42 At The Garden Again

"Are you going to the garden again?" Gaos asked, his tone, bored, and I just nodded. I guess the garden really did become one of the places in the Royal Academy that I like. Well, being surrounded by nature can make you feel at peace at times – especially after having that talk with Headmaster Roderic and after what happened during the Elemental Magic lesson

"Are you not angry about what happened earlier?" Gaos asked another question as I continue to make my way towards the garden.

"Does it look like I'm not affected?" As a response, I also asked a question. I heard him click his tongue.

"That's not an answer, human. Well, you just seemed too calm about it." I hummed.

"I'm not angry, but I definitely didn't like the situation. As for why I can be so calm, Gaos... did you lose your memories?"

At this, he exclaimed, "You! I didn't! Are you really that good at lying or pretending or something? You two-face!" I didn't respond anymore, but a small smile graced my lips. The last time he called me two-face was probably way back on my debut.

"– Hey! Are you listening?"

"We're here." I said, looking at the garden's entrance that's just a few steps away from me.

"Hey!"

Ignoring Gaos, I entered the garden, and as beautiful and different kind of flowers enters my field of view, I immediately felt more relaxed.

I walked towards one of the empty tables and chairs to sit down.

Since the Elemental Magic lesson finished much earlier than the said or supposedly scheduled time, right now, it's still 3:16 PM. It was just 2:39 PM when I went to the Headmaster's Office, and Headmaster Redoric finished talking to me around 3:05.

I looked at the sky that's still blue and bright, the sunlight greeting me as I do. Although the sun is still obviously out, the umbrella with a long handle that's attached in the middle of the table is shielding me from it – However, even without it, I'll probably be fine as well, since for the past few years I've been staying in this world, I've noticed that the sunlight here isn't that hot. Or to be more specific, it doesn't feel like your skin has the possibility of burning.

In this world, there's also 4 seasons; Summer, Autumn, Spring, and Winter.

Summer happens around January to May, Autumn happens during June, Spring is around July to September, and finally, Winter happens around November to December.

Although it can rain, and it can range from weak to strong rainfalls, it doesn't become as strong as a typhoon, and in this world, I've never really heard or seen any typhoon happen. A natural disaster like Earthquake and such can still happen though, but it's definitely rare.

"This is your plan? To simply sit here and do nothing?" Gaos said, obviously complaining and not agreeing with what I'm currently doing.

I glanced at my wristwatch. 3:24 PM, "Don't you have those times where you simply want to get lost on your own mind?" I just said.

"What nonsense?"

Then, just as I was about to respond again, I heard footsteps. Silent, but footsteps nonetheless. I was just looking at the empty table, but when I heard the footsteps getting closer until it finally stopped, I looked up.

Emerald eyes meet my pink ones.

Anastasia.

– Surprisingly, it was her who spoke first, "Do you like... gardens?" she asked, face and tone of voice still as cold as ever. This scenario reminds me of when I deliberately went into the garden in an attempt to get closer to her. The difference is that this time, it was her who unexpectedly approached me first.

"I do, I guess." I answered.

Then, it was silence.

Somehow, I felt a sense of deja vu. I couldn't help but stare at her for a moment Last time, we talked about how we both like flowers, which can also imply that we like gardens as well since it's a place for flowers, but Anastasia still asked me if I like gardens. Could... this mean that she wanted to talk to me but couldn't think of anything to say so she asked me this instead? Or is this just me thinking too much and almost acting like a narcissist?

I thought of all the possibilities and what if's, but in the end, it was all denied and rejected by my rotational self.

"... Thank you for earlier." I decided to bring up what happened earlier.

Now that I think about it, a lot of things seemed to have been happening today. The male teacher from earlier, talking with Headmaster Roderic, and now, I'm talking to Anastasia.

"I... simply helped a classmate in need." She said, then she turned her head sideways to look at the flowers placed near us. I blinked. She called me 'classmate', which obviously means that she still hasn't considered me as a friend yet. She... must have definitely helped me earlier because she saw a person that needs help. Maybe it's also because although it hasn't been that long, we already had some conversations and interactions with each other, giving her more reason to not ignore what's happening.

"... Do have something planned for that teacher?" She asked another question that caught me off guard. This question should be something more personal – in my own opinion, at least.

But I think Anastasia is also quite aware of that, after all, we're 'kind of the same' when it comes to things like this. We have this line or boundary of what's too personal and what's not. The only difference is that I'm probably more closed off.

Just before I was about to answer, Anastasia looked at me, and in that usual cold expression of hers, there was a slight crack that shows an almost unnoticeable nervousness that stunned me a little.

"You don't have to answer that."

"I do." I quickly said. This is obviously a chance. How could I let go of an opportunity wherein it's Anastasia herself that's proposing it to me?

"Just earlier, I had a talk with the Headmaster. That teacher is going to get removed from RA." I continued on.

Then this time, it was me who decided to ask to bold question with a little hint of ambiguity, "Are you worried about that?" – about me? I know she really isn't but... this should at least give her a clue that I care about what she thinks.

She avoided my eyes, "A teacher like that shouldn't be in RA." A paused, "You... really are quite different from what I know." Hearing that statement all of a sudden, I remembered the unanswered question I asked her before during the Mana Control lesson.

"How do you expect me to be?"

There seem to be a brief of hesitance before she looked at me again and finally answered, "... I'm not sure either, but I guess I did hear the rumors about you – I didn't believe those that much." Maybe it's just me, but I felt like this is the longest sentence she has said to me, if not all time, then definitely for this day. If it were someone else that would tell me that they don't believe those rumors about me that much, perhaps I wouldn't be able to believe them right away.

Since I know how easy it can be for a person to believe in those sometimes, even without any concrete evidence or seeing them with their own eyes.

But if it's Anastasia, I can believe it.

If you heard some rumors and you somehow became curious or interested in them, I think it's quite normal to think about it or have some speculations, and such. It can be kind of unavoidable to do so. But what's not good is to come up with a conclusion when you have no proof or believe in those rumors when you don't even know that much. Even worse, you get more involved, doing or saying something yourself that can not be undone.

Other people might not share the same opinion or thoughts and ideas that I have though, and that's perfectly normal since we're all different.

But... I thought about Anastasia's answer. 'I'm not sure either'... there's that vagueness again, but could this also mean that she doesn't want to say or talk about it more? If that's the case, then why? Either way, this is just a guess.

"I see, it's a relief to know that you do not hate me, at least." I said, giving her a small smile. Her expression seems to freeze for a moment, before returning to her usual cold expression. It disappeared as quickly as it appeared. The silence was back again, but time, it doesn't feel awkward.

"I... should go." She said, and I nodded, "I'll be leaving you now, Aksia." Just as I was about to nod again, I stopped, realizing that she called me by my first name again. When she called me Aksia in the classroom earlier, I thought it was just out of recklessness or suddenness because of the situation, and she would immediately go back well to calling me 'lady Euridice', but this... is just us having a casual conversation.

The deja vu feeling didn't disappear.

This time, instead of me leaving first, it was Anastasia who turned around first, walking towards the garden's entrance and exit, leaving me to watch her leave, stunned and feeling slightly happy.

I'm one step closer.