NOVEL WEB Chapter 165
It’s been a month since that incident. If you’re wondering what happened during that time, let me tell you: absolutely nothing—seriously.
No media came knocking, no disturbances in my daily life, no joys or sorrows, just a whole lot of nothing. I even wondered if what happened that day was just a dream.
This is just our situation, though. The rest of society was exploding with events we couldn’t possibly keep up with.
But to us? Just background noise.
There was at least one change, though. No more gatherings. Back in the day, when Blanca was around, we’d just end up hanging out together even without an invitation. Now, just mentioning getting together feels like taboo.
With one empty seat among us, no one could handle that awkwardness. Plus, the kids weren’t exactly in the best states either.
I gently knocked on the door to let whoever’s inside know that I was there. I had given a heads-up, so I wasn’t met with a cold shoulder.
Not that I was welcomed with open arms, either.
“Come in. Please excuse the mess, it’s… well, just that.”
Seeing Ageha after such a long time, I realized she was a far cry from the neat and composed person I once knew.
Her usual meticulous appearance was nowhere to be found; it was hard to believe she was the same person who used to fuss over every detail of her outfit.
Ageha shuffled around the kitchen, claiming she’d bring something out for a guest, but I assured her it was unnecessary, and she flopped onto the sofa without hesitation.
If it had been in the past, I would’ve freaked out at such behavior, but it clearly showed how much Ageha had changed.
But honestly, she was holding up relatively well. At least she was still talking and trying to move forward with some intent.
Compared to Lapiz, Ageha was doing fine—though that didn’t mean she was actually okay.
“So, why did you come? Are you here to check if I’m okay? If that’s the case, I’m fine. Really.”
Ageha’s nonchalant lie felt oddly amusing, but then she got serious and brought up what had been on her mind.
“Have you kept in touch with the others?”
I told her I was sending texts now and then, which surprised her a bit.
When I asked if she called them, she left it unanswered, clearly dodging.
Maybe Ageha was in worse shape than I thought. She claimed she sent texts, but no one ever admitted to receiving anything from her.
“No messages from the Academy, either?”
“Nothing like that. Honestly, I’m not expecting anything. They’re probably too busy just trying to fill the empty seats, let alone reach out to students.”
“That’s true. Uh, Ageha. Just in case…”
“What now? You just showed up out of the blue and then start interrogating me? If it weren’t for you, I would have kicked you out already.”
Ageha’s irritated response made it clear she wanted to end the conversation, but I wasn’t about to back down this time.
We were all drowning in the pain of loss, but we couldn’t just keep floundering indefinitely.
I dared to breach the forbidden topic.
“How about we go after Blanca together?”
As soon as she heard that name, her expression shifted dramatically.
“What did you just say?”
“No need to second-guess. You heard me right. If you genuinely didn’t hear me, I can repeat it.”
Ageha stared at me silently before grinding her teeth, then began chanting a spell to bind me with magic.
“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that this time, but get out. I don’t plan on giving you a second warning.”
“I’m not joking.”
“Neither am I.”
“You want to catch her too, don’t you? How long are you planning to keep living like this?”
“You don’t have the right to meddle.”
“Oh, but I do. We’re friends, after all. Watching you live like you’re half-dead? How am I not supposed to be worried?”
“I never asked for your concern!”
“I know, and it’s because I care about you that I want to catch Blanca! Before you drift any further down the wrong path, I want to pull you back, no matter how!
“She’s not even a friend!!!”
Ageha threw all pretense of politeness to the wind and shouted with a voice that felt like it would tear apart.
“If she were, I wouldn’t have told you not to come!!!”
With that, the fight just intensified, and soon enough, she began to lose steam, slowly breaking down.
The spell that had been tightening like a vice, threatening to split her in two, seemed to wane and dissolve.
“Enough… just stop. Just leave.”
“You haven’t given up yet, have you?!”
“I said, get out…!”
Ageha pointed at the door, but her hand shook with a pitiful tremor.
“If we do nothing, nothing will change! I want to fight, to struggle as long as I can!”
“What do you think will change if we just sit here…?!”
She was trembling, visibly breaking down, no longer capable of pretending to be strong.
While sobbing, she insisted she had already done everything in her power, but it had been useless, a futile scream.
She tried calling, texting, even attempted some magic, and even hired someone with cash.
“But nothing has changed…! You think just adding one more person to the mix will make a difference?!”
Ageha sneered at me, demanding to know what I thought would change with just one more person in our group.
“It’s not just one. It’s several.”
“What…?”
“Not everyone, but at least more than half are willing to help catch Blanca.”
She looked shocked, clearly having never heard that before, before awkwardly recoiling, saying it made perfect sense since she wasn’t getting any texts back.
“If she knew that, she would’ve responded…,” she said defensively, knowing deep down that they probably wouldn’t respond, moving on to her next thought.
“Whether it works or not, we’re going to try to catch Blanca. I know it’s dangerous; I know it sounds crazy. But I still want to fight. What about you?”
“I…”
Ageha hesitated before slowly continuing.
“I dreamed of being a hero so perfect that even she would be impressed. I wanted to win in every way, achieving absolute victory. Maybe I’m already past that point, but…”
She slowly stood up, wiped her tears, and revealed eyes filled with resolve.
“This time, I want to beat her.”
Ageha declared that she would join us.
“So, who’s joining us in this little escapade?”
“Alice, Seolhwa, Changwon, Yeonhwa, Jinhyeon, and me. Now you’re added to the list.”
Ageha said just hearing their names made her feel reassured, then curiously asked if Lapiz was coming too.
“I… haven’t told Lapiz yet. I’m planning to speak to her tomorrow, but… I honestly don’t know if she’ll agree.”
“Is it because of her condition?”
“That, and also whether her parents or grandparents will allow it is uncertain.”
Stating the truth made it hard to predict how Lapiz would react, adding to my greatest fears about bringing it up again.
After all, she had taken a hit so severe she could hardly control her abilities that day, and I feared the aftermath of discussing it now.
Ageha sighed, showing she understood to some extent how Lapiz would react.
“I hope this helps her regain some strength.”
“Me too.”
“But hey, if you’re making such a big declaration about catching her, I assume you’ve already got a plan all laid out?”
“Nope?”
“What?”
“I’m just starting to make one. How to meet her, how to fight, how to defeat her, and how we’ll deal with her afterward… I haven’t the foggiest idea.”
“Come on, you can’t be serious.”
“Everyone’s a mess, and I just thought of something that could tie us together like this.”
Ageha shot a sharp look my way, asking if that was really the main goal all along.
I didn’t deny it; honestly, it was one of the objectives.
It wasn’t about reverting everything back to the way it was; I simply wanted to pull my friends out of this swamp of despair.
“Watching you all sulk was tough for me.”
“You’re such a selfish person.”
“That isn’t wrong.”
I had to do what I felt was right for my own sake.
After Blanca left, I found myself drowning in endless thoughts. Why did she leave?
I came up with all sorts of theories, but none of them felt right.
As I spent each day in regret, a thought suddenly struck me.
Maybe she didn’t believe in me enough.
Looking back, I must’ve seemed pitifully frantic, always on edge, too afraid of failing. Those were probably the only sides she saw of me.
From now on, I decided I would make her believe in me.
Even if I couldn’t tell if I was on the right path or the wrong one—
I was determined to trust in every step I took, at the very least.
So when I met her again, I wouldn’t have to feel ashamed.