Chapter 17 — The Whisper Between Bells
The bell rang, sharp and familiar.
For everyone else, it marked the end of class.
For Aira, it marked the beginning of something else.
She blinked at the sunlight streaming through the classroom window — it looked softer than usual, too warm for October. The room buzzed with chatter, chairs scraping, laughter bouncing off the walls. But beneath it all, there was a faint hum. Like the world itself was quietly tuning a string.
"Earth to Aira!"
Mina's voice snapped her back. Her friend grinned, waving a notebook. "You zoned out again. Thinking about your mysterious roommate?"
Aira laughed softly, trying to sound casual. "What makes you think that?"
"Girl, please. You've had that dreamy 'I-know-a-secret' face all week."
Tessa leaned in too, chin resting on her palm. "Rumor says she transferred out of nowhere. Doesn't talk much. Kind of… intense vibe, yeah?"
Aira chuckled, though she felt the air around her shift slightly.
"She's not intense," she said carefully. "Just… different."
Her friends exchanged knowing glances.
"Different," Mina repeated, wiggling her eyebrows. "As in mysteriously cool, or emotionally unavailable but gorgeous?"
Aira rolled her eyes. "You two are impossible."
But their laughter helped her relax — if only a little. The warmth of normal life, of gossip and jokes, felt grounding. Still, somewhere deep in her chest, that hum remained.
She could feel it now — a faint pulse, like something unseen brushing against her heartbeat. The same kind of pull she'd felt when Rimuru first smiled at her — that light, unexplainable warmth that seemed to seep through every corner of her world.
Except this time… it felt off.
Like something else was listening.
Tessa waved a hand in front of her face again.
"Aira, seriously — you good?"
"Yeah," she said quickly, forcing a smile. "Just tired, maybe."
But when she looked toward the window again, she froze.
Outside, in the reflection of the glass, she saw herself — sitting exactly where she was. Same posture, same uniform. But her reflection's eyes weren't brown anymore.
They glowed faintly blue and red.
Aira's breath hitched.
Then someone bumped her shoulder, and the image flickered back to normal.
She blinked rapidly, heart pounding. Her friends were still talking, oblivious.
"—and then Sensei caught him cheating! Like, full-on phone under the desk—"
Their laughter felt far away.
Aira pressed a hand over her chest.
"Rimuru…" she whispered.
Because for the briefest second, she'd felt her — like a whisper brushing against her thoughts. Not words, just a feeling.
Warm.
Protective.
But also… afraid.
---
After school, Aira walked home under a sky painted orange and gold. She should've felt calm, but the air carried a strange tension — like someone was walking a few steps behind her, matching her rhythm perfectly.
She turned once.
No one.
But when she glanced at her phone, a message blinked across the screen.
"Stay inside tonight."
No sender name. Just that.
Her fingers trembled as she stared at it.
"Rimuru?"
No reply.
The world grew quieter. Even the wind seemed to hesitate.
Then, softly — almost too faint to hear — came a familiar laugh.
It wasn't from outside.
It was from inside the phone speaker.