My eardrums felt like they were about to burst. My head was spinning and I felt nauseous. I had heard that monsters emit a uniquely unpleasant odor, but this seemed beyond that.

The smell was worse than a rotting pile of garbage, making me dizzy.

Or did I hit something somewhere?

Aer tried to move her fingers first to raise her body. That’s when she heard Kai’s voice.

“Aer!”

“…Kai?”

“Just a moment… Damn it!”

His curse made her feel unnecessarily anxious. As she hurriedly tried to turn her head, she couldn’t because of the sound of crying near her ear.

“Hueeeng!”

Fortunately, Anna seemed to be fine. Aer sighed in relief as she confirmed that her own body was moving naturally.

But why did she feel so uneasy?

And why wasn’t the presence covering half of her body moving…

Aer couldn’t easily turn her head due to anxiety. She couldn’t look towards where Louis must be, not in Anna’s direction.

She could feel his presence from the faint breath, but she didn’t have the courage to look.

Ian, who arrived belatedly, assessed the situation and his expression hardened. Aer gently grasped Louis’s arm that was precisely wrapped around her waist with trembling hands.

“L-Louis?”

There was no response when she called.

“Louis!”

“We need rescue workers!”

Ian shouted urgently to the professor. They quickly approached and easily pushed the giant monster aside.

“It doesn’t seem too serious, Professor.”

The assistant checked Louis’s condition and said.

“Then, we’ll move immediately. I’ll take care of the patient.”

“Yes, Professor.”

The professor and assistants handled the situation swiftly. Aer held onto his arm as the warmth faded away.

“I understand you’re shocked, but we need to return quickly for this student’s sake.”

At the professor’s words, Aer let go of his arm. Only then could she properly assess Louis’s condition. One side of his face was covered in blood, and one arm was strangely twisted.

“Hick.”

Aer let out a sob-like breath. Her mind went blank, not knowing what to do.

She tried to follow the assistant and professor who were moving quickly. That’s when Ian held her back.

“…Miss Aer will move with us.”

“Let go of this.”

“It’s faster if the professor takes him. Don’t be a hindrance.”

“….”

“Why are you talking like that?”

Kai, who had been watching silently, approached and spoke to Ian while grabbing her arm.

“I’ll take Aer. Why don’t you take care of Miss Anna?”

“…Fine.”

Ian felt an indescribable displeasure, but right now, resolving the situation was more important than arguing about such things.

“Aer, excuse me for a moment.”

“….”

Aer didn’t give any answer, but Kai lifted her without hesitation.

“It seems you’ve sprained your ankle too. You need treatment.”

“…Let’s get back to the academy quickly.”

“Alright. Just trust me.”

Kai held Aer tightly and started running quickly. He released the power he had been controlling and leaped off the ground.

Ian watched Kai and Aer moving away while supporting the disoriented Anna.

It was the first day he ever thought, just a little, that he envied physical awakened ones, something he had never felt before.

***

Even while receiving ankle treatment in the infirmary, Aer was restless. She wanted to go to Louis right away, but Kai desperately blocked her.

“There’s nothing you can do right now. Just wait for now. It’ll be okay.”

At first, she was just worried, but gradually anger rose.

If only that monster hadn’t appeared.

Then Louis wouldn’t have been hurt.

No, it’s the professor’s fault for including regular people in the activity class in the first place. It’s the academy’s mistake.

All sorts of reasons whirled like a typhoon in her head.

“Alright, the treatment is finished. I’ll prescribe some oral medication just in case. Take the medicine if you feel pain. And let’s observe the progress for about 2 weeks.”

As soon as she heard the health worker’s words, Aer stood up from the chair. She grabbed the prepared crutches and tried to hurry out.

“Wait, Aer.”

Aer shouted at Kai, who was blocking her way again.

“If you’re going to say the same thing, get out of the way!”

“…Then, come with me. I’ll take you there.”

Aer stumbled, unable to properly use the unfamiliar crutches due to her impatience. Kai quickly supported her.

“Here, hold onto my arm. That would be better.”

Aer leaned on his arm instead of the unfamiliar crutches as she walked. She wanted to check on Louis’s condition as soon as possible.

Please, let it be nothing serious. I hope he’s not badly hurt. All she could do was pray.

Never had she felt so powerless. Even when she was ignored by her parents in the past, she had never felt this helpless.

But why was she feeling this way now?

The reason was easy to understand without deep thought. Because this was the first connection she had chosen for herself.

Even when she liked Ian, it wasn’t that she truly liked him. She mistook her envy and admiration for his family, his position, and his being loved, for liking him.

But Louis was different. Even if it wasn’t romantic interest, she liked Louis himself. He was the first connection she had made on her own.

She felt frustrated and angry that she couldn’t be of any help to him.

“This seems to be the place.”

As a characteristic of the academy, there was not only an infirmary but also a treatment room, and Louis’s name was hung in front of the hospital room.

“Fortunately, it seems there was a healing awakened one.”

There are awakened ones who wield healing abilities impossible with medical skills. I heard that healing awakened ones, distinctly different from healers, treat the injured with abilities that doctors can’t imitate.

Of course, I heard it’s a very rare ability and not just anyone gets treated, so this was fortunate.

It seemed the academy had also moved quickly.

“……”

Despite hurrying here, Aer couldn’t easily open the hospital room door. As she hesitated, Kai slightly raised the corner of his mouth and knocked.

“…Yes.”

A weak voice was heard from inside. As soon as Aer heard Louis’s voice, she flung the door open.

“Louis……”

“Aer?”

She moved towards him while being supported by Kai.

Louis first looked at her ankle as she approached, then at the strong arm her hand was touching.

“…Are you okay?”

This was all Aer could manage to say. Unable to continue speaking, she began to examine Louis’s body thoroughly.

“There was so much blood earlier……”

Louis responded reassuringly to her voice, which was almost a sob.

“No, I’m fine now.”

“Did you receive proper treatment?”

“I don’t remember exactly, but I think I was treated by an awakened one as soon as I was transported.”

“…Phew, that’s such a relief.”

Sitting in the auxiliary chair beside the bed, Aer didn’t take her eyes off Louis even after hearing he was okay.

Only after carefully confirming that he was alright did she let out another deep sigh.

“Haha, you two are really close.”

Kai, who had been standing quietly nearby, said. Aer then felt both apologetic and grateful towards Kai.

“Kai, thank you.”

“It was just what I had to do. As an awakened one, protecting regular people is natural.”

“I see. But not everyone would think that way, right?”

“But why are you back to formal speech? Heh, you were speaking informally when you yelled earlier.”

Kai seems to be the type to say everything he wants to say without holding back. Aer found this kind of personality more comfortable.

Isn’t it better than being two-faced?

“Alright. If that’s what you want… Well, why not.”

“…Huh?”

“You’re really consistent.”

Aer let out a small laugh. She, who had unconsciously built walls against others, was trying to let Kai inside those walls after Louis.

She looked at Kai with a softened expression, unlike her usual stiff face. Kai felt his face getting strangely hot.

At that precise moment, Louis groaned, holding his forehead.

“Ugh.”

“What’s wrong? Does your head hurt?”

Startled by even the small groan, she immediately turned her attention to Louis.

“…Ah, my head hurts a bit.”

“Are there any aftereffects?”

“…I’m not sure.”

Louis couldn’t answer her question with certainty. He had hidden things for survival before, but it was the first time he had lied out of greed.

“This won’t do. I’ll go out and call the doctor.”

As Aer, worried, finally tried to stand up, Louis quickly grabbed her hand.

“I think I’m feeling better now……”

“Really?”

“Yeah……”

“But I’m still worried……”

“It’s okay, Aer.”

Aer hesitated for a moment, then sighed deeply and gripped his hand even tighter.

“Then, promise to tell me immediately if you feel even a little pain, okay?”

“Alright.”

Louis couldn’t help but smile. Those pink eyes looking solely at him and the warm temperature.

All of this seemed to bring him happiness.

And…

Louis slightly raised his gaze and saw Kai, unable to hide his bewildered expression, and slightly raised the corner of his mouth.

He now realized his true feelings.

‘Yes, I wanted to monopolize all of this for myself.’

All of Aer, that is.