Chapter 87

〈 Chapter 88 〉 Sitting Together

*

‘She just asked me to kill her without any explanation.’

I definitely didn’t intend to kill Libero in the first place.

In fact, I wanted to save him.

It was just the circumstances back then that left me no choice.

‘She must think she’s satisfied with her own whims.’

If she wanted to save the Leim Kingdom, she should do it herself.

Instead, she pushed that responsibility onto me and walked away.

Unaware of this, Freira just babbled on.

Moreover…

‘She doesn’t even know what his real objective was.’

In response to her request to kill him, I first asked her what her objective actually was.

After users had analyzed Freira’s character, there were no known facts about her motives.

And then I found out the reason.

“Objective? I don’t have one. Can’t you just kill me now?”

She didn’t have any objectives at all.

Of course, if she didn’t know her objective, there was no way she’d die smiling like Libero simply because I killed her.

Besides, I hadn’t come here to kill her; I came because I needed her.

‘I needed to transfer to her team.’

Anyway, right now, SP wasn’t urgent for me.

And killing Freira was something I had to think thoroughly about.

Unlike the spies of the Demon King in the church, she was the only spy the church had.

‘Still, I’m just glad things are proceeding smoothly.’

At this moment, I couldn’t kill her.

So I tasked her to find something that could be deemed her objective.

Additionally, I let her know about Yusera, and several other students with whom I could attempt a trade.

It seemed that everything was roughly wrapped up.

Now, I just had to wait for the trading results.

Thinking that, I set my plate down on the table.

Meal time was twice a day.

Though not as good as Miss Weiss’s food, it was still quite tasty.

A rare healing time in the midst of a busy school life.

‘Now that I think about it, I can’t make excuses to eat alone anymore.’

The new people I’d met had already become somewhat familiar by now.

‘Not that I was particularly concerned about it.’

I had enough on my plate to pay attention to anyway.

There wasn’t enough time for archery practice as it was.

So during meal times, I wanted to be alone for a change.

‘Also, I need to think about future plans…’

But today didn’t seem to be my day.

Right in front of my spot, a plate was casually placed down.

I raised my head to identify the plate’s owner.

‘Wilhelm?’

He was someone who usually ate alone just like I did.

But for some reason, he sat down in front of me.

‘What’s this sudden visit for?’

After a few awkward spoonfuls, he finally spoke up.

“Thanks.”

What’s this about?

I racked my brain to recall any deeds that warranted gratitude.

The only thing that came to mind was our last awkward counseling session.

‘And he rushed off mid-sentence, saying he’d go save Yusera.’

Still, that was the only thing I could think of.

This guy wouldn’t just drop by to thank me for handing him water during archery class.

“Is this about that counseling session?”

Wilhelm nodded.

So it was true.

But…

“Still, I didn’t really do anything. I just said I’d look into the cause, didn’t I?”

And I hadn’t even discovered the cause yet.

I only learned that it was related to the Chain God and that he’d been working on something related.

In fact, it only raised more questions.

“Did you manage to get back in touch with the Divine Seat?”

“No, not at all.”

That was disappointing, to say the least.

So, what was his reason then?

“Even though I couldn’t get in touch, if I think about it, I don’t think the Divine Seat would want me to be gloomy.”

“Is that related to our counseling?”

“The effect of counseling is surprisingly significant. Just by voicing my worries, I managed to organize my thoughts.”

In the end, I wasn’t sure if that warranted a thank you.

I merely listened to him; he was the one who sorted out his thoughts.

If anything, I wanted to thank him.

‘Thanks to him, I was able to save Yusera.’

What if Wilhelm hadn’t requested counseling that day? Would I have realized that I had lost contact with the Divine Seat in time?

The odds were extremely low.

I had saved Yusera by the narrowest of margins.

Therefore, it was only fair that I should express my gratitude as well.

“Actually, I also…”

Just then, someone placed a plate down next to Wilhelm.

My mouth went agape as I froze in place.

It was Yusera.

“It’s the archer duo from Team 2.”

She beamed at Wilhelm and me.

Come to think of it, her initially cold and stiff demeanor had lightened up a bit after that incident.

It made sense since her biggest worry had been lifted off her shoulders.

But that didn’t mean the sudden closeness didn’t feel awkward.

Especially since it was her first time joining us for a meal.

It must have felt natural for her to join us since Wilhelm was already here.

“What were you about to say?”

“Oh, nothing at all.”

Then Yusera tilted her head and looked at me.

I casually put some food in my mouth.

“By the way, didn’t you both always eat separately? Don’t you have any friends?”

“Cough…!”

“Of course, we do.”

While my response was slightly strained, Wilhelm answered smoothly.

I couldn’t help but respect him a little for that.

“Anyway, how about we continue to eat together from now on as the archer duo?”

To be honest, I wanted to decline politely.

But I was already pondering how to turn her down gracefully.

“I’ll pass.”

Wilhelm got up from his seat.

Despite sitting down later than me, his plate was already empty.

“I’m running out of practice time.”

Sure, coming to the archery practice range all day long, and still saying he didn’t have enough time…

But wow, Wilhelm was way cooler than I had imagined.

Yusera, who had been sitting next to him, stared at the back of his disappearing figure with a dazed expression.

‘Should I… should I reject like that too?’

Just then, Yusera opened her mouth.

“This is better, actually.”

Did I mishear that?

I felt like she said that, but I wasn’t quite sure.

“What did you just say?”

“Huh? I didn’t say anything.”

She smiled at me.

“Well, it can’t be helped, so we’ll eat together, even if it’s just the two of us.”

I still felt uncomfortable.

At the same time, an apprehensive feeling began to creep in.

As I felt a tightness in my chest, I was about to get up from my seat.

Thud.

Someone placed a hand on my shoulder.

It was a small hand, yet it had quite the grip.

For some reason, chills began to run down my spine.

That strange fear I’d felt after my sword duel with Yusera was now right beside me.

“Oh, you still have plenty of food left, huh?”

Cautiously, I turned my head to the side to check who had stepped up.

“Elsie…?”

She was smiling, but it somehow felt like she wasn’t really smiling.

Finally, she placed the food she had been holding next to me.

Yusera’s expression at the sight wasn’t good either.

‘Oh crap.’

Up until now, I had felt like something was going to go wrong; now, it was really going to go wrong.

The two I had developed a rivalry with since the last mock battle had met.

I needed to escape this place as soon as possible.

‘Crap…’

But Elsie’s grip on my shoulder was stronger than I expected.

The strength that came from her playable character status had a destructive power that was contrary to her relatively slim arms.

Eventually, as I gave up on getting up, she confirmed my defeat and immediately sat beside me.

“Is it okay if I join you?”

I had considered rejecting Yusera, but Elsie was different.

I nodded vigorously, agreeing.

“Of course.”

The moment I failed to escape, my fate was sealed.

The only thing left to do was finish my food.

As I hurriedly shoved food into my mouth, it happened.

“No? This is the combo of Team 2 A, you know? Move aside.”

“Cough…”

I choked again.

Elsie’s glance, which seemed to find my situation hilarious, stung my heart even more.

“Isn’t that right, Sung Yoo-rang?”

I nodded under the pressure.

Then Elsie tilted her head and asked.

“Oh? You two are already on first-name terms?”

“Of course, we’re on the same team.”

“Though you both looked awkward until the last mock battle?”

It seemed Elsie’s purpose wasn’t even about eating.

The energy radiating from her was reminiscent of the madness I’d sensed during the mock battle.

However, unlike back then, Yusera wasn’t backing down this time.

“Either way, hurry and move aside.”

“What do you mean? The teams are changing due to today’s trading event, right?”

“That’s…”

I desperately signaled Yusera, who was about to retort at Elsie.

I had told her I’d negotiate with Professor Freira somehow.

But if that came up here, it would be troublesome.

“Do you have something to say?”

“…”

Fortunately, Yusera picked up on my cue.

Instead, she changed the subject.

“By the way, what’s your relationship with Sung Yoo-rang? You seem to know each other well.”

Then Elsie turned to me and said.

“That’s for Sung Yoo-rang to answer.”

I couldn’t understand why Elsie was so fixated on me.

At one point, I doubted she had figured out my identity, but apparently not.

So what was I supposed to say?

“Well, I’ll be going.”

I finished eating and hurriedly got up.

Immediately, disappointment was evident on both Yusera and Elsie’s faces.

It was a choice I had to make for survival.

‘Please let the trade go well…’

I asked Freira to make sure to separate Elsie into a different class.

Surely, someone talented like Elsie would have many professors wanting to recruit her after her performance in the mock battle.

And I had felt it before, but now it was undeniable.

‘I must never let Yusera and Elsie interact.’

As the afternoon rolled in.

The moment I checked the trade results, I dashed to Professor Freira’s office.

“Why is Elsie still here?”

Freira laughed as if it couldn’t be helped.

“Oh, for some reason, everyone seemed reluctant to take her. They said she’s hard to manage.”

*