Chapter 202: Chapter 202 Lucy’s dilemma.
Looking at the vast black canvas that stretched far away, glittering dots scattered across it, closing the curtain of the day, bringing her a sense of momentary peace. But suddenly, her relaxed facial muscles tensed once again as she recalled what Soma had said to her.
"Fuu…".
Lucy sighed and recalled that ever since she was a child. She was a gifted girl with a loving family and a loving environment that helped raise her into the current her.
One of her biggest dreams is to become a doctor like her own parents, who owned a hospital as specialist doctors, and they were her goal.
However, fate had another course for her, when she was stranded into the gate that appeared once in a thousand chances and managed to clear it, obtaining the right to claim a rare class Saint. A miracle class that was so powerful in providing healing, buff, and protection.
Her whole life began to take a turn as she was hailed as a miracle child, and everyone who saw her began to ask for her blessing to cure them of their misery. She began to get fired up by all the miracles and her dream of becoming a doctor to save people. Lucy vows that with this power, she will save people in misery regardless of who it is and whenever they are.
So, Lucy decided to enter this academy to improve her abilities with the support of her family and little sister, who was always there beside her, empowering Lucy's dream to become a person who could save humankind.
Lucy opened her palm, let her golden aura gather around her right palm, and opened her mouth.
"Papa, Mama, I did a good job, right? With this power I have. I want to save people who are suffering and make the world into a better place, and yet he is…".
She clenched her palm and let the golden aura coating it disperse into nothing, leaving a fleeting moment of beauty. Lucy cast her gaze toward Hina, whose breathing was stabilized; she extended her right hand and began to gather a golden aura toward her palm and let it flow to Hina's body, covering it with a golden aura.
"Recovery".
Recovery was an advanced healing magic that could recover his or her condition into a normal state and refresh their feeling to regain their spirit.
Lucy, who used high-class healing magic, casually sighed as she withdrew her hand and sat upright because she caught a slight twitch from Hina's finger.
"Mm?".
"You finally awake".
Within her fleeting moment in comfort, Hina heard a melodious voice that entered her ears, making her brain cloud her decision to wake up.
However, slowly, the piece of scattered memory she had began to assemble and create a complete picture of her current condition. She fluttered her eyelashes several times, and when she opened it fully, she saw a white unfamiliar ceiling.
"Where am I?".
"Take your breath; this is the medical room in the academy. After the fight with the demon, you are unconscious, and we brought you here to be treated".
"Fight? Right, I remember…".
"Be careful".
Hina began to tense the muscles around her body and raised her weak body, helped by Lucy, who approached her from the side, pushing her back from behind.
"Thank you, senior".
"Don't mention it. Are you okay? Do you need a drink? I will buy it for you".
"Ah, No need. I have some in my storage ring".
As soon as Hina said those words, she took a plastic bottle that contained transparent water to wash away her barren throat. She opened the cap and put it on her lips. With a gulping sound that echoed inside the wide space, Hina slowly drowned the content.
Lucy, who saw her junior gradually devouring the water in the bottle, chuckled and found it rather amusing.
"Puhaa, that's refreshing".
"Fufu, You seem well prepared for this?".
The sudden question from Lucy made Hina's face stiffen in red. At that moment, she was trapped inside the trial gate for a month, where food supplies were scarce. She took one of Soma's habits in reserving meals or snacks in her storage rings.
Luckily, Hina's storage ring included the feature of time stop function to preserve food much longer. She scratches her cheek as she speaks.
"Well, Yes. I am following his example to prepare for anything I will do or anything that will happen".
Upon the mention of him, Lucy's brows began to knit in disturbing thoughts, seeing the reaction Hina had shown to her. Lucy's mind began to show the image of the boy who outright rejected her offer to help many people in misery.
"...Is it because of Soma?".
"Ah, yes, it is because of him".
"...I see".
Hina noticed Lucy's gaze directed down while she had a dark expression on her face, and then she tilted her head. From her perspective, she began to observe Lucy closely as she recalled that the beautiful girl in front of her was gorgeous, like a goddess.
She is curious as to why she has that complicated look in her eyes. So, Hina tried to speak her mind. Hina didn't know what happened between Her and Soma, but if it was just to listen to her story, she was willing to do it. It is also a good practice for her to expand her circle of friends.
"...Senior, what's the matter? Is there something disturbing you? ".
"Um? Ah, there is nothing to worry about. I am completely fine".
"Are you sure? It seems your mood had soured when I mentioned Soma".
"That's?!...".
Lucy's body stiffened like a rock as the worry clouding her heart read like an open book, and by a junior at that. She cast her gaze down and bit her lips because of the mixed feelings she had.
She didn't want to tarnish her junior name further, not to mention in front of his closest friends. But on the other hand, she was curious about why Soma, without any hesitation, rejected her offer and acted egoistically with the power he had.
"Senior?".
"...".
"If you don't mind, with someone like me. I am willing to listen to your story".
With a gentle persuasion from Hina, Lucy sees her sincere gesture. Lucy puffed out her chest before deflating her chest to chase away the hesitation in her heart.
"Well, the truth is…".
Lucy begins to tell Hina the story of when Hina was unconscious. She clenched her skirt, which made Hina knit her brows, worried about what sort of things Soma had done to her.
Hina, who heard the full story of what had transpired, nodded her head several times before putting her finger across her lower lips in deep thought. "Soma probably used one of the potions in his possession, but the wound I had in my body at that time was so severe. It seems he used the elixir that we found inside that trial gate. I will have to thank him later.
To think he would say that to senior Lucy. Geez, how can he leave the important matter? But, fufu, that isn't so like him".
Lucy, who saw Hina in deep thought, raised her brows as she saw Hina chuckle, making her thought blank for a second.
"Senior, you probably misunderstood things with him".
"? Misunderstand, how so?".
"It was like this…".
Hina begins to tell her about her first encounter with Soma, who happens to save her parents from a crisis by betting his life on the line. The event that transpired in Shinjuku was when he acted as a fool to ease the tension between them and calm the crying little girl, and at the last moment, he saved Hina, who always acted rudely to him. Hina began to tell Lucy about what Soma had done to her.
Lucy, who heard Hina's explanation, bloated her eyes in shock at what Soma had done for Hina. It was beyond help but the act of sacrificing himself. That fact confused her because why did Soma, who had that self-sacrificing nature, reject her offer?
"Senior, based on my thoughts. I think Soma would only help someone if that is within his reach".
"... Within his reach?".
"Um, that is exactly what I said based on what you told him earlier. You said to save many people, including a rather unknown, without knowing how many people out there that he didn't recognize and didn't know their whereabouts. Worse, some of them were probably criminals who happened to be in peril.
So, the point is, he rejects your offer because he does not want to waste his effort to help an unknown person who was out of his reach".
"...".
Hina, who finished her explanation, exhaled the breath she was holding while looking at Lucy's profile. Lucy cast her gaze down and clenched her skirt, which began to wrinkle because of the amount of force she squeezed it.
After hearing what her junior had to say, she felt a pang of pain in her heart as if someone had pickled it with a needle. Hina's words from earlier broaden her horizon. But, no matter what, she would never give up on her idealism and always believed that she gained the power to help many.
What made Lucy frustrated was. The thing she did to Soma was nothing but shoving her idealism toward another person and ignoring his own choices, and that fact hurt her conscience. "What a failure I am".
"...I see, so it was like that. Thanks for your insight and time for listening to my story".
"It's okay, Senior. I just say whatever I think about Soma, that's all".
"Fufu, you two seem pretty close to each other".
"Eh?! Well, yes. We are close"
Lucy extended her right hand toward Hina, loosened her facial muscles, and gave her a bright smile that captivated Hina even though she was a woman herself.
"My name is Lucy Daybreak. Pleased to meet you. This is sudden, but would you be willing to become my friend?".
"...Ah, My name is Akabane Hina, it would be an honor. Please take care of me from now on".
"Fufu, likewise".
Thus, another bond had been created upon the discussion of one boy who attracted the curiosity of another main character in the novel.