"...Ah, did you sleep well?"
"Yeah."
"Since there’s nothing planned for today, maybe we could all just relax together..."
"Sorry. I’ll be a little busy. I need to train."
"Ah, right..."
Train?
Yu Siwoo and his friends had gone through so much yesterday—I figured they’d need a break.
Even if they were the main characters, a large-scale battle like that would’ve left them exhausted.
...Plus, after talking to Amelia’s father, he didn’t look too good.
So I’d asked Hayul to prepare some snacks, but now he’s suddenly talking about training?
I’d assumed there’d be no plans at all.
A little flustered, I decided to try inviting him again.
"There’s tons of delicious snacks prepared. You’d regret missing out."
"That *would* be a shame. But sorry. Today’s a bit... Let’s do it next time."
"...What a pity."
Judging by how politely Yu Siwoo was turning me down, no amount of persuasion would get him to join the after-party.
I *did* want to spend time with him.
But if his reason was that he wanted to train, it felt wrong to drag him out to have fun instead.
It wasn’t like I was trying to convince a friend studying for exams to go to a PC bang with me.
Yu Siwoo was the protagonist, after all.
If he was determined to work hard, I didn’t need to pour cold water on that.
"...Well then, do your best."
"Have fun."
"..."
But I still couldn’t shake the disappointment.
Spending time with Amelia or Dorothy was fun, of course...
But it would’ve been *so* much better if Yu Siwoo had been there too.
I absentmindedly ran my fingers over my bracelet again.
Even though I felt a little lonely, stroking the bracelet made me feel a bit better.
...About two weeks must’ve passed since then.
By now, even the frontline lodgings had started to feel familiar. The mass attacks from the first day had stopped, but we still occasionally fought off Level 3 Demon Beasts—just another ordinary day.
Today, like always, Amelia, Dorothy, and I were eating together.
...Well, maybe not exactly *eating*.
Right.
We were drinking, with some side dishes.
-KWANG!
"Isn’t this going *too* far?!"
"Calm down, Arte. You’re gonna break the table."
"I *am* calm!"
"You’re *clearly* pissed..."
Pissed? Ha.
I was *perfectly* fine.
Not even a little, not even a *bit* angry.
"...Dorothy. What the hell is her *boyfriend* doing?"
"She’d deny it if she heard you say that."
"Like she’d even notice. Look—no reaction. She was already eating before we got here, and now she’s half-passed out."
My head was throbbing, so I’d zoned out for a second, and now Amelia’s hand was waving in front of my face.
Ugh, my head hurts.
Get that out of my face.
"I’m still fine…!"
"Yeah, sure. You look it. …So? You know how it is. Siwoo’s been calling for you lately."
"That’s exactly what’s giving me a headache. Do you have any idea how sharp Arte’s glare is? At first, I thought she was going to tear me apart."
"From the outside, you two look like a couple who’ve already done everything. Everyone thinks so."
…I can’t quite make out what they’re saying.
My vision is spinning.
My heart starts pounding, and my face has been burning like it’s on fire for a while now.
It’s so hot that I touch my cheek, and the heat spreads instantly, so I frantically rub my face against the glass.
Ah, that’s better.
"Gulp, gulp… Phew! It’s not like Arte thinks. There was nothing weird between us. It was just part of training."
"Oh?"
"Apparently, after using my ability, I get… a sense of it. Like a certainty that I can grow even more? That’s what he said."
"What’s that supposed to mean? I’ve never experienced anything like that."
"Me neither. Either Siwoo’s a genius, or his enhanced intuition told him. One of the two."
"…Hmm. That’s interesting."
I blankly watched the droplets of water sliding down the bottle.
Ah, this is more fun than I thought.
I watched the droplets fall, occasionally poking them with my finger and giggling.
[Ugh… A-Author-nim… My heart… please stop…]
Maybe because my heart is beating so fast, pumping blood faster than usual.
I can feel exactly where my heart is.
Feeling great, I down another drink for no reason.
Amelia, watching me, mutters something.
"That guy has zero experience with romance, and it shows. Instead of comforting his sulking girlfriend, he’s off training again today?"
"B-But… He’s doing it for Arte…"
"There’s a limit. At first, I thought, ‘Oh, this guy’s finally learning how to pull,’ but look at the result."
"…"
[Author-nim… P-Please… stop drinking…!]
Hmph.
I don’t need to listen to the author’s words.
According to the author, I’m the reader!!!
Readers don’t listen to the author! Starting today, I’m becoming a toxic reader!
[Aaaaaah—! S-Stop! Seriously, stop! I feel weird…!]
"They live together, and he can’t even tell she’s obviously sulking."
"…That part was a little true."
"And now he’s so clueless he’s just chugging the free booze."
Amelia clicked her tongue as she looked at Arte, now half-asleep.
I’m so lonely, and I want to spend time with Siwoo.
But Siwoo is training hard. He won’t spare me any time.
So I never brought it up…
And now—boom.
Everything I’d been holding back just exploded, and yet that bastard is still buried in his training.
He probably doesn’t even realize this is happening.
“Here I am, unable to even date, and I’m just stuck taking care of these guys…”
“Ahaha…”
“Ugh, is this my karma?”
I really thought things would go smoothly.
Maybe we’d even realize our feelings for each other here. That’s what I’d been hoping.
But instead of understanding each other, we’ve only grown more distant. It’s infuriating.
These frustrating idiots.
Why not just…
Press our lips together. And then, you know…
Do the kind of things you can’t show other people. Hmm?
Wouldn’t that be nice?
I’ve never been in a relationship, but even I can tell that if Arte just pushed a little harder, Siwoo would cave.
Such a clueless guy.
She cursed that good-looking bastard who wasn’t even here.
“Nngh… h-hic… Why, whyyyyy… I was wrong…”
“…Damn it.”
Amelia’s chest burned. She chugged her drink for no reason.
Seeing Arte like this made her want to give Yu Siwoo a piece of her mind…
But the problem was, she knew he was doing it for Arte’s sake.
He’d made some kind of resolution to himself and thrown everything into training…
Well, it was obvious what it was about.
Because she’d been right there when he made that decision.
Maybe he’d thought something like, *I’m weak now, but I’ll get stronger. I’ll get strong enough to protect Arte!*
All of that was fine. Really, it was.
But he was so focused on the future that he wasn’t seeing the present.
“…Ah, so what if we tried this?”
“Tried what?”
“If Siwoo hasn’t noticed that Arte is lonely…”
“Huuu…”
Once again, she dragged her exhausted body back to the dormitory.
This relentless grind was so brutal it felt like she might collapse at any moment—but no one knew better than her that she wouldn’t.
Her intuition told her exactly how far she could push herself to train at the absolute limit.
“It’s a shame Dorothy isn’t here.”
With her around, training efficiency skyrocketed.
In exchange for strengthening him, the strain on his body piled up.
…Which, in other words, was no different from his muscles growing all at once.
By getting used to the temporary boost from Dorothy’s Ability, he could feel his growth accelerating bit by bit.
“…Did I promise to spend time with Arte?”
It’s about time we parted ways.
At this hour, she’s probably already asleep.
Returning to the dorm, Yu Siwoo carefully opened the door so as not to wake Arte.
"Ugh, this is…"
The scent of alcohol filled the room.
…She drank.
There were a few bottles of liquor in the supplies, so she must have had some of that.
It was nice that she’d cleaned up, but at least she could’ve aired the place out…
"?!"
"Ehehe, you’re heeere…"
Squelch.
Maybe it was because his body was exhausted from the endless training.
By the time Yu Siwoo’s instincts reacted, it was already too late.
There was no time to dodge—he couldn’t escape the alcohol-scented figure wrapping her arms around him.
"Arte, wait—just a second. You’re drunk…"
"I was sooo looonely…"
As the memory of Arte hugging him from behind at the Academy flashed through his mind, his face burned as he tried to pry her off.
But then he heard her whining voice and froze for a moment.
"Every daaay, you never talk to me… always say you’re too buusy…"
"That’s…"
I just wanted to protect you.
I just wanted to help you.
He wanted to say those words, but he couldn’t.
Because they were just excuses.
Because he realized he’d left her so lonely that she’d cling to him like this.
"Hehe. But it’s okay. I’ll forgive you."
"…"
"After all, you’ll stay by my side…"
Sniff, sniff.
Hearing her shallow, uneven breathing, Yu Siwoo tried to carry Arte to the bed.
If her grip hadn’t been so tight, he would’ve done it.
…Guess we’re sleeping together.
Yu Siwoo sighed and spoke to the empty air.
"You all go to sleep too. I’m not gonna do anything weird."
There was no response.
But he could imagine them jumping in surprise and running away.
Did those guys really think they wouldn’t get caught?
Just how much interest do they have in my relationship with Arte?
"…Sorry, Arte. For not paying enough attention to you."
With her face flushed red in sleep, he carried Arte to the bed.
In the past, he would’ve stayed up all night out of awkwardness.
But now, this felt pretty natural.
"…"
After a moment of hesitation, Yu Siwoo wrapped his arm around Arte’s waist and closed his eyes.
A little indulgence like this should be fine.
Amid the smell of alcohol, he could still catch the scent of the person he liked.