The evening after we returned from the field trip, as the laughter and memories of the journey faded into nostalgia, everyone quietly settled back into their daily routines and rested in their rooms after the long trip.

After much deliberation, I sent them a message, asking them to come to Professor Baldwin’s office because I had something important to tell them.

Before long, they all gathered in Professor Baldwin’s office—Iris, Yurina, Camilla, Senior Sophia, Berald, Laneige, and Professor Baldwin herself. They looked at me, puzzled and a little uneasy, wondering why I had suddenly called them here.

In a tone edged with concern, Yurina asked, “Something important, you said. Did something happen?”

The rest of the room buzzed with speculation.

“It’s the first time Dale has called us all together like this, isn’t it?”

“Yeah. For him to do it right after we got back from the trip, it must be something serious.”

“C-could it be that you... fought with Iris or something?”

I let out a long, heavy sigh as I looked at my whispering companions. The story of my previous life was something I knew I would have to tell them someday, and I had been thinking about the right time to do it for a while. But I didn’t think I would end up doing it for this reason.

I ran a hand over my face, my expression tightening. When I looked at Iris, she was watching me anxiously, uncertainty flickering in her eyes. She didn’t know the full story yet. If I was going to reveal it anyway, it was better that I did it in front of everyone.

Telling the story to only Iris, the same way I had told Professor Baldwin, was also something I had considered. However, at this point, sharing the story with some and hiding it from others felt wrong. Besides, Professor Baldwin already knew everything, and by now, I trusted the rest deeply enough to have no reason to keep it secret.

Professor Baldwin asked in a firm tone, “Dale, you’re not planning to talk about that, are you?”

It seemed she had guessed it from my expression.

I nodded quietly, then looked at the others. “It might be hard to believe, but please hear me out.”

Thus, I began the story of my previous life. I spoke of the long, painful tale of a nameless hero and his endless failures. The story, which started in the early evening, stretched on until the clock nearly struck midnight.

“And that’s how things led to where we are now,” I said at the end.

I didn’t know if it was because I had spoken too long or because I could feel my companions’ faces harden more and more as the tale went on, but either way, my throat had gone dry. I took a sip of water to soothe it.

The room was filled with a silence thick with emotion, faces full of confusion, disbelief, sympathy, and sorrow all mingled together. Some expressed their thoughts.

“That’s quite...”

“Good heavens! Such a story leaves my head spinning.”

Honestly, if I were in their shoes, I would have reacted the same way.

Then, no one spoke for a long while. Gradually, as if pieces were falling into place, small murmurs began to rise.

Suddenly, Iris said, “That’s why you looked so sad when you first met me.”

Camilla furrowed her brows, recalling our first encounter. “Ah, that day!”

Iris looked at her. “Right, when Dale blew you away.”

“B-blew me away? It wasn’t that bad!” Camilla shouted.

Iris replied, “Oh, come on, I remember you doing quite a spectacular spin through the air.”

Camilla swallowed hard, then let out a short sigh. “I did think it was strange. Even if I was off guard, I couldn’t understand how someone who was always at the bottom of the class had overpowered me so easily.”

I apologized to her. “I’m sorry about that. I had just returned from... the regression, and my emotions were all over the place.”

“Hmph! If I hadn’t let my guard down, it wouldn’t have been so easy for you!”

I smiled wryly and nodded. “Sure, sure.”

Berald asked, “So, the reason you suddenly offered to teach me martial arts, was it because of your past life?”

“That’s right.”

“I see. That makes sense now.”

Berald glanced down at his hand, still wrapped in old bandages. “I’d always wondered why you named the martial arts you taught me Berald Combat Style? It didn’t make sense to me.”

Usually, a martial arts style was named after its teacher, not the student.

I explained, “The one who created it was you, Berald.”

“Me?”

I nodded slowly. “I only passed on what I had once learned from you.”

That was why, even knowing it sounded strange, I couldn’t bring myself to change its name. I didn’t want to alter what he had left behind—his legacy, his memories, and his will.

Berald stared down at his fist, his expression tangled with emotion. “I created it?”

Senior Sophia, arms crossed, eyes sharp, asked, “Then what about magic?”

“Yes, you taught me magic.”

She replied, “Hah! No wonder. I always thought it was strange how good you were with magic for someone in the Warrior Division. Turns out it’s because I was your teacher.”

I chuckled lightly and nodded. “I had a great mentor, after all.”

Senior Sophia smirked proudly. “Of course. You did.”

Suddenly, her face softened, and a touch of melancholy crept into her eyes. “In your past life, I must’ve stayed enemies with Professor Bastion, huh?”

Her magic had changed drastically after meeting Professor Bastion in this life. But the magic I learned from her was the version before that change, the one that had never evolved. She was wise enough to connect the dots.

“Yes.”

She smiled faintly, as if she had expected that answer. “I thought so. Then I guess you changed my future, didn’t you?”

I didn’t know what to say to her.

She continued, “Thank you. For changing my future.”

Why is it that a single sentence can shake my heart so deeply?

Yurina slowly rose from her seat. “Dale. I have something I want to ask you, too.”

She took off the pendant around her neck, and in a soft shimmer of light, her appearance changed back to her true form. “In my past life, I eventually became Yuren, didn’t I?”

I nodded heavily. “Yeah.”

“Haha. I see.” Yurina turned her gaze toward the mirror hanging on the professor’s wall, a complicated expression shadowing her face, before finally looking back at me. “So, you’re the one who changed it, huh? My future.”

“It’s not just yours,” Iris said quietly, sweeping her eyes over everyone in the room. “Dale changed everyone’s future here. Every single one of us. All on his own.”

“No,” I said.

Their eyes turned toward me. A storm of emotion welled up inside me, too heavy to describe.

I clenched my trembling fists. “I didn’t change anything on my own.”

Suddenly, memories surfaced. It was a night when the sky was overflowing with stars. Berald and I were laughing, drinking by a warm campfire, and Iris was smiling softly, watching us. Yuren leaned against a tree, sipping tea, and Senior Sophia quietly read a book, pretending not to listen.

I remembered it all. Even if they had forgotten, I remembered the warmth of that night and the happiness that once filled our days. I was the one who was grateful to them.

I looked at them and said, “The only reason I can stand here now is that all of you existed. Thank you.”

Because you all existed, I do too.

I bowed my head and swallowed back a quiet sob. “Thank you.”

Why did it feel as though my friends from those memories were smiling back at me even now?

***

Everyone had much more to say, but at Professor Baldwin’s gentle urging, reminding us how late it was, they eventually returned to their lodgings.

Instead of heading straight back, I climbed to the rooftop and looked up at the sky for a while. The night sky was brilliant, with stars scattered like shards of crystal. It was just like that night from my memories.

Professor Baldwin’s voice drifted toward me. “You were indeed here.”

She joined me on the rooftop.

“How did you know I’d be here?” I asked.

“Women’s intuition,” she said lightly.

With a graceful motion, she retrieved a thread of spider silk she had secretly attached to me. I couldn’t help but let out a small laugh.

“How do you feel now that you’ve said everything?” she asked.

“Relieved, I guess.”

When I had first called everyone together, I had been torn, not knowing whether it was really the right time to reveal everything. But now that I had done it, it felt as though a heavy weight had finally been lifted from my chest.

Sitting beside me, she playfully said, “I have to admit, I’m a little disappointed. It was nice having a secret only I knew.”

She pulled a cigarette from her pocket and held it loosely between her lips. As smoke curled softly into the night air, she said, “I thought about why you chose now to tell them.”

“Why I chose now?”

She turned her eyes toward me, a faint smile on her face. “The reason you suddenly revealed that you had returned from the past.”

“I figured I’d tell them someday anyway,” I replied.

“But there must be a reason that someday became today, don’t you think?”

“Well, I mean...”

If I had to explain it, well, there was indeed a reason. It was just hard to say.

“Was it because of Iris?”

I flinched.

She nodded, clearly expecting that answer. “Heh. Hit the mark, didn’t I?”

“Ah, well, that’s, uh, complicated.”

“There’s no need to explain. I can more or less imagine what happened.”

“You can?”

“Being around Iris must have stirred up some complicated feelings, right? You’ve been hiding the fact that she was your lover in your past life all this time.”

“Uh.”

“It’s only natural to feel guilty about that, like you’ve been deceiving her.”

“No, that’s not...”

It wasn’t guilt. There was another reason.

She said softly, “Don’t overthink it. Everyone knows you kept the truth to yourself for their sake.”

She ground out the end of her cigarette and smiled gently. “That’s all I wanted to tell you.”

I just silently listened to her.

She reached out and brushed her hand tenderly against my cheek. “It’s been hard on you, hasn’t it?”

Looking at her, I murmured, “Yes. It’s been... heavy on my heart for a long time.”

I wiped the tears gathering in my eyes. “I just didn’t want to lie to my precious comrades... or to the woman I love.”

“I know.”

“Thinking about how long I’d have to keep living behind a mask made me feel trapped and miserable.”

She patted back with a gentle smile. “I understand. Hehe. When I see you like this, Dale, I can’t help thinking that you really are too pure for your own good.”

“I’m sorry.”

“What are you apologizing to me for? Anyway, now that you’ve finally spoken your truth, you don’t need to be burdened by guilt anymore.”

With Professor Baldwin’s kind, steady comfort, the long night of truth came to an end and a new morning quietly dawned.