Ch.1514. Elizabeth Michael (1)

# 14. Elizabeth Michael (1)

“It’s been a while.”

In truth, it hadn’t even been a year, so it wasn’t really that long, but I just wanted to say it.

Chris expressed confusion at my greeting.

“Been a while? Have we met before?”

“No, we haven’t. I was just saying that.”

“That’s a relief. I thought I might have forgotten you.”

“I’m sorry about back then.”

I was referring to when I forfeited during the ranking match.

Forfeiting a match is disrespectful to your opponent, after all.

“It’s fine. Let’s get along well from now on.”

“Thanks.”

“Let’s have a match sometime.”

“Sure.”

He took the elevator that had returned and went down to the lower floor.

As a priest, his straightforward and refreshing personality was certainly worth emulating.

After my reunion with Chris, I stood in front of Room 3405, which would be my living quarters from now on.

I placed my hand on the door lock and carefully injected a small amount of magical power.

-Ding!-

The door lock recognized that the magical power was mine and opened the door.

‘They’re already using this.’

A system that wouldn’t be widely available for another ten years was already in use here.

In the future, this would be a common system, but right now, not many places would be using such cutting-edge technology.

This truly deserved the “Imperial” title.

It boasted systems that were on a different level compared to other academies.

‘To think I’ve enrolled in a place like this…’

I felt an unnecessary sense of pride.

As I marveled at the academy’s technological prowess, I entered the room.

‘Wow…’

I was amazed once again by the luxurious interior that was hard to believe was a student dormitory room.

It was incredibly spacious despite being a single room.

“Wow… even the bed…”

I sat down gently on a bed that looked like something only billionaires would use.

-Sink-

The bed was so soft that it felt like I might get sucked in at any moment.

Still, I needed to unpack my luggage right now, so I resisted the temptation of the bed and started unpacking.

Not that I had much luggage to speak of.

‘They’ve prepared everything.’

Most daily necessities were already in the room, so the only useful items I had were books and clothes.

Because of that, unpacking took less time than I expected.

“What should I do now?”

After unpacking, I had nothing particular to do.

I could only start exploring the dungeons inside the academy starting tomorrow.

“Going outside is a bit…”

Going outside to clear dungeons seemed like a waste of time.

Besides, I had already cleared two this morning.

‘What should I really do?’

Since I was extremely bored, I decided to look around the academy.

I left the dormitory building and explored various places with the map I had received earlier.

I checked out places I would frequently use in the future, like the cafeteria and the dungeon strategy room.

‘I wonder if I need to figure out dinner on my own today?’

While I was pondering about dinner, my phone suddenly rang.

-Ding!-

When I checked my phone, it was Aelin, as expected.

The message read:

-You need to handle dinner on your own today. Buy some snacks while you’re getting dinner. You’ll be hungry later…-

And a little while later, another message came.

-I’m going to eat with my friends, so buy mine too. You know what I usually eat, right? Get that.-

I was speechless at the sheer audacity.

‘But… I needed to go out anyway.’

Before leaving, I visited one more place.

It was the library.

It was an enormous library that occupied an entire building next to the academy’s main building.

As someone whose hobby was reading, I couldn’t contain my excitement.

‘Come to think of it, I haven’t been able to read books lately.’

In my previous life, I consistently read about three books a week, but lately, I hadn’t had the time.

These days, with how exhausting life had been, it was more beneficial for me to get an extra nap than to read books.

Lamenting my situation, I entered the library.

“Hello?”

A somehow familiar voice greeted me in the library.

And as soon as I heard that voice, my status window reacted.

[Absolute Loyalty has been activated.]

[All stats increase by 10% when you are with your lord (Elizabeth Michael).]

[Your lord (Elizabeth Michael) feels affection for her faithful knight (Albert Veros).]

“Hello, it’s been a while.”

She welcomed me from behind the counter.

‘She mentioned she was in the library committee at the academy…’

The conversations we had shared flashed through my mind.

“You’re the only one who’s visited the library so far.”

As she said, there was no one in the library except for her and me.

“I like how quiet it is.”

“Do you usually like books?”

“Of course.”

Of course, the reason I started liking books was also because of the person in front of me.

I wanted to like what the person I liked enjoyed.

So I started reading books, and since it was surprisingly fun, it became a genuine hobby.

“That’s unexpected…”

“I hear that a lot, like ‘What business does someone like you have reading?'”

“Ah! That’s not what I meant… I’m sorry.”

She apologized sincerely.

“It’s okay, I knew that.”

“You’re quite mischievous.”

“That’s the first time I’ve heard that.”

“That’s also unexpected.”

“Have you had dinner yet?”

When I mentioned “dinner,” her expression darkened.

“Not yet…”

She probably hadn’t eaten yet because she was managing the library in place of the teacher.

She also looked hungry.

“Let’s go eat together when the teacher comes back.”

Just as I finished speaking, someone entered the library.

And the person who had just entered spoke.

“Is this a date invitation?”

“Riel! It’s not like that!”

“That’s not for you to decide, miss.”

Riel was looking at me.

And she was also waiting for my response with an anxious expression.

Seeing her expression made me want to tease her.

I looked directly into her eyes and said:

“Yes, it is a date invitation.”

“See?”

“Eh? Really!?”

She blushed and was trying hard to avoid my gaze.

“You’re joking… right?”

“No, I’m not.”

“Kyaaaa! He says it’s not a joke! Miss, I’ll be going now!”

Riel made a huge fuss and ran out of the library.

She didn’t seem like that type of person normally…

I was a bit surprised by her unexpectedly student-like behavior.

“Um… that…”

“I was joking. I just wanted to tease you a bit.”

“What!?”

“But I was serious about having dinner together.”

“Really…”

About 20 minutes later, the teacher came to the library.

We left the library in the teacher’s care and went outside.

Once outside, she spoke first.

“What should we eat?”

“I don’t have anything particular in mind.”

She asked me.

“Is there anything you want to eat?”

“How about tteokbokki? I like it.”

“Oh! I really love tteokbokki too.”

“What a coincidence.”

It wasn’t a coincidence, but I do like tteokbokki.

“Let’s go to that place next to the Hunter Guild. It’s really delicious.”

That place was also a restaurant I learned about thanks to someone, but still.

“I go there often too. Their tteokbokki is delicious.”

She was beaming at the thought of eating her favorite tteokbokki.

“By the way, why didn’t you join our party?”

She suddenly changed the topic.

“I prefer being alone, for now.”

“For now?”

“You saw it.”

“Ah… because of that skill, right?”

“Yes.”

If it only had the stat reduction effect, I would have endured it and joined her party.

However, people who are heavily exposed to mental attacks often suffer from severe trauma.

Moreover, if it’s an intimidation skill, which is among the top-tier mental attacks, it would be even worse.

“You’re surprisingly kind.”

“Am I?”

“Yes, you’re very kind.”

She stared into my eyes again.

I avoided her gaze out of embarrassment, but she continued speaking regardless.

“Perhaps…”

I interrupted her and said:

“If you’re thinking of joining my party, I’ll allow it, but you’ll need [Michael’s Blessing].”

She burst into laughter at my words.

“You’re funny.”

“The tteokbokki is here. Let’s eat.”

She and I focused on eating the tteokbokki, temporarily forgetting our previous conversation.

As expected, this place’s tteokbokki was delicious, but I didn’t eat that much.

“You must have been hungry.”

She was devouring quite a large amount of tteokbokki by herself.

I felt oddly pleased watching her.

“I was starving today.”

“Take care of yourself. You’re already thin.”

“It’s hard when I’m so busy. I’m done eating. Aren’t you going to finish yours?”

“I have a small stomach.”

I wasn’t particularly hungry to begin with.

After finishing our meal, we stood up from our seats.

“I’ll pay.”

“Ah… you don’t have to…”

“I want to treat you.”

Before she could protest, I completed the payment.

“Thank you.”

“I’ll be going now. I have something to do outside.”

She asked me:

“What do you need to do?”

“I’m going grocery shopping. There’s not much to eat in the dormitory.”

It’s better to buy simple ingredients and cook for myself.

Eating at the cafeteria would be fine too, but I’m more used to this.

As I was about to part ways with her, she called out to me.

And then she said:

“Can I come with you?”