Advent of the Three Calamities-Chapter 550: Spring [2]

"You've got a sibling?"

"...Why is this the first time that I'm hearing this?"

The girls were now on their way back to the dorms. Of course, following the news regarding Kiera's unexpected sibling, neither of the two could keep quiet. How could they not?

A mini-Kiera had been unleashed on the world.

"We have to kill it before it's too late..."

"Choking or strangling?"

"Aren't those the same thing?"

"You're right."

"...And it's not really that efficient."

"You're absolutely right. We need to make it quick and painless. It's more ethical that way."

"Right, right..."

"What the fuck is this conversation?"

Listening in on the conversation, Kiera found herself stopping. For some strange reason, she felt the two of them acting more and more like her. Was her influence rubbing off on them?

'Should I feel proud or sad?'

No, most importantly...

"Have the two of you lost it?"

They were talking about a young and innocent child. How could they say such horrible things?

"That's kind of fucked up from the two of you."

"Eh..."

"... She's seriously taking the moral high ground?"

Aoife and Evelyn both made similar disgusted faces while mumbling to each other.

'Also, wasn't she the one who laughed when she saw a child fall and cry?'

'...If anything, she also abuses Theresa.'

"What in the fuck..."

Kiera found herself unable to retort to the two of them. On one hand, they were right. On the other, they were... eh, right again.

'Oh, shit.'

It was only then that it dawned on her.

...She really couldn't claim the moral high ground in this situation.

"Tsk."

The only thing Kiera could do was click her tongue.

"But seriously, how come you've never told us you were about to get a sibling?"

"....."

Kiera stopped then.

She was about to curse at them, but as her mouth opened, she stopped herself and scratched the back of her head.

"....It's step-sibling."

"Ah?"

"Oh..."

Realizing the heart of the matter, Aoife and Evelyn fell silent.

"My father remarried not long after my mother died."

Kiera scratched the back of her head again, her lips pulling down.

"I get moving on and shit, but... A year... That's how fast it took that guy to move on. Just one year."

And yet...

"I have yet to do so."

Even worse.

"It feels like I can still recall her voice, her scent, and the warmth she gave, but... of everything I remember, her face is the one thing I can no longer remember."

Recalling her face wasn't hard in the past. She'd always appear in her dreams, comforting her. Telling her that everything was going to be okay. That the pain was going to be easy. And yet, the pain never eased.

It never got easier, and... It only got worse once she started to forget what she looked like.

"Wait, what was I just..."

Covering her mouth, Kiera realized she had veered off track and quickly turned around, only to find Aoife and Evelyn staring at her with wide eyes.

"Shit."

Kiera scratched the back of her head.

As expected, she really hated spring.

***

Kiera likes to curse a lot.

Kiera likes to hit a lot.

Kiera in general, was a deliquent.

Aoife's impression of Kiera was as such. As the princess of the Empire, Aoife had a natural disdain for such people.

It was hence why she disdained Kiera from the first time she met her.

When was it...?

It was certainly before the Academy, but she couldn't quite remember. She used to meet a lot of people.

In any case, Aoife's distaste carried to the Academy.

It also appeared that Kiera disliked her at the start. The disdain was mutual. Great. This meant that the two of them didn't have to interact with each other often.

...Or so she naively thought.

After some point, Aoife unknowingly found herself interacting more with her. To the point where she even found herself influenced by her.

Why was that?

Why did she get influenced by someone so crude?

What about Kiera drew her so much?

Aoife struggled to answer this question at first, but the more she interacted with Kiera, the clearer the answer became.

'It's because she's strong.'

She wasn't scared of letting people know what she thought or how they saw her. If she disliked someone, she'd make sure they'd know.

'Don't like me? I've got a pair of nice balls you can suck on~ Wanna try?'

....It was such quality that drew Aoife to Kiera.

Because... she herself knew she was weak.

She wasn't like Kiera who could disregard how the world perceived her. Who... didn't give a fuck essentially.

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Aoife was extremely conscious of everything. From the subtle stares to the quiet whispers, she always felt judged. It was as if she stood in a crowded room, invisible yet acutely aware of every gaze, even though no one was truly looking.

She felt like the star of a show that nobody was really watching.

...Was this why she liked acting so much?

Because she was aware the gazes were actually judging her, instead of it being a trick of her mind? Perhaps that was the case, but her life wasn't an act.

She knew that, and hence why she found herself drawn to Kiera. Because of her strength.

But...

'I guess even you have a weakness.'

Aoife stared at Kiera, noticing the discomfort radiating from her. It was more intense than anything she'd seen before—almost as if Kiera's usual confidence had cracked, leaving her exposed and vulnerable in a way Aoife had never seen before.

She was like a broken plate filled with cracks, barely hanging on together.

"Well, whatever, shit. It's in the past. It's probably just me. I guess if I had a dick in my pants I'd also think differently."

'Ah, the usual crude words of hers...'

Aoife always felt like Kiera was cursed because of her rough upbringing. But was this really the case?

"...I'm even more surprised that thing works despite his age. What kind of pill did that guy take?"

The cruder Kiera's words were, the more Aoife saw it.

"Or could it be that he went in all floppy and shit? Kek, bet she was just there for his money."

Her discomfort.

Her exposed cracks.

"Well, whatever. I'll head back. I fucking hate the air over here."

Throwing a middle finger at them, Kiera turned around and headed in a different direction. It wasn't the dorms.

Aoife silently followed Kiera's back with her gaze.

'She's acting fine.'

...But her acting really sucked.

'She looks lonely.'

Her back did.

This was the first time Aoife had ever seen Kiera like this and it made her feel a little weird.

Aoife was good at reading people, or at least, she liked to think so and something about Kiera's behavior told her more than words ever could.

She had a feeling that Kiera truly wanted to visit her sibling—or rather, her 'step-sibling'—but didn't want to go on her own.

'I could be misreading the situation, but...'

Scratching the side of her cheek, she took out her communication device and typed something before sending it over.

"Hey."

Aoife quietly turned to Evelyn standing beside her, who still appeared somewhat stunned, as if she were processing everything that had just unfolded.

"Uh?"

Sensing her gaze, Evelyn snapped out of it. Before she could get her words out, she was promptly cut off by Evelyn.

"What—"

"What do you think of seeing Kiera's little sibling?"

'...I'm the type to not mind my business.'

***

"I love spring. It's probably the best season."

The cold was gone, replaced by a refreshing, cool breeze. Flowers bloomed, and everything around them seemed more vibrant, alive with color and warmth.

Spring.

I really loved spring.

With that being said...

"Where is Leon?"

I knocked on his door multiple times, but it seemed like he wasn't in his room. I sent him a message, but there was no response.

Was he just asleep?

Even so, I had knocked hard enough for him to hear me.

'Is it possible that he ignored me?'

Yes, that was a very real possibility.

"A pity."

I had hoped he could lend me a hand with my training. After recently returning from the Kasha, I realized just how much I was falling short and which areas I needed to focus on improving.

Thankfully, I had managed to gain a new fighting style, but it still required a lot of polishing. There was no better testing dummy than Leon.

"Well, I can just ask Caius or Kaelion."

I was now comfortable enough to ask the two of them.

If anything, Caius would probably be the best training partner for him. His domain would give me a run for my money.

As soon as I left Delilah's office, I received a message from her saying she had successfully contacted the high-class Cleric. They would be arriving just before the break ended.

This gave me a sudden sense of urgency. While there was a chance that they might help me, there was also a chance they might figure something out.

I couldn't allow that to happen.

To make matters worse, when I tried to decline the offer, both she and the school board rejected my refusal without hesitation. They claimed something about me being a potential hazard...

'Not like they're wrong, but any of them can simply kill me with a flick of their finger.'

"Haa."

In the end, the situation turned into a hot mess. One that I had no idea how to escape from.

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That's why I decided to focus on training—I figured it would be the best way to clear my mind and distract myself from everything else.

Even so, time wasn't stopping for me.

I really needed to figure out how to handle this situation before it was too late. But how?

"How exactly can I..."

Trii—

Lost in my thoughts, I suddenly felt a vibration from my pocket. Pulling out my communication device,

I was taken aback to see a message from Aoife, sent directly to me."Her of all people?" She rarely sent me messages.

"What could..."

As I opened the message, the words seemed to vanish from my mind, and my jaw dropped in shock.

—Say, do you want to go visit Kiera's house? I heard she recently had a new sibling.

Since when was Aoife this likable?