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Demon Dungeon Assault Team.

This team was actually composed of familiar faces from before.

Starting with Iris’s team, it was a coalition of the Hannon-less Hannon team and Isabel’s team.

In essence, it was the strongest force that Zerion Academy could muster for breaking through the Demon Dungeon.

The objective of the Demon Dungeon Assault Team was to investigate the anomalies inside the dungeon and make it through as quickly as possible.

To that end, we relied on the experience Isabel and I had during our previous rescue mission.

The plan was to punch through up to the 7th floor with full force.

From the 8th floor onward, due to the nature of the place, we’d have to split into five teams. But even then, all members were from the Golden Flame generation.

With this group, we were bound to break world records.

“Sharin.”

“You’re here~.”

Right on time, reinforcements arrived from the Department of Magic.

Sharin came with Dorara, the second-highest ranked student in the department.

Dorara was also a member of the Demon Dungeon Assault Team.

As soon as Sharin locked eyes with Isabel, she turned her head away.

A clear sign that she still wasn’t ready to reconcile.

“Rin, can we talk?”

Sharin’s eyes widened.

She hadn’t expected Isabel to approach her first.

“We’re about to head into the dungeon. I don’t want our issue affecting the others.”

“…”

Sharin went silent at Isabel’s words.

She didn’t outright deny what Isabel said.

Instead, she looked displeased.

Dorara, noticing Sharin’s mood, subtly stepped back.

A quick decision — better to avoid getting caught up in the coming storm.

“Hania.”

I called Hania, and she nodded.

“There’s still time before we go in. Go take care of it.”

Hania tactfully sent the others away.

Thanks to that, Isabel and Sharin had space to talk privately.

“You too, go on ahead.”

That was my cue to leave.

I guess it made sense — since I caused the rift between them, sticking around would just be in the way.

I nodded and turned to leave.

“Seron, could you stay for a sec?”

Seron had been about to leave but was called back.

She glanced at me, sighed in exasperation, and gave in.

“Fine.”

Seron stepped back over to stand nearby.

After a moment, Isabel gave me a look that said, You can go now, so I backed away.

It’s Isabel — she’d figure it out.

As I walked off, Hania glanced my way and muttered quietly.

“A lion chased off by a lioness.”

“Can’t believe a lioness said that.”

“Be grateful you weren’t eaten.”

Hania playfully flexed her fingers and growled at me.

She was probably trying to lighten the mood a bit.

“Scary. I might have to rejoin the pride.”

“Male lions always end up getting eaten anyway.”

As I exchanged that pointless banter with Hania, I glanced over at the three.

Hopefully, things wouldn’t get too messy.

I really hoped they’d make up.

* * *

With Vikamon and the others giving them space,

At last, Sharin finally opened her mouth.

“Bell, are you only reconciling because people pushed you into it?”

This issue had arisen between Sharin and Isabel.

If Isabel was only making amends to avoid bothering others, then Sharin had a problem with that.

But Isabel shook her head.

“Rin, I know what parts of me you don’t like. I’ll admit it — I’m someone who’s really affected by the people around me.”

Isabel was a sunflower.

Just as I once described Lucas as the sun, Isabel was someone who was greatly influenced by him.

Her kindness was largely thanks to Lucas.

In other words, she was someone who constantly tried to read the room and adjust herself accordingly.

The trauma from losing her brother at a young age.

The severed bond caused by death.

To Isabel, that experience was a deep shock.

Because of it, she feared the collapse of relationships — physically and emotionally.

Her habit of reading others and accommodating them stemmed from that fear.

Her kindness to everyone was proof of that.

She was terrified of losing relationships, so she tried her best to stay close to everyone.

Even if that meant giving up what she really wanted, she’d do it to preserve those ties.

Sharin felt sorry for that part of Isabel.

In the end, Isabel constantly set herself aside for others.

It was only natural that she’d begin to rot inside, bit by bit.

But after Lucas’s death, Isabel gradually began to change.

Another broken connection due to the death of someone important.

No matter how much those around her tried, Isabel wouldn’t recover.

At the time, Sharin did everything she could to help her.

But Isabel didn’t accept her help.

She slowly let go of all her relationships.

If I’m just going to lose them like this anyway…

Then maybe it’s better not to form any at all in the first place.

And so, she slowly withered away.

Sharin had never felt so helpless.

Isabel had shut her heart so tightly, there was no way in.

And she realized something.

She can’t save her.

All she can do is watch as her friend dies inside.

To Sharin, Isabel was precious.

The day her mother died of syphilis, and she followed her father to the Blue Tower —

All she had left was her magic studies.

Sharin felt empty.

She only studied magic to survive.

Her mother’s abuse and violence.

She had learned magic to endure it all.

And once she no longer had a reason to die, her studies became mechanical.

She did it simply because she had to.

To Sharin, everything was just that hollow.

Until one day, a girl the same age visited the Blue Tower and changed her world.

Isabel Luna.

A girl her own age.

「Hi! You’re really pretty. Wanna be friends?」

「Magic? Are you a mage?」

「Wow, magic is so pretty. It sparkles!」

Isabel stood at the exact opposite end of Sharin’s world.

She was bright, sunny, and seemed to have never known pain.

At the time, she was grieving the loss of her brother, but to Sharin, she just looked cheerful.

Every time she showed magic, she gave off the radiant smile of an innocent girl.

She was someone who could bring warmth to Sharin’s emptiness.

「Rin!」

Before she even realized it, Sharin found herself wanting to return that smile—practicing magic even harder.

「Beelll.」

To Sharin, Isabel was her most precious friend.

She had been on the verge of losing interest in life altogether, and Isabel’s existence was her salvation.

And yet, even as that precious friend lay dying, there was nothing she could do.

That fact was excruciating for Sharin.

Then one day, something sparked Isabel back to life.

It wasn’t criticism or comfort directed at her that moved her.

It was an insult directed at Lucas.

And that spark was so very like Isabel.

Isabel reacted more fiercely to an insult toward a friend than to comfort meant for herself.

The one who insulted Lucas.

At first, Sharin was willing to do anything if it meant saving Isabel.

So she started hanging around Vikamon, who was disguised as Hannon.

Sharin, who usually avoided forming bonds with people, took action herself to save Isabel.

But strangely enough, the more she got involved with him, the more at ease she felt.

Vikamon was consistently an intriguing person.

He always caused trouble and stirred up events—and yet remained so resilient.

He seemed like the kind of person who could resolve any problem.

And Isabel must have felt the same way.

Two severed relationships.

The resulting anxiety.

Vikamon was someone who could ease that anxiety.

Perhaps because of that...

Bit by bit.

Very slowly, Isabel began to change.

The day she had a fight with her martial arts classmates and ran off to the city wall.

Sharin was shocked.

It was the first time she’d seen Isabel express her emotions so openly.

That meant she was beginning to change from within.

No longer hiding herself for the sake of others.

Instead, she was learning to live by expressing her feelings honestly and taking initiative.

Isabel’s process of getting back up.

That sight was salvation for Sharin, too.

Maybe, just maybe—when Isabel was wasting away, Sharin had seen the image of her mother dying from syphilis overlapped with it.

Even if her mother had been abusive, she was still her mother.

As Isabel came back to life, Sharin’s emptiness slowly filled.

It was around then that Sharin’s feelings for Vikamon deepened.

Because it wasn’t just Isabel that Vikamon had saved—it was Sharin too.

So, Sharin thought Isabel would continue to change more and more from here on out.

At least until she started liking Vikamon.

Isabel hid her feelings in front of Sharin.

She had fallen for the person her friend liked.

That fact brought back the bad habits Isabel had started to grow out of.

She hesitated and couldn’t be honest.

The Isabel who had been becoming more assertive had regressed.

And it was Sharin’s fault.

Sharin couldn’t accept that.

If Isabel wanted to move forward in her relationship with Vikamon, she just had to be confident about it.

So Sharin made a point to express her feelings toward Vikamon even more openly in front of Isabel.

And Isabel pushed back.

That’s why her emotions occasionally slipped out.

You can’t block out the sun with your hands.

So the emotions Isabel tried to suppress around Sharin kept leaking out.

And yet, Isabel never came clean to Sharin about her feelings for Vikamon.

They shared a room.

There had been plenty of chances to say something first.

But Isabel never once told her.

That disappointment had been quietly piling up until now.

And then, on Christmas Day, everything finally erupted.

Even then, Isabel couldn’t bring herself to speak honestly in front of Sharin.

She hinted that she liked him, but couldn’t bring herself to be confident because of Sharin’s presence.

That attitude was frustrating.

Infuriating.

As mentioned earlier, Sharin had strong possessive tendencies.

Vikamon was a big part of that, but Isabel was no exception.

Isabel was a precious friend to her, too.

She hated that such a dear friend was regressing because of her.

So if Isabel tried to make peace again by catering to the people around her, Sharin was ready to explode.

That would just mean she was hiding her true self again.

But Isabel denied Sharin’s assumptions.

“I’m a coward. My hands are so small, I’m afraid of letting go of anything I’ve held onto.”

That was why she couldn’t be honest with Sharin.

She didn’t want to be hated for falling for the guy her friend liked.

She didn’t want to be hated for revealing how broken she’d become after her friend’s death.

Those fears made her defensive in relationships.

“But this time, what I’m holding is so big that my feelings keep leaking out. Like how you can’t block the sun with your hands.”

Isabel let out a breath, as if embarrassed by herself.

The emotion that had slipped out at Sharin’s provocation—

It had come out because it had become so deeply rooted inside her.

She couldn’t hide it anymore.

She understood what Sharin hated about her.

And she understood that those feelings came from Sharin valuing her.

Just as Sharin cherished Isabel, Isabel cherished Sharin, too.

That’s why—it was finally time to do what she wanted, just like her friend had wished.

Isabel raised her head and looked Sharin in the eyes.

In her gaze was Mirinae, looking at her with aching concern.

She was sorry for that. And grateful.

“I like him. A lot. Probably more than you think.”

Isabel finally expressed her heart to Sharin.

Sharin’s eyes widened.

“So I’m not going to give up just because you’re here. I’ll make him mine. No matter what.”

Isabel gave a warning.

And the radiant smile on her lips felt incredibly refreshing.

The shell that had always clung to her—

That shell cracked, and the sound of it breaking echoed around them.

Isabel was no longer who she used to be.

She was someone who could express herself honestly.

And someone who understood that doing so wouldn’t break the bonds she treasured.

And the one person who had changed her—

Was Vikamon Niflheim.

Sharin wasn’t entirely happy about that fact.

But that, too, was part of what she liked about him.

Still, she couldn’t help feeling a bit petty.

She’d have to show off the shadow boxing she’d been practicing later.

Sharin made a quiet vow.