WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Arsène

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◈ Spring Never Comes to Stolen Fields ◈

Chapter 22: Yuwol

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The homeroom teacher stared at me.

His black eyes looked as though they might swallow me whole.

"Hmm. No matter how I look at you, you're human. You certainly look human, at least."

He muttered to himself.

I asked him about it.

"Sir, what exactly makes Luna and me seem inhuman?"

Honestly, I thought the specialties we had shown were well within the bounds of common sense.

Especially my magic, which Arin could probably copy without much difficulty if I showed it to her.

He answered kindly.

"The magic and movements you two showed give me the impression that you're looking down from far above."

"Humans are an endlessly weak race on their own, so they've continually sought greater heights and repeatedly overcome the strong."

"But that gravity magic you just used, and Luna's barehanded attacks, both feel like they're meant to thoroughly crush the weak..."

"Generally, that sort of fighting style is typical of demons, who use magical power to overwhelm humans."

Hmm. Everything he said was right.

Every time I saw Master's magic, it had an overwhelmingly domineering feel to it.

Her magic was like a disaster. No matter how much I trained, there were often times when I felt I could never reach her level.

That was why I had always watched her from behind, studying and studying again so I could at least imitate her.

For example, if Master cast a lightning spell that covered the entire academy, I trained until I could cover an area about the size of this training ground.

That was what Sirius's specialties and combat abilities amounted to now.

To put it humorously, I was something like Little Amelia.

"Um... I see... I'd never thought of it that way, but I am human."

The homeroom teacher smiled and nodded.

"Why state the obvious? If you were a Demon, you'd already be dead, ground to dust by my hand."

My hand naturally went to the ring on my finger.

I suddenly felt the need to cherish it even more.

"All right. I've seen your level. You're quite capable. You're certainly good enough to join the Hero's Party, though you still have a ways to go."

The homeroom teacher patted my back encouragingly.

"Make a good impression on the Hero sometime. Who knows? Maybe she'll take you along."

Sir. If I get picked for that, I'll be in real trouble.

Arin had to be the mage in this generation's Hero's Party.

There would be no coming back from it if Celia chose me for some ridiculous reason.

I had run all the way from the Demon World to the human realm to make her give up being the Hero. It made no sense for me, who had become a Demon, to join the Hero's Party.

If that actually happened, I would be the worst possible asset.

If a single finger snap from the Demon King took out the Hero's Party's mage, wouldn't that be a disaster?

Anyway, as I let my imagination run wild, the homeroom teacher told me I could go.

I made a mental note to firmly remind Luna never, ever to take off her ring.

After the interview, I went to the cafeteria, which was nearly closed, and ate.

My head was a mess.

The biggest problem was that I still had no clear idea of how I should act.

The plan I had prepared in the Demon World was to reveal my identity to Celia as soon as I arrived in the human realm.

I was going to tell her every detail of the Empire bastards' horrific scheme and tell her, "Don't sacrifice yourself for a crazy country like this. Forget becoming the Hero. Let's run away together."

But now, I was closer to Sirius the Demon than Yuwol the human.

My master was Amelia, the strongest Demon, and I had fallen in love with Luna, the Demon King's daughter.

Demon blood flowed through my body, and when I took off my ring, my eyes glowed red.

I had no regrets. Of course, becoming a Demon hadn't been my choice, but that didn't mean I wanted to resent Luna.

She had her own circumstances too. And I loved that girl.

Still, no matter what I thought my identity was, my soul clearly remembered.

Every journey I had chosen and walked had been for Celia. That fact had not changed.

Once again, I swore that no matter what happened to me, I would free her from this cycle.

Even if it destroyed me.

After returning to my room, I continued to think about my plans.

The most reasonable way to stop Celia from becoming the Hero was still the same.

Preventing the Hero's Party from graduating in first place.

As for whether that was possible, I didn't think it was entirely out of reach if Luna, I, and the other members formed a good party.

Of course, there was a chance we would fall short while wearing the rings, but judging by our current level, this seemed like the most reasonable plan.

Still, my conversation with the homeroom teacher earlier kept bothering me.

What if Celia asked me to form a party with her?

What would I do then?

It was an extremely important choice.

Considering my position, I should obviously say no without hesitation. But from the perspective of an outsider who knew nothing...

I would look like an idiot who enrolled at the academy only to refuse the greatest honor of joining the Hero's Party.

Celia, the homeroom teacher, and everyone else at the academy would probably suspect my identity.

If that happened, it was obvious our fake identities would be exposed before long.

What a headache...

Feeling depressed, I went out onto the terrace.

A pleasantly cool breeze brushed against my face.

I hadn't always been someone who thought this much...

A sigh escaped me.

"Why are you sighing like that?"

I didn't know when she had come out, but Celia, seemingly wearing pajamas, was peeking over from the terrace across from mine and looking at me.

Because of you. You. You.

But I couldn't bring myself to answer that way.

"It's just... Lately, I feel like I don't really know myself."

I answered weakly, leaving out the details.

Celia said nothing. Then, all of a sudden, she stepped barefoot onto the railing of her terrace.

"H-Hero?"

Startled, I wondered what she was doing.

Like a tightrope walker, she took one step at a time along the railing, lightly crossed the wall between our rooms, and landed on the railing of my terrace.

Her golden hair and white pajamas fluttered in the wind.

Her blue eyes met mine.

"I'm... going to jump now."

"What...?"

"From here. I'm going to jump down to the ground below."

She didn't seem to be joking.

She spread her arms wide and began counting.

"Three."

Wait, really?

"Two."

Why?

"One."

As soon as she finished speaking, her body slowly began to fall backward over the railing.

The moment she moved as though she were really going to fall, my thoughts froze.

My body shot toward her. I wrapped my arms around her waist and pulled her back inside my terrace.

"What the hell are you doing, Celia?"

I grabbed her shoulders and gave her a genuinely angry look.

I was already worried sick because of you, and without knowing how I felt, you were pulling a cruel prank like this.

Her eyes widened for a moment in surprise before returning to normal.

Then she spoke.

"You said you didn't know yourself, Yuwol..."

Ah.

Only then did I realize I had called her Celia, not Hero.

My tone wasn't the businesslike polite speech I had used before either. It was the same tone I used when I got annoyed with her as a child.

Tears had gathered in her eyes.

"Do you understand who you are... a little now?"

The strength left my hands as I held Celia's shoulders.

With my hands still on her shoulders, Celia cupped my face in both of hers.

Slowly, she pulled my face toward hers.

I could only helplessly watch it happen.

Her delicate features filled my vision.

"I missed you, Yuwol."

Me too, Celia.

Her lips touched mine.

Our second kiss was entirely different from the first one in the forest.

It was deeper, more intense.

This must have meant that enough time had passed for a boy to become a man, and a girl to become a woman.

The blissful moment passed.

The feelings I had desperately held back while hiding my identity, including my affection for Celia, crashed over me like a tidal wave.

But... but... I knew this was a terrible thing to do...

Even so, forgive me for having no choice but to do this, Celia.

This was all for you.

After the deep kiss, silence fell between us.

Both of us were red-faced and breathing heavily.

Once I caught my breath, I stepped back from her.

She tried to take another step toward me.

I held out one hand to stop her while turning my face away and covering my mouth with the other.

"I'm sorry... Hero... I'm sorry... But I'm not that person..."

My voice trembled as I spoke.

I tried to make it sound as natural as possible, but I couldn't.

"...Yuwol!"

Celia cried out my name, no, the name that had once been mine, in a pitiful voice.

"...Please forget what happened today... And I'm not Yuwol... I'm Sirius..."

"Please... Why... Why are you running away?!"

Celia shouted at me, her voice thick with tears.

"...I'll be going inside now... From now on... please never pull a prank like that again..."

Leaving her on my terrace, I fled into my room and drew the curtains.

"...Yuwol!"

Her voice still came through the window, as though she hadn't left yet.

As if my tear ducts had broken, the tears wouldn't stop.

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