Being the oracle had its perks, and while divinations didn't always appear clearly in her mind, Keilyn was still a healer of the order. And as usual, she'd been to a smaller clinic on the city's edge to lend a helping hand.
At the east gates, where adventurers or mercenaries often entered, their crews or parties were always filled with the injured in one way or another. Some came in with a severe, dark grasp, which was necrotic in nature, often making it difficult to cleanse. And that's not to mention the strain of the difficulty of cleansing magic.
It's not that they don't bring good healers with them; they do. But more often than enough, they were being overworked. So. To ease the burden, they often cleverly contain the spread if it's a minor injury and then follow it up with a healing core.
As a healer, Keilyn was used to the sigh, but today it felt a little different. There were usually not this many cases of dark grasp around this time—it was usually a little later, when packs of beasts moved north during the summers. Sure, it was at the end of spring, but this felt a little too early.
Well, that's for the military and guilds to figure out, she shrugged inwardly as she cleansed one of the adventurers.
"Uhhgh…" the adventurer groaned a little.
"How do you feel? Better?" Keilyn asked as his flesh reddened again, as a dark, gooey liquid leaked out from his chest.
"Yeah…" the man sighed deeply. "Thanks, Lady Keilyn…" he smiled as a cleric began to heal his wounds.
"Hmm, there's no need for that sort of formality, a simple thanks is enough. Besides, any other healer would've done the same, right?" she said and glanced at the cleric, who was still an apprentice.
The adventurer looked at the boy beside him, closing up his wounds with full concentration. "My bad…" he said softly. "Thank you, too, boy."
The boy only acknowledged with a simple nod, not uttering a word.
..
Now that it was noon and she'd finished her morning visit to the east clinic, it was time for her to return to the monastery. While she didn't have a lot to do when she returned, and being who she is, she dressed up nicely and casually. And without her guards, she headed out to the city now that she had one of her rare moments off during the day.
Without her flashy attire or recognizable ornaments, Keilyn was just like any other fashionable girl one could find—sunglasses over her gem-like sapphire eyes, a skirt to her knees, her light, soft blond hair draping down her shoulders. Her light blue blouse casually reveals her delicate arms.
"…"
Although Keilyn teased Amethely for having next to no friends, she was practically in the same boat. Sure, she had acquaintances she was on good terms with, and while she did have some other friends, it'd always been Amethely she'd hung out with; thus, she found herself at a loss.
But there was also another thing on her mind—this morning, she received a personal message from Amethely on her computer that read, [Dearest Kei! Alum and I have become lovers! I'm so happy I could ascend!]
"Pff… silly girl," Keilyn chuckled as she read the message.
[Aren't you a saint? If you ascend more, you might leave the ground—I'm sure he'd miss you. Obviously, I'd miss you too.]
Then, as she replied to the message, it disappeared—right, she's in the military base right now, Keilyn sighed, writing a letter with the same content instead, sighing as if to wonder how Amethely would do without her.
"If I don't reply in some way, she'd sulk, wouldn't she?" she remarked as her eyes relaxed and her lips loosened. "Jeez…"
But as she zoned out and was thinking of the morning, she tripped around the corner. Just when she braced herself for impact, she'd hit something else instead—it was the bosom of a rather tall blond girl.
And while she usually wasn't one to judge, the girl's chest felt oddly firm—her hair color was different from the colors of her eyebrows, and she didn't particularly smell girly.
"…"
"…"
"What's the holdup?" the other girl spoke. She was a little shorter than an average human girl, had dark purple hair, and intense golden eyes.
A little frightened, Keilyn averted her gaze, but then… "Mister… is that you…?" She looked up at the tall girl and, with a deadpan expression, saw the eyes underneath the sunglasses. "Oh… umm… thanks for catching me… Mister," she said suspiciously.
"Mm. Long time no see, Ms. Keilyn," the calm, cool voice replied—one she recognized.
"It hasn't been that long," Keilyn sighed. "I've got many questions for you…" she said, looking at him from head to toe.
Alum tilted his head slightly. "I'm all ears," he replied.
Taken aback, Keilyn distanced herself. "Okay… first off, why are you… dressed like that?" she queried
"It's a disguise—"
"I can see that, but… why?"
"Well…" Alum heaved a small sigh. "I don't want to hurt Ame with some mindless rumors, is all. It spreads rather fast—they'll even eventually find out we're lovers."
"Hmm~ a valid reason, I suppose. But you're still alone with a girl… besides, who is the little miss? Is she lost?" Keilyn asked, looking at the purple-haired girl who didn't seem bothered that she was sort of ignored—until now.
"…!? Who're you calling little, huh!?" the girl beside Alum turned beet red. But when she was about to grab Keilyn's collar, Alum grabbed her hood. "Let go, Alum! This chick's being rude!"
"Calm down," Alum sighed, then his attention returned to Keilyn. "Sorry about her," he sighed. "Let me introduce you," he said while the girl flailed in protest. "Her name is Aetlise, a friend. She's showing me around and tries to help me find good date spots."
"Ah… tries?" Keilyn chuckled a little, but then it dawned on her. The name Aetlise wasn't uncommon, as many people liked to name their children after constellations. But golden eyes were uncommon. "Wait, is she…? A-and date?!"
"Yeah, Aetlise, the S-Ranked adventurer."
"…" —yeah, I get that, but what about the date portion!? You're unfaithful already!? Ameeee, did you really fall for a bad man!?
"…" —I suppose I wasn't the only one surprised about her rank? Alum thought he'd find someone who understood.
Aetlise stopped flailing and puffed her chest proudly—only for another outburst to occur when she realized what the silence was about.
..
After explaining that he'd just met Aetlise and that they'd become friends, sort of, because of a man named Silver and by following the flow of things, Keilyn heaved an exasperated sigh.
"Well… if a mentor of an S-rank was the one to suggest the arrangement, I guess it can't be helped." She sipped her drink and then pointed her straw at Alum. "But… you're still with a girl, does Ame know?"
"She doesn't…"
"Hmm~," Keilyn hummed, casting a suspicious gaze over him, then at Aetlise, who sipped her drink through a straw, filling her cheeks round. "Will you tell her?" she asked.
"Well… yeah? I don't want to make her anxious."
Keilyn raised a brow, subtly side-eyeing Aetlise. "Well, if you say so… there seems to be an appropriate distance between you two, and you don't seem flirtatious or overly friendly…"
"Mm, I made sure," Alum said, his expression softened.
He looked around the café and noticed people glancing subtly their way. He'd changed back to his usual attire, and Keilyn had the Kilenloth emblem on her lush blond hair—her sunglasses removed; seeing those features, pretty much anyone could guess who she was.
"You needn't worry. It's less suspicious this way. Ame and I are friends. It shouldn't be too strange for us to interact—they'll think something along the lines of, "Are they planning something for Lady Saint?" or something like that," Keilyn shrugged as she casually scooped up cheesecake.
"Understood," Alum nodded.
"That's it? You're not questioning it or anything?" Keilyn looked him in the eyes.
"Not really, the reasoning is solid. Though I'm aware not everyone will see it the way you put it," he replied, gazing out the window.
But without looking at her, he thought—she's quite different. Last time we spoke, there was a certain softness to her; this time, there's an edge. Did something happen?
"I see." Keilyn sipped her tea—with one eye open, she added, "You're quite boring. But in a way. That's nice." Heaving a sigh, she murmured, "Isn't that good for you, Ame?" with a tiny smile behind the cup.
"Hey," Alum suddenly voiced, the tone was more serious compared to almost indifference calm.
"What is it?" Keilyn calmly answered.
"You seem quite on edge. Did something happen?" he asked—something he'd normally never do. But since it concerned the friend of his lover, he couldn't help but pry a little.
Stirring her tea, Keilyn sighed, seeing the golden reflection of herself inside the cup. "Nothing I can discuss here. You should know when you get back—you're by Sir Rigeld's side, right?"
"Mm, if you say so. But, I don't think that's all there's to it."
"…Oh, quiet you," she sulked.
"Ame is doing just fine at the base. She's made a few friends too—surprising, right? But that also seems to be one of your worries; that you're being left behind."
"…"
"Pffts…" Alum chuckled lightly and stirred his sweetened milk coffee while Keilyn frowned. "If it isn't magitech, flora, or me, what do you presume talks about?"
"I don't know? Is it even possible for her to talk about anything except those things?"
"…What do you even think of her?" Alum asked, amused by her reply.
Keilyn pondered for a moment and leaned back.
"It's either research, training, flora, or… you. She's pretty quiet, but I suppose she's been getting into baking as of late? Well, she was never bad at it."
Hearing that, Alum scratched his cheeks.
Urk… it kinda pisses me off, Keilyn thought, her eyebrows furrowed again.
"You know," Alum nonchalantly said.
"What?"
"More than research and whatnot. She talks a lot about you."
—Ting
Keilyn lost grip of the spoon. The metal clinked with the ceramic cup. It echoed in her mind—her chest tightened slightly, her stomach fuzzy, and her face hot.
"I-I see…" she stammered while looking down at the table. "It's… that's quite embarrassing to hear…"
"But you seem happy?"
"Oh shu—" she stopped herself and covered her mouth. "Quiet you…" she added bashfully.
Aetlise, who seemed forgotten, alternated between the two with a deadpan expression—she was only there for free stuff.
…
..
Under the midday sun and calming coastal winds, their hair was soaked, drops of sweat running down their chins—their white uniform clung to their bodies as exhausted huffs escaped their lips.
Their legs felt as though they were burning—their muscles worked hard, screamed as they pushed through the pain—some ran on pure adrenaline, but most ran because their mind had long cleared to nothing but pure white.
The wanderers and the paladins were running laps—not only that, they were using suppressant amulets, which made it harder.
Chely ran alongside them without much of a struggle; there were only small drops of sweat in her hair, glistening in the sun elegantly. Her soft-looking lips were a little pursed as if to ask for a kiss, then her eyes met his.
"What?" Chely voiced after quite a few of Noel's 'subtle' glances.
"…" But unsurprisingly, Noel was dead inside, which is why he zoned out in the first place, and his lips didn't want to move. But… "Haa… urk… well, haa… I looked for some motivation, y'know?" he winked.
"Sigh… motivation?" Chely rolled her eyes.
Although he couldn't tell if her face was a little red due to all the running or embarrassment, he kept pushing and grinned.
"Haah—ah… well, I couldn't help but to ogle a little," he teased.
Chely frowned at the blatant statement. As she glanced his way—handsome… was the word that crossed her mind. Which, inadvertently, made her frown even more.
Noel's hair was damp, and the platinum blond strands glistened in the sun—his eyelashes were long; his eyes were a pretty silver-gray, and most infuriatingly, she found his grin cute.
"Oh?" Noel struggled to speak, but his smug expression said it all. "You're leering at me, L.A.D.Y Hero!" he exclaimed.
"Hmph!" Chely tackled him lightly, but due to exhaustion—
"Ah…" Noel lost balance and just as he was about to fall, Chely pulled his arm and he stumbled into her chest—Thunk…and lost consciousness as he hit the metallic armor underneath.
"…"
"…"
Amethely, who ran passed them, giggled in mild amusement as she flashed a smug look of content toward Chely.
I knew it! Big sis and Mr. Noel do get along!
A/N
Late chapter again, this time shorter too. Though I thought it was a good place to stop since you probably figured, but it's switching to Amethely's pov for the next chapter.
I didn't expect to take a test so soon, but I made it, yay. And honestly, instead of writing, I've been sleeping—yes, basically the whole day during the weekends. But I also read too, there's a lot to catch up on when it comes to reading, but one of them was an absolute waste of time.
Like, the ending is awful in so many ways, and sure, you could call it an open end, but in my opinion, that ending is cursed af.
So when I found out what the ending was, I stopped—I was at chapter 250 something T-T. Man, I was kinda mad, felt like I wasted my time.
If you're wondering which one I'm talking about, it's "I Became A Flashing Genius At The Magic Academy." Which is sad, honestly, cuz the story is good in my opinion, albeit a bit sporadic, I quite enjoyed it—until, of course, I found out what the ending was.
Damn I'm salty.