Kays Translations

Chapter 15: Confession at the Graduation Party (2)

I try to say that much, but I get no reply. 

But I knew that they were listening. 

Cynthia’s marshmallow, which she is sticking into the fire, is already pitch black.

“I was killed when I was nineteen years old, and the next thing I know, time rewound and I started over as a six-year-old. That’s why this is the second time I’m living this life.”

At last, I said it.

For a while, all I could hear was the crackling of the fire and the explosion of the burning wood.

When Cynthia finally realized that the marshmallow on the end of the branch had crumbled and fallen into the fire, she sat up in her chair and looked around as if she had come to her senses.

“–Well, I don’t think I’ll ever believe this story.”

That’s why I’ve never told anyone. Not even to my family.

I never thought that I would tell them like this. 

The open atmosphere of the night forest made me slip up.

I switched the atmosphere and said in the style of the school principal, “Ta-da!” Just as I was about to cover it up by saying, “Nah, it’s all a joke.” 

Cynthia opened her mouth.

“Who killed you?”

“Huh?”

In contrast to my being upset by the unexpected question, Cynthia surprisingly had a very calm expression on her face.

“Who killed you when you were nineteen?”

Cynthia stared straight at me.

I could painfully feel the gaze of Mac, who was on the other side of the fire.

I looked down at the marshmallow in my hand and said.

“Ulysses… the Crown Prince.”

The two of them gasped.

“I don’t want to die. I don’t want to be killed like that ever again.”

“–So what were we doing then?”

“What? At that time?”

Unsure of the intent of the question, I blink my eyes and turn to face Mac. 

He has a slight scowl on his face.

“No, what were Cynthia and I doing when Liesel was killed?　Did we just sit there and watch?”

“No. Last time, I was at the Royal Academy of Magic, so I didn’t meet you two.”

Then Mac’s expression instantly relaxed as if he was relieved. 

For some reason, Cynthia also nodded repeatedly, as if relieved.

“I’m relieved to hear that. Then don’t worry about it this time. Last time, we weren’t there. But this time, Liesel knows what’s going to happen, and we’re here for her.”　

“But do you both believe in this crazy story?”

“Why not? We’re friends, you know. — Who would hate to be a royal magician in the first place? I thought there must be a reason for it. That’s why I am convinced.”

“I see, so Liesel is starting her life over!”

I can’t believe that they would so easily believe such an unrealistic story. 

Rather, I was flustered.

Then Cynthia moved her chair to sit right next to me.

“Tell me more about what happened to you last time. Otherwise, there’s no way I can help you.”

A little later, Mac also pulled his chair up next to mine. 

A little playfully, he asked.

“Did you run wild with magic in the palace and destroy the crown prince’s treasure?”

“You’re an idiot, Mac. Liesel would never make a mistake like that.”

… Would it be okay to talk to these two?

I took a bite of the marshmallow and let the sugar go to my head, then slowly began to talk.

When I finished telling them all about my first life, I made a decision.

“This time, I will never be the Prince’s lover, and I will live a long life.”

Also, there is something I can do because it is my second time.

“Because I know the future, there are things I can do for the people around me. For example, I’m going to send out a letter reminding people to check their fire prevention equipment when the time comes so that we don’t have another fire in the opera house, which was really tragic.”

“Yes, that’s a good idea. That’s so you.”

After Cynthia agreed, she hesitantly asked.

“Liesel, aren’t you afraid of how you’ll feel if you see the Crown Prince again?”

I had nothing to do with the current Crown Prince. 

Still, if I were to meet him face to face.

What would I do?

“Yes. I might hit him, asking him why he killed me. Or I might just hug him for the joy of seeing him again.”

“Either way, they’re bad. Haha.”

A helpless smile spilled from my mouth as Mac caught me.

“Well, I won’t commit such a blunder, so don’t worry.”

I am living the life of the current Liesel.

I felt strangely at ease when I talked about all the things that Liesl Crow went through last time.

At the same time, I was touched that I had friends who believed this story.

Mac and Cynthia didn’t doubt the authenticity of my story. 

They just said they would work with me to figure out what we could do to keep me from dying.

The fact that the two of them got jobs at the Royal Palace is really encouraging.

“The biggest change in this life of mine is that I became friends with you two when I joined this academy.”

Mac said, mumbling to himself as he poured water on the fire.

“That’s right! It was a big change, and a great one at that!　It’s like they say, three people make the right combination.”

The outdoor party was over.

As we packed our belongings back into our bags, we began to sing the school song of the National Academy of Magic, immersed in sentiment.

It was very emotional to sing the school song of the academy where we had spent the past five years, as we were about to graduate.

“When we first entered the school, Cynthia was much shorter than that, wasn’t she?”

“Yes, and she was a bit of a coward, wasn’t she? She was so unsure of herself that I was afraid she wouldn’t make it here, even though she was from my hometown.”

“What? Excuse me, Mac”

Cynthia glared at Mac as she put away her cutlery.

The relationship between the two of them is still the same: Mac teases, and Cynthia gets angry. I smiled and soothed Cynthia.

“But Cynthia is now a very reliable older sister.”

“Really? That makes me happy.”

Cynthia smiled a little embarrassed. 

When she finished closing the lid of her bag, she looked up, stared into the air and muttered.

“When I first entered the school, I was very worried that I wouldn’t be able to make it among all these nobles and strong magicians. I wasn’t confident, and that lack of confidence made me even less confident. But I got to know Liesel, — you don’t care about your surroundings one bit. You’re your own person. You know the way to go. You changed the way I think.”

“You see, I’m actually thirty-six years old in spirit!”

When I said that, they both burst out laughing.

“You’re right! You have so much experience in life!”

“I’m seventeen years old and in my thirties.”

As we were laughing and cleaning up, Mac’s expression suddenly tightened. 

He stopped laughing, stopped moving with the dishes in his hands and stared at the back of me.

Cynthia and I turned around almost simultaneously, following Mac’s gaze.

As soon as I saw what Mac was looking at, I stopped breathing.

Someone was walking between the trees in the dark forest.

Judging from his build, it was probably a man.

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