I stared at her in shock.
"Aira... what are you trying to say?"
Her voice was calm, but her eyes were serious.
"Neither of you can tell anyone about this. That’s why I called you here."
"What are you talking about? Explain it properly."
She took a deep breath.
"The truth is... Ayal... this might be soone’s plan. And if it is, then Hinata may be helping them."
Her words struck like lightning.
"W-What? You’re saying... Hinata did all of this?"
"Yes. That’s what I think."
"No! That’s impossible!" I shouted. "You’re lying! She would never do sothing like that. What would she even gain from it?"
I turned toward Hinata.
She was standing there silently... her head lowered.
"H-Hinata? Tell it’s not true. This is all a lie... right? How could you possibly do sothing like this?"
But she didn’t answer.
Not a single word.
I couldn’t understand what was happening. I did so much to protect her... and now I’m hearing that she might be involved?
I looked back at Aira.
"How can you be so sure it’s her?"
"I’m not completely sure," Aira replied quietly. "But think about it. During the ti the valuable artifact was stolen from the academy... both of you were missing."
"Both of us?" I asked.
"Yes. But there’s sothing important. That ability... the one used during the theft... no one else can use it except Hinata."
The air turned heavy.
"That’s why," Aira continued, "people suspect her. You don’t have that power. So naturally... everyone thinks Hinata helped them."
"And she wasn’t present at the ti of the theft either," Aira added. "That makes it even more suspicious."
I fell silent.
A valuable item stolen from the academy... and sohow, it connects to us?
I looked at Hinata again.
Her body was trembling.
In her hand, the magic wooden staff was shaking.
Her fear was real.
And in that mont, I understood sothing clearly.
She couldn’t do sothing like this.
This had to be a conspiracy.
Ever since I ca to this academy... strange things have been happening one after another.
I walked toward her and gently held her hand.
"Hinata... I know you wouldn’t do sothing like that. Believe in yourself."
She looked up at in surprise. Her cheeks slowly turned red.
"A-Ayal..."
Before she could finish—
Aira suddenly stepped between us.
"Alright, that’s enough. Should we go now?"
Both Hinata and I quickly looked away, our faces burning red.
"Y-Yeah... we should," I said.
"We’ll solve your problem later," I added, giving Hinata a small smile.
Seeing that, Hinata blinked in surprise... then returned a shy smile.
"...Okay."
The three of us started walking away.
anwhile...
A man stood at a distance, watching everything.
He had short facial hair, dark circles under his eyes, and a sword hanging from his hand.
"So this is what I have to watch?" he muttered to himself.
He stared at Ayal coldly.
"So that boy wants to beco the Moon God? Hah... he could never beco soone like ."
A faint smirk appeared on his face.
"They don’t know anything... about what’s coming."
His eyes darkened.
"So people are already hoping he dies."
He narrowed his gaze.
"He ca here for a girl... but what if that sa girl becos the reason for his downfall?"
He shook his head.
"Whatever. It doesn’t matter to . I just need points. Without points... I won’t survive."
On the other side, he began thinking again.
"If Hinata is really involved... how do I expose her?"
Suddenly—
"Look ahead!"
Soone shouted.
Everyone turned forward.
And then they saw it.
A massive, terrifying red eye... staring directly at them.
The air froze.
That single eye was enough to make their hearts tremble.
Aira shouted loudly—
"Prepare yourselves!"
I tightened my grip.
Now I understood.
Sothing was about to begin.
And this ti...
There would be no turning back.
The glowing eyes were slowly moving toward us.
The mont I saw them, I understood—this was definitely so kind of monster.
As it ca closer, my heart nearly stopped.
It was... a giant rabbit.
Its fur was pure white, but its eyes burned crimson red. Two massive horns grew from its oversized head, twisting upward like the crown of a demon. Each step it took made the ground tremble slightly.
I stared at it in disbelief.
"Everyone... prepare your swords."
The command echoed across the field.
The mont those words were spoken, she moved.
Aira dashed forward toward the monstrous rabbit without hesitation. Several others followed closely behind her.
I was stunned.
I had never imagined that Aira would charge into danger like that—fighting so fearlessly.
Watching her clash against the beast, I couldn’t stop myself.
"Aira! Do you need help?!"
"No," she replied instantly. "I can handle this. It’s easy."
Easy?
As she said that, she suddenly shouted, "Go behind it!"
One of the n imdiately moved to the rabbit’s rear. The creature noticed and turned, leaping high into the air to crush him with both of its massive forelegs.
But before the attack could land, the man calmly raised his hand.
A glowing magic circle ford around him, creating a powerful barrier.
The rabbit’s claws slamd down—
—but nothing happened.
The barrier didn’t even crack.
Seeing that, I finally understood.
The people who ca to help us... they weren’t ordinary fighters. Each of them possessed incredible power.
While I was lost in thought, soone suddenly called my na.
I turned around.
Hinata was standing right beside .
She was gripping the edge of my shirt tightly, as if trying to say sothing but unable to find the words.
"H-Hinata? Is sothing wrong?" I asked gently. "If you want to tell sothing, just say it."
She hesitated, then spoke quietly.
"I... I want to help them."
I understood her feelings. She didn’t want to just stand there while others fought.
But she still hadn’t fully recovered.
I gave her a small smile.
"You don’t need to help them. They’re strong enough. And Aira knows what she’s doing. You should take care of yourself first."
Her cheeks turned slightly red after hearing that.
"I... I understand."
Even so, I could tell from her eyes—
She was worried about Aira.
I placed my hand gently on her head.
"Thank you for caring about her."
She looked down shyly.
anwhile—
On the battlefield, Aira’s movents beca even faster.
The giant rabbit roared and charged wildly, but Aira stepped to the side at the last second. With a swift motion, her blade flashed under the moonlight.
A single, clean strike.
For a mont, everything beca silent.
Then—
The monster’s massive head slid from its body.
The giant rabbit collapsed to the ground with a thunderous crash.
Aira stood there, her sword dripping faintly with blood, her expression calm.
As if defeating such a monster... was nothing more than a simple task.
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