Under the moon's silver light, a sole girl with hair as dark as the night sky and hair as silver as the moon stared out the window.
Her eyes coolly glowed the same silver light as if they were a pair of celestial bodies themselves.
Despite the eloquently serendipitous atmosphere, the girl's face was rather inexpressive yet solemn.
When her gaze finally broke free from the moon, her petite frame fell sideways and flopped down on the couch.
"Haah…" A small sigh escaped her delicate lips.
Ever since the wanderers arrived in the capital, she hadn't left for a single mission. And since then, she'd spent all her days teaching them about the world and training them.
She even got help from the Hero and the Saint. While the hero adored the girl, she tried to avoid her as much as possible, not wanting to be doted on. As for the saint, while the girl idolized her, she couldn't keep the conversation going.
"After all…"
—I'm nothing more than a cold-blooded murderer.
Despite being the only princess of the imperial family and the first heir, she left the succession to her younger brother.
For as long as she could remember, she was a girl of many talents. Her intelligence was above average, even among the elite. But the magic and sword skills she showed were also outstanding.
However… Luna herself did not know what she wanted. She was good at plenty of things, but she rarely enjoyed any of it.
The few things she found stimulating had been combat. Nothing was quite like gasping for air in desperation, scrambling for a way to win while her muscles seared from the overuse of mana.
But even she knew how dangerous a path that was. If she had been someone easily swayed by her emotions, then perhaps she would've walked the path of a battle-crazed princess, like those in the stories she had read.
Even so, it wasn't that simple.
Luna cursed herself. Her intelligence was a hindrance, stopping her from acting the way she wanted. And unlike those geniuses who drowned themselves in alcohol or were obsessed with escaping the nihilistic dread, she endured.
As if that wasn't all. Luna hadn't been able to connect with anyone. To everyone, she was a graceful and kind princess. Then one day, she never smiled.
Nothing special had happened, but no one but Luna knew that. Except for her Uncle Rigeld Ilifel, her father's older brother, former hero and emperor
"If it's tiring to pretend. Then down," once told her.
He took out a cigar and lit it in front of her—he who was a respected former hero and emperor and in front of his niece, nonetheless.
"Foooh…"
The puff of smoke he'd blown rose toward the starry sky, but even so, it had spread to her, stinging her nostrils, making her recoil.
He had glanced at her, smirking. "See, I'm not pretending, and it feels quite refreshing."
"Not for me," Luna finally replied. Her fake smile had faded, leaving her expressionless. "But… it does feel nice."
"Oh? Want one?" Rigeld had taken out a cigar as if to hand it to her.
"Is this a test?" Luna frowned.
"No, you're free to take it or leave it. Though I don't condone underage smoking or drinking, hah-hahaha," he said as he laughed somewhat haughtily.
"Haaah…"
Luna couldn't help but sigh and stare up at the sky. But before she realized it, a smile had crept up on her delicate face.
"You're a bad influence, Uncle."
Having recalled those memories from six years ago, Luna heaved a sigh. In the end, she joined the military, not only to escape the marriage talks with her parents, but also to be with her favorite uncle.
—Knock-knock…
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door to her study. She frowned but headed toward the door, only to find her uncle. With him was a cadet with black hair and golden eyes.
Her eye twitched. Had it been anyone other than her uncle, she would've coolly asked if there was an emergency. But only annoyance was shown on her face, even more so after seeing Alum Miller.
For some reason, she didn't like him much—no, rather, she knew why she didn't like him. She could tell they were cut from the same cloth, yet he lived happily with friends and even a lover.
Not only was Luna Ilifel blessed with intelligence, but she was also attuned to the emotions of others. So, there were plenty of people trying to close the gap for various reasons, but ever since that talk, she stopped bothering with social etiquette.
Nees didn't count since he was a wyvern. He was more of a partner, pet, and friend. Which meant Luna had never had a friend in the normal sense.
"What is it, Uncle?" Although there was a hint of annoyance in her voice, she finally asked why Rigeld had come to her room. "Unless it's an emergency, coming uninvited to a lady's room in the middle of the night is uncouth, don't you think?"
"Aw, don't be so cold, Luna," Rigeld shrugged. "Well, I wouldn't call it an emergency, but… you might find it interesting," he added while grinning.
It seemed to have struck a nerve. Thus, Luna's eyes twitched. "Oh?" A mildly amused sound escaped her lips as her eyes wandered toward Alum.
…
..
Not long after getting Luna out of her room alongside Rigeld, Alum found himself in a familiar office. But unlike those days when he'd laze around with Rigeld while reading with Luna, that said princess was now instead crossing her arms while glaring at him and her uncle.
"So? What's this about? And why is a cadet in this conversation?"
Even though Luna asked, she wasn't dull enough not to understand this had something to do with Alum.
"You told me it would be something interesting, Uncle."
Rigeld smugly grinned.
"You're right—Alum here claims to be your best friend, interesting, right?"
Not amused by the answer, Luna directed her glare at Alum.
"Oh? The impudence."
"Why are you always messing with me?" Alum, in turn, glared at Rigeld, then heaved a tired sigh. His attention returned to Luna. "Apologies, Princess. It is not 'you' whom Sir Rigeld was referring to."
"What~?" Rigeld sulked as if disappointed. "You're not calling me 'damned old man'?"
"Shut it, old man; you're giving me a headache."
"Hahahahaha!"
"…"
Luna glared at the two of them. Not only was she already envious of him, but he was now close to her uncle? Nothing but irritation swirled within her.
"State your business," Luna said, holding back a growl.
At those words, Rigeld became serious; his expression was that of the seasoned leader he was.
"Actually, Alum is from another world."
""…..""
The long silence stretched on. Alum was massaging his temples while Luna stared at her uncle with a baffled expression as if to say, 'Seriously? Do you take me for an idiot?'—of course, Luna already knew Alum was from another world. Why would they bother calling the otherworlders wanderers?
But judging by Alum's reaction, she could somewhat tell her uncle was still messing around. And knowing him, there was a deeper meaning to his words.
First, he'd introduced Alum as her best friend. However, Alum corrected him by stating it wasn't 'you'. If she were to take those words literally, Alum wasn't referring to her, but also to her who wasn't her.
Then there was the whole other world thing; she already knew Alum was a wanderer, and by reiterating it…
"You're from a parallel world?"
"Attagirl! Aren't you fast on the uptake?" Rigeld praised her, then laughed.
"Don't you 'attagirl' me! I'm not some kid in constant need of praise," Luna retorted.
Seeing the two interact, Alum softly smiled.
"Thanks for the quick uptake."
Still, Luna didn't understand the situation. But Rigeld had no reason to lie to her either. Sure, he did tease her from time to time, but he never took it as far as to make her question his sanity.
"Okay, let's say you are from a parallel world. How did you get here?"
"…"
With a pained expression on his face, Alum began explaining about the ruins, their relationship in his world, and his connection to the others, how he messed up and realized too late he was in a parallel world.
"So in short, you're from a mirrored realm, and you tried to hug the saint, only for her to throw and scold you. Then, caught off guard, you let your lover from this world who isn't your lover kiss you?"
"Yes…"
Alum averted his eyes.
"Are you delusional? We? Friends? You and Lady Amethely as lovers?" Luna stood up and turned toward the door. "Don't waste my time on nonsense."
But just as she was about to leave, Alum tossed something toward her. And she caught it out of reflex after sensing it wasn't something dangerous.
"A cookie?" she scowled.
"Amethely made it. She's your idol, right? Isn't it a treat you'd want to try?"
Lady Saint made this? That can't be… huh? But how does he know that I idolize the Saint?
It wasn't something she'd shared with anyone, not even her uncle. Yet she could help but suspect that uncle. She glared at him as if to ask, but he simply shrugged and shook his head.
Fine, I'll indulge you a little more.
"So? 'Best friend', tell me more about you and me. How did we end up as best friends?"
"It would be faster to show you." Alum turned to Rigeld. "Tell Phoenix to unblock free elemental manipulation inside the room."
"Sure. Hey, Phoenix, disable the restriction."
[Affirmative.]
After the mechanical voice affirmed Rigeld's command. Alum began to conjure water out of thin air to make a scene in full colors.
There, she saw how they met on the deck of the ship that the wanderers were on the first time heading to Ilifel.
She was on that ship too, as she'd landed on the deck after a mission. That night Nees had other plans, dropped her off on the airship, then headed the other way.
But she didn't remember meeting someone. Not only that, in the scene shown to her, they read together while she rested her head on his shoulder—all the while, Alum recited every single word they'd exchanged.
"…"
No matter how tired she was that day, she couldn't imagine herself letting him close enough to brush blood off her face, let alone lean on him. Then, the scene ended with her falling asleep.
"Wow?" Rigeld, who had been quiet until now, gasped, then looked at Alum with a glint of hope. "How about—"
"No. Don't think about it," Alum sternly cut him off.
"You didn't even hear me out…" he sulked.
"You were about to suggest an engagement, were you not?"
"Huh? Did the other me try that?" he inquired.
"Yes. Shamelessly and blatantly," Alum deadpanned.
Amidst their banter, Luna could only stare at Alum.
"Cadet Alum…" she called out to him somewhat reluctantly. "Could you come over here?" she asked, patting the free space on the couch beside her.
"I see… you haven't cured your insomnia yet?"
Luna went quiet for a moment; her eyes widened.
"I—yeah… If you know that much, then… I can't help but begin to believe this ridiculous situation."
Alum went to sit beside her, then picked up the book that had been on the table. She'd wondered why there was a storybook on the table, but after having witnessed the scene, she understood why.
It had been a book she wanted to read, but she'd been putting it on hold. Judging by Alum's demeanor, he'd already read it.
And when he sat down beside her too, her guard just naturally dropped. Unconsciously, she'd scooted closer to him until their shoulders eventually touched.
At some point, Rigeld had left the office, and she ended up leaning on him just like she'd done in the scene Alum had shown her.
Why am I this comfortable? I… Did I really make a friend…?
But before she realized it, she'd dozed off.
Having noticed her drifting into the lands of dreams, Alum couldn't help but smile, albeit a bit bitterly, since it made him recall a bunch of memories. Still, he closed the book and wrapped her in a blanket.
"Mmh…"
He sighed softly as he stared into space.
Luna was able to fall asleep, but he had too much on his mind to do the same. And even though it wasn't the Luna he knew, he was glad to be able to help her with her insomnia, just like back then.
Then, the heavy ache dawned on him.
So… This is what the others felt when we first arrived in the new world. Lost, without knowing a way home. Back then, I didn't lose anything, and I couldn't relate to their struggles. But how ironic is that now?
Alum scoffed inwardly, looked at the ceiling before glancing at the sleeping girl beside him.
…
..
When morning came and the sun shone through the curtains, Luna opened her eyes, feeling something atop her head. It didn't take her long to realize it was Alum's head.
I did it, huh? I let my guard down, didn't I?
Despite the somewhat self-reproaching thought. She couldn't lie. At least her body and mind couldn't.
It had been so long since she last had some good rest, and not just knocked unconscious.
"…"
It was a strange yet reassuring feeling. She wasn't uncomfortable, but the contradiction was this fidgety tingle all over her body, most prominently in her stomach.
Embarrassment.
Her body temperature naturally rose as her face slightly reddened. But despite that, she didn't want to get up, at least not yet.
But not long after she woke up, Alum stirred, but when he got off her head, there was a shiny string on the right corner of his lips.
"…" Luna's eye twitched as she looked somewhat resentfully at him.
"…S-Sorry… I didn't mean to drool on you… so. Uh… I was exhausted… in many ways…"
But after seeing him flustered, making a bunch of excuses, that faint anger dissipated.
"It's fine. We're best friends, aren't we?" She softly smiled, casting cleansing magic on them both. "But it's a little unfair you know me better than I know you."
"Even here, you're oddly childish in many ways," Alum chuckled.
"Mm. Even so, thanks to you, I had a good night's rest."
"I'm glad."
Alum placed a hand on her head, stroking her soft silver hair.
"!?"
Luna stiffened for a moment, but since he seemed so used to it, then it surely was something he often did. Besides, she didn't find the gesture disagreeable. Rather, it was welcoming now that she felt somewhat close to him.
"So? What's the plan? You don't know where those ruins are and searching mindlessly probably won't get you anywhere, right?"
Alum's hand stopped as he awkwardly scratched his cheek.
"Mm… Yeah. First, I need to clear up a few things and apologize, I suppose…"
"Apolo…"
Since Luna had been sleeping so comfortably, forgot, and when she looked outside the window—it was past her usual waking hour before dawn.
"I'm late…"
Alum also froze on the spot. Today was probably not a day off for her. That meant that the atmosphere at the training grounds would be absolute zero considering his actions yesterday. And knowing Amethely, she'd probably told Miu about what he'd tried to do, and knowing Miu, her feelings would surely leak even if she didn't intend them to, and knowing himself, he would've noticed.
"Not good…" he muttered aloud.
"…"
..
By the time the two practically ran to the training facility, they were met with the usual training. It was professional as always, but…
The mood was especially frosty around certain individuals, which made the other recruits avoid them.
Miu was training hard with her friends, not even glancing Alum's way, and Alum was silently condemned by the others, except for Noel and David.
Chely in particular seemed flustered by the ordeal. Her sister was slightly unfriendly toward Alum—she was usually never unfriendly toward anyone.
However, she could vaguely tell something was going on between Alum, Miu, and Amethely. Noel just happened to be in the crossfire. She couldn't fathom what might've happened, at least until she saw Luna, who was uncharacteristically late.
But when she saw Alum beside the approaching Luna, a confused cry managed to make its way out of her lungs as something dawned on her.
"Hah!?"
At Chely's sudden cry, everyone looked at her, then at the direction she was looking—only to be left perplexed themselves.
On the other hand, Alum's mana surged, his expression cold as he was ready to murder someone that day.
"Hey you! You wearing my face! What the hell did you do yesterday!?" he yelled, which was way out of character.
Hearing the local Alum shout, he couldn't help but feel guilt. Then when he glanced at Amethely, he saw her eyes widen in realization. As for Miu, she paled, realizing she'd probably kissed another man.
—I screwed up in more than one way. The situation was not good.
After showing up and causing a commotion, Luna gave the others a short rundown of the situation. But that didn't spare him from three hostile gazes: local Alum, Miu, and Amethely.
After Luna's explanation, Amethely frantically apologized to the Alum and Miu, then shot a sharp glance toward Alum, who slowly approached them.
"…"
However. He wasn't sure where to begin. But since Luna was by his side, giving him a small nudge of encouragement. Either way, he would lament.
First, he approached Miu, as he felt he'd done her wrong the most. He really should've pushed her away at the time; even if he wasn't in the right mental space, he really should've.
Before he could do that, local Alum stepped in front of her; Miu hid behind him, clasping his uniform. It seemed like Miu told him about the kiss, and he was right to be furious, of course, not at her, but at Alum—the alternate him.
"About yesterday, I'm so—"
But before he could apologize, local Alum had violently grabbed his collar.
"Al?!"
Miu panicked as it seemed like Alum was about to punch his other self, and the other Alum closed his eyes, accepting it, but…
"…!?"
Alum opened his eyes upon feeling something on his lips; it wasn't a fist, but something soft…
"WHAAAAAAAAAT!?" Miu and the others exclaimed.
Local Alum then pushed him away. He then turned to Miu.
"There, I got the kiss back."
"…"
Miu was too shocked and hadn't processed it yet. Her head spun and spun.
"Th-That's… huh? HUUUUH!??"
"I see… a kiss for a kiss," Alum murmured as if it all made sense.
"That's right," local Alum replied. "I still have things to say to you. I haven't forgiven you, and that kiss taken, I took it back," he replied, as it also fully made sense.
"That… is right…" Alum replied somberly.
To the others, however… it made no sense.
Luna stood there, dumbfounded, like the rest.
But the one to break that confusing atmosphere was Alum himself. He approached Amethely and knelt.
"I deeply apologize for yesterday, Lady Saint. Punish me as you see fit."
"…"
Amethely seemed reluctant to reply. But since yesterday, it had been on her mind.
"Why did you… try to embrace me?"
And so, another bombshell was dropped. This time, Chely was the one with murderess intent, but Noel managed to hold her back.
"…"
Alum wasn't sure if it was fine to tell her, but he decided to come clean. But when he got close to whisper it to her, she backed away, and so, he had no choice.
"Because… I wanted to just collapse in my fiancée's embrace. Well, I now know you're not the same person. Worry not."
If Amethely had dropped a bomb, then Alum's confession was on another level of destructive force.
A visible frown appeared on Amethely's face after hearing those words, but when she considered that he was from a world parallel to theirs, her face began to heat up.
"M-m-m-m-me a-a-a-and Mr. A-A-A-Alum?" In a panic, she turned to Miu. "N-No! It's not like that, I couldn't possibly have… no…" she fell on her knees. "Did I… get between them?"
But she refused to believe his words.
"Proof! Proof! Do you have proof!?"
"That…"
He showed her a pendant, but she wasn't convinced.
"It could've been forged!"
Alum heaved a sigh.
"This one… is a little embarrassing."
Amethely grew increasingly hot as her face was beet red; one could practically see the seam ooze from her forehead.
Alum got close to her ear; this time, she permitted it, and then he whispered, 'You have a mole shaped like a five-petal flower on your right inner thigh', causing her to freeze solid in place.
Only those close with especially good hearing picked it up—Noel, Chely, Miu, Alum, and Luna.
"WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY SISTER!? I'LL KILL YOUUUUU!" Chely had become even more difficult for Noel to hold back.
Miu simply stared at the local Alum, who appeared dazed.
"Please erase that information from your brain," Miu said, her eyes cold.
"Yes…" Alum replied.
"Hey…" Her tone was still somewhat cold, but sulky. "Why haven't we gotten that far?"
"…" Alum couldn't find the right words, if there were any.
The moment Amethely regained herself, she covered her face, unable to look at anyone, especially Alum. For him to know something like that, they must've gotten along well, so much so that he knew about 'that' mole—it was him heavily implying they've gotten intimate enough for him to know.
And now, she couldn't get it out of her head. She should've just trusted him without having him tell her something like that. He'd essentially seen her in her birthday suit and at the same time, hadn't—at least her- yet not her.
"…"
Luna, who'd been quietly listening on the sideline, heaved a sigh.
Did the other me really become best friends with him? Well… I suppose it's comfortable to be around him, and not boring. And yesterday seemed like enough proof.
A/N
Sorry for the delay. Something came up, and I hadn't had time to properly sit down and write this chapter.