Chapter 201: Traitors (2)
As punishment for the incident with Laneige, the Disciplinary Committee extended my suspension, which was two weeks long originally, by another month. At this point, it felt less like I was suspended and more like I had dropped out. Seriously, was this even a school anymore?
They had also reduced my state-funded scholarship support. Though, I didn’t really need that pitiful amount the Republic was providing anyway.
As the sun hung high at midday, I lay sprawled across my bed, letting out a lazy sigh. At least until recently, I could train with Laneige to help her control her blessing. But now I had absolutely nothing to occupy myself with during class hours. I was going through the painful experience of being unemployed all by myself.
There was only so much training I could do. The Cataclysmic Flame technique drained my mana like water pouring out of a bottomless pot every time I used it, making continuous training impossible. As for basic martial arts or swordsmanship, I had long passed the stage where simple training would meaningfully raise my level.
In other words, to put my current situation very bluntly, I had nothing to do, absolutely nothing, painfully, excruciatingly nothing to do.
Suddenly, the divine relic left behind by Grace’s remnant soul came to mind. “Ah! Come to think of it, is the divine relic completed?”
I had secretly handed over the relic to Professor Bastion with a request to forge it into an artifact. With nothing better to do, I immediately sent him a message.
He replied immediately.
Professor Bastion: I’ll still need more time. And since I’m crafting it as discreetly as you asked, acquiring the necessary materials is proving difficult.
“Urgh!”
I could not refute his words. I had already been disciplined for trespassing in Grace’s tomb without permission. If anyone discovered that I was also in possession of her divine relic, I would be branded as a public enemy of the Holy Empire.
Dale: Understood. Please take your time.
Professor Bastion: Leave it to me.
Dale: Thank you, as always.
Professor Bastion: No need to thank me. I’ve never seen a divine relic with this much divine power. It’s quite the treat to study.
I really wished he would prioritize making the artifact over studying it, but there was nothing I could do. A wry smile appeared on my lips.
Just as I was about to close the message window, a clear chime echoed, the notification alert for a new message. For a moment, I thought it was from Professor Bastion, but he hadn’t sent anything.
It was a message from Iris.
“Iris?” I muttered.
Iris: Have you had lunch yet?
Dale: No, not yet.
Iris: Then want to eat together? I’m at the central plaza right now.
Dale: On my way.
It was finally some good news. I sprang up from bed, changed clothes, and headed toward the central plaza.
As I approached the plaza, I saw pairs of cadets sitting together, chatting and laughing brightly.
“Hahaha!”
“So? What happened next?”
“Wanna go to Valhalla City this weekend?”
“Oh my! I’d love to, senior!”
Indeed, this was what the central plaza was like at lunchtime. I had been eating at the cadet cafeteria so often that I had forgotten. “Ugh!”
The cafeteria was the single most couple-infested spot on campus. It was a place where cadets ignored the perfectly functional building just to crawl outside and engage in embarrassing public displays of affection. In the past, they had felt like people from an entirely different world to me.
Maybe this was exactly how the Republic citizens, people summoned from another world five hundred years ago, felt. The sight was so foreign and bizarre that it made me question whether I actually attended the same academy as these people. Were they here to eat lunch or to cling to each other and mark their territory?
But now, the days when I could only watch from afar, seething internally, were over.
Spotting me, Iris waved with a bright smile. “Ah, over here, Dale!”
She had laid out a picnic mat on the grass beside the plaza, and the sight alone made me smile without thinking.
“How was class today?” I asked.
“Mm, same as usual.”
With a gentle smile, she pulled out sandwiches from a basket and handed one to me. But just as I reached out to take it, she stopped me.
“Dale,” she said.
“Yeah?”
“Say aaaah.”
Instead of placing it in my hand, she held the sandwich directly to my mouth. I took a bite, clenching my fist in triumph.
Yes. This. This is it.
In my past life, seeing all those couples in the plaza made me grumble about how future heroes responsible for the continent shouldn’t be messing around or occupying public spaces. But honestly? Deep down, I had been jealous to the point of madness. Back then, I had neither the leisure nor the ability to enjoy youth like this.
“It’s good?” she asked.
“Yeah.”
She flashed a shy smile. “Hehe, I’m glad it suits your taste.”
At her smile, all the regrets of my previous life vanished without a trace.
I looked at the picnic mat beneath us. “By the way, isn’t this mat a bit too big?”
“Oh, Yurina and Senior Laneige are joining us later.”
“Ahh, so you invited them too.”
“To be precise, they found out.”
“Found out?”
Iris let out a sigh and shook her head helplessly. “Haah. It gets complicated if I explain.”
Well, I didn’t know the exact circumstances, but at the very least, it meant Yurina and Laneige would be arriving soon. And they showed up even before Iris could say anything else.
“There you are.”
“Iris! You’re so mean!”
Whatever had happened between them, Laneige was puffing out her cheeks with a sulky expression.
“Let’s talk about that later. For now, let’s all eat.”
The four of us sat close together on the picnic mat and ate the sandwiches Iris had made. Iris, Laneige, and Yurina, who was disguised as Yuren, all sat together with me. Sitting here like this, we probably looked like two couples on a double date. Of course, the truth was nothing heartwarming like that. It was more like a battlefield where three predators fought over a single piece of prey.
Iris said, “Hmph. I brought a decently large mat, but with four people, it still feels cramped. Come sit closer to my side, Dale.”
“No, come to my side,” Yurina added.
“Ehem. I-I’m small, so wouldn’t it be fine if I just sat on Dale’s lap?” Laneige chipped in.
The territorial tension continued fiercely. The sheer gap between my previous life and this one made me let out a silent, helpless laugh.
Suddenly, the entire plaza erupted into noise, and voices rang out.
“Oh my!”
“Kyaa!”
“A-are they crazy?”
I turned my head and saw a couple kissing deeply in front of everyone. The central plaza was infamous for brazen displays of affection, but even here, that level of boldness was rare.
Iris, Yurina, and Laneige each murmured something as they watched the kissing couple.
“Mm. T-that’s... quite daring.”
“Wouldn’t it be embarrassing to do that in front of people?”
“S-so jealous.”
Iris turned to me. “Hehe. Should we kiss too, Dale?”
Barely holding on to my rationality, I answered, “If we did that, Camilla would explode later.”
Iris shrugged casually. “Oh come on, it’s just a kiss.”
Yurina frowned. “‘Just a kiss’? Do you think kissing is that easy?”
“Oh my, Yurina, no, Yuren. You’ve done plenty yourself, haven’t you? Why so tense?”
Her face flushing red, Yurina shouted, “I-I haven’t done it at all!”
Iris blinked in surprise. “You haven’t? Not even once?”
Yurina puffed out her cheeks with an irritated expression. “W-what. You got a problem with that?”
Seriously, don’t do that while being in your male form, I thought.
Iris looked genuinely shocked, as if it had never occurred to her that Yurina might be completely inexperienced in this regard. “No, it’s just... I honestly thought you definitely would have by now.”
Yurina spoke with a solemn, dignified expression. “I-I’m not like you, okay? Listen carefully. What matters isn’t who did it first or who’s done it more. What matters is how beautiful the experience is. Just like they say: a first impression decides over ninety percent of how you see someone. Likewise, a first kiss is what shapes the entire future of a relationship!”
Yurina still had no idea. Her first kiss had occurred when she was blackout drunk, and immediately after our lips had touched, she rushed to the bathroom to vomit.
I watched Iris and Yurina argue while sighing inwardly in relief. It was a good thing I hadn’t told Yurina about back then.
Iris said, “Hmph. I don’t know. To me, it just sounds like a pathetic excuse from someone who hasn’t even had their first kiss yet.”
“P-pathetic! Did you just call me pathetic?”
“Nooo, not pathetic. More like, hmm, pitiful? Something like that.”
Yurina trembled, fists clenched tightly. “Ugh!”
Watching Iris tease her with sparkling eyes and obvious amusement, I held back a laugh. Yep. Once Iris gets close to someone, she shows no mercy.
Back when they weren’t close, she politely called her “Ms. Yurina.” But just like with Camilla, once they became friends, her real personality came right out.
“I honestly thought you and Dale had already kissed ages ago. Who would’ve guessed you hadn’t even once?” Iris said.
Yurina bit her lip and trembled with rage. “You... You little!”
Iris was clearly having the time of her life. “Hehehe. Go ahead. Keep waiting your whole life for the ‘right moment’ like you are now.”
Yurina’s fists tightened with determination. “F-fine! Just wait! I’ll give Dale a first kiss so romantic he’ll remember it forever!”
Suddenly, Yurina swung her head toward Laneige, who was quietly chewing her sandwich. “Senior Laneige, don’t just sit there, say something sharp too!”
“M-me? Why me?”
“Because you haven’t kissed Dale either, right?”
Laneige blushed. “Uh, well. T-that’s...”
She looked away, avoiding eye contact.
The strange atmosphere around her made Yurina’s eyes widen. “S-Senior... Don’t tell me?”
Laneige lowered her head, groaning in embarrassment. “Uuuuh.”
Yurina’s face was drained of color. “Huh?”
***
Iris had kissed Dale ages ago, even not counting their past lives. Professor Baldwin had kissed him even earlier than Iris. So, if Laneige had kissed him too, that meant only one thing.
Yurina’s voice trembled helplessly. “S-so that means, everyone, except me?”
