Chapter 168
Lea wanted to tell Calix about the hypothesis she had formed as soon as possible. She’d already mentioned some of it earlier, so maybe he had already figured it out, but she still wanted to tell him directly. Maybe it was because she liked it when he praised her and patted her head.
With her heart fluttering, Lea went to Calix’s tent, but finding it empty, she came back out. She walked, thinking of where Calix might be.
And then, unexpectedly, she saw it.
Calix and Lucy embracing.
Her brisk steps came to a halt on their own. She couldn’t believe she was witnessing a scene she’d seen so many times in the past, unfolding right in front of her eyes. She’d thought she could do anything for him and ask for nothing in return, but perhaps she had unconsciously deluded herself. That maybe, just maybe, he cherished her as well.
Not knowing how to handle this unexpected situation, she instinctively hid behind a nearby tent. Her heart pounded so hard it felt like it might burst, and she covered her mouth with her hand.
She hadn’t done anything wrong, but here she was, hiding like a criminal. When she saw Calix walk by, she finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Lea realized she was still living in the past. Everything she did to help him, even pushing herself to guide the Espers too much, was all because she didn’t want to repeat the mistakes of her previous life.
It felt like she was strangling herself with lingering regrets. As she sat there in a daze, crouched down, Lucy approached her. It seemed Lucy had been searching urgently, thinking Lea might be nearby.
“Um… are you all right?”
Lea was troubled to hear the voice of someone she really didn’t want to see right now. But she quickly composed herself and stood up with a calm expression.
“Yes, is something the matter?”
“I thought you might be sick. You were sitting down like that…”
“It’s nothing. Thank you for your concern.”
Lea tried to hurry past Lucy, but Lucy blocked her way.
“Could you do me a favor?”
“…What kind of favor?”
“I’ve been watching you, and you seem really skilled at guiding control. Could you teach me, too?”
Hearing that Lucy had been watching her made Lea feel a little uneasy. Come to think of it, Lucy had seemed interested in her in the past, too.
Now she was saying she wanted to learn about guiding control, but in the past, it was the opposite. She was the one who taught Lea. At the time, Lea had only just begun guiding Espers and was clumsy in many ways.
Back then, gripped by inferiority, Lea had assumed Lucy was trying to insult her and tried to keep her distance. The more she did, the colder the looks from those around her became.
Eventually, Calix had openly criticized Lea, saying a Guide who couldn’t even guide properly was useless, constantly comparing her to Lucy and praising Lucy instead.
As Lea silently stared, Lucy’s smile slowly faded.
“…If you don’t want to, you can just say so. I’m not a Guide who participated in the war, just an ordinary civilian, so of course you wouldn’t want to share your know-how with a Guide from the enemy nation.”
Lucy continued with a dejected expression.
“I just wanted to repay the Cantabrian soldiers who saved me. If you’ve misunderstood me, I’m truly sorry.”
After saying that, Lucy bowed deeply to Lea. Right then, some soldiers passing nearby witnessed the scene.
They were Esper soldiers, and they seemed to be moved by Lucy’s words. Once again, Lea felt a wave of déjà vu from Lucy’s speech and attitude, making her feel sick.
But this time, it wasn’t the urge to run away. It was a queasiness born of discomfort.
“Would you hold out your hand?”
“…What?”
At Lea’s unexpected words, Lucy looked up at her, wide-eyed. Lea smiled gently and held out her hand first.
“You said you wanted to learn how to control, right? I was impressed by your heartfelt request, Miss Lucy.”
Lea lowered her eyes with a gentle, benevolent smile. Now she understood a bit. In the past, she’d been too foolish and impatient to realize what Lucy was after. Now she could see it.
“…Oh, so you weren’t upset with me?”
Lucy tried to steer the conversation to get the reaction she wanted, but Lea didn’t play along. After thinking about Lucy for so long, she finally felt relieved to have reached a conclusion. It turned out she was just as shortsighted as anyone else.
“I’ve never said I disliked you. But, as I’ve felt before, Miss Lucy, you do seem to have a tendency to interpret things as you please.”
“No! That’s not it—”
“Isn’t it?”
“No, it’s just… you didn’t look well…”
Lucy’s voice trailed off as she glanced around. In that brief moment, many soldiers had gathered with curious expressions. They looked on with satisfaction at the friendly sight of the two Guides, Lea from their side and the kind-hearted Lucy.
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