Reunion
Lux’s Side
Three days after the holiday ended, I finished my day at the noble academy and decided to stop by the town on my way home.
I’ve always liked the town, finding it bright, lively, and full of people, so simply being there and soaking in the atmosphere is one of the main reasons I go. But today, more than that, I thought I might be able to see Elina-san again, that wonderful girl I met about a week ago.
“Not that Elina-san comes to town every single day or anything, so the chances of running into her are pretty slim…”
Maybe I should’ve made plans to meet her somewhere. Yes, that’s right.
“I’ll try going to that clothing store where I met Elina-san before.”
Even with that idea, the chances of seeing Elina-san again are still low… but right now, it’s the only place in this town where I think I might have even a small chance of meeting her.
With that in mind, I headed toward the clothing store. And when I arrived on the street where it was located, someone wearing a familiar red hood was walking very slowly.
“Lux… where are you…? Please, just come out…”
She was murmuring something in a very small voice… The red hood looked familiar, but from her posture and presence, I couldn’t quite believe she was the same person I had in mind.
Still, whoever she was, she seemed to be in pain. If there was anything I could do to help, I wanted to offer my support.
Thinking that, I approached the person in the red hood from behind and called out to her.
“Excuse me, are you all right? If there’s something troubling you—”
“…That voice.”
Just as I was about to say, “If there’s something troubling you, I’d like to help,” the girl in the red hood spoke in a small voice.
Earlier, I hadn’t been close enough to hear what she was saying, but now her words came through clearly, and before I had a chance to process them, the girl in the red hood turned toward me with a speed that defied her slow movements just moments before…
“Lux!!”
She called my name and wrapped her arms around me.
“Lux, I finally found you again…!”
“Huh…? What…?”
Caught completely off guard by someone suddenly calling my name and hugging me, I froze up on instinct.
Why does this person know my name…?
No. More importantly, why am I being hugged out of nowhere?
That was what I was thinking, but the moment I heard her voice, I understood how she knew my name.
“Could it be… Elina-san?”
“Yes! It’s me! I’ve been looking for you all this time! Where have you been until now!?”
When I asked, the girl in the red hood, Elina-san, answered in a voice full of joy… but then.
“You’ve been looking for me… all this time?”
Not understanding what she meant, I found myself asking without thinking, and Elina-san replied with a voice tinged with sadness.
“Yes, really… I’ve been searching for you all this time, Lux… from morning until almost nightfall, every day…”
…It was all so sudden, I couldn’t make sense of what was going on. But if Elina-san had been this emotionally affected, then there was only one thing I could do.
“It seems I’ve caused you a lot of trouble, Elina-san. I’d like to offer my apology in some way.”
“An apology…? In that case! Let’s go have a meal together right now!”
“…Huh? Is something like that really enough?”
“Yup! Come on, let’s go!”
With that, Elina-san grabbed my wrist and started walking with such excitement it was almost contagious.
I hesitated for a moment, wondering if a meal together was really enough of an apology for troubling her. But looking at Elina-san’s smiling face right in front of me, it started to feel like maybe it was. So, I followed her, walking with her to go have that meal together.