The next day, at High School.


    <em>*Ring! Ring!*</em>


    "Alright, lunch it is. You over there, don''t run. The food isn''t running away from you, so you shouldn''t either. You will only cause trouble."


    The teacher said. Upon noticing her student was about to run out of the ss, she immediately warned him on the spot. While that was happening, the other students snicker at him before nonchntly walking out of the ss, and once they were sure that they are out of the teacher''s sight, the students quickly run toward the cafeteria. The longer they took their time, the faster the food at the cafeteria diminished—especially, for some limited food.


    While watching her ssmates running off while pushing one after another as if their life is on the line, She couldn''t help but imagine the scene in front of her as if they are from zombie movies. Honestly, in an apocalypse world where fresh food is as rare as SSR, it wouldn''t be surprising to see them reacting the same as now if someone identally shows off their can food to the public. Speaking of which, perhaps it might be wise to stock up some food for the future just in case. When the world turned chaotic, most sensible people would most likely hoard a lot of food for themselves and family alike, some would even resort to stealing, after all, there''s now binding them anymore.


    "Senior!"


    Even without turning her back to look at the person that called her out, She didn''t need to guess as she already knew who it was. As far as her friend list goes, it could be count on one hand. And most importantly, there can only be one that would call her ''senior'' in school; it is none other than Yuna.


    With a sigh, She turned her head to look behind her and saw a cute girl with a beautiful silky ck hair, and her characteristic white bunny hairpin. If her ce had been reced with any male students in the school, they would have shed ocean of tears, praying to god for how thankful they felt. Unfortunately, it''s not them but her. No matter how cute Yuna is, She didn''t feel any sort of attraction toward her, or rather, she felt a slight annoyance instead. The girl isn''t bad or being annoying at all to her, in fact, thetter would definitely step aside if She had told her straight to the face. That is the feeling she had.


    "So, are you following us again for lunch?"


    She asked. Without any secondter, Yuna nodded her head in response before saying.


    "Yes, am I troubling you with my presence, perhaps?"


    "Sigh,no, not at all. You can follow if you want to."


    With a defeated sigh, She and the silent Ria slowly walks toward the cafeteria along with a stalker(Yuna). As expected, the moment they arrived, they were sent a world of a battlefield where a single mistake could potentially lose their life. Well, in this case, they would at most lose the chance to eat limited-edition food such as bread, etc.


    Honestly, She can just go <em>''swoosh''</em> to cut the never-ending line and grab the bread since no one here was able to catch even a speck of herself with their slow perception, however, she didn''t do so as it wasn''t in her interest. Plus, it would definitely attract attention if the students waiting in line suddenly felt a strong gust of wind bypassing them. Now is not the time to expose her identity just yet.


    "No matter how many times I see it, the line for that limited edition bread is always annoyingly long. Don''t you think so?"


    She asked while staring dumbfounded at the particrly long line. As a student in her second year, she has never seen the line for that particr bread short. She had tried the bread once when she got the chance, and indeed, it was as good as the said rumors. Moreover, due to the abyss-like difficulty in getting the bread, she pulled out a white g the next day. She isn''t a masochist, after all.


    "Mhm. I think this fact alone won''t change even after we graduated so long as the auntie is still selling her bread."


    Ria replied with a chuckle, receiving an approving nod from her. Since the three of them had prepared a lunch box from the convenience store on the way to school, knowing the fact that there would be a long line, they didn''t have to wait in line like the others. It took a couple of minutes before they find themselves an empty table for them to dine.


    "So, Yuna, do you find or run to anything strange for the past couple of weeks?"


    "Eh?"


    Surprised that She took the initiative to talk to her, it took her a moment for her sense to return to normal as the situation was quite unexpected, at least in her opinion. She didn''t find anything strange or odd in She''s words, so she honestly answered.


    "Nothing unusual, it''s just like any other days. However, I do notice that strangely, I was a lot more focused on teacher''s teaching than usual. I wonder if that is just my imagination?"


    <em>''So, one of the ''Protection'' ne''s functions work as intended. That''s a relief, in various ways.''</em>thought She. Although she wasn''t sure where did Rodrick disappeared, she believes that guy will surelye back for revenge, after all, he seemed to be that type of a man. And once that happened, he would most likely have a trump card against the old her who restricts her strength in order not to end up killing ordinary people. She wanted to question the kidnapper back then, after all. If they die, who would answer her then? Ghost?


    "It''s a protective charm, after all. There''s a possibility of it having a magical effect when worn, you know?"


    "Ah. I didn''t know that''s possible! Magic is amazing!"


    "It sure is."


    She couldn''t help but giggle at her innocent response. If it had been someone else, they would have retort her with logic instead. Perhaps, that might have been the case if Yuna had not identallye across the incident in the park. Ever since then, the girl always has the time to meet with She one way or another. After the kidnapping incident, She had thought thetter would ignore her knowing the danger if she became acquainted with her. But apparently, her heart is much stronger than average, or maybe she''s just idiot. Either way, She didn''t mind thetter presence around her, even though it can get annoying at times, it never got to her nerve. Plus, this girl is some sort of prodigy, you know? It wouldn''t be bad to be her friend.


    While the three were chatting about their daily lives, She suddenly paused and stood up in high alert and cautiousness as she observed the cafeteria with narrowed eyes. Not finding the thing she was looking for, she frowned.


    "What''s wrong?"


    Ria asked upon noticing her best friend acting strange. She shook her head as she fell to her seat and said.


    "It''s nothing, must have been my imagination."


    "Are you sure?"


    "Mhm, don''t worry about it. Anyways, what are we talking about a moment ago?"


    "Alright. We were discussing summer break, you see..."


    And just like that, the three continue on their previous topic of discussion. Nevertheless, Ria noticed that She has been absentminded throughout the discussion and though she was curious as to why thetter was acting strange, she decided to keep her mouth shut and interrogate herter. But it seems that trouble came knocking on their door first as suddenly, there was a scream from the hallway.


    As her expression turned serious, She immediately spread her awareness in full force with her eyes closed. In the hallway, there are three students and a single adult man. From what she''s sensing, the two students were frozen on the spot and as for thest one, his heart has stopped pumping blood a second ago, which can only mean one thing, he''s dead. A student has been murdered right inside the school. The screams a while ago must have been from one of the two frozen students.


    <em>''What the hell is going on here? A terrorist attack? There''s no way something fictitious like that could happen in real life! In fact, there''s only a single adult there, by process of elimination, he must be the murderer. From what I have been sensing presently, I can very well say that he is no ordinary, there''s some kind of frightening aura around him, which is different than the aura of a mage. There''s no doubt about it, he must be someone from the supernatural side. Even so, what is this feeling inside of me? Why does it feel like deja vu?''</em>


    "Ria, can you take Yuna and hide somewhere safe?"


    "I can, but what about you?"


    "I''m going to check it out."


    Looking at the two whisperings to each other in all seriousness, Yuna was left bewildered. Because she has a normal range of hearing, she couldn''t fully hear what they said, only fragment words such as,<em>''hide,'' ''safe,''</em>and<em>''check,''</em>that''s it. Yuna had thought of running to the hallway right away, to see if there''s someone in need of help due to the abrupt scream but, for reason unknown to her, she decided to stay put for now.


    "Eh, what?"


    "Look, we don''t have much time to waste. I''ll speak of detailter, for now, go and hide somewhere else with Ria, okay?"


    With a serious expression, coupled with a solemn voice, Yuna couldn''t help but nodded her head in silence. While some of the students at the cafeteria resume eating without a care in the world, some of them feel a slight concerned upon hearing the scream of terror, and so, they decided to boldly head to the hallway despite thinking it was a bad idea. And among them, two high school girls could be seen running off at the opposite of the hallway.


    While the two were running, looking for a ce to hide, Yuna suddenlyes to a halt with her face paled inplexion.<em>''Is it those kidnappers? No way, right? There''s no way they are bold enough to attack a high school in a broad daylight. After all, they would earn more profit if they rob a bank instead. But why...why do I feel like I''m wrong, and that, they trulye here for revenge? What is this feeling of difort?''</em>


    "Are you okay?"


    "I-I''m fine. We need to find a suitable ce to hide asap."


    "Mhm, you''re right. Then, let''s go."


    Looking at Ria''s calm and collected expression, Yuna can feel the feeling of difort inside her heart lessen.<em>''Right! She is a magician, no way she would lose to some measly terrorist! I''m sure she would get the job done and soone to us with a smile on her face. She had saved me once, so surely she can do it again. I will put my trust in her! That''s the only thing I can do at the moment after all.''</em>thought Yuna as she gripped her fist hard, praying that the three of them wille out safe from this crisis.