Humanity Return
Ch. 72 – Two Youths, Arak, and Full Moon
The red moon shone brightly in the night sky, lighting up the main garden in the middle of the academy.
It was seen that several disciples were gathered there to see the full moon and talk about the ongoing tournament, and among the people around the park was a little pink-haired girl who looked like she was looking for something.
“Huh..?”
The girl was Aura, who had already gathered enough energy to return to walking on her own.
He seemed so concentrated that he didn't realize someone was approaching him from behind.
“Good afternoon, Mr. Princess Flameheart”
Aura instantly turned her body and found a blonde youth with a flat expression standing in front of her.
“T-young Master Azure!”
Aura lowered her head at that Roland and returned her greeting.
“S-good afternoon!”
Roland showed a very thin smile upon seeing that Aura.
“What are you doing here?”
“A-aku s-medium.”.
The blonde youth shook his head when he saw the girl in front of him who had already started to tremble nervously.
“Call me Roland”
“H-huh?”
A few people in the park noticed Roland's whereabouts and turned their heads, but instantly distracted them.
This was the first time they had seen the Lightning Prince smiling at another woman other than his fiancee, a sight that would only invite trouble if they were caught knowing about it.
“We already know each other and you look pretty close to Leinn. The way we both talk makes us like two strangers”
“U-um..”.
Aura looked worried for a while, then she nodded her head. Air goes in and out with his breath.
“Then you can call me Aura! Greetings!”
Aura lowered her head once again for no apparent reason.
Roland found this scene interesting and did not notice the real smile on his face.
“So, what are you looking for in this park?”
Hearing that Aura finally came back to be remembered by the reason for walking into this park.
“U... I'm looking for Leinn”
“Leinn?”
Roland raised one of his eyebrows when he heard that, he recalled Leinn shouldering the girl in front of him out of the stadium this afternoon.
“If it doesn't matter, can I know why you're looking for it?”
“...there's something I want to tell her, and she said she wants to see the moon when she's done driving me to my break room. So I thought here..”.
Aura's voice shrank at the end of her sentence, it was because she had not been able to find the young man after searching for him for half an hour.
Roland began to sweep his gaze across the park then returned his attention to the girl in front of him.
“It looks like I know where he” is
“Really?!”
Roland was slightly surprised to see that suddenly excited Aura and took a step back.
Aura seemed to be aware of his actions and started to look down in embarrassment.
“Ehehe..”.
“Ehem, I happen to be looking for it too. There's a message you'd like to send if I find it?”
“...”
Aura began to recall the fight during that day and the message she remembered in her crucial moments. He began to frown and looked pouty.
“...I want to thank him”
Roland felt a little confused when he saw the annoyed expression and the sentence Aura spoke looked incompatible.
“Allah? You better get back to rest, you'll still be fighting tomorrow”
Aura gasped in shock after hearing that, as she finally recalled one important thing.
“I won't budge”
The blonde young man in front of him was his opponent tomorrow.
“A-me too!”
Roland nodded his head after hearing that resolute answer and smiled very thinly.
“Goodnight, Aura”
“Goodnight Roland!”
Aura bowed her head once more to him and started walking back to rest.
Roland turned his body around and started walking away, while recalling some things with his gaze already fixed on the tallest building as well as the symbol of the academy, the Fire Clock Tower.
The building where one could see the entire Blazing Sun city without any hitch and served as a time marker in that academy.
The building has a fairly large roof that can only be reached by an elevator that cannot be accessed during the junior tournament period.
...
“Hum~”
A black-haired youth was humming softly at the top of the tallest building in the academy, looking like the master of the roof of the tower who only had him as a guest.
He sat alone with the wine glass in his hand as he closed his eyes and enjoyed the night breeze that touched his face, with a 20-centimeter-tall wine bottle and two identical glasses beside him.
He poured the contents of the bottle into one of the glasses, then grabbed it with one smooth motion.
Glucose Tap
He finished the glass in his hand in one sip and placed it back next to his wine bottle.
He opened his eyes and started staring at the red moon in the sky that night.
Crackle.. bham!
A sudden thunderclap sounded from behind him and there stood a blond-haired young man, surrounded by a small lightning bolt on his body. His flat expression did not reveal what was in his mind.
He started to step slowly and arrived at the side of the black-haired young man who was pouring wine in the three glasses beside him, then he sat down without saying anything beside him.
The two of them grabbed the wine glass and immediately gulped down its contents.
Two young men sat with wine bottles between them and empty glasses in their hands while staring at the moon, forming a scene that looked like it came out of a painting.
“...it looks like I lost”
The first to break the silence between them was the black-haired young man, Leinn who uttered that while looking at the bottom of the empty glass in his hand.
The blonde-haired youth, Roland beside him was seen frowning after hearing that.
“What..?”
“Yes, you managed to get what you wanted first from me didn't you?”
Leinn said that with a small smile towards the young man beside him, with both eyes clearly showing his seriousness.
This time it was Roland who was silent for a moment while staring at the glass in his hand.
Old memories began to appear in his mind, memories of his happiest times.
“Ya, I won yes..”
But there was no joyous expression on Roland's face saying that, he simply put the glass in his hand on the floor and grabbed onto the wine bottle beside him.
It turned out that Leinn had already grabbed the bottle first and started filling both of their glasses.
The two of them slowly sipped the glass.
The blonde youth looked pensive and could not find the next word, until suddenly...
“I said ‘first’ no?”
Roland immediately turned his head and showed a surprised expression after hearing that, then looked at Leinn who was looking back at him with a satisfied smile after seeing his reaction.
He looked at the smile for a while before letting out a small sigh, and a small smile appeared on his face.
“Begukah”
The glass in his hand started to shake, followed by the glass in the hand of the young man beside him who also started to tremble.
The bodies of the two of them began to tremble as well until finally...
“Pffft-Hahahaha.!”.
“Ahahahaha..!”
Two loud laughter broke the silence of the night, leaving the few people around the academy to be startled after hearing that loud laughter without being able to find the source.
Leinn was seen patting her feet and Roland covered his face with his hands, the two of them laughing nonstop for a while.
The joyous feeling of meeting the two of them again, the joyous feeling of their goal being achieved, and the elated feeling of knowing their friend had also managed to reach their goal.
All those feelings exploded out simultaneously.
“...Ahaha! It's a good day!”
“Good day!”
Leinn said that then gulped down his glass, followed by Roland gulping down his glass as well while taking out a small lightning bolt from his body.
“Aaah... The taste of this drink is still strange how many times I try it” said Leinn while frowning.
“Really? I'm getting used to”
Roland raised one of his eyebrows after hearing that while refilling their glasses.
Leinn simply picked up the glass full of it without answering.
The two of them returned to enjoy the view of the night sky while recalling old memories.
The memories kept popping up and finally one memory appeared clearly.
“”Hahaha...”””
Leinn and Roland turned their heads and looked at the one glass between them simultaneously and realized the two of them were remembering the same thing, making their laughter come out once again.
“Haha..”.
“Ha..”
Their laughter stopped and they began to dissolve in those memories.
