The Neighboring Aarya-san who Sometimes Acts Affectionate and Murmuring in Russian - Volume 6 - Chapter Pr

PROLOGUE

My Wizard

“You’re such a hard worker, Alya.”

Ever since I was a child, people have repeatedly given me this compliment, but it always made me feel weird. Why was I being praised simply for working hard? Putting everything into the tasks at hand was only natural. If anything, not putting in effort would be strange.

Even after realizing that I was the outlier, I didn’t change. I continued to reach for the stars, working hard in pursuit of the ideal version of myself…

“If you’ve got a problem with how I do things, then do it yourself!”

I was nine years old when a classmate yelled that at me, and in that instant, I realized it didn’t matter whether anyone understood my way of doing things. Others’ acknowledgment and praise meant nothing to me because I knew that I was working hard, and that was what was most important to me. I was certain that I would continue this lonely path to better myself… That is, until my teacher asked us a particular question at school one day.

“What do you all want to be when you grow up?”

It was an extremely nonchalant question, but I was taken aback because I didn’t have an answer. I didn’t have any life goals. Although I strove to better myself, I had no idea what was beyond the stars that I was trying to reach, and with that realization, I started to doubt the way I was living my life. I felt like I was in a hot air balloon with ropes that had been cut. I could only go up. The farther I went, the darker my surroundings got, and the harder it became to breathe. However, there was nobody around to save me. There was no one I could ask whether I’d made the right choice when I chose this path.

I wanted someone to fly as high just as quickly as I was. My doubts would have surely vanished if I weren’t alone, and having someone to compete with would make floating into the darkness less scary. There wasn’t anyone, however, because I’d left everyone behind. Ultimately, I was the only one of my peers who’d decided to reach for the stars, and there was no going back now.

I gazed down at the ground below from my tiny basket, trembling in fear at the thought of falling, while continuously rising. I journeyed upward without a clear destination or without even knowing what was going to happen to me.

“Why do you want to be the president of the student council?”

When he asked me that day, I was able to immediately reply:

“Because I do. I’m aiming for the top. Do I need any more of a reason than that?” But even I knew that wasn’t the whole truth. I answered as quickly as I could so that he wouldn’t ask me any more about it. After all, I had a far more selfish reason for wanting to become the student council president. The reality was that I wanted someone to recognize how hard I was working. I wanted proof that I had chosen the correct path. After transferring to Seirei Private Academy and seeing how students respected and supported their student council president, I figured that this could finally be my chance to breathe again. My doubts would fade away, and I wouldn’t be afraid to rush into the darkness any longer.

“I know you’ve been working hard.”

He probably had no idea how much those words meant to me. He was like a wizard—a mischievous wizard who could freely fly the skies without the need for any vehicle, and he didn’t seem to care how high or low he went. At times, he would even teasingly fly around my basket as I curled up in a ball inside and blindly headed further into the darkness. And at other times, he would soar high into the sky, as if to guide me.

He was not afraid of falling, or of the darkness. He was as free as a person could be, and that aggravated me, so I lectured him and told him off. But no matter how many complaints I muttered, he treated me like a child…and that aggravated me even more. I was annoyed, and yet I was having fun. Whenever he wandered off somewhere, I would feel so lonely, but at the same time, I was bitter about his whimsical reappearances at my side. I knew the truth, though. He was the only one there for me. He saved me. And that was why…

“So don’t say a word and just take my hand! Alya!”

That was why I took his hand and dared to leap out of the basket. Then I saw just how small the world I once lived in was. Although I used to believe I was alone, I discovered that there were so many others flying in the clouds as well. They were all traveling the skies in their own ways, sometimes alone and sometimes with the help of others, but each method was fascinating. I discovered that my initial belief was merely a fantasy: Flying higher than others didn’t make me any better than they were.

There were some places that were accessible only by flying extremely high, but there were also destinations that couldn’t be reached and sights that could not be seen simply by trying to reach new heights. Moreover…

“You’re such a good singer, Alya!”

“I really like the band name…so thanks.”

“How does your throat feel? Please don’t practice too hard. We wouldn’t want you to strain your vocal cords.”

“Yo, Alisa. Want some chips?”

Once I managed to build up the courage to take a step into the unknown, I found people who would actually let me fly alongside them, and he was the one who encouraged me to take that step.

However, he was not destined to settle on a single vehicle. He would fly onto one like magic, then freely disembark as he pleased. He would casually cross from vehicle to vehicle while he wandered the skies. He was a wizard who could go anywhere he wanted, and there was no telling where he would go next. Although he seemed to be carrying something, he would never show you what that something was, and when you tried to take a peek into his heart, he would crack a joke and hide it again. I always felt like this was his way of rejecting me, so I never tried to push the issue any further…but I wanted to know. I wanted to be closer to his heart. He was, however, a whimsical wizard, so if I forced my way in and got too close, then he would surely fly away, and that was why I couldn’t ask him.

Hey, Masachika. What are you after? What are you carrying? How long do you plan on staying here by my side? When you look at me, what do you………?