"Huh?"
Rohan rubbed his eyes at the number Shion was showing him.
Checking his status window confirmed it wasn’t a hallucination.
And it wasn’t some random numbers smashed into a calculator either.
Of course, there was always the possibility that it was an illusion beyond what his status window could detect—
But for now, he tried to accept it at face value.
"One, ten, hundred, thousand, ten thousand..."
The digits kept climbing.
A completely unrealistic amount of money.
Rohan shut his mouth, his mind reeling.
But even in his daze, his mouth acted on its own.
"Wait, is this some kind of hypnosis app?"
"What nonsense are you talking about? This is a portion of the Testarossa inheritance I liquidated in Tigrova."
"Oh!"
Suddenly, it all made sense.
The scattered pieces of the puzzle snapped together in an instant.
As Shion slipped her phone back into her pocket, she urged them forward.
"I’ll explain the rest over dinner. It’s too long to go over while standing around."
She needed to discuss where she’d be staying in Academy City—
And how she planned to use the money.
But more than anything, she simply wanted to waste time with them—
Talking about completely meaningless things.
Because those moments made her feel happier than anything else.
Back at the Dorms.
Before dinner, they needed to drop off their belongings.
Shion unpacked the bags she had packed for Tigrova in Rohan’s dorm room.
And then—
The inevitable moment arrived.
She had to return the borrowed coat.
Reluctantly, she fiddled with the fabric, delaying the moment she had to let go.
But just as she was hesitating—
Rohan walked over, holding a paper shopping bag.
Sitting on the bed, Clara silently observed them.
"I’ll be honest, after seeing the balance on your account, I feel a little self-conscious giving this to you."
"Hm?"
"Here. A gift."
"!"
Shion couldn’t hide the surprise in her expression.
Rohan, noticing her frozen reaction, shoved the bag toward her.
"My arm’s about to fall off. Just take it."
"Ah..."
The familiar logo of Waterdrop Friends was printed on the bag.
Shion’s mind went completely blank.
"Why a gift all of a sudden...?"
"I just saw it and thought of you. Do I need a reason to buy a gift? If I did, there are plenty I could name."
Rohan tried to play it off as no big deal—saying it was just because she got back safely—
But Shion wasn’t fooled.
She could tell.
Rohan was embarrassed about giving gifts.
"Really..."
How could someone bigger than her look so damn cute?
Her throat went dry, and her heart pounded so hard she thought it might burst.
His presence seemed to expand, filling the entire room.
The existence of Clara, who was quietly watching them from the bed, faded into the background.
"Can I open it now?"
"Of course."
Carefully, she peeled off the tape without damaging the packaging.
Inside the neatly folded paper box were—
Two plush dolls.
Ululy and Blueby.
The very characters she had sketched in her notebook.
"..."
With trembling hands, she lifted the plushies—
And simply stared at them.
For so long, she had wanted them.
She had stood in front of the merchandise displays, unable to buy them.
And now—
Rohan had unexpectedly gifted them to her.
Could she really be this happy?
She almost feared she had used up her life’s quota of happiness all at once.
"Do you like them?"
"Yes... Thank you. It’s the best gift ever."
A wide smile bloomed on Shion’s face as she hugged the plushies.
More than all the money she had received—
These were far more precious.
These two would stay with her forever.
And in that moment, she realized something.
Clara was watching with a warm expression.
Shion confirmed it.
"That hairpin... that was a gift too, wasn’t it?"
She had noticed how Clara kept touching it and smiling to herself.
There was no doubt—
That hairpin was also something Rohan had picked out.
***
A Private Room in a BBQ Restaurant.
The restaurant was one that Shion had personally picked with Clara.
It was her first time treating a meal for them, so she wanted to choose carefully.
"First, there's something important I want to say."
"Something important?"
Shion’s serious tone made Rohan, who had been pouring water into cups, look up.
Clara, who was setting the utensils, also stopped and looked at her.
"Even though I now have financial freedom, I still want to work with you two. I lack too much experience."
Shion glanced at them, gauging their reactions.
She was nervous—would they think she was being unrealistic?
But both Rohan and Clara smiled.
"Of course, you're welcome to."
"Y-Yeah...! Definitely!"
Rohan grabbed the tongs and placed the meat on the sizzling grill.
It was his first time having a proper grilled meat meal in Academy City.
His mouth instantly started watering.
"Think of this money as mental freedom. It means you can pursue what you want and even if you fail, you won’t starve. That’s a huge advantage."
"...You sound just like Yooho-nim."
Rohan chuckled at Shion’s puzzled murmur.
The sourc𝗲 of this content is frёeωebɳovel.com.
"Is there anything you want to buy?"
"Hm...?"
"Like upgrading your phone? The one I got you isn’t the newest model."
"No need. I'm keeping this one."
She had already transferred the ownership, so there was no need for a new one.
Besides—
It was something Rohan had given her.
Replacing it never even crossed her mind.
"If there's one thing I want right now... I want to buy a house."
A big statement.
But considering the balance Shion had shown them, it wasn’t out of reach at all.
"That's a great idea."
"I don’t know much about real estate, so I’d like you two to help me."
"After the exam, let’s go look. I’ll start researching."
"Mm."
Shion turned to Clara, who was sitting beside her.
The girl blinked in confusion as Shion reached out—
And gently pinched her cheek.
"Once I get a place, I want Clara to live with me."
"U-Uh... Unnie... are you sure...?"
"Of course. You were the one who first suggested it, remember?"
Before leaving for Tigrova, Clara had volunteered—
If they found a place with Rohan’s reward money, she’d live with Shion.
"It's not just about repaying kindness. I want to live with you, Clara."
"H-huuuuh...?"
Shion’s bold declaration made Clara’s head spin.
From Rohan’s perspective, there was absolutely no reason to stop this.
"Clara was kind, so she's getting rewarded."
Rohan casually commented as he flipped the sizzling meat.
By the time Clara accepted Shion’s offer, the meat was perfectly cooked.
"If we’re getting a house... we should leave a room for Rohan too."
"O-Oppa too?!"
"Me too?"
At this point, they were already a team.
And so—
They ate until their stomachs were full and talked until their throats were dry.
They even used this as an opportunity to teach Shion how to use mobile payment.
After the Meal.
"That was amazing."
"Unnie... I really enjoyed it...!"
Though they had finished eating—
The thought of splitting up so soon felt unsatisfying.
So Rohan, having just received a free meal, took them to a café for dessert.
And finally—
He brought up the exam.
"From Monday to Friday. You two will be fine, right?"
"..."
"..."
Shion and Clara both pressed their lips together—
Their silence made it obvious how they felt.
Rohan stirred his drink, watching the ice swirl.
"I probably won’t be able to contact you much on the island, but I’ll message you as much as I can before I leave."
The two girls, pouting like sulking ducks, had no choice but to accept reality.
And soon, their curiosity took over.
"Rohan. How is the survival test structured?"
"Hard to say exactly. But since they keep mentioning Monolith preparation, it’ll probably be about surviving with limited resources and handling unexpected situations."
"O-Oppa... you’ll be on the island with... those unnies, right...?"
The "unnies" Clara was referring to were obvious.
Noah Frozenheart. Ichinose Yui.
She held her breath, waiting for an answer.
Shion, meanwhile, crossed her arms, her brow furrowing deeply.
"Technically, yeah. But we don’t know how the teams will be split yet."
"Hmmm."
"I-I see...."
And with that—
They dropped the subject and continued chatting.
The conversation stretched on later than expected.
Eventually, Clara dragged Shion home with her,
While Rohan returned to his dorm, recharging his brain with some much-needed rest before diving back into studying.
Sunday.
Rohan locked himself away, finishing his final review of theoretical material.
The only time he saw Shion and Clara was during meals.
***
Monday Morning.
For breakfast, he ate with them—knowing it’d be the last time for a while.
And as he arrived at Orion Academy, he immediately noticed—
The air was different.
Unlike usual, everyone was already in class early.
There was no chatting.
A heavy silence filled the room.
Even Noah Frozenheart, usually lively, was gripping her head, staring at her textbook like she wanted to burn a hole through it.
"Hoo..."
Rohan took a deep breath.
This was the perfect atmosphere to focus.
Settling into his seat, he opened his book.
'From today onwards, everything is important.'
He couldn’t afford any mistakes during the exam.
And on the island—
He’d need to make quick and decisive choices.
'Who will I be paired with on the island?'
For Shion and Clara, this week would be hell.
But for Rohan—
It was the beginning of the next main story.