How does this woman walk without making a sound like a ghost? That was the first thought that popped into Erich's mind. He quickly began chanting in his head over and over: “Form is emptiness, emptiness is form, form is emptiness, emptiness is form...”
“Hello, classmate. We really do have a lot of fate, don't we?” Erich offered a polite smile, keeping his mind completely blank.
“I think so too!” Lorraine's tone rose in exaggerated excitement. She then turned to Irene. “Mr. Irene, would it be alright if I borrowed Mr. Erich for a bit?”
Irene hesitated. “Well, I suppose so...”
Before Irene could even finish, Lorraine grabbed Erich by the wrist and dragged him into a side alley. Pulled along by her, Erich silently resumed his chanting, putting even more effort into it: “Form is emptiness, emptiness is form...”
Deep in the alley, far from the noisy crowd, Lorraine let go of his wrist and spun around to glare at him.
“Stop chanting! You're giving me a headache!”
“I didn't say anything.”
“You!” Lorraine stared into his eyes. “How do you know about my ability?”
This is trouble, Erich thought. He had originally planned to avoid this woman at all costs, yet they had already crossed paths twice on the very first day of school. His luck was truly atrocious.
Wait.
A sudden realization struck Erich.
In this situation, wasn't he the one who shouldn't be afraid? He hadn't done anything wrong. He had entered the academy fair and square and paid his tuition honestly. Even if his reputation was a bit tarnished, the crucial point was that Lorraine's mind-reading ability was the one that had to remain hidden.
Practicing psionic magic without permission was a serious crime, not to mention that hers was a natural, passive mind-reading ability that she couldn't even control herself.
Erich looked at Lorraine and flashed a subtle smile.
“You wouldn't want anyone to find out that you can read minds, would you, Miss Lorraine?”
He didn't open his mouth; he simply thought the words clearly in his mind.
Lorraine's face instantly went pale.
“How... How do you...” She took half a step back until her back hit the wall.
Erich took a step forward, his smile growing increasingly arrogant.
“Little sister, if you don't want anyone to know your secret, you'd better be a good girl and do what I say from now on. Otherwise, I'll report you immediately. When that happens, you won't be the only one in trouble—the headmistress who recruited you into the academy will also be in for a terrible time.”
He still didn't say a word out loud, letting his mind do all the talking.
Tears began to well up in Lorraine's eyes. She pointed a finger at Erich, stammering for a long moment before finally squeezing out, “You're shameless!”
Erich remained noncommittal. He made a move as if to shout out toward the alleyway:
“Wow, there's a—”
Before he could finish, a soft hand quickly covered his mouth.
Lorraine stood on her tiptoes, her face completely flushed, and tears were already streaming down her cheeks. “Don't shout... I—I'll listen to you, alright?”
Looking at the aggrieved and terrified Lorraine, Erich pulled her hand away, took a step back, and said solemnly, “From now on, we keep our distance. And you are not allowed to read my mind whenever you please. Understand?”
He suddenly raised his voice on the last word.
Startled, Lorraine instinctively stood up straight. “Understood!”
Then, lowering her head, she added in a small voice, “But I can't control this ability very well yet.”
“How are you this bad at it?”
Lorraine looked up at him with a resentful gaze.
“Then we'll just keep our distance. Study hard and try to get a handle on your ability as soon as possible.” Erich waved his hand. “Alright, you can go now.”
Lorraine nodded. Just as she was about to leave, a young girl wearing a white-and-gold priestess robe stepped forcefully between Lorraine and Erich, blocking them from each other.
“I thought being expelled from your family would have changed you somewhat. I didn't expect you to still be so out of line.”
She had light silver hair that fell to her waist, and her pale violet eyes resembled a pair of amethysts. Her features were so exquisite they seemed almost unreal, and her skin was so pale it was nearly translucent. Standing between them, she exuded an aura of sacred detachment.
Lorraine reacted quickly. Grabbing the other girl's hand, her voice instantly became soft and sweet, a complete contrast to her demeanor just a moment ago:
“It's alright, Holy Maiden sister. Nothing happened to me.”
The Holy Maiden, Celine Alburn, gently squeezed Lorraine's hand and looked up at Erich with cold eyes.
“Let's go.”
She led Lorraine by the hand and turned to leave. After a couple of steps, she looked back at Erich once more, her gaze clearly saying: I'll be watching you.
Taking advantage of Celine's distraction, Lorraine turned back and stuck her tongue out at Erich.
Then, the two of them disappeared into the crowd on Sage Avenue.
Erich was left standing there utterly bewildered. Wait a minute, he hadn't even done anything!
“What did you do this time?”
Irene had approached at some point, tilting her head as she looked at him.
“I didn't do anything.”
Irene rolled her eyes. “You were just smiling like a major villain.”
“Is that so? Then I must have looked very elegant.”
Irene rolled her eyes again.
Rate on N.U.
