episode_0057

“Elle!”

Lina’s mind snapped back to reality at the sound of the table being lightly set.

“What are you thinking so deeply about?”

“Oh, that…”

In the brief moment of choosing her words, Lina Frilwood, the daydreaming queen, was already spinning her delusional circuits.

“I see. Is it because of Lager?”

“What? Why all of a sudden?”

“It’s not all of a sudden. You mentioned it this morning. That you were going to work as Director Sendo’s caregiver.”

“Oh, that’s nothing. I just have some things to take care of.”

At the mention of ‘things to take care of,’ Lina hesitated for a moment, her expression clouding over.

“It’s not about that, Lina.”

“What is it?”

“Oh… nothing.”

“Elle, you…”

Caught.

“Seeing you only connect that word to that side, I can tell you’re really worried about the end of the year.”

“Is it about the vacation or something? It’s not a big deal.”

“Even if Lager suggests going?”

“Yeah. I won’t go.”

With a firm attitude, Lina sighed in annoyance and picked up her spoon.

Today’s lunch menu consisted of bone broth, kimchi, ssamjang, and cucumber and chili peppers.

For the students, there wasn’t much merit in today’s menu since to freely enjoy alcohol at the academy, one had to be Tier Black or above, or an instructor. But still, the bone broth itself was quite appealing.

Not only was the bone broth served in a pot to her liking, but as a former rice soup enthusiast, the fact that there were three bones in it was highly commendable.

There had never been a time when she felt unsatisfied with the food. The academy cafeteria was simply divine!

Already on her second bone, Lina, with her hands covered in broth, was a true hardworking uncle in action as she chewed on the cucumber and chili peppers on her plate.

“Ah, I’m craving soju.”

Look at this.

Honestly, I’m also desperate for soju. Should I take a vacation just for the sake of alcohol?

After cleanly finishing the second bone, Lina set it aside and sucked on her fingers, giving me serious advice.

“You’ll regret it if you keep this up.”

“What do you mean regret?”

“Director Sendo really means business this time. Who knows what will happen after a month of caregiving?”

How would I know? I shook my head vaguely, and Lina, with a sigh, said, “Ugh,” hitting her chest as she continued.

“It’s almost the end of the year. It’s about time to apply for vacation!”

I pushed the bits of meat clinging to the bone into the pot and stirred my rice, organizing her words.

“So, Dakota is running a long-term project with the intention of getting closer to Lager over the next month and then competing during the year-end holiday?”

“That’s exactly it!”

“Is she trying to steal Lager away from me?”

“Finally, you’re starting to understand.”

After flicking her finger, Lina sucked up the broth with satisfaction. I also scooped up a spoonful of rice and picked up a cucumber.

Chewing on the cucumber, I began to counter Lina’s words.

“But Lina, I really have no interest in Lager. Whether she takes care of Dakota or flirts with her or goes on vacation, it doesn’t matter to me.”

Lina let out a heavy sigh at my words.

“Why did things turn out like this between the two of them?”

“When? Oh, during the public support event?”

“Yes! Ugh, I went and asked Lager to help me out, but that airhead. Ugh.”

Not knowing what had happened then, Lina seemed to feel a sense of crisis on my behalf in this situation.

So, in order to ease her stress a bit, I decided to share some of the story with her.

I had already confessed to Lager in the past and was rejected, and then she confessed to me, and I rejected her.

“Really…?”

Lina looked at me with a slightly pitiful expression.

“Can you stop looking at me like that? We just missed the timing, that’s all. Now, we’re just friends.”

Lina pursed her lips, picked up her spoon again, and we both buried our faces in the bowl, focusing only on eating.

After finishing the slightly cooled bowl of soup in one go, Lina set it down and pulled her chair closer to me.

“So, Ale. Would it be okay if the two of them got married?”

Suddenly, the idea of a distant future family seemed so unrealistic that I couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Oops! Ah, sorry.”

“This is not the time to laugh. I’m serious, would it be okay if they got married?”

“Marriage? Why are we talking about marriage all of a sudden? We’re only twenty!”

Instead of taking my comment seriously, Lina responded with a teasing tone.

“You really have no sense of danger. Let me explain it in simpler terms for you.”

“If the Head Prefect impregnates Lager’s daughter, how do you think he would feel?”

At that moment, the smile disappeared from my face.

“What kind of nonsense are you talking about? So, Dakota…?”

At that moment, everything clicked in my mind, and I understood what Lina was truly worried about.

“So, after Lager’s daughter gets pregnant, they plan to use that as an excuse to get married?”

“Not an excuse, but a regulation! If a relationship between students is proven at the Academy, they both have to leave the Academy or get married if they don’t want to. But how can you prove a relationship between students?”

I knew it was a formal regulation to prevent a loss of combat power due to personal emotions. Usually, they would just warn them not to do it again, and the Academy wouldn’t interfere with student couples further.

As long as they didn’t cross a certain line.

But what should be done when they did cross that line?

“The Head Prefect knows the regulation, and he has no intention of leaving the Academy.”

In that case, there was only one option left.

But.

“But Lina. This is just your speculation, right?”

That was the flaw.

Or rather, it was a very far-fetched scenario.

“Ale.”

Before Lina could say anything, I continued speaking.

“For your theory to work, Lager would have to agree to go on vacation together during the holidays, then they would have to spend the night together, and on that day, they would have to successfully conceive. You don’t even know Dakota’s ovulation date, do you?”

I couldn’t help but wonder why we were discussing someone who wasn’t even present.

But that made me realize that maybe this was going too far.

“I know why you’re so worried. You’re worried that I’ll get hurt in this process, right? No?”

Lina remained silent, nodding her head. After finishing the hangover soup, I stood up and concluded the conversation.

“If it becomes a problem, we can deal with it then. So let’s end the gossip here.”

“Yeah, okay. I was a bit harsh. I won’t tell the Head Prefect about this, right?”

“Are you crazy? Why would you tell him about this?”

As we returned the plates and left the restaurant, I suddenly had one question.

“But Lina, why do you always call him ‘Head Prefect’ so formally?”

“Because my tier is higher. But I actually wanted to ask you something. Why do you keep calling me Dakota, Dakota, and speaking informally?”

Even though they were the same age, Dakota didn’t see it as a problem at all, so she didn’t think it was wrong in principle.

Still, in a way, because of that point, Dakota was considered unlikely to conspire as Lena suspected.

If she really wanted the lager, wasn’t she the type to confront it head-on rather than resort to schemes?

As I recalled the various aspects of her that I knew, I felt relieved.

Leaving the restaurant, we decided to shift the conversation to a more productive topic instead of just idle gossip.

“But hey, Ael. Didn’t your tablet break?”

“Oh. Last time, the tablet protected my side so I didn’t have to go to the hospital. It’s smashed.”

“So you have to buy a new tablet then?”

“Yeah. I was planning to go out for a walk anyway.”

“Do you want to go out with me?”

I responded to Lena’s suggestion with a vague smile.

“No, I’ll ask Lager first.”

Although there was no prior arrangement.

I didn’t feel the need to say that.