*How strange.*

  The silver-haired woman who threw away her name couldn't help but think that as she stared at the young man.

  The young man was weak. Frail. He cked the physique of a fighter, adventurer, or even a mage. Too thin and delicate. And yet, for her sake, he had reached out his hand and put his life on the line.

  The silver-haired woman gently knelt on the grass and then shifted the young man's head to rest on her thighs. "It is not much, but I hope it helps." She murmured and tenderly brushed aside a few of his blonde bangs.

  It was an unexpected situation.

  The silver-haired woman had outlived her usefulness. And so, she was to be disposed of. She had been sure that she would never wake again, or if she did, it would be as just an outlet for some deviant.

  However, it was expected.

  Those of her kind were fated to such an end. And so she had resigned herself.

  There was no future. Rescue and salvation was an impossibility.

  ...She had learned that from a young age. Those of her kind and people were destined to burn bright and burn out.

  It was common knowledge. So common that even the most righteous of men and women who came across her defenseless self would have let her be, or ended her outright as a pity.

  And yet...

  "You did not." The woman murmured and tenderly caressed the young man's face, trying to ease his troubled sleep. "You still reached out your hand."

  He had been worried. He had been concerned. He had debated again and again. But even so, he had chosen to free her. To do what others would not.

  "So naive..." The silver-haired woman murmured and tucked a strand of the young man's hair behind his ear. "To save one without a future like me..." She pursed her lips together, suppressing the faint tremor in her heart.

  Naive... yes. This young man could only be called naive.

  She did not know how the young man managed to release her seals and recim her consciousness. Nor did she know how he managed to disrupt that magician's magic to free her bounds. But she knew one thing for a fact.

  The young man was weak.

  The silver-haired woman shifted her crimson eyes across the young man's body, taking in his physique and attributes.

  ...Yes. The young man was weak. His body was thin, his stamina, poor. He cked any trace of mana and magical prowess. And from how he had held the pipe as a weapon earlier, he cked any formal training in combat.

  "And yet," the silver-haired woman muttered. "You reached out to me."

  It hadn't been without fear.

  The silver-haired woman saw the desperation and terror in the young man's eyes when he realized what he had done.

  But he did not run. He did not leave her behind. As if it was natural, he clung to her hand and pulled her with him.

  The silver-haired woman caressed his cheek and leaned over him, her silver hair brushing against his clothes. "Naive. Foolhardy... and yet charmingly so." She murmured, her words drifting close enough for her lips to brush his own. But she paused and leaned back.

  The young man didn't give his name. He didn't say where he was from or why he was in such a deserted area to begin with.

  And so, the silver-haired woman knew next to nothing about him. Even so, she knew enough.

  A naive, caring, and stubborn young man. One who decided to partake in the foolish, clumsy, and doomed endeavor to bring her back to reality.

  "Yes. If it's for someone like you..." The silver-haired woman smiled. An expression that caused her face to stiffen due to the unfamiliar muscle movements. And yet, one that she endured because of the true emotion she was finally feeling. "...I don't mind giving the rest of this short life."

  The time remaining was unclear. Whether a day, a month, a year, or more...

  She didn't know. Even so, there and then, she quietly swore to give him her all.

  No matter how little it amounted to in the end.

  ===

  A dream of a nostalgic past. Vibrant hues of a high school hallway pstered with posters. The chatter of energetic teenagers. Music bsting from people who didn't bother to wear headphones...

  'I'm dreaming.'

  Seeing that, Gray realized it was a dream- No, a memory. One that he had revisited too many times to ever forget.

  Blurred faces called out with muffled voices. Bits of conversation long forgotten, talking about school subjects.

  Gray ignored all of those and focused on the one person who remained vivid in this hazy world.

  A beautiful young girl with a kind smile. Long blonde hair that shimmered gold in the sunlight from the window behind her, and eyes as clear blue as the sky...

  His best friend.

  Seeing her, in the dream, Gray called out to her like usual. "How've you been, *****?"

  She didn't answer and just smiled.

  The Gray in the dream frowned, confused.

  But the Gray watching the dream sighed. Because he remembered it. All too clearly.

  A bell chimed and she vanished. The surroundings suddenly shifted.

  Gray looked around and saw himself standing in a dark cssroom. Again, everything was hazy. But there was one thing that was not.

  The overhead projector shining onto the bckboard to broadcast the school's morning news. And there, her picture, along with a trembling voice speaking in the background.

  "We regret to inform you that one of our students has passed away..."

  '...Yeah. It went like that.'

  "...After an investigation, we believe the cause of death to be..."

  Gray remembered. The day she vanished, never to be seen again. The words she left behind before he saw her the st time.

  *Hey. Don't follow me. Okay?*

  Gray clenched his fists. Both in the dream, and in reality.

  "...This is a statement from the school board. No more will we tolerate any instances of cyberbullying. Those that have been found to break these rules..."

  It was too little, too te.

  Both the actions they took to remedy the situation.

  And the actions Gray should have taken to save her.

  That was the day it all changed.

  Gray remembered it. No, it was more like he couldn't forget. Because...

  *You have to live, Gray. For me, okay? Be happy.*

  ...He made a promise that he had to fulfill. A chain that prevented him from giving up his life even if he wanted to. A vow, an oath, and a pledge to his dearest friend who left for another world first.

  And her name was...

  ===

  "Eliza..." Gray muttered her name. He wasn't sure if it was a curse, a wish, a plea, or something else. There were too many emotions mixed into that single word, that single name to be clear now.

  And he didn't expect an answer. But surprisingly, he got one.

  "Eliza..." A delicate female voice. "Is that what you wish to call me?"

  Gray's eyes snapped open in shock. "What-?" Before he could say another word, his breath caught in his chest.

  A beautiful woman with silver hair and enchanting crimson eyes. With the blue sky framing her face, she looked otherworldly, like a goddess or fairy sent down to bless him.

  But Gray only focused on that for a moment before his gaze was drawn to something else. Two big things just a few inches away from his face.

  Perfectly round and supple orbs, with a bit of pure white skin visible from a few rips in the tattered shirt...

  Gray's eyes widened and he quickly scrambled away, his face burning hot.

  The silver-haired woman let out an amused smile, but didn't say anything.

  Gray swallowed and slowly stood up, brushing himself off and composing himself. 'Now... what the heck is going on...?'