episode_0012

“Wow, you like her, don’t you?”

I jerked my head back in shock.

“W-what are you talking about?!”

“…Is it that terrible?”

“How long have you known her? She’s not just a childhood friend, she’s practically family!”

“Family… like, with organs…?”

Of course, she had organs. They disappeared. No, that’s not important.

“Hey, what are you saying! Anyway, she’s just a long-time friend. I’ve known her since we were really young, so she’s like family to me.”

“Hmm.”

“Think about it. If someone insults your family, you’d be upset, but that doesn’t mean you have to love them or have any kind of special relationship, right?”

“Um….”

Listening quietly, Lena suddenly smiled.

“I don’t have a family, so I don’t really understand.”

My heart sank.

Damn… was that her backstory? A righteous girl so poor she couldn’t even afford a phone because her parents were gone, so she entered the academy and lived by her own means?

For a girl who dies in the second episode, her backstory was too detailed and confusing. Would a hardcore fan like Lager really have planned out the detailed background of a girl he kills off in the second episode?

Anyway, that was Lager’s problem to deal with. I needed to apologize to this girl with deep, mysterious eyes and a faint smile that seemed somewhere between awkward and lonely.

“Sorry, Lena. I mean… I…”

“Okay. I get it. I understand.”

Lena nodded with a forgiving look in her eyes.

“Anyway, keep it a secret and pretend you don’t know, okay?”

Apology canceled. Where did everything I said go, you idiot?

“Fine.”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“Okay, okay~ I got it. It might be awkward, so let’s talk about something else. Shall we go to the first floor?”

Lena seemed eager to buy me something. Or maybe she just wanted to chat with a friend she hadn’t seen in a long time.

But continuing to misunderstand like this was not pleasant. There was absolutely nothing between Lager and me, and I had never even imagined anything special.

Thinking that this delusional person should not misunderstand any further, I decided to draw a line while we were on the topic.

The coffee was on me, anyway.

“Is there a nice café on the first floor? Let’s go there.”

“Okay!”

Lena grabbed her crutch and struggled to get up. I quickly stood up and reached out to support her.

It’s pitiful to see her like this, but she’s annoying when she talks.

“I have feet, but no feeling in them. It’s really strange.”

I grimaced as I matched her pace, holding onto her crutch with each step.

Kind but tiring style.

We took the elevator located in the center of the building and descended to the first floor. Looking at the directory in front of the elevator, I saw a sign that said the cafeteria was to the right.

Earlier, Lager had lost a lot of blood and was too preoccupied with the hospital admission process to notice, but it was clear that they had paid attention to these welfare elements.

I made a mental note to come back later and have a chat with Lager while eating.

As I was about to move on, I suddenly saw a familiar girl approaching the elevator.

Tying up her usual tightly pulled back lavender hair, Dakota wore a light blue uniform skirt instead of her usual strict and firm pants, carrying a basket of apples as she made her way here.

Dakota Kale.

Today, she seemed to have come here not as a leader, but as a young girl.

Seeing her flushed cheeks, she seemed urgent yet somehow excited, and I felt like I knew why she had come without even asking.

…But seriously, she’s stunningly beautiful. Her beauty was breathtaking to the point where even a stone-hearted person might waver.

Is this the dignity of the main heroine…? My heart swells.

“Go to the 5th floor, room 514.”

“…You didn’t ask.”

“Isn’t it time to say thank you?”

“Why should I be thankful?”

Judging by her stern tone, it seemed like she was quite disappointed in me from last time.

It doesn’t matter.

She’ll find the room I mentioned, and she’ll meet Lager there. That should be enough.

I just hope Lager treats her well.

I have to do everything I can to prevent the ultimate goal of ‘female corruption’.

I hope they get along well.

“Well, we have to go chat.”

I lightly bowed and turned to walk away. I did well to spend as much time as possible downstairs with Lena. I have to go back up soon.

“Ale… Are you okay?”

But Lena’s expression didn’t look good.

“Leader, you dressed up so nicely….”

Looking at her worried face, I could guess what kind of delusion she was having now.

“Why wouldn’t I be okay? I’m really not involved with him at all. If you say we’re getting along well, I’ll say thank you!”

Lena paused for a moment and then nodded with a sigh.

“Okay, I understand.”

Now, when Lena says she ‘understands’, I feel uneasy for some reason.

And sure enough.

“You want to have a fair fight.”

“No, I don’t.”

“As expected, Ale is amazing. Actually, I was wondering if I should lead you on with lies at this timing. But you chose to face it head-on.”

Just think whatever you want.

Leaving Lena, who was admiring with shining eyes, behind, I walked ahead and touched my forehead.

I’m going to be really tired.

*

[Announcement from the Command and Control Room. Injury reported in the 4th Guard Duty Unit. I repeat, injury reported in the 4th Guard Duty Unit….]

Dakota, who was focused on training in the fitness center on the top floor of the dormitory, felt her heart sink at the alert message coming through her earphones.

‘Unit 4, could it be…’

She quickly took out her phone, opened the secure document, and checked the duty schedule.

The ominous feeling that made her hands tremble was indeed true. Dakota immediately called the Command and Control Room.

Before the dial tone could even sound twice, the call was answered.

“Oh, Leader. I was just about to contact you.”

“Who among the injured is male and female?”

“It’s the male.”

Hearing the answer from the other end of the line, Dakota involuntarily swallowed and then composed herself to finish the call.

“First, please take measures so that the next week’s duty personnel can be deployed immediately. I will contact them myself.”

The leader acts as a kind of duty officer who takes emergency measures in place of the instructors who have weekends off. The hierarchy at the academy is determined by tiers, and once a certain tier is reached, regardless of age, one can give orders to students of lower tiers in similar situations.

Dakota, despite holding a higher tier than his peers, always used formal language and respected other students, so there was no complaint when he suddenly gave instructions without notice.

“First, let’s go to the hospital.”

After organizing the situation, Dakota headed towards the shower room.

“….”

He paused for a moment and then headed to his dorm room. There, he had shampoo and body wash with a softer and sweeter scent.

He carefully washed himself, worried that he might smell of sweat, and took his time to shower before combing his hair. Strands of hair, exhausted from being tightly tied up every day, fell down one by one.

After finishing combing, the girl with flowing violet hair like silk looked at herself in the mirror.

Just combing it made such a difference in the atmosphere. Dakota felt good again.

Deciding to wear a skirt instead of pants today, he felt a bit awkward as it seemed empty below, but it definitely looked prettier than pants, so he decided to wear a uniform skirt with determination.

He thought about buying flowers at the convenience store on the first floor of the dormitory.

“They might feel burdened. After all, I’m just going to see their face. I’m going to talk about work for tomorrow. Absolutely, there’s no other purpose. So….”

He tried to gather his thoughts and take steps several times.

But he didn’t want to look like he came only for work.

After much deliberation, Dakota decided.

“…Just give me a basket of fruit. Something small.”

In the end, he chose to bring a small gift rather than going empty-handed.

I hope they like it. Dakota’s hand holding the basket trembled as he imagined them accepting it happily and smiling.

With a nervous heart, he crossed the campus and entered the hospital entrance. After completing a simple visit registration process, he headed to the elevator.

5th floor, room 514.

He was quickly directed to his location by the medical records department, as he had visited as a duty officer for injury confirmation and work schedule adjustment.

He would meet them soon.

Trying to suppress the laughter that kept bubbling up, he bit his lip once and headed to the elevator.

“Ah.”

The person he least wanted to meet in the current situation was standing in front of the elevator. The fox who deceived herself by honestly revealing her inner thoughts.

“That liar….”

It was Aylee Chloe.