“How’s your father doing?”

“Father is recovering well.”

“Good to hear.”

The three of us sat on Antonio’s bed as he filtered through his books. He had a lot more books stuffed literally everywhere, feeling every single drawer that was available. I couldn’t help but wonder what was the point of all those books in the first place. We lived in the age of the internet, where looking up information was as easy as typing in a sentence.

“Are all those books related to your search?”

“All these? No. A lot of them came from my middle school years, others I bought because I am interested in them.”

What was the point of having your middle school books, though? My confusion was shared between the three of us, both Aliya and Mina looking at him as he ransacked through his belongings.

“I should have searched for it before this, my apologies.”

“Nah, it’s fine. But still, so many books…”

Aliya said.

“You can never have too many books.”

I didn’t find a point in discussing that with him, considering the type of person he was.

The three of us waited patiently. The dorms allowed members of the opposite sex to be visiting as long as it was during the visiting hours from eight in the morning to five in the afternoon. The school placed a CCTV facing outward above each dorm’s door to enforce the rule.

It was eleven in the day and Antonio said he had something he wanted to show us. After searching, he pulled out a photo book from under one of his stacks and pulled it to show us.

“I thought I owe an explanation to my brother, as my apology for involving all of you in this matter.”

He said as he opened the book. He searched through the photos and showed us two pictures of him and his brother when they were younger. Both came from Antonio’s birthday party, which was held in a cafe.

“Back then, before my brother ran away, my father was really strict. He refused to let us hold birthday parties, considering it a waste of time. My brothers would take me and pretend we were holding a study session in the library, when in truth, they were taking me out for a party. We would then print the photos and hide them in these study books, disguising them as textbooks.”

No wonder it had the word ‘Biology’ written on it. He then swiftly closed the book.

“You’re not going to show us the other pictures?”

He brushed the book’s front page as he recalled his past.

“I do not have many photos, as I rarely have the chance to take them. While I am close with all my brothers, I was the closest to him. He was also worried about me not having friends back then, but he probably felt happy knowing I have Ranold to bully now.”

“Hey!”

I told him about his brother’s last message. He then passed it to his father after he awakened, who proceeded to cry loudly in the hospital. I remember him crying as well when I told him that. Looks like he was now back to his usual self, though.

“His name is Aylix Riork, and my father’s real name is Owenitiu Riork. Please keep that a secret.”

I found it funny that his father’s current name, Frowen Minork, didn’t sound all that different compared to his real name. Under Antonio’s request, and I assumed his father had made a similar request before the battle, the school went to great lengths to cover up the accident. Some students saw us outside. They saw us when Mr. Frowen fell on us, so they framed us as ‘heroes’ who wanted to help Mr. Frowen, while Mr. Frowen himself was labeled as a ‘hero’ for trying to investigate the matter.

“Our father was strict with us. My brother got into a huge fight with him and left. I could not explain the details of that situation, but to describe it, it felt as if a bomb had been dropped on our home. Everything fell apart. I cannot say any more, unfortunately.”

“It’s fine if you can’t. We respect your family’s secrets.”

Aliya said, despite deep inside me, I wanted to know more. Mr. Frowen had been really nice to me, after all, but I guess it would be better to not know. I didn’t want my image of him to be ruined, and I also want him to be back teaching us our Keeper’s training. We had a replacement teacher show up to replace him when he was in the hospital, and this teacher was pissed at my inability to do magic, to put it lightly.

“And now.”

Antonio looked at me, a cold, icy glare emitted from his eyes, a glare of a scale that I had never seen before. I gulped uncomfortably.

Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

“Would you kindly explain your reasoning for slamming me into the floor?”

“Wait, that’s it?”

Antonio nodded.

“What else am I supposed to speak about? Any deeper and I would divulge my family’s secrets. Is this your way of extending your lifespan?”

Extending life span… Well, that was a weird way to put it.

“I shall listen to your explanation. Now, tell me about it.”

“Umm, yeah… about that.”

I had lost all my abilities by the time Aylix passed. I assumed he carried my abilities with him, so I need to find an explanation for my sudden increase, and now lost, strength.

And I did slam him into the ground.

“You see…”

I struggled to explain what happened under the cold glare from the three of my friends.

And yes, Mina’s included.

“So, if you connect to mine, does that mean you could use my powers as well?”

Aliya asked. She slid herself closer to me, her golden eyes staring deep into mine.

“Hey, no flirting in my room.”

Aliya ignored Antonio’s warning and continued staring.

“Umm, I’m supposed to be the one who connects to you, not the other way around.”

“Hmm, makes sense.”

She pulled herself away.

“To be fair, I couldn’t really explain it as well. I just closed my eyes and all of the sudden I could actually see him.”

“My brother must have strong emotions regarding the matter, allowing Ranold to be affected. I doubt he could recreate those conditions under current circumstances.”

“In other words…”

“He’s useless now. If we want to see him display such powers again, we need to bring him into a scary, life-and-death matter.”

“No, I’m not letting you!”

Aliya shook her head, while Antonio looked at me with his smug smile.

Well, at least that meant he recovered somewhat.

“Besides, how did I end up back in the school building anyway?”

“You are asking us, who could not even see him?”

It did feel weird when I think about it. The others couldn’t see Antonio’s brother, so to them, I was just yelling a bunch of random directions.

“Well, it was weird. All of a sudden, we could hear this loud sound and a distortion of sorts in front of you, like when something strong hit an equally strong shield. You were unconscious, and Mr. Frowen begged us to leave, so we did.”

“Is that… all?”

Antonio nodded.

“If something happened to us, my father would not be able to live his life in peace anyway. If someone must die, it would be him. Had we not interfered, my brother would stop after he finished off my father.”

“How could you say that so casually? That’s a bit cold, isn’t it?”

The way Antonio casually spoke these words after suffering a loss made me scared of him. He didn’t seem to be bothered the least. I knew that some people hide their true feelings better than others, but this man was the equivalent of a refrigerator.

Yet at the same time, it made me relieved. I remember seeing him after he dragged me into the school, the pain clearly visible on his face. I wondered how he felt inside. He seemed to be a very logical man, prioritizing numbers and facts over his own feelings, yet was that the truth? Could he really say all that without feeling any sadness inside?

“I do not see a reason for being sad about it. He would never return anyway… even if he did, he would return in that form, which I found quite annoying. I would rather not see him ever again.”

He said plainly, but his lips then twisted into a genuine, soft smile.

“Besides, you gave me my wish, did you not? You let me see him for the last time.”

“Wait, you did?”

Antonio nodded.

“Not visually, but I could feel his smile.”

I wonder if I could convey the emotions of those I connect to. Became the bridge between the living and the dead in a way.

That did sound creepy, though.

“Anyway, should we really be talking about this?”

I let myself fall onto Antonio’s bed.

“Making my room your own, I see?”

Antonio let out a complaint, but he let me lie there anyway. I looked up at the same, gray ceiling, identical to my own. How many times have I stared up at that ceiling ever since I got here?

“What do you want to talk about? Shall we take a walk in the sunshine?”

Antonio asked as he went to the door. Without waiting for a reply, he opened the door and casually left, leaving the three of us in his room.

“... really?”

We got up and followed him, who was waiting in the hallway. He took out his keys and locked the door, before heading down the stairs.

“Where are we going?”

“Getting lunch.”

He casually answered, his hands in his coat’s pocket. The way he acted so casually after his brother’s death… after seeing his dearest brother disappear in front of him, made me feel really uncomfortable.

I wasn’t the only one who felt that way. I realized that Aliya felt uncomfortable as well, meanwhile, Mina was silent as usual, but there was a different glow to her eyes, a glow of regret.

Antonio realized that. He stood in front of the building’s door and turned back at us.

“I told you this before, hadn’t I? I could not get my brother back, and I would rather not. I would one day go to his resting place, we all will, but now is not the time. This is not the time to be sad.”

He then walked backward, into the shine of the summer sunlight.

“Now, let’s get something delicious to eat.”

“You’re paying, right?”

Antonio shook his head at my words.

“I shall take you to the most expensive restaurant I know, as a way to avenge you for violently slamming me down.”

“Hey.”

Antonio smirked and turned away, we all followed after him.

“So, where are we eating?”

Aliya asked. We walked side by side, heading for the school exit.

“The Laviouerte Manronion House.”

“I reject the offer!”

“Do you even know the place?”

“I don’t, but it sounds expensive!”

Ignoring us, Aliya looked at Mina.

“Mina, where do you want to eat?”

“Umm… I’m… I’m fine with anything.”

“Then, we shall get going.”

“I said I’m not coming!”

“Then why are you following us?”

“Urgh.”

“Fine, fine. On this special occasion, I would be the one paying. Let us hurry, so that we do not get caught up in lunch hours.”

We turned to the street, leaving the school walls. Before I went onto the sidewalk, I looked behind at the school which had become my home for the last month. A long, three-year worth of adventure would be waiting for me. After this rather eventful first month, I found myself wishing for an eventful and fun future, one where I could see the genuine smiles of my friends.

One where I could be someone helpful.

“Ranold, come on!”

I looked at my friends, who had walked ahead of me. Aliya looked back, waiting for me, Mina stopping further down the street, and Antonio walking away carelessly, his hands in his lab coat’s pocket.

I couldn’t help but smile when I looked at them.

“I’m coming!”

I yelled and ran.

I ran like the wind, catching up to them.

One day, I would stand on equal grounds as them.

I believe it.

END