episode_0036

Aris woke up to the sound of someone knocking on the door in the early morning. When she opened the door, she saw three women in military uniforms.

At that time, the woman who seemed to be of the highest rank spoke first.

“Your name is Aris, right? We will be deploying you to explore the dungeon from now on, so follow us.”

“…?”

“No.. Are you going like this all of a sudden? Without prior notice?”

Are these guys really joking? They come at dawn without saying anything and tell me to explore a dungeon? I absolutely cannot go. No? I absolutely cannot go!

“I’m a little flustered because you suddenly came like this. Why don’t you come another day?”

Although Alice came out with a strong attitude in order to postpone the dungeon exploration, the women’s facial expressions did not change at all.

“Okay, fine. Then just go to jail.”

“… ”

Prison for having a little fun? You’re joking, right?

Alice, who thought it was a lie, looked at the women’s faces to get a feel for them, and unfortunately, through their expressions, she could tell that they really intended to send her to prison if she didn’t go to the dungeon.

“Ha.. I’ll go! I’m going!”

“Then follow me.”

At the women’s gestures, Alice sighed and followed them.

Wait… By the way, I thought dungeon exploration took a long time?

“Excuse me, how long does it take to explore a dungeon? If it takes too long, it’s a bit much…”

In response to Alice’s question, one of the women held up two fingers.

“Two days..”

Yeah.. two days will be fine.

“Two days..? What are you talking about, of course I’ll give you two weeks. You’re an academy student, so you probably don’t know much about dungeon exploration.”

2 weeks..? Are these bitches really crazy..!

Ha.. I can’t go to jail. Wait.. Now that I think about it, you didn’t even say anything to Arthur!! If you disappear for two weeks without saying anything, you could be in real trouble!

“That.. Sisters..? I have to tell someone that I’m going on a dungeon exploration, so could you give me a minute? Hehe.”

It wasn’t too difficult for Alice to give up her pride, as she was willing to sell her soul for Arthur.

“Hmm.. Then I’ll give you 10 minutes.”

10 minutes? Are you really sure your conscience is gone?

“Hehe. Since you’re giving me 20 more minutes, can’t I make it 30 minutes neatly?”

But despite Alice’s request, the woman’s attitude was firm.

“10 minutes.”

“Please.. Or at least 20 minutes..”

“10 minutes.”

“If you don’t like it, go now.”

That girl is a fucking bitch. How could she do that unless she has some ill feelings towards me?

Of course, contrary to his true feelings, the flattery did not stop because even 10 minutes were precious.

“Hey~ I appreciate even 10 minutes! I’ll go right away!”

“Wait a minute.”

But Alice couldn’t help but stop walking after hearing the words of the woman who seemed to be her subordinate.

“But what is your relationship with the person you’re meeting?”

Why are you asking that? Surely… no…

“He’s my boyfriend..”

The woman’s face began to distort like an evil spirit after hearing Alice’s words.

“This really won’t work. Don’t go! Never let me go!”

As the woman began to cause a ruckus, a woman who appeared to be the leader began to try to stop her.

“Go and come back quickly.”

The face of the woman who had been causing a commotion began to harden, perhaps feeling betrayed by her actions.

“Captain..? Why.. All couples…”

“Ahem..”

“No way… The captain also has a boyfriend..?”

“… ”

The woman collapsed in her seat, perhaps shocked by the fact that the person she trusted had a boyfriend.

“Haha.. I’m the only one who’s not here, I’m the only one who’s not here.. Even though there’s a leader…”

“Why would you do that? Is dating difficult? Have you ever dated while attending the academy?”

Alice, who could not understand this woman’s attitude, asked her a slightly prickly question. After hearing her words, the woman took off the hat she was wearing and showed her face.

“!!”

I couldn’t see your face well because of your hat… You’re really ugly. Hmm… With that kind of appearance, you can’t do it. Unless you go to a world where your appearance is reversed, isn’t it impossible?

Alice looked at the woman’s face again, wondering if her eyes were deceiving her, but unfortunately, she could only see that her eyes were not deceived.

Wow.. how can someone’s face look like an apple pie dropped from the 3rd floor? I’m really glad I don’t look like that.. Thank you so much, Mom and Dad..

So, Alice couldn’t help but feel surprised by the incredible appearance of a woman she had never seen before, and at the same time, she felt grateful to her parents. And it didn’t take long for these feelings to turn into sympathy.

“I’m sorry… I was reckless.”

“… ”

Aris, who had admitted her slip of the tongue, immediately apologized to the woman, and upon hearing this, the woman simply put her hat back on without saying anything. And for a moment, she thought she saw tears streaming down the woman’s face, but Aris thought it was just her imagination and decided to pretend she hadn’t seen it.

“Then I’ll go and come back.”

At Aris’s words, the captain woman silently motioned for him to go and come back, and Aris nodded and ran to Arthur’s room.

… … …

-Smart.

“Ugh… Who’s here early in the morning…”

Arthur rubbed his sleepy eyes and opened the door at the sound of someone knocking on the door in the morning, and saw Alice standing there, looking restless.

“…Aris, what’s going on this morning?”

“Arthur, I have to go somewhere for a while, so I came to tell you.”

“When are you going?”

“Now…?”

Huh? You’re leaving now? That’s so sudden.

“..When are you coming?”

“2…”

“2? I can’t hear you very well..”

“2 weeks…”

Two weeks..? Did I hear wrong? Judging from your expression, it doesn’t seem like a lie.

“You’re not joking, are you? Then I’ll be really mad.”

Arthur hoped that Alice’s words were a lie, but unfortunately Alice’s expression was extremely serious.

“Sorry..”

Ah… I can’t… I want her to last two weeks without Aris…? Let’s just tell her not to go…! Aris likes me, so she’ll listen to me.

“Then… I have to go..?”

But, as if she had expected Arthur’s reaction, Alice silently took Arthur’s hand and continued speaking.

“You know I came here to tell you because it doesn’t work, Arthur.”

“And this is a disciplinary action, so I don’t have a choice.. If I don’t go, they’ll send me to jail, so what can I do? I just have to go..”

Ah, prison.. Now that I think about it, you said you were punished for something while looking for me last time.. So that’s why.

“… ”

Seeing Arthur standing there without any reaction, Alice let go of the hand she was holding and hugged him tightly.

“Huh? Don’t be upset.. And 2 weeks will pass faster than you think?”

That can’t be true… Academy life is so hard these days, so I guess I really can’t not go…

“I.. I’m having a hard time these days… Is there really no other way..? I can’t do without you…”

Eventually, Arthur started to make a fuss to keep Alice from going, but in fact, Arthur himself knew that there was no way. Even if he didn’t go right away, he would have gone to prison if he did, so it was no different.

Alice was also taken aback to see Arthur, who usually didn’t act up, acting like this, but she had to go now that there wasn’t much time left.

Sigh… If only I had a little more time, I could have appeased him somehow.

“Arthur! If I leave, it’s not like I won’t see you again, if you keep doing this, it’ll be hard for me too..”

“When I come back, I’ll stay with you. Okay? So, can you wait a little bit? While I’m gone, read a lot of books, and I’ll make sure to check them out.”

After finishing speaking, Alice let Arthur go.

“I really have to go now! It’s already so precarious.. See you in two weeks, Arthur. I love you!”

But Arthur couldn’t say anything despite the words he heard, and could only watch as Alice smiled at him and disappeared.

… … …

Arthur was very upset about not seeing Alice for two weeks, but he had to attend class anyway, so he calmed himself down and went into the classroom.

Since there was still some time left before class started, Arthur opened his book and began to preview what he would be learning for the day.

“What are you talking about.. Should I start with an easier book…”

While Arthur was stressed out from studying, he saw a familiar face coming in through the front door.

“Fabian!”

Arthur called out his name happily, but Fabian didn’t seem to hear him and he looked around before sitting down somewhere else.

Oh? Didn’t Fabian see me? Hmm… maybe. I guess I’ll have to take the class alone today.

Arthur felt a strange sense of sadness and began to read the book again. However, he had no choice but to raise his head again when he heard a voice next to him.

“Arthur, hello?”

When I looked in the direction where the voice came from, I saw male and female students I had never seen before.

“Ugh.. Hello?”

I couldn’t quite remember who it was, but I greeted him anyway.

“I heard. Is it true that you have amnesia?”

.. I don’t remember telling anyone, so how did you know..?

“Yeah..”

When Arthur answered that it was true, they began to whisper among themselves.

“ and really?”

“Look at that. They’re solving practice problems.”

“Your body is crippled, and your head is crippled too? Hehe.”

It seemed like they were talking quietly, but because they were close, Arthur couldn’t help but hear them.

Rice… Idiot… You’re not talking about me, are you? I didn’t do anything wrong…

Then a woman in the group spoke to Arthur.

“Arthur, you’ve lost your memory and it’s hard for you to adjust. Should we help you? How about we help you with your studies?”

Arthur’s heart began to waver at the sight of the woman smiling brightly and extending her hand, offering to help.

I guess I misheard… Well, if you hate me that much, you wouldn’t say you’ll help me.

Studying has been so hard these days, isn’t that a good thing?

“Thanks for helping me, but were we originally friends..? I don’t remember very well..”

“Hmm… We were somewhat close, right? But don’t worry, we can become close again. Right?”

“Ugh..”

Arthur simply ignored the woman’s words, thinking that she had more friends than he did. He didn’t see her bitter smile.