Chapter 41
Unintended, but…
“Don’t you have an appetite?”
“…Yes. Somehow, I don’t feel very hungry today.”
Something seemed off about his eating. Not that he was ever the type to eat with great enthusiasm, but this time he was barely nibbling at his food.
…No matter how much I thought about it, something must have happened after we visited that shop. Even as I tried to recall, I couldn’t grasp any clue.
Well, I’ll think about it later. If I can’t remember it, it’s probably not that important.
One thing I was confident in was my memory. If even I forgot, then it really might not be a big deal.
Still, Dogeon had been staring blankly into space like a soulless person for a while now, and I was a little worried.
He seemed lost in thought. Watching him look like someone who’d already lived out their entire life made me feel like I’d fall into contemplation myself, so I decided not to dwell on it.
Men often have worries they can’t share with others. It’s something people, whether socially adept or not, tend to dismiss with phrases like, “Man up,” or “What’s the big deal?”
That’s why men often couldn’t even confide in their family about their troubles. Dogeon must have his own burdens to bear.
Rather than clumsily comforting him, I figured it was better to let him think things through on his own.
We weren’t close enough for him to share such deep concerns, even as friends. Besides, how could an outsider understand the worries of someone socially adept?
For instance, if he were struggling with the dilemma of liking a girl more than his current girlfriend…
…Just thinking about it irritated me.
“…A well.”
That aside, I never thought I’d be able to taste the flavors of home on this distant continent.
But I could say with certainty—this was the taste of home. Though the ingredients were different, the flavor was just like the one the chef uncle back home used to make.
I’d been eating it for days now and was starting to get a little tired of it, but it was better than venturing out and falling into some culinary trap.
After all, the menu here included hot dishes with a minty smell that were downright disgusting.
Of course, that was the extreme case, but none of the other dishes appealed to me either.
Maybe that steak I had first… I might be able to enjoy it now.
But I ate it alone back then, so it was bound to taste bad. Even if the flavor was lacking, it was more than enough to eat with company.
Having someone to eat with made all the difference.
After finishing my plate, I turned to Dogeon and noticed that his food was hardly touched.
A chunk of meat was missing, just enough for me to tell he’d eaten something.
Had something really happened? I’d never seen him this drained before. Not even when I was angry with him.
Back then, I could at least tell he was trying to find a way out of the situation.
Looking at Dogeon now, it seemed like he had no energy or will to do anything.
It reminded me of myself in a past life.
I debated whether to stay seated or get up.
If I just sat there waiting, we might be stuck like this forever. But getting up felt like I’d be interrupting his thoughts.
After a good amount of internal conflict, I stood up.
“…Ah, you’re finished?”
Sitting around was clearly going nowhere. I decided I needed to drag him outside.
“Have you even eaten anything?”
“…Yes.”
Now that I got a closer look, he was even avoiding eye contact.
For a moment, I wondered if he was feeling guilty about sneaking into my room while I slept. But I dismissed the idea. A friend wouldn’t do something like that.
No way. Never. Even if he does see me as a girl, that was just an accident.
If I were a man, and some girl suddenly pulled me into a locker and her chest pressed against me?
No way I’d hold back.
In fact, the fact that Dogeon managed to stop there was impressive.
If that’s not it, then what is it? Could it be… he’s only now starting to feel guilty?
If that were the case, his current state would make sense to some extent.
After all, seeking forgiveness and harboring guilt are two different things.
Even when I scolded him, he didn’t seem remorseful—just desperate to be forgiven.
If I asked myself whether I’d forgiven him, I already had.
No one can look at only one person for their entire life. It’s normal to talk to others.
The reason I got angry was that I saw him in that situation while I was already upset.
…Honestly, seeing it now would probably still make me mad.
But as long as he didn’t blatantly grope someone’s butt, hug them, hold hands, or laugh while staring into their eyes in front of me, I was willing to let it slide.
Because we’re friends.
“If this is about the incident at the gym, you don’t need to feel bad. I’ve already forgiven you.”
“…Huh? Forgiven me?”
He reacted like I’d said something completely unexpected, making me wonder if I’d guessed wrong. But I needed to forgive him at some point.
Might as well do it now.
“That’s right. Just… try to be a bit more considerate of others. For some, human relationships are… very, very sensitive matters.”
I still got annoyed when I remembered him asking if I had any friends. But he’d once said this to me:
“Friends overlook mistakes, learn from them, and grow together.”
So, if I could let his mistakes go and correct them, that should be enough.
“Yes, I’ll be more careful.”
Having been unexpectedly forgiven, Dogeon seemed genuinely relieved.
Though his complexion was still a bit pale, at least he looked like he had the will to do something again. That was good enough.
Dragging him energetically out of the cafeteria was fine, but now I had no idea what we could do.
In both my past and current lives, weekends were for staying in and relaxing. Thinking about doing something outside didn’t come naturally to me.
A PC room would’ve been nice, but there was no way this world had something like that, especially with its poor soundproofing.
“…Did you have anything in mind?”
“No, not really. But if it’s okay with you, I’d like to explore the academy a bit… Would that be alright?”
Exploring the academy, huh.
It was probably no different from a university campus tour. But then I remembered wandering around alone before.
Having someone with me might make it fun. And if that someone was my only friend, even better.
“Sure, let’s do that. So, where do you want to start?”
Seeing Dogeon’s faint smile return lifted my spirits as well.
“…In that case, how about the zoo?”
***
“Still not here…”
Seated on a chair, Stefania mulled over her thoughts while stepping on Iris.
After a day had passed, she wasn’t too surprised. Even if Hoyeon came from a faraway land, she was a princess. It wasn’t as if she would heed the words of some noble from a foreign nation.
On the second day, Stefania had let it slide. It wasn’t unusual for some people to respond to rumors about her with a “So what?” attitude.
By the third day, she thought Hoyeon was stubborn. Surely, after spending that much time at the academy, she must have realized who Stefania was.
But by the fourth and fifth days, Stefania was certain:
Hoyeon knew exactly who she was, yet was deliberately ignoring her proposal.
As she continued to trample Iris like a footstool, Stefania tried to clear her cluttered mind.
“Ah!… Stefania, please!”
“No, no, Iris. A footstool isn’t supposed to talk.”
Oh dear, had she pressed too hard?
Stefania eased the pressure on her foot, just enough so Iris could barely endure the pain. Then she resumed her persistent trampling, ensuring it inflicted just enough discomfort.
Recently, she’d been under a lot of pressure. Someone had trespassed on her sanctuary, and Gloria had started openly targeting her.
While she could unleash the power of demons and take the entire academy down with her, Stefania had no desire to die.
With the coming of the Demon God just around the corner, falling to mere church hounds or faceless nobodies would be a fate worse than collapsing at the finish line.
Stefania found the idea horrifying.
As for Gloria, cutting off a few of her close aides and offering them up as scapegoats would suffice. However, Stefania had no clue how to deal with the unknown intruder in her sanctuary.
This trespasser left no identifiable traces, provoked her, and escaped effortlessly. The little she knew about their skill level wasn’t enough to figure out their identity.
In her view, all the highly skilled individuals she knew maintained amicable relations with her, so there was no reason for them to infiltrate her sanctuary.
Her conclusion was that the intruder must have been a new arrival or an outsider she was completely unfamiliar with.
Her solution was to set an enticing bait and wait for the intruder to take the hook.
The first priority for Stefania was to identify who they were. Only then could she decide whether to intimidate them or win them over.
With a temporary plan in place to deal with her greatest threat, Stefania turned her attention to Hoyeon.
The problem was that Hoyeon had already seen through and destroyed the enchanted artifact Stefania had disguised as a gift to spy on her.
Because of that, she couldn’t resort to aggressive measures against Hoyeon.
On top of that, the information from the demon—that the Demon God resided on the eastern continent—kept her from making any rash moves.
Hoyeon had come from the eastern empire. There was a chance she was somehow connected to the Demon God.
This might have been an extreme leap in logic, but Stefania had survived countless crises by preparing for the worst-case scenario.
Thus, she began contemplating how to establish an amicable relationship with Hoyeon.
She dismissed as nonsense the obvious slander circulating that Hoyeon favored some commoner. Clearly, it was a fabrication meant to tarnish her reputation.
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