Ru!mi

Ru!mi

Ironically, we don’t feel a significant problem about things that never existed.

But we feel a great sense of lack for things that were once there and are now gone.

Rumi felt that these words applied exactly to her situation as she slowly covered her face.

‘Why… why won’t he look at me?’

She wondered if he was tired of her being a burden since he rescued her.

Or if he wasn’t paying attention to her because he liked that girl named Delia who he recently started hanging out with.

Whatever the reason, it felt like her heart was being squeezed as each day felt like she was withering away.

‘Then maybe I should speak to him first… should I?’

She wanted to talk to him right away if she could.

But she hesitated a bit, feeling that the Heaven God Cult might try to make not only her but also Deren unhappy.

So while she was wandering the empty hallway lost in thought, suddenly Deren’s distinctive cypress scent tickled her nose.

“… Deren?”

She called his name and looked around, just in case.

But there was no sign of Deren, not even a similar figure.

Thinking she must have been mistaken, she was about to turn around when she noticed Deren’s fiancée walking from afar.

‘… The student council president.’

If I had to describe her in one word, it would be that she’s the complete opposite of me.

‘Unlike me, she’s perfect… Unbound by anything, lofty and noble.’

While I was feeling dejected, thinking she was the ideal person made up of all the qualities I wished I had.

As she gradually approached, I could notice the scent of Deren becoming stronger.

“……”

Why was such a strong scent of Deren coming from her body?

At first, I denied reality because it was hard to accept this fact.

But the more I denied it, the more my suspicions turned into certainty… In the end, I firmly believed this to be the truth.

‘… Why?’

Why does the student council president’s body smell like Deren?

The immediate answer that came to mind was ‘Isn’t it because they’ve been close to each other for a long time?’

But I bit my lip, trying hard to deny it.

‘No… That can’t be. Even if they’re engaged, Deren is…’

I tried to make excuses in my head, saying Deren wasn’t that kind of person.

But remembering what Deren did to me when we first met, I couldn’t entirely deny it.

I had no choice but to give up defending him.

“… Ugh.”

Unable to deny it, I had to accept all at once the things I had been pretending not to know.

From this point on, I was directly confronting all the negative thoughts I had been avoiding.

Suddenly, a piece of ‘clothing’ in the student council president’s arms caught my eye.

‘Men’s clothes?’

Something seemed strange, so I stared at it intently, and it wasn’t difficult to recognize it as one of the clothes Deren had worn before.

‘……’

Why would the student council president have Deren’s clothes?

Feeling that something was off, I gazed at it blankly and slowly began to make guesses.

‘Did she pick it up after it fell? Or did she borrow it from Deren? If not that… did she steal it?’

Without evidence, I couldn’t tell which of those three was the truth.

It seemed unlikely that it was stolen, given how openly she was carrying it around.

‘… That means she probably picked it up or borrowed it.’

Judging by the strong scent of Deren coming from the student council president’s body, it might be right to assume she borrowed it.

As that thought crossed my mind, I was struck by an unusually strong feeling of ‘unfairness’.

‘I… can’t even talk to Deren for fear of him getting hurt.’

It’s only natural to be envious of someone who easily secured the position of ‘fiancée’ thanks to their family background.

For the first time in my life, I feel jealousy rising up to my throat.

“Ah.”

Why am I like this lately?

While wondering why I keep having these negative thoughts.

I pinched the back of my hand hard, trying to shake off these thoughts.

‘The student council president… must have her own hardships too. So… let’s not be too envious.’

As I was thinking this with my eyes tightly shut.

Suddenly, a thought crossed my mind.

What if I could return those clothes to Deren? Wouldn’t that give me a chance to talk to him?

‘And if I’m lucky, I might even get praised by Deren.’

With the intuition that things would flow in an ideal direction, I slowly opened my eyes.

‘However… I don’t think she’ll just give it to me. Should I take it secretly?’

Judging by how preciously she’s holding Deren’s clothes.

Even if I say I’ll deliver it for her, I don’t think she’ll give it up easily, so I felt the need to come up with a way to get it.

As I was contemplating what method to use, I suddenly remembered that she holds the position of ‘student council president’.

‘The student council president is likely to go check in person if there’s a problem.’

If I use this, I might be able to get those clothes more easily.

So, for now, using this…

‘…Huh?’

Just as the plan was coming together piece by piece.

Suddenly, reason returned and I realized what I was doing.

‘Theft.’

No matter what positive words I added, what I was trying to do was nothing but theft.

The moment this thought crossed my mind, I was about to give up on the plan.

But strangely, the ominous thought that if I couldn’t succeed with this plan, Deren would never pay attention to me again flashed through my mind.

‘That’s… absolutely not okay.’

Because I wanted to avoid that at all costs, I clenched my fists and stared at the back of the student council president.

*

The moment I decided to execute the plan, I immediately went to one of the student council members and told them that ‘a big problem had occurred in the Academy’s old building’.

“A problem in the old building?”

“Yes, yes. There are a lot of people gathered there… doing… uh, things that are difficult to describe.”

Perhaps because they knew that many delinquent students often gathered in the old school building.

Even though I mixed in some lies, they didn’t seem to be very suspicious.

As soon as I confirmed that I looked like a member of such a student council, I quickly added one more thing.

“I originally wanted to find the professors… but they were all absent, so I had no choice but to come to the student council president.”

“Ah.”

Fortunately, maybe because it’s still early morning, they seem to believe this as well.

He nodded at my words and then said, ‘I’ll report to the student council president,’ before hurriedly going inside.

Watching him, I decided to slowly hide nearby and wait for them to come out.

‘Even to avoid responsibility, they’ll try to verify whether what they heard is true or not.’

I could use this to sneak into the student council president’s office.

‘Moreover, if I recall how carefully they were holding Deren’s clothes earlier.’

The probability of taking Deren’s clothes to a place where there’s a problem would be extremely low.

The chances of leaving the clothes in the student council president’s office would be high.

As I was making this judgment while hiding, I saw the student council president and two other students coming out and moving hurriedly.

Upon seeing this, I slowly moved my body and manifested mana.

‘… Invisibility.’

It was a spell of somewhat difficult level.

After causing trouble for Deren, I had worked hard to learn it so as not to cause any more inconvenience, but I never thought I’d be using it like this.

With these thoughts, I carefully entered the student council president’s office and picked up Deren’s clothes that were inside.

‘I found it.’

Although I didn’t like the fact that the student council president’s unique scent was mixed with Deren’s fragrance.

Still, now that it’s in my hands, there shouldn’t be a big problem.

‘But since I’m a bit uncomfortable with it.’

Deciding to replace the student council president’s scent with my own fragrance, I hugged the clothes tightly to my chest.

I quickly slipped out before others could see.

*

After all that trouble to bring Deren’s clothes.

When I actually tried to face him and talk, my face kept burning up, and I couldn’t bring myself to have a conversation.

‘I’m really such a fool.’

While thinking about why I keep repeating such foolish actions.

Just as I was pouring all sorts of negative words onto myself.

I noticed Deren staring at me from afar.

“……”

Feeling unnecessarily embarrassed by that gaze, I was avoiding eye contact.

Suddenly, Deren stood up and slowly started approaching me.

Did something go wrong?

Just as I was trembling, wondering if the clothes had been torn somewhere while bringing them, or if Deren felt disgusted because I had left too much of my scent on them.

Deren said something completely unexpected.

“Let’s have a talk for a moment.”

“… A talk?”

“Yes. I have something to say.”

No matter how much I think about it, I can only assume that the reason for wanting to talk is to reprimand me.

Thinking I’ve done something unnecessary, I stand up restlessly.

Deren leads me to the hallway and briefly says.

“From now on, I’ll give you one of our guest rooms. Live there.”

“……?”

I expected to be told not to come near.

But the opposite comes out.

At first, I just blink my eyes, wondering if I heard it wrong.

Deren, still with an expressionless face, speaks to me as if ordering.

“You have to take responsibility, you see.”

Responsibility…? What responsibility is he talking about?

I’m not sure, but I nod for now.

Deren seems satisfied, looks at me, and then enters the classroom.

‘What kind of situation is this?’

My mind is so confused that I can’t organize my thoughts at all.

Because of that, I’m fidgeting restlessly with my fingers.

Suddenly, a thought crosses my mind.

‘Come to think of it, even though I did something bad… I’m not getting punished.’

Beyond not being punished, it feels like I’m being rewarded instead.

With that thought, I wonder if it’s for Deren’s sake, maybe anything I do would be okay.

I stare blankly at Deren’s profile through the window outside the classroom.