Ariane Algren.
She was the eldest daughter of House Algren, one of the Three Great Noble Families. Though she had a brother significantly older than her, he had already left home, and they rarely met. Consequently, she had been expected to conduct herself as the eldest sister of the household.
Ariane had been a lively, spirited child.
"Amelia! Come on!"
"W-Wait for me!"
She and her childhood friend, Amelia, were inseparable. They would spend their days running wild until the sun dipped below the horizon. Occasionally, they would return so late that they were scolded for it.
Of course, following those lectures, Ariane always made sure to strictly observe her curfew.
As the eldest daughter of House Algren, she had to behave accordingly.
However, the young Ariane didn't give such matters much thought back then.
When Amelia and Rebecca eventually collided with the struggles of their status, she alone experienced no significant change. Even as a child, she had already come to terms with the nature of noble society.
But people cannot help but change.
The first to do so was Amelia.
"Amelia! Let's play!"
Returning from school, Ariane immediately invited her friend out as usual. Clutching a ball and wearing a beaming smile, she waited for her.
However, the response she received was almost beyond belief.
"I... I can't play anymore."
At those words, Ariane let the ball slip from her fingers.
"W-Why? What do you mean?"
"Because I'm not like you, Ariane..."
Amelia turned on her heel.
Ariane tried to chase after her, but Amelia vanished behind a door in an instant. As the door clicked shut, Ariane stood frozen, dazed.
She knew Amelia had been struggling. At parties, she had occasionally caught her friend wearing a somber, heavy expression.
Even so, Ariane had believed Amelia would be fine. She thought Amelia would be able to compartmentalize her feelings, just as she had.
But that day, she finally understood. Not everyone in this world shared her perspective.
Suddenly, a gust of wind howled.
Her long platinum hair whipped about in the gale.
She looked up at the sky just as the first drops of rain began to fall.
Unsure of what to do, Ariane watched as an insurmountable chasm formed between her and Amelia from that day forward.
"What am I supposed to do?" she whispered.
Soaking in the rain, she began the lonely walk home.
Several years later.
"Hmph... Hah... Hah!"
Having passed the entrance exam for Diom Magic Academy, Ariane was throwing herself into training. Her father, Volk, had finally given his permission, and her strength training was in full swing.
From that point on, she trained every single day.
She did so with such intensity that even her father was moved to admiration.
"Ariane."
"Father."
"You are working quite hard... Tell me, do you have a specific goal?" Volk asked.
Neither her older brother nor her youngest sister, Tiana, took after Volk. But Ariane was different. She was his image. It wasn't just her dedication to training; she moved forward with a clear sense of purpose.
As a father, he wondered if there was anything he could do for her. That thought was what prompted him to speak to his daughter.
"...Well, I suppose I do," she said, pausing her workout to face him.
"I want her to see me like this."
"And what would that achieve?"
"By doing so, I'm sure that one day, Amelia will also..."
"I see... I understand."
It seemed Volk had realized something; he said nothing more and left the room.
Since the day her friendship with Amelia had effectively ended, Ariane had never stopped thinking about what she could do. The answer she had arrived at was to keep moving forward, staying ahead of Amelia.
If she did, Amelia would surely chase after her. By looking at her back, Amelia might find the strength to feel something again.
Ariane believed that. She had believed it for a long, long time.
And that belief would eventually manifest in an unexpected way.
"Now then, which academy are you from? There have been many of your sort lately... but I shall neither run nor hide. Therefore, I believe you should be honest as well."
"Yeah. I'll do just that. My apologies for the deception. Ariane Algren—you truly are a noble person. I sincerely respect that."
Their first meeting was while he was cross-dressing.
He was a student she didn't recognize. She had deduced that he was an investigator sent ahead of the Magics Chevalier, but she hadn't realized the "girl" was actually a boy in disguise.
After all, his appearance was more feminine than that of most women.
That encounter brought about a major change for Ariane.
Ray White.
The more she looked into him, the more she realized he was no ordinary person.
He did not come from a lineage of sorcerers. He was the first sorcerer in the history of the academy to come from an Ordinary background.
Yet, he possessed incredible strength in actual combat, and rumors said he was the one who had guided Amelia's growth. After her narrow defeat to Amelia, Ariane gradually became fascinated by Ray.
—Amelia has changed. But that's because Ray was there. Just who is he?
After meeting him at the Magic Association party and witnessing his cross-dressing again at the Cultural Festival, her interest in Ray never wavered.
Then came the Magics War.
The moment she heard about it, the first thing she thought of was teaming up with Ray and Amelia.
She wanted to know. She wanted to understand Amelia's transformation, but more than anything, she wanted to know more about him. And then, Ariane learned the truth.
Ray White was the Current Ice Sword Sorcerer.
"I can't believe it... Ray is..."
She tried to sleep in her dormitory bed, but rest eluded her.
"So that's what Father meant."
The reason Volk had asked her to bring Ray to him was that he knew Ray was the Ice Sword Sorcerer.
Furthermore, after hearing about Ray's past and seeing even a glimpse of the fierce battles he had endured, she was convinced—he was not normal.
"Sigh..."
She stared up at the ceiling.
Having lost to Amelia, she felt it was now her turn to do the chasing. While she believed that, a sense of frustration had been mounting lately.
It stemmed from the fact that she had finally started to see her own limits.
When it came to effort, Ariane was second to none. Not only did she focus on physical conditioning, but she never neglected her magical practice either.
Yet, she had been effortlessly overtaken by Amelia.
The Origin Magic Amelia had manifested was one that interfered with causality itself. Amelia would likely become one of the Seven Grand Sorcerers someday.
"But as for me—"
She couldn't visualize herself reaching that level.
It wasn't that she was obsessed with becoming one of the Seven Grand Sorcerers, but she refused to remain stagnant.
A thought suddenly occurred to her.
—Why am I continuing to move forward?
Until now, it had been for Amelia's sake. She had kept fighting for her.
But what about now? What was she moving forward for now?
She didn't know. And because she didn't know, Ariane sought an answer. She wanted to understand the existence known as Ray White.
If he was the one who had changed Amelia, he would surely know something.
If he was the Ice Sword Sorcerer, then surely...
"Ariane. You're early."
"Of course I am!"
Morning practice had finally begun. To get to Arnold Magic Academy, she traveled by foot, running the whole way. Naturally, this served as part of her training. That said, it didn't take much time if she ran at full speed, so Ariane considered it killing two birds with one stone.
"Where is Amelia?"
"...Did she run away? No, it's still thirty minutes before our meeting time. Let's wait patiently."
"Understood."
The two of them lined up and began their stretching.
As they did, she stole a glance at Ray's profile.
He had a sharp, focused face and was always calm and collected. At the same time, he was a charming individual with a sense of humor. His prowess as a sorcerer went without saying.
—I can see why Amelia is attracted to him.
"Wait, what in the world am I thinking!?"
She was so flustered that she accidentally spoke her thoughts aloud.
"Is something wrong?"
Ray peered into her face. In that instant, Ariane became so embarrassed by her own thoughts that her face turned a vivid crimson.
"...I-It is nothing!"
"I see. Let's continue, then."
"Yes!"
While desperately trying to suppress her racing heart, she forced herself to calm down. Believing that she would surely grasp something if she followed Ray, Ariane devoted herself to training once again.