“Really… since Noah keeps insisting… j-just this once…!”
Ichinose opened her mouth as if to be fed.
She looked like a baby bird waiting for food.
“Try it! Try it!”
As Noah gestured eagerly for him to hurry up, Rohan chuckled and opened the utensil holder.
He took out a clean pair of chopsticks.
He picked up a mushroom from the hot pot.
Steam rose from the mushroom as he cut it into smaller pieces with scissors and blew on it to cool it down.
“Fuu!”
At the sound of Rohan blowing, Ichinose’s ears twitched like those of a beastkin.
“Here we go.”
Rohan approached with a light-hearted tone.
Ichinose’s tongue stiffened with nervousness.
“Hfft!”
Rohan’s chopsticks pressed lightly against her soft tongue before letting go of the food.
At the ticklish sensation, a shy sound escaped from Ichinose’s mouth.
“Is it hot?”
“N-No, it’s fine…”
She immediately changed to a serious expression, moved her mouth, and started chewing.
It was a very easy question. Ichinose knew the answer the moment she bit into it.
“Deer… lion’s mane mushroom…”
“Correct!”
“See? I told you Nose would know.”
Even the way Noah beamed proudly on her behalf brought a smile to Rohan’s face.
But hearing the word “lion’s mane” come from Ichinose’s mouth gave it a whole new flavor.
“I want to try too!”
This time, Noah opened her mouth to Rohan, wanting to try it herself.
But the memory of a prank Ichinose had once suffered surfaced in her mind, and it ended with Noah being fed raw garlic instead.
While they were chatting and enjoying a more leisurely lunch than usual,
Rohan’s phone rang.
Bzzzt—! Bzzzt—!
[Clara]
Unusually, it wasn’t a message but an actual call.
Feeling a sudden sense of urgency, he jumped up from his seat.
“Hold on. I’ll be right back; I need to take this call.”
“Alright.”
“Come back soon~”
··
··
“Got it. Yeah. Let’s go out for dinner. I’m hanging up now.”
Rohan ended the call while standing in the grassy front yard, then made his way back into the restaurant.
Fortunately, it hadn’t been anything serious.
It was just a check-in call from Sion and Clara, asking if he had eaten lunch properly.
Relieved that there was nothing wrong, Rohan confirmed that the two of them had eaten too, exchanged a few more words,
And after suggesting that they make this good restaurant a candidate for their next outing, he ended the call.
It’s nice to have such a relaxed lunch break.
Just as the headmaster had said during the morning assembly, Rohan savored the small happiness of everyday life as he headed back to the room.
But he stopped in his tracks when he spotted some unexpected figures standing at the counter, paying their bill.
His eyes widened.
“…Instructor?”
“Did you enjoy your lunch?”
Joo-yeon didn’t seem startled at all, perhaps because she had sensed Rohan’s presence from the start.
Beside her was another familiar figure.
Rohan immediately greeted her after noticing the long, prominent rabbit ears that made her identity obvious.
“Instructor Carrot! Hello!”
“Hello!”
“Did you both come here to eat too?”
“There’s no need to worry about us. We’re just on our way out now.”
Since it was a quiet and delicious place, it was no wonder Joo-yeon had found it.
This place called Peaceful Heart Restaurant…
He thought it was the perfect spot to meet people affiliated with the Three Nations Alliance in the Academy City.
It even felt like, after enough updates to Abyss City, this place might have ended up listed as a part-time job location.
“Student Rohan, you’re surprisingly popular, aren’t you?”
“Huh?”
“Which one are you with?”
The rabbit beastkin made a heart shape with her hands and shot him a wink.
Instructor Carrot’s sudden words and actions left Rohan momentarily speechless and a lump caught in his throat, but seeing the laughter lingering in her eyes somehow eased his tension.
They must have already known that his companions were Noah and Ichinose.
After all, instructors were skilled enough to naturally grasp the people around without having to dig for information.
However! Tricks like this didn’t work on someone who had been hardened by the outside world.
Rohan simply met her gaze and lifted the corners of his mouth.
“We’re just comrades who bonded while going through hardships together.”
“Hmm~?”
When dealing with someone like Carrot who asked out of pure curiosity, pretending not to notice was like adding fuel to the fire.
The best approach was to respond with a neutral, noncommittal answer.
“Really? Even when you’re with such pretty girls? Student Rohan… don’t tell me you like men?!”
“I don’t like men. I’m a straight male; I like women.”
At this point, Rohan thought Joo-yeon would step in and stop Carrot from going overboard.
But strangely enough, she was looking at him with worried eyes.
“Rohan.”
“Yes!”
“If you don’t want to suffer unnecessary trouble with women, you need to make your stance absolutely clear.”
“.…..”
Even Joo-yeon saying this left him at a loss for words.
The problem was, unlike Carrot, she didn’t seem to be joking at all.
That was clearly sincere. Rohan could tell.
“There’s a reason why troubles with women are sometimes called a form of disaster. When someone who receives attention from many fails to respond clearly, it often escalates into dangerous situations. Be careful how you handle yourself.”
It wasn’t that Joo-yeon had personal experience with romance.
It was just that she had seen enough to be able to say this with certainty.
“…I’ll keep your words in mind.”
Feeling that she had worried too much, Joo-yeon quickly made way for him to leave.
“Your friends are probably waiting. Sorry for holding you up so long, and for bringing up such heavy topics.”
“Not at all. Thank you for the valuable advice.”
Since Joo-yeon had spoken out of genuine concern, Rohan didn’t mind at all. He was simply grateful.
“Well then, we’ll be going~ Bye-bye, Student Rohan!”
“Eat plenty. Just don’t be late for your afternoon classes.”
After watching Joo-yeon and Carrot leave the restaurant, Rohan returned to his room.
He told Ichinose and Noah, who were finishing their meal, that he had just met the instructors.
The two girls reacted with surprise.
They said they hadn’t run into anyone they knew in this place until now.
After finishing their meal, on the way out from their private room,
Ichinose, reflecting on the news Rohan had shared, offered her thoughts.
“Instructor Joo-yeon must get homesick for the food from the Three Nations sometimes too.”
“Mhmm, mhmm! I have days when I really crave Tigrova dishes myself!”
As Noah smacked her lips like she was still hungry, Rohan’s gaze shifted toward her.
Despite eating so much, Noah’s stomach remained flat and her abs were still well-defined.
It made him wonder if she had some kind of black hole inside her.
When they reached the counter at the end of the hallway, Rohan once again expressed his thanks.
“Thanks for the meal.”
“No need. It’s not nearly enough to repay you.”
As Ichinose handed over a card with a golden sheen, the staff member gave them a bright smile.
Without taking the card, the staff politely bowed and informed them,
“The bill has already been taken care of by Miss Joo-yeon.”
“!”
The three of them turned to look at each other.
Although it was a large sum for Rohan, it probably wasn’t a burdensome amount for the other two. Still, this was the kind of class one expected from a successful professional.
All Rohan could think about was finding some way to properly express his gratitude.
“Of course we should thank her, but should we also bring her a drink or something?”
“It’s tricky. Instructor Joo-yeon probably wouldn’t accept anything brought by a student…”
“Then how about participating in class really diligently?”
“Let’s all go to the faculty office and sing her a song of thanks!”
“Noah, if we do that, we’ll get kicked out. Participating diligently in class is probably the best idea.”
At that moment, as they stepped outside and went to look for a taxi,
Noah suddenly declared she would go buy a strawberry smoothie, and with a big leap over the crosswalk, she bounded off toward a café.
As usual, Ichinose found herself left alone with Rohan due to Noah’s impulsive behavior.
Thinking it was the perfect timing, she finally said what had been on her mind.
“Rohan.”
“Hmm?”
“This, uh, this meal… Instructor Joo-yeon paid for it, so I can’t exactly say I treated you, right…?”
“Is that how it works?”
Rohan found it hard to give a definite answer.
He was the one being treated. Would it be right to just casually agree? It didn’t seem quite proper.
“Since Instructor Joo-yeon covered the bill, technically it’s not wrong to say so, right?”
“Well…”
As Rohan trailed off, his eyes drifted toward Noah, who was wagging her hand enthusiastically from the café.
“Focus. You’re talking to me right now.”
Ichinose tilted her head slightly and gave Rohan’s shoulder a light push.
“What I’m trying to say is… next time, let’s eat together again. That time, I’ll really treat you.”
Rohan admired Ichinose’s shy but courageous attempt to promise a next time.
“Baby-nose…”
Such a cute little thing….he couldn’t help but want to stamp a “Well Done” sticker on her notebook.
“Shh! Shh! What if Noah hears you…!”
“Just say ‘goo-goo’ once. Then I’ll stop.”
“G-Goo-goo…? What are you even saying!”
Look at her, blushing and flustered.
This was exactly why he kept calling her Baby-nose.
··
··
A fair amount of time had passed since the midterms.
April, which had brought cool evenings once the sun went down, had now faded away, and the schedule for the first semester finals was making its presence known hand in hand with warm weather.
And amidst such days, it was Rohan’s morning.
As usual, he got ready to head to the training room.
Perhaps thanks to the elixirs he had received from Ichinose and Noah, he could genuinely feel that his training had become more effective lately.
His third sword had also started to settle into place.
It’s peaceful.
Was this the calm before the storm?
The main storyline, which had served as a milestone for Rohan, remained quiet.
At this point, he had no idea how the world was supposed to move forward.
All the more reason to keep pushing myself during times like this.
Rohan knew well.
Now that the dimensional rifts had lost their momentum as a topic among the people living in the academy city—
Now, when the atmosphere had grown slack, it was precisely when one could least afford to let down their guard.
And so, he made sure to prepare perfectly even today.
The custom-made scabbard he had ordered had finally been completed the day before, giving his unique weapon Radiance a proper home at last.
The pistol Stigma also found a secure place in a rugged leather holster.
Feeling uneasy about the alert windows that had once clamored almost daily but had now fallen silent, Rohan even carried his weapons with him when stepping just outside his house.
He was doing everything he could to never let his weapons leave his side, no matter the moment.
Because he was sure the time would come when all that preparation would shine.
Leave a Reply