Chapter 98: Aeng-ae Nose Wants to Sleep (1)

The Transport Ship held Juyeon, observing the situation with a transcendental sense.

Just as there were Academy Instructors directly navigating the Uninhabited Island with the Paradise Knights.

Carrot Instructor of Orion Academy, like the other instructors, concealed her presence, observing a Supply drop-off point.

─ I, Ichinose-nim…!

As Ok Myeongjin’s Skill deactivated, his massive form shrunk back to its original state.

He collapsed onto the ground, unconscious, concluding the fight.

Oh my? Cadet Rohan’s Fist is quite tough.

Carrot, who had been watching the confrontation from a tree, confirmed the clean finish.

She twitched her perked rabbit ears and took out a carrot-shaped pen and a thick scoring sheet.

Cadet Ok Myeongjin has a short temper, but based on skill alone, he’s definitely in the upper ranks of the 1st years.

The Supply drop-off point was something the instructors were monitoring, but…

Ok Myeongjin’s killing intent was so clear and raw that Carrot couldn’t help but watch.

If a cadet’s life was in danger during the fight, she would have to intervene immediately.

But the scenario she worried about didn’t happen.

What a clean finish.

Carrot Instructor, with her legs crossed, moved her pen excitedly.

“Hmm~”

Ok Myeongjin received 0 Points for genuinely attempting to kill a fellow cadet. His selfish attempt to switch partners was also included in the penalty.

After marking that he needed to receive special education separately.

Carrot quickly recorded the rest of the situation.

She’ll be pleased to hear this.

If Juyeon heard what happened here, she would be more proud of the 1st-year cadet adhering to the precautions than his victory.

Wouldn’t she twitch the corners of her lips in joy while maintaining a straight face?

Carrot wanted to see that scene as soon as possible.

Thud!

Finishing the memo, she observed Rohan for a moment.

He certainly is a cadet worth paying attention to.

There’s a reason why Juyeon mentioned him periodically.

His actions and aura strangely capture one’s attention.

Even with the famous Ichinose Yui by his side, her eyes are drawn to Rohan.

He’s already been in the news and involved in incidents.

That cadet has a feeling of showing something in the future.

Feeling curious, Carrot pressed her lips with the tip of her pen.

Rohan pulled out the long sword he had stuck in the ground and looked at Ok Myeongjin’s partner.

He gestured with his chin towards the unconscious cadet.

“Friend. Take care of this guy. If you leave him like this, he’ll become Iron Turtle food, you know?”

“Ah, y-yes…!”

Perhaps he came to his senses at Rohan’s words.

The male cadet suddenly spoke formally and hurried down.

He dragged the unconscious Ok Myeongjin away from the Iron Turtle and disappeared into the bushes.

“Good work.”

Ichinose, having calmed her turbulent emotions, lightly descended next to Rohan.

Her eyes were hidden once again.

“It wasn’t that big of a deal. Let’s open the Supply.”

“…It was so noisy, but the leader is still sleeping.”

As Ichinose said, the large Iron Turtle carrying the Supply on its back was still motionless.

Other individuals were slowly crawling around, crying out, “Kwehk! Kwehk!”

But the large one, perhaps due to dull senses, didn’t even show its head.

These guys are probably worth 1 Point each.

Rohan decided to ignore the Iron Turtles here. Considering the time and his physical condition, that was the right decision.

It wouldn’t be right to suddenly stab each one with his sword and end their lives, especially with Ichinose present.

“Yep!”

Rohan sheathed his blade and began to use the Iron Turtle as a stepping stone.

Seeing Rohan, as excited as a child despite his size, Ichinose smiled faintly and followed.

Rohan arrived in front of the Supply.

If he listened carefully, he could hear the Iron Turtle beneath him breathing inside its shell.

It was snoring like a giant motor turning. It wasn’t fishing for food; it was genuinely sleeping.

Rohan touched the Supply without hesitation.

“Red flavor!”

A red box emitting crimson smoke.

After removing the blue cover on top, Rohan looked inside.

“…What the.”

It was full of individually wrapped boxes.

First, he discarded the signal device emitting the red smoke.

Doing so, his attention was drawn to what was on top of the boxes.

A weapon was displayed, and Rohan reached for it.

“A Handgun?”

A single white Handgun and a magazine filled with bullets.

As Rohan fiddled with the Firearm, Ichinose naturally continued the explanation.

“It’s a Gangseol-75. A mass-produced automatic Handgun manufactured by Tigrova.”

“Ooh, you’re knowledgeable about Firearms too?”

“I know a bit about famous models.”

Rohan inserted the magazine and offered the Handgun, upside down, to Ichinose.

“Want to use this, Ichinose? I can’t imbue it with Mana anyway.”

“I can’t use guns either. I can’t handle anything other than swords.”

“Hmm…”

Rohan stared at the Handgun in his hand.

He wanted it, but considering its efficiency, it was ambiguous.

This was truly a double-edged sword.

“They included it for us to use, so wouldn’t it be good to take it? Just in case.”

“Should I?”

At Rohan’s readily agreeable response, Ichinose smiled silently.

Rohan pocketed the Handgun and started opening the boxes underneath.

The first things he saw were two plastic bottles of water. He opened one, checked the smell, and handed it to Ichinose to drink.

Next, two packs of Ramen, two cans of tuna, and two plastic Forks.

And a Bowl, commonly seen in the military.

Ichinose seemed fascinated by the Bowl, as if seeing it for the first time.

Meanwhile, Rohan was serious.

Is there nothing else? This is too meager.

Rohan practically dove into the Supply box.

He rummaged through the bottom, peeling back the plastic.

He found bricks placed at the bottom to maintain weight.

“Is this it?”

“…This is it.”

The contents were too paltry compared to the size of the box.

This meant that they would have to search for Food again tomorrow, and conflicts would naturally arise when the cadets gathered.

Did he plan this on purpose?

It was hard to be certain, as it wasn’t emphasized in Abyss City.

But considering the test content, it was certainly possible.

─ Groooo…

Perhaps it was because the small creatures around them kept crying.

The giant Iron Turtle, being used as a support, stirred.

Whether it was waking up or having a nightmare was unclear, but the course of action for Rohan and Ichinose was obvious.

“Let’s go back.”

“Okay.”

Rohan gathered the Ramen and drinking water in his arms.

Seeing this, Ichinose shoved the fork and canned food into her bowl.

The two quickly left the area.

··

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They returned to the shelter where they had spent the day.

Rohan put down the items in a corner and brought a wide leaf to dispose of the ashes accumulated from the campfire.

Ichinose helped him clumsily, then showed her curiosity.

From Skills to combat methods.

There were many things she wanted to ask, but there was one thing Ichinose couldn’t hold back from asking right now.

“Rohan. How did you know?”

“Know what?”

“That… Cadet Ok Myeongjin… to me…”

“Confessed?”

Ichinose nodded slightly.

Then she expressed her question clearly.

“I never told anyone even if I received a confession. And Cadet Ok Myeongjin isn’t the type to tell anyone that he was rejected.”

“Just a hunch. The atmosphere felt like that.”

“A hunch?”

“He kept rolling his eyes before we even fought. And Ichinose seemed very uncomfortable too.”

“…”

Could he deduce that much with such an abstract stimulus as a hunch?

Ichinose, not having received a satisfactory answer, pouted.

Rohan took off his outer clothes to make a place to sit and changed the subject.

“Ichinose. Are you very hungry? Should we eat now?”

“No. I can manage after drinking some water.”

“Then let’s rest and see what happens. Supplies could run out again, or something else could happen.”

“Okay.”

The two went out of the shelter and gathered firewood that they could see around.

Most of it was damp from the rain, but there was quite a bit that could be burned.

“Rohan.”

“Hmm?”

“Shouldn’t we consider the possibility of moving after sunset?”

“That’s… reasonable. Certainly, supplies could run out at night.”

Rohan, who had dumped the firewood in his arms in a corner, nodded as he dusted off his hands and clothes.

“If we’re going to eat later, should we take turns getting some sleep now?”

“How are we going to check the shift change time? We don’t have a watch.”

“We can roughly guess by the number of firewood pieces burning. Like, we change shifts after putting in about 20 pieces?”

“Aha…”

The girl nodded, making a sound indicating understanding.

Rohan pointed to his outer clothes spread on the ground.

“You sleep first. You said you’d make up for acting on your own.”

“No. Did you even sleep yesterday? Rohan, sleep first.”

“I need to start the fire.”

“The fire…!”

The girl’s lips closed. The words that she would do it didn’t come out easily.

The image of failing to keep the fire going and having to wake Rohan up again? Quite horrifying.

“Then I’ll just start the fire and we’ll switch. Wake me up, no matter what.”

“Isn’t that too short of a nap?”

“I slept well yesterday, so I’m okay.”

Right now, those words were nothing but bravado for Ichinose.

In reality, because of the sticker, she was incredibly sleepy.

The moment she lay down, if no one woke her up, she felt like she could sleep all day.

“Alright. I’ll wake you up after starting the fire, so sleep quickly.”

“…”

Ichinose watched Rohan stack the kindling and then headed to the corner.

Just like yesterday, she lay down on the clothes Rohan had spread out.

Just like that.

How long had her eyes been closed?

A situation beyond expectations.

The girl couldn’t fall asleep.

…Huh?

Ichinose was genuinely surprised.

She was sure she would fall asleep the moment she lay down, but she couldn’t sleep at all. It was the feeling of suffering from terrible insomnia.

She knew the problem.

The excessively uncomfortable sleeping arrangements made her toss and turn constantly.

Sleeping on bare ground made this much complaint bloom in her heart.

Such a realization was clear.

…

Her head was especially uncomfortable.

She had rolled up her outer clothes to use as a pillow, but it wasn’t enough.

She felt like she would get a stiff neck. She had never longed for the pillow in her dormitory so much.

Thus, a question naturally arose.

Although her mind gallantly tried to accept life outdoors, the body that had lived as the heir to a large corporation was honest about its discomfort.

How did I sleep soundly yesterday?

To think she slept deeply in such a sleeping arrangement.

Was it simply a difference in the concentration of fatigue?

Don’t tell me.

The clever girl quickly came up with a likely hypothesis.

She slightly opened her eyes and looked at Rohan, who was lighting the fire. Rohan’s firm thighs, as he squatted down, caught her eye.

Although a shameful memory surfaced, causing her face to flush, she thought that was the answer to getting a good night’s sleep.

“Why aren’t you sleeping? Are you hungry?”

Feeling her insistent gaze, Rohan turned his head and smiled.

“…”

Ichinose made various judgments.

The desire to pursue efficiency, the embarrassment of appearing childish to a classmate, the clear shame even in her drowsiness.

The thought of being a burden to her partner, the regret that it would have been better if she had never known that comfort.

Unendingly deep worries.

The girl bit her lip in hesitation.