My childhood friend had gone completely airheaded.
'She was pretty sharp as a kid, so how the hell did she end up like this?'
It wasn't really a question. More like self-reproach.
Honestly, I couldn't blame anyone else.
She'd turned out that way because of me. One hundred percent.
If I had to make excuses...
I'd just been really curious about the future I'd glimpsed of Ruena when we were young.
'Final boss? What the heck does that mean?'
I'd seen countless glimpses of other people's futures, but that was a first.
So, a bit of curiosity sparked, and
all I did was keep an eye on her and look after her a little, so I could peer deeper into her future.
She caught colds easily, so I'd bring her a blanket.
She could never get up in the morning on her own, so I'd go wake her every time.
She loved sweets, so I'd whip up desserts for her now and then.
"Celen, I can't find my hair tieee..."
"Celen, what was the homework from Teacher Hanna again?"
"Oh, it's Celen! ...Whaaaat?!"
…Before I knew it, she couldn't do anything without me.
And she was from the House of Eliad, no less, yet utterly hopeless at anything physical.
She'd pinch her hand in doors,
walk straight into walls,
constantly lose her stuff,
and trip over nothing in an empty hallway while staring right at me, that klutz.
"...Found you. Ruena Eliad."
From the very first day at the academy, creeps started crawling out of the woodwork, gunning for her.
…This is gonna drive me insane. For real.