Chapter Text
" Light, huh … ," Alicia pondered.
"— The stars that I gazed upon with my grandmother back in the countryside … Out in the countryside where I lived, there were no tall buildings," she explained; "In their place was a sea of stars spread out across the sky."
"It was truly a magnificent sight," she finished, her eyes softly closed with a calm, nostalgic expression present on her features.
"I would imagine," I replied, gasping quietly in response. It certainly wasn't a sight I'd ever seen growing up in this world, however isolated the home I'd lived in may have been. The dense clusters of trees surrounding the house, as well as the large, looming house itself, made it difficult to see many stars through anything but the window of my room, effectively removing the magnificence I apparently would have witnessed otherwise. Even in my other life, I couldn't quite recall ever coming across such a gaze-worthy sky, though perhaps that may have been due to many days remaining indoors, with little chance to see the sky at all.
I wondered to myself about the relationship between Alicia and Prince Edwin. Considering how close they'd been getting already, it likely wouldn't be incorrect to assume she had already shared that memory with His Highness, and was only repeating it to me because I had asked, albeit indirectly, about it specifically. Had I not, she undoubtedly would never have provided me with such a specific story during a regular study conversation.
For a brief moment, I considered asking her if she had indeed regaled that anecdote to the Prince, perhaps to get them off my back. Before I could, however, Alicia interrupted my thoughts, continuing the conversation.
"Miss Eumiella," she began, curious, "What about you? Do you have a memory that comes to mind when you use your magic …?"
Once again, I blinked in surprise. She had a point. Of course, I couldn't bring up the "superhero" thing again, considering she, naturally, being from a different world, hadn't the slightest clue what a superhero could be. Aside from that, I wasn't quite sure how to answer her. Unlike her, I had no beautiful memories of the scenery from my childhood. The only things visually or sentimentally related to darkness I could recall were the depths of the Dolkness territory dungeon, but at that time my level was already high enough that seeing through the dark was hardly a problem, so it was irrelevant.
Searching for a different reason, I recalled once again that, in the original game, Eumiella's magical prowess was explained by her hatred for the heroine. In my case, however, I reached level 99 of my own accord, all before I'd even come into contact with Alicia.
Regardless, it wasn't as though I held any negative feelings towards her. If anything, I was merely annoyed by how often she was surrounded by the capture targets. It wasn't only me that had a hard time approaching her, either — what kind of person would ever be able to casually talk to the subject of all three princes' attention? Besides, unlike them, she actually made the effort herself to talk to me today. Unlike the princes, who regularly shot disruptive looks my way, made passing remarks at my expense, incited unnecessary competition in my general direction, … among other things, she decided I was worth it and/or knowledgeable enough to rely on for support and answers regarding unique magic.
It was clear that, despite previous transgressions, she wanted to make an attempt to close the gap between us. Despite the way she saw me (both in a figurative and literal sense), she felt the need to talk to me, whether that was to learn more about her own, similarly unique magic, or to simply socialize. Was it because Prince Edwin told her I would be in the party alongside them, also fighting against the actual Demon Lord? Perhaps Edwin himself advised her to be on better terms with me because of that — no, the idea seemed rather silly when I put it like that. Edwin himself clearly had a sense of disdain for me, so why would he need Alicia to talk to me? Or, rather, could it be that Alicia …
"Miss Eumiella?"
Alicia's confused prodding snapped me out of my own lost state. I blinked a third time, then waved my own internal questioning away with a light shake of my head.
"Apologies, it was nothing. I was simply trying to figure out how to word it," I responded. Taking a small breath and looking out the window before us, I decided to answer her half-heartedly, mostly lying yet attempting to make it convincing. Knowing her, she would fall for it, even if it was untrue.
"I suppose I simply envision … myself," I stated. "I often find myself in a lower social position than most, even without considering hierarchy. Nevertheless, I feel proud of the things I've accomplished up to this point — and I would say that that feeling, that self-confidence … is what materializes as my dark magic."
Definitely all made up.
I was more than certain the strength of my magic originated from how high my level was, not how I felt about the world or anything less relevant like that. Though it made sense the heroine drew her power from pleasant memories, I hardly cared to employ such specific strategy in how I cast magic. It was much simpler to say "Black Hole", cast it, and be done with no further word. Considering how much lower her level was, though, she likely had no choice but to utilize such focus even when casting simpler spells.
Regardless, Alicia looked at me with sparkling eyes. Somehow, having her look at me that way, despite knowing what I looked like to her, caused me some slight discomfort. Yet, she fell for my bluff without a trace of doubt.
"I see! So the confidence you have in yourself makes you stronger … I think I can use that for my own light magic! Thank you very much, Miss Eumiella!" she told me earnestly. Internally, I sighed.
This gullible heroine is doomed to save the world, I thought to myself.
Still, I much preferred this over essentially baseless and certainly false accusations of me being the Demon Lord, as well as blatantly leaking what were supposed to be royal secrets in the middle of the cafeteria.
"I suppose you could say this conversation was enlightening to you," I said in passing as we rose from our seats, attempting to mirror her friendly demeanor with a light-related pun. I admit, though, I cringed slightly at how obvious it was.
"Indeed it has been!" she replied excitedly, clearly not having gotten the joke. "I'm certain the advice you have given me today will help me a lot. Once again, thank you so very much for taking the time to teach me today," she finished, giving me that same heroine's smile once more.
Oh well. I gave friendly humor my best shot.
Before I could return her thanks, she bowed to me with a quick goodbye and ran off through the library doors, perhaps eager to put that advice to use right away. Admittedly, I felt the tiniest twinge of guilt, seeing her so energetic after a blatant lie. In a similar case to how I generally treated Miss Eleonora, though, I cared little as to whether she knew it was a lie or not. So long as she was satisfied, she would be out of my hair and I could return to my own studies in peace.
I sighed and shook my head to myself as I packed up my own things. Watching her run off through the doorway and into the corridor, I muttered quietly.
"What a strange girl indeed …"