[Ding-ding~ Good morning~ Ding-ding~ Pa-pa-pa-pa Good mo-]
The loud alarm rings in my head.
Because my hands were trembling slightly, it took me a while to fumble for my phone next to my pillow and turn off the alarm.
Thanks to this, I started the morning in the worst mood, damn it.
I groaned and got up, roughly throwing off my clothes and stepping under the shower.
Turning on the warm water and warming my body for a moment, I felt my mood improve a little.
But as soon as I opened the refrigerator without thinking, my improved mood returned to its original state.
Come to think of it, I didn't go grocery shopping yesterday...
Without realizing it, I clenched my hand and slammed the refrigerator door shut.
Feeling on edge from being hungry, I felt my nerves becoming sharper.
I felt like I would explode if someone touched me, like a watermelon with a rubber band wrapped around it.
Though I've never experienced it, if I were under a spell, this is probably how it would feel.
Right now, I might be on par with, or even surpass, Magical Elf Mode Silvia...
I took a deep breath and slowly exhaled.
After a few deep breaths to calm myself down, I left the house.
*
After cleaning the classroom with the class representative and greeting the students as they arrived,
I was spending a morning not much different from usual when Silvia entered the classroom by opening the door.
She didn't seem to be in a particularly sensitive state, as she was smiling and responding to the other students' greetings.
If she had been in the same state as yesterday, the kids wouldn't have been able to greet her at all.
It was a bit surprising to see her mood improve in just one day.
Did she drink some kind of anti-magic potion?
I greeted Silvia, who was sitting at her desk, in a small voice, "Hello..."
Silvia glanced at me and smiled, accepting my greeting.
Seeing her smile, my hands started to tremble.
If she had ignored me or been cold to me, it wouldn't have been as shocking.
The way Silvia greeted me as if nothing had happened yesterday was a very bad sign for me.
The smile she gave me now seemed like a programmed, reflexive action for her.
She would probably give the same smile to a complete stranger sitting at my desk.
If it were a matter of her affection level dropping, I could try to raise it again.
But it felt like the affection gauge itself had disappeared.
I could sense that Silvia was consciously treating me like a stranger.
To be honest, it was too sudden.
Without some kind of trigger, it's unlikely that her attitude would change so quickly.
While thinking about this and observing Silvia, I noticed her expression stiffen slightly.
Looking in the direction of her gaze, I saw Yun Siwoo entering the classroom.
She immediately composed herself and greeted Yun Siwoo, but it was different from her usual self.
Silvia, who usually looked like a girl in love when she was with Yun Siwoo, showed no particular change in expression when greeting him.
I recalled the cold atmosphere between them since yesterday morning.
There must have been something I didn't know about.
*
Lunchtime arrived.
Unlike yesterday, Silvia was eating next to Yun Siwoo as usual.
But it was different from before.
She, who used to try to match her eating speed with Yun Siwoo, was now eating at her own pace as if it didn't matter.
While observing Silvia, thinking it was strange, I noticed her ears perking up and quickly finished my meal, then rushed to the snack stand to buy a macaron.
After a few days of this, it seemed to have become a reflex.
It was only after buying the macaron that I remembered Silvia had said she didn't need it yesterday.
I thought I should at least see her reaction.
Approaching Silvia, who was leisurely eating, with the macaron in hand, she paused her meal, put down her utensils, and asked me,
"Do you need something from me?"
"Um... this..."
I subtly offered the macaron, and Silvia smiled and said,
"As I said yesterday, you don't need to buy me any more. We're not close anymore, right?"
Though she was smiling, it was a firm refusal.
I could sense that she was determined not to accept anything from me.
I left the cafeteria, leaving Silvia, who had resumed eating.
I need to find out what happened.
With that thought, I returned to the classroom.
Yun Siwoo was sitting at his desk.
I went over to him and tapped his shoulder.
It was the first time I had initiated a conversation with him.
I didn't particularly want to talk to this guy, but I had no choice...
With that thought, I turned to Yun Siwoo, who had turned his head toward me, and hesitantly said in a low voice,
"...I need to talk to you alone, so come outside for a moment."
Leaving the classroom, I waited for Yun Siwoo, who had a rather stupid look on his face, to follow.
He would come on his own.
Walking down the stairs, I heard the sound of his footsteps following me.
Finding a suitable place, I waited for Yun Siwoo at the back of the school building.
"...What do you want to talk about?"
Yun Siwoo, whose face was slightly red from running, asked me.
By the way, despite his good physical abilities, the fact that his face was red from running such a short distance clearly showed a lack of stamina.
Feeling disappointed in Yun Siwoo, I said,
"It's nothing much, I just have a question."
"Ah... I see. What do you want to ask?"
His face quickly returned to normal, showing his excellent recovery.
Come to think of it, one of the holy swords he possesses has an effect that enhances physical abilities and recovery.
It must be the Indomitable Holy Sword.
Suppressing my anger at Yun Siwoo, who was cheating with his stats, I told him,
"Yesterday, I was late. Did you say anything to Silvia before I arrived?"
Yun Siwoo's face stiffened at my words.
I couldn't tell what he was thinking, but he clearly looked flustered.
"...What did Silvia tell you?"
Why is he asking me a question when I asked him one?
I glared at Yun Siwoo and said,
"I did hear something. So, what did you say to her?"
Yun Siwoo waved his hand, as if to say it was nothing, and answered,
"I really didn't say much! I just told Silvia to stop accepting macarons from you."
...What?
Thinking I might have heard wrong, I asked Yun Siwoo to repeat himself.
"......What did you just say?"
"...I told Silvia to stop accepting macarons from you..."
My teeth clenched, making a grinding sound.
It was all because of this guy.
Realizing that Silvia's reaction was all because of Yun Siwoo, I felt the emotions I had been suppressing boil up from within.
Don't show it.
Hold it in, just like you've been doing.
I muttered to myself, but the boiling emotions inside me forced their way out in the form of words.
"Why... why did you do that on your own...?"
My nerves were so sharp today that I couldn't hold it in.
My face, which I had been trying to keep expressionless, contorted on its own.
"Buying Silvia macarons every day must have been a burden for you."
The audacity on Yun Siwoo's face, as if he didn't realize what he had done, made me furious.
What did he think he knew, to say such things?
"So, who are you to make that judgment...?"
Do you know how I feel about giving Silvia macarons?
You don't.
If you did, you wouldn't have said such a thing.
I kept the words I couldn't say to myself.
I felt like I would explode if I didn't let them out.
"I was just thinking of you-!"
But at the sight of Yun Siwoo, who looked indignant and shouted,
The watermelon, with its rubber band wound to the limit,
Finally burst.
"Really, if you were thinking of me-!!!!"
The voice that burst out was as loud as the dam of suppressed emotions breaking.
The sound was like a scream or a cry.
In my blurred vision, I caught sight of Yun Siwoo's flustered face.
Tears, fragments of the burst emotions, streamed down my cheeks.
Panting heavily after shouting,
I took a step.
Toward Yun Siwoo, I continued,
"Please..."
Another step.
I pushed my distorted face closer to his.
Faster than Yun Siwoo, who was trying to step back in surprise,
"Please..."
The final step.
I grabbed Yun Siwoo's collar and pleaded,
"Please, don't pay attention to me anymore..."
Pouring out my true feelings, not fabricated for the Truthful Holy Sword.
After letting it all out, the first thought that came to mind was that I had made a mistake.
I pushed away Yun Siwoo's collar, turned around, and ran away.
I went to the bathroom, turned on the cold water, and washed my face for a long time, managing to return my expression to a blank one.
I focused all my attention on that.
I don't remember how I finished school and got home.
*
As soon as I got home, I buried my face in the pillow.