Chapter 17: 17

17　That scent

 

　Midnight.

　I lie on the bed at the inn, trying to think of a solution.

　Isn’t there some way for me to save Eko?

“Is she really an incompetent? “

　For argument’s sake let’s say she is. Can an incompetent really enter the Magic Academy? That bothers me.

　The Royal Magic Academy divides each year into six groups, ranging from F to A, and the better the student, the closer they are to class A. However, even if Eko belongs to class F, this is an elite Magic Academy in the kingdom. For Eko to be enrolled here, she should have some knowledge of magic, and should be able to handle magic in no small measure.

　Then, why is she being labeled as a “failure”?

　I can think of several possible causes.

　For example, her growth type is combat-specialized, therefore her magic-related stat is low in comparison.

　I believe this is the most likely scenario. Even if you could use magic, if your INT is low, then the damage you’ll deal will be laughable. If that’s the case, then it can’t be helped that she’s labeled as a failure.

　Another one would be, she has learned Magic, but her amount of MP is low.

　This could be the case too. No matter how much magic you learn, you won’t be able to use it unless you have the sufficient amount of MP.

　The third one could be, she has enough MP, but has not learned Magic yet.

　Somehow, the short Eko gives me the feeling that she couldn’t read such a difficult Grimoire. This possibility also seems high.

　And the fourth one, simply because she is a demihuman.

　I don’t want to entertain this thought too much, but according to Silvia, in the Castall Kingdom there is some deep-rooted discrimination and persecution against demihumans and dark elves. However, this might be the straw that broke the camel’s back. Chances are high that this is discrimination against being a demihuman, combined with some inability the person in question must have.

　Hmmm. Then, what should I do……

　I spent a great deal of time that night worrying about that kid.

—————

　Then, morning came.

　And as a result of spending the whole night thinking it over, I came to a conclusion.

　That is――

“Silvia. I was thinking on inviting Eko.”

　Make Eko a companion.

　Have her show me her status, predict her growth type,  confirm if her current direction is unfit and, similar to Silvia, decide on a position where she would be good at.

　She’s working hard to be useful to others, but as she is right now, her effort might just be wasted. Therefore, I thought to provide her of an environment where she could be of use.

“……Second-dono. My path lies with you, the same as your path now lies with me. I’m not happy about this either. I’m just a lucky person.”

　Silvia also wanted to do something about Eko, so she kneeled before me and spoke with an inspiring expression. I would love if she could stop playing knight this early in the morning though.

“I don’t know if Eko could be convinced. In the worst case, I’ll try to have her show me her status and give her some advice on the path she should be moving forward to.”

　To become our companion would mean for her to drop out of school. It’s not an easy decision to make. I’ll talk to Eko on the premise that she will turn me down.

“Umu, that should be fine. Without Second-dono’s advice, I would not have noticed my very own potential. I want her to notice it too.”

　Nodded Silvia.

　And so, we went to the school in a slightly refreshed mood.

——————

“Ah……! “

　Silvia raised her voice as soon as we passed by the school gate.

　In front of us was the mud-covered figure of Eko, sitting in the middle of the road.

　……This was obviously weird. I got this intense feeling of discomfort.

“W-what happened!?　Are you okay!? “

　Silvia was the first to rush forward.

　I also ran up while looking at the surroundings. The cause of my discomfort soon came to light.

　Every student walking the road avoided speaking to Eko.

　They walked by without stopping and turned a blind eye to her. Ignoring her.

　It was possible to say this was something done with ill intent.

“Hey, Eko. What happened?　Are you okay?　Did you trip and fall? “

　I reached out my hand to her as I spoke.

“I’m fine!!　Please don’t speak to me!! “

　It was a scream of rejection.

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　Eko shook off my approaching hand and stood up with a desperate look, running away from me as if escaping.

　Ah…… This is. That. That indeed. It’s awful.

　一That scent that I only smelled once.

　The smell of despair.

　I’m not sure what exactly happened to her.

　But this much I know at least. Eko was indeed aware of it―― That her efforts were in vain.

　And it now had been thrusted at her.

The fact that “no matter how much useless efforts you make trying to fool yourself into thinking otherwise, your reality won’t change”.

　She was now forced to look straight at it, at this reality that she always looked away from, causing her to despair.

　That is not good. It’s too sorrowful.

　Everyone is allowed to have a dream. Isn’t that right?

“……save you.”

　A mutter escaped my lips as I chased after Eko. This might be presumptuous of me. There’s some uncertainty. But Silvia is also coming along with me.

　Both our paths are the same one.

　Just the same as what Silvia was saying.

　Reassuring.

　Companions are awesome.

　If it’s like this, won’t you become one too?

—————-

“Don’t come!! “

　We finally cornered Eko.

　It took us over an hour to finally reach this situation. By now, classes most likely have already started.

　Even so, this girl is quite slow on her feet. The problem was, every time I caught her and grabbed her arm, she forcefully shook me off and escaped again.

　An hour after we started, Silvia was the first one to drop, dead tired. Eko seemed to still have some SP left.

　Her legs are slow. She is quite strong. And she had plenty SP. Additionally, her INT is low……?

　――Maybe.

　A certain expectation runs in my head.

“It’s okay, don’t worry. We just want to talk to you.”

　Silvia said so while desperately gasping for air.

“There’s nothing to talk about!　Leave! “

　Eko still stubbornly refused.

“Just leave me alone!! “

　Tears spilled from her eyes. She had probably endured them up until now. Crouching in that spot, Eko began to cry. I’d love to ask her what happened, but right now doesn’t seem like a good time.

　No good, we can’t speak like this.

　Still, I can’t just leave like this without speaking with her. She might even resort to suicide.

　What should I do……? After thinking about it for a while, I could only come up with one thing.

　A gamble.

　A huge bet.

　……Well, I’ll just do it.

　My prediction might be totally off, but this is the only thing I could think of――

“Silvia, don’t be surprised.”

　After saying that, I approached Eko.

“D-don’t come! “

　Eko still rejected me with a feeble voice.

　When I was in front of her, I pulled out my sword.

“Second-dono, what are――!? “

　Silvia became flustered. But I can’t stop it anymore.

　Immediately after, I cleanly cut my left hand off.

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