Chapter 36 - Volume 3 (1/2)

School Arc – Chapter 17 (Shade’s POV)

Turning her head after being called 「Elder Sister」, Lycoris wore a slightly anxious expression when she saw my face. Only when I’d smiled, did a slight almost non-existent smile creep up the corners of her mouth in small relief.

It’s an appearance that must never be shown to the likes of those guys in my class who’ve commonly treated her like a flower on a cliff.

Even though my sister was going in and out of the female dormitory’s medical office with the reason being that she was in poor health, every time I’d return to the male dormitory, my friends would keep pestering me with a “how is she?” to no end.

I feel like I should be the one pressing someone for answers. Like, “what the heck is going on right now?”.

It’s only hearsay, but based on what Miss Lilium had apparently said, the order of events which occurred in these past few days, went like this.

The day Art harassed her, Lilium chased after the bird. She’d said, that, while chasing after the blue shadow, her feet took her to the guest house, and then, she moved further and further underground. If she considered the bigger picture, this would’ve been the moment she realized that there was something strange, but by then, she might have already been under some sort of spell. (1)

About this blue bird, it seems like it’s a kind of probing magic that the lunatic continued casting even while he was practically unconscious, this was according to the guest house’s librarian assigned as the watchdog, Mr. Hemlock.

In any case, when Lilium chased after it, it purposely led her to the innermost part of the basement. When the bird came crashing down having used up its power, Lilium directed all the healing magic she had on it, which resulted in the revival of that sleeping lunatic. From that moment on, the madman began using Lilium’s eyes to view the outside world.

What happened after that had some conjectures mixed in, but it likely went like this.

When that guy, who seemed to be crazy about Miss Lilium, awoke, he immediately took action. It seems like the guy was some sort of genius in magic. Not only mind magic but even wind magic was up on his forte. He likely used a mind manipulation magic on Art to make him fall down the stairs. As for Art’s entourage, if you look at it from the lunatic’s perspective, they’d been caught red-handed. With no room to argue, glass shards poured over their heads.

On top of all that, he was even courteous enough to fire off magic at someone’s sister in place of a greeting before he left.

Be it day or night, Lycoris was tormented by nightmares — Wolf was too, but that’s besides the point…

When she slept, without fail, she’d see dreams that condensed all her fears and insecurities. This was already on the same level as a mind attack. Since this spell wasn’t information inside the magic system owned by the association, no one knows how to deal with it.

It seems like my sister had turned to strongly fearing the things she was dreaming of. As a result, during these two days in reality, her condition was visibly poor and her mind was unstable.

Of course, even the school couldn’t afford to just fold their arms and watch, but, they couldn’t come up with a substantially effective measure against it.

On the same day that Gift – the lunatic – appeared, it seems several people including Mr. Hemlock headed down to the guest house’s basement. What they saw there was the black fog that attacked Lycoris and Wolf. They’ve been going back again and again, and were at their wits end with it.

The black fog seemed to have also begun causing a considerable influence inside the school. Maybe thanks to my aptitude to mind magic, I still haven’t shown any signs of it, but be that as it may, I could feel unrest in the air through my skin. Fights, while trivial, were becoming frequent in the male dormitory. Although they were brought up as young masters from well-to-do families, it wasn’t strange for quarrels to happen when men around my age assemble. Nevertheless, the frequency of commotions today had been abnormal.

Although they haven’t shown as much remarkable symptoms as Lycoris and Wolf, I don’t know what will happen in the future. Perhaps in the end it would be an epidemic of nightmares.

For now, Art, who was known to be synonymous to the『source of mayhem』, had to be tied down even if it was to the bed.

「Shade, how’s Lily?」

On top of the bed with her back supported by the cushion, Lycoris inquired.

「It’s useless. It looks like she still hasn’t woken up」

Right after Lilium had spoken about the situation, she fell into a coma as if using up all her strength.

I don’t have the heart to say this in front of my sister, but from the words that lunatic left behind, I’m guessing until the very day the madman from the basement comes for her, she’ll likely continue sleeping.

「I see. But, Lily isn’t seeing nightmares, right?」

Her voice was so anxious that I couldn’t make myself reply with something like, ‘if you’re so worried, go take a look yourself’.

「She’s fine. By the way, Elder Sister. I’ve applied for you to recuperate from home today」

Even when I informed her of what I did without consulting with her even once, Lycoris’s reaction was dull. Since it was out of character of her to be so out of it, this simply made me more uneasy.

「…Eh?」

「Even if you stay here in that condition, you wouldn’t be of any use, right? At any rate, it’s better for you to be away from the academy right now」

With a lecture that was just a little stern, those black eyes clouded.

Please stop it. Honestly, I’m begging you, please stop it.

「Seems like Duke Lilia will come pick you up himself. You’ve had him worried」