Weekend.
Studying was important, but there was something we needed to sort out first—so we'd set our books aside and were turning the problem over in our heads.
The Spring Festival Tournament.
What Elline and I had in common was that neither of us had ever entered it.
Our reasons were different, but the conclusion was the same: neither of us had ever given it much thought.
The biggest obstacle, for now, was finding teammates to enter with.
With the registration deadline bearing down on us, the vast majority of students had almost certainly already formed their own teams.
"Anyone you know?"
"…"
Elline shook her head at my question.
I racked my brain as well.
Still, compared to Elline, I'd at least maintained some semblance of a social life.
I started going through people one by one in my head.
*Ross.*
Easy enough to get along with, but he'd always seemed more interested in watching competitions than entering them.
*Edgar…*
Aggressive and intense, but his magic was unstable.
On top of that, he had a hot-headed streak—there'd been an incident in second year where he'd clashed with the other members of his group.
*Kain?*
He'd seemed to completely give up on studying once third year started.
Hadn't seen him around much lately, either.
…And then.
"Oh."
Someone came to mind.
A friend who'd never entered the tournament, yet whose abilities were genuinely exceptional.
"You thought of someone?"
Elline leaned her face in close.
"…Yeah. Just remembered."
She was too close. I instinctively leaned back, and Elline furrowed her brow and moved in further.
"…"
"What?"
"Stay still."
"I am staying still."
"You moved away."
It was the middle of the day, broad daylight—having her face that close was overwhelming.
Elline's face, lit up by the sunlight, was just too radiant.
I cleared my throat and changed the subject.
"Balrod… he's a friend of mine. Do you know him?"
Elline exhaled softly, as if searching her memory for a moment.
"I think I've heard the name."
A natural response for someone as indifferent to her surroundings as Elline.
"He's a bit of an eccentric, but he's the most capable person I know. And once he commits to something, he sees it through to the end…"
"Okay."
Before I'd even finished explaining, Elline nodded without a word of objection.
"I wasn't done yet."
"You think he's fine, don't you?"
"That's true, but your opinion matters too."
"If you're fine with him, I'm fine with him."
Elline said it plainly, and that was that.
"Alright."
I'd have to meet him later and ask, but his name had already found its way onto our notepad.
"And…"
I turned it over in my mind, but no one else came to me.
A few names surfaced, but I had a feeling they'd already found teams…
*And it's not like I'm close with them, anyway.*
People I'd never had any real connection with—approaching them now felt awkward.
Elline sat deep in thought, then looked up at me as if someone had just occurred to her.
"Rutess, I thought of someone."
"Who?"
"Rui."
…Rui?
"Oh."
Right, Rui was an option. Thinking back, I remembered that the first time we'd met, she'd asked me to help create an opportunity for her to talk with Elline.
"Think she's already found a team?"
"I don't know. But I think Rui would be good."
The moment Elline said that, I stood up without a word.
"Then let's go."
If Elline thought so, that was good enough for me.
"To Rui?"
"Yeah."
"Do you know where she is?"
"No, I don't. We'll have to look."
So we spent the entire weekend searching for Rui.
"Huuuuunh!!"
"…"
"…"
When we finally found her, she was sitting on a bench, crying her eyes out.
"Why… why is she crying?"
I was thrown off.
We hadn't met many times, but she was absolutely not the type to cry like that—so raw and wretched.
Elline was watching the scene with the same bewilderment I felt.
"Has she ever done this before?"
"…First time I've seen it."
We stood there for a while, watching Rui cry as if she were trying to shake the world apart.
*She's going to get dehydrated at this rate.*
Just as that thought crossed my mind—
Rui's sobs tapered off, and she dropped her head, slowly steadying her breathing.
Was now the moment?
The instant I glanced over, Elline looked at me too, as if we'd planned it.
Who would walk up to someone in the middle of that kind of misery?
"…"
"…"
Elline tightened her grip on my hand.
"I don't really know how to… talk to someone when they're like that."
That honest, unapologetic admission settled it. I stepped forward first and walked toward Rui.
The back of Rui's hunched figure looked very small.
* * *
She'd already been startled by Rutess appearing out of nowhere—and now Elline was standing there too.
"Hi."
The moment their eyes met, Rui shot to her feet.
"O-oh, hi, Elline!"
As Elline slowly looked her over, Rui felt a chill run down her skin, but forced a smile anyway.
*Stay calm. Stay calm.*
Why had Elline and Rutess come now, of all times?
Rui couldn't think of any obvious reason.
It seemed too deliberate to be a coincidence—they'd said they had something to talk about.
She had no idea what it was, but she didn't want to look pathetic in front of these two.
Especially not in front of Elline.
"Are you okay?"
Her heart lurched at Elline's words, but she nodded calmly.
"Yeah, I'm fine… hehe."
The eyes of the girl saying she was fine were swollen and bloodshot.
How ridiculous must she look right now.
"I'm really fine, nothing's wrong!"
She ended up flapping her arms and bouncing exaggeratedly, and the sight of it was almost pitiable.
Rutess let out an awkward cough, and Rui stopped bouncing and scratched her cheek.
"…I'm really okay."
As Rui's voice shrank and she trailed off, Elline and Rutess exchanged a quiet look.
"Since you say you're okay—can we talk?"
Rutess spoke up.
"Yes…!"
What had they come to find her for?
*Maybe they need a sparring partner?*
"Rui."
Rui swallowed.
"That thing you mentioned before—is it still on the table?"
At the word *before*, Rui paused to sort through her memories.
Things she'd said to Rutess before—training… no, not that, and not just a greeting either…
Their first meeting…
"Oh."
Rui's eyes went wide.
"…The Spring Festival Tournament?"
The Spring Festival Tournament.
The competition she'd given up on just minutes ago.
"Yes. The Spring Festival Tournament."
"Oh… um… why?"
Rui stumbled over her words, the sore spot prodded unexpectedly.
"Would you like to enter with us?"
"T-together?"
"Yes."
"Um… by any chance…"
Rui cautiously glanced over, and Elline gave a small nod.
"I'm entering too, Rui."
Rui's heart began to beat faster and faster.
"Really…?"
She remembered—early in the semester, she'd definitely asked Elline to enter together, but back then Elline hadn't been interested.
"Yes."
"With me…?"
Elline walked slowly toward Rui. Step by step, she came closer, until she was standing right in front of her.
"Rui."
"…Yeah?"
"I need your help."
She heard those words.
*I need your help.*
From Elline, of all people.
"You need my help…?"
Elline nodded again.
Elline was saying she needed her.
"Why…?"
Why was she reaching out to her specifically? Elline could surely have talented people lining up for her. Rui had been the one to suggest it first, yes—but she'd never in her wildest dreams imagined Elline would come to her like this.
"…I don't really like fighting."
Elline smiled faintly and looked at her.
"You're always smiling, Rui."
She said she liked it.
The smile that had always been dismissed—she said she liked it.
…
Was this a dream?
*A dream…?*
Elline's face before her began to waver and blur.
The situation she'd always longed for was actually happening, and she couldn't bring herself to believe it.
"…Oh."
Moisture welled up at the corners of her eyes again. She knew she should hold it back, but the tears fell before she could stop them.
The old hurts came flooding in, and alongside them, an overwhelming swell of emotion she couldn't contain.
*…*
Elline furrowed her brow slightly, then turned her head and looked at Rutess.
She mouthed the words silently.
*…What do I do?*
She had studied endlessly how to handle the person she loved, but handling an ordinary friend of the same gender—that was new territory for Elline, and Rui's reaction had caught her off guard.
Crying in response to a recruitment offer hadn't been part of the plan.
*Just keep comforting her for now.*
He mouthed back, and Elline gave a faint nod.
*Did we already get her?*
Rutess, for his part, seemed to have fallen into serious deliberation—he covered his mouth with his palm and thought hard.
While the two of them stood there flustered and unsure, Rui sniffled and wiped her tears.
"Elline, I'm really not that good…"
Her voice trembled as she spoke, looking up at Elline again. Elline slowly turned her gaze back to her.
"I did badly on the exams, I'm barely hanging on in Alpha Class… and I'm just… not at that level…"
"Rui."
"…Yeah?"
"Don't sell yourself short."
Elline's voice was firm, and Rui's sniffling stopped.
"…"
"Don't put yourself down and build walls around yourself. You're capable, and you're working hard."
"Elline."
"So don't cry."
Elline took one of Rui's hands in hers.
"Smile for me. Like you always do."
The wet tears slowly soaked in, and the light began to return to her eyes.
"Okay."
The hitching breaths went quiet.
The clouds that had brought the rain cleared from Rui's face, and a smile began to rise.
"I wanted to do this with you, Elline… I really did… I'll work hard, I won't be a burden…"
Her voice was still trembling.
But the expression on Rui's face was one of absolute certainty.
* * *
We'd managed to bring Rui on board as our first teammate—just barely.
Which was a relief, all things considered.
Rui, as if she'd never cried at all, gave us a bright, cheerful smile, waved, and disappeared.
"She was sobbing like that, and now she's fine. Impressive, in its own way."
How could anyone bounce back that fast?
Before I knew it, Elline had come to stand beside me, taken my hand, and was looking at me.
"Did I do well?"
"…Yeah, you did."
Why was she looking at me like she wanted to be praised?
"Why…?"
I asked her, half on a hunch, and Elline gave my hand a small tug.
"Is that it?"
…
Was she trying to say she'd worked up her courage for that?
Come to think of it, she had spent quite a while rehearsing on the way here before we ran into Rui.
How to approach her, how to steer the conversation.
At first I'd planned to take the lead and do the persuading myself, but since Elline had seen Rui more often, it made more sense to leave it to her.
"Don't be too blunt about it."
"Am I blunt?"
…A little?
We'd been going over the plan when we spotted Rui crying—that hadn't been something either of us had anticipated.
Thanks to that I'd had to step in first, but in the end Elline had handled the conversation well.
…How do I compliment her?
A kiss on the cheek…
*I can't do it.*
Not yet. It wasn't that the idea was unpleasant—far from it—but my heart had nearly burst the last time, so.
Elline was still looking at me with that expectant expression, holding my hand tight.
After a long moment of deliberation, I said carefully:
"…Want me to… carry you?"
And so, once again, I ended up carrying Elline on my back.
Whether she'd changed her perfume or not, a deeper, richer floral scent washed over me.
She was still light, and the soft… warmth… pressed against my back—
*Don't think about it.*
Anyway. It was comfortable.
"Rutess."
We hadn't done any actual training today, so Elline wasn't drifting off to sleep—she spoke up instead.
The problem was that her breath was right there against my ear.
*I'm going to die.*
"Yeah?"
"When you get back to the dorm, are you going to study?"
"Yeah."
I needed to keep my grades at a decent level, so studying had to continue. And it was still early enough in the evening.
"You're doing alright?"
"Yeah… probably."
Who could honestly say *I'm confident I'll ace the exam* out loud?
Not me, that's for sure.
"'Probably'?"
Right—Elline hated vague answers.
Apparently dissatisfied with my response, she pressed herself closer against my back.
Now her breath was close enough to tickle my ear.
I pictured a wide, open wheat field.
Deer bounding through it. Everything innocent and wholesome I could summon. I worked hard to find some inner peace.
"…Is it not going well?"
Her voice, low and murmured, reached all the way to my brain.
"It's going great, seriously."
I picked up my pace, even as my steps grew unsteady.
To get out of this situation, I needed to set her down in front of the dormitory.
Past the west training grounds, the central academic buildings came into view.
"Rutess."
"Yeah, right, yeah?"
"When you're studying, do you run into a lot of things you don't understand?"
"Some, but nothing that stops me completely."
"I see."
It was starting to feel like I could actually see it now—having gone over the same concepts countless times, even the harder problems were beginning to show me their answers.
"If there's something you don't understand, ask me."
In those moments, Elline's presence was a genuine source of strength.
She'd always answered whenever I asked her something.
"Thanks—so tomorrow I'll…"
"Tomorrow. Didn't you say you had to talk to your friend?"
She was right—tomorrow I had to meet with Balrod.
It probably wouldn't take all day, but the morning would be gone.
"Then I'll save them up and ask you when there's time."
*When there's time* probably meant Monday.
"Rutess."
"…Yeah?"
"I'll explain it now."
"Now?"
"If you get stuck, you'll end up skipping over that part anyway—so it's better to be efficient."
Elline's voice was firm, and she wasn't wrong.
Thirty minutes of me staring at a problem was far worse than three minutes of her walking me through it clearly.
"…But my books are back at the dorm…"
"I know."
Her tone left no room for argument, and I stopped walking.
"What?"
Elline, still on my back, reached both arms forward and took my face in her hands—then turned my head, like she was adjusting a light bulb.
There, in the direction she'd turned me, were the hills far from the academic buildings, and nestled between them, a single glowing structure.
The Beta Class dormitory.
*She can't mean…*
"Let's go."
"…Where?"
I already knew perfectly well where she meant. The words just came out on reflex.
Even so, Elline answered me. Very helpfully.
"The dormitory."