faces of Adam, Jeanne d'Arc, and Lu Bu.
"Them?!" Leonidas yelled.
"Yes. They recently defeated both Elizabeth Bathory and Cleopatra."
"Hmm… Not bad," Marie said, biting into a pastry.
"Adam, Jeanne d'Arc, and Lu Bu have formed a new alliance—and managed to send both Elizabeth and Cleopatra back to the afterlife."
"...Interesting..." Simuna whispered.
"Huh? What was that, Simuna? Did you say something?" Leonidas glared at him.
"..."
Simuna fell silent again.
"Anyway," Empedocles continued, "they've been extremely aggressive lately—especially Adam. But what's strange is…"
"Right!" Empedocles suddenly snapped. "Didn't he say he wouldn't get involved? So why is he here now—possessing the body of a child, no less!?"
Marie gently placed her fork on her plate.
"It's obvious. He wants us to go back."
"Yeah—maybe that's Adam's real plan. Or maybe he's here to fight us all."
"Exciting!" Leonidas cracked his knuckles. "Then let's take them out before we deal with the Royal Alliance!"
"Exactly—that's been my plan all along. If we let them run wild, everything we've worked for might collapse."
"But the problem is… we don't know where they are. Or who the Saint is that's holding their souls."
Democritus smiled thinly, arms folded on the table.
"Don't worry… I already have everything under control."
– –
Under the bright, sunny sky, I gazed toward the horizon, letting the wind brush against my face like it was meant just for me.
So refreshing...
"Hey! What are you doing? Aren't you hungry?" Sylvia called out from behind me.
"Don't you think it's gotten a bit colder lately?" I asked her.
"Yeah—well, it is the end of the year. Winter must be here."
Winter, huh… Christmas…
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing—just thinking about what I'll do on Christmas Eve."
"You don't have any plans? Can't you hang out with the other three?"
"We did last year—briefly. Keant had some family thing, and Ghoell was busy tagging along with his sister on her date."
"And you…?"
"Me? Hmm… after hanging out with them for a bit, I just stayed home and had a nice family dinner."
"That's not bad at all!"
"True, haha. What about you? Are all your dad's friends coming over again?"
"Ha! Why'd you suddenly bring up my dad?"
"S-sorry, I was just curious…"
"It's fine. Sometimes our big extended family comes over to my dad's place, and we all party together till morning."
Just as expected from the richest family in town.
"But… I don't know. I feel like this year might be a little different…"
"Different? Your family's not coming this time?"
"No—never mind. Come on, let's eat. Break time's almost over!"
I don't know if it's just my imagination… but lately, it feels like Sylvia and I have gotten a bit closer?
"HEY YOU TWO!!! Can't believe you're eating together up here like this!!"
"Nico! How's it going?"
"Still alive and kicking!"
"Weren't you supposed to be cleaning up the mess in the backyard garden? Why are you here? And how'd you even get up here?" Sylvia asked, eyeing him suspiciously.
"Relax! I finished it all. And I knew you two would be up here, so I climbed the metal pipes along the back wall. Hahaha!"
This guy is totally insane…
"You wanna eat lunch with us?" I offered.
"Perfect timing, I'm starving."
"Don't expect me to share any of my food with you!" Sylvia snapped.
"No worries! I brought my own. Check it out! Hahaha!"
Nico suddenly pulled out a lunchbox that looked like it weighed a ton.
How the heck did he even bring something like that to school? And he climbed up here carrying that?
"Are you a gorilla or something?" Sylvia scoffed.
"Hey now… carrying stuff like this is great for building muscle. Check this out!"
Nico lifted his shirt and showed off his well-defined muscles.
"Whoa! That's awesome!" I shouted, genuinely impressed.
"Right?! Hahaha!"
"Gross…" Sylvia muttered, glaring at him.
Should I start training too? Maybe I could ask Nico to help me out. I do need to get stronger…
I clenched my fist with determination, quickly finished my lunch, and walked back to class with Sylvia—leaving Nico behind on the rooftop with his massive one-ton lunchbox.