episode_0036

After going through several twists and turns in this world, I keenly felt the need for improvement.

“Dakota. I believe your strength is crucial.”

“What is it?”

As usual, Dakota, with her lilac hair pulled back tightly, looked up from her ramen and raised her head.

“Make a lightning team.”

“What is that?”

“A team on standby to be deployed immediately in case of emergencies.”

“If we create that, the students won’t be happy.”

“If they think about how that lightning team could save lives when I was on duty, their attitudes might change.”

Indeed, that’s true. Through the two crises we’ve faced so far, I’ve realized that the Academy’s response is too slow. It’s not just Lager’s fault for the setup, but we can’t just blame the setup when students could die at any moment.

“You almost died because the Academy’s support was late. Isn’t that right?”

“I defeated them myself.”

“Strictly speaking, it was thanks to my tail.”

Dakota snorted as if she couldn’t admit it, and Lena, who was quietly eating ramen next to her, raised her head.

“Did the Head of the Vanguard get pricked by a tail too?”

“Well, um…”

At Lena’s question, Dakota nodded absentmindedly, then suddenly blushed and gave me a quick glance.

I deliberately blinked my eyes once in response.

I know, I won’t say anything.

“How about the Head of the Vanguard? When I got pricked by the tail, I immediately heard a voice saying, ‘Protect your loved ones with your own hands!’”

“I… I don’t remember well.”

“Wow, thinking back, it was really thrilling. At that moment, I felt a surge of power that could rival Code Black!”

With sparkling eyes, Lena asked Dakota, who was feeling uncomfortable, “What power did the Head of the Vanguard gain?”

“Oh, well…”

Dakota looked flustered at Lena’s pleading eyes. Despite his tough appearance, he seemed weak in such situations.

So, I answered for him.

“Just… He became incredibly strong, like you. He even defeated a human-like monster on his own.”

“Wow!”

Lena enthusiastically held Dakota’s hands, but Dakota awkwardly pulled away, sat back, and buried his head in the ramen bowl.

“Eat. Eat. Yours…”

Slightly swollen, I enjoyed the texture of the ramen noodles I liked, alternating between looking at the two of them.

Lena, with her high tension and wild imagination, and Dakota, who didn’t show a smile even in extreme low tension, were an oddly mismatched pair.

But why are these two sitting next to me and eating with me?

– Hey! Let’s go eat!

It’s not strange for Lena to always be with me, but…

– From Tier Yellow to Brown. What kind of trick did you use to skip your levels?

– What investigation are you here for now?

– No, I came to learn the secret of how you can become so strong so quickly.

Dakota unexpectedly joined us for dinner today for a very pure reason.

“Head of the Vanguard! Tell me too. I was itching to hear about the tail, but Ael said not to talk about it. Right? Right?”

“Sorry, I… I can’t talk about that…”

Dakota blushed so much that it seemed like he might burst, and stubbornly ate his ramen. This time, Lena sent me a puzzled look.

‘What’s wrong with him?’

I shrugged my shoulders and lightly tapped the desk to change the subject.

“Alright. Who wants a roll of rice?”

At those words, Dakota shook her head, and Lina’s hand shot up.

“Me!”

“Half? Or a full roll?”

“Of course, I’ll have a full roll!”

“Okay. Order taken. …Dakota, do you want to split a half with me? Or not eat at all?”

“I’ll gain weight.”

Dakota firmly expressed her determination to manage her diet. She gestured to Lina, but seeing her shaking her head, it seemed like even sharing half a roll was too much.

Well, there’s nothing I can do about it.

“You won’t grow if you don’t eat like that, your chest won’t get bigger.”

At that, Dakota raised her head and scowled.

“Are you done talking?”

“You have to make an effort. How about buying some strawberry milk later?”

“…Just order the food. Let’s see how long you can look down on me.”

With Dakota’s casual provocation, I added a roll of rice without feeling burdened. As I handed her the rice, Dakota nervously snatched it away and quickly covered her ears, saying, “Ouch.” while shrugging her shoulders.

‘She’s cute.’

Looking so dignified and flawless, yet showing such a sloppy side, Dakota probably wouldn’t even realize how many men find that charming.

At the academy cafeteria, there is a ‘Ramen Day’ once a week, where lunch is replaced with ramen. Some students may want jjajang ramen, but it seems that everyone receives the same ramen.

Having slightly chewy noodles and a spicy, stimulating broth once a week was a small joy for the students.

In the military, cup ramen is abundant, but cooked ramen is surprisingly hard to come by. It’s confusing how they can be careless in some aspects yet provide such clear treatment in others.

“Oh, Dakota. I’m going to see Lager later, want to come with me?”

After finishing the boring two-week treatment process, Lager, who finally got to breathe the first-floor air, had a visit scheduled.

Lager probably wouldn’t like it, but I wanted to avoid causing trouble later by bringing Dakota along.

Dakota, who was aggressively inhaling rice wrapped in ramen, licked her lips with her tongue upon hearing my suggestion.

“I’m fine with that. But why do you want to take me with you?”

“If you know I went alone, you’ll start suspecting me again.”

“Usually, the word ‘suspect’ doesn’t come with the qualifier ‘again.’”

“You always have a habit of growing suspicions.”

“That’s not true.”

“It is.”

Watching the heated exchange, Lina interjected.

“You two seem really close.”

But both Dakota and I responded simultaneously.

“Right.”

“Not really.”

With conflicting responses, we looked at each other.

“Have you two gotten closer?”

“Why do you think that?”

“You even exchanged numbers.”

“It was a warning not to mess around with the hospital staff.”

“We shared some honest conversations at the hospital, though.”

“That’s separate from being friends.”

It seemed like the provocation from earlier had left a lingering resentment. The saying that those with small hearts also have small minds was indeed true.

“So, you don’t want to go?”

“I didn’t say I didn’t want to.”

“Well then, just say thank you and come with me.”

“Hmph.”

Dakota still had a displeased expression as she smoothly ate the rice dipped in ramen broth. It seemed like her face wasn’t just scrunched up from the heat of the rice.

The reaction was amusing, and I wanted to play more pranks, but I decided to stop here because the current mischief might escalate into a big problem if Dakota gets upset after being poked in the tail.

After finishing the afternoon classes, Dakota and I walked to the hospital side by side, keeping a strange distance between us.

“I wanted to go alone if possible.”

“I’m not taking you because I want to. I just don’t want any misunderstandings.”

“It sounds like you’re saying you’re not taking me because you want to, not because you wanted to be alone.”

“…Think whatever you want.”

In reality, there are advantages to having Dakota around, as I can gather information on future scoring methods and important events. It was awkward to explain this, so I decided not to affirm or deny anything.

As a result, a lively discussion starting with “What does that mean?” ensued, but I casually ignored it.

Since Dakota would already know the visiting schedule, there was no need to contact them.

…Or so I thought.

I knocked lightly on the door and entered the hospital room, but Dakota’s expression was uneasy.

“Oh, uh, Ale… Oh. Dakota is here too.”

What’s with this awkward reaction?

Suspiciously eyeing me and Dakota alternately, Dakota seemed like they were about to melt from the heat in their face.

Whether or not Laegre was aware of my discomfort, they raised their uninjured arm and asked Dakota to step outside for a moment.

“Dakota, sorry, but can you step out for a bit? Just for about 5 minutes.”

After bringing Dakota here, what are you doing? I shot a fierce glare, but Laegre remained firm. Dakota turned around with an annoyed expression and left the room briskly.

As soon as I heard the sound of the door closing nervously, I rushed towards Laegre, grabbed them by the collar, and growled.

“You crazy, what are you doing right now? Making such a blatant misunderstanding when I brought you here without saying a word?”

“Hey, that’s not important right now!”

Laegre held onto my hand gripping their collar with one hand and choked up.

Why are you choking up? This felt odd. Their expression was generally filled with discomfort and a hint of irritation, but primarily, they seemed shocked.

I patted Laegre’s shoulder and calmed them down.

“Hey, calm down first. Let’s talk slowly. What happened…”

“I fucking confessed!!”

…Confessed to what?