Chapter 23 The Talk of World-ending Threats

The Next Day, Tokyo Magic Academy

 Shota's gaze flickered to the empty seat by the window. He had to talk to her. He had to explain… something. He didn't even know what, but the memory of her crying demanded it.

The door slid open. Mirai walked in.

A subtle shift rippled through the room. The usual, cheerful energy that preceded her—the playful skips, the wide, glowing smiles—was absent. Her face was placid. Her golden drills were perfect, her uniform impeccable, but the life behind her eyes was gone. She didn't look at anyone, simply walked to the window seat and sit down, her gaze fixed on the world outside, flipping a small, formal envelope absently between her fingers.

Shota's heart clenched. He started to rise from his seat, a "Mirai-chan" on his lips, but the classroom door open with a slam.

"ATTENTION!" Instructor Arata's roar echoed through the room. He stomped to the front, his own body still moving with a slight stiffness from his healed wounds. 

"We got some important news today! Mainly about the whole mission yesterday going almost to shit! As many of you already know, some of us nearly died. But don't let that discourage you! Being a pro wizard is a tough job! Now! To the news!"

He launched into the briefing: the Kaiju's retreat, the successful cleanup, the fact there were no civilian casualties. Then, his voice grew graver.

"Now! For the bad news. The attack was a diversion. A villain, a former pro wizard who's turned to darkness, used the kaiju's rampage as a distraction to attack a secure facility." 

He detailed the theft, the defeated pros, the SS-tier classification.

 "He stole one part of an artifact. He will be coming for the rest. And this is where the academy comes in."

Throughout the entire briefing, Mirai hadn't moved. She continued to stare out the window, flipping the envelope, completely detached from the talk of world-ending threats.

Instructor Arata's eyes landed on her. His patience snapped.

"MISS R.R.! Do I bore you with my briefing?! Do you even hear a word I said?! This is serious! If you can't take it seriously, how about you take a leave?!"

The flipping of the envelope stopped.

Slowly, Mirai turned her head to look at him. Her expression was empty. Hollow.

"Hey, Sensei. I was planning to wait until class was over. But if you insist, I'll do it now."

 She walked to his desk and placed the envelope.

"I am leaving the academy. This is my resignation letter. Bye bye, and good luck."

She turned to leave.

"IS THIS A JOKE, OSANAI?! WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED?! Is it because of the attack?! Did you get scared?! I didn't expect to hear something like this from you! You're the last one I would expect to quit!"

Mirai paused at the door, her hand on the handle. She didn't turn back.

"Don't care. Not my problem. Don't want to know."

The door clicked shut. For a moment, the only sound in the classroom was the faint hum of the lights. Instructor Arata stared at the empty space where Mirai had been. He slowly picked up the envelope putting in his pocket.

Shota felt the world tilt.

 "Leaving? Mirai-chan is leaving?" 

The word didn't make sense. Mirai was his constant these past ten years, like the sky or the academy itself. Her absence was a physical void in the room, a sudden, chilling draft. The memory of her crying in the hospital corridor crashed over him again.

"Sir, I need to—"

"SIT DOWN, ULTRA EXTRA!"

The command was a physical force, slamming Shota back into his seat. Arata's eyes, burning with fury, swept over the entire class.

"Whatever personal reason she is having, does not change the facts. The world does not stop because one of you decides to quit. An SS-tier villain is out there. He has a piece of a weapon we don't understand, and he will be back for more. Your feelings are a luxury you no longer have."

He slammed his fist on the table, making everyone jump.

"From this moment on, consider yourselves on active standby. Dismissed. Get to the training grounds. I want to see every last drop of mana you have squeezed out by noon. MOVE! MOVIE! MOVE!"

Shota had to find her. He had to fix this.

But as he stepped out into the hallway, he saw no sign of her golden hair. She was simply gone, vanished as completely as her cheerful persona, leaving behind only the ghost of her flat, final words.

"Don't care. Not my problem. Don't want to know."

The words echoed in his mind, a chilling mantra that felt more threatening than any villain's taunt. The closest person he knew had just given up, and he knew, that he was the reason why.

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Training Room

 Enji walked across the room the moment Shota walked in. He grabbed him by the shoulder and spun him around with enough force to make him stumble.

"OI! ULTRA EXTRA! Care to explain what the hell is going on?! Why is Osanai quitting?! There's no way she got scared! I saw her! She went toe-to-toe with that shadow bastard! She was laughing! So, you better don't feed me crap! You're the closest thing to her! You two are always stuck together like glue! You must know what's up! So, talk, you damn Extra! What is going on?!"

Enji’s grip tightened on his shoulder, his eyes demanding an answer. Shota flinched, Lycoris’s warning echoed in his head.

 “Shota-chan, my existence must be our secret. If the wrong people learn I’ve returned in this state, the trouble that finds us will be far worse than some Ancient Shadows.”

He couldn’t tell the truth. His gaze slid away, focusing on a point somewhere past Enji’s ear. 

“I… I don’t know. She just… decided to leave. I don’t know why. We haven't talked since I woke up in the hospital.”

"Then what the hell are you doing in the training room?! We have to go after her! I am NOT leaving it like this! I'm going after her!"

He jabbed a flaming finger toward the door.

"You coming? Or you just gonna stand still and do nothing? Like always?! ULTRA EXTRA!"

He took a step closer, his voice dropping to a searing, furious whisper that was somehow worse than his shouting.

"How are you even expecting to become a pro wizard who saves people when you can't even help your only friend?! AHHHH!? What's the point of that unbreakable barrier if everyone around you just crumbles and you don't even lift a finger?!"

"I... I want to go after her, Enji-kun. But... I don't... I don't know where she lives."

For ten years, Mirai had been a constant in his life. She knew his apartment, his schedule, his favorite snacks, the depths of his trauma. She had been his sole anchor.

And he had never once wondered where she went when she left his side.

Enji didn't shout. He didn't explode. He simply stared.

"Oi? What do you mean you don't know? Haven't you two been stuck for, like... years? Since you were kids or something. And you don't even know where she lives? Does she... move around a lot or something?"

"Ummm... no. It's just... Mirai-chan was always... there. She just... appeared. At my apartment. At school. I never... I never had to call her. Or walk to meet her somewhere. And... I didn't like to go outside. So..."

Enji stared at him for a long, silent moment. The anger seemed to drain out of him, replaced by something colder.

"Man. I've seen losers. Cocky bastards. Bullies. All kinds of scum. But you... I haven't seen someone more pathetic than you. Have you ever once considered how she feels? Her life? Her home? Or the effort it took for her to always be there for you? Whatever, Ultra Extra. Don't answer, I don't care. I'm done wasting my breath on you. I'll ask Instructor Arata. He must know where she lives. Follow if you're man enough."

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In the principal's office, Instructor Arata stood before the large, polished desk.

"The reports from the Pros he defeated are consistent," principal Kaito said, "The man in the raincoat didn't just overpower them; he dismantled their magic. He's in a league we haven't seen since the Witch Queen. The government panicking."

 "What about the artifact, Kaito? Any idea what it could be?"