Ch.177176. Time Without Her (3)

# 176. The Time Without Her (3)

Right after that, Riel’s voice came through.

Her voice carried a deep sigh.

-Please…-

“Just kidding, just kidding.”

-Are you doing well at the academy?-

“Of course, who do you think I am?”

-Still as obnoxious as ever.-

“Naturally.”

-Ah, and check your messages after the call.-

After that, her question came.

I had the same curiosity as her question.

-What message?-

-There’s something like that.-

“Ah… okay.”

The fact that she wouldn’t tell me right away suggested it was something that shouldn’t be revealed to her.

She either knew he wouldn’t tell her anyway or simply wasn’t interested, as she changed the subject.

-How’s your training going these days?-

“Don’t worry about that, it’s going so well you’d be surprised if you knew.”

-I’ll look forward to it.-

“Just trust me.”

-Alright!-

-Let’s wrap this up soon, it’s time to sleep.-

-Okay…-

The atmosphere suggested it was time to end the call.

After hearing Riel’s words, I asked her, who seemed reluctant to hang up.

“Do you have to hang up?”

-I think so… I’ll call you tomorrow if I have time.-

“Okay, sleep well.”

-Yes…! You sleep well too, Albert.-

With that farewell, the call disconnected.

Looking at the phone that had lost its light, a bitter feeling washed over me.

Even though I had just heard her voice moments ago.

That emotion made me curse, something I don’t usually do.

“Ah… shit… I fucking miss her.”

“Why are you suddenly cursing?”

“?”

I looked at Raicle, who had appeared mysteriously.

He was looking at me with an expression that seemed to say, “Didn’t you know?”

“I didn’t know you were there…”

“It’s been a while since I’ve seen you curse.”

“It’s tough these days, bro.”

“My birthday comes before yours, you know?”

“So what? Anyway! It’s tough.”

When I whined like that, Raicle asked about the reason.

Even though he already knew.

“Why?”

“I’m lonely.”

“You talk on the phone often, don’t you?”

“Talking in person and on the phone are different.”

“Then just go see her.”

“Want to get hit?”

When I raised my fist, Raicle gave a faint smile.

My current state must have been quite amusing to him.

But Raicle suddenly stopped smiling.

Then, with a face full of mischief, he said:

“If you’re that lonely, you could always cheat.”

“Do you really want to die?”

“It’s a joke, a joke.”

“By the way, how are things going with you? Didn’t you say you’d win her over this semester?”

“Come to think of it, she seems to have almost given up on you.”

By “she,” he seemed to mean Luna.

If even Raicle was saying that, it seemed like she really wasn’t planning to bother me anymore.

She was a bit annoying at the beginning of this semester.

“It’s about time she gave up, she’s been at it almost the whole semester.”

“But you’re really something, and so is she. If it were me, I would have just given in and dated her.”

“You don’t have a girlfriend, you single bastard.”

When I scolded him like that, Raicle looked dejected.

“Do I really need a girlfriend…?”

“Have you given up?”

“Not given up, just… too busy these days…”

“Come to think of it, you guys have been working hard lately? The three of you with Chris and Leo.”

Those three had been sticking together like glue lately.

Chris was one thing, but Leo becoming close with them was a bit unexpected.

“But why did you suddenly become friends? I don’t think that was the vibe before?”

“I’m not friends with them. We just hang out together, and with you too.”

“A guy acting tsundere to another guy is pointless.”

“Shut up.”

I asked this guy who had been acting tsundere since earlier, despite being a man.

“Why are you alone today?”

“Everyone went out with their girlfriends.”

“Chris would be with Eve… and Leo? Ah… the library?”

“Thinking about how I’m the only single one still pisses me off.”

He must have felt quite miserable all this time.

This guy, who usually barely said a word, was now chattering away.

I said to Raicle, who seemed to feel sorry for himself:

“Well, it’s fine not to have one. If you don’t have one from the start, you don’t have to suffer like me.”

“Are you seriously saying that right now?”

“For your information, I’m being completely sincere.”

“…. Unbelievable… Don’t talk like you’re well-fed.”

His comment about being “well-fed” showed he clearly didn’t understand how difficult things were for me right now.

Of course, Raicle wouldn’t know.

He wouldn’t have experienced a situation like this.

‘No… maybe he has?’

Thinking about last year’s events, it seemed like he might have.

Well-fed talk…

Perhaps it was because, unlike him, the other person was still alive, so that’s why he said that.

“Ah… right… I definitely can’t compare with you.”

“Yeah, don’t complain about such trivial matters.”

“Ah.. okay..”

“But why have you been alone so much lately? Couldn’t you at least hang out with them, if not others?”

That question made me tilt my head in confusion.

“Is that okay?”

“Why wouldn’t it be? And don’t abandon your party members when you’re the party leader. They seem like they’re about to give up on you too.”

“I see…”

I had been feeling quite lonely recently.

Not just missing her, but also growing distant from the other kids.

But it seemed like I could forget that loneliness for a while now.

“But… isn’t it weird if I suddenly gather everyone?”

“What’s weird about it?”

“Couldn’t you do it for me?”

“I’m just a mere party member, so I’m not sure if they’ll listen to me.”

“I can do it if I have to.”

To be honest, training together would probably be disadvantageous.

Maybe not for the others, but at least for me.

Still, doing it together seemed better right now.

If I continued like this, I’d eventually collapse from exhaustion.

So it was time to take occasional breaks.

“Fine, do it. I’m getting tired of just hanging out with them.”

“But how do I gather everyone?”

“Geez… you’re hopeless… Go tell them directly that we’ll have group training starting tomorrow, or send a message.”

“I guess I should… but should we start next week?”

“Probably?”

***

The consultation with Raicle.

A week had already passed since that day, and as discussed, I informed the kids that we would start group training from this week.

‘Everyone… seems really happy about it..’

I had some concerns, but they turned out to be unnecessary.

Even that guy was happy about it this time.

“What’s the occasion? I thought you were just going to abandon us.”

“I left you alone because you weren’t doing things properly.”

“Can’t you just be honest and say something like ‘I wanted to be with you all’ or at least ‘I was lonely’?”

“Exactly.”

“That’s right, it’s obvious that’s why you called us.”

The party members chimed in one by one after Elin’s comment.

I reluctantly gave in to their demands.

“Fine, I was lonely training alone. Happy now?”

“Wouldn’t it have been better to say that from the start?”

“Watch yourself today.”

“Are we starting right away today?”

“Isn’t that obvious?”

I immediately summoned my sword.

Then I pointed it at the party members who had gathered after such a long time.

“Let’s see how much stronger you’ve all become, you all seem different now.”

Clearly, last winter had the same harmonious atmosphere as now.

She wasn’t there then either.

But from the beginning of this semester until last week, it wasn’t like that.

‘What’s different between then and now?’

I’m not sure what’s different, but something must be.

Either they’ve changed, or the situation has changed, or I’ve changed.

But I didn’t try to figure out what had changed.

I wasn’t particularly curious, nor did I need to know.

“Let’s just enjoy the good things.”

“Huh? What?”

“And by the way, if you guys cling to me like before, I’ll abandon you again, just so you know.”

My sudden declaration.

Luna and Rachel, who heard that declaration, asked me with dejected expressions.

“”Why?””

I answered that question using what I had heard from Riel.

“I don’t want to live my whole life with my limbs tied up, and I’m sure you don’t want to die either.”

“Eh…? What does that…?”

“There’s something like that, something. Anyway! Setting that aside, everyone come up.”

“What confidence…”

I looked at those who slowly climbed onto the arena while saying such things and said:

“You’re not the only ones who’ve gotten stronger.”

***

About 30 minutes after that conversation.

As expected, the only people who could still stand here until the end were just Luna, Reina, and Raicle.

While exhaling rough breaths, I said to them who were still holding up well:

“You’re holding up pretty well?”

“Really… still the same….”

“You’re still weak.”

I used [Swift] to charge at Raicle, who seemed to have hit rock bottom in terms of stamina.

Then I planted my fist into his abdomen as he barely reacted, trying to do something.

-Thud!!-

“Ugh..!”

That punch was the final decisive blow, and Raicle collapsed helplessly to the ground.

Seeing that, I asked the trembling girls:

“What are you going to do?”

“I surrender..”

“Me too…”

They immediately declared surrender, as if they were scared.

But there was no sincerity in those words.

“Why don’t you put down your weapons when you say that?”

“Tch.. you’re not falling for it, this time I really surrender…”

“Damn it..”

I watched the girls taking care of those who had already fallen, expressing their regret for their defeat, and thought:

‘This is… more fun after all.’

With that thought, I announced the end of today’s training.

“That’s it for today, and we’ll do it again tomorrow. Got it?”

“Tomorrow I’ll really win..”

“The difference was too big for that kind of talk…?”

Seeing such scenes naturally sparked passion that wasn’t there before.

It seemed like this lifestyle would continue for quite a while, at least until graduation.