Chapter 55
Chapter 55
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 55
Chapter Title: Late-Night Dorm Visit
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Are you listening?
Girls' Dormitory, Iris Hall.
“Cecilia says she doesn’t want to see Halibal.”
“Is she still not fully recovered?”
“No. She was all better yesterday…”
Late at night. I was talking with Senia at the entrance to the dormitory.
Things had gotten comfortable enough with her that I no longer felt awkward speaking casually.
There was no special reason for me lurking around the girls’ dormitory at this hour.
The practical training ended tomorrow, and I hadn’t seen Cecilia once in the five days.
I knew she had been bedridden with illness.
So had I.
I’d spent three full days unable to leave my bed, which meant I had no choice but to endure Aren’s nursing.
The next two days, I felt better but holed up in my room for the first time, my mind a tangled mess.
Aren’s gaze had grown sharp watching me laze around, but there was nothing to be done.
It’s only natural to feel irritated watching someone slack off without motivation.
Aren’s human too, after all. Human.
Then it hit me—I hadn’t written the practical training report.
Cecilia was supposed to handle it, but with her sick in bed.
At the very least, I needed to check on things.
So today, with only one day of training left, I’d called Senia through the dorm supervisor to get an update.
“She said it’s embarrassing to face you.”
“……?”
“She was worried she might have made a mistake because of the medicine’s effects.”
‘A mistake?’
She hadn’t made any mistakes.
If anything, her great awakening had allowed us to survive and conquer the dungeon.
There was nothing for her to be embarrassed about.
‘No helping it.’
“Got it. Thanks for passing on the message. Tell Cecilia I said hi, and that I’ll handle the report.”
I’d have to pull an all-nighter on the report tonight.
That’s what I thought as I turned to leave.
“Ah… Halibal. You, you came…?”
Cecilia’s voice stopped me—she had slipped out of the dormitory.
“Cecilia. You okay?”
“Yeah… Sis. I’m fine. Thanks for worrying.”
She was in pajamas wrapped in a blanket, an outfit I’d never seen her in, even in the original story.
Her cheeks were still flushed, as if the remnants of her fever hadn’t fully faded.
“Were you… here to see me?”
I nodded, and a faint smile lingered on Cecilia’s lips.
Seeing her smile eased the tangled thoughts cluttering my mind a little.
“Your body’s really okay now?”
“Yeah. The fever’s been gone since yesterday. I was just… a bit embarrassed.”
She fiddled with the edge of her blanket, avoiding my eyes.
“Um… I didn’t do anything weird when we were fighting, did I?”
“Weird how?”
“Just… my memory’s a bit fuzzy. It felt like a dream or something…”
For a moment, I recalled her licking my hand, but I didn’t bring it up.
“No. Not at all.”
“Uh… okay.”
Instead, I changed the subject to the reason I was here.
“Even so, just in case, I’ll write the report. You go inside and rest.”
“Oh, right. The report. Sorry. I should’ve taken responsibility and written it…”
“It’s fine. I can do it.”
“But the doll dungeon had two bosses. You can’t write the part about Lirian on your own.”
I planned to fudge that part somehow.
Credit for conquering the doll dungeon wouldn’t vanish over a sloppy report.
Probably just listing the names would secure top marks.
But Cecilia pondered for a moment, then squeezed her eyes shut and spoke.
“For now… want to come in?”
“?”
Come in? Where?
“Cecilia?”
Cecilia waved her hands at our confused reactions.
“N-No! Don’t misunderstand! It’s just to write a perfect report! We won’t have another chance if not tonight!”
“Are you sane, Cecilia? Do you know what time it is? Bringing a guy—a guy like Halibal—into the dorm?”
“But Sis! The report’s due tomorrow! I can’t let Halibal’s grades suffer because of me.”
“That’s your problem.”
The sisters argued heatedly for a while.
I stood there, unable to get a word in.
‘…What about my situation?’
Finally, Senia turned to me first.
Seemed like they’d reached a conclusion.
For some reason, a playful smile played on her lips.
“So, what’ll you do?”
“……About what?”
“At this late hour, enter the room of two girls your age, or not?”
“Come in, or not?!”
Both looked up at me simultaneously.
Hmm.
Crabs stick with their own kind, huh.
Senia was the one who tried to stop it at first, right?
From the looks of it, she secretly hoped I’d come in too.
No, but come on, I’m not an idiot—sneaking into the girls’ dorm this late?
‘That doesn’t make sense.’
Caught, and it’s instant disciplinary action.
But…
Maybe it was the night, the situation, or just being in front of the girls’ dorm, but an odd allure emanated from the two looking up at me.
I’d forgotten amid all the dungeon grinding lately, but these two were among the academy’s top beauties.
With them straight-up inviting me in, refusing would make me not just a fool, but an idiot.
My rationalization circuits fired up wildly.
‘Yeah. As long as I don’t get caught.’
Not staying long anyway—just write the report and leave. With both here, nothing would happen.
“Phew.”
Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Okay.
“……Got anything to cover my face with?”
Still, precautions first.
⁎⁎⁎
I snuck into their room, avoiding the dorm supervisor.
Of course, nothing untoward happened.
They’d half-jokingly, half-seriously invited me in, probably.
Just a little rebellion for two noble ladies tired of dorm life.
I glanced around the room upon entering.
I’d half-expected something special from an all-girls dorm, but it was surprisingly ordinary.
‘Not much different from Aren’s room.’
Even the furniture placement and layout matched my own room exactly.
Were all noble rooms like this, regardless of gender?
Senia brought tea along with an apology.
Over time, I’d learned she just really liked apples.
Come to think of it, it’d been ages since I’d had any.
Then Senia eyed me suspiciously.
“…What?”
“Hm?”
“That reaction. Have you, Halibal, been in other girls’ rooms before?”
“No?”
For real.
I’d never been in a high school girl’s room, not even before falling into this world.
After that, we spent time much like when I’d met them before enrollment.
Sipping tea, snacking on treats and fruit, chatting about the dungeon, sharing thoughts on the follower class.
After an hour or two, we finally started on the report.
As the scratching of pens filled the quiet room, Senia stretched.
“Halibal, I’ll wash up first.”
“Sis. Can you not say things that could be misunderstood?!”
“Hehe. That’s how I feel.”
Senia hummed into the bathroom, leaving just me and Cecilia.
The only sound now was the scratching of pens.
“…Here, the Moon’s Domain unfolded, amplifying the surrounding mana.”
Cecilia’s voice was normal, but she felt too close somehow.
Before I knew it, she’d pressed right up against me, almost touching.
“…Then my core awakened. You listening?”
“…Yeah.”
Her silver hair cascaded softly onto my shoulder.
Excited breaths brushed my ear, and something soft and unidentified brushed and withdrew from my back repeatedly.
‘Whew.’
Not to brag, but I was denser than most.
Or rather, I didn’t think so, but others had always called me dense.
Even a dense person would know what her actions meant right now, or they wouldn’t be human.
Truth was, I’d known from the start.
[Affection Level: 5 (Max)]
In the original game, after bonding events, the heroines’ attitudes toward the protagonist Aren shifted noticeably.
No different from affection levels.
So now I knew for sure.
Cecilia Ren had feelings for me.
That’s why I deliberately didn’t turn to look at her.
I kept my eyes fixed solely on the pen and paper.
Starting tomorrow, followers reset, and I’d pair with a new one.
Then, I’d have to build new bonds with other playable characters.
In that context, getting closer than comrades with her could snowball unpredictably into the future.
So at least for now.
I couldn’t accept those feelings.
“…Halibal.”
“……”
“Really… nothing happened?”
She whispered softly in my ear.
“In the dungeon, I didn’t… do anything to you?”
“Yeah.”
“Yeah…? Good…”
For some reason, the soft sensation on my back showed no sign of pulling away.
Instead, she began resting her head on my shoulder.
“Still weird, though. I dreamed I was begging you for praise…”
‘That wasn’t a dream.’
I swallowed the words threatening to escape.
Suddenly, Cecilia grabbed my hand and pressed it to her cheek, just like that day.
“And… something like this happened too.”
Her cheek felt incredibly warm against my hand.
“…Hey.”
“……”
“Halibal.”
Cecilia just lifted her head to look up at me.
Her flushed cheeks and slightly dilated pupils gazed at me from too close.
“I, um…”
The moment she opened her mouth as if resolved, a cold voice came from behind.
“So, what kind of report are you two writing, exactly?”
The bathroom door opened, and Senia stood watching us, towel-drying her steaming hair.
“It’s not about the miracle of life, is it?”
“E-Eek, Sis. Wh-When did you come out? Say something after washing!”
“I did.”
“……Huh?”
“Three times.”
Cecilia’s face flushed crimson as she scurried to the bathroom.
Watching her go, I let out a sigh of relief.
‘…Saved.’
But just before the door closed, her glance back showed clear regret.
With Cecilia gone, Senia plopped sulkily onto the sofa.
“So.”
“Yes.”
“How far have you two progressed?”
“…Progressed where?”
“No need to be shy. Plenty of couples form in the academy through follower class.”
She sighed.
“Sigh. I’m sick of it, though.”
‘Yeah, I bet you are.’
I hadn’t minded much.
Then, as if resolved, she stepped closer to me.
Not as close as Cecilia, but not far either, she declared.
“Halibal.”
One more step.
“For the next follower, please pick me. I want a fair chance too.”
“…If there’s a chance.”
I said that, but next follower couldn’t be from the same class anyway.
That was info the instructors would reveal tomorrow—Senia wouldn’t know yet.
Follower class ended after two rounds anyway.
I could consider picking Senia after.
Thankfully, Cecilia’s forwardness cooled a bit afterward.
She’d gotten caught up in the night’s allure too, probably.
We finished the report successfully, and when I came to, the clock read past 3 a.m.
At 5, the supervisor started rounds, and girls like Ran who loved training would wake one by one.
At 4 a.m., I gave them a quick goodbye.
“…Halibal.”
Cecilia called after me.
“Sorry… Thinking about it, today was your turn for my time… but I monopolized it to the end.”
She meant the 15-day rule.
Half the month, I used her time; the other half, she used mine.
As she said, today was supposed to be mine to do as I wished. Dungeon, probably.
To her downcast face, I said one thing.
“No need to apologize. I used my time too.”
“……What?”
“See you… no, today, at the academy.”
I left those words and lightly vaulted the wall.
Voices called from behind, but I didn’t listen.
We’d see each other again soon anyway.