The Ramiris family was one of the clans responsible for managing the Wall.
While several families managed the Wall, the Ramiris clan wielded particularly strong influence.
Above all, the Ramiris family emphasized fairness and effort.
They stressed that no matter how talented someone might be, if they lived recklessly, they would eventually be surpassed by someone with talent who actually put in the work—becoming a fool whom no one respected.
Of course, true geniuses could afford to be reckless and arrogant. But they constantly warned that those who became complacent and stopped moving forward would become nothing more than useless scarecrows.
The reason they were so fixated on education and devoted their lives to study was simple. The Ramiris clan was responsible for protecting the Wall.
The lives of everyone inside the Wall depended on the Ramiris clan and other families like them.
In other words, if even for a single moment, for a single generation, someone foolish, reckless, and unwilling to put in effort took charge of the Wall, the remaining humans would perish.
That's why they taught that those who didn't make an effort were stupid and ignorant, while those who worked hard should always be supported, saying they would shine someday.
Perhaps that's why Orca Ramiris was concerned about Kanna Aurora, who was scraping the bottom of the lowest ranks.
Why would someone with poor grades not even try to make an effort? she wondered.
If that had been all, she would have dismissed Kanna as just "that kind of person" and paid no attention. But Kanna kept busy working hard at something, as if walking a tightrope.
When Kanna first mentioned monsters attacking, Orca almost wanted to laugh at her.
Of course, bearing the Ramiris name meant she couldn't act rashly, but hearing someone claim that the Wall her family managed would break made her want to say something.
Making such outlandish claims without evidence while neglecting her studies—Orca became curious about what Kanna was really up to and started watching her.
Why would she spread such rumors when her family hadn't been pushed out of Wall management or had any connection to it?
Actually, she hadn't spread rumors at all. She had only spoken to a few people she thought might help, so it wasn't about damaging anyone's reputation or causing public anxiety.
Faking illness wouldn't work anyway, and she wasn't trying to create anxiety by claiming something would happen during exam time. Seeing her so fixated on her beliefs made Orca feel sorry for her.
She wondered if Kanna might be ill.
But not long after, watching Kanna talk with Yoon Ha-min, Orca felt a strange emotion stirring within her.
"I didn't reply because it got too late."
"You looked tired. Were you out late?"
If Kanna had simply answered "Yes," Orca would have scoffed, thinking she didn't care about exams and was just wasting time. But Kanna grinned and replied to Ha-min:
"...No, I was up all night studying, so that's why."
...What?
So she was someone who made an effort after all.
Dark circles hung under her eyes from intense concentration on something.
Realizing this wasn't about escaping exams, Orca swallowed hard.
She realized Kanna wasn't making excuses like "I couldn't take the exam because I was busy saving the city." This made her curious.
What was Kanna Aurora seeing?
What had she seen that made her say such things?
If she wasn't trying to escape exams with such futile efforts, there must be another reason.
Could it be that due to her family environment, she simply didn't want to go home?
What if she wanted to study but couldn't?
Many questions arose.
So I called out to her.
"...Miss Kanna."
On the stairway leading to the rooftop, a place few people visited outside lunch hours.
Ivory hair, purple eyes.
Setting aside her abilities, she had a pretty face.
Of course, at the Academy, good looks were common, so people focused more on abilities or family backgrounds—things that meant nothing to Kanna Aurora, who had neither.
"Ah, yes?"
Kanna froze up when she answered me, but I hadn't called her to harm her, so I carefully began speaking.
"I wanted to talk comfortably about what you mentioned before."
"...Yes."
"Do you know that I'm a daughter of the Ramiris family that manages the Wall?"
"Yes."
Kanna answered without a moment's hesitation.
It was information one wouldn't know unless they sought it out, so her knowing gave me an odd feeling.
No, that's not what I wanted to talk about.
"...At first, I thought you were trying to get close to Yoon Ha-min. Plus, his grades were dropping while he spent time with you, so I didn't think well of you. I'm a bit sorry about that."
"...What?"
When I honestly expressed what I'd been thinking, Kanna stared at me with wide eyes.
As if she hadn't expected me to say such things.
No matter how proud or competitive I might be, I never failed to apologize for my mistakes.
So her reaction stung a little.
"I'm sorry. I thought you were just approaching him to build connections."
"...Oh, no! I just—"
"If there's something difficult to talk about, feel free to share. I can teach you about studying or training as long as it doesn't interfere with my schedule."
Kanna stood there blankly, then looked around as if she didn't know what to do.
"W-well..."
Having said what I needed to say, it was time to ask what I wanted to know.
"About what you said before. Is it true? The monster invasion you mentioned didn't happen. But your hand was injured. Was that self-harm...?"
"No, this is..."
Kanna looked at her bandaged hand, flustered, then pressed her lips tightly together.
"...Well, it is true that my ability caused this..."
The moment I heard those words, my heart sank.
If she hadn't been studying for exams, she might have simply said, "I've dedicated my time to protecting the peace inside this Wall. This is a wound from that process."
But she said she had been studying for exams too, which made me wonder how she got that injury.
I wondered if she might be making excuses because she didn't want to go home, and if her attempts to befriend me and her separate communications with Ha-min were some kind of SOS signal.
I regretted treating her coldly, assuming she was just trying to approach Ha-min to ruin his grades.
Somehow, despite her far-fetched story, Ha-min had said he wanted to look for evidence together, that he wanted to believe her. Why hadn't I noticed that small detail?
"...Miss Kanna."
My heart ached.
Perhaps it was because of my slight feelings for Ha-min that I failed to objectively assess the situation.
With a bitter heart, I lowered my head and spoke to Kanna, who was standing blankly on the step below.
"Even though I'm not from the Ramiris family, please come to me if you ever need help. Don't carry these wounds alone."
"Ah, y-yes... Thank you."
Kanna nodded with an expression that suggested she wasn't used to this.
That was understandable. I had been cold to her before.
I had thought she was either showing interest in Ha-min or trying to ruin his grades to cause trouble for him after graduation.
"I'm sorry."
"Oh, it's nothing. This is really nothing..."
Kanna said, waving her hand.
Then, realizing the conversation wouldn't continue, she carefully left.
Competing fairly and never stopping one's efforts were family precepts.
Surely that would lead to growth and achievements under the Ramiris name.
But I belatedly realized that being blinded by those principles and failing to notice a classmate's cry for help made everything worthless.
Otherwise, we would be merely Wall managers, not heroes.
She must have deep wounds in her heart to burn her hands using her ability.
As someone destined to be a hero, I felt the urge to help heal those wounds.
*
With mixed emotions, I tilted my head as I walked down the hallway.
I quickened my pace to get away from Orca.
Though I knew her personality, I hadn't expected her to pay so much attention to someone ranked at the bottom like me, so I felt nothing but discomfort.
"...Uh, hmm..."
Perhaps she just wanted to know why my hand was like this?
When she asked why it happened, I almost answered plainly, "It happened while erasing a Totem," but I quickly stopped myself.
In the end, I could only admit that it was indeed caused by my ability.
How could I explain what a Totem was to them?
In front of people who hadn't yet encountered Totems, mentioning them would only raise suspicion.
It wasn't time to reveal everything yet.
I was already worried about having told Ha-min, so I couldn't possibly tell Orca too. I nodded with frustration bottled up inside.
Though Orca's expression did seem a bit sad at the end.
Wondering what it could have been, I hurried back to the classroom.
I had expected her to tell me to stay away from Ha-min or to threaten me, but seeing her speak honestly and apologize impressed me.
Of course, even if she hadn't told me to keep my distance, I was planning to maintain some space anyway. I wanted to reassure her about that, but it seemed inappropriate.
"I wonder if she thinks I'm strange...?"