Hope it's as emotional as it sounded in my head.

On another note, I messed up in previous chapters and called the Magic Ministry the Magic University. I will change that, but right now my heartbeat is too fast and I need to sweat the coffee off. Just keep it in mind, okay?

The rustling of metal against metal made his consciousness return, though he didn't fully wake up until Campbell reached out to touch him. At which point Hachiman caught her arm reflexively.

"Eeep!" The light mage jumped, startled out of mind like she had been jumped by a mugger.

Hachiman wasn't a mugger, of course. But his sudden jolt broke through the silence in the room so suddenly he would also have been startled if he wasn't already.

"What?!" Sophia bounced off the matress and landed squarely on her feet after her makeshift pillow bodily threw her away.

Hachiman hadn't known she was there, but seeing her helped him calm down a lot... Well, somewhat. He still didn't know where he was, or when he got there. But seeing his little sister in her night clothes clued him in enough to center in the main problem.

"It's… It's nothing, Ascart-sama." The light mage pulled out, but Hachiman held her still "I'm sorry for waking the two of you up."

"What are you doing here?" The reincarnation insisted, holding the blonde a bit tighter "What's happening?"

"I… I…" Campbell looked to Sophia, as if asking for help.

"Campbell." Hachiman called her out before she could start having a panic attack on him "Explain yourself. You aren't a pervert trying to sneak on me, are you?"

That would be a heartbreaker. Hachiman would not hesitate to call her out no matter her relationship with Claes… No, especially because of her relationship with the brunette. She was bound to be disappointed she was pouring all her heart and effort into a rascal like that.

"Nii-sama..."

"Not now." Hachiman turned to the little one before she could protest.

He was on edge as it was. And although he would usually relent to her, at the moment his mind was wholly occupied with the consequences of Campbell's answer.

"Of course not!" Campbell half-yelled half-whispered just in time for Hachiman to turn his attention back to her "I healed you and stayed to take care of you!"

What? Why? Hachiman seemed to be half asleep because her words didn't make a lot of sense. To begin with, that was not his room. And he didn't remember arriving there, nor at the academy for that matter. But that's besides the point.

"What is Ascart-sama even talking about…?" The shame was evident in her face, but her eyes pleaded like he was being unreasonable.

"Nii-sama..." Sophia kneeled on the bed, her bed eyes nowhere to be seen since she was woken up so suddenly "Everything's alright."

Maybe he was mistaken.

Her expression checked out, so Hachiman accepted her explanation and released her.

Campbell still looked confused, though. So before his mind calmed down he opened his mouth.

"Sorry to break it to you, but there exists a brand of degenerates that get off on seeing people sleep." Hachiman revealed this truth to the light mage, mercilessly popping her bubble of innocence before it could be smashed by the rest of her noble acquaintances "What's more, there are even worse perverts that sneak on people just to be scolded and treated like trash. Do be careful who you get along with."

The blonde stared at him like he was crazy, but would not find anything but seriousness in his face. Even if the silence stretched between them, Hachiman knew it was better for her to understand sooner than later, as mingling with Claes' group would probably make some quirks shared by nobles surface sooner or later.

Well, she knew Claes. Probably better than anyone else, so she must have had at least one encounter with these… Oddities.

"I… I see…" The light mage was speechless. It was probably too much for her to digest "A-Anyways, Mary-sama came. But I told her…"

"Mary-sama?" Sophia asked at the same moment her brother did.

"Hunt?" Hachiman had a nagging feeling he couldn't quite pinpoint. They didn't really get along, and given the level of light around it was still night. So why would she come to see him specifically?

Why did he feel like he was missing something important?

"Yes." Campbell replied "She seemed distressed, but Ascart-sama came back so tired I didn't want to bother by waking you up."

Distressed.

There was only one conversation they shared before he left.

Yeah, Hachiman knew what it was about.

"Alright, I'll see her." He stood up and did his belt and pants, which thankfully were still in place, while the blonde blocked his path.

"You can't, Ascart-sama. The situation…"

"Can wait." Hachiman didn't know this so-called situation, but there was someone waiting for him outside. He couldn't just pretend the girl didn't gather her courage to meet him so late after he just came back "Campbell, this might be important."

A small hand placed itself on his shoulder. He looked back at his sister's eyes, both of them trying to find something in the other's that clued them in on their thoughts.

He cheated by caressing her cheek and giving her a small smile.

"Go back to sleep, little one. I'll be back." He knew Sophia didn't want to comply. Hell, she would usually be the one telling him to listen. But he was still the elder brother in the end "Please."

Sophia dropped her eyes. She looked around the bed, her sour mood in full display while muttering to herself about him just coming back and needing to rest. That was alright. He was planning on keeping his word and resting after tying this particular loose end.

He turned his attention back to the light mage, who kept her arms parallel to her body to assert dominance. Hachiman wasn't someone that did a lot of physical contact, so it was quite awkward to take Campbell by the shoulders and gently push her aside so he could walk out to the door. And while Campbell didn't want to comply, the touch seemed to take her by enough surprise to let him do his thing.

"Nicol-sama. I'm sorry to be a bother." Hunt greeted him graciously when he opened the door.

She was surrounded by a bunch of knights, her dress more a night gown than an actual dress. But demure to the point Hachiman would have thought it was a lolita dress if it had had any frills.

She looked exactly as Campbell described her, though the small smile she placed on her features made her look exhausted as well.

Just as expected.

"Campbell, you must be tired." Hachiman called out while giving an understanding glance at the brunette outside "Rest for now, I'll come back."

"I… I'll come along!" Campbell was right at the door before he could reply. Which was weird, given how she hadn't been eager to be close to him just moments ago.

"It won't take long." Hunt replied "Please? It's a bit private, you see."

The blonde hesitated, and the silence stretched.

"...Fine, but let me heal you first." Campbell used her magic on Hachiman first, then on Hunt while staring at their eyes.

It was weird. Hachiman didn't feel different from this healing, but it seemed to calm Campbell a lot. She didn't protest any further, so the two were free to get some distance from prying eyes.

Hachiman stared at the tower, momentarily taken aback by its existence until he remembered he had already seen it before.

Dammit, he needed more sleep. Nothing made sense anymore.

"I'm sorry for taking your time like this, Nicol-sama." Hunt took him out of his thoughts with a sigh.

"It's fine." Hachiman didn't really know how to breach the subject. Truth be told, he felt a bit breathless from having Hunt call him out this suddenly, given how personal their last conversation was.

But it was precisely because it was personal that he had to comply.

So he waited.

They walked around the dormitory with nothing but the moon and each other's company to remind them the outside world existed. Not even a sound came from outside the earth walls, so they might as well have been the only two real people around. As if they occupied a small buble where nothing but the two was real.

"I confessed to Katarina-sama." Hunt finally whispered. Eyes cast down and her fingers intertwined with one another.

It was finally time. He knew it wouldn't work from the beginning. Hell, the plan was precisely for Hunt to be shut down so Claes' affair would remain a secret. But being confronted by his actions like this made him feel guilty.

He didn't play with Hunt's feelings. But his omission of the truth was heavy in his mind.

"I see." So Hachiman played along. He couldn't do anything but respect the girl's feelings by making it seem like he wasn't involved in this charade "I take it didn't go well."

Hunt sobbed once.

"She never saw me as anything but a friend. Not even after I…" Hunt brought her right hand to her lips. Eyes watering under the moonlight like a damsel out of a fairy tale "Don't get me wrong. It makes me happy. It's just…"

Hachiman closed his eyes. He didn't want to be there. He could imagine it, Hunt desperately trying to get Claes to see her in a romantic light. Kissing her in a fiery last effort to have Claes to share her feelings. Hunt was leagues braver than Hachiman was, yet her efforts were in vain.

She didn't have to go through that. It was his doing that she did. Selfishly imposing his worldviews on her mind like he knew better when he didn't. What was he thinking? It was unfair. He should have kept his mouth shut. But he could never when the situation called for it.

Not here, not in the previous world.

"I'm sorry." Hachiman whispered breathlessly.

"It's not Nicol-sama's fault." Hunt assured him even though it was.

"No one should have to go through that." He replied, trying to keep himself from spilling the truth then and there.

Hunt chuckled bitterly at that.

"You would know, huh."

Any other time he would have tried to defend himself. Instead, Hachiman shared her bitterness.

"Yes."

Strange. Somehow the silence wasn't as uncomfortable anymore. Maybe it was because Hunt was surprisingly calm about it. Not shedding more than a few tears before getting her composure back. Or maybe it was because they shared similar experiences. Hachiman had never felt something like that before, but he had heard similar experiences made bonds easier to form.

"Keith-sama saw." Hunt spoke, her voice a bit broken but clear enough "I don't know what happened between them. But I think he also sees Katarina-sama in a romantic way."

That made Hachiman's heart jump.

"What?"

Wait, wait, wait. He knew the Claes were weird. But having romantic feelings for his own sister is a bit…

"As expected, Nicol-sama is quite open-minded." No, Hunt. It wasn't as if he didn't find it strange. But being suddenly told something like that was too much.

Did she think he was also a devious person? That was far removed from being open-minded. That was… That…

"Don't even joke about it." Hachiman spat.

"Sorry." Hunt chuckled under her breath "Of course, I'm messing with Nicol-sama. Ah, but my suspicion is true. There are more sinister things at work, and Gerald-sama seems to believe Keith-sama had his mind tampered with."

Then that would mean these earth walls… Ah, it made more sense. A second confession would have been made, except a revelation like that could never go well. He must have freaked out and hid himself, trapping the whole school so his shame wouldn't be made public in the process. If it was by his own free will or not was irrelevant, the outcome would be the same.

Problem was, he didn't know how Claes reacted. Nor what his rash actions had already caused.

Dammit. Couldn't they at least wait until Hachiman had things sorted out?! This was all too much to assimilate in one night!

"Did someone blame you?" If Claes did, Hachiman wouldn't forgive her. It was all too easy to place the blame on others, to wash their hands and let someone handle the fall.

Claes didn't strike him as someone like that, yet he had to remember she was a skewed woman. He couldn't be sure how she would react in such a complicated situation.

"No, of course not." Hunt replied weakly "I haven't seen anyone since then, to begin with."

That didn't mean word didn't spread, but it did mean Hunt wouldn't know.

"You are not at fault for anything, Hunt. There is nothing wrong with your actions, nor your feelings or even what happened after." Hachiman stared at her downcast face.

Maybe that was what he wanted to hear, back in middle school. Maybe things would have gone differently if someone told him that. Maybe he wouldn't have wanted to run away, wouldn't have tried to enroll in Sobu to accomplish that, and wouldn't have died uselessly.

Maybe in another world, he would have succeeded in running away without losing Komachi… But no matter how much he thought about it, that outcome was forever out of his reach.

But not to Hunt.

Maybe, just maybe, his words came at the right moment. Even if this world had strange customs, and the common sense was completely different from his original world. Maybe this girl wouldn't have to 'die' to get away from everything. If words were so powerful he thought about the what ifs so much, then Hachiman hoped that they would be enough for this heartbroken girl.

He could only hope so.

No one deserved to cry before going to sleep.

"Thank you, Nicol-sama." Her eyes watered again, though she gave him a weak smile "I appreciate the sentiment."

"I told you before." Seriously. How stubborn could people be? If ears were meant to listen, then certainly understanding each other was not beyond reach, right? "I will always choose the truth. And the truth is that your feelings are as valid as Claes'. And you both will have to live with that."

"But Keith-sama…"

"His problems are his." Hachiman barked without thinking "You should not be concerned about him, who didn't even have the guts to face his feelings until he saw you pursuing yours."

Of course, his situation was far more complicated than that. But as he said, that wasn't Hunt's problem. Hachiman would deal with it somehow, but he needed a clearer situation to do so.

"Don't say that, Nicol-sama." Hunt smiled with a hint of true amusement "I might fall for you."

"You tell me this after calling out for a moment alone in the middle of the night?" He replied, more comfortable with the direction of the conversation "Hmp, could have fooled me."

She frowned, clearly mindful of her state of dress now. Though if Hachiman was being honest, her white gown looked more demure than her usual… Well, her usual cleavage.

"I am kidding, by the way." He added before she could embarrass both of them any more.

"Oh, Nicol-sama. If your personality was a little better… You would have people falling left and right for you." Hunt lamented "Your looks are wasted this way, please understand this as the tragedy it is."

"If that's how you compliment someone, then I can't help but look forward to your insults." Hachiman bit back.

"Hmmm." Was Hunt's eloquent answer "Either way, thank you."

"I just told the truth." Hachiman dismissed her.

"No. You cared." The brunette smiled "With Keith-sama's situation there's not much room for personal affairs, yet Nicol-sama did not hesitate to humor my selfish request."

It wasn't selfish. In fact, if Hachiman had turned down her invitation he would be the selfish one. In a way, it was his responsibility. One he couldn't ignore no matter what.

"So thank you." She looked positively charged now, almost as if he wasn't just covering after his own mess.

"I don't deserve it." He placated the girl with the truth "It was my advice that brought us here in the first place."

"If Nicol-sama says so." Hunt waved him off with her words "Maybe if Nicol-sama showed this tender side of his, he would have more suitors."

This again?

"The last thing I need are suitors." Hachiman groaned "Relationships are messy… But you know that already, Hunt."

"Well, if Nicol-sama says so…" The girl relented "Though I wouldn't mind being referred to less informally if that's alright."

Hachiman stared at her for a moment before looking at the moon.

"Tell me again when you've calmed down."

She flinched as if struck. Confused and knocked out of the harmony brought by the silent night.

It wasn't as if Hachiman was getting the wrong idea. But he wasn't going to take advantage of her frail emotional state either. He might not be a good person, but he wasn't scum either.

"If Nicol-sama so wishes."

They stared at the sky for a while. No words were exchanged, since nothing else needed to be said. They just contemplated the peaceful world around them, licking their respective wounds before returning to facing the reality of their lives.

Eventually they had to return. Tiredness came to them, and the following day drew near. He still followed her to her room before going back to the one he had woken up in.

When he came back, Campbell was sleeping on one of the armchairs close to the desk and bookcase. Hachiman carried her to the bed and delicately took away her shoes before tucking her in besides Sophia.

It had been a while since he slept on the floor, but it felt better than sleeping in a stranger's bed.