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“…….”

Luna froze in place, unable to readily answer my question.

Even so, her trembling lips spoke volumes.

I already knew the answer before she even uttered a word, yet I waited and waited for her to confess.

……Truth be told, I wished she would deny it.

I couldn\'t reciprocate Luna\'s feelings, and a direct rejection would shatter her heart.

Luna had shown excessive dependence on me, so I couldn\'t help but arrive at that conclusion.

……Finally, Luna struggled to speak.

She looked up at me, her eyes on the verge of tears.

“……I like Adel. More than anyone.”

“I see.”

Luna’s confession.

A wave of complicated emotions washed over me, and I forced a stoic expression.

Even though I hoped she would deny it, Luna had revealed her true feelings.

……After confessing her love for me, Luna blushed crimson and lowered her gaze.

She shook her head several times before looking up at me again.

Her pink eyes, filled with determination, stared directly at me, as if demanding a response.

But I couldn\'t give her the answer she desired.

Therefore, I had to utter words as cruel as they were agonizing.

“Lady Luna, I also like you.”

“Th, Then……!”

Luna’s eyes widened as I began my heavyhearted words.

However, my words weren\'t spoken with romantic intentions towards Luna.

……In the end, we were fated to be apart.

Although I was the creator of this world, I would eventually have to leave it.

When that time would come, I didn\'t know.

It could be as sudden as tomorrow, or perhaps upon my death, or even after.

Though the words differed, their meaning remained the same.

I was destined to leave this world someday.

The information paper stated there was no way to return to reality, but there was no guarantee.

Could I be certain that there was no chance of being abruptly pulled back to reality after entering the world I had created?

There was another reason.

If Luna continued to accompany me, she would face countless dangers.

To begin with, Luna was a character who would be expelled from Sytan for being unable to kill a single human.

Could she adapt to this cruel world?

……Of course, Luna’s Healing Ability would play a crucial role in my future plans.

However, that was also my own greed talking.

Even without Luna’s Healing Ability, there were plenty of ways to overcome the challenges ahead.

The reason I had tried so hard to win Luna’s favor and bring her to my side was purely for the sake of convenience in my future endeavors.

……It was easier to say a few sweet words to gain Luna’s favor than to strive for items and treasures.

In truth,

I didn\'t love Luna.

It was a strange dissonance.

While I recognized this world as reality, I couldn\'t shake off the perspective of it being a ‘creation.’

However, as I gradually assimilated into this world, a sense of incongruity arose within me.

Was it the Butterfly Dream?

What was reality,

and what was a dream?

Perhaps I had been too frivolous, too detached from this dreamlike reality.

Therefore,

I had to bid farewell to Luna.

“It\'s not that I dislike you, but I don\'t love you. That\'s why our relationship cannot be. ……No, for your sake, I believe this is the right thing to do.”

“……What, What do you mean?”

“It is as I said.”

Luna’s eyes trembled.

Her face had turned pale, as if she had heard words too painful to bear.

At the same time, my heart felt heavy.

Like the arid heat of the desert, a terrible thirst parched my throat.

My voice, dry and raspy, escaped my lips.

I closed my eyes, enduring the pain, and forced out the blood-chilling words.

“……Please withdraw from Sytan. ‘You’ are better off not being here.”

“Adel……?”

Suddenly, a single teardrop rolled down Luna’s left cheek.

Her bright, clear pink eyes were now clouded with darkness.

Luna seemed to be in denial, unable to believe this moment.

“……You, You misspoke, right? Yeah, Adel wouldn’t say such a thing. I must be dreaming. Right?”

“Ha.”

I let out a laugh.

A scornful, mocking laugh.

Intending to crush the last glimmer of hope in her eyes.

“You are sorely mistaken.”

I forced a cruel smile onto my lips, uttering words I would regret for the rest of my life.

“Did you expect me to whisper sweet nothings of love to you?”

Taking a step closer, I spat out the words.

“Or perhaps you wished for me to caress your hair with loving hands?”

“Adel, Adel, stop it. Please, stop it……!”

“How foolish.”

Luna covered her ears as if in pain, her body trembling.

I took another step closer and opened my mouth.

“As if I could ever love the likes of you.”

Those were the cruelest words I could muster.

With that, I turned my back on Luna and walked away.

“…….”

Luna didn\'t try to stop me.

Afraid that my resolve might waver, I quickened my pace, putting distance between us.

Finally, when Luna was out of sight, I stopped and looked up at the sky.

The rain had stopped.

……And as if to mock me, the sky was brilliantly clear.

The sunlight stung my eyes, so I lowered my head and looked down at the ground.

It was over.

I had made the right choice.

But then,

why?

‘……It hurts.’

My heart ached as if it were being torn apart.

I was the one who said I didn\'t love her, so Luna should be the one in pain, not me.

Why was I, the one who rejected her confession, the one writhing in agony?

I pondered for several minutes, staring at the ground, but the answer eluded me.

And then, after a while.

“…….”

Finally, I realized what this feeling was.

It was an emotion I could never express.

Therefore.

I had to bury this moment deep within my memories.

* * *

【 The train will shortly be departing Sytan. Passengers, please……. 】

Clank—

After Adel left, Luna boarded the train to leave Sytan.

Several students glanced at Luna, who was sobbing softly.

But as the train lurched forward, their attention was drawn elsewhere.

“…….”

Luna sank back into a long-forgotten feeling of loneliness and began to think.

When did it start?

When did she become someone who could wear a bright smile instead of a gloomy frown?

……Ah, it was then.

From the moment that boy entered her life, she learned what it meant to have light.

“……But.”

Now she didn\'t know anymore.

Before she met him, Luna had been starving.

In the relentless flow and change of time, she merely existed, struggling with hunger.

There was no meaning in it.

When hungry, she begged for food.

At night, she cried herself to sleep, consumed by sadness and loneliness.

Tired of those agonizing days, Luna applied to Sytan.

She had heard that Sytan provided for those with talent, ensuring they wouldn\'t go hungry.

She knew that the price was the lives of its students.

Even so, she thought it didn\'t matter as long as she could escape the clutches of hunger.

And she believed that this hunger stemmed from not having enough to eat.

……That\'s what Luna had thought back then.

But.

The hunger persisted.

After entering Sytan, Luna had access to an abundance of delicious food, the kind she had never tasted before.

But no matter how much she ate, her hunger remained unsatisfied.

Her stomach might have been full.

But she felt no sense of fulfillment.

Was it because of the bullying and ostracization she faced? No, that wasn\'t it either.

As a half-demon, Luna was used to such treatment.

However.

At some point, Luna stopped feeling hungry.

Her days were filled with happiness, and even eating the unidentified black jelly from the human realm brought her joy.

It was an ordinary, everyday life.

Or rather, it was a more challenging everyday life.

But there was one crucial difference when she stopped feeling hungry.

Adel.

That student existed.

The boy who was self-conscious about his gloomy appearance, who seemed timid but always went out of his way for his friends.

Whenever Luna was with him, she couldn\'t help but smile.

It didn\'t take long for Luna to realize that her feelings were love.

First love.

From the moment she acknowledged her feelings, Luna made every effort to be with Adel.

Strangely enough, Adel was surrounded by beautiful girls.

Afraid of appearing insignificant in comparison, Luna tried putting on makeup for the first time in her life.

Although she had to borrow the cosmetics from Fron because she couldn\'t afford them.

The boy she wanted to impress didn\'t even notice the difference.

……But Luna was happy just being able to do that much.

However,

it was all over now.

“Please withdraw from Sytan. ‘You’ are better off not being here.”

“How Foolish.”

“As if I could ever love the likes of you.”

The boy\'s parting words pierced Luna\'s heart like shards of glass.

She felt nothing but excruciating pain, as if her skin was being peeled off.

He had uttered such cruel words, denying any love for her.

Unable to bear looking into his eyes as he spoke, Luna had kept her head down, staring at the ground.

Through her tears, a question kept resurfacing in her mind.

Why?

If he didn\'t love her.

Then during the midterm exams, when they were the only ones awake…

Luna touched her lips, the memory flashing through her mind.

Even now.

The lingering sensation of that moment remained.

……It was an unforgettable mark.

And that,

must be the same for him.

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