It would have been enough to just talk it out loud, but he suddenly tries to do a deep bow. What a strange thing to do….
Joo-yeon burst out laughing at the absurdity of what had just happened.
She was honestly taken aback by Rohan’s sudden eccentric behavior when he was about to head back to the dorm. She had thought Student Gilbert Carniette was the oddest one in class, but the more she saw, the more Rohan seemed like the most peculiar of them all.
And so.
After sending Rohan off, Joo-yeon looked back from the entryway.
The corridor stretched out long, and somehow the distance to the living room looked really far.
“Hmm.”
She started walking. When she got to the living room, she sat down on the sofa as she always did.
Before picking up the bookmarked book, she found herself suddenly looking at the ceiling.
Was my house… always this quiet?
It would be funny to say Rohan stayed at Joo-yeon’s place for a whole day. It was only a few hours, most of which he spent sleeping anyway.
Even so, the silence now felt overwhelming.
There hadn’t been much reason to laugh while living in Academy City, but maybe the chatter that came from Rohan’s mouth made her lips curl up in a faint smile.
“……”
Feeling her mind grow cluttered, Joo-yeon stopped reaching for her book and gave up on reading.
Then she moved toward the kitchen where there were still things left to tidy up.
Sssshhhh—!!!
Joo-yeon turned on the water and picked up a scrubber. She thought about playing music to drive away the silence, but the sound of the water pleased her, so she decided to leave things as they were.
A strange feeling.
There was one more rice bowl and one more soup bowl to wash than usual, and one more spoon, too.
And she could clearly tell who had used them.
The rice bowl Rohan used didn’t have a single grain of rice left; it looked as though he’d practically scraped the bowl clean with his spoon.
“Pfft.”
A bright laugh spilled from between Joo-yeon’s lips.
She felt purely happy, relieved to see he hadn’t forced himself to eat her cooking.
***
“Sion?”
– ……!
Perhaps because her name was called before she could even speak, she seemed startled. Her breathing turned uneven, revealing her emotions.
“Are you in Academy City right now? Where are you?”
– Rohan…
“Yeah. Go on.”
Rohan focused as much as possible on the phone while walking down the street.
He was certain she was the princess, but he couldn’t guess why she was calling.
– I want to ask you one thing.
“What do you want to know?”
Seeing someone passing by, Rohan stepped into a deserted alley.
He leaned his back against the cold wall.
He waited for Sion to finish wavering and speak up.
– Last time… you told me not to act rashly, even if I was so angry that I feel like my head would explode.
“I did.”
From the other end of the line, Sion took a deep breath.
Then, in a lowered voice, she asked:
– If I just… stay like this and wait… will it really be okay…?
“Yes. Wait.”
Although it was a painful thing to say to Sion, Rohan had his own reason for waiting for the signs, like what had happened in Abyss City.
As long as he didn’t have overwhelming power, small things could pass in some way or another, but it was best to avoid major variables.
A bigger trunk line, one that could at least be predicted and read, was directly tied to Sion’s safety as well.
At the same time, Rohan understood why Sion had called him.
She must have remembered his words. To contact him when things got tough or she wanted something to eat.
It also meant she felt pressed enough to call Rohan, who was still practically a stranger to her.
– I thought that if I just diligently fought monsters and carried out the battles they assigned me, it would provide financial help to our compatriots who settled in other countries…
“…….”
He knew what she meant even without her finishing. It meant she had come to her own conclusion that it wasn’t the case.
Who knows what methods she’d used, but it sounded like she had figured out quite a lot on her own.
– I… I just…
“Yes. I’m listening.”
Rohan gave short replies as he listened intently to Sion’s rambling voice.
She sounds a bit unstable.
From the tone of her voice, her emotions were clearly laid bare.
The feelings in the girl’s voice were more anger than sadness. Like a volcano about to erupt, or thunderclouds ripe with storms.
– From your point of view, I must have seemed pathetic and foolish too, right? Getting swayed by those elders full of nonsense…
“That’s not true. I never thought that.”
– ……
Cutting her off, Rohan made a firm statement.
This was a girl who had grown up without truly encountering malice from others, so her mind hadn’t matured even though her body had.
Under such difficult circumstances, the fact that she had maintained her humanity and moral compass was definitely praiseworthy.
“Because the surrounding circumstances made it so. Sion might take offense at this kind of sympathy… but I do think it’s a pity.”
– ……
It grew quiet. The turbulent emotions that had been rippling through Sion seemed to have calmed.
Noticing this, Rohan asked,
“Sion, are you having a hard time?”
– …..
“This might sound strange, but it’s true. Letting your emotions out honestly instead of bottling them up can make you feel a bit better. Share some of that sadness with me.”
Rohan raised his voice slightly as if to show his energy, and Sion responded.
– It’s… hard.
“Is it really hard?”
– Mhmm… I don’t even know where to begin.
“Just observe the situation as it is and try to stay composed. I know it’s tough, but just for a little while.”
– …..
“Don’t worry. You’ll be smiling again soon.”
– How can you be so sure of that…?
Though it was different from now, Rohan recalled a time in Abyss City when Sion, in a much more difficult situation than the present, had come to a realization about the truth.
He remembered the texts he had read back then. Her feelings of helplessness toward herself, her doubts about her own worth, her fury and sadness over the elders’ betrayal.
For now, instilling hope in the girl was his top priority.
Without that hope, the information he had shared with her would lose its significance amidst all the variables at play.
“I never fail when I take on a task.”
– ……
It seemed she didn’t even have the energy to make a snide remark about his confidence.
Rohan felt a bitter sting as he noted the stark difference in Sion’s demeanor compared to their last meeting.
– It’s too late, but… am I really incapable of resolving this situation on my own…?
“Do you hate relying on others for help?”
– I know I’ve already received more than enough help from you, Rohan. But still… relying on someone else like this…
Rohan felt he understood what she was feeling.
Some people, when backed into a corner, tend to have thoughts like hers.
Of course, such thinking wasn’t entirely wrong. It showed a rare kind of inner strength, after all.
But Rohan’s experience told him otherwise.
In the end, people like her always came to realize the truth.
“Sion.”
– I’m listening.
“No one can stand alone without anyone else’s help.”
– ……
“Accepting help when you need it isn’t something to be ashamed of. Just make sure you remember that.”
Rohan had no intention of waiting for her response to those words.
Before Sion could continue speaking, Rohan changed the subject.
“Since you called, how about we chat for a bit? Nothing beats some casual conversation to lift your spirits.”
– …Chat?
Her voice betrayed not just a hint, but outright confusion.
Noticing something other than negativity in her tone, Rohan allowed a small smile to creep onto his lips.
“I actually wanted to talk with you about something personal back then too. But most of our conversations ended up being about work, didn’t they?”
– Ah!
“Hmm?”
Sion seemed to recall something, and Rohan waited silently.
On the other end of the line, he could almost feel her squirming awkwardly. After what felt like an adorably awkward pause, Sion spoke in a soft voice.
– The hamburger you gave me last time… It was good. I wanted to thank you.
Rohan shifted his posture, finding her reaction cute.
He crouched in the alleyway and grinned openly as he failed to suppress his amusement.
“Pretty good, isn’t it? Next time you visit, I’ll get you another one. They taste even better when you eat them fresh and warm.”
– Now that you mention it…
“Yeah?”
– The elders said that the humans outside had rigid stereotypes and thought that elves were vegetarians. Was that wrong, too?
“There is a bit of that image, but not many people think it’s an absolute rule. Besides, elves from Tigrova aren’t really associated with that, are they?”
– …You seem to know quite a bit about the elves of Tigrova.
“Well, kind of.”
Tigrova was a land of sprawling snowfields and coniferous forests.
The elves who lived there were quite different from the stereotypical elves of lush green forests often imagined in stories.
While elves from warmer climates often enjoyed vegetarian diets, the harsh snow-covered environment of Tigrova didn’t leave much room for such choices in the first place.
As they continued chatting about various things, Rohan suddenly realized they had already been on the phone for thirty minutes.
From time to time, Rohan could hear the clinking sound of coins being inserted into the payphone.
Since their conversation had shifted from its initial gloomy atmosphere to more lighthearted topics, he could only hope that the chat had helped ease Sion’s mood a little.
“Sion.”
– ……
She must have sensed from the weight in his voice that he was about to bring up a different topic.
Though she didn’t respond, he could tell she was listening intently.
“If you ever find yourself struggling with something or needing someone to talk to, you can always call me like you did today. Or, you remember the dormitory, right? Come by there.”
– Mhmm…
“But if it’s during the week when I’m not there, someone else might be—”
Beep. Beep. Beep.
Before he could deliver what might have been the most important part of his message, the call abruptly ended.
“Sion? Hello?”
Rohan looked at his smartphone’s screen. The battery was still at 50%, and the call duration showed exactly 35 minutes.
He scratched his chin in confusion and wondered aloud,
“Did she run out of coins?”
Letting out a sharp inhale through his teeth, Rohan got to his feet and glanced up at the sky.
“…This could be a real problem.”
He couldn’t help but worry. What if Sion ran into Clara while Clara was alone at the dormitory?
Would it be better to give Clara a heads-up? The very thought made Rohan’s head throb already.
If the two of them clashed the moment they saw each other, things would only get more complicated.
Rohan slowly moved and kept checking his phone in case he got another call.
But that day, Sion didn’t call again.
Leave a Reply