Author's Reincarnation in a Fantasy Setting

"Anya! It's me, Ellyn, I've bought something for you to eat," Ellyn said aloud before storming inside the room with a lunchbox in her hands.

"Hmmm? Leon, you're already here?" she asked as she saw Leon who was getting ready to leave.

"Oh, I just came to check on her."

'Was I late?' she thought upon seeing that Leon was already leaving. Then she glanced over at Anya, and she was still intact and in one piece. The bed was also clean so it was most likely that she wasn't late.

Satisfied with this she walked inside and sat next to Anya on the bed.

"Are you fine?" she asked.

"Umhm, yeah. I think so."

"Here I've bought something to eat, will you?"

Ellyn opened the lunchbox she had with her and a dish which was something similar to Spaghetti was revealed. They were noodles with sauce, spices, and unevenly chopped vegetables on them.

"It's not the best but I've made it at home. I'll at least be better than eating outside."

Ellyn was not good at cooking and she was still learning. This was because back in the time when she was at home, her maids did all the work and she was fed cooked food all the time.

"I'm sorry but, I don't feel like eating anything," Anya replied as she kindly turned her down.

"I see." Saying that Ellyn looked over at Leon who was now standing and watching them; she gestured for him to get out of the room and he did just that. The energy between them after that unsuccessful kiss was awkward so it was probably better to leave for now.

When he'd left the room Ellyn turned back to Anya. Anya was staring in the air, lost in thought—maybe back in the past.

"You have to eat or you'll ruin your health," Ellyn stated as she pulled out the fork she bought with her.

Picking up some noodles from it she stretched out her hand in Anya's direction.

"No please, I'm really not in the moo—umhhh!"

"Come on, just a bit is fine," Ellyn defied as she stuffed a fork full of noodles in Anya's mouth.

"Pfhaaa! Okay, fine. I'll eat it myself; you don't have to spoon-feed me," Anya agreed after finishing the noodles in her mouth.

"It's fork-feeding technically, but never mind," Ellyn mumbled to herself as she passed over the lunchbox to Anya.

A few minutes later Anya finished the whole thing. She hadn't eaten properly for many days so none could deny that she was hungry. It was just that until now her brain didn't realize that.

"How was it? I tried to be extra careful since I was making it for you."

"It wasn't as bad as you say. I mean, you are a better cook than me. I'm only able to make small dishes. But Zero is even worse than me; he only knows how to make...coffee."

The mood which had been lightened due to Ellyn suddenly turned dark yet again.

"I'm sorry," Ellyn apologized as she put her hand on Anya's shoulder.

"No. It's fine...I'm fine," it sounded like as if she was trying to say this to herself and not Ellyn.

"So what have you decided? When will you tell your parents about it?" she asked after a long silence.

"I...don't really know."

Anya hadn't informed her parents of this. Honestly, she tried to do it so many times but whenever she sit back to write a letter to them, their smiling faces surfaced in her mind, and she thought about what will happen to those faces once they hear this news.

What will happen to Ron? He was so happy when Zero survived five years ago, how will he feel after learning that he is dead?

A pressure so heavy that it could crush the whole world weighed on her chest whenever she thought of informing them of Zero's death, hence she was procrastinating it all the time.

"This might not be my place to say but, I think you shouldn't tell them now. Wait for at least a week or two," Ellyn suggested.

"Huh? Why?"

"You know about that, right? Their bodies haven't been found. I don't want to give you false hope or anything but there's still a chance that he is alive somewhere."

"But…"

It was true. After Ellyn, Anya, and Leon came back to the academy and reported to Ryfin about the incident, a search team was dispatched to retrieve the dead bodies.

But neither Zero's nor Challes's bodies were found. There was no trace of them either. It was almost as if they vanished into thin air.

That was also the reason both of their deaths hadn't been confirmed legally. Both of them were marked as 'missing' and not dead.

"I'm just saying you should wait for a while. In that time, your condition will also get better. After that, take emergency leave from the academy, go to your home, and tell your parents directly. It will be better than leaving them hanging with a letter," said Ellyn.

"Hmmm, yeah. I think I'll just do that. Even I know that I'm not in the condition to face them right now. I need…just a bit more time."

"It's okay. Take your time," Ellyn patted her on the back and then hugged her. After that, she said goodnight to her and left the room.

Anya looked at the wall clock, the time was sharp 9 pm so she decided to sleep; she didn't have anything else to do anyway.

She turned off the magic lights and went to bed. Lying down and staring at the ceiling she thought about the times she spent with Zero.

And the time when he revealed that he was not his brother, but someone else trapped in his body. At first, she was confused, she was also angry that he was technically stealing her brother's body.

But then there was also the thing that he saved her from Walric even when he didn't have anything to gain from it. And he was also living with them without providing any harm. Plus, according to what he said, he didn't get into her brother's body at will; fate forced it upon him.

Taking all of this into account Anya decided to wait and watch a bit more before giving any statement, hence that time she told Zero that she'd accepted him.

After that, as they got into the academy and time passed; Anya noticed that he really didn't mean any harm. In fact, there were several times when he saved her again—the special exam for example.

Yes, his methods were not the best but his intentions were—at least that's what she determined. Then she slowly started talking to him and they build a relationship. As for what kind of connection they had, well, it is a little difficult to describe because Anya herself didn't know that.

But now none of that matters. He was gone, lost into eternal darkness, and devoured into a world she was unaware of.

'I won't see him again, it's the reality now,' she said to herself internally, and then a shining drop of tear slid down her left cheek.

However, the next day she was proven wrong. She wasn't aware of it right now but tomorrow morning, she was going to see him again.