The academy had ended earlier than expected.
For Joo-yeon who returned to Class 1 after her personal interview, all that was left was to explain the situation.
The key conclusion that came out of that was that they had been given days off.
All the days that had originally been scheduled for exams were now officially designated as holidays.
With the weekend following right after, it was practically a long vacation for the students.
As Rohan checked his phone on the way to the meeting place, the time read 11:40 a.m.
Just before lunchtime.
Now that I have time, maybe I should increase my training.
If he wanted to at least roughly learn the third sword technique, he had to make good use of this break.
Once today’s errands were done, it might not be a bad idea to spend the rest of the time with a sword in hand.
“Oppa!”
“Rohan. Over here.”
Rohan who had been contemplating over the calendar looked up.
Even amidst the crowd, Sion and Clara standing on the street immediately drew attention with their striking looks.
Sion was dressed in jeans and a knit sweater that radiated the scent of April spring.
From the size, it clearly wasn’t her own clothing, and judging by the style, it definitely wasn’t something she borrowed from Clara either.
It was definitely an outfit he had never seen before.
“What, did you already buy new clothes?”
“This is the only new thing I’ve gotten. I’m planning to buy a few more today.”
“Oh.”
When Rohan let out a short sound of admiration and nodded,
Sion fiddled with the hem of her outfit and asked,
“…Does this kind of outfit look weird after all?”
“Weird? It looks pretty.”
“!”
Leaving aside the saying that “fashion is completed by the face”, it already seemed like Sion knew what style suited her best.
It was probably a natural-born sense.
“Oh, Oppa, what about me…?”
“It goes without saying. You’re absolutely beautiful.”
At Rohan’s effortless compliment, the girls looked at each other and smiled with flushed faces.
Clara lowered her head deeply, trying to hide her expression.
Sion, on the other hand, took a step closer toward Rohan.
“Rohan, if I were to ask who’s prettier, that’d put you in a tough spot, wouldn’t it?”
The elf girl added the playful question with a deepening smile and a teasing tone.
Rohan quickly lifted his head to look up at the sky, as if fleeing from the question.
She knew him well.
“…Let’s get moving. Where are we going first?”
The real estate agent they were introduced to by Yuho from Tigrova was scheduled for the afternoon.
For now, they headed toward the large shopping mall located in Academy City.
Since the academy had ended early, there were a lot of first-year students visible around them.
“Oppa, don’t you have anything to buy?”
“Ah, well, I do, but I can’t buy it here. It’s something I can get later. I was hoping to get some advice from you two when the time comes.”
“Hmm?”
“From Unnie and me…?”
Four eyes turned to look at him at the same time.
Rohan raised the corner of his mouth and gathered a small amount of mana at his fingertip— pop! — then released it lightly.
Though it didn’t have any power at all,
The way he released his mana made his intention clear, and the girls opened their eyes wide in surprise.
“I discovered a new talent, you see. Maybe you’ve realized it while spending time with me?”
“O-Oh! Does that mean you can use a gun too, Oppa!?”
“I did try using it once during the last test. But I couldn’t control my mana properly, so the gun broke.”
“So, it’s not something you could use from the beginning, but it suddenly became possible?”
“Yeah. This time, I suddenly figured out how to do it. I was trying to use a skill, and then bam!…it just hit me.”
“…I’ve never even heard of something like that.”
The ability to imbue mana into projectiles wasn’t something that could be solved through training.
Just like some people had dimples when they smiled and some didn’t, or like how eye and hair colors vary from person to person. It was an innate trait, completely unrelated to one’s will.
Rohan also found it difficult to explain the concept of leveling up a skill.
So he gave up on the explanation and got straight to the point.
“I want to get recommendations from you two for a handgun I can carry around.”
Sion and Clara had their curiosity piqued and immediately widened their eyes.
“Oppa, with a handgun…!”
“If Rohan has a preferred style, recommending a gun won’t be a problem. What model was the handgun you used on the deserted island?”
With his arms crossed, Rohan stroked his chin,
He barely managed to recall the name that had grown faint in his memory.
“Snowfall-75?”
“A solid choice.”
“A standard mass-produced model, I see.”
Rohan already had the feeling that he’d come to the right place and the corner of his mouth lifted in satisfaction.
Isn’t agreement a good sign?
“I’ll trust you two.”
When Rohan said that, the two of them seemed to already have a gun in mind.
The two girls began to chatter away like canaries.
“Oh, I think a heavy revolver-type handgun would totally suit you, Oppa! One that uses magnum rounds…!”
“But if it’s gas-operated and has a revolver mechanism, wouldn’t it be too big and get in the way when you use your sword? If it’s just a secondary weapon, a stainless-steel revolver would work fine too. These days, holsters are made pretty sleek, and if it’s a 2-inch model, it wouldn’t be uncomfortable at all.”
“Even so… Oppa has big hands and thick fingers, so I feel like a masculine-looking gun would suit him best…”
“Hmm, you’re not wrong, and I get where you’re coming from. But still, you can’t completely ignore portability.”
The deeper they dug into the discussion, the more Sion and Clara’s opinions clashed.
Just watching them was enough for Rohan to already picture the future.
No doubt about it… I’m definitely going to end up buying two.
At some point, the group had stopped walking without realizing it.
Rohan started walking again.
“Let’s talk about the handgun after we’re done shopping. The gun shops stay open late anyway.”
“Ah! Okay…!”
“Sounds good.”
Rohan let the two girls get on the escalator first, then stood behind them and asked,
“So, what are you planning to buy first? Clothes?”
“Clothes, obviously.”
“……”
Clara clamped her mouth shut, while Sion gave a vague answer.
Sensing a strange atmosphere creeping in, Rohan asked again.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You’ll see if you follow us.”
Rohan trailed after the girls as they got off the escalator.
Before he knew it, they had arrived at a store that specialized in women’s underwear. There were even a few female students from the academy browsing inside.
“…….”
Rohan shot a glance at Sion.
Sion declared confidently with a smug little smile.
“Underwear is clothing too, isn’t it?”
“At this rate, you might as well call Charizard a grapefruit.”
“Charizard?”
“Never mind… let’s just go in.”
When Rohan didn’t object and quietly followed them in, Sion and Clara began browsing the items with excited faces.
Sion grabbed a hanger and held it out to Rohan as if to show it off.
“I do need underwear, but I also wanted to buy something comfortable to sleep in.”
The pure white fabric was light and sheer.
He could see Sion’s fingers through the material as she held it up.
“…Isn’t that a negligee?”
“Technically, it’s categorized as sleepwear. Am I wrong?”
“Well, you’re not exactly wrong, but still… hmm…”
With it shoved right in front of his face, he couldn’t help but imagine it.
Wasn’t it a bit too racy?
“Fu, don’t worry. I’m not careless enough to show my bare skin to just anyone.”
“Well, that’s… a relief.”
He tried to act unbothered, but there was a subtle stiffness in his demeanor.
Sion found Rohan’s reaction secretly funny.
“Rohan. Do you think it would suit me?”
“Uh…”
“O-Oppa! How about this one?”
Clara seemed to have taken a liking to a black negligee, the opposite of Sion’s choice.
She picked one up and hovered around Rohan.
It was like a full-force Gegenpressing.
Rohan’s mouth went completely dry.
***
After finishing her preparations to go out, Noah Frozenheart stepped out of the dorm and spotted her prey.
Wagging her tail playfully and lowering her stance,
She spread her arms wide and charged toward her friend like usual.
“Nose! Come heeere!”
“……”
“Huh?”
Yui Ichinose, who she naturally expected to dodge, didn’t move aside.
She stood still, lost in thought, with her feet unmoving.
And Noah landed right in her arms.
“Nose?”
Baby-Nose Yui.
No, her real name was Ichinose Yui.
It was the first time she invited a man who wasn’t family to a meal. And she tasted failure.
Looking back now, I can’t help but wonder….why did I assume it would work out without even considering the possibility of failure? On what grounds?
She wondered if all the men who had offered her a seat had endured this same pressure.
Even though having a prior engagement was a perfectly reasonable explanation, she couldn’t help but think….was he avoiding the situation out of discomfort? Was it unpleasant for him to have a meal with her?
Maybe I’ve just gotten too used to being respected as a person…
And yet, with what nerve had she gone around telling people to see her not as a woman, but as a warrior?
The more she recalled those moments when her words had outpaced her actions, the more she found herself knocking on her head in regret.
“Nose? Are you listening? Hey, come on?”
Still holding her, someone poked her soft cheek a few times.
Only then did the petite girl move her head.
“Ah… you’re here.”
“What’s with you today? Want to just rest?”
“I’m fine. But let go, please. I can’t breathe.”
Ichinose slipped out of her embrace and naturally started walking.
“Can I go shopping before we eat?”
“Sure. I don’t mind. What are you planning to buy?”
“My chest got bigger again, so my bra’s uncomfortable. I can’t breathe!”
“….…”
Ichinose didn’t respond to Noah’s words.
She simply gripped her sword tighter and picked up her pace.
Noah simply followed behind, smiling as if she found the reaction amusing.
They arrived at the Academy City’s shopping mall just like that.
Noah and Ichinose stepped onto the escalator.
“But what is it about these lumps of flesh that guys find so appealing?”
Sensing the gazes of nearby men, Noah grabbed her own breasts with a puzzled look and gave them a gentle squeeze.
Ichinose sighed and stopped Noah’s gesture with her sword sheath.
“…Please stop doing that in public.”
“Aww~ Nose. Are you mad?”
“I’m just saying, don’t do that when people are staring. And no cutesy behavior either….it’s too much.”
“But my dad says my cuteness is the best.”
“….…”
Ichinose knew.
She knew that if she said anything here, Noah’s cutesy acts would come back at her twice as strong.
The best option was to quietly head to the store.
“Ah! It feels like heaven now that exams are over! Heaven! I’m sleeping in tomorrow for sure!”
“If you sleep too long, you’ll struggle once the academy starts again.”
“It’s fine. Nose will come wake me up any— huh?”
Noah who had been bouncing around Ichinose with energy suddenly stopped walking.
The abrupt action left Ichinose no choice but to pause as well before looking at her in confusion.
“What’s wrong?”
Noah stood still and was staring intently into one of the shops.
And then, at the sight of a tall figure with full black hair, she spoke up.
“Isn’t that Rohan?”
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