—————————————————————–
Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
—————————————————————–
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
“Why are you crying all of a sudden?” I questioned as tears welled up unexpectedly in her eyes. Without realizing it, I scanned our surroundings, relieved to find no other students nearby in the late evening.
“No, it’s… I’m sorry,” Hayun managed, seemingly understanding the odd state she was in. However, her tears continued to flow unceasingly.
‘What should I do about this?’
I wanted to help, but I couldn’t figure out how. Though I wasn’t proud of it, in my past life, the only woman I had interacted with until I turned eighteen was Rin.
Afterward, I spent my years as a Sherpa in the Demon forest, and it wasn’t until the last moments that I finally realized Eris, an elf, had feelings for me.
In a situation where it felt much easier to deal with a difficult demonic beast, Hayun offered me an answer even albiet unintentionally.
Growl….
Silence lingered between us.
Hayun’s tears suddenly ceased, even in the darkness, her reddened eyes were visible, and her face turned crimson from the outburst.
“Are you hungry?”
Yes.
Even when you’re crying and feeling miserable, hunger doesn’t leave you alone.
I understood that feeling well.
In my past life, I was expelled from school, and as I rode alone in a carriage, I cried a lot, and when evening came, I embarrassingly realized I was hungry. After labeling myself with disgrace, I proceeded to overindulge in food, declaring that I must keep on living.
“Ah, I’m going to grab something to eat. Join me?”
Leaving the distressed Hayun behind would make me feel uncomfortable, and as an adult, seeing a child in such distress who was hungry was pitiful.
From time to time, people who unintentionally entered the Demon forest were rescued in a similar manner. Of course, I later received a corresponding fee for my help.
“…..”
Hayun hesitated, standing still in front of me, and I let out a sigh.
“If you go back to the dorms now, the cafeteria and shops are all closed. How about having chocolate cake for dinner?”
Although the café’s lights were still on, there was a good chance that desserts were already sold out at this hour.
As I finished speaking, Hayun closed her mouth and stood behind me.
“I’m going to eat soup.”
“Alright…”
“I’ll order for you, so if there’s anything you can’t eat, just let me know.”
“I understand…”
She had seemed cool and confident at first, but now, facing each other, I couldn’t help but think of Eve. Perhaps the tears and the sound of sniffles from earlier had ruthlessly crushed her self-assured demeanor.
‘It looks like you’ve been wielding that sword non-stop after the exams,’ I observed.
Her hands, rough from excessive training, bore not only callouses but also faint traces of blood. Even though she was originally accustomed to handling a sword, the fact that she had swung it to the point of injuring herself said a lot.
“Do you have your wallet?” I asked.
“Yeah, I’ve got it with me,” Hayun replied as she lifted a unique red pouch hanging from her waist.
“That’s your wallet?”
“I made it myself,” she said with a hint of pride.
Chuckling at her response, I turned and walked outside. Perhaps due to the time, most of the decent restaurants had closed down, so I changed direction.
“Let’s go over there.”
“Huh?”
Hayun looked confused as she glanced at the place I pointed to. It was not a regular restaurant; it was a bar.
Though Hayun hesitated and lingered in place due to her confusion, I paid no mind and entered.
In the noisy bar, our entrance drew some curious glances. Clearly, we were students, and it seemed unusual for such young faces to be here. Nonetheless, I found an empty table and sat down, while Hayun, still looking cautious, took a seat opposite me.
“Is it okay for us to be here?”
“Why not? This place serves food too.”
“But it’s a bar…”
“Are you planning to drink?”
“No, but…”
“In that case, it doesn’t matter.”
This place was categorized as a restaurant anyway, even though they sold alcohol and had extended opening hours. Adventurous youngsters who wandered around at night would come to places like this for a meal when they got hungry.
“This place has great food.”
“Have you been here before?”
“Once.”
I had eaten here once when I missed dinner.
After ordering a hot pot with meat and requesting a bandage, I received one.
“Wrap this around your hand.”
“Huh?”
“With that hand of yours, you can’t even hold utensils properly. Don’t act tough while eating. Wrap it up and eat.”
Hayun looked puzzled, wondering why there were bandages in a restaurant.
In places like bars where alcohol flowed freely, you never knew what might happen, so they kept items like these on hand for emergency treatment.
“You’ll have to pay for the bandage,” I added.
I had no intention of offering to pay, and as Hayun extended her hand toward the owner, she retrieved a few coins from her small purse.
Then, she started wrapping the bandage around her own hand, struggling a bit as she tried to do it with just one hand. Her teeth were clenched in concentration, but eventually, I took over.
“You’re good,” she remarked.
“I used to do this for customers who got injured,” I replied.
“Customers?”
“Yeah, there were such cases.”
In the Demon forest, you never knew when or where you might get injured, so knowing how to apply bandages was a basic skill. I could handle most basic first aid, to say the least.
“…You seem quite mature.”
‘Because I’m 28.’
Starting from coming into a bar to order food and buying bandages, it didn’t seem very student-like.
“I’ll cover the cost of the food.”
“It’s fine, I’ll pay with the money I earned.”
“Money you earned?”
Thank you for the pocket money, Dean.
I was grateful for the few coins I had managed to extract from the Dean yesterday. It would allow me to live a more comfortable life for a while.
“So, is it okay to ask why you were crying?”
Since there was nothing else to talk about while waiting for our food, I rested my chin on my hand and inquired. Hayun’s face turned red again, and she lowered her head.
‘Seems like she doesn’t want to talk about it.’
It didn’t seem like there was a simple reason why she lost to me today.
“I don’t know what happened, but don’t swing your sword carelessly like today. It’s just exhausting your body, and it won’t yield any results. If you swing the sword with a broken posture, you might develop some bad habits.”
“…..”
Hayun nodded in agreement, acknowledging that my words made sense.
It was a reaction that indicated she already knew. However, if she knew and still had no choice but to do it, there must have been some reason.
Seeing her reluctance to speak, I smoothly changed the subject.
“Have you gotten better at making pies?”
Since the only thing I had taught her was how to make apple pies, I threw the question casually. Hayun responded with a small, proud smile and a nod.
“Yeah, I can make them now.”
“Oh, really?”
Back then, Hayun didn’t seem like she had much talent for cooking, so I couldn’t help but look surprised. Nevertheless, Hayoon stood confidently and spoke.
“I have some natural talent, so with a bit of practice, I was able to do it quickly.”
“Oh, and you mentioned that the wallet-like pouch was also something you made, right?”
Bringing up that topic had truly been a random conversation starter. It was meant to fill the awkward silence before the food arrived, so that we wouldn’t both sit there feeling uncomfortable.
However, Hayun’s usually indifferent eyes suddenly sparkled with excitement.
“Yeah, that’s right. In my mother’s hometown, they call it a fortune pouch, and I made it inspired by that. Besides that, I also made this.”
She showed me a thin bracelet she had wrapped around her wrist. It was quite lovely, with black and white threads intertwined.
“I made this too.”
“Oh, really?”
These were clearly items that would sell well.
I had thought she only had talent for swordsmanship, but it seemed she enjoyed crafting jewelry as well.
“No, actually…”
While we chatted about various topics, a bubbling hot pot emerged from the large kitchen.
It tasted even better when I considered it as the Dean’s treat. Honestly, I almost ordered a glass of beer without realizing, but I managed to refrain.
“Ah, that was delicious.”
“I’m so full.”
As our stomachs were filled and we basked in the warmth, satisfied smiles naturally spread across our faces. Hayun even thanked me for bringing her to such a great restaurant.
As we made our way back to the academy, Hayun cautiously asked me a question.
“By the way, what’s going on between you and Ares?”
“Huh?”
“I don’t know, but it seems like the two of you suddenly started pretending not to know each other.”
“We never used to talk to each other in the academy.”
“Well, it’s just that… it feels like something more than that now.”
Perceptive.
I agreed that there had been a noticeable change.
“I came here and found out that we were not as close as I thought.
“I didn’t want to have to beg to be his friend.”
In my past life, Ares, who didn’t even say hello at the academy, secretly came to my room at night and talked to me about things we couldn’t talk about at school.
It was stupid.
I didn’t want to be the friend who couldn’t let go because he felt bad, so I just let go.
“I see.”
Seemingly understanding, Hayun didn’t press further, and I chuckled softly.
“Hey, what’s so great about that guy? Sure, he’s good-looking, but honestly, with all the other girls flocking around him, do you really want to compete?”
I was essentially asking if she loved him enough to engage in the competition with other girls.
At 18 years old, it was a time when you could easily mistake love for other emotions.
“Well, if you truly like him, I’ll support you, but still, think about it seriously. As someone who has known him for a while, I can tell you that your chances are relatively better.”
Although she had short hair, it was the same black as Rin’s. Her appearance gave off a slightly colder vibe than Rin, and her facial expressions were minimal.
“Smiling a bit more might change your impression,” I suggested.
Upon hearing this, Hayun looked at me and lifted the corners of her mouth. For a moment, I thought I heard a squeak coming from her face. It wasn’t like she was assembling something.
“How’s this?”
“Hey, it’s really not great when you force a smile like that. Just go around with a neutral expression.”
“…..”
Her expression remained unchanged, but her eyes clearly conveyed irritation as if scolding me. Then she let out a sigh and quickened her pace, hiding her expression.
“What’s the point of this?”
Because It was a quiet night with no sounds, the girl’s complaints clearly reached my ear.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Dean’s treat