The sun had set and it was growing dark outside.
“Kiri!” The door to Inori’s room was flung open. It was Fanatique. “He’s not here either...” she said.
“You should knock first. It’s the least you could do in terms of etiquette,” Ariya said, scolding her.
“I’m his teacher, so I think it’s fine.”
Ariya let out a sigh. “What does that have to do with anything?”
“What about you? Isn’t it strange for you to have a key to his room?” Fanatique asked, looking straight at Ariya.
“I asked to borrow it from the innkeeper. It’s completely above board,” Ariya responded, spinning the key around her finger.
She’d kept a spare key just in case there was an opportunity to kill Inori. However, she had no clue that she’d invited a lot of misunderstandings by telling the innkeeper that she needed a key in order to “sneak into his room at night.” She also hadn’t caught on to why the innkeeper grinned at her whenever she saw Ariya in the morning.
“Where did he go? He wasn’t at the guild either.”
“Why did he even run away?” Ariya asked, frowning.
Fanatique nodded, just as nonplussed, and entered the room. Ariya tried to call out to stop her, but it was too late. She’d already sat down on Inori’s bed. The light from outside came through the windows, casting faint shadows across the sheets.
“So, this is the bed he sleeps on... Wonder what it smells like.”
“Huh? Wait!” Ariya exclaimed as Fanatique buried her face in Inori’s pillow and took breath after breath.
“Yep—this is Kiri’s smell.”
“What are you doing...?” Ariya asked, in a surprisingly low voice.
“Just checking,” Fanatique said. Then she moved on to the sheets.
“Knock it off,” Ariya said flatly, grabbing Fanatique by the collar and pulling her away.
“Yep. That’s Kiri’s scent.”
“Of course it is. Are you stupid?”
“But...” Fanatique turned to Ariya. “I’m picking up a faint hint of you too.”
Ariya jumped a little, going red. She knew that the smell Fanatique was picking up was from those episodes. It wasn’t sex, but they’d done almost everything aside from going all the way. She’d done things that were embarrassing enough to make her flush.
“So you two really are in that kind of relationship,” Fanatique said, narrowing her eyes.
“N-No, we’re not!”
At the very least, Ariya had yet to even kiss Inori, let alone enter a full physical relationship with him. Although she wanted to explain the situation in her own words, she was still very pure and found it embarrassing to do so. But her reaction would have made anyone think that they were indeed in a physical relationship, and that was exactly what Fanatique thought.
“Listen, Ari... I’m gonna be real with you,” Fanatique said, suddenly serious, which helped Ariya recover from her embarrassment. “I think you should stay away from Kiri.”
“Huh?” Caught off guard, Ariya immediately countered, “Why should I care what you think?”
The truth was that she couldn’t leave him even if she wanted to. She served Inori and couldn’t be free until she’d become stronger than him. Plus, since she had every intention of leaving Inori, what she should have said was probably just, “Who cares?” But her first, most immediate thought was that Fanatique’s opinion didn’t matter in the slightest.
“I’m Kiri’s teacher, so it has everything to do with me.” It annoyed Ariya that she was once again bringing up the “teacher” thing. “No matter how I look at it, you’re holding him back. To be honest, I’m pissed at you.”
“And why is that?” Ariya asked.
“Kiri can’t use magic tools at all. In this day and age, that’s really rare. He was probably born without the ability to use them. Plus, you said that you two have ‘history,’ which only leads me to believe that you two have known each other from a young age.” Ariya’s brow was furrowed, but Fanatique ignored this, continuing, “I don’t know why, but you two decided to become adventurers. However, since Kiri can’t use magic tools, he can’t fight, right? So you’ve pretty much kept him in the guild while looking after him.”
It wasn’t too crazy a story, and it certainly might have looked true from Fanatique’s standpoint. Also, since Ariya wasn’t able to explain their circumstances, it may as well have been the truth. So Ariya stayed quiet and let Fanatique keep talking.
“And now look what’s happened. Because you babied him, he’s ended up in this pitiful state. He’s not as unsalvageable as everyone says he is. After spending time with him these past few days, I can tell that he’s been putting on an act. All this time, he’s wanted to enjoy himself. He’s probably only spending time with me because it’s a way for him to get out of the guild and have fun.” Fanatique looked at Ariya again. “You’re at fault for holding him down. It’s like you’re codependent. Your relationship is warped...or maybe it’s just you that’s warped.”
Ariya had no desire to debate her claims. But even though she didn’t understand what Fanatique meant, the word “warped” seeped into her mind.
“By letting him become someone everyone hates, you’re making it so that no one will ever approach him. That way, you can keep him bound and dependent on you, so that he can never leave you. It’s sick.”
Her claims were all nonsense. They were so far from the truth it was laughable. Even so, why couldn’t Ariya say anything? Why were her words caught in her throat?
“Well... At least, that’s what I imagine is going on. Probably it’s just my own delusions.” Fanatique’s expression softened, but Ariya still had no words. “Either way, though, I’m not lying when I say I want to help Kiri out. I want him to become strong enough to stand on his own two feet, and I think for that to happen, you need to leave.” Before she could continue, though, she was interrupted.
“But you’re not helping Kiri out of the goodness of your heart.”
“Huh?”
“If anything, you just wanted a quality student. Kiri’s nothing but a pupil to you. He’ll never be an equal in your eyes.”
Fanatique brought her hand to her chin and began to think. “Mm... You have a point. I have always liked the relationship between teacher and student. Is it a bad thing to see a student as a student, though?” She smiled as if she was laughing at herself. “Then again, I do have a plan.”
“And what’s that?”
“I’m hoping that Kiri will become a Holy Knight if he straightens up enough.”
“A...Holy Knight?” Ariya tried to imagine this, but it was too difficult. She shook her head. “Impossible. There is absolutely no way.”
“Yeah... I agree. At first, I thought he was just a brat that needed a good scolding, but...” Fanatique’s next few words seemed to trip her up. Her cheeks turned slightly pink. “He’s a lot more obedient than he looks, and...he has his cute moments too.”
Ariya stared at her silently. Panicking, Fanatique changed the subject. “But having more Holy Knights isn’t a bad thing! It’d mean fewer monsters and a more peaceful life for humans. Everyone would be happy.”
“‘Peace’?”
“Yeah. I want all humans to be happy. I believe that’s the ultimate desire of god.”
“Peace...” Ariya mumbled again. A dark smile came to her face. “I think it’s impossible for peace to bring everyone happiness.”
“There’s no way for you to know that.”
Ariya chuckled. “It’s because Kiri’s around that it’s impossible. If you want everyone to be happy, you’ll have to kill him.”
At the sight of Ariya’s unsettling smile, Fanatique took an unconscious step backwards. “Why is that...?”
“That’s because Kiri is much, much more—”
“When are you two going to leave my room?”
At this sudden voice, both Ariya and Fanatique yelped in surprise.
“Hello...?” said Inori. He was sitting boldly on his bed, holding a book that he’d presumably been reading.
“H-Huh? Kiri?! How long have you been here?” Fanatique was utterly confused. She should’ve noticed if he’d come through the door...and yet there he was.
“Uh, from the start.”
“No, you weren’t! I definitely would’ve noticed!”
“I was under the covers.”
“Like I wouldn’t notice that. I didn’t even sense your presence.”
“Well, I’m good at stealth.”
While Fanatique and Inori bickered back and forth, Ariya figured out what had really happened. He’d been sleeping in the shadow of the bedcovers the entire time.
“How long were you listening to us?” Fanatique asked.
“From the beginning.”
At these words, Fanatique began to panic. “U-Uh, did I say anything too embarrassing?”
“I might have...” Ariya lamented.
Both of their faces lit up with embarrassment.
The one saving grace was that Inori didn’t look bothered by any of it. “Come on, out you both go. Especially you, Sister Sensei. It’s night, after all.”
“Okay...”
“Understood.”
And with that, the two of them left, not willing to say anything else under Inori’s cold gaze.