The Extra of The Lunerra

My classes were ending early for Tuesday. So... I had the afternoon free.

But I wasn't exactly free.

"Another date, huh..."

The one before I went to Holar was my first one. And... I actually enjoyed it.

And now the second one, today. And... I was walking right up to it right now.

"You should have refused."

I paused momentarily when Sith appeared with a slightly serious expression on his face.

'Didn't you say yourself that things with her brother had to be fixed first?'

Well, it wasn't wrong. I did say it.

But...

'She asked me herself, and she looked a bit bad... And wouldn't it have been misunderstood if I refused? Like I didn't want to be around her or something like that...'

Sith sighed deeply.

'You're a hypocrite, what you wanted was some time away from her. Both for her and yourself. You could have made excuses.'

I started to move again, but this time... the expression on my face dropped a little.

'I know.'

But... I didn't. I didn't want to. And seeing that she was in a bit of a bad mood... I didn't want to be rude or anything.

Did I make a mistake?

Maybe...

But...

'Anyway... if you're going, do everything properly. I will sleep.'

Then, he landed on my shoulder, and his body slowly faded away.

I sighed slightly, trying to clear my mind of unnecessary things, and after a short while, I realized that I had finally arrived in front of the café.

In the past, I would have struggled a bit to find her. My eyes would have wandered from table to table, looking for her.

But now... I didn't even have to look at the tables.

Because she was literally shining. No, not literally shining... but extremely conspicuous.

Most of the eyes in the cafe were on her. She gave off such an aura that it was impossible not to notice her. Her wavy black hair, her jewel-like dark blue eyes, even the simple clothes she was wearing... everything.

That was the difference of the charm statistic.

But it didn't affect me. And as much as it didn't, she could suppress it to a certain extent with her skill.

I curled my lips up slightly and approached her table with slow steps. When she noticed me approaching, her eyes left the table and shifted toward me.

As a slow smile slowly appeared on her face, I moved to the chair opposite her and gently leaned my cane against the edge of the table.

"Did I make you wait?"

Sue shook her head slightly from side to side.

"No, you didn't."

"Good, then..."

I glanced at the menu on the table.

"Let's have a light snack first, shall we?"

Sue nodded her head in agreement, then her eyes drifted away from me and back to the table. Thoughtful, as if... something was occupying her mind.

*******

The silence...

Something that shouldn't happen on a date.

But that's exactly what's happening right now. Not the silence that comes with eating or doing something... but simply the awkward silence that comes with walking.

"Something's bothering you."

Sue tore her gaze away from the floor she had been holding until now and slowly turned it to me.

"You're not in a good mood, you're always thinking... you're quiet. Has something happened?"

"Is it that obvious...?"

Huh... did she really think it wasn't?

"Quite a lot."

Sue sighed slightly, clasped her hands behind her back, and turned her eyes to the empty road ahead.

"I'm... sorry. I dragged you along with me to maybe get some relief, but I'm gloomy..."

I shook my head quickly from side to side.

"It's okay, really."

I curled my lips up, paused, and she paused with me.

Even though I was smiling, I continued with a serious tone to my voice.

"You can just... tell me. It's good to talk sometimes, you know. And I... I really want to help."

Sue opened her mouth for a moment to say something, but then paused. After a short while, she started walking once again as I followed her.

For half a minute, she went on without saying anything, in the same silence. But this time her steps were not random as if she had a destination.

*******

As I looked at the huge boulder standing in front of me, my mind involuntarily went back in time. This was where I always came to relax. But it wasn't just my place, Sue used to come here many times.

She used to have lunch here all the time, for example. Before Justin's death, when her life was being turned into a living hell by him.

And now, we were here again.

Sue was crouched where she always leaned against the back of the rock. I was... right next to her.

"Go on, tell me."

I said gently, following up in the same way.

"Whatever it is that's troubling you or bothering you."

Sue slowly turned her eyes up to the sky. But this time, she didn't stay silent. This time... she actually spoke.

"I... I simply don't know what to do."

She stretched her legs out and placed her hands together just above her stomach.

"I used to... be angry with myself for always being ordinary. I used to try different things, many things that I could be talented at... that I could somehow set myself apart from the others."

Oh, so it wasn't about Paul?

"When I was a kid, I used to wear make-up all the time to be pretty, then I stopped because it was... ridiculous. I tried a few sports, again I stopped when I realized I was average. Board games like chess, lessons... everything. I was just average, or just slightly above or below everything. Arcades were the only thing different, games like table hockey... I was good at those. But that was it."

I... am not sure if it's good or bad that her situation is not related to her brother...

But even if it's not, I should listen to her carefully... right?

"And now... it actually happened. I'm... more beautiful than I wanted to be. When I look in the mirror, I have a hard time recognizing if my face is really mine, as if I'm looking at someone I'm not. I also have skills like Absolute Voice... for example. I became strong, without doing anything... simply by accepting an offer and following a simple, forgotten dream of mine."

She raised her hands, looked at her palms. Her mana spread around her body, gently circulating between her hands and fingers.

The mana in the atmosphere accompanied her later as if it wanted to play with her... pulled towards her.

"People are always looking at me whether they want to or not... because I have an extremely high charm, even though I suppress its negative effects. But not because I've achieved anything, not because I'm good at anything. It's just... because I'm too beautiful now."

She spread her mana further. A light breeze blew in our faces, the leaves around us rippled. It was as if they were accompanying Sue.

"And I am strangely talented now. I can control my mana at will, I'm even much more sensitive to my surroundings, and on top of that... I feel as if... as if everything wants to stand beside me, to be with me, to do what I want."

She dispersed her mana suddenly, violently. And along with her mana, everything else around her also reacted harshly.

"I... I didn't deserve this. Not this beauty, not the power I've gained, not my skills... not even my life. I should have died there. As any ordinary person would have done. Sometimes, I couldn't help but think... If it had been Lucia who had fallen instead of me... wouldn't she have been able to do justice to these skills much better? Or Adrian, or anyone else."

Her dark blue eyes turned towards me, her lips flat as she continued.

"I... I feel like I'm an extra again, like I've gotten things I shouldn't have gotten. I don't know what to do..."

All I could do was... sigh deeply when she stopped talking.

I narrowed my eyes slightly, looked directly into hers, and spoke a little harshly.

"So what?"

Sue looked at me blankly for a moment, her eyebrows raised, and her lips twitching slightly.

"If you have things you don't think you deserve, Sue, deserve them. So what if others could do much better with the power you have? Just strive to do even better. If you can't... or don't want to... then let it go."

"But-"

"You don't have to do anything, everything is your choice, Sue. There are plenty of people around you who will accept you for who you are, people in our work group and me... for example. You're scared of messing up, I get it, you're scared of not using what you have properly. But never mind, I really mean it."

I took her hand slowly, gently. And I smiled.

"The Sue I know is... strong. She is someone who endured Justin's bullying for months, someone who won friends like Lucia with her old 'ordinary' self, someone who went into a B grade dungeon and survived... and so much more. Why do you think so little of yourself?"

I raised my left hand, pointing at myself with my thumb.

"I used to be ordinary, too. I was weak... but look now. I tried, I strived for more. Maybe I was going to fail, and I actually failed a few times, yes... but I did not stop. Even though I earned things I didn't deserve, even though I made countless mistakes, I didn't stop and... I continued to try. You can do the same."

I paused for a moment to catch my breath, readjusted my tone, and continued.

"But if you can't... none of your friends will leave you. We welcomed you as you were. Don't think you'll lose everything around you because you've changed and can't keep up."

She looked at her palms once again, but I didn't stop.

"Or... just don't force yourself to try to deserve what you've gained.

There are so many people in the world who have power but don't use it. Why would you, when there are others too? Just... do what you want to do. Okay? Like I said, nobody is forcing you to do anything. It's just... you doing that."

Sue remained silent, her expression thoughtful as her eyes fell back to the floor.

I took a deep breath, leaned back first... and unlike her, looked up at the sky.

Seconds passed in silence, seconds in which we both thought and thought.

Finally, I lowered my eyes, fixed them on the trees in front of us. I thought for a while, I squinted... but then I let myself go.

And my thoughts at the same time.

"I love you, Sue."

A strange silence enveloped my body once again, but this time... much more obvious and, strangely, scary.

"But... not because you are beautiful now, not because you might be talented or strong.

Since the very beginning, since we talked in my room after the Justin thing. You've always been beautiful, you've always been different from other people for me. So... even if you're afraid of others, don't be afraid of me. I'll... I'll always be there for you. Whether you're beautiful, whether you're ordinary, whether you're talented, whether you're weak."

I turned slowly towards her. I saw the shock in her eyes, how rigid her expression had become. I don't know why, a smile appeared on my face.

"Whatever!"

I grabbed my cane, slowly stood up, and turned my back.

"I think it's better to clear your head now, think about what I said. Figure out what you want to do. For now... I will g-"

I paused when I felt my clothes being pulled behind my back. My lips curled even higher as I slowly turned around.

Sue was standing now. She must have gotten up pretty quickly because there was grass on her clothes... but I didn't care about these little details.

I just looked at her face, at her slightly flushed cheeks... at her eyes, brightly fixed on mine.

She said nothing. Twice she tried to open her mouth, but no words left her lips.

When she tried a third time, this time, I interrupted her instead. First, I grabbed her shoulders, then I slowly pulled her to me.

She didn't even resist, she didn't run away. She just... stared at me. Then, though, her eyelids slowly closed.

I pulled her closer to me. And then... I kissed her gently.