Chapter 18

“Uhh… how infuriating… She could really be an annoyance sometimes.”

“... Isn’t she your boss?”

“Do you not hate your boss?”

“...” John realized that this was a thing the two of them shared. They couldn’t hang around in the academy for long, though, so they decided to leave. Unfortunately, the bell rang, and the hallways were filled with a flood of students changing classrooms. Realizing they would stand out among them, John and Leyla decided to wait in the old faculty room instead.

“... Isn’t this more suspicious?” Leyla stared at him. They were sitting on regular chairs. Leyla had checked, no magic on this one. The row of professors' tables and the separators blocked them from the small window on the door. Unless someone entered, it was unlikely that they would be found.

“Well, if we just keep silent…”

They could hear a group of male students passing by, their laughter entering the room, but that was it. They passed right through, not stopping for even a second.

“So now… what should we do?”

“... Wait?”

“That’s boring, and a waste of time,” Leyla said, resting her head on the desk.

“Well, what do you want to do?”

It wasn’t like they could prepare their plans for conquering the dungeon or train their magic.

… I wonder if that caterpillar has moved yet.

It had been a day. Surely that caterpillar didn’t just live there? If it does, then they need to look for a way to move it.

“Leyla, is your magic still restricted…”

He heard snoring coming from beside him.

“... I guess you’re tired.”

She did wake up earlier than him. How early? That he didn’t know. He didn’t hear the door opening. Even if he did, it's not like he could check the time or look outside. He was too tired for that. He would just assume she went to the toilet.

It should be much earlier, however. Had she not started working early, then they wouldn’t be finished at this point.

… Well, I guess you can rest for a bit.

•••

Leyla gasped upon hearing her statement. She failed to say anything, standing there beside Kei while keeping her eyes on her. Leyla had seen this possibility coming for a long time. He knew she would ask for it eventually. Still, she expected several more decades. Centuries, even.

“Are you sure?” Kei asked. “I mean, I can’t undo this.”

Once a laikaat let go of their immortality, they couldn’t get it back. Such was the rule of the universe. Breaking that rule had consequences.

“Once you make this choice, it’s… well, it’s not over necessarily. But that’s the end of your career.”

It could be called an eternal retirement. Once a mortal entered the afterlife, the roles they played were different from a proper laikaat. Once that happened, she would be completely disconnected from the rest of them, Kei being the only exception. Leyla would never see her again, not until she herself decided that it was time to retire.

“I’ve decided that today is the right time.”

“... You’re an idiot,” Leyla muttered under her breath, but her words were loud enough.

“I guess I am one,” she scratched the back of her head, letting out a little laugh. Before she met them, she never laughed. Not even once. She always had this stern, dark expression on her face. She took all her tasks seriously. All it took was a couple of months to change her forever.

I would never change like that.

Kei’s smile disappeared from her face. Instead, she had a strict expression. “... I’m going to ask this one more time. Are you sure?”

“Yes,” she replied, equally serious.

Kei sighed, the smile returning to her face. “Well, I can’t stop you. Enjoy your retirement.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re going to regret this,” Leyla said. Deep inside, she knew that those words weren’t the right words. It wasn’t the thing she should be saying to her. The second she left those doors, her remaining life would be timed. The time they could spend together was no longer unlimited.

Not until she made the decision herself, but she couldn’t see herself making that decision. It was just stupid.

She wanted to call out to her. She wanted to say some more things, talk about it a bit more, yet the words didn’t come out.

Leyla watched as she went to the door. Right before she left, she turned around, looking at them one last time as a laikaat. She would never be the same after this.

“Thank you for everything.”

With a smile and a wave, she left.

•••

John tapped his legs on the floor. A music player didn’t exist in this world, and not being able to hear songs from Earth does suck, but at least he could still remember some of his favorite songs. The idea of losing them one day made him sad, but there was nothing he could do about it.

Maybe I should ask Kei to bring me a music player?

A music player would make people suspicious of him, though, so maybe he shouldn’t have one. He really wanted to hear those songs, though.

As he was thinking about that, he noticed Leyla’s body moving.

“Welcome back-”

Tears flowed down her cheeks.

“Le- Leyla?” He reached out and shook her shoulders.

“U- Ah!” Leyla shot upward, turning to John. “What… happened?”

It began registering in her mind that she was crying, and she desperately tried to wipe the tears.

“Leyla, did something happen? Did you dream about something?”

“Nothing! Absolutely nothing!” She forced herself up. “Let’s go!”

It had been a while, and the sounds of students had faded. It should be safe now.

“Alright.” John followed her out of the faculty room.