Chapter 43.1: Yufia Queensroad <3>

I had planned to spend that afternoon after school with Shion.

So, I intended to properly express everything I couldn’t say yesterday—the things I wanted to say, and the things I had to say.

However, after homeroom following the afternoon classes, I couldn’t immediately be with Shion.

The reason was that I had somewhere else I needed to be first.

After today’s practical class, I found a memo sheet placed on top of my change of clothes.

Its contents read:

『I have an important request for you. After school, please come alone to the “Second East Building, first floor, farthest vacant classroom” without telling anyone.』

Although the sender was unknown and the message vague, I decided to go to the designated classroom alone after school, exactly as it stated.

Perhaps someone was in trouble and had circumstances that only I could help with.

If someone was relying on me, I couldn’t just ignore it.

If someone needed my help, I would want to lend a hand.

I’m sure Shion would do the same.

So, following the memo’s instructions, I asked Shion to wait in the classroom for a little while without mentioning the details.

“Sorry, Shion… I have something to take care of first; could you wait just a moment?”

“…Is something wrong?”

“N-no… It’s nothing serious…!”

“…Should I come along too?”

“N-no, it’s fine…! I’ll handle it on my own and be right back…!”

“…I see.”

“Then I’ll get started by myself first, so take your time.”

“Okay, sorry, Shion… I’ll be back soon!”

“Alright, see you later.”

Waving lightly at Shion, who smiled broadly, I left the classroom.

　◆

The Second East Building mentioned in the memo was completely deserted and silent.

I thought that the sender must have had something they didn’t want anyone to know about.

I proceeded down the first-floor corridor of the Second East Building and opened the door to the classroom at the very end.

Peeking inside, I caught sight of the back of a female student standing near the center of the room.

“(Could that girl be the sender of the memo…?)”

“Uh, um…”

Just as I was about to approach her and speak, it happened.

“!!”

Suddenly, someone from behind forcefully pressed a cloth-like object against my mouth.

I instinctively tried to pull away from the person clinging to my back, but in my shock, I ended up inhaling deeply through my nose.

“………”

The last thing I sensed was a subtly sharp, faintly sweet scent, and then I lost consciousness.

◆　◇　◆

“…Looks like you slept soundly.”

“They didn’t see your face, did they?”

“I’m fine. I’m going to tie your arms and legs, so lend me a hand.”

“Okay.”

“Hey, do you really think no one will notice?”

“As long as nobody sees us before we load her onto the cart, we should be fine. Carry carefully.”

“Right.”

“Oh, and we also need to put on the gag. Hold your upper body up.”

“Yeah. Yoisho!”

◆

……… ……

“Hey, girls, where are you taking that big cart?”

“We’re off to the mountains to gather materials for a magic experiment!”

“Oh, that’s impressive. But deep in the mountains, bears and wolves might appear, so you shouldn’t go too far in.”

“Yes! We’ll be careful!”

“Good luck!”

“Thank you very much!”

……… …… ……

“Hey, hey…”

“What’s up?”

“What if Queensroad-san, who’s in the cart, wakes up?”

“We’ve tied her arms, legs, and mouth—and even secured her with a wooden lid—so she’ll be fine.”

“But if it’s Queensroad-san, wouldn’t she be able to easily undo it with magic?”

“Didn’t I mention? The substance we made her inhale not only knocks her out for a while but also disrupts her magical flow, so she’ll be fine.”

“Oh, really?”

“Moreover, the rope we used has been synthesized with stones that suppress magical flow, so even she can’t easily use magic.”

“You’re leaving nothing to chance.”

“Of course. …We need to wrap this up before someone hears, as we’re almost out of town—so until then, be careful not to arouse suspicion.”

“Okay.”

……… …… ……

“Yoisho!”

“If we can carry her this far, no one will easily notice us.”

“Right. Haha, I wonder how Queensroad-san would react if she woke up?”

“Maybe she’ll be so frightened she’ll start crying? Hehe.”

“Ahahaha, serves her right. No matter how talented she is in magic, being rendered powerless this easily is just pathetic.”

“Hehe, that’s true. Even though she can’t handle this situation on her own, she always acts all high and mighty.”

“Really, just because she’s pretty and talented in magic, she gets too full of herself.”

“Well, perhaps this will teach her a lesson.”

“Hehe, indeed. Oh, but we should also leave a clear message, just to be sure.”

“That’s important. …Alright, we should head back soon. We need to return the cart to school.”

“Ah, right. And we also left the bag in the Second East Building.”

……… …… ……

“…Phew. We managed to get by without anyone noticing.”

“Right. Now, no one will know where Queensroad-san is.”

“Then, since we’ve picked up the bag, let’s head home.”

“Yeah.”

“…Oh, by the way!”

“What? What’s up?”

“When is the deadline for the individual assignment submission again?”

“Ah, it’s today, I believe. What, you haven’t turned it in yet?”

“Whoa! I completely forgot! I’m off to submit it, so you go ahead home!”

“Hmph, pull yourself together. …Alright, see you tomorrow.”

“Yeah, see you tomorrow!”

……… ……

“(Huh? That’s strange, the assignment isn’t in the bag…)”
“(Oh, right! I finished it during break and just stashed it in the drawer at my desk!)”
“(I have to go back to the classroom to get it…!)”

　◆　◆　◆

“(…Huh… Where… where am I…?)”

When I woke up, I found myself in an unfamiliar thicket.

“(…I can’t move…)”

Even if I tried desperately, my body wouldn’t respond at all; my arms were bound behind me with something rope-like, and my legs were tied in the same manner, restricting any movement.

“(…It hurts… and it’s suffocating…)”

Also, a cloth-like material had been tightly bound around my head between my jaws, making it hard to breathe and causing a crushing pain.

“(Why am I here…?)”

In a daze, with a fog clouding my mind, I couldn’t comprehend what was happening to me—I was utterly confused.

Then, as time passed since I woke up and my consciousness gradually cleared, I began to piece together my memories to understand how I ended up like this.

“(I recall being summoned by a letter, and going to the designated classroom… and then…)”

The last thing I remembered was calling out to the back of a female student I saw in the classroom—right before someone attacked me from behind.

“(…Huh, what is this…?)”

While trying to recall my memory, I suddenly noticed a memo sheet lying beside me.

I managed to move my upper body enough to lean over and desperately read the message written on it.

“(…)”

『You have no right to be friends with anyone.』

When I read that message, scrawled in such crude handwriting, I understood why I was in this situation.

“(I see… I’ve been deceived…)”

The handwriting—deliberately rough so as not to reveal its author—was exactly the same as that on the memo that had summoned me at school.

Surely, the culprit must have used the same style to make their identity obvious.

Because of that, I quickly realized that the memo I received at school had been meant to deceive me.

Judging from the message left behind, I thought the culprit must have done this because they hated the idea of me getting close to Shion.

Just like the female students who had talked with Shion after school yesterday, there are undoubtedly many students who despise me. I concluded that this act must have been committed by someone who disapproves of me being close to anyone.

I just wanted to be there for someone…

“(Even if everyone else despised me, as long as I could be with Shion… that would have been enough…)”

Being someone who is disliked, I wasn’t even allowed to spend time with friends, and every time I tried to help someone, I ended up being deceived.

It was unbearably sad and miserable, causing tears to well up in my eyes and the world before me to blur.