Raphne Bell Martinez opened her eyes.

What she saw was a familiar ceiling.

Her room in the Girls' Dormitory at Dedris Academy.

“Ha-yawn…”

Yawning as she greeted the familiar morning, Raphne blankly sat up on the bed.

She felt a strange sensation, as if she had just woken up from a long dream, and she gazed into space for a moment.

Why was that?

Even though she had slept well, a part of her felt itchy, stifled, and uneasy.

It was her cosy room, but for some reason, it felt awkward and uncomfortable.

And then.

And then there was a name that kept coming to mind.

“…Ken.”

Why was that?

Was it because she was curious about his whereabouts since he hadn’t been coming to the academy recently?

But even so, speaking his name made the uneasiness in her chest grow stronger.

That unsettling feeling cleared Raphne's groggy mind.

Raphne immediately got up and began preparing to go to the academy.

After finishing all her preparations.

Putting extra effort into her appearance today, she left her dormitory room.

‘…Why am I rushing so much?’

Even though she was the one walking, Raphne herself felt puzzled.

Surely, she had plenty of time.

She doesn't usually care much even if she's late.

But Raphne's steps were quickening.

And the name kept echoing in her mind.

‘…Ken, …Ken. …Ken!’

Without realising, she kept thinking of his name as she started to run, quickly reaching the academy.

After dropping her bag in her classroom, she immediately headed elsewhere.

She was off to another class.

━Thud thud thud thud thud!

As she neared that classroom, a smile began to spread across her face.

Arriving at the front door of the classroom, Raphne energetically threw it open and shouted.

"Ken━!!"

Ken Feinstein, who hadn't been to the academy recently.

For some reason, she was sure he would be there today, so she confidently called out for him and looked around his usual spot.

"…Who is that?"

But he was nowhere to be seen. Instead, there was just a stranger, smiling brightly and looking at her.

"…Why is that guy in Ken's seat?"

Displeased, Raphne stomped angrily towards him.

As she got closer, the boy sitting in Ken's seat shifted from a bright smile to a flustered one.

"...Hi? ...Raphne."

'...Does he know me?'

The boy greeted her by name while waving his hand.

But Raphne had no idea who he was.

"Who are you?"

“Who... are you?”

I couldn’t understand what Raphne was saying for a moment.

But the look in her eyes told me what she meant.

A cold gaze from Raphne, something I had never seen directed at me before.

I couldn't have imagined her looking at me like that.

"…I am..."

Despite the confusion, I opened my mouth to answer her question.

I believed saying my name might bring back her usual demeanour.

But somewhere in my mind, I rejected that thought.

I couldn’t easily bring myself to speak.

The cold atmosphere filled the classroom.

─Click.

Someone opened the back door of the classroom and came in.

Because the noise suddenly pierced the silent classroom, I naturally turned my gaze towards the back door.

There I met Emily’s eyes.

"...Huh?"

Emily looked as if she had seen a ghost the moment she found me.

"Oh, ohhh?!"

Pointing her index finger at me, she blushed and shouted in surprise.

Then she quickly ran over to me.

"K-Ken?! Is that really you?"

"Ken... is it?"

Reacting to Emily's urgent call, Raphne, who was by her side, shot a chilly glance.

And the other students who had been watching the situation began to murmur among themselves.

"Ken? Did Emily just call him Ken?"

"Then, is that really Ken over there?"

"No way, Emily must be mistaken."

Their disbelief was evident.

But Emily didn't care about their responses or Raphne's piercing eyes as she continued talking.

"Did you, did you... did you lose weight?"

"...Yeah."

"So you don't need to eat loads anymore?"

"...That's right."

Emily’s face brightened instantly with a bright smile at my answer.

Then, noticing my gaze, she turned her head and cleared her throat, "Ahem."

The reason I looked at her sceptically was simple.

‘She doesn’t know I lost weight.’

This wasn’t just Emily, but Raphne too.

In fact, Raphne didn’t even recognize me at first.

So even now, she’s glaring at me with a doubtful look.

"Are you really Ken?"

"...Yes."

"You haven’t been coming to the academy lately; did you lose weight during that time?"

"..."

I didn't answer; I just stared at her.It felt like being hit on the back of the head with an unbelievable truth.

From the conversation just now, it was clear.

Raphne's piercing stares and Emily's eyes, which kept avoiding my gaze.

They do not remember me.

At least, the memory of conquering the Tower of Tarlos together has completely disappeared.

“…Hey.”

Amidst the confusing situation, just as I was about to ask them something,

━Creak!

The front door of the classroom opened again.

“Raphne! Emily!”

Mary stood there with a cold, wrathful presence.

“Tsk.”

Raphne clicked her tongue as soon as she saw her, and Mary quickly approached me.

“Are you… bullying Ken again?!”

She positioned herself between me and the other two, shielding me with her back.

Looking at her back, I was a bit surprised.

‘…She recognized me immediately.’

She must be like the other two as well.

Since she said, 'Are you bullying Ken again?'

Raphne used to bully me in the first year, and it had been a long time since Emily bothered me.

Yet now, she spoke as if this bullying had been happening recently.

“Hmph, forget it. I'm going back."

Raphne, after a brief staredown with Mary, turned her head and approached the front door.

━Creak.

As she was about to leave the classroom, she glanced back at me.

It wasn't a glare, but a very gentle look.

Seeing that, Emily sighed and returned to her seat. She sat down with a thud, propped her chin on her hand, and glanced at me sideways.

"Ken, are you okay?"

Once the situation settled, Mary looked at me with her usual expressionless face.

“…Do you recognize me?”

“What? What do you mean… Oh, now that I think about it, you’ve lost a lot of weight. I was worried since you've been missing from the Academy lately… Were you on a diet?"

I had asked Mary if she remembered what happened in the Tower of Tarlos, but she gave a completely unrelated answer.

I looked at her attentively.

The top she was wearing now—it was definitely the raincoat imbued with magic that I had made for her.

"Alright then, I'll check on you again during the next break."

Once she confirmed that I was safe, Mary left the classroom with a gentle smile.

Her attitude towards me was as kind as it had been before I altered the past.

...What on earth is going on?

After the morning commotion settled down and time passed, classes started, but I couldn’t concentrate at all.

All I could think about was Raphne’s intense gaze as she glared at me.

And the reason she had changed so much.

There was only one plausible explanation.

The fact that she was the Child of Prophecy had been erased, altering the present.

Originally, Raphne was cursed and trapped in the Tower due to her fate as the Child of Prophecy.

But I had changed that fate.

This meant that Raphne continued to stay at the Academy without being trapped in the Tower.

Judging by the reactions of the students and Mary earlier, it seemed that Raphne had been bullying me continuously since our first year.

And then there was Emily.

I had first met her when I saved her from a monster in the forest.

That incident had nothing to do with being the Child of Prophecy, so it must have unfolded the same way.

That’s why Emily recognized me immediately despite my changed appearance.

From my memory, Emily started bullying me from that moment onwards.

Mary’s reaction likely indicated that she had been bullying me all along.

I had a guess as to why.

The turning point in our relationship.

It was due to the event triggered by the Demon King's Army's invasion to find the Child of Prophecy—the ten-day loop. But now, that event never occurred.

"…Sigh."

I let out a deep sigh.

To sum it up, I had definitely succeeded in altering Raphne’s fate.

However, as a result, any incident related to the Child of Prophecy ceased to exist.

‘Why didn't I consider this…’

While focusing on the potential chaos that might engulf the world due to the altered history of the Child of Prophecy, I neglected to think about smaller incidents.

Yet, the world remained peaceful, while my surroundings plunged into confusion.

Most of all, there was Raphne's gaze.

To be honest, it was incredibly painful.

‘…Raphne.’

I recalled her face, always smiling kindly at me.

I had promised to take responsibility for her.

Risking my life to conquer the tower was all for that.

But it all became meaningless.

‘No, but I did protect Raphne from the Demon King's Army…’

When I thought about it like that, I felt some things couldn't be helped.

After all, the most crucial outcome was ensuring Raphne's safety.

"…Sigh."

Nevertheless, I couldn’t stop sighing.

In the end, I spent the entire day thinking about the changed Raphne.

Before I knew it, classes had ended, the sun was setting, and it was time for everyone to go home.

"Ken, shall we go home together?"

As classes ended, Mary gently approached me after opening the classroom door.

Come to think of it, before I broke Raphne's Curse, I often walked home with Mary.

"I'm sorry. I plan to stay a bit longer."

“Oh… is something wrong?”

Mary asked with a worried look, noticing my odd demeanour.

“No, really, it’s okay.”

“…If you say so. See you tomorrow, Ken."

Mary nodded at my words, waved her hand, and left the classroom.

I then looked out the window, where the sun was setting.

"…Sigh."

The reason I was sitting there, sighing, was because I felt that going back to the dormitory now would make me truly realise that everything had changed.

In my original routine, I wouldn't head straight to the dormitory but would go to Raphne's Tower first. We would have dinner there, and then I'd return to the dormitory.

But now, Raphne is probably staying in the Girls' Dormitory. The tower where we spent time together might as well not exist anymore.

The thought made me feel too melancholic to get up from my seat.

'What should I do now...'

Raphne doesn't remember me. More precisely, all the memories we built together have vanished.

And what remains are only the memories of her tormenting me.

Our current relationship is nothing more or less than that of a bully and the bullied.

That reality was extremely painful.

‘…Let's go.’

Realising that just sitting and staring out of the window wouldn’t change anything, I got up powerlessly from my seat.

Then I approached the back door and opened it.

━Creak.

"…Ah."

"Huh?"

I found Raphne leaning against the wall near the back door.

When she saw me, she was startled, her eyes widening in surprise.

Then she immediately frowned and glared at me.

"Why are you coming out so late!"

She scolded me.

"What do you mean, why am I late… Did you wait for me?"

"Ha, can't you tell?"

"…Why?"

There shouldn't be any reason for Raphne to wait for me.

If it were before the past changed, it would make sense because we used to go back together.

But now, there’s no connection between us.

She goes back to her dormitory, and I go back to mine.

Yet here she was, waiting for me.

'Does she need something from me?'

The only thing that came to mind was bullying.

Could she be planning to torment me even after class?

Thinking that, I looked at Raphne nervously.

But Raphne didn’t do anything to me. She just turned around and started walking away.

Then, she quickly turned her head to look at me and said,

"What are you doing? Aren’t you coming?"

"…Huh? Oh, uh, yeah."

At her glaring command, I followed behind her.

‘Here?’

The path she led me on was entirely different from what I had imagined.

I thought she might take me somewhere secluded and do something terrible.

But the path we were on was familiar; it was the way back to the dormitories.

‘…What’s going on?’

At this rate, we were heading straight for the Girls' Dormitory. And beyond that, there was the Boys' Dormitory.

Yet Raphne walked a step ahead without saying much.

"...Are we walking home together?"

"...Hic!"

When I accidentally muttered that, Raphne’s head jerked reflexively, and a cute squeak escaped her.

Then she swiftly turned around with a flushed face and glared at me.

“Wh-who said anything about walking home together with you?! It’s just a coincidence we’re going the same way!”

“Oh, I see.”

After she finished speaking, Raphne turned her back on me and continued walking forward.

I stared blankly at her retreating figure.

Then, after putting some distance between us, she turned around again.

“What are you doing?! Hurry up!”

She shouted at me, still with a red face.

Without thinking, I let out a small laugh.

After that, I hurried to catch up with her and walked back to the dorm with her.

‘We’re walking home together.’

She said otherwise, but her intentions seemed clear.

Without much conversation, we just walked side by side.

And naturally, we first arrived at the Girls' Dormitory.

As we reached the main gate of the dormitory, Raphne, who was walking ahead of me, suddenly stopped in her tracks.

Seeing this, I scratched my cheek and thought about what to do.

I then turned towards the Boys' Dormitory and greeted her.

"Well, see you tomorrow. Goodbye."

We hadn't talked much, but since we walked home together, it felt right to say goodbye.

As I took a step towards my dormitory,

━shk.

Suddenly, my collar was pulled.

Wondering what was going on, I looked back.

There was Raphne, her face flushed red, staring down with a frustrated expression while holding my collar.

“Uh, Raphne?”

“I’ll... walk you.”

“What?”

Her softly mumbled words reached my ears.

When I asked again, Raphne glared at me with a face even more red.

“I’ll... walk you to the Boys' Dormitory.”

‘...Why?’

The words almost slipped out in surprise, but I just kept my mouth shut and nodded.

Then Raphne walked ahead of me again as I followed her.

‘...What on earth is going on?’

We clearly reached Raphne’s dormitory.

But she didn’t return; instead, she followed me toward the Boys' Dormitory.

As my mind filled with questions, her swaying red hair caught my eye.

At that moment, I suddenly remembered the Raphne from before the past was changed.

It felt like if I called her name now, the Raphne from my memory would turn around with a bright smile.

And with that thought, something brushed through my mind.

‘...Could it be?’

Shortly after, we completely arrived at the Boys' Dormitory.

Even after arriving, Raphne hesitated and didn’t leave.

She just stood there with her arms crossed, glancing away from me.

“Um, Raphne.”

“...What.”

“Aren’t you going back?”

“...”

At my question, Raphne's shoulders shook, and she glanced at me nervously before looking away again.

“...I will go back.”

“Okay, then goodbye.”

“Uh, what?! Wa-wait!”

As I moved at her response, a flustered Raphne grabbed my arm to stop me.

“Uh, I, I don’t know why...”

Then, looking confused as to why she was doing this, she stared at her own hand gripping my arm.

Seeing her reaction, I turned back towards her, facing her squarely.

And I decided to say something I had been thinking about this whole time on my way back to the dormitory.

“Um, Raphne.”

“Huh, yeah?”

This was partly to see her reaction.

But it was also a sincere truth from deep within my heart.

“I like someone.”

“...What?”

My sudden statement was clearly unexpected and strange.

A normal person would probably tilt their head or frown in confusion.

But when Raphne heard my words, her face became calm, and she looked at me with a serious expression.

Then, she continued speaking.

“What kind of girl?”

In that moment, I saw a familiar look in her eyes.

They weren’t the eyes that glared at me, but rather, ones that had lost their light and turned hollow.

They were not the eyes of someone who had no connection with me since the past had changed.

Seeing that look, a smile crept onto my face as I answered.

"She's a girl I promised to protect. For the rest of my life."

“......”

Raphne stared blankly at me after hearing my response.

Then, suddenly, she started trembling and glared at me with tear-filled eyes.

Blushing, she began to cry.

“...I'm leaving.”

With those words, she turned and began heading back to the Girls’ Dormitory.

As I watched her walk away, I could feel a mix of emotions—anger, sadness, frustration—radiating from her.

‘…No matter how I think about it, this isn’t how Raphne, who always tormented me, would react.’

Standing still and watching her retreating figure, I started to believe more firmly in my hypothesis.

I had feared that by changing Raphne's destiny, and thereby erasing our connection, I had lost everything.

All the memories I had built with Raphne, Emily, and Mary, and everyone else were gone.

But Raphne's response just now reassured me.

‘Not everything is completely gone.’

For reasons unknown, her feelings towards me still lingered.

The first hint of this thought came from her insistence on walking me to the Boys' Dormitory earlier.

Raphne didn’t want to part ways with me.

She always wants to be with me, and feels uneasy when I'm not around.

And that stems from the curse that made Raphne obsess over me while she was trapped in the tower.

The behaviour she showed wasn't something you'd expect from a Raphne who had no connection to me due to the altered past.

But just now, she clearly showed signs of obsession towards me.

And then there were those eyes in the end.

The murderous glint in her eyes when I mentioned I had someone I loved made me certain of my thoughts.

‘...I'll do whatever it takes.’

Watching Raphne's figure grow distant, I clenched my fist.

I made up my mind.

No matter what, I'll reclaim the memories hidden within Raphne.

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