"Hey, Cutie? Did you hear?"
"About what?"
"Ivan's punishment was decided."
"Oh… right."
'Ivan…'
Soren had already heard about the result of Amelia's intervention, that Ivan was to be executed without trial.
The reason for the execution being accepted so easily was because there was no possible way for Ivan to defend himself, making a trial completely unnecessary.
It would only be a little longer until Ivan's existence in Ivansia disappeared entirely.
Ordinarily, Soren should have been happy about such a result, given that Ivan had almost died, but…
'I feel sick.'
He'd told Louise it was all Ivan's fault, but deep down, he didn't feel innocent.
Ivan had only picked a fight because of Soren's connections to influential people.
In the original story, none of this would have happened; that was why guilt gnawed at him.
He had sworn to mend the cracks, and yet, here was another.
'Is it impossible?'
Soren wanted to fix the story, to return everything to its original place, but the longer that passed, the harder it seemed.
Still, he couldn't give up.
'Let's just keep trying for now…'
"You holding up?" Esper's worried gaze studied his face.
"Kind of?"
Every now and then, flashes of his near-death resurfaced, cold sweats, trembling, that moment of helplessness, but it was never enough to stop him functioning, so he ignored it.
'Honestly, this so-called perfect memory skill has been nothing but a curse lately.'
At first, he had celebrated having a perfect memory, but now? He sometimes wished he could delete memories instead.
Esper ruffled his hair gently.
"Come to me if you wanna talk, 'kay?"
"Thanks, Essy."
Her kindness warmed him.
They hadn't known each other long, yet she never wavered in her care.
'I heard she was the first one to start moving too.'
Louise had even told him Esper was the first to move when everything went down, further raising his opinion of her.
He wanted to compensate her for everything she had done, but every time he tried, she would refuse.
"Hey, Essy—"
"If you're going to give me the whole repayment spiel again, then shut up."
He chuckled.
"I mean it, though, if you ever need anything, just ask."
"Then quit acting weird, idiot."
"Says the one acting differently.
Esper shot to her feet, palms smacking the table.
"Fine! Let's just forget about it, okay? It's over! So, let's go have some fun!"
"...That was fast."
He'd just told her to go back to normal, and she immediately did.
"Shut up and come with me, Cutie!" She grabbed his arm and hooked it tightly with hers.
"Do you even have a plan?"
"Nope!" she grinned.
"...Figures."
Exhaustion already tugged at him.
"Shouldn't we at least bring the others?"
He didn't exactly want to leave out his other friends after they had helped him so much.
"...Do we have to bring Felix?" she muttered, her lips downturned.
Soren pressed his finger into Esper's scowling face.
"Why are you suddenly pretending to hate him so much? We just had lunch together earlier."
She stuck out her tongue.
"Just kidding. Let's grab 'em all!"
And so began the drag-around-the-academy adventure.
Amelia was first.
"Wanna come out with us?"
"Sure."
"...Wow! She's so easy!" Esper shouted in shock.
Next, Felix.
"...Do we really have to ask him?" Esper complained again.
"I'll come."
"Hey, I didn't even—."
"Let's get some drinks."
"I didn't… sigh, whatever."
Then, Lilliana.
"Uh, Ren?"
"What's wrong, Lily?"
"Didn't you get in trouble for being too close to us just recently?"
"So?"
"... Never mind." She sighed. "Is everyone really okay with it?"
"Probably?"
"...Then I'll finish my work and meet you at the gate in half an hour."
"Alright, see you later, Lily."
"Bye, Ren."
Two muffled voices chorused from behind the door.
""Woww…""
Soren ignored them.
Then Olivia and Alex.
"Really? You're inviting us?"
"Are you sure?"
Ever since the duel between him and Alex, Soren had been avoiding Olivia.
Her surprise made him feel guilty.
"Yeah. Could be fun, right?"
"T-Then I'm in. Alex?"
"...I was going to train, but fine."
That only left Louise.
"Little Brother, I'm so sorry…" She hugged him tightly, drawing stares from those around her.
He had asked Louise the same question as everyone else, but unfortunately, she had already made plans.
"Should I just drop them…?"
"Of course not. We'll hang out another time."
And so, after regrouping with Lilliana, they became a party of seven.
"...So what exactly are we doing?" Felix asked once they gathered at the gate.
Everyone's eyes turned to Soren.
"Why is everyone looking at me? Essy's the one who wanted to go out?"
"Then why did you invite us?" Lilliana pressed.
"Well, I didn't want to leave everyone out? Plus, you all helped me. So I thought I'd treat you. Ugh, this is embarrassing. Essy, where are we going?"
Soren hurriedly changed the topic as his cheeks slightly flushed pink, as he felt embarrassed saying his thoughts aloud.
"Heh, you're such a cutie~! Drinks and dinner sound good? I'm dying to get wasted!"
The group had various reactions to Esper's words, ranging from Amelia and Felix's positive responses.
"Sure."
"Woo! Alcohol!"
To Olivia, Alex and Lilliana's hesitant reactions.
"Uhm… If that's what everyone wants."
"...I don't mind."
"As long as I don't have to drink too much…"
To finally, Soren's negative reaction.
"Do we really have to?"
••✦ ♡ ✦•••
In the end, Soren's protest was ignored.
They ended up in an expensive bar, Amelia and Felix leading the charge with far too much enthusiasm.
Esper darted ahead to reserve a private room.
"We're here!" She shouted as she swung the door open with a flourish.
"Finally!"
"Should we order food first?"
"But I want to drink."
"Isn't it still early?"
As chatter filled the room, Lilliana, the oldest, cleared her throat.
"So what about the seating arrangement?"
"Uh…" Soren hesitated.
"I'm next to him." Amelia declared, pointing at Soren.
"I-I'll sit with Alex."
"I'll sit next to Liv."
"That leaves Essy and Lily."
"Hey, don't forget about me."
"My bad, Essy, Lily and… Mr Trash over there."
Lilliana raised her hand timidly, cheeks pink.
"Um… could I maybe sit next to Ren? I don't really know anyone else…"
'She's so cute.'
"She's so cute!" Esper shouted, echoing his thought.
She rushed over to grab Lilliana's hands.
"Professor Roseblood, right? You're so adorable, oh my gosh!"
"Ah—Miss Rupindolf? I-I appreciate it…" Her voice trailed off as the pink in her cheeks grew brighter.
"Just call me Esper! Or Essy! Whatever you like! Can we be friends?"
Soren stopped in to rescue Lilliana.
"Well, I'm fine with it, Lily. So… all decided?"
Once they sat down, another problem arose.
"Cutie…?" Esper's voice quivered. "Why am I next to him?"
"Let's enjoy ourselves tonight, shall we, Esper?"
"...Cutie?"
Soren just smiled in Esper's direction, not bothering to respond as he knew she was just playing around.
"Anyways, should we order?"
He felt a pang of regret that Louise wasn't with them, but he shoved the thought aside.
For once, he wanted to enjoy himself.
————「❤︎」————