Chapter 77 : It’s been a while

It’s been a while.

A telepathic voice digs into my mind. It was obvious who this mysterious presence was.

I greeted Teferi as she approached me.

She still looked just as she did when we first met, with her sparkling green eyes.

“Yeah, it really has been a while.”

Even though I had only left for Reinz about a week ago, it felt like much longer.

It felt like a whole month had passed.

I couldn’t explain why it felt like so much time had gone by.

Maybe it was because of my awkward greeting—she pouted in mock annoyance.

[“I missed you so much, but you didn’t? That’s mean.”]

“N-No, I mean…”

Again, it had barely been ten days since we last saw each other.

I could have written to her, sure, but was that really necessary?

It’s not like friends die from not seeing each other for a few days.

Honestly, I felt like I was being unfairly accused.

Still, for some reason, I was overwhelmed with guilt.

Maybe it was the emotional wave coming from Teferi’s Emotioneer.

Why did I feel like I was terribly late to something?

“I’m really sorr—no, I mean… sorry.”

[“You’re forgiven since you made it back safe. But if it happens again… you know?”]

Ah, terrifying.

Since it was an awkward time to do much, our academy group decided to eat an early dinner here.

There was a large restaurant, fitting for the airship dock.

It’s not easy to find a place that can seat over twenty people all at once—

Especially in a world where the idea of ‘travel’ is rare.

There was only a small issue—it was originally a pub that doubled as an entertainment bar.

Even though we weren’t wearing school uniforms and were technically adults,

Being students from the academy made us feel a little out of place.

“Um… are we really allowed to be here?”

I quietly asked Professor Heitz, who was calmly eating.

He may have complained about being a bottom-rank professor, but he was still part of the academy.

Sitting alone in a dignified manner, separated from the students,

He replied reassuringly.

“Mm, it’s a bit awkward, but since it’s not illegal, I think it’s fine.

If this were ten years ago, maybe not, but these days, Imperial law has blocked any related issues.”

“…If you say so.”

Sure, there were no naked dancers with bills in their bras or rowdy thugs causing trouble.

A building this big wouldn’t survive doing illegal business anyway.
Professor Heitz swallowed his food and added,

“Also, just before we departed, I heard they’re coming to meet us.

There’s nowhere else to wait until nightfall.

Breaking an appointment is quite dishonorable for elves, so they’re just being thorough.”

Why bother coming all the way here if we’re just going to take carriages anyway?

We still had half a day’s travel left.

Of course, I couldn’t say that out loud in front of him, so I nodded and returned to my seat.…

Let’s not do this.

On either side of me sat Teferi and Amiter.

That alone wouldn’t have been a problem.

“…Move.”

I barely held back from shouting, “Get lost.”

They were way too close.

Our arms touched, and I could even hear their breathing.

It was hard to eat like this—

If they wanted to talk, couldn’t they do it outside?

Having someone stare at you while you eat is incredibly uncomfortable.

I kept sending signals that I was uncomfortable, but unfortunately, they didn’t get the message.

Both of them.

“Just eat.”

I forced myself to eat under their gazes.

The food looked blazing red and spicy.

For a while, only the sound of me stirring the food filled the air.

Then Teferi “spoke”—or rather, thought—first.

[“So, what did you two do when you went together?”]

That question wasn’t directed at me, right?

I assumed Amiter would answer smoothly—

And she did, from my right side.

“We slept together.”

Cough cough! Spicy!

I choked as the spice hit my throat.

Luckily I didn’t make a mess, but my throat was burning.

More than that, the back of my head stung worse.

I definitely told her not to say things that could be misunderstood!

As I coughed, she continued, completely unfazed.

“In the same room, just the two of us.”

Why did it sound like she was bragging, even though that’s not what happened?

It wasn’t even the first time we shared a room—not by a long shot.

I felt so wronged I could cry. Or was that just from the spice?

Trying to explain, I turned to look at Teferi—

But the moment I saw her face, I froze like I had looked at Medusa.

She was smiling, clearly.

But every instinct in my body screamed, Run. Run now.

[“Oh, if that’s all, then it’s fine.

I’ve slept with Trea lots of times too.”]

Her sweet tone was filled with an icy chill.

At some point, my hand had stopped moving.

[“Way more than you have.”]

Now it was time to look to the other side.

I slowly turned to the right—

And saw Amiter’s clearly annoyed expression.

Was this… killing intent?

It felt like the tingling sensation I got when fighting that gold dragon.

‘I’m going to get indigestion.’

Naturally, I ended up facing straight ahead.

Unintentionally, my posture was now perfectly straight.

When I thought about it…

I hadn’t done anything wrong, so why was I being treated like this?

As I nervously watched their reactions, I slowly started sliding away in my seat.

“Um, I don’t think I’m really needed here, so maybe I’ll just—”

“Sit.”

Yessir.

I lowered my half-risen butt back into the chair.

Why were they doing this to me?

‘Wait… wasn’t I supposed to be the villainess here?’

Being caught between two tigers, I was more like a helpless deer than a villainess.

Honestly, I doubt there’s ever been a more pathetic villainess than me.

What made it worse was—

I didn’t even know why they were fighting.

It seemed to involve me somehow, but…

Is sleeping together really that big of a deal?

‘Help me, Solomon.’

Wise King Solomon once said to split the baby in half to resolve a dispute.

But what if they really did try to split me in half?

There was a scary possibility they actually might.

In the end, I had no choice but to seal Solomon away in my heart.

“To be honest, I think the three of us should just slee—”

“Wait.”

See? She cut me off again!

If this keeps up, I’m really going to—

“Something’s coming.”

“…Huh?”

The sudden, out-of-place comment left me confused, but when I focused,

I realized what Amiter meant.

Boom. Boom. Boom.

The ground shook in rhythmic thuds, getting louder.

Even the water in my cup started to ripple.

Eventually, the sound grew loud enough for even ordinary people to notice.

Proof that it was headed this way.

“Guess our soap opera will have to wait.”

Amiter muttered, rising to her feet.

Her chair clattered to the floor, but no one cared.

…Wait, what did ‘soap opera’ mean again?

It had been so long, I forgot.

But there was no time to think.

A scream rang out from outside.

“D-Dragon! A whole group of dragons is coming!”

A panicked man burst inside, yelling—

And the already noisy pub descended into total chaos.

The academy students were no different—panicking in all directions.

“Let’s go see.”

I pushed through the crowd like a salmon swimming upstream.

Once outside, I realized two things.

First, luckily, whatever was coming wasn’t an enemy.

I could see the faces of elves.

Second, those weren’t dragons.

Well—maybe they were?

They were technically dragons, I guess.

The elves pulled on the reins, stopping just short of the crowd.

Their reddish-brown tyrannosaurs roared.

“ROOAAAR!”

The surreal scene made me laugh in disbelief.

Damn fantasy world.

I mean, after talking snakes and floating islands,

What’s a dinosaur or two?

Especially armored dinosaurs.

Ah, I can’t resist dinosaurs. Especially armored ones.