episode_0007

“But.. even if I confess.. what should I do first?”

“..Well? I don’t really know either.”

“What’s that!”

After what happened the other day, the two met again at a cafe on the weekend when the academy was closed.

Ropel had coffee with its original bitter taste in front of him, while Lilith had an ade full of juice.

“I’ve been confessed to by men many times, but I’ve never done it myself… so I can’t really think of anything…”

“I also don’t have any experience confessing to someone…”

“And yet you confidently told me to confess?”

“Besides that, there wasn’t any other way, was there?

“That’s true, but…”

At this point, Ropel had no memories of his past life, so he had no dating experience or related knowledge.

To begin with, he was someone whose dating experience converged to 0 even in his past life.

“Still, you’re a guy just like Mark, so aren’t there things like how you’d want to be confessed to or something?”

“Hey, do you think all guys are the same? And even if you listen to what I say, it probably won’t make much difference?”

“Don’t say that, just say something.”

“Me.. if I were to be confessed to, at that moment it would probably feel okay…”

“What does that mean?”

“To begin with, what I think a confession is…

The act of revealing the feelings one has come to harbor. Furthermore, the feeling of love, which might have been hidden, is directly shown to the other person, right?

Whatever the method and form, that alone absolutely doesn’t change.

Putting aside whether I accept or not, just the fact that they gathered that much courage for someone like me would truly make me happy.”

“…That’s completely unhelpful!”

“See, I told you. What about you? Haven’t you made any plans?

You’ve known each other for over 10 years, you said. You must know what Mark likes, right?”

“Haa… If I knew that well, I wouldn’t need to worry.

That Mark guy is kind, so he’s someone who says it’s fine no matter what he receives from anyone.

Conversely, that means I don’t even know what he truly likes, you know?”

“Hmm… that’s the most troublesome type…”

Ropel sipped the coffee in front of him, and Lilith chewed on the ice in the empty cup she had already finished.

“Honestly.. I still don’t know if confessing is the right thing to do.

Because Mark still doesn’t seem to think of me as more than a friend…”

Think about it, how awkward would it be if a friend you’ve never seen as a romantic interest suddenly confessed?”

“Don’t talk like that.

Well, certainly, if such a situation happened to me, I think I’d be flustered.

At least if we can set up the situation well… Yes, is that the only way?”

Gulp, gulp

Ropel gulped down the coffee he had been sipping all at once, placed the cup down on the table, and exclaimed.

“You scared me, what? Did you have a good idea?”

“Considering your relationship with Mark right now, a simple confession alone isn’t enough.

And you fill that lacking part with atmosphere.”

“Atmosphere?”

“Yes, atmosphere, whatever the form, if you, who’s been a childhood friend forever, suddenly confess, he might be flustered.

But before confessing, plan a perfect date course and create a good atmosphere.

If you prepare a situation where he can’t refuse, wouldn’t the success rate of the confession go up?”

“..That certainly seems right. Then, how to plan that date course will be important!”

“That’s the answer. And to plan a date course, advice from someone with rich dating experience…!”

As mentioned earlier, Ropel’s dating experience was 0.

Lilith, who had looked only at Mark her entire life, was no different.

“..We’re back to square one.”

Lilith let out a deep sigh.

“…Can’t be helped, I guess.”

Ropel gulped down the coffee cup he was holding in one go, then immediately grabbed Lilith’s hand and left the cafe.

“Whoa! Wait! What are you going to do!”

“Is there any method left now other than charging forward blindly? Let’s go! To explore date spots!”

It wasn’t even his problem, so why was he so enthusiastic? Lilith found Ropel’s actions puzzling yet also felt grateful.

. . .

“I wondered where we were going.. This is the park, isn’t it?”

Led by Ropel’s hand, the place Lilith arrived at was a large park within the academy grounds.

It was a famous date spot where many young men and women gathered not only on weekends but also on weekdays.

“Yes, the scenery isn’t bad, and it has a good reputation as a date spot. Isn’t it good?

“It’s not bad, but.. this is a place I used to come to often with Mark before, you know?

“If it’s before.. does that mean you haven’t come together recently?”

Answering “Well, yes,” Lilith plopped down on a park bench.

“We came to this park together often during lunch breaks or on weekends.

We’d just take walks, or buy snacks and eat them, things like that.”

“But.. you know, don’t you? That Mark played a big role in stopping the terrorist incident that happened when he enrolled.”

“Of course I remember. It was sheer chaos back then.”

A sudden explosion sound that occurred in the grand auditorium where everyone was gathered for the dean’s speech.

And the attack by dark mages who ambushed the students evacuating outside along with the collapsing building.

Ropel, who sat on the bench following Lilith, recalled the dizzying situation back then and winced.

In such a situation, he gave great help in defeating the dark mages.

And the one who ultimately captured the leader of the dark mage organization, the mastermind of the incident, with his own hands was just a student, Mark Visus.

“Still, at the beginning of the semester, people were like ‘no way, no way’, so Mark didn’t receive much attention.

So until then, we used to come to this park together often…

Gradually, as Mark’s true skills started receiving attention through his grades, the dark mages’ terrorist incident was also re-examined.

And people’s interest in Mark kept soaring.

“And Mark, who became a celebrity at the academy, got busy and didn’t have time to meet you anymore, is that it?”

“Yes, that’s right. It’s not like I went to the Knight Department where Mark is every weekday evening for no reason.”

“Then.. is this not a suitable place for a confession?”

“It might be good because it’s familiar, but.. it’s not a special place, is it? I think it would be better to find other places.”

Lilith reminisced about the past for a moment.

Not long after enrolling, as soon as she learned that there was a good park for dating within the academy, she suggested Mark accompany her.

Of course, while saying they should just look around the academy, not go on a date.

They walked through a field with clear air where colorful flowers bloomed along with the warmer weather.

They bought and ate waffles together at a dessert shop located on one side of the park.

Although she couldn’t choose the flavor she liked because Mark disliked it, she was still happy.

At that time, Lilith thought that getting together with her childhood friend was just a matter of time.

But thinking about the current situation… she felt a little depressed.

Lilith chuckled.

She should be thinking about the confession she needs to make to Mark as soon as possible.

To reminisce about her memories with him and get depressed all by herself like this.

Lilith thought she was being ridiculous.

While Lilith was lost in such thoughts, had he gone somewhere?

Ropel returned holding paper bags in both hands.

“Here, take this.”

Ropel said, handing over the paper bag he was holding in one hand.

Judging by appearances, it looked like he had bought it from a street dessert shop located on one side of the park.

“It’s a light snack. When your thoughts are blocked, don’t you crave something sweet?

And thinking about it, we came out today without eating breakfast either.”

That wasn’t a problem.

Only,

“..It’s a waffle?”

“Why? Do you dislike it?”

“No, that’s not it. But…”

It was a waffle from the dessert shop she liked, which she used to buy and eat often with Mark.

The reason for Lilith’s surprise didn’t end there.

“You actually bought mint chocolate flavor? Generally, it’s a flavor that more people dislike, isn’t it?”

“That’s certainly true, but… hmm.. somehow, I thought you might like this one.”

“Che… what’s that. Still, thank you.”

She took a bite of the waffle.

The cool yet sweet taste of the mint chocolate cream was felt on the tip of her tongue.

Like Mark had done before, there were people who felt unpleasant just by looking at it, beyond simply disliking it, but it was a flavor that only she liked.

Her recent depression seemed to fade.

How did he manage to choose exactly the flavor she liked?

And it was a flavor that people generally avoid, yet he somehow knew it.

Lilith was curious about that part yet inwardly happy.

Even after that day, Lilith and Ropel’s exploration of date spots continued.

Because the area around where the academy was built was well-developed, there were many places they could go.

Sometimes, they ate sandwiches sold at food stalls located in the city square for lunch.

One day, they visited a performance hall and watched plays and circuses by renowned troupes.

Besides that, they visited clothing stores to look at clothes they might wear when confessing, or browsed dazzling necklaces and rings at accessory shops.

As time passed and it became late evening, they found a restaurant with a good atmosphere and ate together.

It was clear that their meeting with Ropel initially started from the anxiety of possibly losing Mark.

But at some point, Lilith was enjoying that time more than ever before.

In fact, every time Lilith met Ropel, she couldn’t help but be surprised.

When watching a play they were going to see, when choosing clothes to wear and food to eat,

It was because Ropel would pick out exactly the things that matched her taste.

Every time she asked what criteria he used to choose, his answer was the same.

“Just.. I thought you might like this one.”

His words, truly trivial, were not a proper answer.

Perhaps he had known her for a long time?

If not for that, his actions of doing things she would like are not understandable.

Honestly, she even suspected he might secretly have other intentions while pretending to help her with her confession.

That’s because he was considerate of her in every way with a gentlemanly attitude,

On sunny days, he would put a parasol over her, having brought it who knows when,

And after eating, he would gently wipe the corner of her mouth with his own hand,

While saying and doing things that seemed alluring, giving a bright smile every time their eyes met.

But every time such suspicion arose, when she saw his gaze and attitude, she couldn’t possibly think that.

The feeling that it was purely because he cherished her.

But rather, because of that, she even felt annoyed.

Does he usually treat other women like this too?

It’s a good thing she already had someone else in her heart.

If he keeps doing that, wouldn’t he someday get snatched up by someone?

Lilith felt a certain worry, though it wasn’t true worry.

And as such meetings continued, exactly one month later,

The day of reckoning arrived.