episode_0038

Clara assured.

He said that his personal history was a story that would be boring to anyone who heard it.

So I was very hesitant to even bring it up as a topic of conversation.

But Rohan listened to his situation more seriously than the government officials.

For the first time in her life, Clara said more than she had ever thought possible, like throwing a tantrum.

Strangely, when you talk to Rohan, you can’t help but open your mouth.

“Hmm.”

Rohan was deeply troubled after hearing this story.

What are you thinking?

“···.”

Clara took a sip of her drink through the straw and stole glances at Rohan.

As I was savoring the sweetness with curiosity, my name was called.

“Clara.”

“Yeah··· Ah! Huh, yeah?”

“If you feel uncomfortable speaking, don’t force yourself. You can mix and match whatever comes to your mind.”

Although this didn’t seem to be the main point, Rohan lightly touched on it.

Nod nod.

Clara was curious about what Rohan, who had been pondering for a long time, would say.

First, Rohan nodded, wagging his twintails like tails, saying he understood, and only then did he continue speaking.

“The dormitory room that the academy gave me has hot water and isn’t cold? The washing machine is a little small, but it works well.”

An enviable story.

Clara listened quietly to Rohan’s voice.

“I come out early in the morning on weekdays and don’t go back until I’m done with work. So the room is empty, right?”

“···?”

“Do you want to wash up there? If you’re sleepy, you can take a nap, and it’s okay if you just turn on the washing machine and go.”

“!!!”

Rohan said with a calm expression, as if it was no big deal, but Clara froze as if struck by lightning, understanding.

His eyes opened wide to the point where he couldn’t see anything.

“It might be a bit awkward since it’s a man’s room, but I’m cleaning it regularly.”

“That, but···.”

“The weather hasn’t cleared up yet, so washing in cold water and sleeping on the cold floor is a bit much, right?”

Rohan ended his speech by asking for agreement with a question that wasn’t a question.

I grabbed a bread knife to cut the muffin I bought with my drink.

Pseudo.

A gently cut muffin was placed in front of Clara.

The girl watched it quietly and then raised her head.

“···Rohan Oppa.”

“Yeah.”

“Can I ask you one thing?”

“Ask two or three questions as you like.”

Clara stared at Rohan with an expression of infinite seriousness. Her gaze seemed to pierce through his soul.

His voice also lowered slightly, and he didn’t look like he was cowering helplessly like usual.

A cool, sharp aura and alertness beneath the eyes.

That’s what it seemed to Rohan.

“···Why are you doing this to me?”

Certainly, the good intentions of those who don’t understand English would be suspicious. It was a valid question.

It is right to be suspicious of situations that are too good to be true.

How would Rohan explain it?

He crossed his arms, thought about it for a moment, and then snickered.

“Looking back, it seems strange that I said that. I was just too quick-witted.”

“···.”

“If I were Clara, I would have refused. I would feel uneasy if I were suddenly told to use a house where a man lives alone.”

Clara blinked at the cool recognition.

The sharp aura that had been quietly emanating had died down.

“Of course, but it would be stranger to say something like that with malicious intent or something like that.”

“···.”

Rohan cleared his throat and drank the rest of his drink.

Clara swallowed nervously.

Swish.

Rohan, who had been crossing his arms and tapping his fingers, leaned his upper body forward.

No matter how much I thought about it, I put weight on my voice as if it was the only way.

“Clara. Is it okay if I say something without any evidence to show? I’ll be honest.”

“So, if you tell me honestly···.”

On the contrary, it is welcome.

Because the girl is confident that she can read the evil in humans.

So, to show that it was okay, Rohan extended his hand.

He gently grabbed one of Clara’s slender fingers.

“I want to get closer to Clara.”

“Hit!?”

“This might sound a bit unpleasant, but··· I was overly nosy because Clara was uncomfortable with having to stay in that kind of room. I’m sorry if it was burdensome.”

“It’s okayIt’s okayIt’s okayIt’s okay··· Really, really···.”

The girl muttered, losing her mind at the words, “I’m sorry.”

The appeal felt in Rohan’s apology was so condescending that it made the listener feel as if he were a sinner.

The sense of alertness I had been harboring evaporated the moment my fingers were caught.

Right now Clara’s face is just so hot it feels like it’s going to explode.

My consciousness was spinning around and around.

‘···.’

It was a completely different feeling from when I was being trained in Zeno and had my wrists grabbed by the instructor and beaten.

At that time, my body moved naturally to fight back, but now, only one finger has been grabbed and I can’t move.

It’s the same in Academy City.

There were countless instances where men who had never met before tried to approach her and pretended to be friendly.

I just thought it was annoying every time and hoped it wouldn’t interfere with the game.

But the situation with Rohan was different.

The conclusion is that there is no response.

No matter what Clara had experienced, there was no situation like this one.

“Well, if you just give a simple example, what would be good?”

Rohan lowered his head and looked at Clara, who had become quiet, as he poured out his thoughts.

“Throwing a man like me on the cold floor is a completely different picture from leaving Clara alone on the cold floor.”

“Hyaa···.”

“Anyway, just think about it. Tell me whenever you need to. Okay?”

The girl did not nod, but agreed with silence.

Rohan apologized again and decided to change the subject.

Clara’s fingers were still in Rohan’s hand.

“Since Clara told me her story today, I’ll tell my story too. Of course, if Clara wants to hear it.”

Only then did the girl flinch and react.

“d, I want to hear it···!”

“Thank you. I almost felt embarrassed.”

Rohan rummaged through his outer garment with his free hand and took out his Orion Academy student ID card.

He gave it to Clara and told her to look at it.

“As it says there, my home country is Southern Remnants. I am not from a powerful country.”

“South? If it’s a reverberation in the South···?”

The girl’s eyes widened in shock as she checked the letters written on her student ID.

Since I was educated about foreign countries while I was in Zeno, I also know how the South was destroyed.

The fact that among those many citizens, there were only a few survivors.

The information I saw in the photos was just horrible.

“I’m alone on the family register. Well, it’s not just on the family register, but in real life too.”

“Me, me too···!”

“Clara and I have a lot in common.”

“hi···.”

It’s no laughing matter to be an orphan with no place to live.

Still, I laughed.

This was the first time that this gloomy situation had made Clara smile.

“Well, what else should I tell you?”

“I··· like any story···.”

“It might not be fun?”

Rohan smiled and said a line he had heard somewhere.

Clara realized why Rohan had responded that way when she said that.

So I took courage and said.

“Oh, Oppa! It’s not about fun, it’s just about getting to know each other···?”

“That’s right. Clara is right.”

The atmosphere between the two, with their sweet scents, seemed like it wouldn’t allow anyone to approach.

But there are some people who cannot help but intrude into this conversation.

“Customer. We are closing the hall now···.”

A sales smile that says you’re truly sorry.

When the part-time worker, whose ears were drooping due to fatigue, said that, Rohan and Clara had no choice but to clean up the place.

*****

“Whew···.”

Clara returned to her small room and let out a hot breath, distant from the cold space.

The heat in my body hasn’t completely gone away yet.

In her arms, Rohan held a macaron that he had brought from somewhere and handed to her as a gift.

Clara hugged it and lay down on the bed.

‘···.’

I wonder what we would have talked about if we had talked more.

It seemed as if the feeling Rohan had left on his fingers still remained.

─ I want to get closer to Clara.

‘What does it mean?’

The girl looked at the ceiling and relived the ticklish moment over and over again.

─ Throwing a man like me on the cold floor and leaving Clara alone on the cold floor are two completely different pictures.

If you keep this in mind, the answer will come easily.

It is likely a good intention based on Rohan’s personality.

Because I couldn’t find even a speck of ill will or ill feelings that I had been tired of encountering throughout my life.

but.

If you ask me whether I like this answer, apart from its refreshingness, well, I don’t know.

Woof──!

A small vibration sound.

Clara quickly checked her smartphone with some anticipation.

[ Rohan : Did you get in okay? ]

The corners of your mouth go up without you even realizing it.

Clara replied super fast.

‘tomorrow···.’

I guess I’ll have to wait until tomorrow afternoon to meet Rohan.

The girl rolled around on the narrow bed, her fantasies blooming in clusters.

What kind of face should I make when I meet you?

How should I respond to a request to use the dormitory?

“···Ah!”

A way to understand and learn a little more about Rohan came to mind.

Rather than just understanding the incident and ending it with a dirty purpose like Zeno, learn about the life and traditions of the South.

Knock knock.

Since it was a powerful country in the past, a search yielded a flood of information.

The girl scrolled down and read the characteristics of the South.

“!?”

My finger stopped on a specific piece of content.

[A country that lost its former wealth and was left with only desolation, and came to be called a remnant. Solarea, which once ruled the south, was a country that practiced polygamy, along with several countries including Tigrova···.]

The girl who had been lying in bed reading a book suddenly sat up.