Remembrance
While Mune shouted and berated Zousa, Sarena seemed to still be in denial.
She put her hands on his face, feeling the cold of his skin.
After her attempt to feel his warmth didn't work, she put her shaky fingers to his throat like Mune had done.
Finally, she resorted to pinching Nova's nose in the hopes that he was still breathing...
....He wasn't.
Her voice trembled as she sobbed quietly.
『...O-Oswald. I-I-I'm sorry...』[Sarena]
For those who had no ties to Zousa, they all had their own ways of grieving or expressing their emotions.
Alex sat not too far off, distraught and out of it.
『...I thought we would have all survived to go on another double date.』[Alex]
He had moist eyes, staring at Nova's pale skin with drops of tears falling to the ground.
『We didn't even know each other that long!』[Alex]
His voice began to warp- influenced by the emotions he was experiencing.
『...So why did you have to die… for someone like me…?』[Alex]
He repeatedly punched the same spot he had been punching, leaving an even bigger hole, and scratches and some blood on his fist.
『Damn it! Damn it! We were… supposed to be friends… even years, decades from now! You were the first person to talk to me casually, even after finding out!』[Alex]
His tears streamed down his face.
『...No. You were… my first friend, since Kikhia.』[Alex]
Kikhia tried to console him by holding his hand, and he gripped her hand harder in response.
He kept crying, despite the snot running down his nose.
Mune stopped hitting Zousa after a bit.
He sighed, tired of the Zousa that wouldn't even try to fight back.
『...It's not your fault he's gone.』[Mune]
Zousa looked back up at Mune with conflicted eyes.
『...He could have killed you. It was his choice not to.』[Mune]
『...I… have an answer to that question you asked me.』[Zousa]
He stood off of the ground, staring Mune right in the eyes.
『...How will you give Nova your life?』[Mune]
『...I'll spend it… protecting the friends and family he cherished.』[Zousa]
『...A life debt, huh?』[Mune]
Mune reached into a bag that he pulled out of his pocket.
『...You may strike and berate me all you want. This boy… no, Nova… gave me back my life.』[Zousa]
Mune pulled out a Stardrop that shined dark blue.
He looked at it and held a complicated look on his face.
He then took it and slipped it into Nova's chest pocket.
『...Here you go, buddy. May your blue flames burn you a path to heaven.』[Mune]
Streaks of tears ran down Mune's eyes.
『...It wasn't anybody's fault but mine. I failed him as his senior. To think I would fail him twice....』[Mune]
Alex shook his head.
『...It's my fault. If I hadn't been the target of the assassination, he wouldn't have even been involved...』[Alex]
『...Young master. If...』[Kikhia]
She looked at her brother with sorrowful guilt filled eyes, but continued to speak.
『...If I had enough resolve to cut down my brother, maybe Nova would still be laughing and talking with us.』[Kikhia]
『...I'm sorry.』[Zousa]
Freyana, who had been quiet, finally spoke up.
『...It's the fault of the demon.』[Freyana]
Everyone looked at her.
She had tears streaming down her face, and she looked even worse off than Nova did…
But she was smiling.
『...Nova died with a smile… you know?』[Freyana]
She looked deep into his face.
『...I actually met him… a long time ago, when we were just kids.』[Freyana]
She found that a few drops of her tears had fallen on Nova's smiling face.
『...I was bullied for my long ears and wings, when my parents had still let me play with the other human kids, but he told me that he liked them. That anyone who said otherwise was plain wrong.』[Freyana]
She kept crying, making Nova's face even more wet.
『He would come by very often. He would always have something nice to say or give to me… But one day, I wasn't allowed to see him, nor the rest of the outside world.』[Freyana]
She tried to wipe the tears off of Nova's face with a handkerchief she had, but the more she touched his face, the more tears would fall.
『...So can you imagine the happiness I felt when I saw him… a common citizen, in this school that was only for mages and nobles?』[Freyana]
At this point, everyone was crying silently to themselves.
『...It was like my wishes had been answered… and he even finished all of the food I gave him, calling it delicious. I wouldn't have given him all of that if I knew who it was I was cooking for...』[Freyana]
She pulled her face closer to him.
『...But he did it anyways. Because that's the person he is.』[Freyana]
Her face flushed pink.
『...I fell in love all over again. And he didn't even remember me… So when he told me that I was beautiful… When he told me he loved me...』[Freyana]
She cradled his head in her bosom, crying harder before shouting.
『I was happy! If I had spent my entire life idling by his side, there wouldn't have been anything else I could have asked for!』[Freyana]
Even Zousa was crying at Freyana's story.
『...But he it was like he loved danger.』[Freyana]
She covered her mouth to suppress her sobs.
『Each time he would go out, he would come back in terrible condition! I remember several times, the status bracelet even told us that he had died!』[Freyana]
She cleaned any dust off of his face and brushed his hair out of his eyes.
『...But he always came back. He told me he would never die.』[Freyana]
Sarena quietly murmured.
『...ar.』[Sarena]
They all looked to her.
She suddenly looked up at the sky with tears streaming down her face.
『DAMN IT, NOVA! YOU'RE A GOD DAMNED LIAR!』[Sarena]
She looked back down at him, rubbing the constantly flowing tears from her face.
『...He always felt like the little brother of the senior students.』[Sarena]
Mune nodded, agreeing with her while staring at Nova's smiling face.
『...He had… so much life left. So much he had to do. So much he… could have done.』[Sarena]
Mune began to put in his two pieces too.
『...That's who he is. Kind. To a fault.』[Mune]
They looked at him, not expecting Mune to berate Nova here.
『...Not even a full 24 hours ago, he saved me when I told him to run.』[Mune]
Mune formed his hand into a fist, with his nails digging into his palm.
『...Who am I to criticize his choices… but a bitter senior?』[Mune]
Zousa seemed to be shaken up by all this.
『...If he was loved… by so many people… I most definitely do not have the right of standing here.』[Zousa]
Mune spoke back to him, with poison in his voice.
『...Well, maybe it wasn't even the demon's fault that he died. Maybe it was Nova's fault he's laying there now.』[Mune]
What Mune said caused Freyana to start crying again, into Nova's shoulder.
『...The first person I felt any type of satisfaction with… and he's gone.』[Mune]
Mune realized what he said, sighing and looking at Nova's face with a bitter look.
『...It seems like you broke quite a few promises tonight, Nova.』[Mune]
Freyana mumbled into Nova's shoulder.
『I… Nova… Please… come back. Don't break your promise with me...』[Freyana]
Sarena stared at Freyana with sympathy, but in the back of Sarena's heart…
She felt fear.
She had no idea how to break the news to Oswald, nor any of the others.
She still didn't even believe that Nova was dead.
Zousa suddenly stood up and formed a barrier around them.
『...Please stay here.』[Zousa]
Kikhia looked at him with strange eyes.
『...Where are you going?』[Kikhia]
『...Doing as I promised.』[Zousa]