The male student, with a tidy appearance and glasses, introduced himself as Hendrick and led a group of students into the room behind Anton Signir and May Plov.
But it wasn’t the sticky friendship like May Plov or the atmosphere dominated by violence like Anton Signir.
It felt perfectly organized, like a group that came together for each other’s benefit.
Personally, I didn’t like the vibe at all.
Anyway, Hendrick smiled and brought a chair to sit in front of me.
“Your name is Beldament and Daniel McLean, right?”
“How did you know that?”
Just knowing my name without me revealing it was already quite unsettling. Whether he realized my discomfort or not, he adjusted his glasses arrogantly and crossed his legs while looking at me.
“I saw you battling with Anton Signir during lunch. The way you threw the bottle was impressive.”
“Uh, that wasn’t meant to impress you.”
What’s he doing with his legs up like that? So annoying.
I was poking fun when he continued coolly and formally with what he wanted to say.
“I have a favor to ask. Could you give Anton Signir a hard hit?”
“Why not just kill him?”
What kind of foolishness is this? It felt like kids were just pretending to be adults, making me chuckle.
“Ugh, I don’t want to ask for this either. But recently, Anton’s actions are troubling our study group. We just want to study quietly, but he keeps picking fights.”
Indeed, the students standing behind were sighing or making faces full of dissatisfaction regarding Anton’s behavior.
“There’s no one who can handle such a request in this deep forest of Pales Academy. Telling the professors would only result in a simple warning at best.”
“If I hit him a few times, nothing much would change, right?”
“No, that’s all that’s needed. If you could just hold Anton down once as he’s getting more aggressive with graduation around the corner, that would be enough.”
Hendrick folded his arms and casually turned his head. Then one of the students rushed in with a big bag, opening it up in front of us.
Inside was a hefty pile of cash that students shouldn’t touch.
“Omigosh!”
Beldament and his friends’ mouths dropped open, and their eyes started darting around. They immediately understood that hitting Anton meant they’d get all that money.
One of the things I learned while living in the Forest of the Demon Realm is that mushrooms or fruits that look delicious should be handled with great caution.
Those things always disguise themselves nicely to hide their potent toxins.
In my eyes, this pile of cash felt just the same.
The instinctive notion that consuming this would lead to more than just an upset stomach hit me hard.
“If you take Anton down and provide proof, I’ll give you all this. It’s money our study group students pooled together from allowance given by our parents.”
Is this a joke? Using parents’ hard-earned cash to make fun of it?
Especially at Pales Academy, unlike Eios, even commoners can join if they have skills. The money here was clearly stained with the sweat of parents who wished for their kids to study hard.
“Cut it out. I’ll just talk to the professors about Anton.”
Thinking there was no need to hear more, I stood up and headed for the exit. Beldament and others gawked, wondering if I would just let this slide.
“Don’t waste money foolishly. Instead, gather it up and buy your parents some nice clothes, you immature brats.”
I added that as I walked outside. Beldament, pouting, kept glancing back at the door.
“How much was that just now?”
“If I hit Anton once, I could get a nice sword for it, you know?”
“I’d rather buy some new clothes. They just stocked a lot at Halline’s shop.”
“Don’t have silly thoughts.”
After warning them not to get wrapped up in strange things, I left the hotel. They followed cautiously, grumbling while gazing at the night sky.
“Ah, I was thinking of dating a girl today.”
“Can’t you just say no and hang out with the girls instead?”
“I swear that girl with orange hair was really into me.”
“It’s been ages since my last blind date.”
Not wanting to stick around them any longer, I started walking faster, but they rushed to catch up.
“Ah, I wanna meet a girl.”
“Don’t you have anyone to introduce us?”
“Ahhh! Teeeeex!”
“You fools! Don’t follow me!”
Now I was straight-up running, and they were sticking to my tail with gritted teeth. I felt their determination, or rather, their lust, clinging on even while panting heavily.
“Hey, Sir Daniel! Bless us!”
“Please introduce us to some girls!”
“We totally flopped the blind date, help us out!”
Now they were clinging to my arms and pant legs, begging desperately. I considered just knocking them out to end it all.
“Huh?”
A slight, curious snort caught my attention.
I glanced up and realized we had arrived at the hotel where Eios was staying.
Rin, draped in a coat, walked over, staring blankly at us, as if the shadows around her were shifting naturally in rhythm with her steps.
Beldament’s gang, usually so perceptive, seemed to understand it was time to make a quiet exit without a word.
“W-Well, we’ll be going now!”
“See ya!”
“Thanks!”
They dashed past Rin and slipped into the hotel. I worried for a moment that they might get caught, but Rin let them go as if she hadn’t seen anything.
“Want to go for a night walk?”
Rin approached with a smile. The eerie feeling from earlier faded away, replaced by the gentle ambiance of the night air and the hotel lights.
“I just came back…”
“Hmm?”
In battle soccer, the defender’s role is crucial in closing gaps when the opponent charges in. Rin applied a similar technique in real life, even if she wasn’t part of the game.
Feeling my tongue go dry, I nodded.
In the end, I found myself retracing my steps, but the feeling was completely different. Just moments ago, the darkness felt threatening as if it were lurking around menacingly.
“What’s this talk about blind dates?”
Then Rin, the embodiment of darkness itself, slowly turned her head toward me. Startled, I withdrew slightly, but she simply crossed her arms.
“I was just tricked into going. I had no idea that was what it was about.”
“Huh?”
Rin emitted another light snort. I feared I might have upset her, but instead, she smiled sweetly.
It was not a creepy or unsettling smile. Rather, it had an innocent joy that was truly delightful.
“How unfortunate. It would have been nice if Daniel had genuinely gone on a blind date.”
“Uh?”
That was an unexpected remark.
I had always assumed that Rin would tell me not to go sneaking into places like that or threaten to confront Beldament if he got involved with me.
“Why?”
How could someone so affectionate and kind toward me allow me to meet other women?
It felt strange, but Rin answered immediately.
“Because that would mean you’ve truly forgotten about Lady Eris.”
“…!”
Unknowingly, I stopped in my tracks.
Rin mirrored my action, standing in place and looking up at me with a gentle smile.
“I’m confident. If you don’t like anyone, then I’ll be that person for you.”
With a playful smile reminiscent of the times we ran around the hills together as children, Rin was like a snapshot from my early days.
The image of the first crush, too soon for our young hearts to carry.
Now, having received unwanted power from the God of Death, she had become a colossal evil amid the continent’s doom.
But she was still the same innocent, bright girl, always smiling.
“So Daniel, don’t overthink it. I understand that you’re confused and hurt because of Lady Eris. But don’t worry. Sometimes…”
“…”
Rin pinched my cheek lightly, as if she were teasing.
“There are times when letting go leads to better outcomes.”
“Rin…”
“Daniel’s cheek is so soft. Hehe.”
Worried that my heart might get too complicated, Rin changed the subject.
She stepped back a little, arms crossed, and pouted.
“It feels like Daniel is being way too spoiled. You’ve got a childhood friend who’s always by your side and says she’ll protect you, yet you’re only looking at other girls.”
“…”
I had no words.
I wasn’t ready to forget Eris and accept Rin, a fact that Rin clearly understood as well.
“It’s okay. No matter what wounds you bear, I’ll always be by your side. I’ll never, ever distance myself from you like Lady Eris.”
Suddenly, Rin lunged into my arms. The warmth and her shampoo scent tickled my nose.
“I’ll always be here.”
My lost hands only seemed to wrap around her as if frozen in place.
Squish, squish.
And at that moment.
A peculiar sound echoed softly.
Rin’s face suddenly dove towards my armpit as she peered back to see what was happening behind us.
“Oh my!”
A startled Rin hopped back into my embrace, glancing over her shoulder again with curiosity. I turned slightly, trying to get a look as well.
In the alleyway, a girl with red hair and a boy with blonde hair were locked in a rather intense kiss.
The important thing was both of them were faces I recognized.
“Is that… Ares and Arni?”
Rin asked, as if confirming it with me, and I rubbed my forehead, detaching her and nudging her back gently.
“Don’t look at such things.”
“Wow, I can’t believe Ares is the first to grow up among us. I figured he would be like that.”
Rin listened to my suggestion to go elsewhere, but kept glancing back at the alley, fascinated by the two.
