An outcast dropout, surviving on the frontier and rising to become an S-ranked counter-magician.

Hmm.....

Midnight. I had a strange trouble falling asleep today and woke up. I looked at the clock and saw that it was past 2:00 a.m. I woke up at a very halfway point in the night. I woke up in the middle of the night, but I don't know why I woke up so late. But for some reason my eyes are strangely bright. I wonder what's going on........somehow, I decided to go outside to feel better.

''........''

I looked up at the night sky and saw the stars shining there. The only unchanging twinkling stars in a world dominated by twilight. Looking back, I had looked up at the night sky like this many times during the two years I had been in twilight. While I was indulging in such a past, a familiar person was there.

''........Sophia?''

...Julia?

Normally she wears her semi-long hair in a short ponytail, but now she seemed to be undoing it, which was refreshing. But that's not the only thing that's different from the usual. Tears were running down from her eyes.

''.........Ah, hahaha! You've seen my embarrassing part.

What's going on?

Sofia gingerly wipes her tears with her sleeve.

I don't know if I can step in.....................I've known there was something about her for a long time. The fact that she tested me, and I thought she was strangely frightened by that attack, but I also saw her happily killing demons. To put it bluntly.......Sophia is emotionally unstable. She is usually a bright girl. But when it comes to demons and twilight, her balance is strangely compromised. I was worried about her. It hasn't been long since we met. And yet I still consider her........a dear friend.

That's why I decided to step in a bit today.

''........nothing.......ugh......ugh.......''

Sophia continued to cry. I watched it in silence next to her. No, technically I was looking at the sky. I'm not one to stare intently at a woman's crying face. So I waited next to her for a long time until she stopped crying.

"Are you settling in?

'Yeah ... thanks Julia ...'

Well, I'm going to go.

Stand up. We all have things we don't want to talk about. We all have things we don't want to tell anyone in our lives, no matter how close we are to them. It happens to me, and it happens to Sofia. So I'm going to walk away. You can't step into someone's heart so easily, because it's not something you can do.

Aren't you going to listen?

Why are you crying?

Yes.

Can I ask you a question?

I'll let Julia... okay...

I sat down next to her again and decided to listen to her in silence.

'Hey, why did you try to approach Yulia from the first time I met her do you know what I mean?'

No....

Indeed, Sophia was quick to close the distance. Unlike Shelly, we hadn't met beforehand. Nevertheless, Sophia seemed strangely familiar to me... or rather, I felt like she was watching me the whole time. I remember the moment I entered the classroom, her eyes were wide open.

'Yulia, you know, you look like your brother... very, very much like him.

Do you have a brother?

Yeah. He was very kind, reliable, cool, and...a very strong brother. Julia and I have a similar face and that gentle personality. That's why........from the first time we met, I couldn't help but see Yulia as an older brother.

She's like my brother........well, I can understand the argument. But what does that have to do with why she wanted me to become a special class anti-magician?

''I knew about Yulia.......originally. I came back from twilight and I was watching the match with Shelly. That's when I thought. My brother is back. My brother had always dreamed of becoming an extra-specialist opponent. So.........I've always pictured Yulia as my brother. No.........yes, I wanted to believe that. I wanted to believe... that my brother... had come back... so when Yulia became a special class antagonist... ...I thought my brother's dreams would come true too... and Yulia's strong enough to kill a lot of the demons that took my brother away from me... and if I become a special class anti-magician, more, more, more, that guy. He's going to kill them... haha, it's perverse... but I could only hold myself together by thinking that anymore...

....

The words made sense to me. Sophia's brother was missing in the twilight. Every year, many people go missing in the twilight. Students are the same, but more often than not, it's the military. It's not uncommon for them to go to the danger zone and not come back. I was one of those who went missing but I did come back. I think she found hope in that. A classmate who looks like her brother. It's also quite strong. She wanted to look at him and think of her brother and assume that he was there.

Unfortunately, it's not uncommon for people to suffer from PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) due to someone who has gone to twilight, or someone they care about dying in twilight. Sofia may be one of those people....

'But hey, Yulia was Yulia. The one who fought for everyone in that attack, fighting for humanity even though he was covered in blood.......wasn't her brother. I know that. I understand with all my rational mind. That my brother is already dead I know that Yulia is special... ...But I can't give up. That's why I want to be strong enough to meet my brother someday and also to eliminate the demon tribe that took him away from me and the twilight. Oh no, that's not like me. Hahahahahaha!

Does that sound familiar?　If you ask me, I'll tell you that it is indeed true. In the world where Twilight was born, in a world ruled by the demon race, stories like this are commonplace. Your loved ones will be gone. That twilight will take them away from you. It's a common story, and there are many victims. But still I had something to say.

"A common story it may be, but the pain you feel is something only the person in question can understand. Sophia is in pain all the time the pain is real. It's not something that can be dismissed out of hand. Besides, that doesn't mean she's not like you. She's a bright and lively person, that's for sure, but that doesn't mean she can't be sad about something. If people are sad, they're sad. If they're happy, they're happy. Who they are depends on the moment.

Julia....

I don't know what words of encouragement are. As I said to myself, only the person in question can understand the pain. I'm not Sophia, and I don't understand how it feels to lose your brother. But even so, to hear her grief I can accept it. That's why I was there for her.

I'm not Sophia's brother. I'm not a substitute. Still, I wanted to be there for her as a friend.

What do you mean?

The next moment, Sophia lies down on the ground. Then, in a large figure, she looks up at this starry sky.

''Ah, compared to this starry sky, I'm... well... the world is... small... compared to this starry sky.

....

I've been thinking about it. I've been thinking about waiting for my brother to come back one day. That hasn't changed. But maybe it's time for me to move on too........Julia is not my brother. And I am........

I was the same as Sophia. I've been stagnant for a long time. I went into the twilight, and I came back stronger, but what happened to Dan and the others has lain dormant in the back of my mind. Now I've let go of all my ties and moved on, but it took me a while to get there.

I've made up my mind. I'm going to try harder. I'll try my best to be a great wizard when my brother comes back. And ... I'm going to do everything I can to make this twilight disappear ...

Well yes.

In the end, people can only follow what they decide to do. Regardless of what others may say, in the end it is necessary to move forward by one's own will.

''........Huh?''

A moment later, I feel a raw, warm sensation on my cheeks.

''Fufu, thank you!　Well, good night!

I stared at Sophia's departing figure, dumbfounded... and then looked up at the sky again. The starry sky was still there.