On Dani's side…
"I-I'm fine, Mom… I swear."
Without waiting for his mother's reaction, Dani hurriedly dashed to the bathroom, trying to ignore the unease that kept bothering him.
Once he locked the door, he took a deep breath. "Okay. Focus. First things first."
He took off his shirt, preparing to bathe and take care of personal business. However, as he was about to take off his pants, he suddenly remembered something.
My left eye… and my left ear…
Dani immediately straightened his body. "Damn."
Previously, he thought only his left eye was swapped with Neir, but it turned out his left ear had undergone the same thing. That meant—
"If I open my left eye, I won't see my own body… but see whatever is around Neir."
Dani immediately squeezed his left eyelid shut as hard as he could. "Oh god… no, no, this is bad."
The last thing he wanted this early in the morning was to suddenly see something unfamiliar from someone else's perspective.
"But there's another problem."
"My left ear is swapped too."
"That means… Neir can hear the sounds from this place?"
Dani swallowed.
"Don't tell me Neir can hear the sounds of this bathroom too?!"
Before he could think further, the sound of flowing water was heard. Dani tried to relax, but as soon as his stomach felt queasy, he panicked.
"Wait… don't tell me Neir can also hear the sound of someone taking a crap?!"
---
On Neir's side…
Neir was still standing in front of the school with Tira when strange sounds suddenly entered her ear.
Sploosh… blup blup…
Neir frowned.
"What is this?"
Then…
"Ouch, damn it!"
Neir jumped. "That's Dani's voice?!"
Realization hit her.
"Don't tell me I'm hearing…"
Her left ear picked up weird sounds from a bathroom. Neir froze in place.
"Oh no."
Neir quickly covered her left ear with her hand. Her face flushed instantly. "Why can I hear this?!"
Meanwhile, Tira looked at her, confused. "Neir? What's wrong?"
Neir didn't answer. She was busy with her own thoughts.
"Don't tell me Dani is in the bathroom?!"
Neir bit her lip, trying to restrain herself from panicking too much.
"Let's go in, we'll be late," Tira said while pulling her hand.
Neir nodded slowly and followed Tira's steps.
However, in her heart, she knew…
Today was going to be a very long day.
---
School and Guilt
On Neir's side…
Neir walked behind Tira, entering the school with hesitant steps. Even though her body kept moving, her mind was still stuck on the earlier incident.
She bit her lip. "Where can I get help?"
That thought kept spinning in her head. All of this was weird. It was insane. Sounds she shouldn't hear, visions she shouldn't see… it all felt like a real nightmare.
Then, suddenly, one name surfaced in her mind.
"Mr. Gharrick…"
It had been so long since they last met. Since that incident—since the day the library was destroyed.
Neir lowered her head. She didn't know if Mr. Gharrick was angry with her. The man was kind, but did he feel guilty because of that event? Or… maybe he blamed Neir?
"The library was destroyed… That woman… she must have been after the green pendant I found."
Maybe… it's all my fault.
But it's not just my fault, right?
Neir clenched her fist. She did take the pendant, but she also didn't know the item belonged to someone. And now, the library was damaged, Mr. Gharrick lost his place of work, and everything that happened that day… it all fell apart.
In fact, Neir had wanted to learn to read there before the incident happened. But, on her first visit… chaos erupted instead.
Neir sighed. Thinking about all this only confused her more.
Then—
"Haahh… that's warm, huh…"
Neir's eyes widened.
Dani's voice suddenly entered her left ear.
Neir heard the sound of water flowing heavily, then… small splashes, like someone pouring water over their body with a dipper.
Sreet… byur!
Then, the sound of breathing that sounded more relaxed.
"Haah… this feels good…"
Neir immediately covered her left ear with her hand again.
"Why can I hear this too?!"
She tried to ignore the sounds from Dani's bathroom, but it was hard. Her ear caught everything clearly, even though her mind was immersed in confusion about Mr. Gharrick.
Neir shook her head and kept following Tira into the school.
However, their steps halted again in front of the school gate.
Two adult men in volunteer uniforms stood there, guarding the entrance.
One of them, a man with short black hair and an upright posture, immediately greeted them warmly.
"Good morning!"
Neir, who was still lost in thought, was instantly startled.
"Huh?"
She turned toward the man. Neir's expression was a bit stiff, not because she was smitten, but because the greeting came so suddenly. She was still uneasy, her mind was a jumble, and now someone was greeting her as if she was fine.
On the other hand, Tira suddenly stopped walking—completely stopped.
Tira's eyes widened. She didn't say anything. Didn't react, didn't respond, just… stood still like a statue.
Her mouth was slightly open, her eyes fixed on the man who had greeted them.
"Neir… look at that…" she whispered, her voice almost inaudible.
Neir frowned. "What?"
However, upon looking at the man again, she realized something.
The man's face—Reynard—looked very striking. His black hair seemed to shimmer under the morning sun, his eyes were sharp yet friendly, and there was something in his expression that made him seem… to radiate a certain aura.
Neir couldn't say she was smitten, but… for some reason, she felt even more nervous.
On the other hand, the second man—Edric—raised an eyebrow, slightly surprised.
"Odd… Reynard greeted them first?" he thought.
Usually, the man only wore a stiff smile that could still make girls swoon. But this time, Reynard actually opened his mouth and greeted a kid? That… was quite rare.
Edric glanced at Neir and Tira, who seemed frozen in place, then let out a short sigh with a small smile.
"Well, Reynard is handsome. But seeing them like that, it's as if they're seeing him for the first time."
Edric felt a little strange, but his smile remained. Reynard could always attract attention, even without speaking much.
Reynard, noticing Neir's slightly confused gaze, lowered his head a little and asked, "Are you alright?"
Neir was startled again. "Huh?"
---
On Dani's side…
Meanwhile, Dani—still in the bathroom—immediately frowned upon seeing the same man from Neir's perspective.
"Damn… who is this guy?" Dani hissed inwardly.
His chest felt tighter. Not from romance, but from something more painful.
"Ouch, my chest hurts even more…"
He was jealous. Insanely jealous.
Then, his eye (or more accurately, Neir's left eye) swayed a little again, indicating that Neir had been startled once more.
Dani snorted. "Huh? Don't tell me Neir is smitten with him? Hahaha!"
But behind his laugh, Dani realized another thing that was no less ironic.
"I wonder how many times Neir and Tira have been startled today…"
---------