Chapter 52: Stormy Lunch Break (1)

“Everyone, attention. Gilbert, if your body has thawed, return to your seat.”

“Kugh…!”

The morning assembly continued with talk about Rohan.

Juyeon praised and encouraged him in front of everyone for his good deed, emphasizing that the most important thing was that he contacted his guardian, the instructor.

And thankfully, everything turned out well.

She made it clear that it was a very dangerous act, and the morning assembly ended longer than usual.

As Juyeon left, Gilbert cracked his neck and immediately spoke.

“My friend! You did a splendid job!”

“Thanks. I appreciate you not yelling.”

Perhaps his excitement subsided a bit while trapped in ice.

Although louder than the average person, this was a whisper for Gilbert.

“You still don’t understand. The depth of praise is not judged by decibels!”

“This guy knows that very well…”

“However! A powerful resonance can sometimes be an irreplaceable spice!”

As expected, it seemed like his habit of shouting wouldn’t be fixed.

After chatting with a few friends who added a word or two, Rohan took out his books to prepare for class. After washing his hands and returning, Ichinose and Noa, who were passing by in the hallway, stopped and spoke to him.

“You truly deserve praise. Excellent work.”

“It’s fine. It’s embarrassing to keep mentioning it.”

At Rohan’s words, Ichinose shook her head with her eyes closed.

“Whether it was intuition or not, it’s not an action anyone could take.”

“Is she actually a Beastkin too?”

Ichinose glanced at Noa with narrowed eyes, as if asking what she was talking about.

“That aside, I also heard that you helped Noa study over the weekend.”

“Ah, that? I get lonely studying alone.”

At those words, Noa wagged her tail, a look of realization on her face. She poked Ichinose with her tail as if showing off, then tattled.

“Nose! Rohan tried to torture me with workbook reviews! Scold him quickly!”

“Rohan took the correct course of action. Well done. If such a situation arises again, please do the same.”

“Okay. I’ll make sure of it.”

Noa tried to hug Ichinose from behind, saying it was too much.

But Ichinose avoided Noa’s hug with light steps, without even opening her eyes. The movement resembled a small animal dodging a tiger’s attack.

They’re getting along well.

To Rohan, their interaction was a piece of comedic dialogue and a heartwarming scene.

Noa Frozenheart probably knew Ichinose would react this way. Perhaps she just needed an excuse to hug her friend.

“Torture is forbidden under Three Kingdoms Union law! How can you encourage such inhumane torture!”

“…Please memorize other things instead of just what’s convenient for you.”

Noa tried to hug Ichinose with both hands, but again, she couldn’t catch her.

Continuing their light chatter, the three naturally made their way to the classroom.

Just in time, break time was over.

“Is everyone here? Take your seats.”

Juyeon, who returned to the classroom with her textbook, continued the theory lesson as if nothing had happened.

Noa’s struggling sounds echoed as she wagged her tail and clutched her head, trying to memorize formulas.

Ichinose answered Juyeon’s questions flawlessly without hesitation. Rohan was busy just taking notes and keeping up.

It was a typical class.

And so, the theory lesson ended, and the long-awaited lunchtime arrived.

Rohan, as usual, checked his phone while heading to the Academy Cafeteria.

“!”

Seeing a message from Clara, he stopped.

Rohan immediately changed direction and started running towards the dormitory.

Shion Testarossa.

The girl worried that this visit might be a bother to Rohan.

Even though Rohan had told her to come anytime, wouldn’t it be burdensome for him if she took his words literally and showed up just a day later?

The girl thought so. She definitely thought so.

With that resolve, she hung up the payphone receiver and returned to her dwelling, laying her body on the cold cloth.

Cold…

She felt the stark difference anew.

The gap between the coldness of her dwelling, which she hadn’t gotten used to despite living there for a long time, and the warmth she felt during the brief conversation with Rohan on the Academy City payphone.

The difference between joy and sorrow was immense. Perhaps this was the pain of falling from a galloping horse.

She had used all her tokens to make the call.

But she didn’t regret it.

The 30 minutes or so she spent chatting with Rohan. It allowed her to briefly turn away from the bleakness before her.

That’s why the girl couldn’t resist.

So Shion found herself at Academy City Elysium once again.

She thought she should endure as much as possible, but Rohan’s encouraging words over the receiver made her think it might be okay to visit.

“…”

It was a weekday, 11:50 AM.

Who would be at the Academy Dormitory at this time? The area was as deserted as midnight, even though it was bright.

Nevertheless, Shion checked several times to make sure there was no one around.

Thud! She extended her foot. Moving gracefully, she climbed the wall of the Academy Dormitory.

As she got closer to the window, she laughed at herself.

Wasn’t it absurd?

When she first met Rohan, she coldly retorted that such a thing would never happen when he told her to call him if anything came up. How did things end up like this?

Creaking—

Shion felt relieved to find the window unlocked and perched on the windowsill.

Before stepping onto the floor, she took off her thick boots and scanned the room.

“Rohan?”

She called out, her voice soft but clear enough to be heard.

Shion called Rohan’s name, but there was no answer. There wasn’t even the slightest sound of someone’s presence.

I felt it from outside, but… is he not here?

Come to think of it, Rohan didn’t appear to be infiltrating the Academy. Perhaps he diligently went to class.

Shion, down from the windowsill, closed the window with her boots in one hand.

Basic courtesy before deciding whether to return to her dwelling or wait for Rohan.

Shion neatly placed her boots in the shoe rack and turned around.

“…?”

Rohan’s room, empty of its owner.

Staring at the vacant space, Shion narrowed her eyes and lowered her stance.

Her right hand slowly reached for her weapon.

A subtle dissonance permeated the silent room.

A strange clue caught in the realm of intuition that couldn’t be explained in words.

Aside from Shion’s senses being comparable to a Beastkin’s, this was an awareness stemming from the fighting style she had cultivated.

Those who desperately try to conceal themselves, avoiding detection.

Snipers or assassins always try to hide themselves, so they are also adept at finding hidden things. That suspicion was what made her think someone was in this space.

The fact that Clara, even for a fleeting moment, wasn’t perfectly hidden played a significant role as well.

How long had Shion been frozen, holding her breath?

“U-Um…”

“!”

As expected, someone was there. Her intuition wasn’t wrong.

One thing was certain. It wasn’t Rohan’s voice.

Shion reflexively drew the dagger from her waist with a whizz!

Cha-click! Chak! Clara also unfolded her Balisong with dazzling dexterity.

Right side!

Shion caught the faint metallic sound with her pointed ears.

She swung her dagger towards the location where the hidden person was likely to be.

Clang!

The short blades collided—Scrape!!!—grinding against each other.

As she blocked the attack, Clara thought,

Is this the person my brother was talking about…?

She remembered every single letter of the long message she received yesterday.

He had mentioned an Elf, but not a woman. He hadn’t mentioned that she was such a beautiful woman either.

Oppa, honestly…

Clara pouted unconsciously, her cheeks puffing up.

While expressing her annoyance towards the absent Rohan, Clara confirmed that the dagger Shion wielded was reversed.

There was no killing intent, only the will to subdue.

Shion, her dagger blocked, jumped back to create distance.

She spun the reversed dagger in her hand to grip it correctly and observed the unidentified woman.

“W-Wait a minute…!”

A twin-tailed girl appeared, dressed in what looked like barely-there clothing.

She frantically buttoned up her revealing undergarments.

The bewildering sight heightened Shion’s vigilance.

Strong. Can I win with my current equipment? Furthermore… she’s wearing shoes.

Did that mean she had intruded? The possibility was high.

Perhaps she was targeting Rohan.

From Clara’s perspective, it was an instinctive act to erase any traces, but even if it appeared that way, there wasn’t much she could say.

Shion grabbed her pistol with her free hand and asked the other person,

“Who are you?”