Esther White

Renggg…

The bell began to ring long, breaking the silent space here. The late summer breeze blew through those bright red foliage, causing them to fall freely. Cherry blossoms falling created a poetic scene that was somehow strange.

A young girl with smooth white hair was strolling casually on a path that she would walk many more times in the future.

'So for the next 4 years... I'll be studying here?'

Her deep red eyes were directed at that romantic scenery.

She was currently standing at the intersection between the road to school and the road to the dormitory. Of course, Esther didn't hesitate at all to turn left because that's where the girls' dormitory was located.

The middle road would lead straight to the academy, where daily learning activities took place, with cherry blossom trees in Japanese style lining both sides.

Esther stepped into the lobby to receive her room key.

The building was constructed with birch wood panels, creating a more airy and brighter space compared to the boys' dormitory. While admiring the perfect beauty of the interior, Esther accidentally spotted two friends. Even though they were obscured by a crowd, the two of them still stood out.

The exam had just ended, but Charlotte and Katia were already there.

'Should I go say hello?'

Thinking and doing, Esther walked over to them and waved:

"Halloo~" - This was her most friendly level greeting. Esther only greeted these two friends of hers like this.

Charlotte was startled when she heard her greeting. She looked flustered in a very cute way and then waved back:

"Oh hello, Esther."

Meanwhile, Katia remained focused on finding her room key. She didn't even bother to turn around but just greeted:

"Hello."

"What room numbers do you two have?" - Though Esther felt sad and didn't want to speak, she still cared deeply about her two friends.

Charlotte held up the key marked 146 in front of Esther and shook it:

"I'm on the first floor. Apparently right below your room, Esther, so I picked up yours for you too."

As she finished speaking, she handed over room key 246 to her friend.

"Thank you, Charlotte! You're so kind... I'll help you next time. What a coincidence with our room numbers."

Katia, who had been searching until now, suddenly retorted:

"It's not a complete coincidence. Because I'm only a few rooms away from you." - She squinted to see the tiny numbers on the room keys.

"Oh, is that so? What room are you in, Katia?"

"250."

The atmosphere sank once again.

'You're really good at ending conversations, aren't you?' - Needless to say, her mood wasn't good at all.

"By the way, Esther-"

The conversation could still be salvaged. Esther was as happy as if she'd struck gold, and immediately asked:

"What is it?"

"Well... nevermind." - Charlotte hesitated for a long time. She didn't seem to want to say it in this crowded place. There were still many people looking for their room numbers and getting keys like the three of them.

After pausing for quite a while, she asked her two close friends:

"How about we call and talk tonight? Is that okay?"

Katia had no notable expression.

"Fine."

"Sounds good." - Esther, as always, had to try to carry the conversation for the less talkative Katia.

Esther opened her room door and found a quite pretty, cute room. She put tons of designer outfits and dresses into the closet.

'It seems this closet isn't as big as I thought. I'll ask dad to buy more later.'

'Before, I was very eager to become a Star student. And that wasn't unfounded because while those other noble children were often lazy and partying wildly, I always tried my best to study and practice my Blood Magic.'

She clenched her delicate hand with great determination.

'From now on, I'll have to try even harder to catch up with Haruki and Charlotte! I can't fall asleep just because I achieved the top position in the entrance exam!'

'But the Star student position certainly won't be mine anymore... it will probably be Haruki, or at most that Midnight guy... and hopefully not that Alice woman.'

Although quite confident in her theory, when she recalled the moment that guy shot an arrow as if Death himself had delivered the blow.

An attack that surpassed F-rank... no, even easily surpassed E or D rank.

And all those miracles didn't come from the people she had just thought of. It came from the person she least expected.

Suddenly, time seemed to freeze. A voice echoed in her head.

"Esther White... Do you want to cause trouble with me?"

That voice was so cold and full of killing intent that it could directly kill someone.

----0w0----

In a pitch-black neighborhood, locals were walking around, creating a bustling atmosphere that broke the usual silence.

In the crowd, someone was walking with their face down. He wore a black hoodie, making it very difficult to see his face.

Each of his steps was heavy as if the entire earth was resting on his frail shoulders.

That day was truly joyful. It was perhaps the best day of her life... until she met that guy.

At that time, Esther was leading her friends to the venue for the party celebrating her top rank in the Spiral Academy entrance exam.

She was chatting animatedly with Haruki and Charlotte when she accidentally bumped into someone and almost fell.

But this time, Haruki caught her before she fell.

"Are you okay, Esther?"

"H-Haruki... thank you so much." - Her face turned completely red.

"No problem."

After scolding that commoner until she was satisfied, Esther turned her face, ready to continue. But then Charlotte suddenly mentioned a rather familiar name.

"Ryoshu?"

Afterward, not just Esther but her entire group froze. They stared at him.

'Ryoshu? That guy who always clings to Haruki and Charlotte? I need to check.'

She rushed toward him and snatched his mask off so quickly that he couldn't do anything. Although he tried to cover his face, it was too late. Esther had already seen everything.

"Why does your face look so hideous?"

But then Haruki tried to salvage the awkward situation.

"Are you okay, Ryoshu? You look... really different... no, just a little. I mean... you looked different two weeks ago than you do now."

Then she came up with the idea to humiliate the person standing in front of her by saying to Charlotte:

"I can't believe this idiot confessed to you, Charlotte."

That's right, Ryoshu was also the commoner who had confessed to Charlotte a few weeks ago.

'He must have been so heartbroken that he destroyed his face to that extent. Although it's quite unfortunate because he had a rather handsome face before... but now it looks truly disgusting.'

Esther suppressed a bit of her dissatisfaction before asking him:

"So after being rejected, you're this sad?"

He seemed speechless. More and more people on the street were gathering to observe them while whispering unfounded rumors.

After being silent for a moment, he finally opened his mouth.

"No..."

"You're a terrible actor."

"If there's nothing else, I'll go now."

He pulled his hoodie back up again.

'Oh, so now you, a commoner, want to run away.'

"Goodbye." - Ryoshu hurriedly walked on after saying farewell.

'But you won't be that fast!'

Esther tried to grab his arm, thinking everything would be as easy as when she took his mask. After all, she had already become an E-rank Awakened, so she had more reason to be confident.

"Hey, where are you going? I'm not done with you yet."

But suddenly, Ryoshu somehow seemed able to see her movement and instead grabbed Esther's wrist. At the same time, he reached out to take back his mask.

"Esther White."

Hearing her full name, she couldn't help but feel chills.

"Do you want..." His eyes began to darken to the point where the pupils were almost invisible.

"...to cause trouble with me?" - He coldly looked at her and gripped her arm tighter.

Esther was so scared that she couldn't move or say anything back. He threw her hand aside as if tossing garbage. Immediately turning around, he put his mask on and walked straight ahead without looking back at her or anyone in the group.

After some time, she was finally able to move her body again.

Esther ran as fast as she could to where he was. However, after he whispered something very quietly, in the next moment, he had completely disappeared without leaving any trace.

She couldn't even sense his existence anymore. It truly surprised her and her friends.

"Where did he go? That bastard!" - Esther angrily searched for him.

'Damn it, he ruined my best day!'

Haruki tried to help her calm down with his gentle smile as usual. She sighed and tried to forget what had just happened.

"Calm down, Esther. We still have your father's party, remember?"

"That's right. Let's go, I've been looking forward to it for a long time." - Charlotte added in an effort to soothe her close friend's anger.

Katia silently walked ahead without waiting for anyone.

"You're right! Let's continue having fun!"

'I should just forget about him, I won't see him again anyway.'

Esther turned away and continued to enjoy her wonderful evening.