One by one, she answered every question hurled at her. Everyone was impressed, oohing and aahing. Blade didn’t understand why what she’d said would elicit that sort of reaction, but he went along with the crowd.
“Ohhh…?”
Soon, everyone split into groups and started eating lunch. Sophie, the transfer student, stood alone, looking a bit lost.
“…What’s wrong?” asked Blade.
“I didn’t bring lunch.”
“Oh. Well, there’s food at the cafeteria.”
“Ah,” she replied, not moving an inch.
“…Are you gonna go?”
“I don’t know where it is.”
Oh. Well, that makes sense. It’s her first day here… But this girl’s incredibly passive, isn’t she? Ask her something, and she just answers. She’s almost too honest, but I guess she won’t say anything unless she’s prompted.
She clearly had a problem—she didn’t know where the cafeteria was—and yet she refused to ask anyone. Instead, she just stood there.
“Here, I’ll walk you over.”
I’ll be this girl’s ally, Blade thought. Even if it means turning the whole world against me. It wasn’t a decision so much as a realization—a fact he was now absolutely sure of.
“This way. Follow me.”
“If it’s an order, then I’ll obey.”
Not all the students brought lunchboxes, and those who didn’t got their food from the cafeteria. It wasn’t free, though, or even all-you-can-eat. You had to pay for everything, even a single piece of bread, which felt kind of weird to Blade. Regardless, they had daily specials, set meals, assorted side dishes, and plenty of other things to fill the students’ stomachs. To Blade and his classmates, the neat lines of small dishes, including croissants and other treats, seemed to literally sparkle.
“Hey, ma’am, um… This sandwich… I think it’d be perfect if you just added a little curry.”
“Ha-ha-ha-ha! You have to be the first student to ever ask me to put curry in a pork cutlet sandwich. But sure! I’ll try that next time! Maybe I can make it into a croquette, so the curry won’t drip out.”
The lunch lady rolled up a sleeve and flexed to accentuate her point. Blade had just offered the idea on a whim, but it seemed he’d really inspired her. Would there be a new item on the menu the following day? He couldn’t wait to find out.
“So what kind of food are you hungry for?” Blade asked Sophie.
“Anything is fine.”
“You can choose whatever you want.”
“Is that an order?”
“Not an order, no… But it’d be nice if you chose something you want, Sophie.”
“I’m sorry. I don’t have any preference. I’m not sure what I like or dislike, exactly.”
“Then let’s try them all,” said Blade. “Hey, ma’am, give us every type of baked good you have!”
“Ha-ha-ha-ha! You better clean your plate, kid!”
“Don’t you worry about that!”
And so, Blade grabbed one of each baked good from right to left and held them all in his arms. Sophie’s eyes widened ever so slightly at the sight. The change was barely noticeable, but somehow, Blade could sense her surprise.
Their spoils were now lined up on the courtyard lawn.
“So which ones do you want?”
“Choose whatever you like, Blade. I’ll eat the rest.”
Blade grinned. Sophie was certainly staying in character. But he didn’t want to just repeat their exchange from earlier.
“Okay, I’ll take this pork sandwich and the curry bread.”
Those two things made up half of his diet. He picked them up, then handed everything else to Sophie. She took each item, looked at it, then put it back. Finally, she chose one.
“Ugh… What’s that?” asked Blade.
“It’s called a ‘fruit sandwich,’ apparently.”
It was a truly demonic item: two pieces of bread with what looked like a good two inches of whipped cream between them. If there was any fruit in there, it was buried in the ocean of cream—more of a shortcake than a sandwich.
“…Should I choose something else?” asked Sophie hesitantly.
“N-no, um… I-if you want it, Sophie…then I’m sure it’s g-great. Totally fine… Perfect, even…”
“Are you sure?”
Asked a second time, Blade simply nodded and encouraged her to have at it.
They ate silently for a little while, munching away at their selections. Blade scarfed down a bread pocket full of yakisoba noodles and some kind of meat, while Sophie went to town on a sandwich with cream, sweet bean paste, and fruit.
Sophie seemed to have quite the sweet tooth. Blade hadn’t known that about her. Girls tended to like sweets, he supposed, and Sophie was a girl. She was, wasn’t she? This felt like a very fresh discovery, like it had just dawned on him for the first time.
After finishing his last item, Blade licked his fingers…and then lay down, his head resting right on Sophie’s thigh.
“Huh?” Sophie let out a surprised yelp. It seemed out of character for her.
“This is fine, right?” Blade asked.
“I don’t mind,” Sophie said.
So Blade decided to take a nap on Sophie’s lap, there on the soft grass. The sun was shining, the air was a pleasant temperature, and Sophie’s lap was just as warm—maybe a little sweaty, even. Blade was completely relaxed. The scene was almost too peaceful. He was just enjoying his normal, happy life…
This is nice. I like this. A lot. In fact, I could die happy right now.
The moment was so peaceful and pleasant, Blade couldn’t help himself. But it was always the Hero’s job to make it back home alive. Being a Hero didn’t mean you were the strongest fighter in the world. It simply meant that you always made it through, no matter how tough the battlefield.
And that was exactly what Blade was: a Hero.
“Sir, sir, sir!” His annoying underclassman was back. She came running up to him, shouting the whole way. “I’ll switch in, I’ll switch in! I demand to switch in! If you need a lap, I’ll provide it! Please enjoy my high-spec thighs at once! Sir! Sir! Sir, sir, sir, sir!”
“Shut up.” Blade grabbed the back of her green hair and pulled hard, slamming her face into the grass.
“Whoa…! Blade?! Blade, stop! I don’t care how annoying Iona is—you can’t do that! That’s awful!”
Earnest, who must have been hiding around the corner, jumped out and started shouting.
“What?” Blade asked, still holding Iona’s head against the grass. She flailed her arms and legs, but eventually, her movements changed to convulsive twitches. Even then, Blade didn’t let up. He buried her face deeper and deeper into the dirt.
“She’s gonna die! You’re gonna kill her!” shouted Earnest.
“No, she won’t. She’s not even real.” Blade knew it. He knew she wouldn’t die.
“Blade… What’s wrong?” Sophie stared at him blankly.
Blade shook his head. “I’m sorry, Sophie. It’s been fun. I was happy. I never thought I could have a life as normal as this. And that’s exactly what tipped me off to the fact that this world is completely fabricated.”
“But…”
“I wish I could stay here forever. I really do…but I have to go back. I have things I have to do.”
“What…? Blade? What’re you talking about?”
“You were an illusion, too, huh, Earnest? I’ve always wanted a childhood friend.”
“Hey…guys? Is Blade acting weird, or is it just me? Did something break in his head?”
“Haaah…”
Blade began to build up spirit. Among humans, only Heroes had access to this unique breathing technique, devised to refine one’s spirit and restructure it to resist visual illusions.
“Haaaaaaaaaaaah…”
“Huh? Hey, Blade? What’s going on? What’re you doing?”
Earnest looked confused. Blade regretted leaving her with that expression. But as brutal as his world was, he had to go back to it. He had to return to his life as a Hero.
“Haaaaaaaah!”
His spirit surged higher and higher. If you had someone in the real world that you wanted to kill but couldn’t, you could instead trap them in an illusion and do the deed there. Others had tried it on Blade dozens of times, and over the years, he had devised certain methods of escape.
“Haaah!”
His spirit grew and grew, and cracks appeared in the space around him. Finally, with a great shattering sound, the illusion burst, and light from reality poured through.
Blade passed through the hole and emerged outside. He had returned to the real world.