A Strange Day

After physical training with Lakar, I headed to the club room. Kane, Aria, and Luna were gathered on the bed, playing some kind of board game.

I sat on the nearby sofa, watching the club members play and organizing my plans for the future, when Aria suddenly asked.

,But aren’t we going to do any club activities? We just did the treasure hunt and then just played around.”

Agreeing with Aria’s words, I stroked my chin and wondered if there was anything we could do for club activities.

,Well, nothing’s been decided yet, so everyone’s just resting. I’ll think about it.”

Aria looked disappointed at my words.

,I want to do something fun like a treasure hunt….”

Seeing Aria’s disappointed expression, I was wondering if I should check the setting book for something to do for club activities, when for some reason, I felt a gaze that seemed to be staring at me differently than usual.

When I turned my head to look at Luna, Luna naturally lowered her head.

Was it just my imagination…? I scratched the back of my head and continued to think about club activities.

*

The next day. The club room was much quieter than usual.

While eating lunch. Aria said she couldn’t come to the club room today because she had a lot of homework, and Kane said she would be away for a few days because she had an alchemy experiment. Lakar also said he was going to meet his fiancee, Elena, so only Luna and I were guarding the club room.

If I wasn’t banned from going out, I would have been able to find out about Rotten’s Thorn Stone Disease. With a slightly regretful heart, I was organizing the hidden plot points and opportunities in the academy from the setting book and thinking about the next Messiah club activity.

Suddenly, Luna, who had been quietly reading a book across from me, silently moved to the seat next to me.

,Ro, Ross.”

I wondered what was going on at Luna’s voice breaking the silence. Luna seemed to be organizing her thoughts while rolling her eyes, and then said in a small, whispering voice.

,How about combat class…?”

Come to think of it, Luna hadn’t spoken to me first since we decided to drop the honorifics. Did she muster up the courage to approach me first when we were alone? Knowing Luna’s shy personality, I couldn’t help but smile at Luna’s courage to approach me first.

I opened the very last page of the notebook where I was thinking about club activities and kindly explained the combat class to Luna with pictures.

,…And our combat dormitory has a separate training room.”

As I was drawing and explaining how big the training room was and how full of sweat it was. Suddenly, Luna leaned her upper body towards me to look at the notebook, and I felt something soft touching my arm.

I instinctively swallowed hard without realizing it and continued the explanation as if nothing was wrong.

,Th, that’s right.”

,Yeah, that’s right….”

It was a very awkward situation because I could still feel Luna’s warm body temperature on my arm. I carefully pretended to straighten my clothes and pulled my arm away.

After the explanation, a strange silence squeezed between us and showed off its presence. I wondered if Luna had any more questions because she kept looking at me, so I turned my head to look at her. When our eyes met, Luna suddenly raised her chin and looked at the ceiling.

Puzzled, I raised my head to the ceiling following her gaze, and saw the always sparkling stars and the big moon.

,…?”

When I lowered my head again, Luna’s face seemed to be a little red for some reason, and she hurriedly raised her head to look at the ceiling again. I wondered if I had missed something, so I narrowed my brows and checked the ceiling, but there didn’t seem to be any major problems.

After repeating that meaningless action about three times, Luna, who for some reason sighed deeply, wiggled her fingers and mumbled her lips. She pushed the chair back with a deureureuk- sound and ran out of the club room as if she was running away, saying she was going to the library.

,What is it…?”

I was looking at Luna’s retreating figure, wondering if she didn’t like the ceiling, when Aria, who said she was busy, suddenly appeared in the club room.

,Ro, Ross, is that all?”

I nodded, thinking that there were many people showing strange reactions today, seeing Aria’s relieved expression as she said that.

,Yeah, everyone said they were busy and left.”

I put the notebook in the space warehouse and was thinking that I should go back to the dormitory soon. Aria came up to me with a strange expression.

,Th, there’s something I want to talk to you about, Ross….”

A consultation? I was a little embarrassed because it was completely unexpected, but seeing Aria’s troubled expression, I patted the chair next to me where Luna had been sitting.

,Okay, sit here.”

Aria, who sat down on the chair, had a serious expression as if she had a serious problem, not her usual bright expression. Could it be that she’s trying to leave the club?

Aria often said that classes were difficult, but she may have decided that she couldn’t do classes and club activities together in the future.

I had never imagined breaking up with the members, so I looked at Aria with a little fear.

,Ross, what do you think about that?”

,About what…?”

Please, hoping that my prediction was wrong, I asked carefully. Aria closed her eyes tightly and said in a voice filled with deep emotion, like a sinner confessing to a priest.

,A woman…liking a woman….”

I hoped my prediction was wrong, but I didn’t want it to be this wrong. I was greatly shocked by Aria’s words, but thanks to my indomitable courage, there was no change in my expression.

Could it be that Aria…. was a lesbian. Of course, since she was a character without any settings, it wasn’t impossible that she was a homosexual. But I was hoping that she and Kane would get along well and date later…. Wait?! If it’s a woman, could it be…Aria likes Luna…?

Come to think of it, the two of them were quite close. I thought they were just sticking together because they were female members…. Was Aria taking care of Luna because she had feelings for her, not just as a fellow member?

I answered in a slightly nervous voice.

,If you have feelings for each other…. wouldn’t it be okay?”

Still, I couldn’t hurt Aria, who was confiding in me, so I answered as carefully as possible. Aria lowered her head and muttered, ,I see….”

,Th, that Luna….”

When Luna’s name came out of Aria’s mouth, I tensed up and grabbed my pants.

Aria, who didn’t know what to say for a long time, sighed and ended the conversation with the words, ,Ah, no, it’s nothing.”

,See, see you tomorrow!”

Looking at Aria’s figure leaving the club room, I couldn’t help but wipe my face once because I was dumbfounded by the existence of a sudden rival.

***

A secluded corner of a huge library. A secret meeting was taking place in a place where romance fantasy books that men don’t approach are gathered.

,You’re saying you failed?”

,Yes….”

Flavia sighed at Luna’s dejected expression. She was not an easy opponent to deal with after all. She had thought that she was not an ordinary person since she threatened her with her marriage to her brother, but she didn’t know it would be to this extent.

,Hmm, should I approach it differently?”

Flavia put her hand on her lips and pondered. What is the way to win Ross over?

,Ah.”

One thing came to mind. Ross was looking for a certain book in the library with her.

The titles of those books were quite…. lewd. Flavia told Luna to wait a moment, found the librarian and recalled the titles of the books by remembering them.

And finally, Flavia, who remembered the title of the book that had been buried in her memory, returned to Luna with the book.

,Luna, this is the novel Ross likes.”

,Yes…?!”

Luna, whose face turned bright red after seeing the title of the book, shouted loudly in a flustered voice, then hurriedly closed her mouth at the gazes of the people around her.

,This is the book Ross was looking for so hard in the library for several days.”

Luna carefully received the book that Flavia handed her and stroked the cover of the book with trembling hands. Unlike the luxurious cover, the title of the book was vulgar….

[Curse of Restraint ~ A New Gae Shit Sangtaechwi Life with a Silver-Haired, Red-Eyed Sex Slave Summoned to Another World Yeah.] Luna had never imagined that Ross, whom she knew, would read such a novel, so she looked at Flavia with a slightly unbelievable look. Flavia shook her head as if to say that the gaze was not a lie.

,I promised Ross that I would keep it a secret…. But I’m telling you because I believe that Luna will keep the secret.”

Luna realized that this was true at Flavia’s serious voice.

Luna, who swallowed hard and read the prologue of the novel, covered the book with a bright red face. This novel was too much of a stimulus for Luna, who had never even imagined kissing.

She knew that the parents’ confession before coming to the academy that having a child by holding hands and sleeping was a lie…. Luna was embarrassed, but she was a little interested in this book that made her want to read the next part.

,You don’t have to overdo it if it’s hard.”

,Ah, no! I, I’m going to borrow this book….”

Flavia nodded at Luna’s sincere appearance towards Ross and advised her in a small voice.

,Luna, at first I was reluctant to do kinky things, but I was on the academy rooftop with Roel….”

As the night deepened, the women’s conversation also deepened.