Lilia's Tale: Freyja's Endeavor

Chapter 12: Shockwave

The place was getting eerie and uncomfortable as we waited, murmurs and whispers clouding the atmosphere. The fact every single student was in sleepwear only amplified this effect, creating a truly dreadful sense of emergency gathering.

I wasn't immune to it, as tension slowly built up in my mind. I ended up getting nervous enough that I grabbed and tightly hugged the Cataract in an attempt to comfort myself.

Right as I did, Mark came in from the front door. Everyone went silent in a heartbeat, making the already eerie atmosphere suddenly turn as if straight out of a horror film. Tanaka-san looked at everyone, then exclaimed:

"I'm sure you all have felt the sudden shockwave. We believe to have found the culprit and have restrained it. We'll have to confirm it, but we should all be safe from now on."

Whispers and talks restarted that very instant. Some were crying in joy, others in relief, while some assumedly talked about the sudden revelation. Personally, I was simply filled with a sense of guilt I could not bear. I slowly waddled back to my room and placed the artefact where it used to stand.

I slowly climbed back to my bed and stared at it. I still had no idea why I did what I did, but something serious happened because of it, both for everyone and for me. I remembered feeling an odd attachment to the object before, but that had been magnified many times over now.

"Lilia..?" Sayuri shyly said.

"Uh, yeah?"

"Are we really going to be okay?"

"I mean, if the principal says it, most likely yes."

"Then... Do you know what that shockwave was?"

I felt my heart sink as soon as she asked that.

"Why do you ask?"

"W-Well, you're smart and you didn't seem scared like everyone else..."

I didn't know what to say. I knew I was at fault, but admitting it was a horrible idea regardless of how I thought about it. I had to quickly find an answer.

"Honestly, I'm not sure. They said they found the culprit but not what it was, so I can't find a good answer. Sorry."

"I see..."

She sounded dejected but it felt like she believed me. I was relieved, though I had other worries currently. The primary one I had was for Riogh, Greg and Souji. I hoped the shockwave didn't affect them too badly.

I ended up falling asleep thinking about them, waking up the next day feeling very sluggish. It was barely day outside. I struggled out of the bed and changed clothes as Sayuri was waking up.

"Did you manage to fall back asleep?" I asked.

"Not really..."

"Well, today is Saturday so it'll be okay to sleep a little more."

"You think so?"

"Yeah, just don't oversleep, okay?"

She nodded and headed back into her bed. I quietly told her good night before leaving the room and going to the common area. Surprisingly, there were many people already, including a few teachers.

I went directly to Koko-sensei, who was in the crowd. She saw me and did the same.

"Lilia, do you have a moment?"

"Yeah, I was just about to ask you about yesterday."

"So was I. Have you or your moth noticed anything strange?"

"Well, yeah, something felt odd, but we couldn't find what."

"What about the magic shockwave?"

I knew the question would come up, and I wasn't ready to answer it. I tried to find a way to dodge the question as I could, but nothing particularly meaningful came to mind.