I had no intention of forcing food on someone who claimed they weren't hungry.
I could say I was paying for the meal and just wanted company, but there was no reason to push it that far.
Actually, I had a different reason for wanting to eat together.
It was because of a conversation that had started with Kanna's words when we ate together before.
I'd thought the idea of the Wall collapsing was too far-fetched to believe without evidence. But Kanna's words had become reality, and the Wall had collapsed, killing people.
I kept wondering if the Wall might not have fallen if someone had just listened to Kanna.
If it had been the words of the eldest daughter of the Ramiris family, surely someone would have double-checked the Wall's condition.
The budget required would certainly have been burdensome, since the people doing the checking weren't a charity organization. But how beautiful would it have been if people hadn't died because of it?
Considering that money holds value under people's agreements, the value of using it to save lives through those agreements would be quite substantial.
Well, since she said she wasn't hungry, I'd have to try again tomorrow.
I took a step back. When lunchtime came, I walked through the hallway with Yoon Ha-min.
We were heading to the cafeteria, but today Ha-min's pace seemed unusually slow.
"Yoon Ha-min?"
He suddenly stopped and turned to look at me with eyes that seemed filled with determination, making me a little tense.
He appeared to be debating whether to say something.
And soon enough, I understood why he had that expression.
"...Orca, would it be okay if we eat a little later today? I'm worried about Kanna."
Yoon Ha-min was concerned about Kanna.
Since I was worried about her too, I readily agreed.
However, my question about what exactly he wanted to do remained unanswered.
"That's fine. But I'd like to know what you want to do."
"It's nothing special... Kanna just seems to be in a difficult situation."
"Difficult how?"
"I've been thinking about it sometimes—Kanna doesn't get along well with other students."
Yoon Ha-min shared his thoughts one by one.
I nodded and listened attentively to what he had to say.
"Plus, she gets disrespected everywhere for being Bottom Rank..."
"...That's true."
I had nothing to say about that.
After all, we were just bystanders ourselves.
"Kanna doesn't really have anywhere she can feel comfortable, right?"
"That's true...?"
"So I started wondering where she eats when she's hungry, or if she even eats at all. And I remembered something."
I looked at him with wide eyes.
I had thought that if she got criticized for taking up space in the cafeteria alone, she could just buy bread from the school store and eat it on the rooftop, stairwell, or anywhere else. But Yoon Ha-min's words suggested it wasn't that simple.
"What is it?"
At my question, Yoon Ha-min looked around as if worried someone might overhear, and only after confirming there weren't many people around did he finally speak.
"I think Kanna might be eating in the restroom..."
"What?"
I thought I'd misheard.
"I think, in my opinion, she's eating in the restroom..."
But Yoon Ha-min was half-convinced.
Realizing I hadn't misheard, I was speechless.
"Wait, the restroom?"
Who on earth would eat in a restroom?
Even though the Academy's restrooms were impeccably clean with no odors, it still wasn't a place for eating.
I wanted to dismiss what Yoon Ha-min said as absurd.
But I found myself unable to completely deny it.
I already knew that the Bottom Rank, the most marginalized person in this Academy, had nowhere to go.
Just enduring countless stares until going home—that was all. In this vast Academy, there wasn't a single space for the Bottom Rank, which was only natural.
"Really?"
Though I asked again, his silence in response told me the answer was the same, and I could only sigh.
Since there was no need to eat early anyway, I decided to go along with his plan.
We changed direction from the cafeteria and went to a corner of the crowded school store.
I wondered if she would come to a place like this after saying she didn't want to eat. And as if to prove my doubts meaningless, I saw Kanna entering through the store entrance.
Seeing her always walking with such a defeated posture made my heart ache.
It stung my conscience that I had turned a blind eye to someone like her, despite having entered this place to become a hero.
Kanna seemed afraid to look anywhere else, walking with her eyes fixed only on where she wanted to go.
I watched as she bought a piece of bread and a carton of milk at the store, stuffing them tightly into the small pockets of her blazer.
As I quietly observed, I asked Yoon Ha-min who was hiding beside me.
"...Why does Kanna eat like that? Did she not want to eat with us?"
If that was the case, I thought perhaps she wanted to distance herself from people who didn't believe in her.
If so, it would truly break my heart.
Yoon Ha-min watched Kanna leave the store and let out a small sigh.
"I don't think that's it."
He muttered quietly.
Thinking there might be a different reason than what I imagined, I listened closely as he gave a bitter smile.
"It's difficult to say, but Kanna seems to have a lot of expenses lately. I think she might not have money."
"...Because she has no money?"
I was momentarily stunned by this unexpected reason.
Having lived in a wealthy, affluent household, it was difficult for me to consider this possibility.
Clicking my tongue, I followed behind Yoon Ha-min again.
Kanna walked briskly, and we followed a little behind her.
We saw a restroom in a secluded location where people rarely seemed to go, and Kanna slipped inside.
Seeing this, I felt so conflicted that I could only look at Yoon Ha-min.
"What do you want to do?"
His sudden question froze my thoughts.
"I can't go in there."
"That's true."
The women's restroom. I looked closely but didn't see anyone else enter.
"...I'll go get her."
In the end, I was able to bring Kanna out.
What I found was the bread and milk carton she had been eating.
At first, she seemed to want to deny it, but since I had already seen everything, there was no point in her trying to escape.
Of course, I had considered that Kanna would feel ashamed.
She clearly wouldn't want to show this side of herself, and if someone saw her, she would probably be embarrassed.
I had thought she would feel humiliated.
But still, I wanted to prevent her from having to eat in such a place.
"Uugh..."
Kanna walked with her head down all the way to the cafeteria, her ears bright red.
But when we arrived at the cafeteria and I bought her a meal ticket, her expression brightened a little.
It was different from earlier when she had said she didn't want to eat.
I felt sad thinking that it really was because she had no money, but also relieved in a way.
At least I confirmed that she wasn't making excuses because she didn't want to eat with me.
Watching Kanna eat made me feel good somehow, like she was enjoying her food.
It wasn't elegant or refined, but that wasn't necessarily what mattered.
There was something satisfying about treating someone to a meal.
"How was it?"
"Ah, it was delicious... but you didn't need to go this far."
After finishing the meal, Kanna grinned sheepishly.
"Not at all. I made you come out, so you had to throw away what you had, right?"
At those words, Kanna smiled awkwardly and couldn't say anything.
"Do you like bread, by any chance?"
"Ah, no! I mean, no, that's not it, I do like it but..."
"Is that so?"
Kanna, who had been flustered, pressed her lips shut.
"Next time you want bread, just say so. Then we can eat together."
"...Yes, th-thank you."
Seeing her nod made me smile automatically.
Yoon Ha-min, who had been quietly watching, spoke up.
"Come to think of it, I forgot about setting up our meeting."
Indeed, now that he mentioned it.
While eating, I had planned to discuss when we were free on the weekend and when we could meet, but the impact of this lunchtime incident had been so great that I'd completely forgotten.
"It's fine, we still have tomorrow."
There was still tomorrow, after all.
We could set up the appointment on Friday and meet on Saturday.
"Tomorrow... sounds good."
Kanna nodded in agreement, and Yoon Ha-min responded with "That's true" and let it go.
*
"...Phew."
Standing in front of the mirror at the restroom sink, I let out a sigh.
I nearly died of embarrassment after getting caught eating in the restroom, but thankfully, thanks to Yoon Ha-min and Orca, I managed to get through it without dying of shame.
Plus, they were so considerate that I didn't know how to react.
My body trembled. I felt so good that my eyes were closing involuntarily.
The mirror reflected my grinning face.
As I wondered, "Do I really make such expressions?" and tried to look more closely, my fingertips stung.
"Ouch."
Startled, I stared at my hand, wondering if it was static electricity.
My brow furrowed at the slight squeezing pain.
It felt like my flesh was swelling as if a ligament had been stretched, and like my bones were being compressed at my fingertips.
"..."
Remembering what had happened to this hand, I erased my grinning expression and frowned.
The pain that disappeared shortly after left my mind in turmoil.