THAT DAY I BECAME A STAR

The next day, we went to our semi-finals against DULAHAN academy from Sacoxs and won. Then in the afternoon, we go to the local church to see Esteressa.

"You already look brand-new. Nobody would think you were a used product just yesterday."

Keltia, taking advantage of her father's absence, throws a big joke at her who, obviously, reacts to it in the most energetic way.

"AH?!! Are your eyes rotten already?!! Can't you see I am always brand-new?!!! Do I look like the make-up freak you are?!!"

"You are lucky I didn't have someone to portrait your face at the moment. I would have made it a masterpiece."

"Why don't you start with yours? By erasing it from earth."

Well, this girl certainly recovers fast.. I know that she got healed by the best but the trauma could have been deeper emotionally speaking.

"How are you feeling?" Finally, Cordel sits to her and Keltia backs down and joins us, observing the scene like the rest of us outsiders to their world.

"I-I am fine. Just my neck that still hurts a little." As she says that, Cordel reaches for her neck and touches it gently with his fingers. Making her go beet red.

"I must be muscle's pain. Don't worry, I am sure it will be fine soon enough. Anything else?"

As he is checking her body with his eyes, Esteressa goes as red as the shyest maiden and covers part of her face with her bedsheet.

"T-this is a bit embarrassing."

"Eh? Really? Then should I leave?"

"N-no, just stay a bit more."

And with that, our presence has been completely forgotten even though we are like ten persons here or so. Oh well, nothing we can do about it. We leave silently and let the lovers go on with their business. I do wonder if I am like this with Farner and Lanuvel as well.

***

"Hey, Germinia. Why isn't your brother participating in the team event? If he did, we would have definitively had a harder time winning today."

While we ware waiting outside for Cordel, Derkheil engages a conversation with Germinia about her brother. Now that he talks about it, I wonder as well. Why did he not participate?

"You would have lost, you mean."

"Eh?"

"If my brother participates in any event, then Sacoxs would obviously win."

"You can't be sure of it. We have powerhouses on our side as well. Myself included." He puffs out his chest with a huge smile. 

"It doesn't matter. My brother is way stronger than any of you…than any of us."

"Hmph! Then why does he not participate in team events?!"

"Because the sun always shines alone."

As she says that, the atmosphere changes. The reason? Germinia's face has distorted unsightly as she said those words. The profound fear that we can see on it speaks load of what she has seen.

"The sun always shines alone, huh." Well, that's true. Though if you compare yourself to the sun, that means you know your time will come to welcome the moon, I guess.

"We will see if he is really the sun! The individual tournament starts the day after tomorrow. I will personally test whether his strength is true or not." Derkheil's determination will certainly plummet once he faces that guy. I have seen it myself when he blocked my punch. He is strong.

"Suit yourself." And it seems Germinia agrees with me as well.

I had hopes that I would see Farner but they seem to be busy somewhere. We all go back to our residence, leaving Cordel alone. He will certainly come back by himself. Once we arrived, Lanuvel and the others girls install themselves in the living room that for once is not occupied by Frankher or a teacher and start chitchatting about everything. Only Germinia goes upstairs like the rest of us boys. Once in my room, I close my eyes but I can't fall asleep.

Cordel's prayer from yesterday still bothers me. I mean, I never prayed to Meetia. Not even once. Could it be that if I did, my pain, my problem, everything will vanish like he was asking.

"I highly doubt it."

"Why would you doubt it, Cissa? It's not like it is impossible, right?"

"Believe me as one who has seen it. Gods do listen to your prayers but rarely realize them."

"EH? Why?"

"Because most of them are filled with greed. I want this. I want that. Please, give me this. I wish I had that. Most of the prayers are demands and even more, they are demands for things that you don't really need."

"But-"

"We dragons have a saying. If your wish isn't so that you can spend a hundred thousand days asking for the same thing without rest or food, then it is not truly important."

"Huh? A hundred thousand days? I would probably die."

"Then you don't truly need whatever you were going to ask. Besides, we live long enough so a hundred thousand days is nothing."

"Right." I am not a dragon though.

"What I mean to say is that you should think seriously about what you wish before bothering a god with your prayer. Because the more trivial it is, the less he will be willing to hear you the next time and so on. Also, do not forget that your soul isn't welcomed in this world. Praying to your goddess would be like sending a beacon to tell her that you are here."

"W-well, I…"

"You didn't think of it, right?"

"Yes."

"Of course."

Sorry, mother Cissa.

***

The next day, we head to the coliseum for the finals. To my surprise, we are fighting against Tetra.

"Ladies and gentlemen! Today! Oh, today is going to be one of your greatest days here in Nivalnheilm! For it is the finals of the team events! And standing at the top as always, the eternal academy is here to show us the greatest show ever!!"

Keltia and the others wave their hands with smiles at the public while a rain of applauses and encouragements is falling on us.

"But this time! They won't have an easy time winning. Because they are here! Representing the Kingdom of pride and honor: Tetra academy and their headmaster, the WARLORD OF WENDHALM!!"

"Oh yeah!!"

"Wendhalm! Wendhalm!"

"You are going down, eternal academy!"

"Now, the stage for the final event…" The screen turns on and shows a place I know. A place I would recognize no matter when. "The forest of Karnados!!"

No way! Why?!! Who told them to send us there? Could this be a trap? It must be a trap. Does that mean Nivanheilm is an ally of Veronica as well? Are they trying to ambush me there?

"You guys think you will get me so easily, huh…"

"Kevin, are you okay?"

"I-"

Before I can answer Lanuvel, we are teleported. I got so lost in my thoughts that I didn't hear anything he said afterward.

After the teleportation, we find ourselves in the middle of the forest. Estimating from the scratches on the trees left by K'nor at the time, we should not be far from our house. Those guys are really planning an ambush.

"Okay, guys. We should divide into three groups." Cordel takes his role of leader and immediately starts designing a strategy.

"Three groups of two people then?" Keltia asks him while going to Samson. She has chosen her partner already then.

"No, a group of three to block off the guys from Tetra, a group of two to look for the item, and one last person to attack them."

"Ah, you are going with the original plan."

"It's good to see that you remember, Keltia. Kevin, you will attack them. Since you can fly, it will be easy for you to spot them and create a diversion."

Why did you choose to leave me alone? Are you also part of this, Cordel? Oh well, there is only one thing I can do. Like always before, kill them all as they come.

"See you guys later."

I fly above the forest and start looking for traces of our house. How much time has passed since then?

"So it is still there."

I spot some burnt woods still standing up and an alley made by broken trees and land near them. Almost nothing looks the same anymore. Weeds have grown everywhere. The place we used to sit to dismantle deers, the small garden we created, everything has disappeared. Only those burnt woods are the remnants of my past here.

"In the end, even your graves aren't visible anymore." I touch the burnt wood and it crumbles immediately. Was it just waiting for me to come? Were they waiting for me to come and erase the last bit of real happiness I had?

"Oh, look what we found. A poor lost soul all alone in this biggg forest. And what poor soul. The very star of Mercuria itself."

Of course, I couldn't be alone for a moment. The students from Tetra, three of them enter my sight under the bright sun that is enlightening this place.

"Maybe he ran away from his guys?"

"Then we can definitively have some fun with him, right? There is no set time for the finals after all."

"Yeah, let's do that. Hey, man. Sorry, but we are going to thoroughly break you. We have been a bit frustrated lately."

Why do people keep talking like they are strong when they aren't? I never understood that. It was the same that day as well. They were all speaking like I was easy prey. And now, the rests of their corpses that lied right where you guys aren't even visible anymore.

"Sigh…"