For You 55

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#55

However, the hall where the seminar was being held was much larger than I expected.

Was it a mistake to look for a place without many people? The further I went, the more I felt like I was heading to a remote area. I thought there would be a waiting room behind the lecture hall where the seminar would be held, but my expectation was completely wrong.

“Uh…”

All I could see as I walked was a long corridor. Before I knew it, the corridor led to a small garden in the middle of the building. I really hadn’t expected there to be such a garden. No matter how I looked at it, it didn’t seem like there would be a waiting room ahead.

Just as I turned around, thinking I should go back the way I came, I noticed a strange smell. It was somehow familiar yet unfamiliar at the same time. As I took a step forward with a slight frown, my head became foggy and I felt the ground sink beneath my feet.

I stumbled and misstepped briefly, but not enough to completely collapse. With one hand clutching my head, I looked around. I couldn’t understand why this was happening so suddenly when there was nothing special around. I felt hollow, as if my insides were empty.

Gently rubbing my chest, I looked around. It was just an ordinary garden, so I couldn’t understand why this was happening. Did I have some allergy I wasn’t aware of? But the dizziness I had felt a moment ago had long since disappeared. It definitely wasn’t an allergic reaction. Instead, my body felt limp, like when I was exhausted from using too much magic. I wondered if fatigue had suddenly hit me.

Tapping my stiffened neck muscles, I decided to return to where I had been. Though I didn’t think I had walked that far, I couldn’t understand why the return journey felt so long. It was truly fortunate that I wasn’t the presenter.

“Ah! There you are!”

As soon as I entered the long corridor, a seminar staff member who had been nowhere to be seen came running toward me. Apparently, he had been searching for me, as beads of sweat formed on his cheeks. I felt a bit concerned seeing his struggling appearance, feeling somewhat responsible. Without saying much, he led me to the waiting room.

Iria, who had been waiting for me, jumped up from her seat to greet me.

“Andelion! Why do you look like that!”

I thought she was welcoming me, but it turned out she had risen from her seat out of concern for me. I wondered what kind of face I had for her to say such a thing. I could see Persis and Rikin also getting up from their seats and approaching me.

I stepped back to avoid the three people gathering around me, only to feel the door that the seminar staff had just closed against my back. It seemed difficult to escape like this.

“You weren’t like this just now. Are you sick?”

I tried to say I was fine to alleviate Iria’s concerns, but I didn’t have a chance to speak as Rikin quickly came to my side and placed his hand on my forehead.

“No fever…”

Unlike the worried Iria and Rikin, Persis stopped a step away from me and just looked at me. It felt as if there was an invisible boundary drawn between Persis and me. Just as I had tried to keep a distance, Persis was also making an effort not to get any closer to me.

I realized once again that we could never return to our former relationship. That was fortunate. Maintaining this distance would be better for both Persis and me.

“Yes, I’m fine. I’m just a little tired.”

I said, looking straight at Persis. My gaze didn’t waver.

“Then sit down and rest quickly. Or do you want to go back to the dormitory first?”

“No, it’s not that serious. I’ll be fine after resting a bit.”

I shook my head as I spoke to the concerned Iria. Seemingly unsatisfied with my answer, Iria sat me down and immediately brought a blanket and warm tea, placing them in my hands. To think that Iria would take care of me like this. For a very brief moment, I thought it was fortunate that I had become tired.

I glanced at Persis. By now, Persis should have developed a small liking for Iria. Surely he would be on edge seeing Iria taking care of me. Though he might not understand what that emotion was right now, in the original story, Persis began feeling jealousy toward the people around Iria from this point.

Persis was busy tapping on a tablet-shaped artifact. That artifact, which looked like an electronic pad, was a tool that could record various data and display it on the tablet later. It was so expensive that not everyone could have one, but our political science teacher had lent it to us for seminar preparation.

With his usual expression, Persis checked the artifact one by one. However, he couldn’t hide the atmosphere spreading around him. It was so hostile that even Rikin was cautious around Persis. Iria, not noticing Persis’s state, continued to take care of me.

Romance tends to burn brighter when there are obstacles. I hadn’t intended to get in between them much, but since I was already involved, perhaps it wouldn’t be bad to serve as a convenient obstacle for them to overcome. I might get a bit more tired, but it didn’t seem like a bad method.

“Are you feeling better now?”

“Yes, I’m fine.”

I replied casually as I removed the blanket covering my legs. It was almost time for the seminar to begin. A staff member who came to the waiting room asked us to take our designated seats. We would sit in our seats, and when it was our turn to present, the presenter would stand up and go on stage to make their argument.

There would probably be a barrage of questions, but we had already removed the more dangerous content from our previous presentation. We had also prepared answers for expected questions, so there shouldn’t be any dangerous situations.

Of course, considering the arguments Persis and Iria had made while preparing for the seminar, all our preparations might be useless, but as Rikin said, Persis probably wouldn’t do anything that risky.

Hoping that this presentation would do no harm to either Persis or Iria, we took our designated seats.

There were many others besides us sitting in the seats. About half of them were presenters, and the other half were people who had come to hear new opinions.

As we headed to our seats, I made eye contact with Kara, who was sitting in the back. I wanted to run right over and greet her, as it had been a long time since I’d seen her, but I couldn’t do that in front of so many people.

Kara seemed to feel the same way, greeting me with just a light wave of her hand. Next to her sat Yutis with a stern face. His expression was the same as usual, but he somehow looked tense. Thinking it was strange, I went to my seat with the other team members.

The seminar began with our political science teacher coming out to introduce the topic of the seminar and the people participating in today’s presentations.

“Today’s seminar has time set aside for young students to present as well. I thank everyone who allowed presentation time. I hope this seminar creates an opportunity to discover new conclusions by exchanging opinions with each other. Thank you.”

The teacher, having finished his introduction, came down from the podium at the center of the stage. I wondered if the seminar participants would have allowed it if Persis hadn’t been in our group. They would have blocked it, saying inexperienced students couldn’t participate. It was an obvious situation.

Scholars went up on stage one by one to present their research. Some opinions seemed excellent, while others felt outdated.

There were arguments that sparked heated debates among the audience, and there were people who were coldly ignored. I often thought it was quite harsh, considering these were theories they had worked hard to prepare. I was concerned that we might receive similar treatment.

“Andelion.”

At that moment, Iria, who was sitting next to me, whispered in a small voice.

“Don’t you smell something strange?”

“A smell?”

“Yes. I’ve smelled it somewhere before…”

She sniffed, trying to catch the scent. However, even when I carefully smelled the air, there was no special scent.

Just as I was about to answer that I couldn’t tell, it was finally our turn to present. I heard the moderator introducing us. Persis stood up from his seat and went to the podium.

Though still young, Persis’s steps were much more confident than those of other scholars, and his charisma captured attention just by standing still. Whenever I saw him, I thought Persis was truly an impressive person.

Standing at the podium, Persis pressed the artifact he had brought. Then, letters floated above the giant artifact on the stage. It felt like projecting an image onto a screen.

“Today, we have come here to talk about a certain experiment.”

It was a very dangerous experiment, and I didn’t want it to be revealed in a place like this, but I couldn’t stop it. I clasped my hands together, praying that this presentation would pass safely.

Persis looked at the large artifact and took a step forward from the podium. The artifact in his hand had long been set down. He seemed very relaxed, as if he already had everything in his head.

“Who is responsible for a person’s misfortune? We started with a very small question.”

The moment Persis began his introduction, a loud noise was heard. Along with a sound so loud it made my ears ring, the building began to shake violently. Due to the sudden tremor, people couldn’t stay in their seats and fell to the floor. I was one of them.