episode_0017

“Something seems different.”

When the mysterious man confirmed that it was Elden Raphellion, honestly, it was a bit scary.

Meeting unexpectedly in a far-off land, she regretted greeting him so eagerly as if they were old acquaintances.

It was almost as if she had pretended to know a classmate she had never spoken to during her school days.

Moreover, Elden was always surrounded by a bad crowd, emanating the smell of alcohol, and sometimes even bullying his classmates.

It dawned on her belatedly, after the deed had been done.

“You used to sit diagonally behind me in the graduation class, right?”

“Hmm.”

“Do you remember?”

“I don’t know.”

“….”

When Elden couldn’t remember her, Arielle was about to turn back, thinking she had made a mistake.

But at that moment, Elden uttered her name.

“Arielle… was it?”

At that time, she didn’t know whether it was fortunate or unfortunate that her name came out of Elden’s mouth, but as time passed, she felt grateful.

“Oh, right. I heard you made it to the final round of the literary contest. Congratulations.”

Of course, there were awkward moments.

“Well, well. I mean, if it’s you, I think it’s okay… No. I mean, not that you’re okay in a rational sense… It’s just… compared to the other candidates, well, it’s…?”

Unable to come up with a proper response to Elden’s declaration of withdrawal with self-reflection, she faced a storm of embarrassment.

It was just a casual, formal greeting, and she had only wanted to ask about the 7th-floor book tower.

Thankfully, the storm passed smoothly, and she quickly changed the subject.

“But you were not uninterested in novels, right?”

“I thought I’d pick up a hobby now.”

“Oh… is that so?”

His eyes sparkled.

It was regrettable that there was no sign of joy, but she was happy that she could recommend a book that she had enjoyed reading.

And he seemed different, distorted from her vague memory of Elden Raphellion.

Or maybe the atmosphere seemed different.

The Elden in her memory looked quite fierce.

Of course, she considered it a misunderstanding.

And she thought, well, whatever.

Whether he was a troublemaker in the past or not, it didn’t matter to her, as in Ariel’s eyes, he appeared to be just a beginner looking away from pure literature.

To novel enthusiasts, he just seemed like a baby taking his first steps.

That’s why.

Swoosh.

Glint.

Swoosh.

Glint.

She was busy watching the beginner reader who was reading the book she recommended.

It was a first.

Watching someone read a recommendation.

And waiting for a response.

Feeling the excitement of validation, whether her impressions were correct, was quite thrilling.

Of course, along with the excitement came worry.

What if he doesn’t find it interesting?

What book should she recommend if he doesn’t like it?

What if he refuses to read pure literature because he finds her recommendation uninteresting?

Ugh.

That would be unacceptable.

With each page Elden turned, her excitement and worry grew, and her heart pounded as if it would burst.

Fortunately.

“It’s fun.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yeah, it’s fun. I could tell you were worried.”

The anticipated response came.

Yay!

Success!

She had to contain her joy and smile inwardly, almost letting out a scream of triumph.

Phew, with a sigh of relief.

And when Elden asked for recommendations on books about classics and myths, it felt like my heart was exploding like a firecracker.

It was a joy I had never felt before.

Arielle, who was experiencing the joy of sharing the fun that she had kept to herself with someone else for the first time, giggled incessantly.

Moreover.

She had found a friend to eat with.

She didn’t have to eat breakfast until her stomach burst in preparation for not eating until dinner.

And she didn’t have to listen to the rumbling sound of her stomach all afternoon.

“Well, I’ll be going now. I have training in the evening.”

“Yeah. I’ll be waiting here for you tomorrow too!”

That’s how it would be.

She had made a promise first.

Even though she hadn’t agreed with Elden, she had blurted out a promise to wait here without permission.

It was embarrassing as a lady, but Arielle had made that promise.

“Well, I’m off.”

“Yeah!”

And so, the chance encounter came to an end.

What was regrettable was that they couldn’t talk at length about the novel.

But since she had promised to read all the recommendations tonight, there would be plenty to talk about tomorrow, right?

With that thought in mind, Arielle tore her gaze away from Elden’s retreating figure and resumed reading.

The feeling of her toes tapping happily under the desk was an instinctual reaction that Arielle herself was not aware of.

**

“Well then, I’ll call Rachel to the training ground.”

“…Can she find her way to the annex? Can you help her?”

“Ahem, I, I just made a mistake because the library is so complex.”

“If she gets lost on the way, she should stand there and wait for an adult’s help….”

“I, I’ll go.”

Dragged out of the library as an unauthorized intruder by the security guard, Rendallor Youngblood.

How lost must he have been to be able to go down to the 4th basement.

The librarians themselves said it was a place even they found hard to find.

But the steward of a medieval noble family, who had a lot of guiding to do, seemed to have survived and risen to the position of steward despite being directionally challenged.

Anyway.

After sending Rendallor off, he arrived at the training ground.

Since it was located between the library and the annex, there was no need to take a detour, so he only sent Rendallor.

Inside the Grand Castle, there were several training grounds.

There was the training ground for the guards to practice tactics, the training ground for individual training, and the training ground for physical exercise, but the place I was in was a training ground only for ‘nobles’.

I didn’t want to establish authority.

I just didn’t want to cause any trouble to the commoners who were training happily.

‘Finish training, have dinner, read a book, and that’s the end of the day.’

I looked around.

The training ground for commoners was an open space where they would get wet in the rain and snow would pile up, but the training ground for nobles was a closed space with a lid and walls.

A space that fully revealed the aspect of the noble superior society.

No one was there, and the training ground exuded a somewhat musty atmosphere, so I waited for Rachel while walking around there.

About 10 minutes passed.

Creak.

The entrance of the training ground opened, and instead of Rachel, three regretful figures entered my sight.

‘…Hmm.’

Of course, they hadn’t come to train.

It was probably to solicit or threaten the renegade who was alone in the closed space.

Especially since the heroine had released the shackles of the evaluation team.

As it was a picture I had expected and thought would naturally unfold, a smile formed on my face rather than tension.

‘Right. I was wondering when they would come.’

I put my hand in my pocket.

I hadn’t lived so foolishly as to not have a contingency plan for the expected picture.

As mentioned earlier, a rational being must live with the worst in mind rather than the best, and must prepare for the worst when it comes.

Taking it one step further, it is about devising a way to turn the worst into the best along with preparation.

Fortunately, there was one perfect insurance for those who were accustomed to scheming and backstabbing.

For me, who had taken out that insurance, the secret visit of the regretful trio was a rather welcome situation.

Furthermore, I hoped for threats rather than solicitations.

It was the insurance that would rescue this pitiful defector from the upcoming troublesome situations.

Therefore, I greeted them with a smile.

“It seems that the three of you have taken a valuable step. What brings you here?”

The female lead had cleared the evaluators to induce such a situation.

It was only natural for the regretful trio to come looking for me with grim expressions, and for those who chose retribution over repentance, it was a natural progression.

I received great attention during my first meeting with the noble lady.

It was to instill hope and ignite the will to participate in the war, which resulted in the regretful trio feeling envy and jealousy.

Perhaps the declaration of withdrawal was a clever scheme to deceive themselves and win the favor of the noble lady.

Their thoughts and decisions had no relevance to me, but if they were to directly harm me as I watched in spectator mode with deliciously popped popcorn, the conversation would change.

If someone tries to spark a fire in a strict place, it is necessary to extinguish that spark.

Having nothing to resist even unjust actions, I had to live an unjust life.

With so much to lose, I had to live a tight life, even cutting back on sleep.

No longer would I live an unjust life or comply with unfair actions.

“Training in reading… Elden, are you truly calm?”

Of course.

It was a natural response.

I shrugged my shoulders and jokingly replied, “Because I’m a defector.”