episode_0124

Chapter 124 – Couple Breaker

On a peaceful noon, I was heading to the cafeteria with my friends for a meal.

“Kenneth. Congratulations! I heard you can use sword ki now?”

“When did that happen? Weren’t we friends? Why didn’t you tell us!”

“Uh, uh? S-sorry.”

Abel and Yas congratulated him, while Kenneth awkwardly watched them, feeling self-conscious.

It was truly an unbelievable sight.

‘How did it end up like this?’

It had been almost two months since I’d confined Kenneth to the Friuli family mansion. When I heard he had finally achieved enlightenment, I was talking to him and got caught red-handed by Abel and Yas.

Thanks to that, the two guys, who were unnecessarily friendly, were grilling Kenneth.

It looked like they were even going to eat lunch together at this rate.

‘Surely they won’t become regular members.’

If I keep that idiot next to Abel, who receives intensive care from the Order, I can’t guarantee when he’ll be discovered.

As I worried internally, Yas, who had been teasing Kenneth, suddenly changed targets.

“Ruan. Speaking of which, do you know something?”

“What is it now?”

“I heard Abel is going on a date with Uni this week.”

“A date?”

“Yeah. What was it? The silver grass festival in the mountains, wasn’t it? I heard they’re going to see that.”

This was another development that wasn’t in the game.

Surprised by the unexpected variable, I hastily questioned Abel.

“Abel, is this true?”

“Yeah. It’s true. Actually… I think I like Uni. I realized it when I saw her protect me at the clock tower last time. So I’m going to confess to her this time!”

“…Confess?”

“Yeah. Uni is pretty, you know. It’s fine for now, but I don’t know when she might get a boyfriend. So I’m just going to confess. I even discussed it with other friends, and they said there’s a possibility!”

“…I see.”

How did this happen?

In the game, even when thrilling events happened with heroines, Abel would awkwardly stumble through them like an impotent man, but now he’d become a true man.

There must be the influence of a character who didn’t exist before, specifically, Yas.

Under my gaze, he pompously nodded his chin.

“What are you looking at?”

“You instigated this, didn’t you?”

Then a smile spread across his lips.

The guy, who was smiling vilely like a villain whose identity had been exposed, stroked his messy beard and spoke.

“Hmph! Instigate? Please refrain from such words. I merely gave him courage.”

“What on earth did you say to make him like this? He wouldn’t usually make such a choice with normal persuasion.”

“I didn’t do much. I just reported every single day about the male students talking to Uni.”

Even if it were just random whispers in his ear every day, it would drive him crazy, so he couldn’t possibly ignore stories about a girl he liked.

He must have suffered quite a bit.

But that alone wouldn’t break Abel’s ‘impotent’ nature.

“Bullshit. You probably added all sorts of unnecessary embellishments, like ‘Uni’s cheeks turned red, so she must be quite fond of him,’ or ‘the male student’s eyes scanned her chest.’”

“Oh? How did you know? Wow! It’s really you. To figure out my thoughts so quickly. That’s my friend!”

“Screw you.”

Quickly denying his unpleasant words, ‘You’re my kin!’, I made a decision.

‘I’ll have to secretly follow them.’

I thought the escorting paladins would take good care of them on their own, but I couldn’t just stand by and do nothing.

I’ll just have to watch from afar and intervene if something happens.

‘I hope nothing unusual happens this time.’

*

At the same time, on a sparsely populated walking path, a man and a woman were having a dispute.

“Sara. There’s a festival opening on Mount Berndia this time, won’t you come with me? It’ll definitely be fun.”

“Why are you doing this? I’ve refused so many times! Please just leave me alone!”

“I can’t do that. I can’t give up on Sara.”

After the incident during the vacation, Verdan’s courtship continued for over two months.

She had managed to refuse him until now, but with his persistent courtship, Sara’s heart was wavering.

‘How long do I have to keep this up?’

The memory of that time still flashed back frequently.

She remembered herself gasping in Ruan’s arms, and Verdan’s face ultimately sullied by her fluids.

The pleasure and guilt from that time made her realize how lewd and pathetic a person she was.

So she thought she couldn’t accept Verdan’s feelings, but facing his unwavering affection, she began to doubt if even this was a selfish choice.

Wouldn’t it rather be the correct atonement to accept his feelings and live a lifetime of self-reproach?

Ultimately, amidst her inner conflict, Sara’s heart swayed to one side.

“…Alright. I’ll go to the festival with you.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Because I realized there’s no point in refusing anymore. …Let’s meet on the weekend.”

As soon as she agreed, she turned her back.

Before she could even take a few steps, Verdan’s cheerful voice was heard.

“Thank you! Thank you, Sara. Let’s meet at the coffee shop in the shopping district on Sunday! Thank you so much!”

Sara’s eyes welled up at his words of gratitude.

‘I’m the one who should be grateful.’

I’m sorry that someone like me is receiving your love.

She forced her reluctant steps forward. Transparent tears dotted the footprints etched on the ground.

*

Waiting is contradictory.

Sometimes it’s so boring that a second feels like an eternity, and other times it’s so exciting that ten minutes pass in a flash.

Currently, Abel was experiencing the latter.

He had no time to spare, thinking about whether his outfit today was alright, what Uni would wear, and how he should compliment her then.

As for the confession, just thinking about it made his mind go blank, to the point where he completely pushed it aside.

Amidst all that, Uni finally appeared.

“Abel! I’m here. Did you wait long?”

“Ah…”

A beige knit sweater and a checkered skirt.

She wore a beret on her head and stockings, exuding a fresh yet lovely charm.

Abel stared blankly at Uni, then collected himself and awkwardly showered her with compliments.

“Y-you’re really pretty. It suits you so well.”

“Really? Abel, you look cool too. Hehe!”

Uni smiled shyly.

She fidgeted with her hands clasped together, the knit sweater’s sleeves long enough to barely show the tip of one finger.

Even that looked cute.

‘Cute. Cute. Cute. Cute.’

Abel, who was muttering his impressions internally as if he had been brainwashed, exerted superhuman self-control and led Uni.

“U-Uni. Then let’s go quickly. This way.”

“…Okay.”

He wanted to hold her hand, but he didn’t have the courage to do so, so he just looked at her, gauging her reaction.

Thus, the two arrived at Mount Berndia, where the silver grass festival was being held.

The entrance was bustling.

It was swarming with merchants hawking their wares and couples and families who had come to enjoy the festival, just like them.

If they just entered, they’d lose each other in a blink.

As Abel hesitated, Uni subtly grabbed his sleeve.

“Abel. Can I hold on?”

Her beautiful orange eyes looked up at him, filled with deep affection.

Meeting her gaze, Abel firmed his resolve and clasped Uni’s hand. Their body heat lingered in their intertwined hands.

“Let’s hold hands like this. Don’t worry, I won’t let go.”

“…Okay. I’ll trust only Abel.”

Uni bowed her head deeply.

Her earlobes were even redder than the autumn leaves covering Mount Berndia.

The two silently passed through the crowd.

After passing the entrance and going much further, the crowd seemed to thin out gradually until there was enough space to let go of their hands.

However, their clasped hands showed no sign of separating.

Finally, Abel stopped walking as they arrived in front of the silver grass field on the mountainside.

“It’s beautiful….”

“Indeed. It’s truly wonderful.”

The silver grass field, stretching as far as the eye could see, was a magnificent sight.

Every time the wind blew, the silver grasses swayed their heads, performing a group dance.

Abel subtly gazed at Uni.

The scenery before his eyes was certainly grand, but it couldn’t compare to Uni. Even her disheveled appearance from pushing through the crowd was beautiful.

Abel instinctively knew.

‘Now’s the time.’

At a point where they hadn’t even fully enjoyed their date yet, it might seem a bit early to confess, but he was certain he’d regret it if he missed this moment.

The moment Abel, having made up his mind, was about to open his mouth.

“Oh? Professor-nim?”

Uni, who had been looking at the silver grass field, spotted someone and called out happily.

Turning his head, he saw Sara and Verdan Roosevelt, who had just come up to the mountainside.

Both looked flustered.

“Y-you two were here too?”

“Haha! It’s Abel and Uni. Nice to see you.”

“Did you two also come to see the silver grass field?”

Uni smiled brightly and led Abel towards them.

Verdan looked at their clasped hands and said.

“Looks like you two are on a date too. You seem to get along well?”

“Ah, oh! T-this is because there were so many people, we held hands so we wouldn’t get lost.”

“No need to make excuses. You two look good together.”

There were four people, but only two were talking.

Sara and Abel looked embarrassed by the unexpected encounter, while Uni and Verdan seemed simply happy to see each other and chatted freely.

“Th-thank you. You two look good together too!”

“Thank you. Well then, we’ll be going now. Enjoy the festival.”

“Yes. You too, Professor-nim!”

Verdan, who didn’t want his date to be interrupted either, said his goodbyes and disappeared with Sara.

Abel secretly sighed.

‘Of all times.’

Even if they’d come just one minute later. No, even 30 seconds later, he would have confessed, but thanks to this, he missed his chance.

Of course, it might have been a good thing in a way, since he could have been rejected, but he couldn’t shake off the disappointment.

Abel decided to aim for the next opportunity.

Afterward, the two who had explored the silver grass field came to a restaurant for lunch.

“Ah! Professor-nim?”

“Haha! It’s you two? What a coincidence.”

And once again, they ran into Sara’s couple.

There were so many restaurants on Mount Berndia, yet they ran into them again.

It was almost as if it was fate.

What kind of fate, you ask? Well, obviously, the kind of fate that prevents him from ever confessing today.

‘Sigh… I give up.’

Abel, letting out another sigh he couldn’t count, canceled his plan and made a suggestion first.

“Since we met like this, how about we have lunch together?”

“It’s fine by me. Sara, are you alright?”

“…I don’t mind either.”

“She says it’s fine.”

Verdan’s gaze shifted to Uni.

In response to his unspoken question, Uni readily nodded.

“I’d love that too!”

“Then let’s go in quickly. It doesn’t seem like there are many seats.”

At Verdan’s direction, everyone entered the restaurant.

And so, lunch proceeded in a format akin to a double date.

Afterward, running into them again in the afternoon was, in a way, a natural progression. And it was also natural for someone secretly tailing them to be utterly shocked.