The Price of Friendship
The sparring class finally came to an end, and with it, the arrival of lunchtime. I had intended to eat alone in a corner, just like yesterday, but an uninvited guest appeared.
"Wow, you were seriously cool during the sparring match earlier. Dodging every incoming attack and then landing a counter the moment an opening appeared? I couldn't help but shout out loud."
Yoon Siwoo was standing in front of me, making a huge fuss. While it was nice to see Sylvia, who had followed him and taken the seat next to him, it broke my heart to see her glaring at me with eyes full of dissatisfaction while picking at her food. ...No, wait. I specifically sat in the corner so I wouldn't disturb the two of you having a cozy lunch, but this bastard Yoon Siwoo is the one who insisted on coming all the way to my table!
I glared at Yoon Siwoo while thinking this, but the dense idiot was just grinning, seemingly thrilled about something, and kept talking to me. Too lazy to even respond, I just gave him a few half-hearted nods.
"Did you learn that martial arts style when you were young?"
Nod.
"It must have been really tough to train to that level."
Nod.
"...Do you want to be friends with me?"
"No."
At my cold, sharp rejection, Yoon Siwoo slumped. Sylvia began to glare at me with even more intense eyes. Why?!
After finishing her meal, Sylvia set her utensils down with a sharp clack. She stared in my direction and muttered as if talking to herself.
"Ah, I’ve had a workout, so I’m craving something sweet."
My "friend sensor" reacted to her gaze. This... this meant it was time to pay the "friendship tax!"
"W-would a macaron do?"
"Oh my, are you going to buy one for me? Would that really be alright?"
I asked, trying to read the room, and since it was the correct answer, Sylvia asked with a bright smile. Would it be alright? You bet your ass it is! I’ve been skipping breakfast and dinner just for this moment!
"W-we’re friends, after all!"
"Since it’s a gesture from a friend, I won’t refuse."
Sylvia replied. Yoon Siwoo suddenly looked at her, his eyes wide with surprise. Sylvia is stunningly pretty, sure. But who is Sylvia’s friend right now? What’s her name? Scarlet Evande. Pfft... And her occupation? 'Sylvia’s Friend.' Therefore, I am invincible, and Sylvia is a goddess.
Yoon Siwoo looked at me with a complicated expression as I sat there beaming, but that was none of my business. I ran to the snack bar, excited.
"Say, Lucy, do I look unlikable?"
[Siwoo, you have no conscience. You should apologize to the other men.]
At Yoon Siwoo’s words, Lucy, the ego residing within the Holy Sword of Humility, replied with exasperation. Honestly, Yoon Siwoo himself knew it. Though it was a bit embarrassing to say out loud, he possessed a face that naturally garnered favor from the opposite sex. Perhaps that was why he was even more puzzled.
The red-haired, red-eyed girl with an expressionless face who had vehemently refused his offer of a ride. Because he could tell whether someone’s expression was true or false through the power of the Holy Sword of Truth he possessed, he knew her rejection had been sincere. Perhaps it was because he had never once in his life been treated negatively by a woman without a reason. Yoon Siwoo naturally became interested in her.
Since she was wearing the same school uniform, he figured he might run into her somewhere. Yoon Siwoo, who had been pedaling his bicycle while lost in such thoughts, only realized he had taken the wrong turn thirty minutes after the 8:00 AM start of school. When he finally arrived at school and opened the classroom door, the girl he had seen on the way to school was there. Unlike the noisy surroundings, she sat at her desk with an expressionless face, looking just like a doll.
Since the seat in front of her was empty, Yoon Siwoo quickly sat down and struck up a conversation, discovering her name was Scarlet Evande. She didn't even bother to respond to his request to be friends. Scarlet’s attitude was distinctly different from the other girls in class who kept glancing at him. Yoon Siwoo wanted to know a little more about what kind of person she was.
This is troublesome... Yoon Siwoo sighed, watching Scarlet eat her lunch in the very corner of the room. Ever since he had been punched in the jaw by Scarlet—who had somehow ended up naked and covered in illusion magic after the ability measurement class—she had been avoiding him. She seemed convinced that he had seen her in a shameful state. He felt embarrassed and his face grew hot at the thought that his own heart, which had found her beautiful upon seeing her bare skin, had been exposed. He had gone to the bathroom and splashed cold water on his face for a long time after lunch.
His face had cooled down, and he had returned to the classroom to talk to Sylvia in the seat next to him, when someone approached and handed Sylvia a macaron that looked like it came from the snack bar. And when Yoon Siwoo looked up, he was shocked. Scarlet was talking to Sylvia with a smile on her face. She could make an expression like that, too.
Yoon Siwoo watched her smiling face, as if bewitched, and suddenly thought he wished she would smile at him like that, too. It seemed she had given the macaron to Sylvia to commemorate becoming friends. Did she show that kind of smile to people she became friends with? Desperate to be her friend, he had asked if there was one for him, but his heart ached a little at the sight of her smile vanishing and her returning to an expressionless face the moment she looked at him.
He returned home and lay in bed, but he couldn't fall asleep easily because Scarlet’s smiling face from earlier kept flickering in his mind.
[It wasn't just her smiling face, was it? She certainly had nice skin and a beautiful body.]
Ugh... Lucy, I told you not to read my thoughts as you please.
[Heh heh, so you were a boy going through puberty after all. Why are you so embarrassed? Falling in love at first sight with a girl you met today is natural at that age.]
I didn't fall in love! This is... I just want to be friends, that's all.
[If you say so, then it must be so.]
At Lucy’s voice, which sounded like she was laughing, Yoon Siwoo made excuses as hard as he could. Yeah, I just want to be friends. Ignoring the heart-pounding sensation he was feeling for the first time in his life, he repeated that to himself.
I arrived at the snack bar and picked up a macaron. This tiny little cookie cost ten times my daily living expenses, but if it was for Sylvia, it wasn't a waste at all! I quickly took out my student ID to pay, but then I suddenly remembered yesterday. Should I buy one more? I recalled the sight of Sylvia glaring at me intensely when I didn't give her a macaron. Thinking about that, I really had to buy one more, but my hands trembled as I tried to pick up another one.
When I thought about it again, this one thing cost a whopping ten times my daily living expenses! And this wasn't even "friendship tax"—this was a macaron bought with my own living money. If I bought this, my daily budget would plummet from 300 gold to 230 gold! It was so... so painful. Thinking that I had to buy this to give to Yoon Siwoo made the macaron feel like it was worth a thousand pieces of gold, but I gritted my teeth, grabbed one more macaron, and paid for both to avoid being hated by Sylvia.
"Hey, wait a second!"
I was about to leave the snack bar when I heard a voice, so I turned around to see the class representative standing there. She looked somewhat restless.
"I'm sorry!"
The class representative started by bowing her head and apologizing to me right off the bat. What is this? Is this some kind of YouTube-style conversation method where you start by saying "I'm sorry" on a black screen? As I stood there flustered, she continued.
"Yesterday, um... about me talking about sensitive topics without knowing anything, and nagging you today about not carrying a weapon. I... I wanted to apologize to you because I was in the wrong..."
My goodness.
"A hero-in-training shouldn't have spoken so thoughtlessly... I'm really, truly sorry."
The me inside was covering my mouth and wailing. How could someone be this honest and kind! I was so proud of her that I grabbed both of her hands while she was still bowing and said,
"Thank you for apologizing."
At my words, her body, which had been bowed, began to tremble. Huh? Are we not even that close, and is it embarrassing because I grabbed her hands so suddenly? Feeling flustered, I let go of her hands, and she lifted her head and whipped her body around. Her face, which I caught a glimpse of, was bright red, as if she were very embarrassed.
"I... if you ever have any trouble later, let me know..."
The class representative said that and, perhaps because she had somewhere urgent to be, ran off in the opposite direction. Hot! Come to think of it, I have to fulfill my duties as a friend! I also remembered my original purpose and returned to the classroom.
"Thank you, Scarlet."
I was moved as I watched Sylvia smile while receiving the macaron. Ah, how happy it is to be able to buy this smile for 3,000 gold. While I was soaking in the happiness for a moment, I saw Yoon Siwoo staring intently at the macaron I had given Sylvia, and I remembered the other macaron in my pocket. Ah... I really don't want to give it to him... I took out the macaron and, trembling, held it out to Yoon Siwoo.
"Oh... are you giving this to me?"
Yoon Siwoo asked, and I gritted my teeth and looked at Sylvia. This... this is the right answer, right? Sylvia! Sylvia was glaring at me with eyes full of murderous intent. It’s even worse than yesterday! Why?!
Only then did I realize. Not giving a macaron to Yoon Siwoo was a "favorability -3" choice, but giving one to Yoon Siwoo was a "favorability -10" catastrophic failure choice. Could I take it back now? I shook my head quickly and shoved the macaron I had held out toward Yoon Siwoo back into my pocket.
"Haha... yeah, give it to me later when you feel like it."
Yoon Siwoo said with an awkward laugh, perhaps feeling embarrassed that his hand had been out to receive it. Who knows, I wonder if there will ever be a time when I feel like giving you a macaron. I nodded, thinking that.
"I'll be waiting."
Yoon Siwoo said that with a sorrowful smile. This bastard, he sure knows how to lay on the pressure. If you want a macaron that badly, buy it with your own money! I shouted that inside, fiddling with the macaron in my pocket. ...If I ration this macaron, I wonder if I can make it last for ten days.