Ch.123123. Status Quo

Alkine was starting to worry that Celia might be sick.

Just when she seemed to calm down, she’d start giggling again. And whenever Alkine tried to have a conversation, she’d start giggling once more. Compared to how Alkine knew her, this behavior was completely unlike Celia.

If it had been just the two of them right now… that is, if Lilith hadn’t been calmly observing Celia’s strange behavior, Alkine would have already carried her off to Professor Reina.

And she would have seriously asked if mental treatment was possible.

That’s how abnormal Celia’s current state was.

How long had she been watching this behavior?

“Hehe. Ah… heh… um… ah. I’m sorry.”

Finally seeming to come to her senses, Celia started speaking normally. Alkine couldn’t have been more relieved to see it.

“Alright. Now can you please tell me what announcement you wanted to make?”

Fearing she might lose her senses again if they dragged this out, Alkine immediately got to the point. But the answer she received was strange.

“I’ve decided to marry Ludion.”

…What?

For a moment, Alkine was speechless, unable to comprehend what she’d just heard.

In her place, Lilith, who was sitting beside her, cut in bluntly.

“Hey, don’t lie.”

“…To be precise, we’ve entered a relationship where we could become engaged. But isn’t that basically the same thing?”

“How are those the same?”

“From an organic perspective of mana, they’re the same.”

“From a human organic perspective, they’re completely different!”

The strange answer led to an even stranger conversation. What? Marriage? A relationship that could lead to engagement? What organic perspective?

Alkine wondered if these might be the delirious ramblings of a mentally unstable Celia, but Lilith’s reaction was too calm for that to be the case.

Um…

So it’s true?

They’ve become that kind of relationship?

“I’m sorry, Alkine. But you said it yourself, didn’t you? That I should do what I want. I believe I clearly stated that I had no intention of backing down.”

Celia calmly said this to Alkine, who was still confused.

She had indeed said that.

And she had even anticipated this outcome.

But now that it had actually happened… indescribable emotions swirled within her.

She felt happy but also complicated… all sorts of emotions tangled messily inside her, making her feel stifled.

She didn’t think she could sort through her feelings right now.

“Congratulations, Celia.”

So for now, she congratulated her on the progress in their relationship.

And then…

“I’ll be following soon.”

She decided to act according to the current wave of emotions. In the end, it would mean following in Celia’s footsteps, but she had anticipated that from the beginning.

Seeing Alkine react so nonchalantly, Celia looked a bit troubled.

“…I thought this might happen. I wonder if I went too far.”

The first step is always the hardest, but in reality, from the moment she started dating Ludion, he probably had considered the possibility of having this kind of relationship with Alkine too.

In that state, if Alkine approached him, Ludion wouldn’t refuse.

She had wanted to enjoy it as much as possible before that happened… but looking at Alkine now, it didn’t seem like it would take long.

‘Maybe I shouldn’t have said anything.’

She thought, but she didn’t like keeping secrets. And even if she tried to hide it, it would probably be discovered soon anyway.

This relationship was already complicated. She decided not to think too deeply about it.

Though the major announcement was over, their secret meeting wasn’t. There was something about Lilith, the rarely seen third face, that Celia wanted to tell Alkine.

Celia thought.

That Lilith definitely had feelings for Ludion.

This wasn’t just a hunch. It was a conclusion reached after careful analysis and observation.

From the natural glances directed at Ludion, to the subtle changes in her tone and manner of speaking only when talking to him. Even the way her attention focused on Ludion’s vicinity when nothing special was happening.

Others might not have noticed because Celia was always by Ludion’s side, but to her, it was blatantly obvious.

Lilith’s interest was clearly directed at Ludion, not herself.

Decisively, the reaction she showed when seeing Celia and Alkine clinging to Ludion recently was something that could only come from someone with feelings.

With such obvious signs, she couldn’t help but be certain. Lilith had been interested in Ludion for a long time.

However…

-“How do you feel about Ludion?”

-“Why do you and the student council president keep asking me that?”

-“Well, I’m grateful he helped me before. But other than that? Not much? I haven’t really thought about it.”

-“But is that important right now? I’m more curious about why you still haven’t started dating anyone.”

She seemed unaware of her own feelings.

Those misplaced emotions were strangely manifesting as her getting fired up about dating or not dating… she was quite cute. Though Celia didn’t like her liking Ludion on her own.

Since she had given Celia a push, she’d forgive that part. Besides, she didn’t seem to be aware of her feelings right now.

Rather than creating unnecessary problems, Celia chose to maintain the status quo and whispered to Alkine so only she could hear.

“I think Lilith does like Ludion. Though she doesn’t seem to know it herself.”

“She likes him but doesn’t know it herself?”

“Well, that’s how it seems. So I’m just going to leave it be.”

“Is that okay?”

“In cases like this, meddling often makes things worse. Until some catalyst appears, she’ll remain in that state, so it’s actually safer to leave her be.”

“…I have a feeling that catalyst might come sooner than expected.”

“Don’t say such ominous things, Alkine.”

She said that, but in truth, Celia was thinking something similar to Alkine.

Objectively speaking, Lilith’s situation wasn’t looking bright, and Ludion wasn’t the type to stand by and watch when Lilith faced troubles.

In the end, it was a conclusion that resolved nothing and just left things be. But for now, that was all she could think of. Or rather, she didn’t want to think about it.

She wanted to postpone future concerns and focus on the happiness she had just gained for a while.

“What are you two talking about?”

“Nothing much.”

“It doesn’t seem like nothing, given how long you’ve been talking.”

“By the way, your schedule seems quite packed these days. Aren’t you tired?”

“Hm? My schedule? It’s manageable.”

As Celia naturally changed the topic and brought out snacks and tea, the secret meeting quickly transformed into a casual gathering where they shared their stories.

When all was said and done, they were just girls of this age who enjoyed gathering late at night to chat.

And so, for quite some time, their conversations, mixed with laughter, continued.

How much time had passed?

By the time the snacks and tea were almost gone, fatigue was visible on everyone’s faces.

“Shall we head back now?”

Noticing this, Celia casually disbanded the gathering.

Since the meeting was held in Celia’s tent, only Lilith and Alkine got up to leave, while Celia remained seated, watching them go.

And after confirming that both had left, Celia… carefully headed towards the location where she had placed her “tracking magic.”

It wasn’t far.

“Hehe…”

It was Ludion’s private tent, set up in a secluded corner at a slight distance.

He seemed to have been quite active here and there today, and thanks to that, he had easily been granted permission to use a private tent.

Of course, her influence might have played a part… but considering what he had done today, he could have secured a private tent without any help.

‘Though he seemed to want to use a shared tent…’

She had stepped in to prevent that. Because if he used a private tent, she could visit him like this.

…Her heart raced as she tried to put into action what she had only been thinking about.

She took a deep breath to calm her excitement and headed into the tent.

As soon as she entered, she saw a familiar figure.

“Ludion.”

She called his name, facing his sleeping face. Not wanting to disturb his sleep, she called quietly. It was a name called for her own satisfaction.

Still, she had a bit of hope that he might wake up… but fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately, Ludion’s eyes remained closed.

She watched his sleeping form for a long time. It might seem creepy to others—standing still and staring at a sleeping person.

Then… she lay down beside him.

‘I must be crazy.’

Originally, she had planned to just take a quick look and leave. But as she quietly observed his sleeping form… somehow, she didn’t want to go back.

‘…Since it’s come to this, I’ll just sleep here.’

Being around this man somehow made her feel like she was constantly losing control of herself. Plans crumbled, and she found herself not caring about what happened.

The most problematic part was that it didn’t feel bad. So… this didn’t feel bad either.

Sleep was overtaking her, and her eyes were closing. She didn’t resist and let go of her consciousness.

As she drifted off, she imagined Ludion’s surprised face when he would see her when she opened her eyes again.