Author's Note: Sorry for the inactivity lately, I was on a vacation, and had little to no access to the internet. But now I'm back.

From Now On

With the president’s abrupt departure and brief parting words, a despondent atmosphere permeated throughout the library.

Everyone remained silent, most with our heads down, shoulders drooped, and with our own varying thoughts circulating through our minds, while the library’s stale air seemingly stagnated. An atmosphere so depressing it was almost suffocating.

While each and everyone of us had our own dilemmas, our own wandering thoughts and our own circumstances, a major source of the seeping depression was Hina. I may be a bit inexperienced when it comes to human relationships, but the way the President treated her… it may have been a bit too cold. Things like the rationale behind his actions or his motive for rejecting his precious childhood friend were all subject to speculation, but the emotional toll it left on Hina was clearly evident. The shock from the president’s callous words were what caused the current blank faced and quivering lipped expression Hina sported.

Even after 5 minutes passed, Hina remained motionless. While the rest of us squirmed around and restlessly moved, Hina stayed complacent, an unchanging hollow expression masking her face while her body lay limp on that one spot, not a trace of force or power, save for her constantly clenched fist.

While the silence persisted and Hina’s condition showed no signs of alleviating, staying like this would serve none of us any good. Anymore time for these guys to dwell on whatever thoughts they have may prove detrimental in the future, so at the very least, a distraction might be good.

With that thought in mind, I was the first to rise from my seat. My body’s aching joints cracked and popped in the process, while a dust of stale air fluttered from underneath me.

“I think the first thing we need to decide on is what we’ll be doing from now on.” I stated while I nonchalantly looked around the room.

The library, which was once subjected to a fierce battle not moments ago showed little signs of destruction. Aside from the occasional tossed up paper, and scattered paperbacks, nothing else seemed out of place, as if this sole location was untouched from the rest of the carnage that transpired these past two weeks.

With my lazy eyes fluttering freely, I moved my gaze over to the people I was currently collaborating with. Three individuals. Ironically enough, they were all girls. If it had been the me prior, such a situation would have been rather joyous, but now…

As I half expected nobody answered back. Even when I lost myself in thought, nobody else bothered to break the ensuing silence. Usually, in this situation, Hina would quirp in with her own opinion, but given her current state of mind...

With in the quiet atmosphere, a tired sigh escaped from my throat. My own motivation dissipated, and with not a shred of drive to be seen, I lost myself in thought. Specifically, over what little information the President had revealed.

The first thing my mind had categorized as “valuable information” were the things regarding what the President told us about the various monsters throughout the school. Aside from the Old school Building and anything below the 3rd floor of the East Building, the president and his scouting group investigated almost all of the entirety of the school.

From this information alone, I could deduce that the Dungeon Boss was either in the unexplored depths of the East building or within the underground floors of the academy. I don’t particularly have a lot of information regarding the school’s infrastructure, so whether or not this place had an actual basement was still unknown to me. I guess I’ll ask Hina about it later…

Of course, the possibility that the Boss of the dungeon wasn’t actually underground still existed. The actual situation might be opposite of my original conjecture. The Boss’s lair may actually be the roof of the building or something… but that again leaves the question as to whether or not the roof is accessible or not.

Is the roof part of the outside world or is it just another layer to this twisted dungeon?

As I pondered this, and many other wandering thoughts, a slight tug on my shirt sleeve brought my attention back to reality. I turned around to see Cielle’s upturned expression. Most of her face was still covered by a mess of hair, but I could see her almond shaped eyes looking at me through the curtain of black.

“What is it?” I asked, subconsciously whispering.

After a brief lapse of silence(a rather natural thing for Cielle), she asked, "Are... are we staying here?"

“....”

I paused. My eyes naturally floated towards my surroundings as I pondered over Cielle’s words. The expanse of books and oaken shelves in front of me filled my vision. The library. It was a quiet place, then and now. A place devoid of all the dangers, all the monsters, all the students… A literal sanctuary to the hell inside this school.

A place like this was the ideal location for a safe zone, or a base…

Parting from it would probably be… for the best.

As I thought this, I unconsciously nodded to myself, a soft mutter escaping my throat.

“Well, it can’t be helped…”

I sighed, this time, not because of the usual fatigue though, but because I felt that leaving the library would be the best decision in this situation.

“...nn.”

A quiet nod was the only response from the girl who originally asked that question. I refocused my gaze back on Cielle. While I could see the slight smile that painted her face as she looked down towards the ground. Seeing this, I couldn’t help but smile wryly.

The motive behind her question… I felt that I slightly understood it. Behind that quiet facade of hers, Cielle was worried about her sister. She might be a bit clumsy with words, the type of person who had trouble expressing her real intentions… but nonetheless, she is still a big sister. Seeing Hina’s current state would naturally cause her to worry.

So in the end, she came to the same conclusion I did.

Before I realized it myself, my hand had wound itself on top of Cielle’s head. it absentmindedly stroked that soft mess of hair, seemingly detached from my own state of consciousness.

“...”

“...ah...”

Cielle softly sighed.

Her eyes widened slightly, before they gradually closed to form content crescents. Her mouth slightly quivered as another sigh escaped from that pair of rosy pale lips.

As I continued to stroke Cielle’s head, I began to speak, mostly to myself but in a loud enough voice so that the others could hear as well.

“It would be the best option if we left the library. Although the President told us it was okay for us to take refuge here, its best to avoid unnecessary contact with the others. They seem to be a rather hostile group.”

-And their uses are rather limited as well…-

From how the President described it, the cafeteria group was composed mostly of cowards and refugees who, until now, refused to fight. It would be a reasonable assumption to conclude that most of them are low level individuals with no combat prowess whatsoever. Much less help, a group like that would only end up being a burden during the final fight. If that was the case, then it's best to revise my original goal and cut all ties with them as quickly as possible.

After all, I have no intention of shouldering the burden of 50+ people.

...Rather than the cafeteria group as a whole, it would be better to have the president’s scouting party on my side. They at least show some measure of potential.

If I found a way to get secure the cooperation of the President’s scouting party while the responsibility for the Cafeteria group remained with the President...

There’s also the matter of the Cafeteria group’s instability. While they may be incompetent, an unhinged group like there’s could prove to be dangerous. Having a group of about 50 people with reasonable intelligence that may be hostile so close to me is a scary thought.

If they do attack, then I’d be put at a disadvantage. After all, I’m still unsure whether or not I can kill “people” yet.

“Taking into account all the dangers, and the risk potential, than staying here wouldn’t really benefit us.” I spoke again, while I firmly patted Cielle’s head, producing a soft *pomf” sound. “All in favor?”

Naturally, Cielle nodded in affirmation. Her response was expected, considering things. What surprised me was Hina’s instant reply.

“I think… that’s a good idea too…” She replied in a melancholic voice.

I stared at her blankly for a second before I nodded. “Then with that-”

“I-I agree too…”

An unexpected voice resounded throughout the library. It’s echo, followed by my ensuing silence caused the source of the voice to panic. Under the duress of my blank stare, the source of the voice let loose a tirade of awkward, “Eh? Eh?” sounds while she nervously looked from side to side.

“What are you talking about?” I blankly said.

“Eh? W-what am I talking…” Cher mumbled to herself, her brow creasing downwards as her face morphed into a frown.

“Naturally, you’re not coming with us.” I bluntly responded.

“-Eh?” Her face froze. Her mouth cramped into an awkward smile while a trickle of cold sweat began dripping down her forehead. “Eh?!?!”

Ignoring her ever shifting facial expressions and the annoying noise coming out of her throat, I continued. “In the first place, if I remember correctly, you were our hostage, isn’t that right?”

“E-even still….”

“Why exactly would I bring you along? You’re nothing but a burden, and I’m not kind enough to let something like a burden weigh me down.”

“I-I…. I can…”

In all honesty, I came to the library with the full intentions of leaving Cher behind, with maybe a day’s worth of food at most. I wasn’t going to drag this dead weight around forever, but I had no intention of leaving her back at the old school building. When I brought her along with the intention of leaving her with the Cafeteria group, I forgot to take into account their past conflicts.

“I’m not taking you with me.” I firmly affirmed once more.

“B-but why?!” She yelled. At this point, her knees had given out on her, while the accumulated tears on her eyes burst forth, like an uncontrollable stream of water. Snot dripped down her nose while those same tear stricken eyes, rolled in panicked fervor.

Even with that sort of pitiful expression, my heart was unmoved. After all a burden’s still a burden.

“You’re obviously a useless fellow, whose only real use would be as bait.”

“T-then let me be bait!” She groveled. Unexpected force erupted out from her, as her legs bolted forward. She flung her body in my direction, before landing besides my feet. Like a snake hunting its prey, her grime covered arms coiled around my leg as she continually begged.

I reflexively recoiled backwards, but since she was firmly grasping onto my leg with the determination of a death row inmate, I inadvertently tripped backwards. As I fumbled down to the ground, Cielle was slightly pushed to the side, although luckily she remained upright, while I was brought to eye level with the crazed girl in front of me.

“Geh-” I recoiled. “You know, this pitiful side of you isn’t really all that convincing, rather, it’s off putting.”

“I don’t care! J-just don’t leave me!” She sniffled. “If you leave, I’ll die, I’ll definitely die!

The people from the cafeteria will kill me! And even if they don’t the BO-Satou, Satou will d-defiently kill me!”

She continually begged, while her face pressed down against my ankle. Whether or not she noticed it herself, but she was continually getting closer and closer to me. Anymore and her face would reach my-

“Take me with you! Please, please, please! I-I’ll do anything I swear, j-just don’t…”

I outwardly sighed. My eyes turned cold, as my leg entrapped leg, rocketed forward, shaking the desperate girl off of me. As she sprawled backwards, I quickly dusted myself off and stood up. While I coldly looked down at her, my indifferent voice rang out, reverberating throughout the room.“You reap what you sow. Next time, pick a better side to ally yourself with.”

Hearing my cold words, Cher’s expression continually morphed into despair. Her lips quivered unceasingly as she crawled towards me. “P-please...uuu… you can’t leave me, don’t leave me, they’ll definitely… definitely….”

Her words quickly became incomprehensible, as she was reduced to a blathering mess of snot and tears.

“Uuu… a-anything, I-I’ll do anything, so, so…”

Although her situation was understandable. The cafeteria group hated her, and I doubt Satou- the Boss would be any kinder either. Truly, she was stuck between a rock and a hard place, and from her perspective, I was her only salvation.

“I already said, I won’t-”

Before I could continue to reject her pitiful, a small tug from behind me halted my words in their place. Throwing a quick glance backwards, I saw Cielle. Her face had a peeved expression on it for some reason, but nonetheless, there was also a strange glint in her eyes.

“I think… she can be useful…” Her quiet whisper reached my ears, causing me to double back and tilt my head in confusion.

“What are you saying…”

The normally silent girl that I knew suddenly spoke out like this… it was indeed unusual, but upon seeing that weird glint in her eyes that, even under the scrutiny of my suspicious gaze did not vanish, only cause me more confusion.

-Geh, don’t tell me, she got attached to the hostage? What is this, reverse stockholm syndrome?

While such a thought flashed through my head, causing me to inadvertently frown, Cielle ignored all that. Instead, she quietly walked past me, before directly standing in front of Cher.

“... Eh?”

After noticing Ciel's sudden appearance, Cher head tilted upwards as they exchanged a brief but silent stare. After a while, Cielle bent downwards, before she stroked Cher’s matted hair with a sleeve covered hand. Her patting motions were quite familiar, it took a while for me to notice that she was imitating my very own patting technique.

“There, there…” Cielle quietly whispered while continually stroking Cher’s head. Cher, who looked up at Cielle as if she were a goddess had sparkling eyes. The tears on her face flowed out for a completely different reason, while her body shivered.

“C-Cielle… no, M-mistress…” Cher’s incoherent mutters persisted, but this time, its contents had greatly changed.

I blankly stared at this surreal scene. Not knowing what to say, all I could do was blink while my eyes stayed glued onto Cielle’s comforting figure.

“What exactly is going on…”

In the end, after looking over such a spectacle, I couldn’t help but concede.

With a weary face, I sighed tiredly while I waved my hand in an annoyed gesture.

“Fine, fine, we’ll bring you along.” I bitterly spoke, hoping to emphasize my dislike.

“Eh?” Cher’s attention once again focused back on me, and both her and Cielle turned to face their heads in my direction with expectant gazes. “R-really? Really, really? Y-you’re not lying right?”

“Yes, yes, I’m telling the truth. While I don’t know why Cielle is so persistent about you…” I shot a quick glance at Cielle, causing her to hurriedly turn away while her eyes seemingly focused on the stack of paper backs on the floor. “Since she doesn’t usually show so much… force, I guess for now I’ll concede.”

“...Uuuu….” Upon hearing my words, Cher’s shoulders shuddered, before she jumped up on the balls of her feet with overflowing vigor. “Yes! Yes, yes, yes!”

Tears haphazardly flowed out while snot splashed everywhere. Really, even her happy/relieved expression looked pretty pitiful. “Pitiful” might just be my new nickname for her.

Seeing such a scene, I flashed a bitter smile. “Oi, don’t get too excited yet “Pitiful”, it's not like your safety is guaranteed or anything.”

“Eh, did you just say Pitiful?” She asked dumbly while pointing at herself.

I ignored her, and continued talking. “Listen, starting today you are now a slave.”

“Eh?”

Since I hate freeloaders after all, of course I’m going to work this girl to the brink of her death and back.

“You’ll do everything and anything I say. If you become disobedient, lie, steal, whatever, I won’t hesitate to abandon you.”

For a while, after I spoke, Miss Pitiful remained silent. Her head remained downcasted while I could see a slight tremble in her shoulders. After a bit more shaking, she finally looked up and-

“Geh-” I instinctively recoiled upon seeing the type of expression she was making.

With strangely flushed cheeks, swirling eyes, and a slight trace of drool trickling down her chin, Cher let loose a series of panting noises, while she continually mumbled to herself.

“S-slave… you say… But I can’t possibly be- Ah, no…. but, if I want to…. as a slave…”

Her incoherentness steadily increased as the slight panting intensified, causing me to real back. Even Cielle, who just a moment ago, was patting Cher’s head rather affectionately distanced herself from her, while her face was hidden in a mask of blank indifference. That expression conveyed more meaning than words ever could.

“S-slave…. slave, I’m a slave now… but….ah~”

With an expression that was pitiful in a different sense, Cher readily agreed to my conditions and with that, our usual party of three expanded to include one more member, but not before a heavy, somewhat regrettable sigh escaped my throat.