When the Wall collapsed, everyone fell into panic as monsters suddenly appeared out of thin air.
Most witnesses testified that the monsters that emerged weren't modeled after animals, but were bizarre creatures that appeared artificially created.
Originally, there were two ways to deal with monsters: either inflicting wounds until their regenerative abilities reached their limit, or subduing them and destroying their core.
But these unusually appearing monsters were completely immune to such methods. Whether their mana was inexhaustible or they were created that way from the beginning, no weapon could penetrate them—only managing to inflict surface scratches.
Just when everyone thought killing them was impossible, when people were despairing at the thought of the massive casualties these monsters would cause,
Someone was running around.
Someone shouted that there was a way to deal with the monsters. When heroes were about to give up, thinking it was impossible, this person made them stand up and fight again.
At first they were skeptical, but what choice did they have? They were facing death anyway, along with the despair and demise of others.
As long as their desire to prevent this wasn't in vain, heroes would grasp at any straw, no matter how absurd, if it meant saving lives.
And when it was proven true, the heroes desperately sought the person who had shared this information.
A student had shouted:
"A teacher told me!"
But the student was a liar. Every teacher insisted they knew nothing about such information.
The information had been shared, but everyone denied being its source. And in the midst of it all, the student disappeared.
With nothing to confirm or be certain of, only Yoon Ha-min, who had overheard those words, was convinced.
*
"Please believe me..."
He couldn't help but feel desperate.
He regretted walking away declaring he couldn't believe her because there was no evidence, because it was unbelievable.
Kanna Aurora had run to help others despite knowing no one would believe her. She had ultimately stood by her convictions. Compared to her, he was just a novice.
He tried to console himself that he lacked the experience, strength, and resources to stand by his convictions, but that one person—without power, knowledge, or allies—had ignored all that and charged forward.
Of course, not having been there, he couldn't know the details, but having observed Kanna before, he understood.
If it was Kanna who had warned about the Wall collapsing and revealed the monsters' weakness, then all that information came from her alone.
So rather than seeking evidence, he just wanted her to speak to him again.
He begged her to forgive him for doubting her, for not believing her. To give him one more chance to believe.
Kanna looked a bit troubled.
"Even if you say that..."
She hesitated. Her words trailed off.
I waited quietly until Kanna spoke again.
And then her voice broke the silence.
"Even if you say that, there's nothing I can do for you. I..."
But that was fine.
He wouldn't demand evidence anymore.
There are things you become certain of once you've seen them.
Things that make you decide never to doubt again.
Hadn't her voice already saved tens or hundreds of thousands of lives?
To doubt her after that would be nothing short of insanity.
"It's okay."
I cut off her increasingly anxious voice.
She didn't need to be anxious or hesitant.
"It's okay if there's no evidence. I don't need to see it myself. I'll just... believe you."
I had already cut her off once.
But trying to reconnect was exhausting because it required so much.
I was sorry, and regretted why I had done such a thing.
I was certainly here because I had received the power of the stars.
But unlike me, there was someone here who was truly like a star.
Someone who, despite being lonely, ultimately kept their place and shone like a star.
Why had this power chosen me instead?
Such doubts crossed my mind.
It must have hurt. Whether she was hiding her wounds or whatever, being covered in that much blood must have been painful.
With her blazer torn and her shirt in tatters, there's no way it didn't hurt.
Yet she told no one. Was it because she couldn't rely on anyone?
Because she was lonely since no one believed her?
"So just this once, can't you believe in me too?"
Belief, in the end, required asking the other person to believe as well.
The other person had to believe that I believed in them.
One side could believe unilaterally, but that would mean either one side was lying, or one side was expecting something one-sidedly.
I wanted neither—I wanted trust.
I didn't want to burden her with expectations.
I wanted to believe, and I wanted Kanna to believe that I would.
Kanna, more than anyone else.
Because she seemed to shine like a star, even more than me who possessed the power of stars.
I desperately wished for that, and Kanna cautiously opened her mouth.
"...Do as you wish."
"..."
I kept my mouth shut.
I couldn't force belief in the first place, and if a simple declaration of belief made it real, then that in itself wouldn't carry much weight, so I had nothing to say.
After saying that, Kanna hesitated.
"I, I should go now. I need to get home before dark."
"I'll walk you."
"No, it's fine."
"You went alone last night too. It's dangerous to go alone these days."
Kanna hesitated for a moment at those words, then nodded.
It seemed she was a bit afraid after all.
I smiled bitterly and quickly went into my room to grab a coat.
*
Yoon Ha-min had an upright and strong character.
That was a fact I already knew.
Still, since he clearly distinguished between right and wrong, I thought he would be somewhat rigid in situations like this.
The fortunate thing was that this time, he seemed to be giving me a voice that suggested he truly believed me.
If he was sincere, then my shouting about the monsters' weaknesses hadn't been meaningless after all.
Even though I was immediately caught by the Strange One and suffered for it, still.
When he said he believed me, I couldn't help but feel happy.
It felt like some of the pain was flying away.
It seemed like my emotions were going back and forth to an absurd degree.
On the way home, when he offered to escort me, I tried to refuse, but when he said it might be dangerous alone, I reluctantly walked with him by my side.
It was because the Strange One's smile came to mind, making me anxious.
As I carefully stood beside him, looking around as we walked, he glanced at me and spoke.
"...What happened to make your uniform like that?"
I was silent for a moment at his voice.
At first, I wasn't going to say anything since it was something he wouldn't believe anyway, and I had no evidence to offer.
But this time was different.
Yoon Ha-min said he would believe me even without evidence, so I had to choose whether to believe his words or not.
Of course, I couldn't suddenly trust him just because he said that, so I had to ask once.
"Will you really believe me?"
Honestly, he could just say "Yes" as lip service and not believe me behind my back.
But I thought bitterly that if he wasn't going to believe me, there would be no reason for him to pry this far.
If he ended up thinking it was just nonsense, he would either brush it off casually or let it pass as a moment's idle chat to mock me.
Though the latter wouldn't happen with Yoon Ha-min.
Yoon Ha-min answered without hesitation.
"Yes."
I thought it was quite remarkable.
Even if someone says they'll believe, they would normally hesitate at least once.
Some might be disappointed or hurt by that momentary pause, but I could understand it.
Yet he didn't, which I found truly admirable.
Perhaps if I were the type to be affected by such momentary hesitations, I would have been truly happy.
"I was captured by a Strange One."
Yoon Ha-min's eyes widened at those words.
He had been walking alongside me just fine, but his footsteps suddenly froze, causing him to momentarily disappear from my view.
When I turned my head to look at him, he was staring at me with a frown.
"...What did you say?"
"I said I was captured by a Strange One."
Since he said he would believe me anyway, what was there to hide?
With that thought, I spoke sincerely, but Yoon Ha-min seemed quite shocked.
It was the kind of content that would have elicited the same reaction even if I had told him to prepare himself mentally, so I just let it go.
"I think they let me live because they took a liking to me somehow... I'm just glad to be alive."
When I continued with a bitter smile, Yoon Ha-min's expression contorted.
He seemed about to say something but then firmly closed his mouth.
On the way back, Yoon Ha-min's expression was extremely dark.
I spoke to him as if driving in a wedge.
"That's why my clothes were in that state. I'll come to the Academy as soon as my uniform is clean."
As I said that, Yoon Ha-min's gaze trembled.
When that gaze fixed on me, it felt like his complex emotions were being transmitted directly.
"H-how... such..."
It was no wonder he was so surprised, since Strange Ones weren't supposed to emerge and make their presence known until the middle of the story.
Too many things had become tangled.
By erasing the totem, I had jumbled the future.
That's why Yoon Ha-min couldn't help but be surprised, and there was no smooth progression of the story anywhere.
The same went for me, so I couldn't pretend to know the future anymore.
I tapped Yoon Ha-min's arm and said:
"Yoon Ha-min, if you make such a gloomy face, even the sky will darken."
At that, his contorted expression somewhat relaxed.
"This is far enough. I'll head back now."
"Oh, uh? Okay..."
"See you on Thursday."
I waved goodbye like that.
Yoon Ha-min looked dazed, but soon hastily waved back at me.
"Kanna!"
I turned my head at the voice calling me just as I was about to leave.
"See you on Thursday!"
Really? That's what you called me for?
I responded to Yoon Ha-min with a smile in my eyes.