Mia’s eyelids fluttered open with a start. There was nothing between sleeping and waking, no hazy semi-consciousness, and so the moment she opened her eyes, her brain’s wake center activated. Though her mind immediately snapped to attention, she was physically exhausted from everything that had happened the day before. Even now, she yearned to simply curl up under the blankets once more and remain in that sweet, warm world of slumber, sticky as mud. She didn’t give in, though. Mia sat up in bed and leaned back against the wooden headboard. She placed a hand to her chest.
…My feelings haven’t changed after all.
She had slept on it, but her will was unshaken.
Then I should act. It would be foolish of me to let this chance slip away.
Mia’s mind was made up. She pictured Luke in her head as she had seen him the previous day. No matter how favorably she reinterpreted the events, she couldn’t claim that he was a good person. Mia knew that, of course, but she found herself entranced by him nonetheless.
His words played over and over in her mind as emotions she didn’t even comprehend welled up endlessly within her.
“Will you become my pawn?”
I know I shouldn’t listen to him… I know that these are the whispers of the devil. Maybe he’s just deceiving me.
Mia understood that neither Luke’s words nor his actions came from a sense of goodwill. Despite everything, she knew what her decision had to be. “…I can’t take it any longer.”
I can’t resist. I just can’t.
It was as if she had been dyed black, and no amount of color added could alter that shade. Her mind was completely made up.
Mia got ready quickly, but not carelessly. Rather, there was an efficiency in each and every one of her movements that allowed her to prepare at such speed. Finally, she stood before the mirror in her room and ran a brush through her hair, paying particular attention to fixing her bangs. Once that was done, she opened the door and began walking quickly towards Luke’s room.
She started out quite fast, but the closer she got, the slower her pace became.
“Wh-what do I say…?”
She couldn’t help but wonder aloud—and that was the moment that she snapped back to reality.
What am I, an idiot?! I’m visiting a boy’s room this early in the morning for this?! To become his pawn?! He’ll think I’ve gone insane!
Mia wanted to scream in frustration at herself. She reflexively placed her hands to her face and found her cheeks were boiling hot. She felt like her heartbeat had spread, pounding through every part of her body. As her body heated up, though, her head seemed to cool by the same proportion. The coolheaded, clear-thinking part of her recognized just how improper this was. Her emotions were all over the place, but she forced herself to calm down for a second time.
If I don’t go right now, I feel I might lose the chance forever…
She thought about it further.
After everything that happened yesterday, how could I ever just casually say it when I bump into him at breakfast?
That, Mia convinced herself, would be even more awkward than what she was currently trying to do. She took a step forward. Her legs felt heavy, like she was dragging chains behind her as she walked.
But if I stop again, I’ll only end up going back to my room.
Conscious of that fact, Mia worked up the mana for a spell.
Flight.
Mia floated up into the air, then began to accelerate.
I have to reach Luke’s room quickly.
With that single thought in her mind, she sped down the dormitory hallway. If she hadn’t had the reason left to consider the fact that other students might still be asleep, she would have been sorely tempted to scream out loud to release a fraction of the anxiety that writhed in the pit of her stomach. Regardless, she arrived at Luke’s door in almost no time at all. A bit too soon, even.
She dispelled Flight and dropped gently to her feet. That’s the door. All I need to do now is knock.
How difficult it was, though, now that she was actually there, just to knock. Mia gripped tightly at the hem of her skirt.
Do it, Mia! You’ve made up your mind, haven’t you?! Come on! Come on! Argh.
Her thoughts took her in circles for a while, and she spent five minutes frozen in the cold hallway. Then she realized that this right here, this was her whole problem. It was why she had lost her rank duel the previous day. Lloyd had been strong—stronger than her, arguably—but strength wasn’t everything. The biggest reason for her defeat was her weak, indecisive mind.
Isn’t that why I’m here? To change?
She sighed, paused, and breathed deeply again. “All right.”
My mind’s made up.
She took several more deep, calming breaths, then slowly reached out and knocked feebly on the door a few times. Then she waited. The wait felt to Mia as if every second had been stretched out to a minute or more, but eventually, the door opened slowly before her. Luke’s face appeared in the crack.
The moment Mia recognized him, her heart was thrown into such complete disarray, it was as if everything up until that moment had been a mere prologue to this. Her heart started beating incredibly fast. She couldn’t even manage a simple “Good morning.” Instead, the words that tumbled out of her mouth were the ones she’d come there to say; the ones that she had said to herself countless times that morning. She spoke as if she were reading a script.
“Ahem… I don’t mind. I’ll be your pawn, Luke.”
Luke’s eyes opened wide for a moment—there was much about the situation that he hadn’t anticipated. The knock at the door had also woken him up, so his mind was still fuzzy. Those were the factors that left him speechless for a few seconds, but Mia had no way of knowing that, of course. She had plucked up the courage to say it, but Luke hadn’t answered her yet. That was the one thought that consumed her. Her heartbeat grew even faster.
“Right,” he said finally. “You did well to make this decision. I’m happy you came.”
“…Ah.”
Luke’s approval was like a drug, intoxicating, and it made her feel a little insane.
A shock of excitement pierced through her whole body, as if everything within her had been affirmed all at once. It was Mia’s turn to be speechless then. Her mouth opened and closed, but no words came forth.
I have to say something. Quickly.
But just as she pressed herself to speak, someone else did.
“Well, that was interesting, Mia.”
It was the voice of another girl in the room behind Luke. Before Mia had time to work out who this new voice was, the girl pulled the door open wide.
“Ah!”
It was at that moment that Mia’s brain stopped working entirely.
Alice was standing in the doorway, and she was completely naked.
Why is she in Luke’s room?
Why isn’t she wearing any clothes?
Why does she look so smug?
Questions flooded Mia’s mind, but the information her eyes provided was too shocking to bear. Mia would turn away in embarrassment whenever she saw two strangers kissing, after all. What she saw in front of her was completely incomprehensible, beyond what she could accept as part of reality. Therefore, she chose to let go of her grip on consciousness, and with a bang, she crumpled to the floor. To Alice, shame was a completely foreign concept. She had supreme confidence in her own beauty and was not embarrassed in the slightest to be seen by others.
“…Why did you come to the door?”
“She was being so…interesting. I couldn’t help myself.”
Luke sighed, deciding that Mia could hardly be left lying in the hallway. Though it was tiresome to be engaging in exercise so early in the morning, Luke took her gently in his arms and carried her over to his bed.