Chapter 295 Volume V - Chapter 13: Toward the Festival
The grass I was lying on... was even more comfortable than it should have been. So much so that it made me think that I couldn't move a muscle because they were so comfortable, rather than what I was experiencing in that dark infinity a few seconds ago...
And not only that. Although there was strangely no 'sun' in the deep blue, endless sky just above me, the warmth, the light I didn't even know where it was coming from and so much more... literally everything was perfect.
So, I didn't do anything, I just... waited, letting the sky and this relaxing feeling take over my body, not thinking about anything. Questions like who I was, what I was doing here, and more, were unimportant. I didn't care...
Until... a shadow fell on me.
It came slowly. It didn't suddenly descend on me, nor did it appear from thin air. It was like... the shadow of someone walking slowly toward me. And with this shadow, I became uncomfortable and moved involuntarily. I turned my head toward it, just to my left, diagonally behind me.
And the person I found in front of me was... strangely familiar. It was me, the person in front of me.
And by me, I mean... not me as Ethan. He didn't have brown hair and green eyes like him. Instead... he had coal-black, disheveled hair and dull gray eyes that resembled those of a ghost. He was thin, though not as thin as Ethan, and his face was even more emotionless, expressionless.
The person who was Ethan was me. I wasn't Aiden Tenebra, I was here as Ethan Subter himself, the one with the brown hair and the green eyes.
No words were spoken between us. Neither of our mouths opened. After a short time, he approached me and leaned over, squatting on the grass.
As we both watched the sunless but strangely blue sky... it was I who broke the silence.
"You knew, didn't you?"
The person sitting next to me... answered me without changing his expression in any way, continuing to watch the sky.
"Depending on what you're talking about, that question has a different answer."
"I'm talking about everything. Everything."
"Then the answer is no."
As I squinted, I confirmed some things in my head, and at the same time... I only made more questions pop up in my mind.
"Am I dead?"
"No."
"Then... am I in a coma or something?"
"Sort of."
I sighed lightly, finally tearing my eyes away from the deep blue sky, slowly turning them to my side.
His black hair fluttered gently in the breeze of the nonexistent winds, while his gray eyes looked up at the sky with a strange... emptiness.
"Then... why am I here?"
His eyes narrowed at this question, his expression slowly leaving the sky and returning to the ground. He turned his gray eyes to me, making eye contact with me without hesitation.
He was really emotionless. No... emotionless was not enough to describe him. However, his answer to my question was not at all like that of an emotionless person. On the contrary, it was something an angry person would say.
Perhaps that's why the emotion of what he said was much more... pronounced than that of an angry person. His soullessness made the words that came out of his mouth that much more frightening.
"For screwing up the plan."
*******
In the early hours of the morning, I woke up to the sound of the alarm ringing incessantly right next to me.
What I normally did to wake up to a new day was to take a short shower, followed by breakfast. Today was no different.
What was different was after I had completed this routine.
I changed into some nice clothes. I normally combed my hair briefly without caring too much about it, but this time I paid a little more attention.
When I stood in front of the mirror... I looked good, I was wearing a gray T-shirt. Underneath I was wearing a pair of cloth pants in a slightly darker shade of gray.
I could have looked much better... but it was the best I could do and it was enough for me.
So, I finally stepped out, and as I did so, a figure suddenly appeared at my doorstep, as if it had been waiting for this moment for minutes, and I couldn't help being startled.
"Thank God! We're fucking late!"
Julian, with a slight frown and a slightly excited expression, grabbed me by the shoulder and gently dragged me toward our destination.
"Come on, come on! Most of the buses are about to leave!"
I couldn't say anything, all I could do was sigh and push the hand on my shoulder aside, accelerating slightly with him.
We were late, huh... I didn't even spend much time in my room.
"The festival starts at noon, right?"
"Yes! That's why we have to be fast!"
After a few short minutes of fast walking, what finally came into view was a row of buses lined up. They were all white and long, and students were boarding them in lines. A little bit further behind these buses was the South Gate of the academy.
I heard that the academy used to prepare for the festival on its own. But because of recent events, they didn't have time for that. That's why the students and staff, at least those who wanted to participate in the festival, were going to Wiathen City. We were going to attend one of the festivals there.
When we entered the area, I saw a lot of eyes locked on us, but I ignored them and searched for a few figures.
Lucia was... much easier to spot than I thought. After all, there was a spot that almost everyone in the area involuntarily turned their eyes to, a spot that was hard to distinguish. And there stood Lucia, wearing her usual black mask.
She was wearing a blue skirt that went below her knees. On top of that was a white blouse. Her blonde hair was pulled back in a ponytail and her blood-red eyes were even brighter than usual for some reason.
Standing right next to her was Sue. She was simultaneously very conspicuous and... inconspicuous. Conspicuous, of course, because anyone who tried to look at Lucia would see her. The reason why she was inconspicuous was... because she was invisible compared to Lucia's attractiveness statistic.
She was wearing a dark blue skirt to match her eyes, shorter than Lucia's. And a T-shirt that looked black but was strangely lighter. The only word to describe her would be... I think it would be ordinary.
They were taking a different bus than the one we were on, so we would only be able to meet at the festival site.
I tore my eyes away from the duo, this time, for no reason, and even though I knew she wouldn't be here, I looked at someone else.
No, it wasn't Celine. I was sure she wouldn't even set foot in the festival after all that talk about hiding herself. The person I was looking for... was someone with silver hair like mine.
No matter how hard I looked, I couldn't see Alice around, but that didn't stop me from continuing to look for her. I looked in all the bus rows, but she was nowhere to be found. Just... as I had expected.
With a feeling similar to disappointment, I turned around, and Julian and I kept moving forward in the line until we got on the bus. Finally, after a short while, we got to our seats. Julian rebelled a little when I sat by the window, but he knew I couldn't get up because the bus was crowded. So he sat next to me.
With only a few seconds left before the buses were due to leave, I looked outside, at the academy I was about to leave again, albeit for a much shorter time than before. As always... it looked fascinating.
With its staff moving from place to place, never stopping, and with the sun in the sky on its right diagonal for me... it was beautiful. It was too beautiful.
But... I paused involuntarily when something else caught my attention amidst all this beauty, amongst the staff.
Among the last few students to board the bus, I saw a person who had obviously come here at a brisk pace. She seemed to be trying to catch her breath, and at the same time, with squinted eyes, she seemed to be angry with herself.
She was wearing jeans and a gray blouse. It was a simple outfit, but the simplicity was spoiled by her long silver hair. The darkness in her eyes added to her appearance.
I couldn't help my eyes widen as she was one of the people I didn't expect to see here. Her eyes, like the darkness of night, were fixed first on the floor and then on the bus as she seemed to be looking for someone, but she gave up when the academy staff next to the bus told her to hurry up.
She got on the bus and settled into a seat in front of us, not far from us. She didn't turn her head back once, even though it looked like she was looking for someone before she got on the bus.
Alice was coming to a festival that I would never have expected her to attend... on the same bus with us.
*******
The trip wasn't supposed to take very long, but for some reason, it felt longer than ever.
Because I was looking at a figure not too far away from us, trying to find answers to countless questions in my mind.
Did she just want to blow off some steam like almost everyone else? Or was she here for a completely different reason... I had no idea, but... it was definitely strange. That's why I couldn't take my eyes off her.
When Julian saw Alice where I was looking along the road, he too had a puzzled look on his face. Apparently, he hadn't expected to see her here either.
The trip... continued like this.
When we entered Wiathen City, a notice went out all over the bus that we would be getting off soon. That's what brought me back to Lunerra.
Whatever, why do I care so much about her being here? Whatever her purpose in attending the festival, I don't need to question it. We didn't get on so well after the James thing anyway, so there's no point in pushing it now.
If she wants to spend time with us, she'll come herself, I can't force her. And if she doesn't want to... again, I can't force her.
Relaxing myself is all I need to do today, no thinking, no unnecessary questions. I will just... clear my head, my only goal will be to 'have fun' with my friends at this festival.
So, I finally stopped paying attention to her, and not too long after that, we reached our destination.
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