Chapter 38 – We’re Friends, Right?

“Ugh… ngh…”

I groaned, barely managing to finish my bath before collapsing onto the bed.

The fluffy blanket wrapped around my bare skin, its touch ticklish. The gentle scent of fresh bedding worked to soothe my tired mind.

“Haaa…”

Back home, Sarah would’ve nagged endlessly if I’d laid naked on the bed like this. But being alone felt incredibly liberating.

Rolling over, I pulled the blanket tight around my arms and legs. The blanket seemed to embrace me back just as warmly.

As I blinked my heavy eyelids, the room came into focus. A modest yet elegant light fixture caught my attention—neither ostentatious nor cheap, but just right. Golden decorative trim surrounded it, subtly reflecting the light. The fact that it didn’t strain my eyes even after prolonged staring suggested magical stone finishing.

Turning my head, I noticed the walls looked oddly plush. When I reached out to touch them, they really were soft and cushiony. What kind of material could make walls feel like this?

Taking in the whole room, I realized just how spacious it was—too large to see everything at once. While not as big as my room back home, it was certainly oversized for a student dormitory.

“Nice…”

The room even had its own bathroom with a tub that offered massage jets at the push of a button. Next to it sat six different bath additives—four aromatic and two for bubbles. I’d tried one with herbs earlier; while I couldn’t tell if it actually did anything, the fragrance was incredible.

Moments like these made enrolling in Signia feel worth it. The cleaning service especially stood out—just ask the head maid in the central hall, and they’d have the room spotless before classes began. The service seemed almost excessive, though I supposed the noble-born students were used to such treatment.

“Hm-hmm… hmm…”

After rolling around a few more times to mark the bed with my scent, I sat up, hugging a large pillow as my thoughts drifted to earlier events.

Leona Megenberta.

Why does that beastkin’s fighting style so closely resemble Arisa’s?

At first, I wasn’t certain, but after taking over fifty hits from those fists, the similarity became undeniable. She was strong too—not quite Arisa’s level, but powerful enough that she would’ve been remembered if she’d existed 400 years ago.

And she had secrets. She deflected questions about her teacher with sharp intensity, only to smirk and say she’d tell me if I could defeat her. While she concealed her age and hometown, she made no effort to hide her hatred for the Demon King and demons.

Her true personality remained a mystery. The playful exterior she showed clearly wasn’t her real self.

The more I think about it, the deeper I sink into questions without answers.

Still…

Still…

Finding what felt like a genuine trace of Arisa—not just some fairy tale, but something real—made my heart race. Perhaps Leona knew something I didn’t.

Well, anyway…

“Ugh… I’m starving.”

I should’ve eaten meat instead of noodles. Too late now—I’d have to wait until tomorrow.

It was already 4 AM. If I wanted to wash up and head out properly, I’d need to wake by 7. While missing sleep wouldn’t normally be an issue, tomorrow’s sparring session with Leona meant rest might be wise.

“Hmm…”

Just as I considered giving up on sleep and going for a workout—

Ding-ding! Ding-ding!

“Huh…?”

My Terminal rang repeatedly. Who could be calling at this hour?

“Ugh… what now…”

I crawled over to retrieve it from beside the shoe rack. Yurasia’s name appeared on screen with green and red buttons.

Flopping onto the floor, I pressed the green one as instructed.

[Eep! Oh—uh… hello…?]

Yurasia’s face appeared on screen, with a tiny preview of my own in the corner.

“Wait… it shows faces?”

I rubbed my bleary eyes, focusing on Yurasia’s deeply flushed face as she darted her gaze around nervously.

[Uh… um… Lady… Lady Ellie?]

“Why are you still awake? Something wrong?”

[Well, that’s… um… hi-hehe…]

“What’s going on?”

She covered her eyes, then uncovered them, grimaced, trembled, squeezed them shut, then opened them wide.

After fidgeting for a while, she finally whispered:

[Lady Ellie… you might… want to put on some clothes.]

“…Clothes?”

Oh. Right. I was naked.

“Oh…”

[I-I’m sorry! I should’ve said something right away, but I was so flustered…]

Despite her apology, her eyes remained fixed straight ahead.

“You’re apologizing but still staring?”

[Wha—?! N-no! I mean—um—eep!]

She finally squeezed her eyes shut, face burning red.

Watching her reaction, I couldn’t help but laugh.

“It’s fine if you look. No big deal.”

After all, I was in a woman’s body now, just like Yurasia. Nothing strange about showing skin to another woman, right? Well, maybe a little, but I’d only shown my upper half.

Back in my mercenary days with Paulo, all of us would go shirtless in summer. Between women, seeing a bit of skin shouldn’t be an issue.

“So, what did you want to say?”

[H-Huh?! Oh, that’s… um… uh…]

Her lips trembled as her eyes kept dropping lower.

Maybe I’d said it was fine, but her constant glancing was making me uncomfortable. I casually used my free arm to cover my chest—not that there was much to cover.

[Ah… uh… oh…]

Yurasia’s face turned an even deeper shade of red.

“Stop making weird noises and tell me what you wanted. Unless you’re just here to stare?”

[N-No! That’s not it! I… um… what was I going to say?]

“How would I know?”

[Oh… I forgot! I’ll tell you later when I remember!]

She finally squeezed her eyes shut and lowered her head.

“Wait a moment.”

[Y-Yes…?]

Her eyelids fluttered open slightly.

“Want to work out together? It’s been a while.”

We hadn’t done our morning exercises together since coming to the academy—it had been five days already.

[W-Work… work out…?!]

“Yeah. I probably won’t sleep anyway. If you’re up for it, put on workout clothes and come to my room.”

[Y-Your r-room…? Oh! Exercise! Right… Sorry, I can’t today… Maybe tomorrow…]

“That’s fine. Get some rest, and I’ll see you later.”

[Yes… Goodnight!]

“Night.”

After about ten seconds of Yurasia sneaking glances at my face and covered chest, the screen went dark.

“What’s there even to look at?”

Chuckling, I rolled around for another thirty minutes before getting up.

***

In another room of the Signia dormitory, Stella Verheigen lay on her bed wearing just an oversized white t-shirt, humming a lullaby her mother used to sing.

“They’ll at least send a quick confirmation message, right? I did ask for one…”

Her hands clutched her Terminal tightly as she continued humming.

Earlier at lunch, she’d managed to casually give her number to Yurasia. It hadn’t been easy, but she’d pulled it off naturally! She’d even shown extra composure by asking Yurasia to pass it along to Eliarness.

She’d emphasized that they should take their time, but requested just one confirmation message once they got back to the dorm.

She’d been perfect—not desperate, not pathetic, just the right amount of casual coolness!

“Perfect execution.”

It truly had been perfect. If Eliarness had been at lunch, it might have been awkward, but fortunately, she’d been away meeting with the vice principal about something.

Now I’ll naturally have their numbers.

Grinning, Stella tapped her empty contacts list.

Soon—very soon—two new numbers would be saved there.

Believing this with all her heart, she hummed and waited.

One hour passed. Then two.

Three hours.

Four hours.

No message came.

“…Why?”

She’d definitely given her number to Yurasia, even adding that casual line about sharing it with Eliarness: “I don’t really care about giving it to her, but knowing her pride, she might not ask, so could you pass it along?”

But why hadn’t anyone contacted her?

Maybe Eliarness wouldn’t message her—that made sense, given her personality.

But Yurasia… why hadn’t Yurasia reached out?

The humming stopped. Her feet, which had been swaying gently, grew still.

Silence fell.

Even the Terminal remained quiet.

All she could see were the messy fingerprints on its dark screen.

“Was I… the only one who thought we were getting closer?”

Her voice wavered with tears.

“Maybe… maybe they just forgot…?”

Tears welled up in her eyes.

“Yurasia wouldn’t… wouldn’t do that…”

Sniff. Sniffle.

She held back her runny nose and waited another forty-eight minutes before falling asleep, still clutching her silent Terminal in both hands, curled up on top of her blanket