Chapter 66

this is a fictional story by realTensai

Sinister faces greeted him as soon as Alvis stepped into the classroom. A heavy silence lay in the room, everyone sitting in their places as if the lesson had already started. Not even Joel, Ness, and Tristan were chatting, which was sign enough for the weird situation. However, Alvis just had to glance at his demon classmates’ tension-filled faces to know that this situation was a byproduct of the tragedy that had occurred. It had carried all the way from the city to the school.

This isn’t good at all.

And as if to confirm that, Alvis peeked at Lia, who sat in her seat. Her eyebrows trembled as she observed the room, the mood weighing down on her like a heavy cloak. It took her a few seconds before she noticed Alvis and greeted him by waving her hand. Alvis responded with a smile and got to his place.

“Yo, Alvis.”

As he arrived, his seat neighbor Sekki greeted him.

“Yo.”

He sat down with a sigh.

“The mood here isn’t good at all, don’t you think?” Sekki whispered, shifting his eyes from left to right.

“Yes, even though we just came from a class trip together.”

“But it’s not just our class. As I walked to school, I noticed how everyone was steered up.”

“Unfortunately, this was bound to happen. This school is a mix of all different races, so once racism has reached this place, it’s gonna turn ugly.”

“You think Mr. Woltzer can control this situation?”

“I’m not sure. But he will at least try his best.” Alvis glanced at Lia for a second before he continued. “And I think the student council will also do something.”

Sekki just nodded, and with that, their conversation ended. Alvis took out his school stuff, as the lesson would begin in five minutes. However, as he looked up again, Dane entered the classroom.

Memories of their last meeting flooded Alvis’ thoughts, and his chest contracted. He instinctively averted his gaze, unable to meet his eyes.

“Yo Alvis, yo Sekki,” Dane said as he sat down in his seat.

He called me Alvis.

“Yo Dane.”

“Y-Yo Dane.”

Alvis somehow answered, yet they didn’t talk after that. Dane just sat there and took out his stuff, not acting different from usual. However, Alvis knew that there was a distance between them he couldn’t yet close. He couldn’t even start a conversation with him. Though even if he would have wanted to do that, Ms. Myth entered the class and the lesson would soon begin. However, Alvis’ mind still searched for ways to repair their friendship.

——

DING DONG DING

“With that, I conclude our lesson.”

Ms. Myth ended the lesson just with the gong, freeing her students to go enjoy the break. Yet instead of everyone just bursting out like usual, they just packed their stuff and silently walked out. Alvis observed as this was happening.

“Dane, Alvis, you going to the lab?”

Sekki’s question made Alvis turn around to face him. However, he scratched his cheeks, glancing at Dane to wait for his answer.

“Actually—”

Alvis winced, not wanting to hear what he was about to say.

“Excuse me, Dane, Sekki.”

However, before Dane could even finish his sentence, a girlish voice interrupted him. Lia had already left her place and stood before them. Alvis’ eyes widened upon seeing her.

“May I borrow Alvis from you just this break?”

“Oh yes, sure,” Sekki answered.

Even though Alvis hadn’t caught on to what was happening, a sigh of relief escaped his mouth.

“I’m sorry, guys,” Alvis said with an apologetic smile.

Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

He then stood up and exited the class with Lia.

“Was that on purpose?” he asked as soon as they stepped out.

“Half, half.”

“Ha, to think that you would notice it so soon. You sure are incredible.”

“Stop with the flattery. What happened between you and Dane?”

She stared into his eyes, making Alvis gulp. Even though she asked, she probably already knew the answer.

“He found out about our battle against Voyzez.” Alvis started, his voice shaky. “After that, I told him everything.”

Lia went silent and shook her head.

“You idiot.”

Alvis’ eyebrow twitched.

“What? Should I have kept it a secret and never told him about it? I had no choice!”

Lia just shook her head.

“And this is why you are an idiot,” she said, staring into his eyes again. “You should’ve never kept it a secret to begin with.”

Alvis clenched his fist as he gritted his teeth.

“It isn’t that simple.”

In every loop, Alvis had informed Dane about his battle, it resulted in his death. There was no way he could have kept doing it. Of course, Lia couldn’t understand that.

“So you don’t trust Dane?”

“Of course I do!” Alvis said, raising his voice. It attracted a few onlookers, though Alvis just ignored them. “Of course I do… but what would have happened if he died in that fight? It would be my fault and I couldn’t risk that.”

“Idiot.”

Alvis opened his mouth, wanting to object, though upon seeing Lia’s fierce eyes, he shut it again.

“No matter how often I say it, you just don’t seem to understand. You ask what would have happened if he died, but did you forget that you could die too? How do you think Dane would feel if he found out that you died in battle?”

Her words hit home, and Alvis couldn’t answer. He held his chest as his heart felt as if someone had pierced it with a needle, hitting it at the spots that hurt the most.

Even if he died, he would respawn. So the only one who had to bear the burden of seeing his loved ones dying was him. This had been his comfortable excuse all the time long. However, after receiving the notification about him only having one life left, everything changed. If he had died in his last battle against Voyzez, he would’ve been dead for good.

How would my friends and family feel then?

It was a question he had never asked himself before. For the majority of his life, his death had been looming around, anyway. Everyone expected him to die soon, so why should he burden himself with unnecessary thoughts? But this wasn’t the case anymore. He had been gifted with the blessing of life, and he couldn’t just throw it away. Even if he wanted to save his loved ones by doing so.

“Shit.”

Alvis sighed, his head steaming. He understood Lia’s point, yet he couldn’t find a satisfying answer yet.

“Just make sure to make up with Dane again.”

“I will try my best.”

Lia smiled and took hold of his hand. His heartbeat immediately increased and his lips curved up into a smile.

“What was the other thing you wanted to talk to me about?”

“Oh, yes, you’re right. It was about the deteriorating mood within the school.”

I knew it.

Her smile started trembling before it vanished completely.

“We have to do something about it.”

“You got any ideas?”

“Yes, and I would like to discuss them at our next student council meeting. I just wanted to tell you so you could prepare some ideas, too.”

He just nodded.

“Will do.”

After that, Lia smiled again.

“Want to grab something to eat?”

“Yeah, let’s do it.”

——

“No, this is wrong, wrong, wrong. Honestly, how can you fail at something this simple?”

Alvis clenched his fist and clicked his tongue.

Don’t do it Alvis, she is just a kid. She is just a kid.

He forced a smile on his face as he kept repeating these same words in his head. His mana already boiled, but he had to suppress it. Yet her smug face sure made it hard.

“If you perhaps would explain how this functions, I might get it right.”

He stared at the patterns of the disc responsible for this holographic fire, yet he couldn’t encipher what he had to change to make it interactive. However, Elise let out an exaggerated sigh, shaking her head in disbelief.

“Okay, I will break it down, so even you understand.”

As soon as Alvis heard that, he already wanted to stop listening, yet his curiosity exceeded his pride.

“If you want to create an interactive hologram, it all comes down to interference patterns manipulation. You have to modify them to encode temperature variations. Adjust them to modulate the intensity of the light emitted by the hologram. Even you should know that higher intensity light creates the sensation of heat. Then all that’s left is to incorporate temperature sensors or thermal emitters into the holographic display system so that the feeling of heat is synchronized with the visual representation of the hologram. And that’s it. See simple.”

“You just make it sound easy,” Alvis said, grasping how much work and detail lay behind her simple explanation. “It will take some time before I can create something like that. But now I at least understood how it works.”

Even though he would rather die than say it out loud, Elise was simply incredible. Her knowledge and expertise far surpassed that of R-18. It hadn’t even been a month since she started mentoring him personally, though the fact that Alvis was already working on interactive holograms showcased his rapid improvements.

“Let’s stop for today,” Elise said, straightening her way-too-big coat. “You won’t be able to finish it now, anyway. Besides, you don’t seem like you are in the best mental condition.”

“What? Have you found a kind way to call me stupid?”

“Don’t be a fool,” Elise said, sighing. She turned her head, her long pink hair swaying in the air. “A genius like myself is well aware of the mental condition of her pupil. Let me guess, you had an argument with a friend? Or perhaps even your family?”

Alvis’ eyes widened upon hearing Elise’s correct assumption. He never thought of himself as someone who showed his feelings, yet she had been the second person today who had seen through him. That Lia would notice his different attitude was a given, but that Elise noticed it too was unimaginable.

This girl doesn’t even care about someone else than herself.

This had been Alvis’ image of the little girl, yet he might have to change it.

“You aren’t an empath, are you?”

“To label my ingenuity as being an empath, you sure are a fool.”

Arrogant brat.

“But you are right. I got into an argument with my best friend and now have to figure out how to repair our friendship.”

“You better do it as soon as possible,” Elise said, her tone softer than usual. “You don’t want to regret something later on.”

Once again, Alvis’ eyes widened.

“Why does it seem like you are talking out of experience?”

However, Elise just turned around, her long pink her being the only thing Alvis could see.

“You wouldn’t understand.”

Alvis barely heard her whisper as she went further away.

“Wait—”

“Lesson is over for today. Go home. I still have work to do.”

With these words, Elise vanished into the depths of her lab.