Lily was standing at a crossroad. One path led to the school, and the other was a path she had not traveled. Of course, today she planned to follow the latter.
“The school’s this way.”
So why was she standing still? She always wanted to take Beary to school. The thought that she was only there with Poyopoyo stuck in her mind.
Today was the perfect chance to take Beary.
“Beary, wanna go to school?”
“Kyu~.”
“Uh-huh.”
Beary only made a sound, but it sounded to her like it wanted to go. Sometimes a child’s imagination was more free than magic.
“Hm…”
Could she enter the school when there were no classes?
She did not know.
But even if the gate was closed, she felt she was small enough to get through a gap.
She would sneak… No, infiltrate it, and the adventure made her heart race.
“…All right! Infiltrate school!”
She used a big word she sort of knew from somewhere, and felt like a real adventurer.
“You can’t get spotted now. Got it?”
“Kyu~.”
“Poyon.”
She would be feeling disheartened if she was alone, but she had two friends. That made the world look big and bright.
She snuck along the wall towards the gate. It was closed as she expected, but she managed to get through a gap. When she was on the other side, Beary and Poyopoyo also skillfully followed.
“Hehehe, infiltration done.”
An empty school was quiet like it was a different world.
Normally it would be filled with noisy children, but today even the wind sounded loud.
This silence brought a strange throbbing to Lily’s chest.
“This is school.”
“Kyu~?”
She explained with her chest puffed out. Beary looked up with a blank expression, and Poyopoyo sparkled as it took in sunlight.
“Can we go to the classroom…”
She said as she walked quietly towards the school building.
But… she did not know.
No matter how silently she walked, there was something that could not be hidden.
And who could sense it… was none other than a mage.
◆
(It’s open…?)
She easily entered the school building, contrary to her expectations. The halls were quiet with no sign that anyone was there, only her small footsteps echoed. She was there every day, but it felt like an unfamiliar place.
(It’s… Kinda scary…)
She had never experienced a bright scary place.
She was a little scared of the dark. It was common for her to take Beary along when she went to the bathroom at night, and she was experiencing a similar eerie feeling. If Beary and Poyopoyo were not there, she might have ran fast.
It should stop being scary in the classroom.
She advanced with that in mind, with her excitement completely gone. She wanted to introduce Beary to the classroom and leave.
“Toh!”
She opened the door hard, as if to wash away her fear. She was always the last to arrive and first to leave, so she had never seen the classroom empty. She entered this familiar place, and felt relieved like she expected. Even more so when she sat down.
“Lilih’s always here. The teacher is there, and Lain is here.”
She placed Beary on the desk, and rapid fired what she knew about the school.
“Kyu~.”
Beary saw Lily look like she was having fun, and that made it feel the same way. Poyopoyo relaxed in its assigned space, the storage area under the desk. An enjoyable atmosphere hung around them.
“It’d be nice if Beary came to school too.”
Having finished talking, she fell prostrate on the desk. The sunlight was entering through the window, and warmly touched her cheek. That made her feel sleepy, but…
“What are you doing?”
She was jolted awake.
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