Isekai No Gakusei: Students From Another World
Iron Determination Rusty

There was a small commotion from the room where Akira was being treated. Like the noise of people fighting with their mouths. But the noise doesn't sound like a bad thing. In fact, it feels like a warm feeling.

Tok... Darren knocked slowly on the room door. As much as possible he opened his ears wide, trying to hear what was inside. A few seconds later, someone opened the door.

"Oh, isn't this Esema-dono." Fak appeared from behind the door, welcoming Darren who had just pulled his ear.

"Oh! Faksan. Is the envoy from Friedlich in question you?" Guess it. He even had time to release his relief apart from the noise from inside the room. "Thank God it's true. Because I was already scared when I heard that the messenger that came was a creepy person."

Fak laughs. "Haha, that means I'm not scary huh," he joked. "After all, I'm not alone. I should have been alone. But someone forced me to come."

"Someone?"

Fak took a deep breath while followed by a small smile. "Come in. You better meet him in person."

Fak puts his body aside, letting Darren step in. The room was quite big. But there was something else that also had a big shape that caught Darren's attention.

"Ara~ Who is this?" There was a soft and heavy voice of onee-san.

The woman was dressed magnificently. Shiny dress with various jewel ornaments on each side. Usually Darren considers such a dress with a tacky impression. But the clothes are so beautiful. Is it possible because it is worn by a suitable person?

Speaking of that, the woman looked grown up. It was about one hundred and eighty centimeters tall. The parasites are elegant with slightly narrowed eyes as if always staring with calmness. His red lips look blushing. His hair was tied in noble style with a long hairpin resembling a chopstick blade supporting him.

And one more thing that spontaneously drew Darren's gaze directly.

"G-Gede!" Her eyes stared at the pair of melons hanging behind the silver dress.

"Hey, where are your eyes looking?" Akira suddenly cried.

Aware of what he was doing, Darren immediately turned his face away and then apologized. But the woman did not seem disturbed. He smiled as if this was common.

"Let me introduce myself, my name is Darren Aswan. I was... Well, you could say the leader of this country." Darren bowed and introduced himself.

"Ara~ So this is Darren-kun whom Akira-chan has often told," said the woman. Then she stood up, lifting both sides of her dress with her fingers like the etiquette of a noble. "My name is Alicia, Alicia Friedlich. I was. Well, you can call me: Akira's mother."

Mammy? Wait, real mom? Darren's never heard of it before. Akira rarely talks about his family. Is it because there is a special reason?

"Alicia-san?!" Akira. Her face flushed. Then he immediately turned to look at Darren. "No, don't mind the words just now!"

Darren just nodded awkwardly while inwardly wondering what exactly was the relationship between the two of them.

"Ara~ Akira-chan, I thought you thought I was your mother" Alicia said.

"Stop saying embarrassing things!" Reply Akira. "If you were Schlaff's wife, that doesn't mean I'd consider you my mother. After all, I never considered Schlaff to be my father from the very beginning. To me he was just a brother."

"Fufu. Look at that reddened face of yours. You're so cute." Alicia is teasing Akira.

Darren frowned. "Wife? Schlaff? Don't-don't.. You're the daughter of King Friedlich?"

Alicia laughed a little. It seemed obvious in the corner of his lips that he was waiting for Darren to notice it from earlier.

Darren was nervous. He had heard from Akira before that King Friedlich's daughter was married to his general. If he knew from the beginning, he should have been able to give a more decent welcome.

"Why can't I realize it? He was clearly wearing super fancy clothes. It should have crossed my head a little if he wasn't an ordinary person. Moreover, Ravenna had warned me before coming here."

Alicia finally let go of her laughter. He could not help but hold his face after seeing Darren's panicked face.

"You're an interesting young man, yes, Darren-kun. Akira-chan deserves to be so impressed with you" Alicia said. From his tone of speech, he deliberately made Akira feel disturbed.

"Don't make it sound weird, Alicia-san!" Akira yelling. His face was more red than before. "I do admire Esema-kun, but respectfully. He was a great soldier. A good and strong fighter, but not a weak one. It was his nature that made me admire him."

"Ehh.. Just say you like it, right."

"No!"

Alicia seemed satisfied after teasing Akira all out. Seeing the interaction between the two of them, then made Darren become more curious what they had both been through.

"Wait a minute. What exactly is your relationship?" Cut Darren. "Is Schlaff Akira's older brother? Then why could Alicia-san be her mother?"

Akira replied in a squeaky tone. "I told you, don't listen to her words-"

"Right, I am Akira-chan's mother," Alicia cut in. "But our relationship is a bit difficult to explain. Akira-chan and Schlaff are foster brothers. So, when I got married to Schlaff, Akira-chan was indirectly my sister."

Alicia approached Darren. One hand grabbed Darren's head and hugged him close enough. While his other hand was pointing towards Akira, it was as if he had Darren looking towards him.

"Look at his face. It's so cute, isn't it? I couldn't bear to be her mother" she said enthusiastically.

Darren only smiled awkwardly while following the given groove. He really did not know what to do in the midst of such a situation.

"Stop, Alicia-san!" Akira's face was flushed like a tomato. It seemed like he was at the peak of his embarrassment.

Akira takes the tissue box beside his bed and throws it at Alicia. But this was not taken seriously by him. He immediately ran away with Fak leaving the room. Of course with a laugh that makes Akira even more annoyed.

"Basic," Gerrutu.

Darren chuckled, then walked up to him. "You two look familiar."

Akira only replied with a heavy sigh. His annoyance slowly subsided, as he tried to calm himself in the middle of the treatment room. Darren also noticed. As soon as Alicia left, this room became much quieter.

"How are you doing?" Darren asked as he pulled out a chair and sat down.

Darren took off his relief. "Thank God. I was so worried when I heard you were fighting alone against that succubus" he said. "Especially when you hear the news that your talent is almost out of control."

Akira chuckles a little. But the smile on his face immediately faded, replaced by a grim look on the face that slowly looked down.

"So you already know, yes," he said. "It's not meant to hide this from you. The power of my talent is a power that easily gets out of control. Especially when I'm being devoured by emotions."

From the look on his face, Darren could guess that this was not the first time.

"Did something bad ever happen?"

Akira was silent for a moment. All those memories re-emerged in his head. Reminds him of the 'it' incident'.

"I've killed someone with this talent."

Akira opens his mouth, telling Darren about his past. How his father made use of his talent by making him cry every day. In the end, fate brought him to Schlaff.

But it was his tone that caught Darren's attention. He told me all that not to prove something. Not in a tone as if complaining about fate. But to take off all the burdens that had been stuck in his heart. It was clear from his voice that he had been holding everything back for a long time. Being able to let go of her today really made her heart feel fresher.

"In the end, I was adopted by Schlaff to be his adopted sister. We lived together long enough. Thanks to him, I can feel a more meaningful life than just a money-making tool" Akira said.

Darren fell silent. He can't speak. Akira's past turns out to be darker than he imagined. Seeing him now amazed him at the persistence of his heart.

Although the trauma continues to eat away at his mental, but he still tries his best to prevent people from experiencing things similar to him. Even to the point of willingly putting himself in danger to save Darren.

"We have a similar determination. Trying to protect the people around us. But..." Darren brooding. "Am I worth comparing myself to him? I'm just a failure. The more I try to protect a person, the more souls there are to fall victim to. Is...is my determination right?"

Seeing Darren pensively silent, Akira thought he had told too much and made the atmosphere heavy.

"It looks like my story just ruined the mood, yeah. But. thanks for listening. Now the burden on my chest feels like it's gone." Akira smiled slightly with a faint look.

Darren still looked at him with the same gaze. "You're really okay telling me all that?"

Akira shakes. "No. I even feel happy. After all, I have also heard about your past. Let's just say we're even now."

Darren smiles. He was honestly a bit surprised to see this side of Akira. Usually, all he had in his head was the impression of himself as a fighter. But this time, for the first time, Darren was convinced that the person in front of him was a real woman.

His appearance that always wore a mask was not without reason. Other than to cover up his identity so as not to be flashy, the main reason he covered his face was none other than to hide his expression.

According to him, in a fight, emotions are one of the most fatal loopholes the enemy can exploit. Only from facial expressions and body expressions, opponents can take advantage of psychological conditions to make us depressed. Until finally mental can be damaged and physical performance is affected.

That's all true. But Darren is convinced that Akira's reason is more than just a fight. 'Closing emotions' he said. What emotion is more precisely? Darren found out after seeing his current weak side.

He was only a human, despite his monstrous strength and superhuman abilities. With the determination to protect people, of course, he did not want the people he helped see the weak side. Not physically. But emotion. And emotions always radiate in facial expressions.

"It seems right. Compared to his golden determination, my determination was just like a fragile rusty iron. Not only is it easy to crumble, but it also risks injuring those who touch it" Inner Darren.

Worry, worry, fear, and guilt. Everything suddenly pierced Darren's heart at the same time. All this time he believed that what he did could bring justice. But now, in the depths of his heart, he began to doubt whether the justice he aspired for would be realized without consequence.

Even doing the right thing sometimes requires sacrifice. Darren doesn't care if the sacrifice only concerns him. But he could not forgive himself anymore after the many souls who died because of his selfish dreams.

"Esema-kun?" Akira suddenly touched Darren's shoulder which was staring deep into the void. Even for a moment, he could not see the 'living' gaze in Darren's eyes.

"Are you okay?" He nodded with a worried tone.

Darren awoke from his daydream. He almost fell out of the chair. He fell too far into his mind, so he had trouble getting back into reality.

"A-Ah, yes. I'm fine."

"You don't look like that. Did yesterday's injury mess up your mind?"

"M-Maybe." Darren lied.

Akira immediately stuck out his hand and touched Darren's forehead suddenly. Clettak! Suddenly a jolt landed on him.

"You're lying, right?" Said Akira again. "Have you forgotten that I can detect lies through which stream?"

Darren just fell silent while holding his forehead.

"What are you really thinking?" Ask Akira. "Did my past stories make your mood ugly?"

Darren spontaneously shook his head. "No, not that!" His word. Slowly, his face began to fall. "I just thought of something. But it's not important. So, forget it."

"You said it wasn't important. But your expression says otherwise."

Akira took a deep breath. "I can detect one's inner pressure through Mana. People who lie usually emit a stronger pressure than usual. But that doesn't mean I can read your mind" he said.

Then he placed both his hands on Darren's shoulders. "Look at me!" He lifted Darren's face and looked at him deeply. "I don't know what's bothering you. Or what's on your mind. But my experience in understanding human psychology has been proven in combat. Your face shows you're in trouble. And the look in your eyes says that you're harboring everything yourself."

Akira gripped Darren's shoulder getting stronger. The look in his eyes felt increasingly deep into Darren's mind. It was as if he had managed to touch the deepest depths of Darren's mind.

Akira continued, "Whatever your problem is, I just want to tell you this: The hardest part about being a hero is that you can't save everyone. That is an indisputable fact" he said, "But you also have to remember how many people have been saved because of you. Losing is inevitable. But every sacrifice must have a big role in carving out destiny."

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